Sea of Greed

The reply came with great confidence. “I’m afraid you have it backward and upside down,” she said. “We’ve already infected half the world’s major oil fields. Some of them are only now beginning to experience the slowdown, but, trust me, the progression is unstoppable and things will soon get rapidly worse. In a few months, most of the world’s oil will be trapped and useless. It will be unreachable without causing disasters like what happened to the Alpha Star. And the bacteria will multiply and grow as long as there’s oil in the ground to feed on. All of which means, I’m not the problem, I’m the solution. Trust me, the world will embrace me long after you’ve been swept aside.”

Kurt heard every word she said, along with a high-pitched whine in the background. The Monarch’s jet engines were spooling up. She would be gone in a matter of minutes.

He hung the microphone up and concentrated on his course. With his craft moving at breakneck speed, he’d almost reached the entrance to the Great Sound. Turning toward the shore, he angled across Spanish Point, cutting it so close that spray from the boat washed across the coastal road.

He was still several miles from Tessa’s compound, but the aircraft would need a long stretch of water to take off. Instead of heading toward her island, he cut across the Great Sound, aiming for a spot where he could intercept her.

By the time he spotted the Monarch, it was already moving. He saw the uplit tails, the floodlights in the wings and the nose illuminating the water. The aircraft was out of the bay and taxiing into position for its takeoff run.

Kurt continued westward, crossing the bay, weaving around a sailboat and between several of the many yachts anchored there.

Beyond these vessels, he found himself in the channel reserved especially for the Monarch to take off from and land in.

He carved a white wake into the sea turning hard to the south. The Monarch was a mile away, picking up speed and heading north.

The radio crackled. “You think we don’t see you out there?” Tessa’s voice sounded both angry and uncomfortable. Clearly, when pressured, her choice was aggression. “Get in our way and we’ll run you down. I’ll crush you like an insect!”

Kurt grabbed the microphone once more. “Good luck flying with a giant hole in your bow. You won’t even get off the water.”

Kurt doubted Tessa would turn, but he gambled on the pilots’ being more rational. He kept the throttle to the firewall and the nose of the boat pointed at the oncoming behemoth. It thundered toward him, the roar of its six monstrous engines growing louder by the second and soon drowning out even the rumble of the Pavati’s V-8.

Kurt pressed forward, shielding his eyes as the plane’s lights washed over him.

• • •

INSIDE the Monarch, the pilots were stricken with fear.

“He’s not turning,” one said.

“Neither can we,” the other pilot answered. “I’m cutting the throttle.”

“No,” Tessa shouted. “Cavitation now!”

The copilot hit a switch and the vents beneath the aircraft opened. Huge volumes of compressed air flooded through the thousands of tiny holes on the bottom of the plane. In an instant, the water’s grip was broken and the Monarch leapt into the air.

• • •

KURT NEVER SAW the plane leave the water, the light was too bright. But suddenly the glare tilted skyward and the Monarch

was thundering overhead.

It cleared him by ten feet, though the jet blast swept in and hit him from the rear and the vortex behind the plane nearly threw the Pavati over.

The boat skipped twice. Kurt corrected for the turbulence and kept it from rolling. He backed the throttle down and sped onto the smooth water of the Monarch’s wake. There, the boat slowed and settled.

Kurt took it through a quarter turn and cut the throttle completely.

Glancing to the north, Kurt watched the Monarch climbing and turning. All at once, its lights went out and the great plane vanished into the night.

Joe was gone, Priya was gone and all Kurt had to show for it was an obliterated vessel at the bottom of the sea and an unconscious, possibly comatose scientist.