Around the halls ofNUMA, Austin had a well-deserved reputa- tion for having an unflappable stubbornness in the face of adversity. Most men wisely cut and run in the face of sure disaster; Austin faced it with equanimity. The fact that he was still alive and breathing showed that he possessed a remarkable combination of resourceful- ness and luck. Those who'd had to tough it out with him found his serendipity frightening. Austin always shrugged off their complaints. But now, Joe was giving him a taste of his own medicine. Austin compressed his lips in a tight smile, laced his fingers behind his head and sat back in his seat.

“You wouldn't be so relaxed if you didn't have a plan,” Austin said.

Zavala gave his partner an exaggerated wink and removed the two-pronged key that had been hanging from a chain around his neck. He flipped open a small metal cap in the center of the console and inserted the key. “When I turn this key and flick the little switch next to it, the third redundant system comes into play. Explosive charges will blow off all the ballast tanks, and up we go. Smart, eh?” "Not if the Thor is in the way when we come flying out of the

water. We'd sink the ship and us."

“If it makes you feel any better, press that button. It sends up a warning buoy to the surface. Flares, whistles. The whole nine yards.”

Austin punched the button. There was a swoosh as the buoy was ejected from the sub. He advised their passengers to hold tight.

Zavala jerked his thumb skyward, a boyish grin on his face.

“Going up\” He hit the switch and they braced themselves. The only sound was Zavala swearing under his breath in Spanish. “The switch didn't work,” he said with a sheepish grin.

“Let's see if I can summarize this. We're three hundred feet down, with overloaded capacity, the cabin full of half-dead sailors, and the panic button doesn't work.”

“You have a knack for brevity, Kurt.”

“Thanks. I'll expand further. We've got two front tanks full of water, two rear ones empty, and that spells neutral buoyancy. Any way of lightening the Lamprey?”

“I can jettison the connector tube. We'll get to the surface, but it won't be pretty.”

“Doesn't seem we have much of an alternative. I'll tell our pas- sengers to hold on.”

Austin made his announcement, buckled himself into his seat and gave the signal. Zavala crossed his fingers and blew off the rescue tube. It had been made detachable as a precaution, in case the sub- mersible had to extricate itself from a rescue in a hurry. There was a muffled explosion, and the submersible lurched. The Sea Lamprey rose a foot, then a yard, then several yards. Their progress was ex- cruciatingly slow at first, but the craft gained more speed the higher it went. Before long, it was speeding to the surface.