Page 72 of Rupture

Duke winked. “Focus on MARV. Everything else can wait.”

She managed a smile as she connected to MARV, her fingers moving across the keyboard as she ran operational checks. One by one, the systems flickered from orange standby to green.

Her head still felt foggy, but focusing on the diagnostics helped steady her. She pushed down her simmering anger at Thea’s betrayal.Later.Finn and the rest of the Wolves needed her now.

Beside her, Finn dropped to the edge of the pool, his powerful legs dangling into the midnight water as he made final adjustments to his air tanks. Dive knives strapped to each thigh reflected the artificial light, a reminder of what might await in the depths.

“We’re going to make it.” His hands worked with the efficiency of someone who’d done this a hundred times before. “MARV will do its part. We’ll do ours. Simple as that.”

She nodded, trying to match his certainty as she set the laptop down. “MARV will locate the devices, even in zero visibility.”

Finn hesitated at the pool’s edge, then suddenly he cupped her face in his hands. His palms were warm and rough against her skin as he pressed a slow kiss to her lips.Her heart stuttered, caught off guard by the intensity in his touch.

Right there, in front of his team.

When he broke the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers. She drew strength from his touch, the solid feel of him close to her. If anyone could navigate the lightless water and disarm those bombs, it was these men.

“Be careful.” She covered his hands with hers, turned his hand, and kissed his palm.

“We’ll be back before you know it.”

“We’ll take good care of him.” Ethan winked at her across Finn’s shoulders and at last she released him, wrapping her arms around her waist as he slid into the water.

“Set to get wet.” Finn made an okay sign at Liev as he placed his mouthpiece between his lips. Liev tumbled, arrowing down back into the lake. Ethan followed, then Finn, leaving only the noisy slop of water at the pool’s edge to mark their absence.

Rose hurried with her laptop to the bank of three computer screens across the room. Their glow cast shadows as they illustrated a 3D image of the habitat. With numb fingers, she connected MARV to the habitat system. The images flickered and merged into a map. Three blue dots represented the Wolves, while MARV’s yellow marker swept ahead in a search pattern.

Red dots pulsed around the habitat in a deadly constellation, showing the approximate locations of the bombs. On her screen, MARV moved between the red dots, mapping each explosive’s location exactly.

Duke joined her, resting his hand over her white-knuckled grip on the console. “They know what they’re doing.”

God.She hoped so.

“I need to prepare the crew for evacuation. Will you be?—”

She pasted a reassuring smile onto her face. “Go. I’ll be fine.”

The door hissed closed behind him, leaving her alone in the dive room.

She closed her eyes. Please.Keep them safe.

She checked her watch. 30:00.

29:59.

29:58.

The countdown had begun.

42

Cave-dark water rushedFinn’s faceplate as he exhaled, sinking into the abyssal lake. The crushing cold pressed in, and he forced himself to wait, steadying his breath as his body adjusted to the pressure. His flashlight beam barely pierced the black, swallowed by a vortex of darkness and drifting organic matter. His outstretched hand was little more than a dim shadow. “Initializing HUD.”

“Copy that,” Rose’s calm voice broke through the isolation, a lifeline in the dark. “I’ve got all helmet cams online. Feed looks good.”

He nodded, though she couldn’t see it. The isolation receded slightly, her voice anchoring him. The OSC might have sent him down here, but this wasn’t about orders. This was about keeping Rose safe. That’s what mattered.

Finn gritted his teeth as he initiated the heads-up display. The murky expanse around him resolved into a grid of vivid green lines, outlining the Io habitat and cave system in sharp relief. Flickering green data streamed across his faceplate. Depth, vitals, comms link—all systems nominal.

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