Typhoon Fury

52

Juan leaned forward in his chair in the Oregon’s op center as he watched the yacht and fishing boat separate on the big screen. They had been butted up against each other right where NUMA had reported the sunken Pearsall’s position to be. A densely forested islet, no more than a mile across, was visible in the background under dark clouds rolling toward the late-afternoon sun. The fishing boat stopped for a short time a quarter mile from the yacht, then continued toward the north end of the islet.

Juan turned to Max. “Salvador Locsin doesn’t seem to be the type to rent a fancy yacht like that.”

“Not very communistic,” Max replied. “He must be on the fishing boat.”

“Do you think they made the deal they were talking about in the warehouse?” asked Raven, who was standing next to Max.

Juan looked back at the screen and shook his head. “It seems unlikely, after the fight they had, but it does look like it, doesn’t it? And the destroyer hasn’t been blown up like Gerhard Brekker threatened to do, so either they’ve brought up all of the barrels of Typhoon or they were destroyed when it sank.”

“Maybe they just haven’t found them yet, and we’ve scared them off,” Max said. “Look, there goes the yacht.”

Juan frowned. The yacht was making full speed toward the fishing boat, which was already halfway to the islet.

“I don’t get it,” Juan said. “Why is he taking off after the fishing boat?”

“Buyer’s remorse?” Raven said.

“Whatever the reason,” Eric Stone said from his position at the helm, “they’ll catch up with the fishing boat before we do.”

“How long until we close on them?” Juan asked.

“Ten minutes to the yacht. By that time, the fishing boat will be out of sight on the other side of the island.”

“Do you think it’s the trap we’re expecting?” Max asked.

“You read my mind,” Juan said. “Seems like a clear lure to me. Murph, how are you doing with the sensor analysis on those Kuyog drones?”

Murph spun around in his seat at the weapons controls. “Eric and I came up with a beacon that might fool the sensor, but it’s a long shot. We can’t really test out the idea without a working Kuyog. Gomez is working on mounting the beacon on one of our aerial UAVs. In the meantime, I’ll be able to shoot any drones they send at us with the Gatling guns.”

Juan didn’t ask if he was sure. Murph could have been a professional video gamer, so aiming the Gatling guns remotely was a snap for him, using either the radar or the targeting cameras mounted on the guns.

Even if there were more Kuyogs than Murph could handle, the Oregon would be able to outrun them with her magnetohydrodynamic engines at full throttle. They’d never close the distance before their small fuel tanks ran out.

“Our main target is the fishing boat,” Juan said, “and then we’ll board the yacht as well, just to be sure.” He had Hali radio down to the boat garage.

“Linda here.”

“Are you ready to launch?” Juan asked.

“Eddie, Linc, and MacD are suited up with their dive gear in the RHIB. We’re just putting Little Geek on now. Set to go in two minutes.” Little Geek was their small remotely operated underwater vehicle, which Linda would be able to control from the rigid-hulled inflatable boat. Since Raven had told them about Brekker’s plan to booby-trap the wreckage, he didn’t want to send his people down there until he knew there were no explosives on it.

“Good, but there’s a change of plans. Instead of diving on the destroyer, just do a quick inspection with Little Geek and then catch up with us in case we need you to board the yacht. We can always come back later and do a night dive on the wreck.”

“Aye, Chairman,” Linda confirmed. “Conducting a boarding party with this trio will be no problem. We’ve got enough weapons aboard the RHIB to take down Godzilla.”

“We’ll slow long enough for you to launch, then continue on our way. Good hunting. Chairman out.”

When they reached the site of the Pearsall wreckage, Juan had Eric slow to a crawl. The door to the boat garage was already open, it took only a few seconds for the RHIB to shoot out of the Oregon.

As soon as they were clear, Juan ordered Stoney to take her back up to flank speed.

“Let’s stay alert,” he announced to everyone in the op center, his voice taking on a grave tone. He looked at each of his crew, in turn, as he talked.

