Swarm: A Bio-Terrorism Thriller

By Shane Brown

Mankind excels at killing. We are especially creative when killing each other. This was true ten thousand years ago, and this still holds true now. The only difference is the scale of destruction we have learned to unleash.

Few can comprehend the scale of the weapon that Krisko Borivoj (a.k.a Bora) has now unlocked. Within the last two weeks, Bora’s scientists have engineered a weapon surpassing the destructive power of a nuclear warhead. Far surpassing. And now he is ready to launch. Right now, off the east coast of America, Bora’s hand-picked team of highly-skilled terrorists are securing the perfect location to launch their weapon. Within the next two hours, they will begin their attack.

An underwater power facility might seem an unlikely location from which to launch the most devastating weapon mankind has ever devised, but the small team of US Marines tasked to defend the facility will soon learn the truth. They will learn how blood-thirsty some men can become. They will learn that failure will leave our world in unrecognizable turmoil.

And they will learn that Mother Nature is still the world’s deadliest assassin.

Special note: SWARM has an active table of contents and displays seamlessly with Kindles and all other eBook reading devices.

A message from Daniel J. Murphy, Gold Star Father of Navy SEAL LT Michael P. Murphy who was awarded the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor:
"As the father of a Navy SEAL LT and hero, I not only saw similarities between Captain Coleman and my son, Navy SEAL LT Michael Murphy, but Shane Brown captures with such clarity, the brotherhood between and amongst United States Special Operations personnel and their "Never Quit" attitude on every mission"

About the Author:

Hi there!

If you haven't landed on this page by accident, then you're one of those curious people, like me, who likes to know a bit more about the authors we read. My life is much less exciting than my writing (thank goodness, because I put my characters through hell!)

I married my university sweetheart (not sure how she still puts up with me) and I’m the lucky father of three young children (Cassandra, Luca and Nicholas). We live in Brisbane, Australia. I met my wife at James Cook University, where I completed a Bachelor of Biological Science with duel majors in Zoology and Archaeology, a First Class Honors Degree in Underwater Archaeology, and a Masters Degree in Environmental Management. My writing draws on these disciplines, but while researching for books I try to never stop learning.

To date, I have completed five novels and an anthology of shorter stories. Right now I’m working hard on my sixth novel, and very much enjoying my role in assisting with the development of a feature film based on one of my short stories.

I love hearing from people, and I reply to all my emails. Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you like, or what you think I could do better. Like I said, I’m always trying to learn.

Have a great week,

Shane M Brown

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shane Brown
• Release date: Nov 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463441855

Shane Brown

Hi there! If you haven't landed on this page by accident, then you're one of those curious people, like me, who likes to know a bit more about the authors we read. My life is much less exciting than my writing (thank goodness, because I put my characters through hell!) I married my university sweetheart (not sure how she still puts up with me) and I’m the lucky father of three young children (Cassandra, Luca and Nicholas). We live in Brisbane, Australia. I met my wife at James Cook University, where I completed a Bachelor of Biological Science with duel majors in Zoology and Archaeology, a First Class Honors Degree in Underwater Archaeology, and a Masters Degree in Environmental Management. My writing draws on these disciplines, but while researching for books I try to never stop learning. To date, I have completed five novels and an anthology of shorter stories. Right now I’m working hard on my sixth novel, and very much enjoying my role in assisting with the development of a feature film based on one of my short stories. I love hearing from people. Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you like, or what you think I could do better. Like I said, I’m always trying to learn. Have a great week, Shane M Brown

Book preview

SWARM

by

SHANE M BROWN

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 1

Bora wanted to kill them all.

‘Hands on your heads!’ he bellowed.

He unleashed a long roar of automatic weapon fire.

The MP7 assault rifle made a very satisfying noise.

Satisfying to Bora, but terrifying to everyone else.

‘Get your fucking hands on your heads!’ he demanded.

Spent brass flew from Bora’s weapon, bouncing among the kneeling crew.

The crew of the luxury dive ship recoiled in terror.

Just thirty minutes earlier, the crew had been serving breakfast to Bora’s men.

When breakfast concluded, Bora gave the signal.

His men seized the ship.

They herded everyone to the rear deck.

Bora counted the captives kneeling before him, all dressed in matching aquamarine colored uniforms.

