Brothers in Arms

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The mist lifted on the sixth day.

Drake and Mai, Romero and Smyth, immediately hotfooted it to the mountain and scrambled as high as relative safety allowed. The rockface was crumbled and shale-strewn, but offered several sturdy ledges to use as viewing platforms. They each took a side.

When Drake stopped, he took a deep breath and then stared hard out to sea. He saw something that almost made him stumble and fall off the mountain. Vestiges of a hanging fog bank still clouded the view but there was no doubt about what he was seeing.

“Here!” he shouted. “And hurry the fuck up!”

Within minutes, they joined him, panting and looking expectant.

There, a few miles distant, stood a second island. This one clearly larger, but still hard to make out. But it wasn’t the island especially that made them all gawp.

It was the large warship docking in its natural harbor.

Drake watched intently. The warship wasn’t all that big compared to, say, an American aircraft carrier or Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, but it looked capable nonetheless. And without being up to scratch on his languages, it was also pretty clear that the long red banner with the glyph-like white characters stretched across its rails, and the hanging red and blue flag with the red star, that this baby hailed from Korea — of the northern variety.

Romero whistled. “Now there’s a fly in the ointment.”

Mai pursed her lips. “Not really. That’s the island we were aiming for initially.” She smiled. “The mission’s far from over, my friends. Hibiki is on that island along with everything he spoke about.”

“And now we have a ride.” Drake eyed the warship.

Smyth grunted angrily. “We have to get there first. And then overpower a shitload of the little bastards. Not quite that easy, SAS.”

Mai shook her head. “For you, maybe. Now, get your gear and pack up whatever food and water we have. Hide the Zodiacs. We should do this before our strength gives out. We should do this now.”

“And when we get there?” Smyth grumbled.

“That’s when the fun starts.” Drake winked and started to make his way down the mountain. “It’s a long way home, guys. Time to stop tossing it off and get hustling.”