Instead it struck the ship, missing him, but bending the steel propeller shaft, and smashing it into his chest, jolting the flashlight from his hands.

The propeller may have been cut enough to begin turning, but even if it wasn’t, his time, breath, and luck had been used up. Never in Vincent’s life had he propelled himself so fast to the surface.

*   *   *

“It’s here.” Vincent threw Jack his facemask as he scrambled up the rear deck that was now edging into the water.

Jack went to meet his friend, while above him, Cate yelled for them to get the hell away. Drago and Sonya stood with legs braced and guns held in two handed grips, and pointed at the dark water.

The Slava juddered, and then it came – the huge Megalodon shark surged up from the water. The massive maw was already open, and to Jack, it seemed a train tunnel-sized cave lined with horrible teeth. Gravity alone slowed its monstrous bulk, but combined with the force of its slide the ship angled even lower.

Jack fell, slid, catching hold of the metal steps. Vincent managed to catch Jack’s foot, and also held on. Drago and Sonya were not so lucky. Sonya just caught a railing with her fingertips and hung on. Drago had managed to fire a few rounds, but the heavier Russian slid the fastest, and with nothing to hang onto, he had nowhere else to go.

The ten-foot wide head, swung back and forth like a dog, crushing the big Russian’s body against the gunwale, and then turning just enough to lift the still conscious man into its mouth. Drago screamed once as the serrated teeth came together, his gun hand must have clamped down on his revolver as bullets fired nonstop into the air, sounding like celebratory fireworks.

Sonya lost her grip and also began to slide. Jack was too far away and could only watch as the tall woman skidded down the deck. She never made a sound as she headed towards the monstrous head. Instead, she just tried to keep her gun hand steady so she could aim and fire at its eyes. The jaws opened once again, and Jack didn’t want to watch, but couldn’t turn away now.

Mironov leapt then, sliding fast and catching Sonya by the collar. His momentum took them both to the railing, just below Jack. The Russian billionaire grabbed on and swung Sonya onto the metal beside him. He wrapped an arm around her.

The Megalodon slid back into the water with Drago its only prize, and once gone, the ship bobbed and settled a few feet. The small group immediately scrambled up the deck

“Gotta get to the rafts,” Jack screamed. He heard the sound of the dinghies inflating – two of them – each accommodating ten people. There was more than enough room, but no one worried about that being their problem.