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“Why? Her tank should be empty.” Dean asked, concerned.
“That’s foolish. You assume nothing on a dive. If he says we leave her, then we leave her.” Jaxon chimed in a matter of factwhich Dean didn’t seem pleased with at all, and yet he settled down anyway with a mumble at how wrong it was to leave her.
Raze sighed and took his place on the platform. “I came here to loot and leave, and brag about it on my way home. Not rescue dead chicks.”
“Is there anyone else who disagrees with Kal’s call?” Thorsten gave them all a look like he would tear them apart if they took issue with it and no one dared to raise their hand. “Good.”
Everyone was ready for the dive, checking equipment, and making sure their suits had no holes. I checked Thorsten’s radio and camera, making sure we secured everything before he sat down on the platform.
“Think the double insulation will work?” I asked, referring to the extra protections he had added to his suit to stave off the effects of the water.
“Not by much, but it should give me a chance.”
“Okay.” I sighed still nervous and envious at the same time. This was probably every diver’s dream challenge, to brave these chilly waters, to explore a long-forgotten city and a titan lab at the same time. No wonder so many died trying. But I swore to him I wouldn’t go and I couldn’t expect him to keep his promises if I broke mine.
I checked each crewman, hoping this mission ended on a positive note for everyone.
“Kal…” Jaxon approached.
“Yeah?”
“We should talk, we need to.”
“Sure.”
We headed inside the ship and I turned to give Thorsten a reassuring smile before I disappeared inside. I didn’t want to give him any reason to believe that I wanted anything other than us leaving this place behind together.
Jaxon reached out for me to face him and when he leaned in for a kiss, I pulled away. “Jaxon, I can’t.”
“He’s not watching, and soon you’ll be free of him.”
“Jaxon. I think if this dive goes well, you could walk away a rich man, you could go anywhere you like, and do anything you please.”
“Me…you…I’m not hearing a we and us.”
“Jaxon. I’m sorry, but I can’t be with you.”
“Yes, you can.” He chuckled, but not amused. “We might be able to take off that collar.” He slipped the recorder into my hands. “Try to get one of them to speak. There’s this tech guru within the resistance. She modulated the sound of their voices and mimicked the sounds. Her AI is amazing.”
“It’s not that,” I said, taking a deep breath. “I love him.”
“What the fuck is this? You just came to me telling me you hated him and had no loyalties to him, now you love him.”
“I didn’t say that. You just assumed I didn’t because of the collar.”
“You fucking said you wanted to get away from him.”
“I thought Davi was going to kill us, I felt like I had to say anything to get out of there.”
“No. You’re lying right now. That bastard did something to you!” He touched my red cheek and his eyes widened with fury.
“Jaxon, he didn’t do anything to me. I’m just under the weather. Please take the money and go. Live your life.”
“Fine.” He stepped back and away from me and left me alone.
I felt like I could breathe again. It went horribly, yet better than expected. I emerged from the interior to find Jaxon sitting across from Thorsten on the platform, and I prayed everything would go without a hitch.
I had chosen the seated platform this time. The safest of them all. The divers sat in a circle and gripped the bars in front of them. Each sitting area contained a small screen I would useto debrief them while Gio prepared the crane that would lower them down.
