AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And?” Poseidon prompted.
“We found six explosive devices below the waterline. We were able to disarm them.”
“Or we’d all be dead,” O muttered. “Thank you, Cayman.”
“It wasn’t just me, but you’re welcome.”
“Actually, it was, not that the rest of us were happy about it. Well, him and Kodiak.”
“I only helped with the last one. Cayman disarmed the rest.”
Rather than listen to whatever else Ares had to say, I went above in search of Magnet. I found him near the lifeline, looking out at the moonlit water.
“My condolences, my friend,” I said, putting my hand on his shoulder.
“They ignored a direct order, and it got them killed,” he said, shaking his head. “What the hell more could I have done besides get killed myself?”
“Nothing.”
“I still feel…”
“I know,” I said, squeezing his shoulder. I was still livid about my orders being disregarded. It was something I had every intention of bringing up in the hot wash.
“I was sure we were all goners anyway.”
I reiterated what I’d told Oleander. If we had proceeded with what we believed was her request to meet here, we would’ve lost the majority of the UN coalition, including all five task force commanders, along with Nemesis, the coalition commander.
“It was Mithras. I know it was.”
“Did you see him or anyone else you recognized?”
“No. They were flakked out. Heavily armed. Had to be at least thirty. Probably more.”
The term was slang for tactical gear. “Was any of it ordnance? Issued by a recognizable military unit?”
“I couldn’t see anything indicating it was.”
“I’ll give you some privacy.”
“Hey, Cay?” he said as I walked away.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for saving our arses.”
“It’s my job, mate.”
There were so many things we needed to debrief, but decompressing had to take precedence. There wasn’t a single person on this boat who wasn’t shaken by the chain of events that took place over the last few hours, myself included.
“Cayman.” Z met me on my way down to the lower deck.
“Yes, sir.”
“I’d like to suggest you consider holding off on a hot wash until we’ve returned to Shere. I’ve said the same to Nem.”
“My thoughts as well.”
“I’ll let you make the announcement.”
