great.
Shit.
A few moments later the water was up to his neck and rising every second. He felt the car level out as it hit bottom.
They were now thirty feet down. Swimming to the surface was not impossible, but they had to get out of the damn car first.
“Knox! Knox! Wake up!” He reached up, shook her violently, then slapped her face. “Knox!”
He heard her sputter and then choke as water entered her mouth.
“What…what?” she began groggily.
Puller had to arch back to keep the water out of his mouth.
He pulled his gun but knew it was no good. He should have done that sooner. A mistake. Probably now a fatal one.
Unlike in the movies, guns immersed in water did not fire. But with nothing to lose, he pointed it at the car window and pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
The water was now up to his eyes. Even arching back he couldn’t keep his mouth out of it. He started to sputter and choke on the foul stuff.
He rammed his big feet against the glass, but he couldn’t get any momentum pushing through the water.
Holding Knox up, he put his back against the steering wheel, torqued his body, put his feet against the door and pushed, slowly, methodically. He was using every ounce of his considerable strength. He could feel the door give, but only a bit.
So this is how it’s going to end?
He felt Knox move above him and then she fell into the water next to him.
He frantically reached for her, but she came up beside him and, mimicking his movements, put her feet against the door and they pushed together, their backs arched to keep their mouths out of the water.
They pushed as hard as they could, synchronizing their movements. The door began to open a bit more.
But it wasn’t nearly enough, and if they moved to try to get out, the water pressure would slam the door closed. For good.
The interior lights of the car were still feebly on. They could dimly see each other. Their dual fates were imprinted on their resigned features.
As they both passed under the water, she reached out and touched his cheek.
The panic in her eyes, he was sure, was matched in his.
But he was feeling an even more powerful emotion.
Failure.
He had failed.
And he had died.
And most damning of all?
He had allowed Veronica Knox to die alongside him.
You didn’t do that to a comrade. You saved them, even if you died yourself. That was just the Army way. That was the point of being a soldier.
Sacrifice.
They were past saving at this point, he knew. Even if someone had seen them go into the water, which he didn’t think they had.
But Puller was not going to give up.
He turned back to the door and pushed with all his might. This took a lot of air, but it wasn’t like he was going to need it much longer anyway.
He looked at Knox, clenched his teeth to keep out the water, and mouthed the words, “I’m sorry.”
She nodded in understanding.
They were going to die. But at least they would die together.
Still pushing against the door with his shoulder, he reached out with his hand and she took it in hers.
He felt her hand tremble and he clinched it tight.
His air nearly gone, he turned to look back at her.
Her eyes were fluttering as the hypoxia took over.
In another moment their mouths would open and the water would rush in, fill their lungs, and that would be that.
He stopped pushing and turned to her, traced her jaw with his finger.
And then Puller held her tight.
And they died.
Chapter
Okay, they’re dead. That’ll save me the trouble.
But then something else occurred to him.
Puller saved my life. But I didn’t ask for his help. I owe him nothing.
Shit.
Rogers counted off three seconds in his head and then kicked the van door open, leapt out, ran straight toward the channel, jumped high in the air, and dove into the water after taking a lungful of air.