Chapter 100 - Clash on the Catwalk
The torpedo bay was an industrial nightmare suspended over an abyss. Below the catwalk, racks of heavy cavitation torpedoes hung from heavy crane chains, swaying precariously as the submarine continued its steep dive.
Julian opened fire without hesitation.
I shoved Clara behind an auxiliary hydraulic manifold just as a spray of 5.56mm rounds chewed through the floor grating at my feet. I leaned around the steel frame and fired back, emptying the last rounds from my carbine. Julian ducked behind the reinforced frame of the escape pod's mounting dock.
My rifle clicked dry. I dropped the empty weapon, drew the combat knife from my boot, and lunged across the swaying catwalk while Julian was reloading.
He looked up just as I closed the gap. He swung the barrel of his rifle to club me, but I ducked beneath the blow, driving my shoulder directly into his midsection.
The impact threw us both against the safety railing. Julian dropped his weapon, snarling with animal rage as his hands locked around my throat. He was heavier than me, fueled by pure adrenaline, driving me backward toward the edge of the catwalk.
"You ruined everything!" Julian hissed, his thumbs pressing viciously into my windpipe. "Ten years of planning! Millions laundered through Arthur's accounts! All of it undone by your pathetic loyalty to a badge!"
Spots danced across my vision as oxygen was cut from my brain. I reached down, grabbed his wrist, and twisted it outward with an excruciating joint lock, breaking his grip. Before he could recover, I drove a brutal right hook into his jaw, followed by an elbow to his sternum.
Julian stumbled back, spitting blood onto the deck, his eyes wild with fury. He reached into his survival suit's chest holster, drawing a heavy combat blade.
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Above us, the hull let out a sound like a freight train derailing.
A massive structural rib overhead buckled with an ear-splitting crack. Water began to pour from the ceiling in sheets, cascading over the catwalk, turning the steel deck into a freezing, slippery battleground.
