Chapter 9

The alarm ran unmercifully at 4:00. Jaime and Oscar unenthusiastically got dressed, packed their gear and headed for the port. The sun was just peeking above the horizon when they got there. The storm had passed, but the air was still wet and warm. Jaime could feel a gentle breeze blow in from the bay. Kneeling behind some barrels on the dock, they waited for Chekov and his men.

It wasn't long before they heard noises at the far end of the port. It looked like there were about half a dozen men. Oscar assumed the rest of the crew must still be on the submarine. They waited until the men were upon them before they struck. The element of surprise was with Jaime and Oscar – and her bionics. Oscar swung at Chekov with his right fist, catching him by surprise. It knocked him off his feet and into one of his friends, who was catapulted off the dock into the Bay. Jaime had already dispatched of two of the men. Chekov struggled to his feet, only to meet Oscar's left fist, falling back again into a pile of stacked oil barrels. One of the barrels pinned him to the dock, eliminating any chance of escape. Oscar grabbed one of the last two men as Jaime worked on the final one. Within a half hour, they had rounded them up, presenting them to Manuelo to hand over to the authorities.

The captain of the boat finally arrived, surprised to find a change of passengers. However, for the right price, he was willing to take Jaime and Oscar to the point the men had specified when they hired him. As the approached the area, they could just see the top of the submarine peeking out of the water's surface. They left the safety of the boat and knocked on the hatch, calling out the password, to gain entrance.

Oscar went first, figuring to attract less attention than a leggy blonde. One well placed kick in the chest knocked their greeter to the bottom of the engine compartment. They had no idea how many men were on board, or where they were located. An overwhelming stench greeted them as they descended the ladder into the compartment. Jaime noticed a great deal of blood splattered about the room, and sadly realized it must be from the French crew. Everything was covered in a layer of grime, though it was difficult to see it in the cold, bleak light. Within minutes, Jaime began to feel claustrophobia set in. The ceiling was low, pipes hanging overhead and the windowless walls made the submarine feel more and more like a coffin.

Oscar had briefed Jaime on the basic layout of the submarine. They slowly crept through the maneuvering room in an attempt to get to the nuclear reactor. It needed to be sealed to prevent any radiation leakage in case the terrorists attempted to sabotage the submarine. Jaime picked up something coming from at the other end of the maneuvering room. One of Chekov's men had heard them and had called forward to the control room alerting them that intruders were on board. They could hear the ship's engines start as they got underway. This turn of events was unfortunate, as it was taking them further from shore and closer to the South China Sea.

The door into the nuclear reactor compartment was blocked by two men, brandishing what looked to be crowbars. Jaime wanted to just jump over them and dash to the door, but the ceiling was too low. Instead, she tried to dart around them, without any luck. The largest one swung the bar at her head. She blocked the blow, causing it to glance off her right arm. Stepping back, he managed to grab Jaime by the left arm and sling her around into some radio equipment, knocking her a bit senseless. With her head still spinning, she struggled to her feet to have another go at her attacker. The large, brutish man was surprised that someone as slight as Jaime could put up such a fight. Sighing heavily, he prepared for the next round. This time, she was ready for him. As her struck out with his right fist, Jaime ducked, causing him to lose his balance, and fall into a control panel – unconscious.

Meanwhile, Oscar was locked in combat with the second man. The tall, lanky Russian put up quite a struggle, catching Oscar's jaw with a right hook before taking a left jab to the ribs, the cracking sound alerting him to the fact that several of his ribs had been broken. The man stumbled back towards the crow bar which he'd dropped during the struggle, only to have another blow from Oscar send him flying face first to the floor.

Oscar stepped over his body to get back to Jaime. Her lip had been bloodied, but otherwise she appeared to be fine. "This way," he motioned as he led her by the elbow towards the nuclear reactor compartment. However, the man Oscar had been dealing with had disappeared. They looked around for him, and noticed the door to the reactor had been left ajar. As they ran into the room, red strobe lights pulsed off and on, and a siren bleated it's warning.

Jaime's heart sank as she saw Oscar's face. It had gone completely white, his jaw slack, his eyes fixed in a glassy stare. They were completely alone. The man must have fled through the far door into the forward quarters of the ship. There was no telling how many men were on the other side, and Oscar wasn't sure even Jaime would be handle all of them. Jaime twisted the handle of the door, so that there would no chance of them having any surprise visitors. She turned back to Oscar.

"So…what do we do now?" Concern had now blossomed into full fledged panic, and Jaime struggled to keep the quivering in her chin and the trembling in her voice from betraying her sense of dread.

Oscar's mind was racing to find a plan – to think back to his days on the nuclear sub – to come up with an alternative other than the one staring him in the face. "Jaime, he's started up the nuclear reactor and someone's entered the launch code sequence. Once the reactor is at full strength, the warheads will launch."

"So, can't you just turn it off?" Jaime didn't like the look on Oscar's face. It frightened her. Something else was wrong – she could just feel it.

"Two problems with that. One, you can't just turn it off. There is a very specific sequence of steps that must be followed. I can't power it off until it completely powers up in the first place, which takes about 15 minutes. Once it's up, I'll have about 90 seconds to stop the launch sequence – if the steps the admiral gave me haven't been overridden."

