Клайв Касслер - Marauder

Polk thought a moment. “I hate to say it, but he is correct. We’re both nearing forty, our military careers are over, and we have no legitimate job prospects. We hitched our wagon to Lu Yang and lost everything; our Canberra home and our beach house on Bondi, our cars, even our investment account in Brunei that we thought was untouchable. Now that he’s dead, we don’t even have any contacts in China that could help us. A million dollars is a nice offering, but pales compared to a billion dollars.”

“For this much money, he must be asking a lot. We have to assume it will involve great danger and risk.” She squeezed his hand. “After waiting for you so long, I don’t want anything to happen to us now.”

Polk shrugged. “If we can trust him, we can pull off whatever he wants. And once we do, then we’ll have all the protection money we’ll ever need.”

Jin nodded. “True.”

“The question is, do you trust him?” Polk asked.

Jin thought a moment. “He’s a harsh man, but he never deceived us, or my mother. And he’s right about his ongoing support. We both should have served much longer prison sentences. I think we can believe what he says.”

“We put our lives on the line for him in the past, for much less reward, and we’re still standing. We know what’s at risk, but we’ll now have the resources to protect ourselves.” Polk gazed at Jin with a confident air. “Let’s see what he wants.”

She pressed PLAY on the remote.

Lu Yang leaned toward the camera. “I’m glad you see it my way. Now, here’s what I want you to do.”

THREE

Abdul Tanjung didn’t want to wait on the boat while the others took control of the oil tanker, but he was the newest member of this cell of the terrorist group Indo Jihad, so he was left to ensure the boat was ready for their escape before security forces arrived. Now that the Dahar had come to a stop, there wasn’t much for him to do but keep watch for any crew member who might attempt to escape by climbing down the ladder.

Tanjung had fought for the Islamic State in Syria and returned to Indonesia to help install a caliphate in his home country. With his connections in ISIS, it wasn’t hard to find like-minded comrades in Jakarta. Their first mission appeared to be a complete success, and a second one planned for Bali would convince their enemies that the influence of the hated Americans was at an end in Southeast Asia.

Sinking a Kuwaiti oil tanker headed to the United States and causing a massive environmental catastrophe would strike fear into every government in the region. Encouraged by the tanker’s sinking and the Bali operation, more jihadists would flock to their cause, and they would carry out even more headline grabbing attacks until the secular regimes were reduced to shambles.

Tanjung listened eagerly to the reports coming over the walkie-talkie and cheered at every small victory.

“We have all the crew accounted for,” said Commander Kersen. “Bring them to the mess hall. Tanjung, what is your status?”

“Maintaining my position beside the ship. No activity out here.”

“Good. We will lock the crew in the mess hall while we plant the bombs. When we’re done, we’ll bring them down to you.”

“Yes, sir.”

They had three bombs, which had to be placed carefully to sink a ship of this size, and they had to be detonated before the Coast Guard or defense forces could get there, presuming the Dahar had used the SSAS. Based on what they knew of response times from previous hijackings in the area, they had an hour to evacuate the ship and make a dash back to their shore base.

With the crew in custody, Tanjung could relax. He set down his assault rifle and sat on the deck to enjoy a well-deserved bag of klepons rice balls that his mother had made for him and his comrades. The sugary snack was covered in coconut shavings, and he brushed his fingers on his pants as he watched a cargo ship in the distance behind them.

Tanjung thought his eyes must be playing tricks on him because it appeared that the large freighter was racing toward them at an amazing speed. Every time he looked away and then back at the ship, it seemed closer.

He shrugged. It didn’t really matter. A ship that size couldn’t be doing more than twenty kilometers per hour. They would be long gone with the hostages before it got anywhere close to them. Not that a civilian cargo ship could threaten them anyway.

When he was done with his snack, he crumpled up the bag and tossed it overboard.

That’s when his eye was drawn to something strange roiling the water. He rose and went to the gunwale.

The water bubbled from something rising up, almost as if a sea monster were emerging from the depths.

A long, flat object appeared next to his boat, barely breaking the surface. It could have been a wayward piece of flotsam tossed overboard from one of the many cargo vessels that plied the strait.

Tanjung noticed that it wasn’t entirely flat. Toward one end was a short cupola with windows. He was startled to see two eyes inside staring back at him. It was an older white man with ruddy cheeks and a fringe of reddish hair around a bald head.

For a moment, Tanjung wondered if someone had drugged his klepons. But his trance was shattered when a hatch flew open from the back of what he now understood to be a submersible that had come out of nowhere. A figure dressed in black and wearing a balaclava rose out of the opening like a demon and pointed a gun at him.

Tanjung turned to lunge for his assault rifle, but it was far too late. He heard a hiss and felt a needle plunge into his back. He tried to reach the dart to pull it out, but within a second his knees buckled, and he collapsed to the deck.

He didn’t lose consciousness, but his head was fuzzy, and his mouth felt as though it were coated in cotton.

The man clad in black jumped over the gunwale and loomed above him like a giant. He bent down, plucked the dart out of Tanjung’s back, and turned him over.

The intruder tossed the assault rifle overboard before dropping to his knees, and Tanjung could see sharp blue eyes watching him intently. The man said something in English, which Tanjung didn’t understand.

“No speak English,” Tanjung heard himself reply, almost as if it came from someone else.

The man switched to Arabic, a dialect Tanjung recognized as Saudi.

“How many of you are on the Dahar ?”

Tanjung tried to resist answering, but he felt compelled to tell what he knew.

“Seven.”

“Don’t bother trying to fight it,” the intruder said. “The drug you were injected with not only disables you but it also acts like a kind of truth serum. Believe me, I’ve tried it myself. Now, what is your objective?”

“Bombs. Three of them. We’re going to sink the tanker.”

“And the crew. Are they still alive?”

“Yes. In the mess hall.”

“Good. You’re going to tell me where all the bombs are being planted.”

The man yanked off his balaclava to reveal a blond crew cut and a handsome tanned face. He had intense, intelligent eyes, and an innate authority about him that exuded confidence.

Even in his hazy mental state, Tanjung was surprised to see the man uncover himself.

“Who are you?” Tanjung asked, slurring the words as he spoke. For some reason, he felt the need to add, “I am Tanjung.”

“My name is Juan Cabrillo, and I am about to put your terrorist friends out of business. Not that it really matters, I tell you.” Cabrillo smiled like he was enjoying telling a secret he’d been keeping. “You see, the drug coursing through your veins also erases your memory. When you come to in about four hours with a splitting headache, you won’t remember a thing about me.”