Back at the Start

The acrid smells of oil and burnt wiring hung thick in the cramped room, leaving no breathable air. Ray had no idea how Koi could endure having her face — and most importantly, her nose — so close to the engine's insides and the burning tracker.

"All done. Here you go," she tossed the tiny metal plate at him.

The moment the chip grazed his hand, Ray twitched and dropped it. "Ouch! Hot! Pretty sure that's a safety violation," he rubbed at the red spot on his palm.

"I warned you, you being here during my work is the biggest safety violation of all. So don't pretend caring about it now that you got hurt," Koi removed the goggles and stretched her neck.

"Is it dead or still tracking us?" he crouched and tentatively poked the metal piece.

"I can't tell with a high degree of certainty. It has several protective coatings, so its brain can still be intact."

"Will ask Marlin to plant it on another submarine then," Ray held the chip between his fingers, blowing on it. "Sorry to bring up the bad memories again, but have you remembered any more of their questions?"

"No, only the endless abyss around me. Nightmares won't let me forget that part," she shivered. "At least my dad is there too."

"A steaming cup of calming kelp tea will be waiting for you tonight once more."

"I'll take you up on that. And I'm still almost positive they asked me about the whereabouts of your sister, what other girl could that have been about. So don't worry, we're on the right track."

"Right or wrong, it's the only one I've got. The real question is: does it lead anywhere, or does it just loop on itself?" he covered his eyes with his palm and chuckled humorlessly.

"A looping path might be better-"

Frenetic steps ping-ponged through the ship before bursting inside. Doubled over and huffing, Marlin halted in the doorway.

"Why'd you hide in the farthest room? We're in a hurry."

Ray rushed to the boy, looking him over for any signs of injury. "Are you hurt? What happened?"

"I have the key! And the place. Found them in a tavern. They talked about that food, so I thought. You should go now!" he gesticulated in wide arcs, jumping and leaning every which way, a whirlwind of expressions on his face.

"Marlin, please, use your words, not just your arms. And in order," Ray firmly gripped his shoulders, restricting the boy's movement.

"I found your guy, Ripley. He is in a tavern with a whole gang of people. They're celebrating or something. Talked a lot about their business," Marlin's eyes crossed over from concentration. "One of them mentioned they shouldn't forget the food, for their guest of honor. And laughed downright nastily too. Joked about what they should bring her."

Ray stiffened, his breath catching in his throat. "Her?"

"I thought the same, that has to be your sis. And I've sniffed out their base location before that as well. Didn't go inside, but saw potential openings."

"Great job! I knew you could do that," he patted Marlin on the shoulder and ruffled his already disheveled hair. "We should still have time before Vulcan catches up to us. The plan is to monitor the base, figure out its rough layout and their schedule, then make a perfect plan."

"Ehm, boss, I say we go right now," his eyes shifted from side to side.

"No-no, we shouldn't hurry. It's too risky."

"You remember I mentioned this," a heavy brass ring with two chunky keys dangled from Marlin's hand.

"Ma-a-arlin? Don't tell me," Ray's eye twitched.

"What? They hung right there on his belt. The guy that was going to deliver the food," with a stern pout, he thrust the keys at Ray. "So it's his fault, not mine. He should have hidden them better."

"When they notice the keys are missing, they might get suspicious and move her, or station more guards, or worse..." Ray paced across the room, rubbing his temples. "Marlin, why? And they can notice it any moment, maybe they already did! Coral is in danger!"

"If you're so paranoid, get your ass to their base quicker," Marlin grumbled.

"How can I help?" Koi stepped in front of Ray to stop his erratic meandering.

"Yeah, you're right. We should all calm down and get on with it," he dragged the hand through his hair, counting his breaths. "The plan... The plan is... Let's come up with it on the way."

He stormed out of the submarine.

***

The darkness tempted with the promise of concealing him from the enemies, all the while likely harboring unseen threats and tricky traps in this hostile den. Ray couldn't stop his hands from trembling.

The gang's hideout stood silent, not breathing, forebodingly desolate. Was there no one here, or were they hiding in an ambush?

One hallway slithered into another: some doors carelessly ajar, others closed yet not locked, none of them leading to the person he longed to see. Ray creeped along the wall, trying every doorknob and peeking inside every room. Experiencing a rising pulse followed by a sinking heart each time.

If they held his sister prisoner, she was most likely to be kept in the deepest part of the facility. But he couldn't afford to overlook even the tiniest possibility. What if he walked past her without realizing it? Poor, terrified, helpless Coral. Imagining that tightened his chest with a burning pain. The chance of being so close to her, yet not close enough. He clenched his fists until his nails dug into his palm.

Glancing around the corner, Ray almost stumbled and swiftly slid back. Next to a padlocked door, sat a sleepy looking man, rubbing his eyes. Ray suppressed a grin. That looked promising: even if it wasn't Coral locked up there, discovering such a heavily guarded secret could become a leverage in negotiations.

Right, even if he wouldn't find her behind that door, he shouldn't be disappointed, shouldn't lose heart, shouldn't get his hopes up in the first place. Ray sighed, focused on his breathing, relaxed his hands, visualized submerging deep in the calm, cold water.

Ray sprang forward, punched the guard in the temple before shoving him away from the wall. The man grunted, flailed his limbs, surprised and off balance. Ray wrapped his arm around the guard's neck and raised his other arm before intertwining them together. He pressed hard.

The man's back tensed and struggled against Ray's chest. He winced at the sensation. He shouldn't ease the pressure, just think of Coral. His arms ached, slowly turning numb.

A sharp pain shot through his forearm. A glint of metal. The guard lifted a bloody knife. Warm liquid soaked Ray's sleeve, pulling it down. His arm, on the contrary, felt cold. A tide of panic washed over him. Ray tightened the chokehold. Then swung the man around, slamming his head against the wall.

Ray pressed harder. A soft drip of blood counted off the seconds. And pressed. His own breath echoed in his ears. And pressed. And... he looked down. The guard stopped moving long ago.

Dropping the unconscious body on the floor, Ray pulled at the door in a daze. The padlock protested. He pulled out the keys. His shaking hands couldn't properly fit them in the lock. Ray felt like throwing away the damned keys, bringing down the door with his fists, demolishing the wall. His head spun.

Ray tried a deep exhale, hiccuped, tried again. Put his uninjured hand over his heart, willing it to slow down. He snickered. Destroying the door — what a stupid plan. Koi and Marlin would have never agreed to that. Well, actually, Marlin might, but Ray didn't know if the boy still had any grenades left.

The trembling in his arms subsided. The first key slid into the lock easily, but refused to turn. The second key worked.

Ray froze. The padlock undone, the door open — nothing stood in his way now, but something much more sinister held him back. Fear. What if it was all in vain?

Shaking his head, he reminded himself that there wasn't much time. He may still need to continue searching through the building if Coral wasn't inside this room. A sharp pang of despair stabbed at his heart.

He pushed open the door.