...seven, eight, nine. That’s all of them. The Captain. Two dive instructors. Three kitchen staff and three service staff.

Two young kitchenhands tried to pull the old chef down to his knees.

‘My knee replacement,’ the white-haired chef pleaded. ‘I can’t bend that far.’

The chef glanced at a padded seat, his expression begging for permission to sit.

Bora grasped the chef’s shoulder. His bony body felt weak and fragile through his starched uniform.

‘Which knee gives you trouble, old man?’

‘This side.’

The man tapped his right thigh.

Bora nodded. ‘And where are you from?’

‘From?’ the man stuttered.

‘What country?’

The man stood a little straighter. ‘I’m American.’

‘That’s what I thought.’

Bora slammed his combat boot sideways into the man’s knee.

The joint collapsed.

Cartilage and ligaments tore like tissue paper.

The man’s shriek eclipsed the cries of the crew. Collapsing to the deck, the man continued his agonized wailing.

‘Gag him,’ Bora ordered. ‘Bag and bind all of them.’

Gunmen cuffed the prisoners’ wrists and thrust heavy black bags over their heads. The sensory deprivation bags isolated the prisoners from everything but oxygen.

‘Wait...,’ pleaded a young woman, ducking her head from the bag.

‘I have...asthma. My Ventolin inhaler...in my pocket....’

Bora knelt and found her inhaler.

He read her name tag.

‘Susan? Is that your name?’

The woman’s harsh, gravelly breathing grew worse every second.

She leaned toward her inhaler.

‘Everything is going to change today, Susan. You can’t rely on medicine anymore. No one can.’

Bora tossed her inhaler over the side.

Before it hit the water, a gunman thrust the bag over the woman’s head and tightened the strap around her neck.

Bora kicked her to the deck. He smiled as the woman writhed.

‘Today we’re changing everything.’

#

Captain Alexander Coleman peered from the hovering chopper.

I can’t see it. I can’t see a thing.

Blue sea stretched in every direction.

Someone has made a big mistake.

‘Wrong location!’ Coleman yelled.

Across the chopper, Private Myers frowned over his GPS. ‘It should be here, Captain. These are the right coordinates!’

Coleman looked again.

Am I missing something?

He pointed to Corporal Forest.

Forest leaned out the open fuselage and scanned the water slowly.

‘There!’ Forest pointed.

Coleman squinted.

‘That’s our shadow!’

Forest shook his head. ‘Keep watching.’

Coleman watched the shadow on the water.

Holy Christ!

Where a second earlier had been only choppy ocean, now something emerged.

Something that dwarfed the helicopter.

Coleman stared, awestruck, as two mountains rose from the ocean, shedding thousands of tons of water.

He could barely believe his eyes.

It looks like the Lost City of Atlantis rising from the depths.

King, Myers and Craigson leaned across to witness the incredible spectacle.

They’re not mountains, Coleman realized. They’re machines!

Two mighty structures burst up from the ocean.

They resembled Ferris wheels, but massive in scale, shedding sea water in great cascading torrents of froth and bubbles.

‘Turbines,’ shouted Forest. ‘Giant hydro turbines!’

Instead of seats, the giant metal rings contained blades. The blades still rotated as they left the water.

‘What the hell is that?’ pointed Myers.

A structure unlike anything Coleman had ever witnessed rose between the turbines.

Blinding mist engulfed the chopper. For a few seconds the torrents of displacing water hid the emerging structure.

Finally the shrouds of foaming water and mist cleared.

Coleman stared in wonder.

If one hundred submarines had been reassembled into a metal fortress, then Coleman imagined it could look like this.

‘It’s stopping,’ said King.

Most of the structure stays underwater, Coleman realized. The part linking the turbines is just the top.

‘That is incredible,’ said Myers. ‘It looks like something from a movie.’

Coleman hadn’t known the facility could submerge. Seeing anything that huge appear from underwater astonished him.

The pilot spotted the helipad.

Coleman felt the chopper descend rapidly.

‘I’m just dropping you off,’ radioed the pilot. ‘They’re vulnerable on the surface. They want to get you inside and underwater right away.’

‘Understood,’ Coleman replied.

‘We ready?’

His team gave the thumbs up.

The helicopter jolted under them.

