Page 73 of Cops and Robbers

“You boys ready?” Sajani’s voice echoed in her ear—jarring, but needed to tell if the Micron Ears between them were working within the sub.

Caige offered a grunt.

“You have no idea,” Raz whispered.

She chuckled.

“Mrs. Reedy, we need your ID card,” Cory called.

Steve stood above the hatch near the front, lifting it open. He climbed down the ladder as Cory came over to help. Kate unbuckled herself and clambered to her feet unsteadily. She walked over to inspect the hole. The clinking of metal echoed behind her as she assumed Caige and Raz worked on retrieving the coffin.

“Here.” She squatted to hand her card shakily to Steve, who stood over the wet submarine hatch, legs spread. The textured gray beneath him almost appeared rusty and warped. This was the doorway to the I-402.

“Thank you.” He took the card and held it against a scanning strip on top of the hatch.

The strip flashed red.

He tried again but had the same result.

Shit…It was the right card, so it had to work. Did she mess up somehow? Maybe the guards woke up, and there was a flaw in the planted memories, so they warned Matsuda.

After rubbing his arm against the scanning strip to dry it further, he tried again. Nothing flashed, but a clunk sounded below. It was unlocked.

Kate released a shaking breath.

After he twisted the handle, the suction popped free with a soft hiss. A bright light illuminated the area below.

They made it.

“Hello there, rescuers,” a woman’s voice called from below as she stepped into view. Her brown hair lay in a perfect knot on top of her head. Her haggard face beamed with excitement. “I’m ready to end this rotation.”

“Hey Danielle,” Kate called down with a wave. The nurse Sajani told her about was one of the few who stayed on the sub to monitor the cargo. Caige and Raz would think of her as a scientist working on Matsuda’s project to make the LRAD replica of Lucifer’s Bell.

“Dr. Reedy,” Danielle said, pulling a cardigan tightly around herself. “Nice to see you again. Sorry you have the next long haul.”

Kate shrugged. “Gives me time to set up the new equipment.”

She chuckled. “You guys good to unload while I grab my things?”

Steve shook his head. “I forgot we were actually picking up people.”

“You did great,” Kate said, knowing it was his first trip.

“Watch yourself.” Caige’s deep voice came from behind her. She moved around the hatch as they brought up the coffin.

“We’ll get some straps and hoist it down,” Steve said. “Can one of you go down and help from below?” He grabbed some yellow, flat rope from the wall.

“I got it,” Caige said.

Kate met his gaze. It was important that he entered first, but he couldn’t do the next step until they were ready. He nodded, as if reassuring her, and then climbed down the ladder.

Raz and Steve hung the winch from a ceiling hook to lower the coffin. After some careful delegation, they dropped it to the sub, where Caige unhooked it and placed it on the ground.

All the while, Kate’s fingers shook. She climbed down into Matsuda’s submarine, feeling like she was climbing down a mountain with loose snow about to stumble into an avalanche.

Her boots thudded onto the bottom, landing her in a tight space with two branching hallways. Stale air tickled her nose with a strong chemical odor she couldn’t place. The air was chilly, explaining why Danielle wore a cardigan. Each side had large pipes rising from the floor with valves spread out. From her memorized map, they were within the main machinery room. Raz stood behind her with the container between them. Caige was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s the other guard?” Danielle asked, coming down the hallway.