Then the charge, which had come to rest inside the fractured bow … exploded.
The whole boat shuddered, and then the front third jerked away from the back. It started to sink in a pair of ragged pieces. Some fragments tried to float and failed; others were light enough to rise once they’d been cast free. Doors, flooring planks, shutters, and boxes bobbed below and then shot to the top again as their natural buoyancy overrode the unwelcome plunge.
Cly, Deaderick, and Fang watched as a man, halfway to the bottom, ripped himself free of the sinking hull and began to take himself to the surface with scissoring kicks. Whoever he was, the man was a strong swimmer and had every chance of making it, but on his way he opened his eyes and happened to see … what? Ganymede lurking between the bay floor and the surface? A curve of small lights, smiling in the darkness? What could he have seen, in that bleak twilight under the surface?
Maybe he’d go on to tell others what he’d spied lurking in the bay—but it would be too late to stop anything. Even if he didn’t get eaten by one of the crawling, carnivorous reptiles that occupied Barataria, and even if he made it past the saw grass, water moccasins, and the copperheads and the tangling roots that could tie his feet and draw him down … he’d never make it to a sympathetic ear in time to stop the Ganymede.
“Goddamn!” shouted Deaderick. “It worked! And we barely even hit them!”
“We hit them hard,” Cly insisted. He exchanged a manic grin with Fang, who flashed it right back at him. “Assuming the rest of the charges work half so well, we’ll be in good shape. ”
From the doorway, Josephine fought to manage their expectations. “Half of these charges have been in boxes for years. We’ve already burned though a third of them, trying to pick out pieces that aren’t so damaged by damp and mold that they’re liable to shoot. ”
Undaunted, the captain triumphantly declared, “Josie’s right, but when they work, they work like crazy! Troost, whatever you’re doing back there—”
“I’m smoking. ”
“I can smell it. Put down your cigarette and start sorting out those shells. Pick the good ones, and line them up for the ladies to fire. Houjin!”
“Yes, sir?”
“Where’s the next target? Who’s closest?”
“Ninety degrees to the north, another hundred yards that way. Maybe more. Hard to tell from here, sir. ”
“Deaderick, can you set a course?”
“I’ll figure it out. ”
“Great. Fang, take us to the right, would you?”
Fang nodded.
“Ladies, load up another one. Hell, load up two or three!”
Ruthie said back, “It doesn’t work like that!” But Josephine shushed her, saying, “We’ll get them ready. Give the order, Andan, and we’ll load and lock them down. ”
“Great. Here we go,” he added under his breath, and engaged the lift thruster. “Huey, work your scope. I’m taking us down a notch. Has anyone spotted you yet?”
“No, sir, I don’t think so. ”
“Just the swimmer, then. I think we’re still secure. ”
“You think we’re still secure?” cried Troost, out by the charges.
He did not clarify or reassure. “Let’s see how many of these fish we can shoot out of the barrel before they’re on to us. ”
“And then what?” asked Deaderick.
“Then we kick up the top ball turret and Troost can cut loose on anybody who’s still afloat. All right, men, let’s line ’em up and knock ’em down. ”
“Men?” called Josephine from the other room.
“You know what I mean!” he shouted back. The other boat was within sight, and moving toward them. “Huey, is it just me, or is that boat coming our direction?”
“I think they’re moving toward the ship we just shot. Looking to pick up survivors, or see what happened. ”
“I’d rather they didn’t get that far in their rescue efforts,” Cly declared.