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That was a USB containing the data needed to expose the broker and her connections with Biosyn, as well as any other person connected with her. It was their ace in the hole…
And Darius just dropped it into a goddamn tank of water.
“Dammit,” Darius whispered, as he put his hand against his forehead. Now they have to get another USB and copy the data again, which could take god knows how long. It’s a miracle that-
“We have to go after it.”
Darius turned to Ben at that minute, his face turning to confusion. At first he thought it was a joke, that Ben wasn’t actually serious about diving into a tank full of water that probably contains a very dangerous creature inside of it.
A few seconds of looking quickly proved that hypothesis incorrect.
“Are you serious,” Darius asked, shocked and confused, as he tried to rationalize Ben’s disturbed yet beautiful thought process.
“It’s waterproof,” Ben answered, as he moved away from the edge, “We can get it and bring it back to the surface. It would be quicker than copying the data again.”
“Okay, Sure,” Darius replied, sarcastically, “and what, you’re going to hold your breath and swim god knows how deep to get it?!”
“No, of course not,” Ben answered, as he moved towards a line of tanks that caused Darius to finally connect the dots on Ben’s plan.
“Okay, no,” Darius retorted, as Ben put on the BCD, before moving on to the weights. “Firstly, you don’t know the first thing about Scuba!”
“Can’t be that hard,” Ben replied, as he tightened his weight belt and moved on to his fins.
“Secondly,” Darius continued, “We don’t even know what’s down there!”
“And I’ll be quick, I promise,” Ben replied again, as he slowly made his way towards the dock’s edge, before turning back to Darius. “If anything happens, I…”
Silence.
Darius waited and waited, but Ben said nothing. Almost as if he couldn’t say his words.
“You what,” Darius asked, trying to understand what Ben was about to say-
Before Ben leaned over backwards and into the waters below.
“Wait, Ben-”
*SPLASH*
“Goddammit Ben,” Darius exclaimed, just a little too late before Ben dove into the waters below, with no knowledge of what could possibly be down there. First Kenji, now Ben, why is everyone risking their lives all of a sudden-
Darius stopped, and realized the hypocrisy of his thought process, considering how many times he nearly got himself killed back on Nublar…
Okay, maybe focus on something else, like finding out what’s down there, or maybe getting a tank of his own just in case-
Darius noticed something on the bench where Ben got his tank. He turned his full attention to it… and his heart dropped…
Ben had taken a nearly empty tank.
Without even thinking Darius strapped on his own gear, hurrying as he did so. He didn’t really know anything beyond the basics of scuba, or what was even potentially down there, but that didn’t matter to him.
All that mattered was saving Ben.
His gear now fully situated, Darius watched to the edge of the dock, and jumped right into the waters…
If he had taken a few seconds more, he would have noticed the sign warning of a Plesiosaur in the tank.
*SPLASH*
Darius took a minute to adjust to the water, it’s chill biting through his clothes and into his skin, as he breathed in, and out.
In, and out.
In, and out-
Bubbles.
Darius looked below. He couldn’t see for sure, but he could see just enough to see Ben-
Oh no.
Ben was trapped.
Darius began his descent hastily, his breathing quickening for just a moment, before he got it under control. Darius didn’t care what was down here, what Ben was trapped by, how much air he himself had. All that mattered was-
There was something right beside him.
Darius turned to his right, looking in the deep blue water, desperately scanning it for whatever was right next to him…
But found nothing. Whatever it was, it was either his imagination, or just… gone…
Darius disregarded it quickly, continuing his descent.
Finally, after another 10 seconds, Darius finally reached Ben, finding his BCD caught on a jagged rock.
“Are you okay,” Darius signed, to which Ben replied with a simple nod, before revealing the USB.
Well, at least Ben was able to get it, Darius thought, as he approached Ben, ready to help free him from-
Ben’s eyes widened, as he suddenly started pointing rapidly behind Darius. Darius heart started racing as he turned around himself and-
Darius barely had a second to react before the Plesiosaur’s jaws snapped right where he once was, Ben pulling him behind the rock just in time to avoid it.
Darius caught his breath, as he turned to Ben, who signed to Darius “Are you okay?” Darius replied with the okay sign, as he looked behind the rock. He looked to the Plesiosaur, and noticed something.
It looked malnourished. It didn’t get enough food, and was practically living on fish to survive which, as Darius could tell, were fed by this facility’s automated feeders. It was very clearly not enough, as it had definitely resorted to adding humans to it’s diet in order to survive.
