“Sixty seconds,” Noa shouted.
Enele lifted the PA system. “Sixty seconds to impact.”
“Forty-five.”
“Forty-five,” Enele repeated.
“Thirty.” Noa laid his hand heavily on the ship’s air horn.
“Thirty.” Enele glanced over at Adam, who was gripping his chair, his feet up against the front wall.
“Fifteen.”
“Fifteen seconds!” Enele shouted. “Brace yourselves!”
“Impact!” Noa shouted.
Before Enele could speak, there was a loud, tearing, grinding sound of metal and rock. To Enele it felt as if everything had turned to slow motion. Noa was thrown into the boat’s controls, and Enele flew more than ten feet, crashing against the front of the bridge. Still, the ship remained remarkably stable as she cut into the beach far enough to rip out trees and foliage. When the motion had stopped, Enele jumped up and grabbed the mic.
“Abandon ship! Abandon ship! Grab your weapons and abandon ship.”
Men began jumping off all sides of the boat into the water and sand, like rats fleeing a burning ship.
“Here she comes,” Adam said, pointing to the north. The battleship was bearing down on the Regulator, now only a couple of kilometers away and moving in quickly.
“Get off the ship!” Noa shouted. “She’s going to blow us up.”
“Open the level doors,” Enele said.
Noa pushed a switch, then turned back. “The hydraulics are gone. We don’t have time to get the weapons. We’ve got to get everyone off. Especially you.” He turned to Adam. “Get him out of here.”
Adam grabbed Enele’s arm. “Come. Now.”
Adam’s words were answered by an explosion as a shell struck the boat’s stern, knocking them all to the ground.
“Go, go, go!” Noa shouted from his knees.
Adam and Enele got up and ran outside the bridge. The boat had burrowed so deeply into the sand that it was now only fifteen feet above the ground. “It’s sand,” Adam shouted. “Jump!”
They both jumped over the side of the boat. Just then a second shell hit near the middle of the ship, blowing it in two. Fire sprung up from the center of the boat.
“Noa’s got to get off,” Enele said. Almost as if in response to his words, there was a small explosion near the forward section of the boat, followed by a larger one as the flames reached the ship’s fuel tank. The large explosion destroyed the whole of the bridge.
Both men gaped in shock. “He’s dead,” Adam said.
“We’ll be dead too if we don’t get out of here fast,” Enele said, standing.
Just then the sound of high-caliber machine-gun fire began, leaving a path of sand flying up and down the beach.
“Get to the other side of the knoll!” Enele shouted to his men. Several had already fallen, hit by the gunfire. Enele and Adam found temporary shelter beneath a concrete seawall. Machine-gun bullets strafed the beach and struck the wall Enele and Adam had taken refuge behind, chipping the rock but not penetrating it. The battleship continued to draw closer to the Regulator.
“She’s going to blow up our weapons,” Adam said.
“She’s going to blow us up first,” Enele said. “Look at her guns.” The ship’s turret revolved toward them.
More gunfire flipped sand up off the beach and shredded the foliage around them. Enele’s civilian soldiers ran in panic from the gunfire, something none of them had ever experienced. Then mortar shells started blowing up around them as well.
A kilometer to the north of them the Pulse beached. The older boat didn’t fare as well as the Regulator, and the reef tore the boat fully in half. The back half of the ship rolled starboard, then burst into flames.
The battleship fixed its massive cannons on the beach, blowing large craters in the sand. Then the firing suddenly stopped.
“She’s anchoring,” Adam said. “They’re putting boots on the ground.”
“They’ll run right over us,” Enele said. “We need to gather everyone we can and get to the compound.”
“It’s nearly twenty kilometers from here.”
“Or we’ll die here,” Enele said.
Just then Adam’s eyes grew wide. He pointed toward the battleship. “Look!”
Bearing down at full speed on the battleship’s stern was the Neutron.
“She’s going to ram her,” Adam said. “She’s too small to do much damage.”