He hesitated, taking Jaime's hands tenderly in his own, looking her in the eyes. "And two, the lights and siren indicate an imminent core breach. They must have overloaded the system or something. I don't know what happened, but I don't have time to find out." He could see the bewildered look in Jaime's eyes. "It'll breach in about 15 minutes – once the reactor is at full power." He paused for a moment to let Jaime digest what he was saying.

She looked furiously in his eyes, searching for the meaning behind his words. Terror gripped her as she thought through the timing of the events that loomed before them. "No. There has to be another way. Can't we just disarm the warheads before the system powers up? Isn't that why you brought me here? Let me do my job!" She was almost screaming, trying to drown out the voices in her head.

"Babe, there's no time. The warheads are in the forward part of the ship. You'd have to get through that door – and there's no telling how many men are there. We can't risk it. Besides, it would take too long to disarm all the warheads. You might get one or two, but even you can't get all of them. This is the only way." He kissed her on the forehead. "Babe, you've done your job. I told you, you were the brawn on this one. You got me here. Now let me do my job. I know the sequence – I can stop the launch. But I've got to get you outta here before the core ruptures. All the radiation suits are in dry storage – two compartments up." Oscar could barely stand to watch her as she grasped the implications of his performing the work without the protection of the radiation suit.

"No way. There's no way I'm leaving here without you." Jaime wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her head against his chest. "We're a team – we're in this together." She couldn't stand the thought of abandoning Oscar now. There had to be some other way.

Oscar ran back to the engine compartment to get Jaime out through the hatch, but was alarmed when he saw the reading on the depth gauge. "Oh no…" He hadn't planned on this.

"What? Oscar…you're scaring me." Jaime needed his strength now, for hers was gone.

"When they started the engines, they sent us into a dive. We're at about 300 meters right now. We'll never be able to open the hatch at this depth." He smiled bitterly as he reached out to touch her, "Not even with your bionic arm."

"So bring us up, and then we'll get out." Even as she spoke the words, Jaime had an ominous feeling in her soul.

"I can't. The control room is the very front part of the ship. We don't have time to try to make our way up there. I have got to disarm those warheads first – and get you out of here…"

He desperately tried to think of a way to get Jaime out of there, and suddenly he remembered something. "The torpedo tube. I can get you out in a torpedo tube. There's a small one in this compartment. I can use a lower pressure to release it, which should be slow enough that it doesn't rip you apart before you get to the surface. At least it's a chance."

He could see her getting ready to protest, and reached out to stroke her face with his palm. "Jaime, please. I've already lost my wife and kids. I'll never get over the guilt that I wasn't there for them. Don't make me have to live the last few minutes of my life knowing that you died too – because of me." His heart was beating so hard he thought he would pass out. He couldn't believe it had come down to this. At least he could redeem himself. He could save Jaime. "I never thought I would be able to love someone again. But you never gave up on me, and I'll be eternally grateful. These past few years…knowing you…I was living in darkness until you came along."

His eyes were brimming with tears, matching the ones in Jaime's eyes. She couldn't breathe between the sobs. She tried to speak, but her voice was a mere whisper. She knew she had to go. If something were to happen to her, Oscar's life would be over anyway. He would never be able to live with a second accident. She couldn't believe the sacrifice he was making for her – for the world. They might both be able to escape together, but then the warheads would be launched, and if the core was breached, there was no telling how much damage could be done to the surrounding area.

"Oh Oscar – I don't know what I'll do without you. Promise me once you stop the launch you'll try to get out." She was bordering on hysteria as she choked out the words. Grasping his face in her hands, her eyes boring a hole through his, she repeated herself. "Promise me!"

"I promise." This was an empty promise, but maybe it would give her enough hope that she would go. His knees threatened to buckle under the crushing weight of his grief, yet he steeled himself as best he could. If he crumbled now, he would take her down with him, and that was unfathomable to him. Her limp body tagged along behind him in an almost automated fashion until they reached the hatch. He spun the wheel to open the tube, and tried to regain control of his voice. He still had a job to do. "As soon as the outer hatch opens, the tube will fill with water. Two seconds later, you'll be launched. Just hold your breath. We're not a crush depth yet, but you'll feel like you are. Don't panic. It won't take long to get to the surface."

He could see the tears streaming down her face, and though he tried, he could no longer contain his own. After more than a decade he had finally found love again, only to have it ripped away from him without time to fully savor it's delights.

Jaime could feel Oscar's hands on her body, trying to fit her into the tube, but her body was only an empty container now, for her heart was with Oscar. "I'm not ready…we need more time." She frantically kissed his face, clutching him to her chest, her tears drenching his shirt. She pulled back from him to study his face, her hands covering every inch of him as she tried to take him all in, to create a memory that would last forever. "I love you."

He cradled her in his arms the way he had longed to for years, rocking her gently as he kissed her head. "I know babe, I know." With a sense of finality, he guided her into the tube and kissed her one last time as he shut the door. "Good bye babe – I love you too."

He could barely see to start the tube's launch sequence, the tears were streaming down his face. He loved Jaime more than he ever thought possible – even more than Suzanne. At least she would make it. He convinced himself of that. He smiled as he heard the 'whoosh' of the launch, knowing Jaime was speeding to the surface – and to safety.

The change in pitch of the siren and the strobe light's pattern told Oscar that the core had now been breached. He hoped he would be able to withstand the radiation long enough to finish the shut down sequence and disable the warheads.