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Piers fastens a line around Captain Marquez.
“I’m not going without him,” the captain says, pointing at Ben.
Ben clips his vest to the same line.
“Happy?”
“No.”
“That seems to be going around.”
They move over the railing.
Fifteen seconds.
The line tightens.
A Coast Guard winch pulls Ben and Captain Marquez away from the ship.
Piers jumps behind them.
Scott’s camera plunges into the water.
The response boat accelerates.
Eight seconds.
Seven.
Six.
The Argent Star explodes.
Fire tears through the lower deck.
The blast lifts the stern from the water and throws burning metal across the bay. The shock wave strikes the response boat.
Ben and Captain Marquez swing beneath the rescue line.
The captain loses his grip.
Ben catches him.
His injured leg slams into the side of the boat, but he doesn’t let go.
Piers reaches down and grabs the captain’s vest.
Together, they pull him aboard.
The Argent Star breaks against the rocks behind them.
For several seconds, no one speaks.
Then Marquez raises her radio with both hands.
“Dad?”
Captain Marquez lies on the deck beside Ben.