AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Turner's brows lifted to indicate his skepticism. "Modana is a cartel boss. He didn't become one by being morally gray. He's as black as they come. Suddenly leaving a life of crime and brutality behind to do good will look suspicious to everyone whom Kalugal didn't compel, and I'm mostly worried about the brother." Turner glanced at his yellow pad. "Carlos is rumored to be even more ruthless than Julio, and we might have to arrange an accident for him if we want the rest of the plan to work."
"I don't have a problem with one less evildoer in the world." Kian leaned back in his chair. "Except that Carlos is currently in Cabo, maybe even dealing with the Doomers, and I have no intention of going there. We will stop at Ensenada or some other port, and then we will continue to Long Beach." He turned to look at Roni. "How is the naval hacking going?"
"It's a bitch," Roni grumbled. "I had to ask for help, and I hate doing that."
Kian felt the blood drain from his face. "What do you mean? Who did you ask?"
"Relax." The kid waved a hand in dismissal. "The guy who's helping me needs to stay under the radar even more than we do, but he has experience with naval systems, and since you needed this done expeditiously, that was the only way I could do it." He lifted his head and trained a pair of tired eyes on Kian. "I'm one of the best there is, but it would have taken me days or even weeks to crack that encryption. Scorpion has already done it."
"Scorpion?" Turner chuckled. "Is that his code name?"
It seemed that the strategist wasn't concerned about the involvement of the other hacker, so Kian let out a breath and tried to relax.
They needed the record of the ship's sailing plan altered and all the changes they had made in their itinerary erased. Once it was done, it would appear as if the Silver Swan had never intended to arrive at Cabo San Lucas, and after leaving Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta had always been its destination.
"What's wrong with Scorpion?" Roni sounded offended on the other hacker's behalf. "It's a great code name."
"It's a cliché," Turner said. "What's yours? The Black Widow?"
"No." Roni smirked. "Guess again."
"Just tell him," Kian said. "We are too tired to play this game, and you are busy."
"I'm the Blue Badger," Roni said as if he was issuing a challenge.
Turner pursed his lips and nodded his approval. "I like it. At least it's original, and it fits you."
4
NEGAL
When the Silver Swan became visible in the distance, gleaming under the afternoon sun, Negal released a relieved breath as if he were coming home.
"Finally. There she is," he said, more to himself than to his companions, but it got their attention. Their conversation halted, replaced by an air of anticipation.
For Margo, it was no doubt about reuniting with her friends.
Mia would probably be waiting for her, maybe accompanied by Toven if he was free. Frankie was most likely still in the clinic, but Negal wouldn't be surprised if she'd managed to convince the doctor to let her go so she could greet her friend.
Looking at Jasmine, it was hard to tell what she was thinking as she watched the ship with wide-eyed anticipation, but the others were probably happy to be back so they could get a proper meal, rest, and prepare for tonight's festivities.
Negal was just glad to finally get away from Margo's disturbing presence and have time to relax and decompress before he had to see her again at the wedding, which reminded him that he'd promised Gertrude to be her companion for the party tonight.
If Margo attended, he would be disturbed and distracted by her just as he was now, and he would be a lousy companion to the nurse.
Worse, Gertrude would also expect him to make good on everything else he had promised her last night and failed to deliver, and he already knew that there was no way he could do that.
It was all because of the woman sitting next to him.
Casting a sidelong glance at Margo, he saw her looking at the ship with a smile on her face.
"Excited about finally getting together with your friends?" he asked.
She turned to him. "Of course. But I've also never been on a cruise ship before. Frankie said that it was a small one, but it looks huge to me."
"It's a matter of scale and perspective. When you see it next to the big cruise ships, it will look like a small car next to a semi-trailer."
"It's the same with airplanes," Kalugal said and then proceeded to tell them about the different models and how they compared to one another.
