Phantom Prospect (16 page)

The bullets struck the three guards running down the sloped corridor. By the time they recognized the ambush, it was already too late. Annja fired tight, controlled bursts the way she’d been taught by an old friend who had served in special operations. She raked the three guards and noticed that Cole seemed equally adept with his gun.

The guards went down under the hail of gunfire.

Annja was up and checking them to make sure they wouldn’t be able to somehow squeeze off another shot, then she and Cole headed away.

Cole was breathing hard. “Now what?”

Annja eyed him. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just winded. I think that last Taser session took a lot more out of me than I thought.”

“If you need a break—”

“What I need is to get out of this place. So don’t even think about leaving me behind. I can hold my own. Just point in the direction you want me to shoot and I’ll get it done.”

“I noticed.”

Cole shrugged. “Boy Scout camp.”

“Right.”

“Okay, I took an auxiliary police course one time. The highlight was getting down on the ranges and going full-auto. Guess it stayed with me.” He nodded at Annja. “What’s your excuse?”

“Classified,” Annja said. She pointed back down the slope. “We need to get back there now that we’ve eliminated this threat.”

“You think they’ll be waiting for us?”

Annja nodded. “I’d bet on it.”

“Great.”

Annja held his arm. “If we get down there and fight our way through, we head for the dock across the way. It won’t be easy, but if we can make it, then we can get on board and escape.”

“You know how to pilot a submarine?” Cole asked.

Annja tried to grin. “How hard can it be? As long as I’m surrounded by metal and bullets can’t get to me, I’ll be happy to learn as I go.”

“Stick with me,” Cole said. “I’ll get us out of here. Or at least into the water. I have no idea what direction to head once we do that.”

“We’ll figure it out.” Annja slowed her pace as she came around a shallow curve in the corridor. Noises drifted up to her. She motioned for Cole to stop.

Cole came closer and whispered in Annja’s ear. “Did you hear that?”

She nodded. “Probably the other half of our welcome party.”

“Now what?”

Annja shook her head. “What option do we have? We can’t wait here all day and risk them getting more reinforcements or sending another party down behind us.”

“Best defense is a good offense?” Cole said.

Annja nodded. “I’ll take the lead. You come second.”

“Right behind you.”

Annja ducked down and slid out into the straight portion of the corridor that opened up on the lower level. She could see a stack of wooden crates near the doorway. This contingent was obviously smarter than their brothers on the upper level.

As soon as they saw Annja, they opened up and sent a volley of bullets shrieking at her and Cole. Annja barely had enough time to register what she saw and push Cole back before the first rounds slammed into the walls near them and ricocheted up the corridor.

Cole fell down next to her. “Shit!”

Annja frowned. This wasn’t good. The longer they were trapped there, the better the chances of them getting captured again. She had to do something to break the stalemate or it would be all over for her and Cole.

She looked at him. “You trust me?”

Cole frowned. “What—I have to prove that to you now? Of course I trust you. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because I’m going to do something that will probably seem pretty damned crazy.”

Cole smirked. “So, business as usual apparently.”

She rolled her eyes and then handed him her submachine gun. “Here, take this.”

He frowned. “What? You need this. Why give it to me?”

“Be quiet, Cole.” Annja summoned her sword. Next to her, she heard Cole gasp. “What th—?”

She put a finger to his lips. “Not a word. I don’t have time to answer any questions right now. If this doesn’t work, then don’t bother asking anyone about it. No one else knows.”

Cole’s eyes were wide but he accepted her response and nodded dumbly. “All right.”

“Here’s the plan,” Annja said. “I’m going to charge their position.”

“With that?”

Annja smiled and looked at the sword. “You’d be surprised what this blade can do.”

“Or where it came from,” Cole said. “But I won’t ask.”

“Thanks.” Annja smiled. “When I charge them, they’re going to be a bit surprised.”

“You don’t say.”

“That’s your opportunity to get some good fire on them. See if you can take out as many as possible in the short span of time the surprise will give me. It won’t be long if these guys are any good. They’ll switch back on and start shooting at me. And I don’t think I can block bullets with the sword.”

“All right.”

Annja took a breath. “Isn’t this fun?”

“I prefer diving with sharks.”

Annja nodded. “Welcome to my world.”

“Is it really like this?”

Annja thought about it for a second as another volley of bullets echoed off the corridor walls. She looked back at Cole. “With an almost startling regularity.”

“Wow.”

