“Regina, come in.” Jack paced. “Regina, come back, girl.” He shook his head, feeling a coiling in his gut. He looked up at Cate, and shook his head again. He felt sick.

Cate was hugging herself, and looked over the side. The ocean’s surface was now only about six feet from the rear deck as the Slava settled deeper in the water. She stepped back.

“We need to get to the bridge, somewhere higher.” She grabbed at Jack’s arm. “Remember Olander’s boat – the Megalodon – it came up.”

“I know.” Jack stopped, looking into her eyes. “But Vincent will be surfacing again soon. I need to be here.”

The ship lurched again, settling to one side. The lights sputtered, and the deep throbbing stopped. Thankfully, the lights remained on. “Sounds like we just lost the pumps, but I think engine room is okay for now,” he said, wearily.

Jack turned away, not wanting her to see his face. He now knew that even if Vincent managed to free the propeller, it might be too late if the engines became submerged. At the front of the ship, Alexi and Mironov stood together. The harpooner saw them watching him and gave a casual salute. He still waited by his harpoon cannon, as cool as if this was all in a day’s work for him.

The stern sunk a little lower in the water, and the bow rose. They’d slide below the surface rear first.

“Cate, get to the bridge room; find out where the Coast Guard chopper is. Tell them… Just tell them to get here.” He looked back over his shoulder. “As soon as Vincent comes up, we’ll join you.”

“You got it.” Cate headed for the metal steps.

Jack looked down at the signal tracker. The Megalodon was a few miles out, probably occupied with the whale carcass… or Regina, he thought darkly.

“Come on, Vince,” he whispered, once again looking down into the oil-dark water.

CHAPTER 43

CHAPTER 43

Cate entered the bridge room. Sonya stood near the wall, staring out at Mironov who was talking to Alexi at the bow. She straightened when she saw Cate.

“What is it?”

Cate shook her head. “It was Regina in the chopper. We lost her.”

“She crashed our chopper?” Jupiter’s mouth twisted.

Cate glared, unable to form words for a moment. “No.” She spoke through gritted teeth. “We lost Regina, our friend, who was doing the job Milo should have been doing.”

“We needed that chopper.” Jupiter grabbed his head and turned away.

Cate’s eyes blazed. “You fuc—”

Olander held a finger up in front of her. “Please, I’m sure we all haven’t surrendered our manners just yet, have we, my dear?”