‘Out, out, out!’ Coleman yelled. ‘Go, go, go!’

Their boots hardly hit the deck before the helicopter lifted off. Coleman shielded his eyes from the stinging spray of salt water.

King pointed. ‘Captain.’

Twenty feet away, a hatch swung open. A woman climbed out, clutching her cap against the chopper draft.

She looked attractive, slim and tall. She wore black work boots, heavy blue trousers and a white T-shirt.

‘Let’s go,’ ordered Coleman.

Up close, the woman had freckles and dark red hair under her blue baseball cap.

She looked relieved to see them.

‘I’m Jennifer,’ she said, clutching her cap. ‘Welcome to the Hydra.’

Coleman sensed her urgency to retreat inside.

He understood why.

Someone is trying very, very hard to kill her.

#

Bora leapt onto his fishing trawler.

Or rather, what used to be a fishing trawler.

He’d gutted this ship like a fish. Refrigeration units. Conveyor belts. Cabins. Bathrooms. It all went overboard like unwanted entrails.

All to make room for his team’s siege equipment.

The ship’s helmsman rushed from the wheelhouse with fresh satellite images. Bora had retrofitted the ugly ship with military-grade surveillance technology.

He scanned the images. No other vessels. Perfect weather.

‘Where’s my special order?’

The helmsman pointed astern. ‘Being tested. Just like you instructed. We just sent it down.’

Bora sensed the vibrations of a second motor working. He strode to the rear drum winch. Men scuttled from his path.

Steel cable ran off the winch and disappeared into the water behind the ship.

The cable spooled deeper and deeper.

Thunk.

The winch suddenly stopped.

Bora checked the drum line. Three hundred feet of steel cable had unspooled into the ocean.

He peered over the gunwale.

The cable disappeared into the depths.

The pilot reached for the winch control.

‘Wait,’ Bora ordered. He checked his watch and touched the cable. ‘Not yet.’

The cable carried vibrations up to Bora’s fingertips.

After losing his hearing as a child, Bora had honed his ability to interpret the vibrations of the world around him. Years later, when his hearing returned, Bora still retained this skill.

It gave him an edge.

An extra sense.

Bora closed his eyes and waited.

Two minutes passed.

‘Now?’ asked the helmsman.

‘Wait.’

Three minutes.

Bora finally detected a light tremor. He felt movement on the cable.

There. There it is.

Bora nodded to the helmsman. ‘Now.’

The winch jolted to life. Steel cable spooled back onto the drum.

A blurry shape appeared in the depths. The shape drew closer. When just twenty feet of cable remained, Bora stepped back.

A steel box lifted from the water.

A black coffin.

Holes riddled its metal surface. Water poured from the holes. The helmsman guided the box to the deck so it stood upright.

The crew fell silent.

‘Open it,’ Bora ordered.

The helmsman opened a padlock. The door swung open and…

…out stepped a man.

Or something that resembled a man.

The tall figure stepped lightly from his metal confinement, ignoring everyone and everything around him. Instead, he studied his watch.

I hate him already, Bora thought.

Bora wanted to kick the man and his box overboard.

But I need him. This is Ivo.

Bora’s plan hinged on Ivo’s skills.

He’s the strangest-looking man I’ve ever seen.

Barrel-chested, Ivo resembled a man who’d survived several years being stretched on a torturer’s rack. All his limbs looked extra-long. Arms, legs, fingers, toes – everything looked too long. His hairless skin shed water like a frog.

Where are his ears?

His earlobes were gone, perhaps removed by the same surgeon who’d pinned the remaining cartilage flat to the sides of his head.

His ribs looked the worst. Each rib stood out so much the skin dipped between them like hammocks. He had a chest designed for inhaling astonishing volumes of air.

He reminded Bora of an emaciated frog.

Finally Ivo looked up from his watch.

He smiled at everyone on deck.

A disturbing smile.

It’s his teeth, realized Bora. They’re too small.

It looked like his baby teeth had never fallen out, but simply spread apart as his head grew, leaving gaps between every tooth.

‘You must be my new employer,’ Ivo said to Bora.

Bora didn’t answer.

Instead, he walked slowly around Ivo, checking his body for injuries, bruises, fresh scars – anything that might hamper his abilities. He inspected Ivo like a piece of machinery.