Annja squatted and prepared herself. She took a few deep breaths to fully oxygenate her blood and then nodded at Cole. “Here we go.” She looked back at him. “Make sure you don’t shoot me in the back.”

She ran out from around the bend and screamed as she ran straight at the stacked crates, her sword held up in front of her.

Please, she thought, just let me close the gap in time for Cole to take them out.

As she’d predicted, the guards stopped short when they saw her and froze for a moment. Annja heard sporadic gunfire from behind her.

The guard closest to her took two rounds in his throat and toppled backward with a bloody gurgle. A bright spout of crimson erupted from the base of his neck.

That’s one, Annja thought.

The second guard took a close stitch of bullets across his chest and slid sideways with the force of the impact, streaking red across the wooden crate.

Two.

The third guard brought his gun up on Annja but then took a single well-placed shot in the shoulder that spun him around just as he squeezed the trigger. His gun went off and stitched one his fellow guards.

Annja kept running. Three and four.

A single shot came at her as she dived forward, twisting her body out of the bullet’s path. She reached the crates and scrambled over them, coming down on the other side and finding herself within striking range of the next guard.

She backstroked and cut him down with a quick slash across his abdomen. He clutched at his stomach and fell. Annja kept moving and slashed another guard who was trying to draw his pistol and shoot her in the close confines of the space.

Annja cleaved him with a single stroke.

She whirled and caught the final guard with a slash that barely creased his throat over his voice box. The bright red smile that she scored across his neck melted in a bubbling fountain of blood and he clutched at his neck as he fell.

Annja leaned against one of the crates and took a deep breath. She heard footsteps and brought her sword up just in time to see Cole come running toward her.

“They all dead?”

She nodded. “Nice shooting there, pal.”

“Glad it worked out.” He shook his head. “I’ve never seen anyone move like you did. I thought you were dead. I heard that one shot and then you just, I don’t know…moved at the perfect moment.”

Annja shrugged. “Like I said, the sword does some amazing things.”

“That wasn’t the sword,” Cole said. “That was you.”

“We can debate it later,” Annja said. “For now, let’s get the hell out of here.”

Cole looked at the lower level. And Annja noticed that there weren’t any workers down there. The roar of machines continued unabated, but there seemed to be no one else around.

Annja frowned. “This place was crawling with people just a little while ago.”

“I know,” Cole said. “What do you suppose happened?”

“Well, we did.” Annja glanced up at the catwalk but she couldn’t see if there were any guards there. “They probably sounded some type of alarm that we didn’t hear. They got everyone out of here so they could take us on without risk to the workers.”

Cole pointed across the way at the dock. “There are the subs.”

“Yeah,” Annja said. “And you notice how there doesn’t seem to be anything in our way?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s wide-open. No guards, no real obstacles. Just a nice easy walk in the park for us.”

Cole frowned. “I take it that means something?”

“Yeah, it means they’re planning to ambush us somehow. It’s a trap. And I hate traps.”

Cole sighed. “What choice do we have? We have to get out of here. And we still don’t even know what’s going on.”

Annja nodded. “All good points.” She craned her neck and searched the catwalk. She couldn’t see anyone up there. Even the windows on the control room had been shuttered. It looked as if the complex had been abandoned.

But Annja knew it hadn’t been.

She took a few moments to really scan the area. “Cole.”

“Yeah?”

“Keep watch and stay quiet.”

Cole nodded.

Annja relaxed and crept outward. She sat and listened.

She realized the first guard was directly above their position on the catwalk.

He would be difficult to get past. He could wait until they were exposed by other guards and then fire down on them.

They’d be dead before they knew what hit them.

Annja carefully charted the positions of the other guards she could detect. They had the area well covered. Whoever they’d been dealing with thus far, these guards seemed to have a coherent strategy in place.

And Annja fully expected that they would be shooting to kill, regardless of what their boss might have told them.

She looked back.

Cole was scanning the area. “What do you think?” he asked her.

“I know where they are.”

“If you say so.”

“But it’s going to be tough,” she said. “We might not make it.”

Cole smiled. “Has there been one thing about this entire mess that’s been easy?”

“Not a damned thing.”

He nodded. “Exactly. So why don’t you tell me what you need me to do and let’s stop wasting time.”

Annja headed back along the corridor and took one of the submachine guns from the fallen guards. She then collected the magazines from the other guns so she and Cole would have enough ammunition. She slapped home a fresh magazine and Cole did the same thing.

Cole kept his voice hushed. “You think they have any idea what we’re doing down here?”

Annja shrugged. “We have to assume that they do. I always try to imagine myself in their position. That tends to keep me honest in my plans.”

