"What's the status?" Deacon asked him.
"It's pretty bad," Colin said. "Fucker was drunk and laying on the floor. Came up with a knife when I walked through the door."
"Drunks are always unpredictable. Can you hold on?"
"I can do what I have to," he said.
Deacon called down to Dante, and with Colin's help, he got him situated so he could hold the rope. He slid down and into the Zodiac, and then Deacon followed after him. As soon as he was inside, Dante accelerated, jostling Deacon before he had a chance to get settled.
Dante tossed a thermal blanket on top of Colin, and Elias pressed close to his side to keep him from getting thrown around.
"Is there full medical on the sub?" Deacon asked.
"Of course," Dante answered. "The Shadow never fails. But there's no doctor."
"There's Tess," Deacon said.
Colin laughed harshly and closed his eyes against the pain. "A mortician is just what I'll be needing," he said. "I'll bleed out. I'm fucked."
"She's got some medical training," Deacon told him. "She chose mortuary school when she decided medical school wasn't her cup of tea. She's the best hope you have right now. If we can get you hooked up and get blood into you, you have an even better shot."
"There's a stock of blood on board," Dante said. "We can get him hooked up. You better hope she doesn't try to embalm you by mistake. I imagine it'd be quite painful on the living."
Colin was already white from blood loss, but he paled even more. "Fous-toi."
"No thanks," Dante said. "I've got a long holiday in the Virgin Islands and a lovely woman named Genevieve to take care of those needs. But I appreciate the offer."
Deacon knew what Dante was doing, keeping Colin alert and slightly agitated so his heart rate would stay up.
The water was choppy, and a spray of fine mist rained down on them, finding its way onto any skin left uncovered. They crossed into U.S. waters, but still had a ways to go to reach the submarine. It was a starless night-pitch-black-so even the water looked like ink beneath them. The handheld radar in Deacon's hand was their only guide. It was going to be close. Too close. Dante must've had the same feeling, because the Zodiac picked up speed.
It was so dark it was impossible to see the submarine until they were almost upon it. When they were alongside, Dante cut the engine and a panel in the sub opened up, just large enough for the Zodiac.
"This is going to be tricky to keep him stabilized," Elias said when they were inside and lights came on and the panel began to close.
As soon as the panel was closed, the water began to drain beneath the Zodiac, and Deacon felt his ears pop as the pressure changed. They all carefully lifted Colin and held him steady as the water drained. Once the green light lit indicating that the chamber was secure and there were no water leaks, the door hatches unlocked and there was Tess.
The look of relief on her face when she saw him was like coming home. He'd never had that before. She wore an oversized sweatshirt and jeans, and her mass of hair was piled up on her head. She'd never looked more beautiful.
She took one look at Colin and the knife protruding from his leg and never flinched. "How bad is it?"
"Pretty bad," Deacon said. "We've got to get him stabilized, and we've got to get submerged. We have less than five minutes until detonation. It won't do us any good to save Colin and die from the XTNC-50 gas."
"There's a backboard up in the triage room," Dante said.
"I'll get it," Tess said, already disappearing back inside the sub.
When she returned, they lay Colin on the backboard and the men each took a side to keep him as flat as possible. Dante split off from the group, and as they made their way to the triage room Deacon felt the sub begin to submerge.
"It'll be close," he said.
They moved Colin into the triage room and set the backboard on the operating table that was bolted to the floor. And then they waited as the seconds ticked by. No one spoke. No one moved. Metal creaked and groaned as the water pressed in around the sub. And then the concussion from the explosion rippled around them. The lights flickered, and as the submarine shifted subtly Deacon spread his legs to balance, catching hold of Tess as she lost her balance. After a few minutes, the soft rocking from the shock waves slowed.
"Does that mean we're not going to die?" Tess asked.
"Technically, we're all going to die," Elias said. "It's the nature of humans. But we probably won't die today, if that's what you're asking."
"Smart-ass," she said, blowing out a relieved breath. "If we're going to live, we should probably see about Colin's leg. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but he's passed out. He's lost a lot of blood."