I circled the knife around, swiping across his belly as I reached for the barrel.
With my hand on the handgrip of the rifle, the blade raked across his tactical vest, not getting the penetration I had hoped for.
He came across with a hard left.
I blocked, then kicked him in the balls.
He doubled over, and I stabbed the knife into his neck and stripped the weapon before he could get a shot off.
The thug dropped to his knees, blood spurting from the wound as I pulled the blade free.
He clutched at the puncture, but his feeble attempt didn’t do much good. He fell forward and bled out.
The crew watched on with wide eyes, a mix of shock and delight.
I wiped the blood on the sleeve of his tactical shirt, then moved to Ross and cut the bindings around his wrists and ankles. I pulled the duct tape from his mouth.
"Am I glad to see you," he whispered.
I told him to free the others and gave him the goon’s gun. "Move the body out of sight. Be quiet about it.”
With my heart pumping, I continued out of the control room, darted into the passageway, and moved through the curved corridor to the moon pool. I hovered at the hatch just as Jack surfaced the Neptune next to a foreign black mini-sub. It was just like the one that attacked us at the Silent Dragon.
The terror leader had his pistol to Elana's head. His second-in-command stood beside him.
With their backs to me, I had the element of surprise for the moment.
Jack opened the hatch to the Neptune and emerged with caution. All eyes were on him.
Flynn reached the moon pool, coming from the south corridor.
The second in command saw him, shouldered his rifle, and squeezed off a few rounds.
Muzzle flash flickered, and bullets streaked across the moon pool, peppering the bulkhead near the entrance as Flynn ducked for cover.
Automatic gunfire in a pressurized habitat, 300 feet underwater, is not a good move. I didn’t know how thick thesebulkheads were, but I hoped they would be enough to stop a bullet.
I shouldered my rifle, took aim, and fired two shots, pelting the scumbag in his side. He twisted around and flopped to the deck.
The squad leader grabbed Elana as he backed away from the fray, the gun to her head. He backed up to a bulkhead, using her as a human shield. There wasn’t anywhere for him to go.
I took aim at his head, but I wasn’t about to pull the trigger. Too risky a shot.
"Seems like you’re in a sticky situation," I said.
"Come any closer, and she dies.”
"Then guess what happens to you.”
The sequence of events was obvious.
His nervous blue eyes glanced around, looking for the rest of his team. With a black balaclava over his head, he was anonymous.
"They're all dead," I said. "There's no one coming to save you.”
Despair tightened his face.
"Flynn, are you okay?" I shouted.