“So, what now?” They worked their way back to the opening.

“Our biggest problem is the guy above us. He’s up there waiting for us. I think they’re planning to let us get out into the open, then have two shooters pin us down from the front. He will then pick us off from behind. It’s a neat and efficient way to take us down without exposing any of them to any degree of threat.”

“So how do we get out of this?”

“They hold the high ground,” Annja said. “Strategically, that gives them the advantage. But if we can throw a wrench into their plans, then we have a chance.”

“And what’s our wrench is this instance?”

Annja smiled. “I don’t know yet.”

Cole frowned. “That’s not the answer I was hoping for.”

“It’s not the answer I hoped to give you.”

Cole nodded. “Why don’t you leave this one to me?”

“You’re in bad shape. There’s no way I’m letting you take the lead, not when you’re injured.”

“I’m not that badly injured,” Cole said. “And I need to do this. If it doesn’t work, we’ll try something else.”

Annja shook her head. “I hate to tell you this, but we’re only going to get one chance. If we don’t pull this off, they’ll just come down on us and that will be it.”

Cole nodded. “Even more reason to let me try.”

“I don’t know…”

“Look, you risked your life the last time we got bogged down. It’s only fair that you give me my shot, as well.”

“I had the sword.”

“And I have my incredible sex appeal.”

Annja looked at the blank expression on his face and then broke into a grin. “Wow, all right, you can go for it.”

“I get points for saying that with a straight face, right?”

“Definitely.”

“See?” Cole grinned. “I can die happy now.”

“Well, don’t say that,” Annja said. “You’ll make me reconsider my decision.”

“Team work, Annja.” Cole readied himself. “Now, just wait until I clear the way and then come on out and give me some covering fire from the guys in front of us.”

Annja frowned. “What in the world are you planning to do?”

Cole pointed at a small dolly. “Can you grab that for me?”

Annja got the dolly and Cole took it from her. “This should work.” He glanced at the catwalk above them. “You said he was up there? Directly above us?”

Annja nodded. “Yeah.”

Cole looked out into the open space before them. “Looks like a clear shot.”

“What does?”

“The lay of the ground.”

Annja shook her head. “What exactly are you up to?”

Cole lay down on the dolly. “Just watch.”

And before Annja could say anything, Cole jumped on the dolly and used his legs to push off out into the open. From the position he was in, he was looking back and up at the catwalk above where he had been with Annja.

As he rolled out, Cole brought up the submachine gun and aimed the barrel at the guard above them. Cole fired three times and then came to a rest out in the wide-open part of the cavern.

Annja immediately started firing up at the two guards in front of them, at the ten-o’clock and two-o’clock positions. She made it to a crate in front of her and waited until Cole got down next to her.

“Another stalemate,” he said. “What side do you want?”

“Ten,” Annja said. “We need to get through this fast or they’ll reinforce and chop us up.”

“I’m on the two,” Cole said. He leaned out and fired off three rounds. Annja did the same.

“We need to catch them reloading,” Cole said. He nodded toward the area under the catwalk on the other side. “If we can make it there, they won’t have the drop on us anymore and we should have a clear run to the subs.”

Annja nodded. “I like it.” She leaned out and drew more fire from above before responding with her own.

Cole fired his bullets and then they waited for return fire. Annja heard something that sounded like an empty magazine dropping. She pulled on Cole. “Now!”

They darted from behind cover and zigzagged across the space toward the underside of the catwalk. Annja could hear the fresh magazines being slapped into place and pulled Cole down behind a tall stack of machine parts. Bullets exploded off the wall closest to them.

Cole blanched as a shard of rock cut his face. He drew his hand away wet with blood but nodded to Annja. “I’m okay. How much farther?”

Annja pointed. “If we can make it twenty feet, we should be okay.”

“Twenty feet’s a mile in this game,” Cole said. “You think we can do it?”

Annja smirked. “We’ve already gotten farther than I would have given us odds on.”

“I love the optimism,” Cole said. “Let’s get going. I’m tired of being shot at. It really sucks.”

“Tell me about it.”

“How the hell do you get used to this?”

Annja looked at him and then checked the expanse in front of them. Another bullet rebounded off the metal parts in front of them. “You never get used to it, actually.”

“Good to know.”

“You ready?”

Cole nodded. “Another volley?”

“Yeah, on three.” She counted off and they both fired at the same time. Annja nudged him. “Fire on the run.”

