"Do you know what the target is?" Kate asked Carag rather nonchalantly.

Carag eyed her suspiciously. He had never really forgiven her for what he considered a crass response to his very sincere offerings. What was more, he found her affection towards that pretentious, pugnacious excuse of an admiral a further affront to his opinion of her. He had never forgiven Nelson for publicly referring to him as an odious windbag. "I'm sure I don't know."

"May I remind you about the delayed power boost? You might want to inform Mr. Briere."

Kate strolled away but stayed within earshot. Her woman's intuition was on overdrive and she desperately wanted to know what this new target was. Something was definitely amiss. Briere had made a point of leaving Harry on deck to watch the proceedings and now, suddenly, he was being hustled down below? In her mind, it just didn't add up. Passing furtive glances towards the passageway that led to the stairs below, she nervously tapped her hand against her thigh. How long did it take to lock Harry in the storage locker? Karl should have been back by now.

Furrows knitted across Briere's brow as he appeared at Carag's side. "Inform Mr. Briere of what?"

Carag glanced nervously toward Kate. "It's something we…er, Dr. Manning hasn't been able to work out. The more power it expends, the longer it takes to recharge itself. After the previous disbursement, it will take at least twenty minutes to reach full power."

"That is unacceptable Dr. Carag! We can't wait twenty minutes. Seaview could move out the area any moment and be lost to us." Briere looked directly at Carag, narrow eyes piercing the little man. "I've already had one disappointment, Emil. I don't believe I could tolerate a second."

Paralyzed as cold fear coursed through his already frozen veins, Carag nodded his understanding and flipped the switch. The hum was low, almost inaudible at first. With a shaking hand, he tapped the glass, hoping the lack of power the needle was registering was merely an aberration. Slowly, and much to his relief, the needle worked its way up.

~oOo~

Seaview! Kate recoiled at the name as horror pulsed through her. No wonder Briere wanted Harry out of the way! He knew how Harry would react and so did she: he'd do anything to protect the sub and her crew or die trying. For Harry's sake, Kate couldn't stand by and let Briere destroy Seaview. There had to be something she could do; she had no other choice.

Already she could hear the low hum, the steadily increasing vibration as Briere and Carag busily entered the coordinates. Fortunately, she doubted Lightning Bolt had enough time to send a serious charge through Seaview. She pushed away the intrusive thought that Harry might already be dead. Karl still hadn't returned and now that she had washed her hands of the whole project, Briere had no further use for Harry. Or her, for that matter. It was the time for the courage and utter disregard that had thus far evaded her. Well, damn it, Kate Manning wasn't going to go without a fight! She still had a few minutes to think of a diversion.

~oOo~

The sound of the powerful diesel engines grew considerably louder as they circumvented the passageway that led to the musty, unctuous dampness of the hold.

Before proceeding through the hatch, Nelson paused and turned towards Karl. "Since it's becoming increasingly apparent you have every intention of killing me, do you mind telling me why now?"

Karl smirked at the question. He relished in the idea of telling Nelson what the intended target was. Glancing over his shoulder in a purely instinctive action, he didn't see what difference it made.

"Here looks as good as anyplace," Karl said, turning sharply towards Nelson, the gun leveled at the admiral's stomach. "It appears we've been incredibly lucky. Not only did we stumble upon that hapless ship but now we've also found a second target. I believe you know her. Seaview?"

Seaview? Nelson repeated the name as a tremor cut through him like a knife. For a moment he could see nothing but white as his world spun quickly before his eyes. Silently seething, his right hand clenched into a tight fist as he tried with every ounce to control the impending rage.

"You know, Briere says I get to choose how to dispose of you. At first, I thought a shot to the head. But that would be too quick. And then I remembered reading about being gut shot. Painful, lingering, an altogether horrible death. I think that's what I have in mind for you." Motioning with the gun, "through there."

Thoughts of Seaview, of the 125 crewmen, his friends, his family, filled Nelson's head, consumed him. Blindly, he obeyed Karl. He had just cleared the watertight hatch and entered the engine room when Karl abruptly grabbed him by the left arm and wheeled him around.

