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“One boat eight miles to the west. Forty-footer. Looks like a fishing vessel. Nothing else on the scope.”
The boat could belong to Tate for observing them, but he didn’t have time to go check it out. He’d keep an eye on it, even though a boat that small was no threat to the Oregon.
* * *
—
Normally, the Oregon would be too far over the horizon to observe from their chartered fishing boat, but Abdel Farouk was using a drone high above them to watch the Oregon. Doubling the owner’s normal fee gave him and Li Quon the boat to themselves. He was pleased to see the spy ship rushing off at top speed to the northeast.
“Are they coming toward us?” Li asked uneasily.
“No,” Farouk answered. “They’re sailing for the coordinates the commander gave them.”
“Showing them the SEPIRB from the Kansas City must have been convincing.”
“The commander is no fool.”
“How long do you think it’ll take for them to realize the sub isn’t there?”
“Long enough for us to hit them with the sonic disruptor.” The drone holding the weapon was in place. As soon as the Oregon was in range, all Farouk would need was the commander’s order to activate it.
“Do you think it’ll have the same effect as in Rio?”
Farouk shook his head. “Better.”
“Even on a ship that size?”
“I’m turning it up to full power, just like we did with the KC. The crew should begin to react within seconds.”
“What do you think the chances are that they blow up or sink their own ship?”
Farouk shrugged. “Hard to say. Of course, that’s not the commander’s first choice.”
“I’ll bet you a hundred bucks they do it.”
Farouk lowered the binoculars and grinned at Li. “Make it five.”
“You’re on,” Li said. He had turned away and was walking into the bridge when the radio crackled. As Farouk thought about how he’d spend his winnings, he made some final adjustments to the sonic controls.
When Li returned, he said, “The helicopter is in position forty miles out. They’re just waiting for your signal.”
The Sikorsky hovering to the north was carrying a ten-man assault team. It would take the chopper fifteen minutes to make the trip to the Oregon once the acoustic weapon was transmitting. By that time, the crew should be incapacitated, overboard, or dead. When they landed on the deck, the assault team would encounter little to no resistance.
“They’ll be in the position in five minutes,” Farouk said, shaking his head in admiration for how Tate had foreseen everything. It had all lined up so perfectly.
The commander’s plan wasn’t to sink the Oregon. The plan was to steal it.
26
BUENOS AIRES
Juan put on his gog
gles, braced himself in the open door of the seaplane, and stepped out onto the pontoon. He looked down and saw Buenos Aires Harbor five thousand feet below.
“Approaching drop point,” Tiny said over the comm system.
“Roger,” Juan answered. He pulled out the pack containing the dummy until it was balanced on the edge of the plane’s floor. “Ready.”