That answered why the Plesiosaur wanted to eat them, but it only opened up a new question. Why were they purposefully starving it? Were they really trying to make a Plesiosaur hungry for humans? What purpose would that even serve-
Ben’s breathing stopped.
Darius turned back, As Ben tried to suck on his reg, before spitting it out and holding his breath. Darius’ heart sank as he realized exactly what that meant.
Ben was out of air.
They were trapped behind a rock, hiding from a starving Plesiosaur that would take any chance at eating them, and were running out of air. How ;ong did they even have? How long did Darius’ own tank have before-
Darius stopped, and looked at his own tank. He took a deep breath in and slowly removed his regulator from his own mouth, before tapping Ben lightly on the shoulder. Ben hesitated for a moment, before taking the regulator in Darius’ hand, getting a fresh breath of air.
Darius mentally sighed in relief…
Before realizing they still had to escape.
Darius made his way to Ben’s own BCD, helping him slip out of it, before taking the regulator back from Ben and getting a breath of his own. He tried to think of a plan as to how to distract the Plesiosaur long enough for him and Ben to escape. There weren’t a lot of options, admittedly. Really, it almost seemed impossible unless they used one of the tanks to trick it into going after it instead of them…
No, that plan was stupid. There’s no way that would actually work… Right?
With not a lot of options, Darius slipped Ben’s old Tank out of the jagged rock and, with Ben’s help, threw it over the rock, making a resounding thud. Quickly, the Plesiosaur charged up to the tank and chomped into it.
It… actually worked.
Darius didn’t take his time thinking about it, giving Ben back his regulator before beginning their ascent back before the plesiosaur realized it was a trick. It was almost too easy, actually. There really should’ve been something more preventing them from just resurfacing-
Why did he think that?
Darius looked below himself just to see the Plesiosaur chasing after them. Of course it was all too easy, why wouldn’t it be. There was no way they were going to out swim, nor any way they were going to stop those sharp dagger-like teeth. It was almost hopeless, unless on of them were willing to risk their lives. Ben handed Darius back the regulator-
And suddenly he had an idea.
Darius took on Breath from the regulator, before putting it below himself, and as the Plesiosaur got closer…
*PHISH*
A stream of bubbles suddenly erupted in the Plesiosaur’s face, causing it to swim off in confusion, as Darius dropped the tank from himself, and made a mad dash with Ben right to the surface.
Darius raised his hand above himself, feeling them breach the water first, as he grabbed on to the dock and pulled himself right up to-
*SPLASH*
Air. Fresh air.
Darius took a deep inhale as he surfaced, as did Ben, before the two climbed up onto the dock. The two took deep breaths as they tried to recover from their latest near death experience…
“Well,” Ben said, as he slowly got up, chuckling a little, “I definitely didn’t think that through.”
Darius chuckled a little, as he himself got back up, “Yeah, remind me to thank Biosyn for a lovely vacation.”
The two laughed, out of genuine relief. They were alive, they made it.
Of course, the Plesiosaur was still down there.
“What do we do with the Plesio,” Ben asked, as Darius made his way to the control module.
“What do you think,” Darius replied, snarkily, as he slammed a button, which caused the gates to the tank to open. The two watched as the Plesiosaur swam out of the tank, and off into the Mediterranean Sea.
The two smiled, glad they did another good thing to help out a poor dinosaur…
“That thing’s probably gonna cause some problems out there,” Ben remarked, as his smile faded a little. Darius looked to Ben, and simply nodded in agreement.
“At least it isn’t starving,” Darius replied, which Ben gave a thumbs up to. The two made their way away from the tank and towards the road.
“Well,” Darius continued, as he finally approached what was the entrance to the facility, “let’s just hope the others get here quickly.”
“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Ben replied, as he sat next to Darius. Things were calm. They were alive, they were safe, and nothing was threatening their lives and safety at that moment in time…
But Darius couldn’t shake off the feeling as if something was wrong. Why did it feel like they were being watched, like someone was right behind them-
*BAM*
Darius felt his head scream in pain as he fell to the ground. His rings rang, his vision faded in and out, as he saw Ben rush up to his side, before being gagged by the same man who presumably did him in. He saw Ben himself hit with a Bat, before he fell to the ground, as the man crushed the USB under his boot. He could feel his mind slowly inching into unconsciousness, as the man, dressed in all black, approached Darius. The last thing Darius heard was one sentence from the man, his face bearing a menacing grin:
“Let’s make sure you’re never found.”