Page 267 of Hidden Tide
His face crumples.
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t get to apologize.”
“I should have told you.”
“You can tell me after they get you out.”
A tactical officer unlocks the chain while Piers examines the wound in Captain Marquez’s side.
“Gunshot,” he says. “No exit wound.”
“Can he move?” Ben asks.
“He doesn’t have a choice.”
Water rushes into the bottom of the passage.
The ship groans.
Scott and one of the officers lift the unconscious hostage. Piers pulls Captain Marquez’s arm across his shoulders.
Ben takes his other side.
“I can walk,” the captain says.
“So can Ben,” Piers replies. “Neither of you is convincing.”
They start toward the stairs.
A red light begins flashing inside the compartment.
Ben looks back.
A metal box is fastened beside the engine-room hatch.
Numbers count down across its display.
One minute.
Fifty-nine seconds.
“The explosives are real,” Ben says.
Marquez lifts her radio.
“All personnel abandon ship. Immediately.”
The officers move faster.
Ben and Piers carry Captain Marquez between them. Scott and the other officer struggle with the unconscious hostage.
Fifty-two seconds.
They reach the crew passage.
The floor shifts violently.
