Chameleon by Cherry Adair

Author:Cherry Adair
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION/Romance/Suspense
Publisher: Adair Digital
Published: 2013-09-07T04:00:00+00:00

Nine

It was a damn good thing Michaela wasn’t claustrophobic. The interior of the 150-ton midget sub was about the size of a compact sports car. She didn’t want to think about how the sub had been maintained, if it had been maintained at all. Nor did she want to contemplate how stable the nuclear reactors powering the engines might or might not be.

She shot a quick glance at her watch. The base, and anything on or near it, would be nothing but vapor in less than ninety minutes. “Hurry the hell up, Sebastian. What the frick are you doing out there?”

There was just enough gray light coming through the open hatch to see by, and she perused the simple control panel while she waited, committing the schematic to memory. When he got back, Sebastian was going to want to leave immediately.

Ignoring the rank odor of sweat and stinky feet, she hit the “oxygen” switch. Powered by diesel, an overhead light came on, and the faint hiss of compressed air assured her they wouldn’t suffocate when the hatch closed. Next, she fiddled with the exhaust systems. Exhaled carbon dioxide, and the moisture from their breath, would pass through soda lime, a chemical “scrubber” to render the air breathable for a longer period of time. They had to put at least an hour between themselves and the base. Starting five minutes ago. Hurry, Sebastian!

The little sub was armed with a couple of torpedoes, mines, and timed explosive charges. When last had they been checked? Did they even function? Frick! She hoped like hell she and Sebastian wouldn’t need them.

Conveniently, there was an “on” button. After several tries it caught, the cabin lights flickered to life, the sonar screen lit up, and the gyroscope appeared to be working. She felt the vibration of the propeller C shaft starting to turn.

So far, so good.

The interior heater came next. The cold water would freeze them in a matter of minutes without it.

Ping. Ping. Ping. The sound of bullets glancing off the sub’s thick metal hull brought Michaela’s head up. There was no way a bullet could get through the pressure-resistant hull, but she couldn’t say the same for Sebastian, who was out there sans LockOut.

“Outta the way. Coming through,” he yelled as his booted feet appeared in the rounded hatch opening above her head. “We’ve got company.” Slamming down the hatch, he gave the locking wheel a spin and practically fell into his seat.

A quick glance showed him everything was all systems go. “Good job.”

Michaela glanced out of the small view portal no larger than her hand. “She’s all yours, Captain. Haul ass. There’re at least a dozen guys running around up there like chickens with their heads cut off.”

“I noticed.” The sub started moving forward at a snail’s pace.

She adjusted the air vent to point away from her face. “Please tell me you disabled the other sub.”

“Wasn’t time. It’ll take them a while before they’re ready to give chase. It’ll give us a good head start.

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