Olympus Device 1: The Olympus Device (37 page)

It took a bit to regroup. As they gathered themselves, Dusty
rearranged the duffle bag still strapped to his back and stared back at a scene of utter chaos. The ship was listing badly, most of its hull now residing where the pallet forest had been just a few moments before.

The parking
area was empty, all of the vehicles pushed to higher ground by the wall of water that had inundated the lot. Resting on top of one another in a disheveled wall of mangled steel and broken glass, Dusty couldn’t spot the old Chevy, the small loss of little consequence compared to the devastation that filled his eyes.

For a moment,
Dusty wondered how many of the policemen had made it to high ground. He questioned if Monroe had made it out alive. He was saddened when it dawned on him that other lives may have been lost.

Movement from the corner of his
vision drew his attention, a man lifting himself from a pool of sloppy mud, looking around in shock. Gradually, other survivors began to show themselves – most moving as if in a daze.

He checked the rail gun, unsure of what the dousing had done to his invention. The green LED still glowed bright, his waterproofing efforts having paid off.

Dusty gently took Grace’s arm and said quietly, “We have to go.”

Dripping wet, disheveled and muddy, the pair began
hustling away from the crippled vessel.

“You sure know how to show
a girl a good time in the big city, cowboy,” Grace teased between breaths.

“My pleasure, ma’am. But we’re not done yet.”

The End

Grace sat in the bow of the inflatable raft, wringing out her shirt, unashamed of Durham seeing her clad only in her underwear. Her pants were already drying in the sun, draped over the edge after she had rinsed out the mud over the side.

Trying to be a gentleman while at the same time steering the outboard motor, Dusty pretended to keep his eyes on the waterway ahead
. Grace had already caught him casting an admiring glance once before.

“Where are we going?” she finally asked.

“I don’t know. Where do you want to go? I’ve got lots of money, a new ID, and the world’s most powerful weapon. This little boat ain’t so bad either.”

She smiled
, and then replied, “You’re also the world’s most wanted man.”

Adjusting their course, he peered along both shorelines
looking for any sign of trouble. They had meandered down the now closed ship channel, darting behind docked container ships and sneaking around piers. The Coast Guard had rushed past over an hour ago, obviously responding to the events at pier #19. They hadn’t seen another boat or ship since.

The last civilization had passed 30 minutes ago, the appearance of wetlands, marshes and rock lined shores
replacing the refineries, piers and wharfs. The lack of industrialization allowed the couple to relax. They would be in the open waters of Galveston Bay soon, the Gulf of Mexico not far beyond.

“I think we’ve got a bit of a head start before they realize who was
actually killed back there,” Dusty said. “The exchange of the hat for the jacket was a stroke of luck. I hadn’t planned for that. I hope the fake gun will allow Monroe to relax a bit. He’ll think the primary threat is past.”

“
I think all the bodies and the fake gun are under the hull of that ship. That will take some time to move. But still, you shot the water after everyone was already dead. They’ll know that – they’ll figure out the sequence.”

Nodding, Dusty’s voice was
optimistic. “I’m hoping they’ll think it was the exploding helicopters or some cargo onboard the ship that caused the wave. You’re right, they’ll figure it out. I think we have a head start, not a clean get away.”

Grace drifted off
, pondering her future while gazing silently at her surroundings. As the tiny boat moved closer to the open waters of the bay, a flock of cranes glided low across the surface nearby. For the first time in her life, she understood the true meaning of freedom.

She turned to him and said,
“I’m with you, Durham, if you want me along. I’ll go wherever you want to go. It just seems right being at your side.”

Her words brought a smile to his face. Nodding, he said,
“I want you here. I realized how much I missed you during all this mayhem. I can’t promise much of a future right now, but however it ends, I want you there with me.”

Grace scooted back to sit beside him, and the two hugged. She maintained her embrace as Dusty returned to steering the boat, accelerating toward the open water
.

“The coast up ahead is lined with marinas, yacht brokers, and boatyards. How about we find a nice littl
e cabin cruiser that’s for sale? One with a good shower and BBQ grill docked in a dark corner of a seldom used marina. We can hole up, clean up, rest up, and make up time. We’ll decide where to go after things have settled down.”

“Okay, Dusty,” she replied, smiling as he realized she had
finally called him by his preferred name.