Chapter 19 - The Sunken Throne
Arthur fired two controlled bursts into the catwalk above, dropping a sniper before the man could line up his crosshairs.
"I'll clear a path to the bridge!" Maya shouted, hurling a flashbang grenade toward the forward companionway.
The grenade detonated with a concussive boom, blinding the mercenaries stationed in the narrow corridor.
Maya surged forward like a phantom, her weapon clearing the hallway with terrifying, surgical precision.
"Get to Victoria!" she called back to Arthur. "Don't let that submersible leave the bay!"
Arthur didn't hesitate, sprinting through the heavy watertight doors leading down into the bowels of the vessel.
The air grew hotter, thick with the smell of diesel fuel, hydraulic oil, and salt brine.
He reached the moon pool bay, an enormous chamber in the center of the hull opening directly into the raging ocean below.
Suspended above the churning water was a yellow deep-sea research submersible, its boarding hatch wide open.
Standing on the gantry platform was Victoria, wearing a reinforced diving suit, holding a silver detonator in her hand.
In the passenger seat of the submersible sat Julian Hawthorne, strapped into his chair, his face twisted in a manic sneer.
"You're too late, Arthur," Victoria laughed, her voice echoing off the steel hull plates. "The charges are already set."
"You’re going to sink your own ship?" Arthur demanded, stepping onto the metal catwalk with his weapon lowered.
"We have billions in offshore accounts," Victoria replied, her eyes wild with fanatic devotion. "This vessel is just scrap metal."
"And the crew?" Arthur asked, glancing around the empty gantry. "The men working for you?"
"Collateral damage," Julian wheezed through the submersible's external intercom. "A true Hawthorne sacrifices everything for survival."
"You aren't Hawthornes," Arthur said, taking a deliberate step forward. "You're parasites."
"One more step and I blow the hull valves!" Victoria screamed, her thumb hovering over the red button of the detonator.
"Do it," Arthur challenged, his eyes burning into hers without a shred of fear. "You'll drown before that sub clears the bay."
Victoria hesitated, a flicker of uncertainty breaking through her sociopathic facade.
In that fraction of a second, Arthur lunged across the gantry, closing the distance between them with explosive speed.
Victoria shrieked, swinging the heavy metal detonator like a club toward Arthur’s temple.
Arthur blocked the blow with his left forearm, the impact sending a dull shock through his healing wound.
He drove his right fist into Victoria's solar plexus, knocking the air from her lungs and driving her back against the railing.
The detonator slipped from her fingers, bouncing twice on the steel grating before tumbling toward the moon pool.
Arthur dove, catching the edge of the detonator with his fingertips just inches above the foaming water.
Behind him, Julian's frail voice screamed over the intercom. "Kill him, Victoria! Kill the boy!"
Victoria drew a combat blade from her boot, her face contorted with murderous rage as she leaped toward Arthur's exposed back.
Arthur twisted violently on the deck, bringing his legs up in a sweeping kick that caught Victoria behind the knees.
She lost her balance, her blade slashing harmlessly through empty air as she tumbled over the guardrail.
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With a horrifying splash, Victoria vanished into the dark, churning waters of the moon pool, sucked instantly into the ship’s propellers.
A split second later, the ship shuddered violently as an explosion ripped through the forward engine room.
