Клайв Касслер - Marauder

“That won’t work,” Sylvia said. “The MR-76 launch controller is a two-part system. If we destroy this or jam the signal, it won’t stop the countdown. We’d have to disable each individual rocket.”

“She’s right,” Eric said. “The only way to do it is to find the key and turn this back to off.”

“Could you pick the lock?” Eddie asked.

“It would be tricky, but we could try.”

Eddie handed Eric his lock-picking set.

“We still haven’t found Polk,” Juan said. “He probably has the key. In the meantime, we can close the cargo holds to prevent the rockets from launching.”

He pushed the buttons to close the two open cargo bay doors.

Raven and Linc returned.

“No antidote,” Raven said.

“And we found a picture of the dead guy in the fridge. It was the captain.”

“We have to find Polk,” Juan said. He hadn’t been in the accommodation block, which left the engine rooms or the cargo holds.

The bridge had a camera link to the engineering area. The monitor showed both the main engine room and the room with the auxiliary generator.

Juan peered more closely at the screen and noticed something that caused him to tense.

“This ship has a citadel.”

“A what?” Sylvia asked.

“A citadel is like a safe room,” Eric said. “If pirates try to take over the ship, the crew can retreat to the citadel and lock it up tight. It’s usually stocked with plenty of food and water for a long siege.”

“If Polk finds out we’re here and goes to the citadel,” Juan said, “we probably won’t be able to break in before midnight. Raven, Eddie, you’re with me. We’re going to secure the citadel. Linc, stay here with Eric and Sylvia while they try to disable the launcher.”

They were already hunched over the control panel with the lock picks as Juan’s group sprinted for the stairwell.

—

As Polk emerged from the cargo hold onto the deck with his men, the cargo bay doors were closing.

“What is that guard on the bridge doing?” he asked, jogging toward the superstructure. When he got near the door, he slipped on some liquid on the deck. He thought it was oil until he looked more closely.

The small puddle looked black in the low light, but it had the unmistakable smell of blood.

He followed the droplets and found a shoe sticking out from underneath a pile of rope. They uncovered the dead body of one of the mercenaries.

Polk glared with rage. It had to be the work of the same group he’d fought against twice already.

“We’ve got intruders.”

He only hoped they hadn’t taken control of the citadel. He took the dead man’s submachine gun.

He glared at the security chief. “Take three men and secure the citadel. I’ll take the other two and go to the bridge. Kill anyone you see.”

Without waiting for a reply, he ran to the external stairs with his men and headed up to the bridge.

SIXTY-EIGHT

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.”

Juan went back down the stairs and over to Raven, who was standing by the lockers. One of them was secured with a combination padlock.

“There’s something valuable in here.”

“Let’s take a look.”