One of the monitors, he noticed, showed what looked like a navigation chart. At its center was what he took to be the Mako’s current position, a red line weaving away from it. A record of its course?
“Is it safe?” Nina called, head poking over the top of the hatchway like Kilroy.
“Yeah,” Eddie answered. He jabbed the pilot with the rifle. The man moaned faintly. Nina ascended, followed by Matt. “Matt, what do you make of this?” He pointed at the map screen.
“It’s an inertial navigation system.”
“Is that line its route?”
The Australian took a closer look at the display. “Yeah, it came from …” He looked back at Eddie. “The start point’s less than four kilometers from here! And it’s not on the surface—there’s a depth tracker as well. The mother ship’s another submarine.”
“A sub that keeps smaller subs inside it?” Nina asked, skeptical. “Does anyone even make submarines like that? We’re not in a Bond movie!”
“Yeah, they exist. If a mega-yacht’s not showy enough for you, there are companies that build them—if you’ve got the money. There’s the Phoenix 1000, and I know that a Russian firm had a couple on the stocks a few years ago.”
“Glas would have the money,” said Eddie.
“Maybe,” said Nina. “But what do we do now?”
“We should get you back to the surface,” said Matt. He headed down the cabin.
“Where are you going?” Eddie asked.
“Got to detach the Sharkdozer, mate! It’s way too big and heavy for this thing to drag along.” He dropped into the other submersible.
Again, Nina picked up on something in his voice—a forced lightness, cheer covering concern—and this time Eddie noticed it too. “Matt, what’re you doing?” he called as metallic clunks came from below. He and his wife exchanged worried looks, then rushed for the docking port. “Matt!”
They reached it just in time to see the Sharkdozer’s hatch slam shut. The latches closed. “Christ, what’s he up to?” Eddie said, jumping down. He tried to reopen the hatch; the handle moved fractionally before sticking. The Australian had wedged it with something. He thumped a fist on the steel. “Matt!”
Matt’s voice crackled from the Sharkdozer’s underwater PA system. “Sorry, mate, but I’ve got to do this. The only way I can release the docking clamps is from in here—and the moment I do, the collar will flood. So you need to shut that hatch so you can get out of here.”
“No!” said Nina in horror. “We can’t leave you! There—there’s got to be another way!”
“There isn’t. Like I said, the Mako can’t haul this thing with it.”
“But you’ll …” Her breath caught. “Matt, you’ll die.”
“Not necessarily. I got a load of fresh air in here when we docked, and since there’s only one person aboard now, it might last long enough for me to reach the surface.”
“Bullshit!” said Eddie. “You said it was about to run out of power!” He yanked at the handle again, but it still refused to move.
“For Christ’s sake,” Matt said, “will you two listen to me and do what I tell you for once? Someone has to release the clamps from in here. The Sharkdozer’s my sub, I designed it—and now I’ve found out that not having a remote release is kind of a serious design flaw! So, ah … it’s my responsibility.”
“No way.” Eddie started to climb back into the Mako. “I’ll wake up that twat in the driver’s seat and make him do it.”
“Yeah? How’s that going to work? You going to threaten to shoot him through a thick steel hatch?” A resigned sigh came through the speaker. “Eddie, you’re a great mate, but you’re really not as smart as you think you are.”
Eddie stopped. “Would you have ever said that to my face?”
“Why do you think I waited until there was a thick steel hatch between us?” Both men were trying to sound jocular, but their attempts fell very flat.
“Matt, please,” begged Nina. “You can’t do this.”
“If I don’t, none of us’ll get out of this. So please, just … just shut the hatch.” A tremble entered his voice. “I’m going to release the clamps in twenty seconds, so if you don’t want to get very wet, that’s how long you’ve got.”
“You can’t—”
“Nina, I have to. You never know, maybe the batteries will last, maybe the dome’ll hold up. There’s always a chance. Hey, I’ve survived everything else I’ve been through with you, right?” The last few words were almost choked by barely contained emotion.