“No, she’s full of C4,” Enele replied.
“Oh yeah,” Adam said.
The Edison discovered the Neutron too late and tried to swing its guns to its stern. The Neutron plowed into the back of the battleship. It was only a few seconds before the tons of explosives in the Neutron’s hull detonated. The explosion decimated the Neutron and lifted the battleship into the air, sending fire through the entire boat and igniting the explosives and fuel it carried. The resulting explosion destroyed everything in the vicinity. When the smoke from the blasts cleared, there was nothing left of the Neutron, and the battleship was burning against the night sky like a funeral pyre.
“Pio,” Adam said.
“That was the bravest thing I’ve ever seen,” Enele said, standing. “Let’s gather everyone. You take everyone here and start unloading weapons. I’ll take some men down to the Pulse.” He turned to walk away, then stopped and turned back. “Someday we’ll build a monument to Pio right here.” Then he turned and sprinted off toward the Pulse.
20
The Gold Depository
In spite of the violence of their landing, only a few dozen of the Pulse’s soldiers were injured, and the forward hull of the Pulse was completely intact. Enele got on the boat’s radio and called in their location to the Proton. As the Proton was the slowest of the fleet, they had loaded it with the fewest soldiers, which meant there was room to carry almost half of the stranded soldiers. Enele instructed the Proton’s captain to load up with weapons and soldiers as Enele and a contingency of men went to check out the Elgen’s Plutus facility.
Four of the Regulator’s life rafts were still intact. Enele and twenty of his best soldiers, including Adam and Raphe, dressed in Elgen uniforms, loaded as many arms as they could, and then sailed back to the opening in the atoll’s lagoon. It took them only a half hour to reach the massive Plutus depository that Hatch was building.
“What is that?” one of the soldiers asked.
“That’s the Elgen’s own Fort Knox.”
“What’s Fort Knox?”
“It’s the Americans’ gold depository. The Elgen plan to fill this building up with gold.”
The man shook his head. “I’m in the wrong business.”
In the darkness, they ran the raft up onto the beach, then quickly moved up toward the still incomplete fortification.
The gold depository that Hatch was building was smaller than Fort Knox, only because there wasn’t the land to build one larger. The building was designed to be a fortification as much as a vault. The walls were four feet of reinforced concrete, enough to withstand a direct missile strike. When it was complete, it would be six stories high and windowless, looking from a distance like a large concrete cube rising out of the ocean. There were also three levels built belowground, but they had been rendered useless, then concreted over, when seawater kept seeping in through the foundation. Around the base of the cube was a level of security and living quarters.
The structure was a little more than half-built. The bottom floor and first two levels were structurally complete and, in part, functional. Hatch had already started moving gold into the first-level vault, one of twelve independent vaults to be built.
There were three layers of chain-link fences around the building, with a guardhouse at each opening. Enele didn’t expect to find the compound unguarded like on the other two islands he’d approached. If there was gold inside, Hatch would leave his troops there. Enele gathered with his men. “We’ll never shoot our way into here. If they close up this place, there’s no
touching them. So act like Elgen.”
As they approached the first checkpoint, Enele was surprised to hear the guard shout out to him in a thick Australian accent. “You’re late, mate.”
The greeting took Enele a little off guard. He spoke with his best Aussie accent. “We had a detour, mate. Didn’t you see the explosion?”
“Sure did,” the guard said. “They said over the radio some Toovoo rebels had stolen ships.”
“They did. Three of them agriculture ships from Demeter. We took care of them. Now they’re fried Toovoos.”
The man laughed. “How many you got with you?”
“Twelve.”
“Twelve? You’re short six.”
“Everyone’s short these days. Since the battle.”
The man shook his head. “Ain’t that the truth. We’ve been pulling double shifts. Everyone has.”
“We’re going to be pulling doubles?” Enele asked, doing his best to look agitated.