Before Nelson could react, Karl's right fist slammed into Nelson's jaw. "I owed you that one."

The force of the punch knocked the admiral into the bulkhead, his right arm impacting hard with a pressure release valve. With great concentrated effort and fighting against immeasurable pain, he forced his left hand up, quickly disengaging the valve then rolling away as a vent of steam struck Karl squarely in the chest. Startled, Karl let out a yelp as he backed away but not before Nelson struck. With a week's worth of restrained and repressed anger behind him, Nelson hit Karl with one solid cross that knocked the henchman off balance. He landed hard against the starboard side diesel oil tank. Lunging for the gun, Nelson squared his knee on the man's chest and fixed the weapon squarely at Karl's heart. As much as he truly wanted to, as much as he envisioned it happening, Nelson just couldn't pull the trigger. Satisfied that the man wasn't a concern, he feverishly tried to think of a way to contact Seaview, to warn her of the imminent danger before it was too late. Rubbing his hand through his hair and feeling the almost uncontrolled sense of panic that threatened to cloud his thinking, it was then that he remembered the pivot rod still tucked away in his shoe.

Using the same metal steam pipe that had inadvertently saved his life and a learned knowledge of Morse code that came from a long career in the Navy, Nelson slowly began tapping out his message to Seaview, pleased at the resonant ping of metal on metal. He knew he had to be brief and concise. If Seaview could hear him, the radioman on the Falconer most certainly could too.

~oOo~

Seaview was buzzing with sound and movement. While Captain Crane checked the progress of repairs to engineering, Chip Morton oversaw the diagnostic tests on almost every piece of equipment in the control room.

"Mr. Morton," Lee said, strolling purposefully into the control room, "make preparations to get us underway."

"Aye, aye, sir." Chip started to bark out orders when a shout from Kowalski overrode him.

"Skipper!"

Crane, followed by Morton, was quickly at his side. "What is it?"

"On the hydrophone, I'm picking up something that sounds like Morse code, sir. It's faint but there's no mistaking it."

"Sparks, can you make this out?"

Sparks bolted from his chair and took the headset from Kowalski. "It's definitely Morse, sir." A large grin spread across his boyish features. "And I think I recognize the sender. It's Admiral Nelson, sir!"

Crane tried to fight back the excitement that still managed to creep into his voice. "Are you sure?"

"Sir, I'm almost positive it's the admiral."

A broad grin crossed Crane's dark features as his hand smacked the bulkhead in excitement. "What's he saying?"

Sparks motioned for a pen a paper then quickly deciphered the code as Crane leaned over his shoulder and read aloud: "Seaview…danger…get away…now." Just as Lee finished reading the message, the lights flickered and several panels, including sonar and the hydrophone, began to smoke and spark as circuits overheated and blew.

Lee and Chip exchanged glances. "Whatever sunk that boat is after us now! Chip, get us out of here."

Chip grabbed the intercom and shouted the order to proceed ahead at full speed just as the boat lurched violently, scattering bodies across the deck.

~oOo~

"Continue the assault!" Briere shouted from his vantage on the flying bridge, the white arc falling over the empty water the only visible sight. The Falconer's captain assured him that Seaview was still out there but without a visual on the great submarine, they were firing blind. But Briere wasn't about to give up. He wanted to destroy Seaview more than anything else. It had progressed well beyond a test now.

Trying her damnedest to look disinterested, Kate scanned the deck, looking for anything to disable the arc but Marco stood very close, his hand resting on the handle of his gun.

"Mr. Briere!" the crewman raced up the stairs and spoke in a voice too low for Kate to understand. She could, however, gather from his animated gesticulations that whatever he had to say somehow involved Harry.

His anger apparent, Briere spoke rapidly to the crewman then gave the innocent man an impatient shove. The crewman quickly disappeared down the stairs then ran along the passageway aft.

Allowing herself a slight smile, Kate felt a little confidence returning. Whatever was happening was happening because Harry was well and truly alive, of that she had no doubt. Leave it to him to cause a ruckus! She was also willing to bet that whatever Harry was up to explained why Karl had yet to make an appearance. Kate wandered closer to the table of tools and instruments, only to be brushed away by Marco.

