Kronos

51

The Titan

Atticus saw everything at once; the helicopter cutting through the blue sky, the big gun, waiting to fire out at the ocean, the sonar screen revealing the oceanic world beneath the Titan, Remus standing above the still forms of Andrea and O’Shea, and Trevor’s blue face, shaking with fear.

But there was nothing he could do. Trevor dropped to the floor, released from Atticus’s grip. He writhed, gasping for air. As his lungs filled, his body slowed, until at last he was lying on his back, breathing steadily. Then he stood, straightened his shirt, and smiled.

“Dear God, that was the closest I’ve been to death,” Trevor said as he bent over and picked up the UMP. He then retrieved the spare magazines from Atticus’s pockets and reloaded the weapon. “Wouldn’t want to run out of bullets, now would I?”

As Trevor chuckled, Atticus stared at him with rage, contempt, and total disbelief. He’d seen men come close to dying, some not as close as Trevor just then, and even the most battle-hardened of them had been shaken-up by the event. Trevor actually seemed to have enjoyed his brush with the Grim Reaper.

“You’re insane,” Atticus said.

Trevor guffawed. “No, just very, very bored. I must admit you’ve done a wonderful job of alleviating my boredom. I do believe these memories will entertain me for the remainder of my life, but I’m afraid I can’t risk keeping you around any longer, lest you succeed in ending my life early.”

Trevor picked up the CB and spoke to the crew. “Press the attack. No matter what happens. Kill the beast.”

Trevor dropped the CB and motioned Atticus to the door. “Remus, be a dear and carry them to the main deck.” Trevor pointed at Andrea and O’Shea. “I don’t want to make more of a mess of my ship than has already been made.”

Remus picked up O’Shea and Andrea, throwing them over his shoulders. He turned and headed down the stairs to the main deck. Trevor shoved Atticus from behind with the UMP. He fought the urge to twist around and break Trevor’s neck, but he knew Andrea’s and O’Shea’s fates would be sealed by the act. The time to act would arrive soon enough. A quick glance at the sonar screen before leaving the bridge confirmed that much.

Once on deck, Remus slapped Andrea and O’Shea until they woke up. He stood them next to each other along the starboard rail. They were meant to be shot so their bodies would fall overboard, where Laurel would tear them to pieces. Atticus helped Andrea stay on her feet. He leaned into her, and over the sound of the roiling bubbles pushed to the surface by the exploding depth charges below, whispered, “It’ll be okay.”

She looked at him through blood-encrusted eyes. One was swelling. A purple bruise glowed on her cheek. Her expression showed defeat. Without saying a word, she looked into Atticus’s eye and said good-bye.

He wasn’t listening.

“Can you move,” he asked, her blowing hair masking the movement of his lips.

She nodded slightly. “Brace yourself.”

They both clung to the rail.

“I should have known your conscience would betray me eventually,” Trevor said to O’Shea.

“May God forgive you,” O’Shea replied. He stood clutching his side. His pain was obvious, but he handled it well. And he was continuing his priest routine, perhaps hoping the superstitious Trevor would spare his life.

“Ah, the good priest until the end,” Trevor said. “I suppose I’ll have to replace you after today, eh?”

Trevor took aim with the UMP and Remus followed suit with the MP5-an old-fashioned firing squad. Not wanting to miss out on a vintage-movie cliche, Trevor added. “Any last words?”

Atticus raised his hand.

Trevor laughed. “I wasn’t serious.”

“Your neck is bruising.”

Trevor looked at Atticus with a queer gaze. He reached up and touched his neck, where Atticus had strangled him. He winced at the touch.

“I’m going to finish it,” Atticus said with a smile.

“Right then,” Trevor said, taking aim again. “And I’m the one who’s insane.”

As Trevor pulled the trigger, the entire deck of the Titan lurched upward. A thunderous crack sounded from below. Bullets sliced through the open sky as Remus’s and Trevor’s weapons jerked up. The ship settled back down in the water as a warning Klaxon sounded.

Atticus and Andrea charged forward-Atticus to Remus, Andrea to Trevor. O’Shea had disappeared.

Atticus drove his shoulder into Remus’s gut, and the two of them sprawled to the deck, sending the MP5 skittering away. Remus, being the larger, stronger, and far less injured of the two, recovered quickly and tossed Atticus aside. The Hawaiian giant gained his feet and reached for Atticus, who regained his footing just as the first in a series of punches and kicks flew at him from every direction. He managed to block or evade the majority of them, but was driven back with each blow, shuffling his bleeding bare feet slick on the wooden deck.

