African Vengeance: A William Brody Thriller (William Brody's African Ocean Adventure Series Book 5) by Steve Braker

Author:Steve Braker
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2021-12-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Tanga, Tanzania, East Africa

The pitch-dark room was filled with that silence which only comes just before dawn when every living thing is deep asleep. Brody slept like the dead; his body completely exhausted after nearly drowning. A cool gust of wind blew the lightweight curtains aside, showing a gray dawn blossoming in the east. A lone shaft of sunlight blazed from the horizon, signaling a keen cleric to announce to the faithful it was time to come and pray. Brody stirred at the familiar sound and squinted into the darkness, then rolled across an overly soft mattress. His body felt like it had been through a meat grinder, his throat was sore, and at least two ribs felt bruised, but worst of all was the bass drum incessantly beating behind his eyes. One choice was to lie back down and refuse to get involved with this day, but as soon as this selfish thought passed across his numbed mind, it was followed by images of Hassan lying on the deck of Shukran with skin as pale as a freshly washed sheet and a crimson stain soaking through his embroidered kanzu. The image was enough to make him swing his legs onto the floor and stand. He immediately groaned as a wave of nausea welled up from his gut. It took a further ten minutes under a cold shower before his body started to feel human. Only as he was pulling on a pair of worn Bermuda shorts did the thought of food enter his mind.

Downstairs, in the open dining room, an early waiter stood next to a copper kettle full of steaming Arabic coffee. He was happy for the excuse to share the sugary fluid with a newcomer. Four cups later, Brody was beginning to get back to normal.

His mind was churning through the logistics of getting to the submarine when Gabriel wandered in. “Hey, Brody, you look better this morning. Last night I thought you were a goner, mate.”

“Tell me about it. I’ve been thinking about the sub. That water is way too deep for conventional scuba. We’ll have to find some rebreathers to get down there, and even then, removing the ore will be a nightmare.”

Gabriel grabbed a coffee and sat at the table. “I’ve been up all night thinking about it. If only we could get her up to the surface, but whichever way I look at it, that sounds impossible.”

Brody was deep in thought. “You know, Gabriel, you might just have something there. Maybe I could get inside her and start an engine, then get the pumps going and float her to the surface.”

Gabriel laughed. “Man, that diesel is a hundred years old. There’s no chance it will compress and fire. It’s probably half water by now. You said there was a deep gash in the conning tower, so how do you propose to get into the sub without the airlock?”

“You’re probably right. I just need to get this done. What about equipment?”

“I might be able to help in that department.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.