Page 53 of Dark Voyage Matters of the Soul

"Positive. I have a lot of connections in Mexico." Turner pushed to his feet. "I need to make a few phone calls and finalize the plan. I'll do it in my cabin and return as soon as I have everything mapped out."

"Thank you." Kian put his hand on Turner's shoulder. "I hate ruining your vacation."

Turner chuckled. "This is fun for me. I was afraid that I would be bored on the cruise."

"Well, then. I'm glad to supply you with entertainment."

He hadn't added that it was a shame people were suffering in the process. It wasn't Turner's fault. The guy liked solving problems. He didn't create them.

"What I wonder is why Bud didn't send a team to the hotel," Kalugal said. "That’s the first thing I would have done."

"Maybe he didn't need to," William said. "He could have someone hack into the hotel's surveillance network the same way Roni did, but I doubt Doomers could have come up with that idea. That's not their style. He probably suspected that it was a trap or a decoy, and he either bribed or thralled the staff in the reception or the cleaning crew to check those rooms and report what they found. Naturally, they reported that no one had used the rooms, and Bud realized what we had done. We didn't consider that because the plan was to see if they would respond. Surprisingly, the Doomers were smart about it. The question is if they found out about the Silver Swan." He turned to Kalugal. "When you tampered with Luis's and the other drivers' memory, where did you have them pick you up?"

"I didn't alter that. They picked us up at the dock, but that doesn't mean that they know which ship we came from or even that we arrived on one. Many of the guided tours meet up at the dock. We could have come from any of the cruise ships and large yachts in the harbor, or we could have flown or driven in and stayed at one of the hotels or resorts. If I were in their shoes, a cruise ship would be the last place I would expect to find immortals."

"I hope you are right." Kian sighed. "I want to keep the damn ship. Not only did I remodel it twice, but it now has sentimental value attached to it."

Kalugal leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "Let's try to think like Doomers for a second. We didn't use firearms against the humans, so their remains don't contain any bullets. If the Doomers were thorough in their investigation, they would have realized that only a sizable group of immortals could have inflicted so much damage without weapons. They would assume that we came upon their henchmen by chance andwere unprepared, which implies we were tourists. They would then search rental cars and tours for bullet-ridden vehicles. That's probably how they found Luis. I wonder why they didn't take the other two drivers, though."

"Luis was injured," Onegus said. "That made him a prime suspect."

"That might be," Kalugal agreed. "The next step would have been to search hotels, resorts, Airbnbs, and ships for Kevin Gunter. When Roni made the retroactive reservations under my name, it was probably after they had concluded their search. Bud knew that the information about my hotel stay was fake. Still, we could have been staying at a different hotel under a different name."

Kian let out a breath. "If they checked all the ships that were moored in the harbor yesterday, they would have found out that the Silver Swan's passengers boarded her at Long Beach. They also know that the clan is located somewhere in Los Angeles. It's not difficult to piece the two together."

Onegus didn't seem to share his opinion. "Half the ships in that harbor came from Long Beach."

Kian lifted a brow. "How many of them were privately owned?"

Onegus smiled. "That's the beauty of the way we do business. If anyone checks the records, the Silver Swan is not privately owned. It's the first passenger ship of a new luxury cruise line."

"I hope you are right. As I said, I would hate to have to get rid of it."

"Worst case scenario, you will change her name again." Onegus pushed to his feet. "I'm calling a meeting of the head Guardians. We will need Yamanu to shroud and Arwel to detect where Luisis held. They are not just going to bring him and his family to us. I hope you know that."

Kian nodded. "Unfortunately, I have to agree with you."

As Onegus started typing on his phone, Kian went through the list of Guardians in his head.

Yamanu's abilities would be needed to shroud the vehicles, providing them with the element of surprise. Kalugal wasn't a Guardian, but his formidable compulsion power was a game-changer. He would have to head the team going to meet with the Doomers. His ability to immobilize them and their cartel recruits could mean the difference between the success and failure of the mission.

Bhathian could lead the Guardians, and Max could assist him. The younger Guardian was showing a lot of promise, and Onegus was giving him more and more command positions to hone his leadership skills.

Kian's gaze drifted back to the balcony doors and the tranquil sea beyond them. Tomorrow would be stormy no matter how well they prepared, but at least today they could enjoy Anandur's wedding and even go through with the bachelor party no one had thought was going to happen.

The question was what would happen tomorrow and whether they would wrap up the whole mess in time for Brundar's wedding.

Dagor

The sun's glare was mitigated by a smattering of clouds, and the air was pleasantly warm on the deck as Dagor, Negal, and Aru lined up for target practice.

The Guardians had set up makeshift targets—empty cans precariously balanced on the ship's railing.

Max handed them the same rifles the Guardians were holding. "This is an M4 Carbine. It's a lightweight, gas-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed, selective rate, shoulder-fired weapon with a collapsible stock. It is the standard firearm issue for most U.S. military units." He sounded proud to be in possession of such advanced weaponry, and Dagor stifled the impulse to sneer at what these immortals considered top shelf. It was primitive compared to the weapons they had on Anumati, but it would do the job just the same.

Still, as he held it in his hands, he appreciated the lightweight design and the ease with which it handled. He had been trained in many weapons, including swords, hatchets, javelins, throwing stars, and some that had been invented on other planets, so mastering this relatively modern firearm would be a breeze.

"Do you know how to use this style of weapon?" Max asked.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com