Shadow Tyrants

SIXTY-EIGHT

As Linda lured the speedboat away from the mission control room and around the stern of the command ship, Gomez passed an AT4 rocket and a P90 submachine gun up to Juan. He’d have to make the rocket count. It was their last one.

Torkan came into view when they were halfway down the other side of the large command ship. Linda drove the Gator in a zigzag pattern at Juan’s instruction to bring the speedboat as close as possible for his shot. Juan had the AT4 slung over his shoulder while he shot bursts from the P90, bracing himself using the hatch cover.

If he could hit the Iranian saboteur with that weapon, he would, but its effective range was far shorter than the assault rifle Torkan was using. Bullets peppered the Gator as they weaved back and forth.

When the speedboat got within fifty yards, Juan dropped the P90, which slid off the deck and into the water. He put the AT4 up to his shoulder and was about to pull the trigger when a rifle shot hit his artificial leg, knocking it out from under him. Juan fell to the deck and was barely able to keep both himself and the AT4 on the boat.

At the same time, the Gator’s diesel started smoking, and the boat shuddered as it slowed down. The rifle fire hit the engine as well.

Torkan smiled at his shot and told the driver of the speedboat to turn around.

By the time Juan got to his feet again, Torkan was nearing the stern of the command ship. A rocket launch by Juan now would require too much luck to hit the speedboat.

As Juan jumped down through the Gator’s hatch with the rocket launcher and closed the lid, the radio on his belt crackled.

“I only have one RPG left,” Torkan said, “and I don’t want to waste it on you. But, don’t worry. After I kill your friends, I’ll come back.”

Juan ignored the taunt. “Do we still have battery power?” he asked Linda.

“Yes,” she replied, “but we won’t be able to pursue them with our diesel out.”

“We don’t have to pursue him,” Juan said. “Dive the boat.”

For his second try at destroying the mission control room, Torkan made sure to take his time and guarantee the shot would count. After they got the speedboat in position, he reloaded the RPG.

He was about to center his sight on the big picture window when he heard a gurgling noise. He turned and saw the boat he thought he’d just disabled erupt out of the water twenty yards behind them.

The hatch flew aside. Torkan was stunned to see the man who killed Rasul pop out and aim the rocket launcher at the speedboat.

Torkan tried to swing the RPG around, but he was too slow.

The AT4 rocket leaped from its tube. The last thing Torkan’s brain registered was the impact of the warhead turning his boat into a fireball.

From the stateroom on his yacht, Mallik heard an explosion and hoped it was Torkan taking out the mission control room.

He reset the controls on Vajra, but they were altered yet again by his unseen nemesis.

“Torkan,” he called on the radio, “what’s your status?”

An unfamiliar voice called back. “His status currently is that he’s dead.”

“Who is this?” Mallik demanded.

“This is the archenemy of the Torkan family.”

A sonic boom shook the yacht. It was the sound of the booster stage returning to earth. Mallik looked out the window but couldn’t see any sign of it.

“You killed both my brothers-in-law?”

“To be fair, they did try to kill me first.” By the sound of amusement in his voice, the man was clearly enjoying himself.

Mallik smiled when he saw that the twentieth satellite had reached orbit. Its indicator went green. Vajra would wipe out electronics worldwide in sixty seconds.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said into the radio, mirroring his antagonist’s glee. “You’re too late to stop me.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Mallik heard the roar of a rocket engine. It had to be the booster firing its retrorockets, but it was too loud. Then the view of the launch platform began to shimmer as if it were a mirage, and he felt heat bake the air.

With a horrible realization, Mallik finally understood what was happening.

“Do you realize what you’ve done?” Mallik screamed into his radio. “You people have doomed the human race!”

“I hope not,” the voice said, “but you won’t be around to find out.”

In mission control, Murph watched the screen showing the feed from the camera on the booster stage that was pointed down at the engine. He could see crew members on the yacht looking up in terror as they scrambled to jump overboard.

When he had it centered over the portion of the yacht where Kapoor said Mallik’s stateroom was, he switched off the retrorockets, and the booster plunged to the deck.

The camera went black, and a second later they heard an ear-rattling boom from the explosion of the booster.

Suddenly, Murph had complete control of Vajra. There were thirty seconds left before it went active.

