us,’ Nina said.
Glas didn’t offer a response to that, instead saying, ‘I assume you wish to see me in person.’
‘Yeah, that’s right,’ Eddie replied. ‘You get your arse down here – alone.’
A brief hesitation. ‘I’m afraid that’s not possible. But . . . I will send a representative to bring you to me. A hostage, if you prefer.’ The background hiss from the speaker briefly cut out as Glas closed the mic; Nina guessed that the newly appointed ‘hostage’ was unhappy about the arrangement. ‘They will be with you shortly. Alone, as you wished.’
‘And unarmed,’ said Nina.
Another muted pause. ‘Agreed.’
‘If we see anyone else on the way to you, I’ll shoot your friend and blow up the engines,’ Eddie told him. ‘So get everyone to lock themselves in the galley or wherever.’
‘It will be done,’ said Glas. The intercom fell silent.
‘You trust him?’ Nina asked Eddie, before answering her own question. ‘Of course not.’
‘Go upstairs and wait in the airlock. If anything happens, get back into the sub and take off.’
‘I don’t know how to drive the thing,’ she told him as she ascended. ‘I don’t even know how to detach it from this sub.’
‘Bash every button until something happens, that’s my usual trick.’
‘Yeah, that’s why I don’t let you use my laptop.’ She pushed the hatch until it was slightly ajar and she could see out through the narrow gap.
Before long, someone knocked on the door. Eddie looked up at Nina. ‘Well, here we go,’ he said, freeing the crowbar from the handle before returning to cover. ‘Okay, open it. Slowly!’
He held his finger tightly on the trigger as the door eased open; if he saw a weapon, he was ready to fire instantly. But instead a pair of slender black-gloved hands came into view, fingers spread wide to show they were not carrying anything. ‘Well?’ said a familiar aristocratic voice, filled with irritation. ‘May I come in?’
Eddie could hardly believe it. ‘Oh, for fuck’s sake!’
‘Charming as ever, Eddie.’ Sophia Blackwood leaned through the opening, taking in the rifle pointed at her. ‘You can put that down; I’m not armed.’
‘I’ll check that for myself. Shut the door, then put your hands against it.’
Sophia impatiently complied. Eddie pushed the ASM-DT’s muzzle against her back and performed a one-handed pat-down. He knew his ex-wife well enough to be unsurprised to find she had lied. ‘Not armed, eh?’ he said as he pulled a compact Glock 36 pistol from the waistband of her black leather trousers beneath her blouse. ‘I should just shoot you on fucking principle. Glas thought he could use you to kill us, did he?’
‘Actually, Harald doesn’t even know I have that gun,’ she said as he finished his search. She looked up at Nina, who had cautiously emerged from the docking chamber. ‘It’s got quite an interesting story, actually.’
‘Really,’ said Eddie, not caring. ‘You should send it to a publisher – maybe it’ll outsell Dan Brown.’
‘I’m sure Nina will want to hear it. Part of it takes place in Rome.’
Eddie stepped back, keeping the rifle fixed on Sophia. ‘Nina, take this,’ he said, holding out the Glock.
His wife quickly descended the stairs. ‘What about Rome?’ she demanded. ‘What the hell was going on there? Your buddy killed Agnelli, and was about to kill me when—’
‘When I shot him. Yes, I do remember – I was there,’ Sophia snarked.
Nina took the gun from Eddie. Checking, she found that it was fully loaded with a round already chambered. ‘And why were you there?’
Sophia gave her a patronising look. ‘It’s all rather complicated.’
‘Well gee, if only I were a PhD so I could understand. Wait, whaddya know!’ She put the magazine back into the weapon, making sure Sophia heard the click as it seated. ‘You can explain on the way to Glas.’
‘Oh, very well. If Eddie will let me take my hands off this door.’
‘Go ahead,’ he told her. ‘By the way, what’s with the gloves? The air in a submarine bad for your cuticles?’
Her expression became considerably more hostile. ‘Actually, I have you to thank for that. And this.’ She brought up her left hand to point with her index finger at the scar running down her face; her ring and little fingers remained strangely rigid beneath the expensive black leather. ‘When you threw me off that cliff in Switzerland—’
‘When he tackled you over it to stop you from shooting me,’ Nina reminded her.
‘Whatever. The point remains that my dear ex-husband used me to cushion himself on the way down.’