“Oh yeah,” the man said with a grin. “No one told you?”
“No, they left that out.”
“Course they did.”
“Maybe we should just go back.”
“Nothing doing. I’m off two hours ago. Who’s taking my place?”
After a brief hesitation Enele pointed at Raphe and said, “That man.”
The guard looked him over. “You’re new.”
“We’re all new,” Enele said. “We’re part of the New Zealand corps.”
“Of course. That’s why you’re all brown. Well, get in here.”
Raphe stepped into the room, and the guard came out. “There’s an esky in the corner there; help yourself. It’s full of beer. Sorry, just lite stuff.” He shut the door, then turned back to Enele. “I’ll show the rest of you where to check in.”
“What about me?” Raphe asked.
“You stay put, mate. I’ll check in for you.”
“Anyone ever come here?”
“What do you mean? We’re here every day.”
“I mean try to get in?”
“Nah. Before everyone went to battle, I’d get some lookie-loo guards on R & R, wanting to see the gold. Like that’s going to happen. I’ve only seen it once myself, and I’ve been here four months.”
“None of the . . . brown skins?”
“Toovoos? There hasn’t been one of them on the island since the tradies arrived and we started construction. It’s the one place we don’t use the slaves. The general don’t want them to know a thing about this place. Word is, it’s open season on Toovoos, mate. There’s a twenty-five redback on Toovoo hide.”
“That’s a lot of money,” Enele said, wanting to club the man. “Anyone ever collect?”
“One bloke tried. Turned out the guy he shot was a lost Samoan. Doesn’t count.”
“What about all the Toovoos we just fried?”
“Were they on island?”
“Almost.”
“Almost don’t count,” he said. The guard stopped at the next checkpoint. It was unmanned.
“Why is no one here?” Enele asked. “This should be guarded.”
“No drama, mate. We’re only guarding from ourselves. Foreigners don’t get anywhere near here before they’re sunk. Besides, like you said, we’re short. There’s only sixteen of us. And one of them’s in the brig.” He opened the second gate, and they walked through.
Enele processed the information. Sixteen guards, one in jail, one other with them. “Why is that?”
“Why is what?”
“Why is he in the brig?”
“He’s waiting transport.” He looked at Enele. “Oh, you want the skinny. He was caught where he shouldn’t be. Restricted area. Like I said, we’re only guarding from ourselves. I tell you, gold fever is a real thing. I’ve seen people here go crackers.”
They walked on past the third checkpoint. It was also unmanned, even though the lights were on and there was music playing. They walked another sixty feet to the main door. Enele looked at it in wonder. It was solid steel with heavy bolts surrounding it.
“That’s some security.”
“Bloody oath. That door can take a direct hit from a tank; it won’t even scratch it.”
Enele understood why the elder had directed them to this place. The guard held his key up to a pad, then pushed his fingerprint onto a screen.
“Where do we get our keys?”
“I’m taking you there, mate. Then I’m going to grab a Scotch and go to bed.”
“Drinking’s allowed?”
“Was it allowed where you came from?”
“No.”
“Did you still drink?”
Enele pretended to be embarrassed. “Sometimes.”
The man shook his head and laughed. “Sometimes.”
The door opened, revealing the hydraulics employed to operate it. “Like I said, ain’t no one coming in through that door.”
The inside was marble tile and virtually without decoration of any kind. Not even furniture. Their footsteps echoed down the long corridor.
“Place could use a rug,” Enele said. “Or two.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
“Where is everyone?”
“It’s night. They’re in bed. Half of us should be on, but with everyone gone, we’re covering for each other. I expect the same from you. We don’t like troublemakers. Don’t make us look bad, or you might find yourself accidentally locked in a vault for life.”
“I wouldn’t dream of causing trouble,” Enele said. “So how many of us are on?”
“After I go to bed, just you and your man Louis.”
“Who’s Louis?”
