Blink: Leviathan (Book 2)

11

Darien stood at the edge of the water, breather mask fixed to his face and carbine in hand, grimly turning over in his mind what they were about to do.

"You sure about this?" Idas asked, clearly not thrilled by the prospect of joining him in the water.

"Not exactly."

"The jackhammer's not designed to fire underwater."

"I know that. Use your side-arm."

The other boy looked at him as though he were insane. "A side-arm? Did you see the size of that thing?"

"We're not trying to kill it," Darien countered. "We're trying to distract it." He looked left and right at the other operatives lined up at the water's edge. "Everyone clear on the plan?"

"What, going to play run-rig with a lobster the size of a B-12? Yeah, sounds great," Niamh muttered.

He ignored her and, when no further objections were raised, he waded gently into the water, carbine in one hand and the flat disc of a motion sensor in the other. The biting cold seeped through the protection of the dry suit, but his mind was focused elsewhere as he submerged, his sharp eyes instantly hunting for any kind of threat. Torch lights sliced into the gloom as the rest of Hammerhead squad followed him into the depths. They griped and complained as much as anyone else, but when it came to carrying out his orders, he never had to question their resolve. Even Brannigan hadn't so much as hesitated.

The micro jets eased him forward at a steady pace. On either side of him Idas and Niamh floated in an arrowhead shape. Mirroring the formation several feet below the other three operatives drifted into the beast's lair.

"Hekket, check the first room," he ordered. "We'll cover you."

"Copy that."

From his vantage point Darien watched as they approached the first pitch dark aperture with obvious trepidation. Hekket took the central route, with his companions flanking to either side of the enormous door frame. Their lights carved into the shadows but the monstrous crustacean did not reveal itself. They drifted inside, out of sight and Darien turned his attention to making sure their quarry didn't blind-side them from further down the passage.

Seconds ticked by and he waited there in the icy darkness. Through the Blink goggles his sharp eyes could see under water as easily as if her were on dry land, but the lack of light kept a knot of tension in his stomach. He let the beam of his torch crawl lazily through the gloom but all he found was more gently rippling water.

"The room's clear," Hekket's voice speared over the comm after a couple of minutes. "No sign of life; nothing on the motion sensor. Looks like some kind of...manufacturing area. Some big machines, powered down right now."

"Copy that." Darien rotated left and right, motioning Niamh and Idas forward. He propelled himself forward at the head of the triangle and fifty metres down the passage they came across a second doorway. Further in, things were now completely black and only the operatives' gun mounted lights and mono-rigs illuminated their way.

Part of him wanted to just jet for the far end of the corridor as fast as they could, but the more rational side of his brain told him that was exactly what a big predator would want. If they scattered, if they acted with panic and didn't cover all their bases the thing would try and pick them off. So he led Idas and Niamh into the mouth of the next doorway and shone his light inside.

The circle of sickly white passed over a number of burnished brass-coloured consoles. Some of them looked cracked and damaged; all of them had dead screens. He slid inside, keeping one eye on the motion tracker's display. The flat, dark disc showed the six white blips of the Blink operatives, but nothing else nearby. If the thing was here, it was staying very still.