Retribution Road by Jon Coon (e reader comics .TXT) 📕

to fade, and Gabe knew what was coming. Time for one last question. “Son, why did you try to kill all those people. What did they ever do to you?”

“It wasn’t what they did to us, amigo. It was what El Patrón—El Diablo—would have done to us if we didn’t. You killed us, but that was a kindness compared to what would have happened back in Mexico. I don’t hate you, but he does. And he is powerful.”

“Do you know his name, your powerful boss?”

“No, señor, no one knows. He is El Patrón, and to ask more is to die. No one knows.”

“One more question, Sebastian, do you believe in heaven and hell?”

“Aren’t those just stories for children?”

Gabe saw the darkness swirling like a mighty storm and knew what was coming.

“You should have listened to those stories, son. They might have saved you.”

The hell hounds came through the hull and circled with vicious snarls. They were as big as boars with fangs like tusks and drooling jowls. Their eyes glowed like hot embers. They lunged and taunted, snapped and growled before finally attacking and ripping Sebastian’s spirit to shreds. With ghastly howls, the young man’s soul was carried away to an eternity of perdition, utter and ghastly destruction. His ghostly apparition, emptied of all substance and meaning, dissolved into sea foam, and not even the scent of his fear or the echo of his terrified screams remained.

Gabe shook his head sadly and then checked his computer. It was time to go. He told Carol he was ready, and she gave the headphone back to the master chief.

“How did it go?”

“I think we got lucky. More than I hoped for.”

“Good, let’s get you out of there. Let me know when you’re clear of the hatch, and we’ll start bringing you up. You’ve got a lot of deco so don’t get anxious.”

Gabe climbed up the ladder and was met face to face with the tiger shark. Tim had backed away, but when he saw Gabe emerge, he came forward waving the hatch cover and making a fuss. The curious shark got the message and backed off.

Tim pointed to his computer and then toward the surface. “Time to go.”

They began the ascent that would take two and a half hours of wet decompression before they could do the last hour in the chamber. They stared into the blue void as they were raised and wondered where the shark had gone and where her friends were. Finally, they surfaced, cold and tired. From the deck to the chamber in a minute there was not a second for talk, and they were locked in the recompression chamber and on their way back to forty feet. They breathed pure oxygen from the oral nasal masks and counted down the minutes. Finally they heard and felt the chamber vent, and shortly thereafter the double hatches opened and they crawled out into the cool evening air. Carol waited with hot coffee and grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches.

Tom was in the small office, and Gabe went in and gave his report. He showed Tom the memory chips and told him what had happened. He left out the part about nearly having a panic attack but told the rest accurately.

“I’m exhausted. I need a good night’s sleep and then I’m ready to go home.”

They boarded the boat, went back to the Mobile Oil platform, showered, and had huge Texas steaks for dinner. Gabe had a private room, and just as he was ready to turn off the light, Carol knocked and came in.

“I’ll stay for a while, just in case. It wouldn’t be good if you woke the whole rig.” She crossed the room and sat on the bed.

“How did you know what to do?” he asked and took her hands.

“I talked to Alethea. She told me. She’s been praying for you all day.”

“I never would have made it. The feelings were so strong. I don’t know if I can do this anymore.”

“No one is going to make you try. You can walk away anytime. And no one will ever know.”

“Thank you. I love you, and I’m awfully glad you were here.”

After a Texas-sized breakfast, Master Chief Kurczewski walked with them to the heliport as they prepared to depart.

“I don’t know what happened down there, but you scared the hell out of Tim.”

“What?”

“He said there were bright lights and he could feel the sub shake. I could hear you talking to someone through Carol’s headset, and it wasn’t Carol. And at the end there was screaming. Who are you and what the hell happened down there?”

Gabe hesitated. He had no idea that anyone else might have heard his conversation or Sebastian’s tragic end. He looked Kurczewski in the eye. “I’m just an old blackwater river diver, Master Chief. But there are things in our world best left alone. What you heard, that’s one of them.”

“That’s a sea story if ever I heard one.”

“Not nearly as much as I wish it were. I’m sorry you heard things that weren’t meant for your ears. I have to ask that you never mention them again. And please ask Tim to do the same. It’s for my safety as well as yours. I appreciate everything you’ve done for us, but—”

“Yeah, I know, it’s classified.”

“Sorry.”

“Well, Agent Mulder, it’s been nice knowing you, and perhaps our paths will cross again someday. Best of luck with the cartel thing.”

“Thanks, Mike. It’s been a real pleasure.”

Chapter 37

BACK AT THE RANCH, THE girls were full of whispers and giggles. Even Carol was caught up in the excitement. Double-wide trailers had arrived as temporary housing and construction workers had started building a new barn and laying out plans for a new house. Tom had a new truck and was looking online for a replacement for the Cessna destroyed in the raid. However, the whispers and giggles were about Tom’s sixty-fifth birthday and the surprise party they were planning for him the next day.

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