Up From The Deep by Vaughn Jackson (highly recommended books txt) 📕

The stone structure began to crumble into the sea as the island burned and smoke billowed into the sky. Another smaller explosion went off, showering the ocean with bits of debris. Devonte watched as the telephone from Capone’s famous cell soared overhead and plunged into the depths of the bay.

“Better report this,” Brannigan said. He turned a knob on his radio, and it crackled to life. As soon as it powered up a voice blasted through the speaker.

“Brannigan.” General MacPherson’s voice cut through the static like an icy knife. “What in the hell is going on out there?”

“Uh, what reports are you receiving?” Brannigan said, trying to soothe the general’s obvious fury. “Because we extracted the targets.”

“Do not beat around the bush with me, Captain. Tell me that Alcatraz prison is not currently a smoldering crater.”

“Alcatraz prison is currently a burning crater,” Brannigan said. “That’s not better, is it?”

The obvious “no” remained unspoken. “Explain.”

“Secret base. Sore losers. Self-destruct sequence. Boom.” He tried to sound as disinterested as he could, but Devonte could see how upset he looked.

Silence from the other end of the radio, and then, “Report back. Now.”

“En route as we speak. See you soon, General.”

An irritated groan crackled from the speaker, and then the radio went dead.

“She’s gonna have my ass for that one,” Brannigan said, scratching the side of his head. “Fuck.”

Devonte turned to Skylar. “What did they have you doing in that lab?”

“The tooth!” she shouted in response.

Kurtis shook his head. “The fire probably burned it away faster than it could regenerate.”

“If it’s still in there, the coast guard will handle it,” Brannigan said.

Skylar nodded solemnly. “We were building a device to attract the creature. They want to control it.”

“They?” Brannigan said. “You mentioned something called Tempest earlier, Grey. Care to explain?”

Jason spoke up instead. “Multinational crime syndicate. Believe they are destined to claim the world. Led by seven shadow operatives known as the Hands of Fate. And the fact that I haven’t been shot yet means they think I’m dead...for now.”

Devonte’s eyes went wide.

Brannigan lit a cigarette. “Casual. What do they want with the creature?”

Jason’s sunglasses hid his eyes, but Devonte imagined that he had just blinked rapidly in confusion. “Did you miss the ‘want to rule the world’ part?”

“Nah, just wondering if these guys are as stupid as they sound.”

Jason grimaced. “I’m sorry?”

“The megalomaniacs want to use a giant monster as their enforcer?”

“Yes.”

“That’s like trying to control a hurricane. It’s stupid, and one hundred percent going to backfire.” Brannigan shrugged as smoke streamed out of his mouth.

“That’ll kill you,” Skylar said absentmindedly.

“Thank god, can it hurry up?” Brannigan flashed his teeth in a smile.

“Did it work?” Devonte asked. “The device.”

Kurtis and Skylar shared a look. “Not exactly…”

Devonte raised an eyebrow.

“We only had one test before you guys burst in,” Skylar said.

Brannigan rolled his eyes. “You’re welcome.”

Skylar narrowed her eyes. “Thank you. But my point is, we had just turned the device on when you blew open the door...and shot it.”

Devonte began to panic. “You turned on the device in the middle of the San Francisco Bay?”

“Calm down,” Skylar said, holding up a hand. “It wasn’t on long enough to have any effect.”

Brannigan puffed more smoke into the air. The waves crashed against the side of the boat, and Devonte couldn’t help but look out onto the horizon. He expected to see a giant creature rising from the sea, gunning to devastate his home state. Instead he saw the line where the sea touched the sky separated by a thick layer of fog. He sighed heavily. “Okay.”

They made landfall without incident. A cadre of Navy officers, including General MacPherson, awaited their arrival. As they made port, multiple vessels departed in the direction of Alcatraz.

“Captain, Mr. Rhodes,” she eyed the rest of their group, “the rest of you. Good to see you all made it, despite the…complications.” Her eyes flicked to the smoking carcass of what was once the major tourist attraction.

“We didn’t know the building was—”

The general cut Devonte off. “What’s done is done. We’re heading back to base. A more pressing matter has arisen.”

Chapter 8

Hectic might be the biggest understatement Raymond could use to describe the airfield when they arrived. The creature had taken off into the sky with the remains of its meal, but the military had no intention of letting it get away that easily. Raymond knew that his pleas not to pursue would fall on deaf ears, so he kept his mouth shut as Ashleigh talked with the base commander.

“But sir,” she started.

“We have no resources to spare,” he said in the way that a parent would speak when ending a conversation with their child.

Another soldier jogged up and whispered in the commander’s ear.

“I’ll be right there.” His glare warned Ashleigh to stay out of trouble, and more importantly, to stay out of his way. “You are dismissed.”

“Sir.”

“So, when does our flight leave?” Arnett called after the base commander. “Asshole”

Ashleigh stalked over, her fists clenched.

“So, what do we do now?” Arnett asked.

“We must get back to San Francisco,” Raymond said. The pain in his lower body no longer threatened to leave him in a fit of tears. Still, he leaned on Arnett’s shoulder. “To tell them what we know and come up with a plan.”

“I know.” Ashleigh gnawed on the knuckle of her thumb, taking in their surroundings with an analytical eye. Her gaze lingered on a Black Hawk transport. “Fuck it.”

The scrambling of the fighters made sneaking around the base an easy task. Eyes were not on them, but on the sky waiting for the creature to return or just trying to get another glimpse. Raymond overheard a soldier lamenting that he missed a photo opportunity.

“Terror and curiosity truly are linked in our minds,” Raymond muttered.

“Yeah, see also, stupidity and ignorance of the situation.” Arnett readjusted Raymond’s weight and practically carried him to the rear of the large aircraft.

Ashleigh signaled for them to wait as she scoped out the inside of the craft.