Then he pulled a detonator from his pocket, inserted it into the C4, and removed the safety.
He turned around and swam back.
After swimming a dozen meters, a muffled sound came from behind him. It wasn't an explosion but an underwater blast, muffled, like thunder. He turned his head and saw a large hole blown open in the hull of the missile boat, seawater rushing in, and the ship beginning to tilt. People on deck were shouting, screaming, jumping into the sea.
He continued swimming.
He swam to shore, climbed out, and lay on the dock, gasping for breath. Behind him, the missile boat was sinking.
The bow lifted, and the stern sank into the water, like a drowning whale.
"General!" The adjutant rushed over, dragging him up from the ground, "You're alive! You're still alive!"
Mahir said nothing. He watched the sinking warship, the struggling sailors in the water, and the other ships rushing in to rescue.
"Retreat," he said.