“You’re about to meet him.” The guard led them to a small, darkened room filled with monitors. “Louis, here’s our replacements.”
The man turned around. He was bald with Maori tattoos across his face. “Replacements? The replacements were canceled,” Louis said. His accent was American. “Who are you?”
Enele pulled his gun, and the other Tuvaluans followed suit. “Like the man said, we’re your replacement. Get away from the console. Now.”
Louis stood. He was shorter than he appeared when sitting down, barely five feet tall. “What have you done, Oliver?”
“Your name is Oliver?” Enele said.
“Oh, buggers,” Oliver said. “I’m in the dunny now. This is gonna get me fed to the rats.”
“Only if the Elgen win,” Enele said.
They handcuffed the two men and made them lie facedown on the floor of the room. Enele put the gun to Oliver’s head. “Everyone else is in the bedroom?”
“Yeah, mate.”
“Where is that?”
“Just straight down the hall, mate.”
“Where’s the brig?”
“Opposite end. Door at the end, down the stairs.”
“Peter,” Enele said to one of his soldiers, “check out the brig. The rest of you come with me.”
The men walked out of the room, leaving just one soldier behind with Oliver and Louis. Enele and his men could have found the sleeping quarters from the snoring. It was seismic. As they positioned themselves outside the door, Peter returned. “I found the brig,” he said. “The keys to the cells are in the control room.”
“How many cells are there?”
“Three.”
“Good. That’s where we’ll put them. Go get the keys. I’m sure that Louis will know where they are.”
“Got it.”
“Ready?” Enele asked his men. He opened the door, then turned on the lights.
Someone immediately groaned. “Put out the light, you wanker.”
Enele fired one round into the ceiling. The bullet ricocheted, striking the metal frames of one of the beds and ringing like a bell. Everyone woke.
“To your feet! Now! We don’t have time to waste. Any erratic movement, and we shoot!”
The men, still groggy, stood.
“Take it easy, mate,” one of them said. “Just getting a little
shut-eye.”
“We’re not your mates,” Enele said. “We’re Toovoos.”
The men were suddenly afraid.
“Get in line, hands on head. We’re taking you down the hall.”
As they lined up, Enele counted the men. “There’s only twelve. We’re missing someone.” He pointed his gun at the men in line. “Where’s the missing man?”
“He’s in the dunny,” one of the men said.
“The toilet,” one of the soldiers translated.
“Go get him,” Enele said to the soldier closest to him.
A minute later the soldier came back with a handcuffed man. The man looked terrified.
“Let’s move out,” Enele said.
Peter met Enele as he came out into the hall. “I’ve got the keys.”
“Let’s lock them up.”
They marched the men down to the brig, locking four or five in each cell. A few minutes later Oliver and Louis were brought down as well.
“Oliver was on guard,” one of the Elgen said. “You the one who let these blokes in?”
“He’s the man,” Louis said. “Waltzed them right in here and offered them dinner.”
“Shut up,” Oliver said.
“Shut yourself up,” Louis said. “You done us in.”
Oliver turned to Enele. “You can’t put me in with them, mate. They’ll bloody kill me. You’re right in what you said. The only chance I got is if you win. So let me help you win. I know this place inside and out. I know all the codes and tricks. There are things you won’t know without me.”
“Listen to the snivelin’ traitor,” one of the guards said. “Let us ’ave him, mate. We’ll take good care of him.”
Enele looked at Oliver for a moment, then said, “You give us any reason to doubt you, you die. If we’re overrun by the Elgen, you’re the first to go. You join us, you’re burning the boat . . . mate.”
“My boat’s already burned, mate,” Oliver said back. “I’m thrown in with you.”
Enele thought a minute more, then said, “All right. Lock Louis up with the rest. You, Vete, have the brig. If anyone tries anything, don’t wait; shoot. If they try to mess with the door or give you any trouble, shoot them, then shoot everyone else in the cell with them. Everyone. We’ll see if they can police themselves.”