Ivo couldn’t be treated like a man.

If half of Bora’s research proved accurate, Ivo belonged in a straitjacket. Psychologists had yet to invent the word to describe Ivo’s mental state.

‘You received payment?’ Bora asked.

‘I did.’

‘You understand the terms?’

‘I do.’

‘You have everything you need?’

Ivo nodded to a pile of equipment. ‘Of course.’

Truly, only one thing really mattered to Bora about Ivo.

‘Can you really do it?’

Ivo glanced at the dripping steel coffin. ‘I passed your test, didn’t I?’

#

The Marines followed Jennifer. She seemed eager to get the entire structure underwater again.

Coleman couldn’t help but feel impressed.

Walking through the Hydra felt like moving inside a modern office building.

It doesn’t even feel like we’re underwater.

Only the doors gave the Hydra’s true purpose away.

Like a submarine, heavy steel hatches separated vital areas.

‘Seems like a lot of trouble just to generate electricity,’ said King.

Jennifer stopped walking.

She turned and looked at King.

‘The Gulf Stream transports thirty million cubic meters of water per second. That’s enough energy to power the world one hundred times over.’

Coleman raised an eyebrow as they entered the Hydra’s control room.

Incredible, he thought.

A single giant window offered an unobstructed view of the turbines. Schematic drawings covered every wall.

‘Where are the controls?’ he asked.

Jennifer touched a screen. All the workstations glowed to life.

All touch screens, thought Coleman. No mechanical controls.

‘This beats my iPad,’ said Craigson. ‘Where can I buy one?’

‘Look!’ pointed Forest.

All the Marines spun toward the window.

Coleman stared like the others.

After all, he didn’t see a mermaid every day. The young woman glided gracefully past the control room. Instead of conventional fins, she wore a monofin that resembled a mermaid’s tail.

‘She never listens,’ said Jennifer. ‘I told her I needed to descend immediately.’

This particular mermaid wore a tool belt and a blue wet suit. The Marines watched until she swam from view.

‘Where’s she going?’ asked Forest.

‘The saturation chamber,’ Jennifer replied tersely. ‘If she doesn’t want to drown.’

‘Who is she?’ Coleman asked.

‘Nicolette,’ replied Jennifer. ‘She’s one of the marine biologists studying the seamount.’

The seamount.

Coleman knew the tower-like structure rose up from the seafloor to within three hundred meters of the surface. Four steel tethers anchored the Hydra to the seamount like a deep sea oil rig.

Jennifer lifted a headset from her workstation. ‘Anton. Why is Nicole outside?’

A young man’s image appeared on her workstation. His eyes looked red from lack of sleep. Stubble coated his long face. A stud pierced his left eyebrow.

‘She needed to adjust her transmitters,’ he replied. He sounded French to Coleman. ‘She’s back in the saturation carriage now. It’s not a problem.’

Coleman noted the friction. All workplaces had personality clashes, but living confined underwater would make it worse.

Jennifer swiped her screen. Anton disappeared, replaced by an image of Nicolette removing her monofin.

Nicolette smiled and gave the camera the thumbs up.

‘We’re ready to descend,’ Jennifer announced.

Coleman didn’t know what to expect.

He barely felt the floor shudder before the ocean’s shimmering surface receded from view. The water quickly grew darker.

King looked at Coleman and shook his head in amazement.

It really is amazing, Coleman thought.

‘How deep are we going?’ King asked.

‘One hundred feet,’ replied Jennifer.

Coleman witnessed a complete transformation overtake Jennifer. As they descended, the worry lines disappeared from her face. Her entire body seemed to relax.

Down here is her refuge, Coleman realized. She feels safe underwater.

And now Coleman had to destroy that feeling.

#

Bora watched Ivo leap onboard the Karsha.

‘Thank God we’re off that stinking fishing boat,’ Ivo declared.

He looked around the Karsha and grinned. ‘Now this is more like it.’

A few gunmen nodded.

Personally, Bora would choose the camouflaged fishing boat over the gaudy luxury of the Karsha in a heartbeat. The Karsha existed to serve its purpose. Just like Ivo. Just like all the equipment his men began moving between the ships.

This is everything I need to cripple a superpower.

Many plans ended with a bomb, but Bora’s started with one.

