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“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.”
