Clive Cussler - Wrath of Poseidon

Reluctantly, Sam changed his mind. “I’ll need a lookout. You and I can go back in. The women can wait here.”

“No,” Zoe said, grasping Dimitris’s arm. “You can’t go. I just got you back.”

Remi looked at the two of them, then Sam. “I’ll go with you.”

There were so many reasons he should have told her no, but the look in her eyes convinced him otherwise. “You’re sure you want to do this?”

“Positive.”

He turned to Zoe. “You know the trees we hid behind near the front?”

She nodded.

“The two of you wait there. If anything happens, get to the dock. Nikos will be waiting.”

“Please be careful.”

After he and Remi slipped inside, he heard the clock counting away the seconds. He closed the door behind them, then led Remi to the office, hoping he wasn’t making the biggest mistake of his life.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Remi watched as Sam picked the lock on the office door, then opened it. Remi stood just inside, peering out the narrow opening to keep watch, while Sam took a look around. From the corner of her eye, she saw him looking at the detonators, which were laid out on the desk blotter, the wires neatly folded against the small tubes as though someone had recently removed them from their packaging. He picked up one, along with a remote, tucking both into his pocket, then went back to searching. Apparently finding nothing in the desk drawers, he turned around and opened the metal cabinets behind him. He stood there a moment, not moving.

Remi looked back at him. “What’s wrong?”

“I was hoping there’d be a safe or munitions box where they might keep the actual explosives.”

She scanned the contents of the cabinet. The top few shelves were filled with smaller office supplies, pens, paper clips, and the like. The bottom shelf had an open case of copy paper, ink toner, a large case of Earl Grey tea, and next to that an open box of bubble wrap. She nodded at the shelf. “My money’s on the Earl Grey box.”

He reached down to pull out the box. “You’re right. It’s way too heavy for tea.” He flipped the lid open, pulling out a thick, gray block in plastic wrapping. “C-4. How’d you know?”

“Besides that there’s no mug sitting on the desk? Only a restaurant would keep that much tea around. It doesn’t stay good forever.” She watched as he unzipped the main pocket on his pack, setting the block of explosive on top of his coil of rope. “Is that safe?” she asked.

“As long as we keep the detonator away from it, very.”

Hearing a noise near the front of the building, she looked out. “Someone’s coming.”

Sam turned off his light, then drew his gun. “Get beneath the desk. Hurry.”

She crawled under while Sam moved to the hinged side of the door, his gun in one hand, his backpack in the other. He pressed himself against the wall and waited.

Though Remi tried to even out her breathing, she found it difficult, especially as the heavy footsteps neared. Panic sent her heart racing, the pulse pounding in her ears. Had she listened to Sam instead of siding with Dimitris, they all would’ve been on their way out to the port, not trapped here in the office.

Breathe . . .

She had to trust that Sam knew what he was doing.

Breathe . . .

The heavy footsteps bypassed the office, continuing on toward the bullpen. The next thing she heard was someone shouting. “He’s gone!” Then the sound of running.

“Check the back door,” someone else shouted. “I’ll check the office.”

Breathe . . .

A moment later, the lights in the warehouse turned on. Then someone was at the door, shaking the handle. Remi looked out at Sam, pressed in the corner, his gun out. He put his finger to his lips.

She gave a slight nod.

Breathe . . .

But trying to stay calm wasn’t easy. Especially when she heard the sound of a key in the lock. The door flew open, slamming into Sam. He never moved. Remi could see the guard’s booted feet beneath the desk, certain whoever was out there surely had to hear her heart pounding.

After only a cursory look inside the office, the guard turned away and raced down each aisle of the warehouse.

“Check out the back,” he shouted.

The sound of men running in two directions.

Then nothing but the ticking of the clock outside the door.

It seemed an eternity before Sam stepped forward, reaching for her hand. “Let’s get out of here.” They stepped out of the office. Sam glanced to his right, then stopped short.

One of the guards was standing outside the open back door, his back to them. Sam led her in the opposite direction. Keeping to the wall, they reached the front door, which stood ajar.

Sam looked out, then drew Remi toward him. “Stay low. Wait for my signal.”

She looked to her left, just able to make out Dimitris and Zoe near the trees, hidden behind the shrubs by the road.

“Now.”

Remi ducked as she ran. A moment later, Sam followed.

They heard the flatbed truck’s engine starting up. One of the guards was driving the vehicle away from the loading dock.

“That’s the pallet I was telling you about,” Dimitris whispered. “On the back of the truck.”

It stopped in the middle of the complex grounds. The driver got out, leaving the door open, the headlights on, and the engine running. He jogged to the loading dock, where the second guard stood, both men keeping watch down the road to the port. They were eventually joined by the third guard, who came in from the back.

Remi stared at the twin beams of light aimed down the middle of the road. The moment they stepped out, they’d be caught. They’d never get to the dock without being seen unless they found a way across the road to the ruins. From there, it was at least a quarter of a mile to the water, but they’d have trees for cover.

“This is my fault,” Dimitris said. “I’m the one who insisted on going back in the office.”

“No one’s placing blame,” Sam told him. “Let’s figure out how to get out of here.”

Dimitris nodded at the unattended truck. “What if we stole that? I think I can get into it without anyone seeing. We can drive that out to the dock before they ever catch us.”

Remi eyed the twenty yards of open space between them and the truck. “There’s got to be a better way.”

Dimitris looked at Zoe. “I love you.”

Before they could stop him, he darted out toward the opposite corner of the warehouse.

Sam grabbed Zoe’s arm, stopping her from following. As he held her back, Remi glanced at the truck—left so temptingly on its own.

That was when she noticed the red light flashing beneath the pallet.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Sam saw the flashing light beneath the pallet at about the same time as Remi. It occurred to him that the guards had a twofold purpose in their placement of the truck. The headlights facing down the road ensured that Dimitris couldn’t escape without being seen. Leaving an unattended running truck—with the door open—just about guaranteed that Dimitris would try to use it to escape.

It was a trap set for a single person. And had Dimitris been there on his own, it might have worked.

Then again, it might still work, if Sam wasn’t able to stop him.

“Sam,” Remi said. “Do something.”

The IED could be in any one of those boxes, but it was the detonator that was the key. “Which detonator was missing when we walked in?”

“What?”

“There were four types in his photo. But only three when we walked in. One of those is now wired to that pallet.”

He glanced at Dimitris, edging from the corner of the warehouse toward the flatbed—a good twenty yards away. “Dimitris!” he called out. “Stop!”