He’d personally planted the bomb in Barcelona that killed the American scientists. He’d walked straight into the conference center carrying a bag packed with explosives. No one gave him a second glance.

He’d spotted no security. Why would there be? A room of oceanographers hardly constituted a security risk.

He’d walked among the people he planned to kill. He brushed shoulders with them. He watched them eat tiny sandwiches off plastic plates. Body language transcended language barriers around the room as arms and hands mimicked tidal currents and migration patterns.

Their enthusiasm alone assured Bora they all needed to die.

As they ate, Bora entered their lecture theatre.

He rested his hand on a chair and felt for vibrations.

The room’s empty. I’m alone.

Just seats, bags, and the speaker’s podium. The projector overhead still shone a giant sea turtle on the wall behind the podium.

The attendees had stored their bags under their seats. Bora hid his bag amongst the others.

Confinement always proved the key to mass fatalities.

Confinement and seating.

The plastic and metal seat frames provided the primary source of shrapnel in Bora’s calculations.

He left the theatre just as a recorded message invited the attendees to resume their seats.

At the catering table he picked up a tiny sandwich and waited until the last scientist entered the theatre.

‘You’ll be late.’

Bora turned.

The caterer had spoken to him. She continued clearing the table.

‘I think you like my sandwiches too much,’ she joked. ‘You’ll be late for the next talk if you don’t hurry.’

Bora looked slowly from the theatre back toward the woman.

‘You’re not American,’ he said.

‘That’s right.’

‘Where are you from?’

‘Croatia. And you?’

Bora looked right into the woman’s eyes. ‘America isn’t safe. Everything will change soon. You should return to Croatia.’

She kept working.

‘You try telling my husband that,’ she started. ‘He thinks –

Bora thrust aside the woman’s sandwich tray.

‘Stop that!’ he hissed. ‘Listen to me. I’m leaving this building right now. So should you.’

Bora strode toward the exit.

He inserted his earplugs.

Twenty paces from the building, he looked back.

The woman had disappeared.

Her catering table stood abandoned.

Had she followed his advice, or rushed to warn the attendees?

Either way, she’d made her choice.

Bora pressed the plunger in his pocket.

Even through earplugs, the explosion sounded stunning.

The shock wave blasted out the glass doors behind him. Twisted aluminum frames skidded past him like giant crumpled spiders. Every window in the building exploded. Heat rolled from the theatre.

Everyone around Bora ducked or threw themselves down.

The screaming and panic began.

Bora lost himself in the confusion, trying very, very hard not to smile.

#

Coleman sat alone with Jennifer in the dining hall.

‘When does everyone arrive?’

He meant the Hydra’s full complement of staff.

‘Eleven days,’ she said.

Sitting across the table, she seemed even more attractive now. She held an uncanny resemblance to his favorite actress. Actually, it seemed absurd he hadn’t noticed the resemblance earlier. Even her voice and mannerisms seemed similar.

‘You remind me of someone.’

Jennifer held up one finger. ‘Don’t say it. Don’t even mention her name. If I had a dollar every time someone said that, I’d never have to work again.’

Coleman smiled. ‘Okay. It’s an incredible place to work though.’

Jennifer nodded. ‘I used to wake up feeling like the luckiest person on Earth. Now I don’t know what to think.’

Coleman stopped stalling.

‘Do you know why we’re here?’

Jennifer nodded. ‘Because of the attack in Barcelona. Because of the bomb.’

Coleman nodded.

No group had claimed responsibility.

No political motive could be discovered.

The dead scientists had travelled to Spain from all over the world.

‘I don’t even know if my friends are hurt,’ rushed out Jennifer. ‘I keep sending emails, but no one replies. When I call the hospitals, they won’t tell me anything. I almost attended that conference. I had to cancel to keep the Hydra project on schedule.’

Coleman pushed a photo across the table.

In the photo, Jennifer and two colleagues stood arm in arm smiling.

‘Can you identify these men?’

‘Of course,’ she answered instantly. ‘This is Jordi Haltrin and this is Bert Hodgkiss. I talked with Bert on Sunday. Now I can’t reach him. He knew something was wrong.’

‘Wrong?’ Coleman prompted.

‘Bert tracks whales using radio tags. Three of his whales stopped migrating. He found them dead. Dissected.’