Piercing the air as it slowly climbed to full power, the hum was considerably louder now. At Briere's orders Carag pressed the switch at 15-second intervals sending the white arc of electricity streaking across the blue sky until it connected with the water. Five miles away the first casualties in Lightning Bolt's blind assault on the ocean floated to the surface. Scorched seabirds unlucky enough to have flown through the current plummeted to the water. Broadbill swordfish, yellowfin tuna, amberjack and small schools of Dorado, enough to make either a serious angler or steadfast conservationist cringe, continued to populate the surface.

Nelson could feel the vibration against the bulkhead and knew that if his attempt wasn't already picked up and the Seaview was out of the area, it was all going to be pointless. Seaview would be defenseless again the electrical charge Lightning Bolt would deliver. It would only take a matter of minutes before every circuit would be blown, before the boat would sink to the bottom like a stone. Shaking away the thoughts, he didn't have time to think about such atrocities. Resounding footsteps on the metal grating told him his message did get through - at least to the Falconer. He was about to have company.

~oOo~

Lee picked himself up then offered a hand to Chip. "Any chance of finding out what's hitting us?" They still had some power but not for long. "Sparks, can you raise that ship?"

"I'm trying to sir but they aren't answering."

"On purpose or by accident?" Lee had to shout above the annoying din of the klaxon. "Can you shut that thing off?"

"The circuits are fried. It's shorted out!" Chip yelled back.

"As near as I can tell, they've turned their radio off, sir."

Kowalski wheeled around. "Skipper, I think I've got a bead on the source. It's that ship, the Falconer. One hundred thirty degrees west, twelve degrees north."

"Are you positive that's the source?"

Kowalski hesitated, checked the reading again. There was no denying the current originated from quite a distance and there was no other source in the area. "I'm positive."

"That makes it intentional in my book," Chip muttered, gingerly rubbing his hip after being thrown against the sonar panel.

The sudden eerie silence of the klaxon caused the crew to draw a simultaneous sigh of relief.

"Engineering, this is the Captain. Any chance we can maneuver?"

"It's doubtful, sir," came the reply from Engineering. "We have some maneuverability in the aft engines but port and starboard engines aren't responding. About all we can do right now is blow ballast."

"Well, that's just great. We're sitting ducks out here!" Frustration fighting a hard internal battle, Lee caught himself before he completed the action of throwing the intercom down.

"Lee," Chip started, struggling to keep his feet under him by grabbing hold of the plot table as the boat rolled again, "if that ship is what's causing this, we have one chance to stop her. If we don't do it in the next," he glanced quickly at the gauges, "three minutes, we'll lose the angle and the ability."

Lee stared long and hard at Chip's unflinching expression. One thought ran continuously through his head. "Chip, if the admiral…"

Another fire broke out near sonar as Kowalski bolted out of his chair. "Lee," Chip's voice was steady yet forceful, "just because the Morse resembled the admiral's code is no guarantee he's on board. Besides, you know as well as I that the admiral would never sacrifice Seaview to save himself."

Lee absorbed what Chip said but his plan wasn't to lose either one. "Sparks," he shouted above the din, "how certain are you that the code was the admiral's?"

"Ninety-nine percent, sir."

With blue eyes as set in stone trained on his commander, Chip Morton calmly replied, "It's the one percent that kills you."

"Sir," Sparks called out again, "I'm not ruling out the possibility that someone else could send code the way the admiral does but I'm about as positive it's him as I can be. The admiral always adds an extra letter, like a stutter."

Several pops followed by a loud explosion hit Seaview, nearly knocking both men to the floor. Lee knew he had to make a decision and it had to be fast. Everything Chip said was right. But he just couldn't do it. Call it a gut feeling but he was certain the admiral was on board that ship. Picking up the intercom, his eyes fixed on Chip's, Lee took a deep breath, "Chief, ready number one for firing." Lee relayed the ship's last known coordinates then stared at Chip.

"It's a good thing those fish can find their own way," Chip muttered, knowing full well they were probably firing blind but confident the torpedo would eventually find its target.

