Nighthawk

12

Kurt gave the helmsman a new heading and the ship veered to the northwest. In the interest of secrecy, Kurt had the captain shut down the AIS beacon so their position would not be reported automatically to the satellite system that tracked the world’s seagoing vessels. That done, he returned to the main deck and used an encrypted satellite phone to call Rudi Gunn.

Rudi was still in Guayaquil, working the political angle and hoping to get some assistance from the Ecuadorian defense forces without telling them why. Despite it being the middle of the night, Rudi answered on the second ring. “One of these days, you’ll call me during normal business hours,” he grumbled.

“These are normal business hours,” Kurt said. “NUMA never sleeps.”

“NUMA doesn’t, but I do,” Rudi replied. “What can I do for you, my insomnia-stricken friend?”

“I just wanted to give you an update,” Kurt said. “I’ve left Ecuador, Joe and Emma are with me, but don’t put it in any reports. The Chinese have agents everywhere, and we’re not sure about the NSA right now. They may have been compromised.”

“Great,” Rudi said. “Maybe I’ll start sending them false information.”

“Not a bad idea,” Kurt said. “At any rate, we’re on our own. And we’re not going to be checking back in for a while.”

“Then why bother to tell me?”

“I didn’t want you to worry,” Kurt said as warmly as possible.

“Where are you?”

“On a refrigerated cargo ship. Only, don’t bother looking for us. We’re temporarily invisible.”

Kurt heard what sounded like movement and a soft click. He imagined Rudi throwing back the covers of his bed, sitting up and switching on the light. The tone in Rudi’s voice perked up instantly. “You’ve found something?”

“Maybe,” Kurt said.

“Hot damn,” Rudi replied. “Wake me with that kind of news anytime. What’s the probability?”

“Fairly good. Check with Hiram for details and stand by. Also keep the rest of the fleet doing their thing. The busier they look, the less likely anyone is to notice that we’ve gone off the map. Might even want to pretend you’ve found something back that way, it’ll draw the heat in your direction.”

“Great idea. I’ll get something in the works. I’ll even put it in a report to the NSA.”

“Perfect,” Kurt said. He was about to sign off and hang up when another thought occurred to him. “One more thing. If you happen to get any calls from the Malabar Shipping Line or the Golden Fruit Company of Valparaiso, Chile… I wouldn’t answer them right away. Probably just a telemarketer.”

The gloom returned to Rudi’s voice. “Do I even want to know?”

“Put it this way,” Kurt said. “If I don’t find what we’re looking for in the next two days, there will be no shortage of limes for your margaritas.”

Rudi acknowledged with a soft grunt and then hung up. Kurt switched off the phone and turned to see Emma approaching him.

“You have them eating out of your hand,” she said. “But how do you intend to pay for this ship? Not to mention the cargo and the pirate’s booty Joe promised them?”

Kurt shrugged and put the phone away. “I figured we’d use that expense account of yours. I took care of dinner, remember?”

“Very funny,” she said. “But, I’m serious. We’re either going to end up walking the plank here or being drawn and quartered on the Capitol steps.”

Kurt didn’t think so. “There’s a ten-hour difference between here and Malaysia, where the shipping company has its headquarters. They’re closed now. They won’t be open again until tomorrow morning, Malaysian Standard Time. By then, it will be dark in D.C. and the phones will be forwarded to the answering service. Between that and the normal speed of bureaucracy, it’ll be a week before anyone starts sorting out this mess. By then, we’ll have found what we’re looking for.”

“And when it doesn’t turn out to be filled with barrels of uncut diamonds?”

“I never mentioned diamonds,” Kurt said.

“No, but the cargo you vouched for is worth fifty million dollars. And this ship is worth twice that much.”

“And how much did the Nighthawk cost?” he asked. “Fifty billion? A hundred? How much would the NSA pay to keep it out of Russian hands? You’re worrying about the pennies and forgetting about the thousand-dollar bills. Trust me, by the time this becomes a problem we’ll have the Nighthawk’s actual position locked down and the most important parts of the aircraft on board. Instead of complaining about the cost of this ship and the cargo, someone will be pinning a medal on your chest and calling you a risk taker and bold leader and buying Captain Kamphausen and his friends their own ships, crewed by beautiful mermaids.”

She took a deep breath and looked away out over the dark sea. “You really are crazy,” she whispered, before turning back to him with a smile. “What sort of Pandora’s Box have you opened for me?”

“Must be your inner rebel,” he replied with a grin.

“All I can say is, you’d better be right or we’re going to end up partners in a fruit stand for the rest of our natural lives.”

“I could think of worse fates,” Kurt said. “But, trust me. It’s going to work out just fine.”