Page 70 of Clive Cussler Desolation Code (The NUMA Files #21)

Kurt was still carrying Priya when the explosion rocked the compound. It shook the tunnel like an earth tremor. He dropped to one knee and leaned into the wall so as not to drop her. Gamay held on, too, and looked to the ceiling as dust and small bits of plaster fell.

She glanced around. “Well, that seems real,” she whispered.

“As real as it gets,” Kurt said.

“Your doing?”

“It’s only a party if someone brings fireworks,” Kurt said. “Let’s get out of here.”

A secondary rumble that felt like the building collapsing followed and a blast of hot air and dust surged down the hall.

“How far do we have to go?” Gamay asked.

“Not sure,” he said. They couldn’t swim out the way they’d come in. Not against the current, and not when half the tunnel had probably collapsed from the explosion.

They kept moving forward, looking for anything that suggested an exit. Navigating the maze was far more difficult without Priya to guide them with the lights.

After several wrong turns they came to the end of the tunnel and pushed through a door that led them out into the sunlight. They were a thousand yards down from the dock, but a boat was already heading toward them. As it pulled up, Paul all but jumped off the boat to embrace his wife.

Kurt brought Priya on board and Kai was immediately drawn to her side. She dropped down next to her, brushing the few strands of hair that remained off of Priya’s face.

Chantel was there, leading. The other crewmen from the Isabella were there as well, manning various stations. “Anyone else?” Chantel asked.

“No,” Kurt said.

She waved to the helmsman, and they moved off the dock. “Where to?”

“The other side of the island.”

The boat moved off the beach and out into the bay.