She knew it wouldn’t be accurate fire. That was almost impossible for anyone to do while they were running and dodging bullets being fired at them. What Annja hoped to achieve was to just get them ducking down and not worrying about firing back at her or Cole.

She fired upward as she ran and was ten feet away from the safety under the catwalk when she tripped and fell. Cole didn’t notice and kept running until he made the safe area. Then he looked back and saw Annja scrambling to her feet.

She held up her hand. “Stay there!”

Bullets exploded around her. She needed cover fast.

Annja jumped up and dove for the minor safety behind another open crate. She could tell the wood was flimsy and wouldn’t stop any of the bullets being shot at her.

She ducked down and checked her magazine. There were only two rounds left so she dropped it and slapped another in its place.

“You okay?” Cole called to her.

“Yeah.”

She risked a look out and almost got her head blown off for her troubles. “Can’t make it.” The open ground was too exposed.

“I’m coming back.”

“No!” she shouted. “Stay there. If I can’t make it, get out of here and tell someone about this place. Come back for me with the cavalry.”

She heard nothing in return. She knew he wouldn’t like it, but if he tried to come back for her, they’d both get killed. And that would be useless.

“Cole, don’t think about it!”

Annja ducked out and squeezed off a single round at the two-o’clock position. A rain of lead answered her back, the withering fire reducing the top of the crate to Swiss cheese. Splinters of wood showered down on Annja’s head.

“Dammit!”

She couldn’t stay there. She wondered how far she would have to throw her sword to score a hit on the guard above her at ten o’clock.

No time like the present to find out, she thought.

The first thing she did was lean out and lay down a rain of fire at the two-o’clock position. Then she dropped the gun and summoned the sword. She rolled out and came up into a crouch before hurling the sword like a javelin up at the catwalk.

She ducked and rolled back behind the cover again, laying her hands on the submachine gun. Annja came up and fired two rounds at the two-o’clock position, barely aware that the firing had stopped from the ten-o’clock position.

She risked a look and saw that her sword had impaled the guard. He was dead, with the sword jutting out of his chest.

Another volley of bullets made her duck back down.

It seemed there was only one guard left.

Annja came up again, fired long and then ran for the safety of the overhang. She rushed into Cole’s arms, almost tackling him as she did so.

“Jesus, Annja, you okay?”

“Yeah.”

“I saw you throw the sword. Incredible.”

“Save it for later,” Annja said.

He stopped her. “But what about the sword? Don’t you need to get it back? You can’t just throw it away like that.”

Annja laughed. “Don’t worry about the sword. It takes care of itself and always comes home. Kinda like a boomerang.”

“Interesting.”

Annja eyed the expanse of open space in front of them, and scanned it carefully, but didn’t see anything that would bar their way. “I think we’re clear,” she said.

“You sure?”

Annja nodded. “I think that was the last major obstacle. What sub do you want?”

Cole hesitated. “I’d opt for the normal-looking one, actually. Too many bad memories of being swallowed by a shark. I don’t think I’d enjoy the ride back home.”

Annja nodded. “Okay, let’s go for it.”

She and Cole dashed for the dock. They made their way down a set of metal steps that led to the mooring area. Annja could see the detail on the two sharks as they drew abreast of them. Floating as they were in the water, they didn’t seem nearly as frightening as they did when they were actually moving through the water.

Incredible, Annja thought. “That’s damned impressive,” she said.

“Maybe we can get one as a souvenir,” Cole said. “I don’t see any guards anywhere.”

“Neither do I,” Annja said. “Let’s get aboard and get this thing started.”

She climbed aboard and started untying the ropes that held the submarine to the dock. She heard the engine start up and then switch off.

Annja’s stomach knotted.

Not now, she thought, don’t tell me we’re having mechanical difficulties. That’s the last thing they needed.

“Cole?”

He didn’t respond and Annja heard the engine start to turn over again and then fall dead.

She finished untying the moor lines and scampered over to the conning tower entry point. “Cole?”

Annja climbed over the edge and then dropped down into the main portion of the sub itself. She heard noises from the engine room and moved through the hatchway. “Everything okay now?”

Cole was nowhere to be seen.

But two guards aimed their guns at Annja.

Behind them, in the captain’s chair, sat an older man with white hair tinged with red streaks. He looked pleased.

“Welcome, Annja Creed. It’s so nice to have you here with us.” He smiled at her. “Now, listen to me very carefully. I won’t hesitate to shoot you, but I would prefer not to. If you stand very still you might even live to enjoy the next few minutes of your life. Imagine that.”