Chapter 10 - Blood on the Bilge
The blinding flash and concussive roar disoriented Clara, ringing in her ears like church bells. Adrian moved on pure instinct, tackling the first breacher as the man slid down the ladder. They hit the wet deck plates in a tangle of limbs and violence. Adrian drove his combat knife upward into the operative's tactical vest seams, ending the struggle before the second man touched bottom.
Clara scrambled to her feet in the half-flooded hold, securing Sarah behind the heavy iron casing of the fuel manifold. She spotted a discarded sidearm near the dead soldier's hand. Her hands shook uncontrollably as she picked it up, racking the slide the way Adrian had shown her years ago.
A third mercenary dropped down the hatchway, his rifle swinging toward Adrian, who was pinned under the weight of the second fallen attacker.
Clara raised the pistol, closed her eyes for a split second to steady her trembling breath, and pulled the trigger twice.
The bullets struck the mercenary's chest plate, throwing him off balance. The opening was all Adrian needed; he surged upward, disarming the soldier and snapping his neck with ruthless efficiency.
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Silence descended inside the flooded hull, broken only by the rising slosh of sea water and Sarah's exhausted whimpers. Adrian looked at Clara, seeing the smoke curling from her gun barrel.
"The boat is sinking," Adrian said quietly. "We have five minutes."