As he grew weary, his foot slipped, and he fell to his back. Remus pounced, slamming down on Atticus and wrapping his legs around one of Atticus’s arms and both his legs. Pinned, with only one arm free, Atticus took a swing and connected with Remus’s stone jaw. But the massive man was in a frenzy and hardly felt the blow. Remus grabbed Atticus’s free arm and pinned it to the deck. He slammed his other fist into Atticus’s head. After a volley of punches, a massive explosion above them sent a stab of pain through their ears.

The main cannon had fired, no more than fifteen feet above their heads.

Atticus found his arm free as Remus clutched his ears. And while every instinct in Atticus’s body told him to cover his own ears, he swung up at Remus’s throat instead. The blow glanced off. Remus, having recovered from the shock, laughed at Atticus’s failed attempt to fight back. As a glint of sunlight sparkled off Atticus’s forearm, which still hovered in front of Remus’s throat, Remus’s eyes grew wide.

“You guys never learn,” Atticus said as blood dripped into his eye. “I fight dirty.” With that, Atticus drew his arm back across Remus’s throat. Pain ripped through his arm as the shards of glass sticking out of his skin and muscle met the flesh of Remus’s neck. Some shards came free, now clinging to Remus’s neck, but it was the ones that remained stubbornly embedded in Atticus’s arms that did the real damage. Rather than simply impaling, they sliced.

Deep gouges stretched across Remus’s throat. Some weren’t deep, but others, through which streams of blood pulsed, revealed a fatal wound. Remus’s breathing became a gurgle as fluid and air filled his lungs, not through his nose or mouth, but through his exposed windpipe. He slumped and fell to the side, clutching his mangled throat.

Atticus shoved the hulk away and climbed to his feet, his head spinning. He realized that if the main gun had fired, it meant Kronos had reached the surface. He had, in fact, known Kronos wasn’t running when he saw the sonar screen on the bridge. Rather than running, Kronos had headed straight for them. The beast had had enough.

But now the crew of the Titan was countering. He looked up and found the helicopter hovering one hundred yards off the bow. Two of its four torpedoes dropped free and splashed into the ocean. He picked up the fallen MP5, raced to the bow of the ship, took aim and fired. Bullets tore through the air as though fired from the Viking woman figurehead. The weapon wasn’t accurate at the range, but a few lucky shots might distract the chopper.

As the magazine ran dry, he failed to see a single spark to indicate he’d hit it. He threw the MP5 to the deck and cursed. Then his eyes landed on the MP5 again; but he wasn’t interested in the gun. A faint outline in the deck floor held his gaze.

The harpoon.

Atticus fell to his hands and knees, looking for some sign of a panel. A slight ridge against his fingers found something to the side of the larger outline. He took the MP5 and slammed the deck with the butt of it until a panel broke free. Beneath it was a single switch labeled “raise” on one side and “lower” on the other. He flipped the switch to “raise” and the large outline in the deck became a hole as the panel lowered and slid away.

From the newly formed gap in the deck rose the colossal harpoon gun. A fresh harpoon sat ready to fire, though it lacked an explosive charge. But with the punch the titanium harpoon could deliver, Atticus knew he didn’t need one.

As soon as the harpoon finished rising, Atticus looked down the sight board, swiveled the harpoon into position, and pulled the trigger. The harpoon launched in the air, trailing its tether behind it like a lightning bolt from Zeus.

The pilot saw the incoming projectile and veered to the side, but it was too late. The titanium harpoon penetrated one side of the chopper and punched out the other. The black helicopter became as snared by the harpoon as the whales it was intended for. The helicopter continued its sideways motion, still attempting to flee, but the harpoon, with its flukes extended, held on tight. The line snapped taut as the helicopter pulled it to its full length. The helicopter pitched to the side and plowed into the ocean, its blades shearing off and flying away wildly. Its two remaining torpedoes went down, unfired.

Two explosions off the port bow tore Atticus’s attention away from the helicopter, now in tow alongside the Titan. Two hundred yards away, Kronos’s body rose and fell through the waves. A fresh splash of red revealed he’d been hit again. While Atticus wasn’t sure the torpedoes could cause a fresh wound on Kronos’s thick skin, he was positive they could exploit the old wound.

“Hang on, Giona!” Atticus yelled at Kronos as he barreled back toward the bridge. As he limped across the deck with all possible speed, Atticus became aware of two things, the main gun taking aim at Kronos and Andrea’s voice, shrieking in pain.