‘Illegal whaling?’ asked Coleman.

Jennifer shook her head. ‘More like a medical autopsy. Someone had carefully removed the whales’ lungs. Bert just found the floating carcasses.’

Removing the lungs from living whales? Coleman hadn’t heard about this.

‘Why the lungs?’

‘Bert had a theory,’ answered Jennifer. ‘We need to contact him.’

‘That’s not possible,’ Coleman said quietly.

‘What do you mean?’

Coleman pointed to the photo. ‘They sat together at the conference and both died in the explosion. I’m sorry.’

Jennifer covered her mouth and looked away.

‘What about Robert Goodkin?’ she suddenly asked. ‘Professor Robert Goodkin.’

Coleman shook his head sadly.

‘He was my mentor,’ said Jennifer. ‘Why would someone do this?’

‘They targeted scientists,’ answered Coleman. ‘Scientists working in the Gulf Stream.’

‘The Gulf Stream?’ Jennifer asked in disbelief. ‘You think someone wants to kill me because I work in the Gulf Stream?’

Coleman nodded. ‘The bomb in Barcelona exploded on Monday. On Tuesday, someone murdered Doctor Eva Kidman. Yesterday Doctor Michael Shank was murdered. They both died on their research vessels. Both in the Gulf Stream.’

Jennifer’s eyes welled with tears. ‘That’s almost everyone I know in the field.’

Coleman nodded. ‘The scientists who avoided the bomb are being hunted down. You’re the last one.’

‘This makes absolutely no sense!’ cried Jennifer. ‘Why would anyone want to kill us all?’

Coleman had no answer.

No theory.

Only a mission to keep this woman alive.

Chapter 2

Forest raised his hand. ‘Wait.’

Myers halted.

The Captain wanted Forest and Myers to secure the saturation chamber.

I smell wet dive gear, Forest thought. We’re close.

He also heard voices. Voices speaking French.

‘What are they saying?’ Myers asked.

‘They’re arguing.’

‘About what?’

‘About us.’

‘Come on,’ prompted Myers.

Forest didn’t need much encouragement. He’d never met a mermaid.

The argument halted the instant the Marines appeared.

Scuba equipment filled the saturation chamber. Forest spotted gas bottles for deep diving, a whiteboard for dive plans and tools for repairing specialized equipment.

Anton knelt beside an air compressor. He looked frustrated from arguing. He nodded and kept working.

Nicolette spotted the Marines and beamed. She crossed the room and shook their hands warmly.

She has strong hands, thought Forest. Small, but strong.

‘Hello. Welcome. Welcome.’

Her accent sounded strong, but her English excellent.

She looks smaller without a tail, Forest thought, although her legs suited her just fine.

Her dark hair had been cut short to avoid catching in her dive mask. Forest put her age at twenty-five. She wore no jewelry except an oversized dive watch.

‘I’m Nicolette Perrin,’ she told the Marines. ‘But please call me Nicole. And this is Anton.’

Anton nodded, but didn’t approach.

‘Please excuse Anton,’ apologized Nicole. ‘His equipment is malfunctioning.’

It looks like more than his equipment is malfunctioning, thought Forest. His manners seem to be broken as well.

‘Are you both marine biologists?’ asked Myers.

‘Yes,’ nodded Nicole. ‘Anton studies the seamount ecosystem. I am studying how whales use the seamount for navigation.’

‘For navigation?’ asked Forest.

‘Yes. Are you interested?’

‘Very,’ replied Forest, stepping around Myers.

The researchers had apparently adopted the saturation chamber as their base. Nicole led Forest to part of the chamber still wet from her last dive. Thick, black waterproof seals surrounded a huge set of imposing steel doors.

‘Where do these go?’

‘Outside the Hydra,’ replied Nicole. ‘That’s the saturation elevator.’

‘Is that the only way in and out?’ Myers asked.

Nicole nodded. ‘When we’re underwater.’

Forest now understood why the Captain needed this room secured.

Nicole turned her laptop toward Forest.

‘This is the seabed profile,’ she explained. ‘You can see how the abyssal plain is flat except for the seamount.’

Forest studied the seamount rising steeply up from the seafloor.

Nicole pointed to the top. ‘This is us. Right at the top. Does this structure