“The system will activate automatically,” Kapoor said. “There’s no way to turn off the satellites now.”

“I’m not trying to turn them off,” Murph said as he tapped on the touchscreen.

“What are you trying to do?” Raven asked.

“I’m turning them around.”

Kapoor gaped at the screen as he saw first one satellite, then another, and another, rotate one hundred and eighty degrees.

At the count of zero, all of the satellites initiated their EMP beams. But now they were harmlessly aimed out into space.

Murph let out a sigh of relief.

“That was close,” Raven said.

“I have one more thing to do,” he said. “While I’m busy, maybe you should call the Oregon.”

Max was still on the fake bridge, watching the onrushing Kalinga with dread. The frigate had just launched two more torpedoes. This time, they wouldn’t miss.

His radio squawked. “Max, this is Hali. Raven just called. Murph took down the Vajra satellites. We should be getting our systems back any second.”

As Hali finished speaking, Max felt a hum beneath his feet as generators and equipment on the Oregon came back to life.

“Eric, what do you have working?” Max asked.

“I’ll be able to tell you in twenty seconds,” Eric said. “We need to finish rebooting.”

They wouldn’t have main engines back right away even after the computers came back online, but they did have thrusters. “Turn us one hundred eighty degrees. I want our port side facing those incoming torpedoes.”

“Aye, sir.”

The Oregon pivoted around, and Max went to the other side of the bridge, kicking a couple of Murph’s stray Red Bull cans as he walked.

By the time the turn was complete, Eric called him over the loudspeakers instead of the radio and said, “We’ve got everything back except the modified weapons.” It meant that Eric could hear him on the bridge microphone.

“Launch an Exocet at the Kalinga,” Max said.

“Launching.”

The anti-ship missile shot into the sky and passed over the torpedoes bearing down on them.

“Now get a firing solution on those fish with the portside Gatling gun and destroy them.”

“Firing,” Eric said.

The Gatling gun buzzed to life. With the computer control now aiming the weapon, it required just two seconds for Eric to take out both torpedoes.

With the threat to the Oregon gone, Max turned his attention back to the Kalinga. The Exocet streaked toward it and smashed into the side of the ship. The explosion ravaged the hull directly below the torpedo tubes. The blast set off the remaining torpedoes, and the Kalinga blew apart like a volcano. Black smoke from the shattered frigate rose in a mushroom cloud.

Max leaned his head against the railing as he caught his breath.

Then he stood up and said, “Hali?”

“Go ahead.”

“Tell Murph I owe him a case of Red Bull.”

Five minutes later, Juan joined Murph and Raven in the command ship mission control room. Kapoor had been taken away, and the other engineers sent to their quarters. He sat down to inspect his combat leg. The prosthesis had a large gouge in it from the bullet strike.

“I heard you saved the Oregon,” Juan said to Murph.

“And I heard you saved us.”

“That’s what teamwork is all about.”

“Thanks for bringing me onto the team,” Raven said. “I’ve never worked with a more impressive group. Speaking of that, where are Linc, Eddie, and MacD?”

“After the explosion on the yacht, Mallik’s surviving security operatives on the command ship gave up. Eddie’s watching them and Kapoor while Linc and MacD help the crew of the command ship pick up the yacht crew who jumped overboard.”

“Why don’t I go help them, sir… I mean, Chairman,” Raven said. She waited for Juan’s nod and then left the control room.

“That was good aim on the yacht,” Juan said to Murph. “Initial reports are that the whole crew made it off.”

“That’s good to hear,” Murph said, his eyes glued to the screen above. All twenty satellites still registered green.

“You look like you’re waiting for something.”

“I am.”

As he said it, the indicator for satellite fifteen turned red.

“What just happened?”

“The thought of all computers in the world going dark wasn’t working for me,” Murph said. “I didn’t want to risk someone else picking up Mallik’s baton. Since the satellites were still operable, I set each of the Vajra satellites to fire a deorbit burn. Number fifteen just reentered the atmosphere and disintegrated.”

Then satellite number three went red, followed by nine and thirteen. Soon all twenty satellites were gone.

Murph stood up and faced Juan.

“I probably overstepped my authority on that one,” Murph said.

Juan got to his feet and smiled. “You probably did. Are you gunning for my job?”

Murph grinned back at him. “And lose my reputation as a rebel? Are you kidding?”