Page 52 of Walking the Bird

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“Want the good news or the bad first?” A dull headache had begun forming behind Reaper’s eyes. He’d scanned the area Trespass pointed out, but nothing showed on his diagram.

“Bad.”

Spinning in his chair, Reaper faced Viper, “I’ve searched the satellite views of this resort going back to the beginning and found nothing.”

“And the good?”

“I found the incident report on the USS Belle, reported missing in August of nine-teen forty-five. According to the report, a mayday was sent less than sixty miles from here. With that being the end of World War II, the military would have cut its losses and notified the families, especially if there was no debris field. And since we suspect they ran straight into the middle of the island, they would have taken the debris with them, leaving a tunnel for crazy bastards like us to explore.”

Jerking his head up, “Wait a minute.” Standing to his full height, Alex crossed the room to stand beside Trespass. “The other night, I saw several men with a rowboat coming out of the mangroves not far from here. I was told they were conch fishers, and at the time didn’t care either way.”

Glancing at his watch, “We have roughly three hours until dawn.” Viper looked to the men standing before him, “Which doesn’t give a lot of time considering low tide ends soon after.”

“Given this is our only option, I say we suit up and see if there’s a tunnel.” Filled with seawater Alex spoke the latter inside his head. He’d explored his fair share of abandoned tunnels, usually on land and reinforced with lumber. While he didn’t necessarily fear the unknown, he didn't welcome it with open arms either. This tunnel however, he was damned determined to get through, as it was the only way to save his Eleni.

A feelingof urgency washed over Havoc as he stood calf-deep in seawater.

“It’s roughly seven hundred feet from the beach to the place where we believe the Belle claimed her final resting spot,” shining his flashlight into the dark abyss. Shifting the light to the side of the tunnel, he found a bit of reflection. Reaching out, Havoc noticed the walls felt like rough glass. “They must have hit the beach hot, this sand melted from the intense heat.”

“Let's hope the boiler lasted until the end.”

Stepping on something hard, Viper bent over picking a piece of chain off the floor and tugging on it. “Guess we know what those men were fishing for.”

Havoc thought back to the night he’d noticed them. While it hadn't made sense at the time to be conch fishing at two in the morning, it made perfect sense now, as it would have been the beginning of low tide.

“I say we follow the chain and see if it leads us to Eleni.” Checking his respirator, Havoc nodded to Trespass who returned the signal for good to go.

“I’m coming to get you, Kookla.” Alex swore under his breath as he took a step off the plateau and into the pitch-black darkness.

Checking his swim board, Trespass calculated they’d made it nearly halfway when Havoc motioned for them to surface. Breaking the top of the water, Trespass pushed his goggles to the top of his head, allowing his respirator to dangle.

“The tunnel narrows about 3 meters ahead.”

“Fifty years of sea crustacean will do that.” Viper added, knowing Havoc was about to share something he didn't want to.

“It’s uh,” Havoc hesitated for a moment. “It's not big enough for us and our gear.”

Moving the chain to his other hand, Trespass shimmied out of his dive vest, letting the equipment he’d taken from the resort fall to the bottom of the tunnel.

“Listen, Havoc. I appreciate your concern, but I have a job to finish, one that will pay me a shit-ton of money. Don't get me wrong, I’ll help you rescue your wife, but if the only thing separating me from a payday is a free dive, then move the fuck out of my way.”

Viper’s lungs burned as his head broke the surface. Havoc hadn't been kidding when he said the tunnel narrowed, at one point he wasn't sure they were going to make it. He hoped Miguel thought the tunnel was impassable. Judging by the lack of guard watching the entrance, Viper assumed he did.

Pulling himself out of the water, Havoc closed his eyes and listened to see if he could hear Eleni’s voice. When the only noise he heard was the hum of an engine, he took a hard look around the room.

“Pay dirt.” Havoc whispered, holding up a bundle which matched the drugs they’d pulled from the ocean.

Trespass moved to stand beside Havoc, unhooking a belt from around his waist as he glanced at the stacks upon stacks of drugs inside what resembled an old hollowed out torpedo. Dropping to his knees, Trespass removed several packages of plastic explosives and a handful of caps. Growing up, Trespass learned to hate drugs, as his mother died of a heroin overdose, leaving him to be raised by his uncle.

Surveying the room, Viper located the tables which once served sailors their lunch, now holding the ingredients for more drugs. Shaking his head in disgust, a bunch of roots swinging overhead caught his attention. Gaining the other’s attention, he gave the hand signal he’s going to check and see where the roots entered the submarine.

Havoc kept watch as Trespass rolled the plastic explosives and stuck them to every solid surface he could find. As Trespass set the detonation device, Viper had come to stand beside them.

“I have a way in,” he whispered. Using the sand on the floor, he drew out a plan with his finger.

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