Tai screamed in pain. Worse than her pain, though, was the fact that the chute had not been designed to take such an opening. With a ripping sound, several seams split open in the canopy. She was less than two hundred feet above the submarine and falling fast.

Moreno heard the scream of pain – coming from above. Startled, he looked up and saw the two parachutists, one of whom was coming down very fast. Then he heard another sound, which distracted him – helicopter blades. Turning to the east, he saw a Blackhawk helicopter coming toward them low and fast.

"Do it now!" Moreno yelled.

The suited man put his hand on the knob that would open the flow of nerve agent into the high-powered sprayer.

Through tears of pain, Tai saw the man in the protective suit put his hand on the knob less than a hundred feet below. Ignoring her injuries, she reached up and grabbed the toggles. She aimed herself, then dumped what little air was left.

A hundred feet above her, Vaughn saw what she was doing even as he untied his MP-5 from the rig.

Tai hit him at forty miles an hour, smashing him into the metal deck with a sickening sound of bones breaking in both their bodies. Then the two lay sprawled on the deck, motionless.

Cursing, Moreno jumped to the ladder and slid down to the deck. He ran forward from the conning tower toward the sprayer. As he ran, he pulled out the remote detonator. A burst of bullets ricocheted off the deck in front of him, but he ignored them.

Vaughn had a choice between controlling his landing or firing once more. He chose to fire.

The second burst hit Moreno, stitching a pattern from his right hip up his side, with the last round hitting him in the head, killing him instantly.

Vaughn dropped the gun and grabbed the toggles. He was able to make one adjustment, then hit the side of the submarine hard. The only thing that saved him was the parachute draped across the deck, snagging on some tie-down points, preventing him from sliding down into the water.

Reaching up, he used the risers to pull himself onto the deck. He drew his knife and cut loose from the parachute. Hearing the clang of a hatch opening somewhere farther back, probably in the conning tower, he knew he had little time. He ran toward the sprayer, leaping over Moreno's body, when he saw something that caused him to abruptly halt.

Moreno's lifeless hand held a remote detonator.

A shot rang out. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw someone taking aim with an AK-47 from the conning tower and a second armed man appear. There was no time for any other choice. Vaughn ripped the detonator out of Moreno's hand and pressed the red button.

The submarine shuddered as the first charge, in the engine room, went off.

Vaughn didn't wait for the rest to go off. He dropped the detonator as bullets whistled by his ears, the aim thrown off by the explosion. Grabbing hold of Tai's harness, he rolled with her off the boat, into the water.

A second explosion went off on the submarine.

Vaughn cut Tai loose of her parachute, then swam with all his might, towing her, trying to get as far away as possible from the imploding submarine.

Royce saw the tongue of flame jet out of the conning tower, killing the gunmen. The rear quarter of the submarine was already below the surface, dragging the rest of the craft down. He could see the two swimmers. He knew he should leave them, but the crew of the chopper had also seen them and the pilot was already directing the craft toward them. So he remained quiet.

A safety ring attached to a lift line splashed into the water about ten feet away. Vaughn swam to it and hooked both Tai's and his harnesses up to the line. He gave a thumbs-up and was lifted out of the water. He looked over at the sub. The bow was lifting out of the water even as another explosion blew open a hole near the torpedo rooms. Within seconds the sub slid back into the water and was gone. Hands reached out of the chopper, pulling him and Tai inside. Vaughn sprawled on the floor as the medics went to work on her. Looking over, he saw a man sitting on the rear bench, staring at him. Royce. Whose eyes widened when he recognized them.

CHAPTER 20

Vaughn sat in the stiff plastic chair next to the hospital bed and stared at Tai. She was unrecognizable in the casts and bandages that swathed her body. She had not regained consciousness in the twenty-four hours since they'd been plucked out of the water. The doctor had been by a while ago and told him they would have to take her back into surgery soon. And the prognosis on full recovery was not good. But she would live.

The door to the room on the secure floor of Tripler Army Medical Center swung open and Royce walked in. Since being hustled off the helicopter at the hospital helipad, Vaughn had not seen his recruiter.

Royce grabbed another chair and sat on the opposite side of the bed. The two men stared at each for several minutes without saying a word. Royce finally broke the silence.

"You should be dead."

"I should kill you," Vaughn replied.

"It was nothing personal," Royce said.

"It wouldn't be personal either when I kill you. Just a job."

"And then?"

Vaughn didn't say anything. Royce leaned forward.

"Listen. This whole thing. I got brought in at the last minute. It's dirty work, and – "

"Who gives you your orders?" Vaughn asked, cutting him off, not wanting to hear the bullshit excuses.

"I don't know," Royce said.

"That's a question I've begun to ask myself."

"A little late for that perhaps?"

"Better late than never," Royce said, "which is trite, but true in this situation. I thought for many years I was working for Uncle Sam. Just deep, deep cover. But…"

"But?"

"Now I'm not sure. This is all so big and so secret. I can go anywhere in the world and make a phone call and get support."

Vaughn gestured at Tai.

"She works for Uncle Sam. And she was trying to figure this unit out. Section Eight. What the hell it was."

Royce nodded.

"My best friend was killed when the Organization – which is what we called it – found out about her having infiltrated the team."

Royce paused.

"That's not exactly true. I think it was part of it, but he was retiring. And retiring from this Organization obviously means permanent retirement from life."

Vaughn realized there were two sides to this coin and that everyone was being played – and the playing field was brutal, with no quarter given.

"You have no idea what this Organization is?" Royce shook his head.

"I get everything via text messaging. The only person above me I ever met face-to-face was my boss – and friend – David. And he told me very little."

"Some friend."

"That's the way the Organization operates. Compartmentalized and covert."

"And now?" Vaughn asked.

"Since I – and Tai – are supposed to be dead?"

"You are dead," Royce said.

"What do you mean?"

"I've reported everyone from both teams KIA."

"So we're free?"

"No."

Vaughn had known that was going to be the answer.

"So what – "

"I want you to work for me."