moved to the hatch as requested. The Sharkdozer stopped beneath the other vessel. ‘Okay, it’s lined up. Here we go . . .’
A brief blip of the throttle, and the Sharkdozer wobbled upwards. A shrill of metal against metal was overpowered by a louder thunk that reverberated through the hull. More power, then: ‘Pull it!’
Eddie and Nina grabbed the lever and hauled on it with all their combined weight. It moved a few inches – then jammed. ‘Matt!’ Nina shouted. ‘It’s stuck!’
Matt didn’t reply, eyes fixed on the monitor. He turned the sub a few degrees before sharply bringing it upwards. The vessel shook with another impact. ‘Now!’
This time, the lever moved all the way. A dull clunk came from above the hatch as the clamps locked into place, holding both submersibles tightly together. Matt gasped. ‘Ah, Christ! I wasn’t sure that was going to work.’
‘Now he tells us!’ said Nina, releasing her own sigh of relief.
A loud hiss of compressed air as the water was forced out told them that the docking collar was clear. Matt double-checked a gauge to make sure the seal was holding, then cautiously unlocked the hatch and pushed it open. Nina jumped as seawater gushed over the edge of the opening, but it was merely the last undrained dregs. Matt raised the hatch higher. The ASM-DT clattered down into the crew compartment, Eddie catching the rifle before it hit the deck.
The Mako’s belly hatch was visible at the top of the docking collar, cold drips falling from the white-painted steel. ‘Can we get in?’ Nina asked. ‘Is it locked?’
Matt climbed the ladder and pulled the other hatch’s release latch before turning the wheel to unseal it. ‘Submarine theft’s not exactly an everyday problem, so no.’
‘Just because you saved our lives, that doesn’t give you the right to be a smart-ass.’ But she managed to smile at him.
He opened the hatch. There was a rush of air as the two vessels equalised their internal pressures. Matt was about to ascend the second ladder when Eddie stopped him. ‘Better let me go first,’ he said, holding up the gun. ‘Just in case.’
He clambered up, stopping below the top of the shaft and peering warily into the cabin. No movement. Gun ready, he climbed the rest of the way.
The only sound was the low hum of the ventilation system. The cabin was almost infinitely more luxuriously appointed than the Sharkdozer’s pure utilitarianism, leather loungers arranged to give each passenger a view through their own porthole. But Eddie’s eyes were fixed on one seat in particular: the pilot’s.
Its back was to him, but he could see an arm hanging limply over one side. Fixing the gun on the chair, he advanced to find the pilot alive, but out cold, face bloodied.
One of the monitors, he noticed, showed what looked like a navigation chart. At its centre 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 kilometres 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, sceptical. ‘Does anyone even make submarines like that? We’re not in a Bond movie!’
‘Yeah, they exist. If a megayacht’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