“From our run-ins with Locsin to this point, he’s shown himself to be ruthless and unpredictable. Don’t make the mistake of underestimating him. He’s a dangerous man even if we are able to capture him, which is what our goal is for Beth Anders’s sake.”

Raven nodded to Juan before his eyes finally settled on Max.

“Be ready for anything.”

It didn’t take long for the RHIB to reach the Pearsall. The Oregon was already well on its way toward the islet when Eddie throttled back and idled at the designated coordinates. Linda peered over the side of the boat’s inflated tubular gunwales. Even with the cloud cover dimming the view, the bow of the destroyer jutting from the seafloor sand was clearly visible.

She finished prepping Little Geek and had MacD and Linc lift it over the side and into the water. Linda tested the onboard camera to make sure she was getting a good feed through the fiber-optic tether connected to her handheld control panel. The high-definition signal was strong, so she started its descent.

When Little Geek reached the bottom, MacD pointed at the screen and said, “Ah think we know where they went in.”

“I see it,” Linda said, pointing the ROV at the hole ripped in the Pearsall’s side by the torpedo that sank her.

As Little Geek went inside the destroyer, she popped on its powerful LED lights. At the first room it reached, she saw a big X drawn on the open door.

“That looks new,” Linc said.

When Little Geek went past it to the next room and another X, Linda said, “They must have crossed off rooms as they searched them.”

MacD nodded. “No Typhoon cargo inside. Makes it easier for us.”

She kept going forward until she found the only door not marked. Little Geek went through and broadcast an image of a single sealed orange plastic barrel against the bulkhead. Another was overturned on the floor, its lid gone.

“Typhoon?” Linc asked.

“Only one way to find out,” she said. After circling the barrel and spotting no booby traps, she moved Little Geek forward and unfolded its small manipulator arm. Its claw reached out and gripped the lid. She tried lifting it up, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Must be pressure-sealed,” MacD said.

“In this case, brute force is a good solution.” Linda revved the motors to full speed and yanked the arm at the same time.

The lid popped off, and water rushed into the container. White cotton batting floated out. Linda angled the ROV so they could see the interior.

The pills were already dissolving in the seawater, sending a cloud of white powder roiling through the boatswain’s locker.

“No way there were two million pills inside these two barrels,” MacD said, who had been told about Overholt’s briefing about the Pearsall’s cargo and the implicit instructions to destroy the pills.

“Wait a minute,” Linc said. “Back up and pan down.”

“Did you see something?” Linda asked.

“Shapes on the floor.”

She moved Little Geek to give them a better view and saw what he meant.

Algae had grown around the bottom of the barrels where they met the floor. She counted the bare circles.

“Eighteen missing,” she said.

“That means one-point-eight million pills are gone,” MacD said.

“I’ll let the Oregon know,” Eddie said and radioed Hali.

“Tell them we’re done here and we’re heading their way as soon as we get Little Geek back,” Linda said.

Eddie nodded and told Hali. Linda maneuvered Little Geek back the way it had come. It was almost to the opening in the hull when a glint reflecting the ROV’s lights caught her eye.

She turned Little Geek into the room and immediately saw stacks of shells for the destroyer’s five-inch guns. Some of them had spilled onto the floor. But what had caught her eye was a shiny metallic object unsullied by years of corrosion.

She edged Little Geek closer until she got a good look at it. MacD must have recognized it at the same time she did because he said, “Uh, guys, that’s a bomb.”

“And it’s got an acoustic detonator attached to it,” Linc said.

At least six explosive devices were planted among the ammunition.

Linda swiveled Little Geek around and quickly set it to automatic guidance so that it would follow its original path, exit the ship, and head for the surface.

She yanked the fiber-optic cables from the controller and threw them over the side.

“Eddie, get us out of here now!”

Without hesitation, he jammed the throttle to its stop, and the RHIB took off like a rocket.