Defender(94)
Lundt reached for a long-handled, serrated grappling hook and coiled his reptilian fingers around it like a vice. Thus armed, he hurled himself at the INTREPID agent and with erratic, maniacal stabs, thrust the weapon towards his adversary. Morgan dodged and swayed against the attack like a drunken sailor traversing his ship in rough seas. The seesawing of the deck worked in Morgan's favour, making it almost impossible for Lundt to find his target. Suddenly, a crash of waves pelted the decks and Morgan lost balance. Lundt made contact. The point of one of the three curled blades bit into the back of Morgan's leg, its razor-sharp metal point slashing through his flesh. Morgan howled but rolled away in time to avoid another stab. A massive anvil of water fell upon the boat, smashing Lundt to his belly and Morgan onto his back. Lundt dropped the grapple, shook his head and launched at Morgan, fists thrashing.
The two fell in a death struggle, entangled, each fighting to subdue the other within the eerie darkness that swam across the decks. Fists and feet flew in a frenzy of uncontrolled violence while all around, pitiless winds shrieked, rain pounded and huge waves crashed, threatening to capsize the boat as it careened pilotless across the harbour. Lundt had his hands clasped tight around Morgan's throat, thumbs clawing for the windpipe. But Morgan had waited too long for this moment. This was his chance to crush Lundt, once and for all. Alex Morgan's eyes were fierce with rage and hatred. He knew that by night's end he would have blood on his hands - Lundt's blood. But it was rough justice. Swift retribution for the thousands Lundt's guns had killed, for the young fellow in the park, whose only mistake was to get in the way, and for Morgan's friend, Sean Collins, doing his duty only to be betrayed in order to save Lundt's miserable skin. At that moment, Morgan had no conscience. There were no rules out here, no police, no judges or juries, no INTREPID, no General Davenport,
no control. He was an animal with a blood lust, just like Lundt.
It was the only way.
* * *
Sutherland grabbed Arena under her arms and lifted her semi-conscious body as high as he could, trying to keep her head out of the water as he struggled to swim back towards the winch harness. Chuck was above them, the searchlight isolating them from the storm that continued to besiege the normally picturesque harbour. Sutherland could see the bright orange harness being lowered down to them. Strangely, it reminded him of a huge tea bag being dunked into a brew. He reached for it, floundering as wave after wave sought to take them both under.
* * *
'Shock - Stun - Blitz!' The mantra of one of his old Army unarmed combat instructors rang in Morgan's memory. Shock! In one rapid, skilled movement, Morgan freed his arms, and with cupped hands struck inwards, hard and fast, at Lundt's exposed ears. The impact was sudden and powerful, and Lundt instantly released his grip on Morgan's throat, dazed for a precious speck of time. It was all Morgan needed. Stun! Back on his feet, he grabbed Lund t's shirt front with one hand and drove the other in a closed fist straight for Lundt's throat. The blow connected, driving Lundt backwards into the cockpit, gasping for air. Morgan followed. Blitz! He was upon him in a second, and struck at Lundt furiously, over and over until the man yielded. With savage intensity, Morgan continued to punch and kick the stupefied, bloodied figure back into a corner against the control panel.
Another mighty wave struck the Sea Ray, scattering them across the decks.
Lundt clawed back to his feet, using the wheel to drag himself up. Alex Morgan was crouching, hanging onto the ropes around the camping gear. The SIG Sauer P226 was in his hand.
"You're finished, Lundt," Morgan shouted over the storm. "You've exceeded your shelf life."
"Who do you think you are?" Lundt spluttered through bloodied lips and teeth, looking about him, probing the rain and estimating the distance to the shore. "You think you're saving everybody, but you're not. The ones I work for, they're still going to do what they do. If they don't do it this time, they'll do it next time somewhere else. And they'll keep doing it. I told you before, they're too big for you. You can't be everywhere!" Lundt was laughing. He could do it. It'd be tough, but he wasn't going down now. Not like this. In the darkness, out of Morgan's sight, Lundt was secretly reaching around behind his back. "You self-righteous prick." With that, Victor Lundt pulled the Walter P99 from the holster on his belt.
But Morgan saw the movement. He fired without hesitation and kept on firing, as he had in training down in The Pit with Rodgers just a couple of days before. And as in his session with Rodgers, every one of his rounds found their mark, impacting Lundt's chest directly over the heart. Lunde cried out in shock and pain, but still managed to fire off two rounds just as another huge wave hit the Sea Ray.