The Alpha Deception

Epilogue

The bomb was small enough to be easily maneuverable underwater. The only problem arose when the navy ship proved too large to tempt the reefs, and the cylindrical device had to be loaded onto a motorboat and transported the last half mile to the coast of the nameless Bimini island. Another boat was required to get all the necessary equipment and personnel to the site. A third went along just in case either of these failed at some point during the journey.

The placing of the nuclear charge was totally according to McCracken’s specifications. He had drawn them a detailed map of the ocean floor and was careful to include all the wrecks he could recall from his dive. They had made good time from Miami, and the weather had cooperated brilliantly.

Blaine stood by Natalya on the deck, both of them watching the motorboats negotiate the reefs and reach their destination safely. It was up to the divers now, who surfaced forty minutes later flashing the thumbs-up sign. They returned to the ship at top speed, the weather still good and nothing to impede their dash for safety. The timing device had been set for six hours — more man enough time to be far out of range of the blast’s effects. The coming nuclear explosion would be extremely minor, but the consequences to immediate and surrounding waters nonetheless promised to be severe.

As it turned out, six hours later their ship was too far away from what Blaine had termed “Water Zero” to feel anything at all. No one, in fact, would know if they had been successful until divers returned to check the area several months later, when the radioactivity had dissipated entirely.

They could not see, then, the huge swell of water which blasted into the air and totally drenched the lost island of the Biminis, submerging a great portion of it. Some of this water was superheated and a steam cloud rose into the air, looking like a fog bank in search of a ship to strand on the now-ruptured reef.

It was near the ocean floor itself, though, where the greatest effects were felt. The explosion created a fissure in the very top layer of the Earth, which opened to swallow the graveyard of ships above it and seal the secrets of the sea forever.