Chip's words echoed in Lee Crane's head. It was almost ironic, he thought. The admiral had been instrumental in getting these newly designed "smart" torpedoes that could execute a programmed target search and conduct multiple re-attacks if they missed the target. Now, one of them could very well be responsible for his death. His death. Earlier in the week Lee had convinced himself that his friend, his best friend, was dead. And now he was certain that he was alive; that he had sent that message.

Lee closed his eyes and forced himself to remember. He knew he was doing the right thing - what the admiral would want him to do. Chip was right: the admiral would never sacrifice Seaview just to save himself. If the roles were reversed, if Lee were the one aboard that ship, he was certain the admiral would make the same painful decision. And spend the rest of his life regretting it, as Lee Crane would do. But this was battle and in battle, sacrifices were made. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Wasn't that written somewhere in the rules of warfare?

Sharkey's voice reverberated over the intercom. "One ready for firing."

Lee and Chip exchanged hard glances. "Fire One!"

In the Missile Room, Chief Sharkey's hand was on the button. He heard the order clearly and quickly executed…but nothing happened. "What happened?" he yelled, ripping off the headset.

"We lost power, Chief. The whole thing went dead."

"Can we get the generator going? I want enough juice to get this fish outta here."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Chief, answer!" Lee shouted into the intercom.

From the Radio Shack, Sparks tested switches, "No good, sir. Communications are gone."

Lee tossed the intercom across the plot table. "Chip, take over. I'm going to the Missile Room to see what's happening. Sparks," Lee paused, realizing his temper was on a short fuse, "I don't care if you have to string cans just get communications working again."

"Yes, sir."

Lee hit the passageway and ran all the way, nearly knocking down several rushing crewmen in the process. "Chief, what happened?" he asked as he entered the Missile Room.

"We were just about to fire, my hand was on the button, and we lost power. It's loaded and ready to go. There's just no juice."

Patterson jogged up to the two men. "Skipper, I think we can get just enough power to fire off one shot."

"We're sitting blind right now. We don't even know if we're in range."

"Captain Crane?" It was Chip's voice crackling over the intercom.

"Chip!" Lee barked.

"I don't know how we're doing it but we're holding our own at 50ft. The mains are out but we've managed to get the auxiliaries back on line," he paused a beat then continued, "I don't for how long."

"Do you have a visual on the ship?"

"Yes, sir. They are still in range and you have a clear shot at the starboard bow."

Lee put the intercom down. "Fire one!"

Sharkey mashed the button with the palm of his hand. "Number one fired." Both men exchanged anxious glances, silently praying, waiting for impact.

Back in the Control Room, Chip, too, waited anxiously for confirmation that the number one torpedo was away. Seconds after his last communication with Lee, the auxiliaries failed, leaving the entire boat powerless. Seaview was drifting into an uncontrolled dive.

~oOo~

With his back pressed against the bulkhead, Nelson waited for the crewman to enter. Spying the wavering gun in the shaking hand of a very nervous crewman, the admiral easily grabbed the man, forcing him hard against the bulkhead and pressing his forearm against his throat.

Petrified, the young man quickly splayed his arms out to his side and let the gun fall harmlessly to the deck.

"Are you alone?" Nelson mouthed silently.

The man, trying to swallow, nodded rapidly, relief washing over him as Nelson released his grip.

"I'll let you live," he bluffed, "if you get off this ship now." Nelson was tempted to thump the young man but the look of fear in his eyes told him that he really wasn't a threat. He doubted the man would have ever pulled the trigger on the gun and given the amount of diesel fuel in the room, he was incredibly thankful.

The crewman glanced haphazardly at Karl's prone, unconscious form, his eyes widening. Anyone who could overpower Mr. Karl certainly earned his respect. "I can't swim."

"Then get a life jacket. If I see you again, I'll kill you." Nelson waved off the young man, encouraged when he saw him head straight up the aft stairs. Checking the passageway, Nelson followed suit.

Sixty seconds later Seaview's number one torpedo tore into the Falconer's bow. A single explosion reverberated through her hull as the big ship began taking on water.