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The citadel on the Centaurus was adjacent to the main engine room in the bowels of the ship. When Juan, Eddie, and Raven arrived, the inch-thick steel door was wide open. The three of them swarmed into the large, noisy space, ready to take down anyone inside, but it was vacant.
The two-story room housed the auxiliary generator as well as basic controls for steering the ship and communicating with the outside world. On the far side of the room were shelves stocked with pallets of water bottles and ready to eat meals. Beside it were several storage lockers. Stairs led up to a second door exiting to the next higher deck. A ventilation hatch in the ceiling thirty feet above them was tied down by a taut steel cable attached to the wall. The intent was to keep pirates from opening the hatch and spraying the citadel with gunfire or dropping grenades through it.
“Where is everyone?” Raven asked.
“I don’t know,” Juan said. “But at least Polk didn’t beat us here. That door looks like it could survive a nuclear blast.”
He closed and bolted the door to protect their rear while they searched the room. Eddie took the stairs to latch the other door.
He was about to pin the latch shut so that it couldn’t open when the door flew open. One of the mercenaries charged in with his submachine gun blazing, but Eddie was able to grab his arms before he could swing the weapon’s barrel toward him.
They were still wrestling when a second man entered. Juan and Raven couldn’t fire without fear of hitting Eddie, and the second man got off a volley in Raven’s direction. Juan could see the rounds stitch across her chest, and she went down.
Eddie used his leverage to force his guy over the railing, but the mercenary wouldn’t let go of Eddie. Together, they somersaulted through the air and landed on the steel deck, giving Juan a clear shot at his companion. He fired a three-round burst that snapped the man’s head back in a red mist of blood.
Eddie and his opponent continued their vicious fight, but Juan couldn’t go to his aid. Two more gunmen entered, this time more cautiously than the first two.
Juan dived behind the generator as bullets ripped into the metal. Raven, who was lying on the opposite side of the generator, groaned and grabbed her chest, her face a mask of pain. Juan reached out and snagged the shoulder strap of her ballistic vest, dragging her to him.
Juan stole a look over the top of the generator and saw the two men coming down the stairs. They sprayed the generator with rounds, causing Juan to pull back.
Raven pushed herself up with a grimace.
“Are you hurt?” Juan asked.
“Broken rib maybe.” Juan didn’t see any blood. The Level III plate on Raven’s body armor had done its job, but she would have some nasty bruises.
“Can you fight?”
She scowled at him. “Oh, yeah.”
“They may not know you’re still alive. I’ll give you an opening.” He handed her his MP5 and drew his pistol.
“Ready.” She crept to the other side of the generator.
Instead of looking over the top, Juan slid out on his belly, firing his weapon before he could see the target. He didn’t need to hit them. He was merely the decoy.
The two men ducked to the side, firing blindly at the source of his rounds. With their attention on him, Raven edged out and fired controlled bursts at each man. They were dead before they hit the floor.
Juan sprang to his feet and rushed over to Eddie. He was too late to help. Eddie had the strap of his MP5 wrapped around the man’s neck. The mercenary was motionless, and Eddie dropped the man’s head to free his weapon.
“Are you okay?” Juan asked, holding out his hand to help Eddie to his feet.
Eddie took the offered hand and hopped up on one foot.
“I think I fractured my ankle on that fall,” Eddie said. “This guy landed right on it, and I felt it snap.”
Juan helped him over to the stairs and sat him down on the first step. Juan didn’t want a surprise repeat, so he ran up to the door, nudged the dead man aside, and dogged it tight.
He clicked his molar mic. “Linc, we’ve had some trouble down here in the citadel.”
“I know,” Linc replied. “We saw the whole thing on the monitor. Wish I could have been there to give an assist.”
“You need to focus on getting those rockets deactivated. But we still don’t know where Polk is, so be on the lookout.”
“On it.”
“Chairman,” Raven called out to him. She bent over in pain and lowered her voice. “I think we may have something here.”
