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.’
‘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.
Nina’s feelings were more open, tears running down her face. ‘Oh, God, Matt . . .’ With deep reluctance, she put her hands against the hatch and began to push it shut.
Eddie joined her. ‘This is wrong,’ he muttered, face tight. ‘It’s fucking wrong.’
‘Twenty,’ came the Australian’s voice over the intercom. ‘Nineteen. Eighteen . . .’
The hatch closed with a hollow bang, muffling Matt’s countdown. Eddie stonily closed the latch mechanism and turned the wheel to seal it. A red light on the cabin wall turned green.
Both hatches were secured.
They faintly heard Matt say ‘Ten’, followed after a pause by, ‘Well. No point dragging it out, eh? Good luck to you both.’
Nina gripped Eddie’s wrist with one hand, the other clenched into a fist over her mouth. ‘Good luck, Matt,’ she whispered.
Eddie’s voice was barely louder. ‘Fight to the end, mate.’
Metal scraped below – then the Mako shook as water slammed against the bottom of the hatch. The Sharkdozer had separated, the ocean surging back into the docking collar.
Trailing bubbles, the stricken submersible drifted away into the darkness.
25
The Mako’s pilot slowly woke to a throbbing pain across his face.
A mushy splat of blood on the control panel revealed the cause. What had happened? Memories groggily returned. He had been chasing the IHA sub, about to unleash the last torpedo – then it had unexpectedly angled upwards, and . . .
The rest was a blur. Something had hit the Mako, throwing him forward in his seat . . . then nothing. He had been knocked out. But he thought he had heard voices. How was that possible?