Sea of Greed

Kurt set the cameras on Autopano and they scanned back and forth, looking for movement. “In theory, a giant plane should be easy to spot in broad daylight,” Kurt said. “But with the sun behind her, it’s going to be that much harder.”

“The Red Baron used that tactic, too,” Rudi said. “Very effective.”

“Don’t remind me,” Kurt said.

Finally, one of the cameras locked onto something and zoomed in. The image on the screen blurred and then refocused. At first, it looked like a bird. “That’s the Monarch, all right. Range, twenty miles and closing fast.”

“Don’t mean to be a backseat driver,” Rudi said, “but I’d deploy the foils and get moving.”

Kurt used a touch screen to control the vessel. He nudged a virtual throttle lever forward and watched the rpm gauge jump, but, for now, most of the power was held in reserve.

Switching to an underwater transmitter, Kurt called out to Paul and Gamay. “The guests have arrived. What’s your status?”

“We’re almost through the pressure hull,” Paul said.

“We’re only going to be able to entertain for so long,” Kurt said. “Don’t dawdle.”

The display in front of Rudi began flashing. “Radar contact,” he said. “Two contacts… Make that three. Moving faster than the Monarch. Must be missiles. I’d say we’re out of time.”

“I’ll see if I can buy us some more.” Touching the screen again, Kurt extended the hydrofoils and set the gas turbine to full power. The Gryphon began to move, accelerating like a normal boat, while the foil indicator went from red to yellow and then green.

As the boat began to pick up speed, the cameras left the Monarch and locked onto the incoming missiles. The projectiles themselves were impossible to see, but the white vapor trails were obvious.

“Missiles are supersonic,” Rudi said. “Range, fifteen miles and closing.”

The Gryphon was rising up on its legs and accelerating. With the hull out of the water, the drag vanished and the speed increased suddenly, feeling like a turbocharger kicking in.

Kurt felt the g-forces pinning him to his seat and then pushing him forward. Rudi gripped the arms of his own chair, as they swayed back and forth.

“This ride is going to be wilder than I expected,” Rudi said.

“It might be shorter than expected, too,” Kurt said. “How much time do we have?”

“The lead missile is nine miles out,” Rudi said. “Less than one minute. The others are trailing it by two miles each.”

Kurt kept the throttle open and the Gryphon reached its top speed of ninety knots. It might as well have been crawling in comparison to the missiles.

“Eight miles,” Rudi said calmly. “Seven… Six-point-five…”

“I don’t need the entire countdown,” Kurt said. “Just tell me when to turn.”

“Turning isn’t going to help,” Rudi said. “Even if we avoid the first one, the second will hit us for sure. We should think about jumping ship.”

“Too late,” Kurt said. “At eighty knots, we’d break every bone in our bodies.”

“Might be better than the alternative.”

“It might at that.”

“Three miles,” Rudi said. “Two…”

Kurt nudged the rudder control to the starboard and the Gryphon

carved a tight line on the high-speed turn. Both Kurt and Rudi struggled to stay in their seats, but the missiles continued to track them.

“One mile…” Rudi said.

Kurt chopped the throttle a bit and deflected the rudder hard in the other direction. The Gryphon reacted instantly, cutting back tightly to port side.

The first missile shot past, wide by a hundred feet or more.

“That was close,” Rudi said.

“The next one’s going to be closer.”

Kurt punched the throttle back up and turned the Gryphon to starboard once again. The second missile shot by as well, but it came close enough that its proximity sensor detonated the warhead. A billowing explosion caved in the armor and windows on the Gryphon’s left side while superheated shrapnel tore through the hull and the shock wave collapsed the forward hydrofoil.

The Gryphon dove nose-first into the water, rose up and crashed back down, still moving at relatively high speed. Kurt and Rudi were thrown from side to side.

“Now,” Kurt said to Rudi.

Rudi pressed a switch and Kurt threw the rudder hard in the other direction one more time.

It was not enough. The third missile hit the craft amidships, penetrating the hull and exploding out the far side, sending a fireball upward through the middle deck and blowing the craft apart.

• • •

TESSA WATCHED the explosion from her position in the Monarch. As the glare of the fireball diminished, she saw that the Gryphon had been split in two. What remained of the aft section went down quickly while the bow section burned and smoked and slowly foundered.

“Those missiles were worth every penny,” Woods said to her.

Volke was even more ecstatic. “May you burn worse than I did, Austin.”

“So ends the contest,” she whispered. “And so begins a new one.” She turned to Volke and Woods. “Our clock is ticking. Get your men and equipment ready. I want you ready to deploy the minute we hit the water.”

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