Chapter 14 - The Final Ascent
The elevator climbed slowly, groaning under the strain of its rusted cables as the countdown neared sixty seconds. Inside the metal cage, Alexander supported both Marcus and Briggs, his tailored suit now torn, soaked in salt water and smeared with blood.
Below them in the submerged vault, Julianna’s screams were swallowed by the rising sirens of the structural self-destruct system.
“The boat captain fled,” Briggs coughed, wiping blood from his chin. “When the heavy machine guns opened fire, he pulled away from the pylons. We don't have a way off the water.”
“I didn't rely on the boat,” Alexander replied, stepping out of the elevator as it reached the open-air mezzanine.
The gale-force wind immediately hit them, whipping Marcus’s ragged clothes against his emaciated frame. Above them, through the torrential rain, the rhythmic thump of heavy dual-rotor blades cut through the thunder.
A massive black Sikorsky private helicopter hovered fifty feet above the platform’s primary helipad, its landing lights cutting through the darkness. Two Vance Security operatives in full tactical gear were already descending via fast-ropes, touching down on the slick metal surface with precision.
“Sir!” the lead operative yelled, raising an assault rifle to cover the catwalks. “Extraction team in position! We have forty seconds before the structural collapse!”
The team moved instantly, securing Marcus into a medical extraction sling and hoisting him toward the cabin door. Briggs was helped up the ladder by two operatives, groaning in pain as they pulled him over the threshold.
Alexander was the last man on the platform. He grabbed the helicopter’s boarding rail, pulling his boots off the wet metal grating just as the timer on the detonator hit zero.
A muffled, deafening explosion ripped through the ocean below.
The submerged Cold War vault collapsed inward, the vacuum implosion tearing Platform Nine’s primary support pylons from the seafloor. Massive steel girders snapped like toothpicks. The entire forty-thousand-ton structure began to tilt violently into the raging sea.
From the open doorway of the banking helicopter, Alexander looked down. Through the collapsing iron framework of the observation level, he saw the control room flood with millions of gallons of churning, black ocean water, swallowing Julianna and Victor Kane into the abyss.
The platform groaned a final, terrifying death rattle before plunging beneath the waves, leaving nothing behind but an enormous whirlpool of foam and burning diesel fuel.
Alexander pulled the heavy helicopter door shut, locking the latch with a sharp click. He turned around to the cabin interior, where Dr. Sterling was already administering IV fluids and oxygen to Marcus.
May you like
Marcus opened his eyes, the oxygen mask fogging with each steady breath. He looked up at his father and weakly reached out his hand.
Alexander took it, gripping his son’s bruised fingers with unshakable strength. “Rest now, Marcus. The board convenes at nine tomorrow morning. And Vance Maritime has a long list of debts to settle.”
