Jake watched Tony and Sarah disappear into the moon pool. He knew they could survive using Tony's air. They would make it to safety if the Atlantis could track them down and haul them out of the water.
Ishikawa's biceps never looked so powerful. The obstacle in front of Jake would not bow out of the fight because of fear. The only way out was through the giant.
The tilted floor made each step difficult. It was like playing King of the Hill, and he was on the bottom. Jake swung and missed. Ishikawa latched onto his arm and slung him toward the moon pool; he skidded near the edge, gravity slowing his momentum. He gained his feet and stormed toward the storage closet, his thigh muscles burning on the elevated surface. His DPV and twin air tanks had spilled out into the open doorway.
In mid-stride, the weight of a bull crashed into him from behind, driving him to the floor, leaving him stranded half in the closet, half out.
Ishikawa dragged him by the feet into the open expanse of the room. With his hands clutching the air tanks, Jake went with the flow until Ishikawa turned loose of his legs. Gritting his teeth, he whipped the canisters around, the leading edge of the blunt end glancing across Ishikawa's forehead.
The blow might have silenced a normal man. But Ishikawa only fell back a step, regained his composure and channeled his furious eyes at Jake again—the heel of his shoe stopping at the rim of the moon pool.
Ishikawa lunged forward and jerked Jake to his feet. He held him up, reared back and punched him in the face.
Starlight blurred Jake's vision. Another blow like that would finish him. He had to break free.
Jake drove his elbow into Ishikawa's arm, but it didn't budge. He didn't have leverage and the man was simply too strong. Next, he pounded his fists into the assassin's stomach, to no avail. He only had one other recourse. Desperately, he thrusted his knee up into Ishikawa's groin. The man buckled and threw Jake to the floor, bent over at the waist, gasping.
During the brief lapse of time, Jake realized he'd landed on top of the air tanks. He readied the canisters for a second blow.
Ishikawa lurched for him, but met the hard end of the cylinders again. This time, the makeshift weapon struck the big man solidly on the side of the face. His body whirled backwards, teetered on the edge, and then splashed into the pool, disappearing from sight.
In the seconds that followed, Jake realized the water had deepened on the far side of the room. He hustled to his feet, donned the twin tanks, and slipped on his dive mask. He stared at the moon pool. Nothing but dark water, no sign of Ishikawa. Jake took a step and plunged in with the torpedo shaped DPV.
He powered the dive vehicle and aimed it downward to flee the wreckage.
But something grabbed his leg.
Jake glanced back for a look at the moon pool's escaping light.
Ishikawa had a hold of his ankle, blood seeping from his wounded forehead and cheek. Jake increased the throttle on the DPV and pulled him further into the depths. The extra weight taxed the vehicle's propeller, but inch by inch, the battery powered motor churned deeper. With Ishikawa clinging to his ankle, Jake couldn't check his air gauge. He could only assume he had enough oxygen to outlast the assassin.
Ishikawa's grip eased. Jake glanced back to see the inevitable. The big man's eyes bulged from their sockets. The strain on his face looked like a pressure cooker ready to explode. Unbelievable. Ishikawa would rather die than surrender in defeat, possibly another attribute of his Samurai heritage. Just when it seemed he couldn't last another second, his mouth gaped open and his lungs pumped in sea water instead of air. Ishikawa's body convulsed, his head bobbed, cheeks flushed. Finally, his wide-open eyes faded and then his fingers released Jake's ankles.
He floated, drifting, as if he were in space. His legs pointed toward the open cavity of the ship and his arms outstretched to the depths, his soul somewhere else.
Jake shook the image from his mind and aimed the DPV toward the surface, away from the Hercules Australis. He could only wonder how many other people would suffer the same fate aboard the doomed ship. Of course, he couldn't fathom why Ishikawa had been so determined to stop him. It couldn't be solely because of his heritage. Maybe something personal had motivated him far greater than anything Jake could ever imagine? Then he understood when he considered Kevin's reasoning for betraying them. Zanderthal must have promised to save one of Ishikawa's relatives with the serum. The assassin may have killed for love. How sad.
For an immeasurable amount of time, the fan of the DPV churned through the ocean water. In the darkness, it was impossible to tell how much further he had to go. Precious seconds slipped by. And then it happened. He broke the surface alone, adrift, with the dying lights of the icebreaker succumbing to the face of the deep. He could only hope the mutant barracuda remained trapped in the inner hold of the ship.
Jake yielded to his first impulse. "Tony... Sarah! Is anybody out there?"
"Over here," Tony said. His voice came from somewhere behind him and close by.
Jake swished around and, rather than seeing anything, bumped into a large object in the water. Then a beam blinded his eyes. A flashlight. Tony and Sarah had swiped an inflatable lifeboat the size of a Jacuzzi.
"Where did you get that?"
"The Aussies are selling them like hotcakes," Tony said
Sarah smiled. "He saw it in the storage closet and grabbed it on the way out. He didn't like the idea of floating like fish food."
Tony had a wide grin on his face. "It was one of those 'pull the ripcord kind' and presto, it blows up like a hot-air balloon."
Jake removed his air tanks and let them sink toward the ocean floor.
Tony and Sarah lent him a hand and helped him into the boat.
"I have to say, I sure am glad to see you two again."
"I'm just happy you're alive," Sarah said. "I thought I'd—we thought we'd lost you."
Jake smiled at her slip of the tongue. He was sure she couldn't see the warmness radiating from his cheeks.
It took several minutes for the terrible scene to clear from their thoughts and the realization that it was all over to sink in. When the last portion of the icebreaker's stern slipped underwater, Jake knew Zanderthal had gone down with the ship. He looked behind them and saw lights approaching them slowly. The Atlantis. He gave the flashlight to Tony, who began sending out a flashing, on and off distress signal.
Jake collapsed against the side of the lifeboat, the night's events straining his eyelids, his body begging for sleep. He rested his head on the raft and was almost out when he felt someone shift to his side. He opened his eyes when a hand touched his arm and a pair of tender lips grazed his cheek.
In the dull glow of the moonlight, he could see a faint reflection in her eyes, painting her irises a soft shade of blue.
"You didn't have to kiss me. I'm just glad to get you back alive."
"If I want to kiss you, then I'll kiss you." She smiled and moved closer.
Heat crept through his body as his blood pressure elevated. He peeked at Tony, who shrugged his shoulders and nodded a simple go for it. Sarah's fingers ran through his hair and dug into the back of his scalp as she pulled him tighter. If they could be any closer. Her lips brushed over his, soft and loving—gliding effortlessly—and for the first time since Paradise Island, they kissed, but this time it was for real.