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He tapped a button.
On the map, a number appeared above each of the volcanic triangles.
Kowalski squinted at all the fours and fives. A handful of sixes. But there were also several sevens and two eights. But it didn’t stop there.
“That can’t be...” Byrd moaned, as if trying to deny the numbers on the screen.
“There are threenineson that map.” Kowalski glanced at Haru. “And oneten.”
The geologist nodded. “That ten marks the center of the Sunda arc of volcanos. Mount Tambora. A peak that erupted in the nineteenth century and killed a hundred thousand people. Back then, it was only aseven.”
Byrd stood up sharply, knocking his chair away. “What can we do?”
Kowalski knew the answer.
He pulled out a lighter and lit his cigar.
That’s better.
No one even frowned at him.
Haru simply shook his head. “Unless this trench suddenly and inexplicably calms again, there is nothing we can do. Beyond the immediate cataclysm, such devastation will raise a planet-shrouding ash cloud. One that will last decades. It’ll mark the end of life on Earth. The only hope—”
A loud klaxon made them all jump.
They waited out the three short bursts. It heralded the arrival of the next group of submersibles. Out in the central hub, several stragglers ran upward, hoping for a berth on this second-to-last flotilla.
Kowalski studied a CCTV monitor at the workstation. It showed the tier above them. The last of the personnel crowded and milled in front of the ring of airlocks, all anxious to leave—not that the surface would be any safer for much longer.
Byrd turned toward the door. “I should get up there and organize the next group of evacuees. Try to reassure the rest. Then I’ll be back.”
Byrd swung around to leave, motioning for Jarrah to come with him to help maintain order. Before the men could step away, Kowalski grabbed Byrd’s arm and pointed at the CCTV screen.
“We got company.”
By now, several of the airlocks had opened. People crushed forward—but they were forced back as figures in black armor entered the station. They came in with helmets, masks, and rifles. Muffled gunshots echoed from above. Several researchers dropped. Screams followed.
The assailants were judicious with where they fired, clearly understanding the danger of an errant shot at these depths. But that was not their only means of coercion. All their weapons had bayonets mounted on them. Several carried tasers, felling several more researchers into trembling submission.
Kowalski remembered Jarrah’s report of an incoming military ship that had refused to respond to any hails. With the evacuation, thequakes, the volcanic eruptions, no one had paid any more heed to the silent vessel as it crossed the seas nearby.
Only it must not have sailed past.
Kowalski now suspected the communication blackout over the past half hour had nothing to do with power outages. The ship must have jammed any transmissions.
Kowalski shoved Byrd toward the door. “We can’t stay here.”
Jarrah nodded his agreement. He reached to his belt and freed a steel baton, snapping it to its full extendable length. The security head grabbed Haru and yanked him to follow. They rushed out of the lab but approached the central stair warily.
Delphin Tier lay directly above them. They needed to put some distance between them and the assailants. So far, the enemy seemed focused on securing the level above, but their group couldn’t count on that lasting for long.
Kowalski reached under his coat and pulled out a Mark XIX Desert Eagle. He pointed the fifty-caliber weapon up and leaned his head out into the stairwell. He spotted shadows shifting up there. A single gunshot made him cringe, but no one appeared to be looking his way. He hissed and waved the others down the stairs.
The three men scurried ahead of him, then he followed. They wound down the long spiral and paused at the next level, which looked deserted—though there could be a few laggards holed up and hiding in labs.
Byrd carried an e-tablet in hand. Kowalski leaned over his shoulder. The billionaire had patched the CCTV feed to his tablet. As more commandos arrived, station personnel were herded at gunpoint into the galley and dorms. Several commandos guarded the top of the stairwell, making no attempt to venture deeper, which Kowalski found worrisome.
“Who are they?” Byrd gasped out.
