The command room door stood open.
Drake came through the pump route Nola had identified and found papers scattered across the floor, a chair overturned and the mechanical discharge control beyond its emergency mark.
Through the stern opening, Vorr stepped into a departing boat with a narrow ledger case.
Drake could reach the outer stair. A line still hung within throwing distance. For several tempting breaths, pursuit looked like something a captain could accomplish by deciding quickly enough.
Then water struck the lower service grating beneath his boot.
The pump rhythm had already fallen behind it.
Merrit’s question came through the nearby work opening.
“Launch a chase?”
