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Bradley shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “How did you know that?”
“He has developed something called a sonic disruptor. We believe it uses sound waves to affect people’s minds. It makes them have terrifying hallucinations and drives them to harm themselves and others.”
Bradley nodded slowly. “That’s what happened to everyone else on the KC.”
Juan frowned. “It didn’t happen to you?”
Bradley shook his head. “I seemed to be the only one who didn’t go crazy.”
Juan and Max glanced at each other, then Max asked, “Did you have some kind of hearing problem that day?”
“I had an ear infection. Couldn’t make out anything that people were saying. It finally cleared up a few days ago.”
“That’s why you were immune,” Juan said. “The same thing happened to our ship, but our crew managed to get away from it . . . You’re sitting in the Oregon, by the way.”
“Can you tell us if you had any cousins that died recently?” Max asked.
Bradley narrowed his eyes. “Why do you want to know?”
“Because we think a SEAL aboard your sub was the reason Tate sank her. He had some knowledge that Tate was afraid of.”
Bradley sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Why should I trust you? You could be working for Tate. You could be Tate, for all I know.”
“I thought you might be skeptical,” Juan said. “Maybe this will help.” He pressed a button on the tablet in front of him. “Come in, Linc.”
A few seconds later, Franklin Lincoln opened the door and breezed in. He took a seat next to Bradley, whose eyes lit with recognition.
“It’s you,” Bradley said with awe. “I mean, Lieutenant Commander Lincoln.”
Linc grinned at him. “I’m a civilian now, but it’s good to know my rep in the SEALs is as good as ever.”
“You hold most of the records at the InterService Rifle Championships. The six-hundred-yard mark you set is unbelievable. You’re a legend. They still have your photo up at Coronado.” Coronado, California, on San Diego Bay, was where BUD/S training took place.
“I’m impressed with what you’ve survived. Living in that decompression chamber for almost two weeks? That took some guts.”
“Thanks. Man, wait ’til my buddies hear I . . .” Bradley’s voice trailed off, waning from excitement to sadness.
“I’m sorry about your friends,” Juan said. “But we’re on your side. We want to find out why they died so it won’t be in vain.”
“Are you going to stop this guy Tate?”
“That’s the plan.”
Bradley took a breath. “I didn’t have any cousins die recently. But I know someone on the KC who did. Carlos Jiménez. He was my best friend.”
“Could he be one of the men who was in the engine room that survived?” Max asked.
Bradley shook his head. There was a catch in his voice as he spoke. “He went nuts, like everyone else, and attacked me. That’s how I ended up in the DDS. He was in the forward escape trunk when it flooded.”
“I’m sorry,” Juan said again. “But it’s very important that you tell us anything you can if we’re going to stop Tate from doing something like this to another ship.”
“Carlos had been pretty upset when we put to sea,” Bradley said. “His mother, who passed away a few years ago, came from Brazil, and he had some cousins from a small town in the eastern Amazon jungle. Carlos had been emailing them and planned to go visit. But they were killed before he could go.”
“Do you know how they died?”
“They were gunned down. The police said it was drug dealers, but Carlos didn’t believe them. He thought it was related to something they’d found.”
“Which was what?” Max asked.
