Elsewhere on the second floor…
Avril moved cautiously through the waist-deep water. When the sea had surged in moments ago, it had caught her completely off guard. A shark had nearly attacked her then—fortunately, her reflexes kicked in just in time, and she had taken cover behind some debris, barely escaping death.
It had been that shark—the one she had wounded earlier. She had no doubt. The bullet hole in its dorsal fin was unmistakable.
She'd managed to return through the sealed door from which she had originally come, but by then, the lab had been nearly submerged. Her mind was full of resentment toward Glaz. Who could've predicted he'd be attacked by a shark mid-operation, leaving behind such a devastating "gift"?
Still, Avril knew that blaming others wouldn't help now. She had to stay sharp. The situation was critical—her only hope was to return to the surface and escape via seaplane, just as she and Glaz had planned. She could only pray the explosions hadn't destroyed the aircraft.
Wading through the cold water, she soon came upon a three-way fork in the corridor. Overhead, the light fixtures sizzled and sparked; their flickering cast ominous shadows along the walls. The water shimmered darkly beneath her, and she had no idea what might be hiding below—at any moment, a shark could surge up from the depths.
After a moment's orientation, Avril picked the path that led in the direction she needed.
She pushed forward, legs straining through the resistance of the water. The only sound in the corridor was the swishing of her movements. With gun in hand, she paused now and then to listen or glance behind her.
Luckily, there seemed to be no one else in this section. Most personnel had left the base for the weekend. Those who remained had likely been in the lab when disaster struck.
Avril pressed on, soaked to the bone, the wound on her shoulder searing from the saltwater. She gritted her teeth against the pain.
Suddenly—alarm bells went off in her head.
There was no sound. No ripple. No warning. But her instincts screamed at her, and she instinctively shifted sideways just in time.
With a loud splash, a figure burst from the water beside her, weapon in hand.
BANG BANG BANG!
Gunshots rang out through the corridor. It was Jason Bourne. But his surprise attack missed—Avril's sudden movement had thrown off his aim. She grabbed his gun hand and knocked it aside; the bullets slammed into the wall.
Simultaneously, Avril returned fire—but Jason twisted her shooting arm just in time, and her shots also went wide.
Click click click…
They both emptied their magazines.
Without hesitation, they tossed aside their pistols and drew knives.
The blades gleamed coldly in the dim light, flashing between them in quick, violent arcs. But the water slowed everything down. Speed became useless. Several times, they were forced into close-quarter clashes. Both suffered shallow cuts, their blood drifting through the water, forming red trails that spread ever wider.
They fought with total focus, life or death in every stroke.
Meanwhile, in a neighboring corridor, a massive shadow slid silently beneath the waterline. With each movement, seawater flowed past its nasal gelatin and lateral nerve endings.
Suddenly, the great white's pitch-black eyes sharpened.
It had caught the scent of blood.
Its electroreceptors detected disturbances—biological signals, vibrations, movement.
In an instant, the shark went into hunt mode.
With violent force, it slammed into the sealed bulkhead at the end of the corridor.
Back in the fight, Avril and Jason were fully immersed in their duel when the loud THUD THUD rattled the walls. Both froze for an instant. A shark had found them—and wanted in.
They stopped fighting almost simultaneously.
The pounding grew louder, more frenzied.
Then—CRASH!
The bulkhead gave way. A shadow slid silently beneath the surface.
Everything went still.
The water was eerily calm. Not a ripple disturbed the surface. Neither dared move. Somewhere in that water lurked a predator.
Somewhere out of sight… it watched.
Both of them stared toward the broken door, barely breathing.
For a moment, they prayed the shark would lose interest and go. But prayers have a way of being unanswered.
Twenty meters away, the surface broke.
A dorsal fin appeared, slicing toward them at terrifying speed.
"Shit!"
The once-deadly enemies chose the only logical option: run.
Sloshing through waist-high water, they sprinted as best they could. Just ahead was a fork in the corridor. Instinctively, each chose a different direction. It was now a matter of luck.
Both knew the shark could smell their blood—it would follow one of them.
At the fork, the great white didn't hesitate. It turned and followed Jason.
He was the unlucky one.
Behind him, the dorsal fin gained speed.
Jason cursed under his breath, legs churning furiously through the water.
He spotted a room—an activity area—just ahead and dove inside.
The room's walls weren't solid concrete but rather wooden partitions with large glass panels. Through the window, Jason saw the dorsal fin flash past. The shark hadn't spotted him.
But as soon as Jason allowed himself a breath of relief, the fin reappeared.
It was circling back.
The shark hovered in the corridor, refusing to leave. It was sure its prey was nearby. Jason pressed a hand to his wound. The blood—yes. The shark had his scent.
There was nothing he could do but wait.
Minute by minute, time dragged on. Eventually, the fin disappeared.
Jason waited.
Nothing.
Just as he began to hope the beast had left, the room's door—completely silently—began to open.
Jason's heart leapt into his throat.
The door creaked open, then slowly swung shut again.
It was in the room.
Jason had hidden just behind the door—now, as the shark entered, he was perfectly positioned in its blind spot. He could feel the water shift against his leg from the massive body moving past.
Acting instantly, he slipped out through the closing door—quiet, deliberate.
Once outside, he grabbed a stray wooden plank floating on the water's surface and wedged it between the door handles, locking the predator inside.
Only then did he disappear into the darkness, leaving the apex killer sealed behind.
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