Clive Cussler - Wrath of Poseidon

“I have an idea.”

Untying her scarf from her head, she knotted it to the top of the backpack, then heaved the whole thing toward the bush lit up in the beam of the truck’s headlight. As the backpack fell into the branches, the ends of her scarf floated up. Gunfire erupted, the shots ripping through the bush at the decoy.

Remi, her heart in her throat, pressed herself against the trunk. The guards ran out, their heavy footfalls crunching on the gravel.

“Now!” Sam shouted.

She heard the grunts as the two guards tripped over the rope and flew forward.

Sam raced out from one side, Dimitris the other. Sam slammed his booted foot into the ribs of the closest man, grabbed his weapon and aimed it at the other guard. “Drop your gun.”

Dimitris repeated his words in Greek.

The second guard released his pistol. Dimitris picked it up, backing away.

“You can come out,” Sam called.

Remi and Zoe ventured forward. When Remi reached Sam’s side, he handed her the loaded weapon. “If they move, shoot.”

Not sure she could ever pull the trigger, she took a deep breath, hoping no one would notice her hand shaking as she held the gun. She pointed it at the man closest to her, while Dimitris covered the other.

One of the men laughed, saying something in Greek.

Dimitris translated for Sam. “He says we’ll never escape. They’re already on their way.”

“Appreciate the warning,” Sam said. He gathered the rope, using it to tie both men back-to-back. With Dimitris’s help, he dragged them to their feet, led them to the lightpost, and wrapped the remainder of the rope around their waists and the pole, knotting it securely. When he was sure they weren’t going anywhere, he picked up the Uzi from the dead guard, realized it was empty, and dropped it. “Let’s go,” he said.

Dimitris ran back to the truck to pick up a dented tin that had landed a couple of feet from the cab. “It’s empty!” He tossed it aside.

“We’ve got the C-4,” Sam said. “If we’re lucky, they can match it to the explosion on the ship.”

When they reached the dock, there was no sign of Nikos. Now that the immediate danger was over, and the adrenaline had fled Remi’s body, her hands started shaking and nausea threatened. She’d never seen anyone killed before. Try as she might, she couldn’t shake the echo of gunshots from her head. She turned toward Sam in a panic, when suddenly Zoe pointed to the south. “There,” she said.

Remi looked, relieved to see the Asteri motoring across the moonlit waters toward them.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Nikos took off full speed the moment the four boarded the Asteri . Relief flooded his face as he looked back at his son and Zoe. Once they’d put considerable distance between them and the port, Nikos engaged the autopilot. “What were you thinking?” he said, grabbing Dimitris by his shoulders. His face crumpled as he pulled his son close. “What if something happened to you? What would I do?”

“I’m sorry,” Dimitris said, his voice filled with emotion.

“It was me,” Zoe said. “I’m the one who got us into this.”

“No,” Dimitris said. “I should’ve stopped you.”

“The good news,” Sam said, “is that we may have the evidence we need to tie Kyril to the murder of the Interpol agents.”

“What sort of evidence?”

“I’ll explain on the way. Let’s go get the Star Catcher and get out of here. The more miles we put between us and them, the better.”

—

They found the RIB boat exactly where Dimitris had left it, moored behind an outcropping of rock in the narrow, cliff-edged inlet. Coming from the east, the boat was effectively hidden in the dark. Nikos maneuvered the Asteri next to the smaller vessel, then shifted to neutral. Dimitris climbed down the ladder, stepping into the boat. When he started up the engine, it sputtered and died.

“What’s wrong?” Nikos asked.

Dimitris tried again, with the same result. “Just give me a minute. I’ll get it running.”

Nikos grabbed a small flashlight from the cabin. Turning it on, he aimed the beam at the Star Catcher so Dimitris could work on the engine.

It was taking far too long. Sam, thinking about the guard’s parting remarks—that someone was on their way—took his binoculars, jumped out of the boat onto the rocks, and climbed up to the top of the cliff. A light breeze swept in off the water, the wind rustling the leaves of the nearby olive trees. He moved to the edge, looking out over the Aegean, his gaze following the coastline on the left, trying to see the port. The moonlight glistened off a wake across the water farther out. It took a few seconds before he saw the boat that was causing it, particularly because he couldn’t see any lights. There was no mistaking the sleek dark outline of the Omega 41.

Maybe he should have killed the two guards when he had a chance. The moment Kyril’s men landed and found the pair, he knew they’d come looking.

Tracing his steps down the hill to the water, he saw Dimitris was still trying to start the Star Catcher . Had there been only one boat hidden in the small cove, they might escape notice if the Omega passed by. With two vessels, they had no hope. “Big problem. Kyril’s boat is heading toward the port. It won’t be long until they start searching for us.”

Dimitris looked up as the engine sputtered. “I’ve almost got it.”

“With the boat they’re in, I’m not sure it’s going to matter,” Sam said. They had less than five minutes to come up with a solid plan. He took a good look around, checking to see if they could somehow make room for the Asteri behind the outcropping of rock. The inlet was far too narrow to fit both boats, and they’d never be able to sink the much smaller and nearly indestructible RIB boat in time. “If we only had the one vessel, they’d probably pass us right by.”

Remi leaned over the railing of the Asteri , watching Dimitris work. “Can’t we just let the Star Catcher drift away?”

“If they find it empty, they’ll still come searching for us. We need to make them think we got away so they leave.”

Nikos, still holding the flashlight for Dimitris, looked over at Sam. “What if I draw them off with the Star Catcher , like you did before?”

“If I thought there was any chance—” His gaze landed on Remi’s suitcases lined up outside the cabin. “You don’t have anything with a hood packed in there, do you?” he asked her.

“No.”

Dimitris looked up as the engine started. “We have a couple of raincoats on board.”

“I’ll get them,” Nikos said.

“Sorry, Remi,” Sam said. “But we’ll need your clothes to stuff into them. Make it look like a couple of people.”

“You don’t think they’ll figure out they’re dummies?”

“I don’t intend to let them get that close. Dimitris, I’ll need you to climb up to the top of the hill. Let me know when they’re on their way. We may not have much time.”

Remi unzipped her largest suitcase, pulling out bulky clothing items. Zoe and Sam kneeled beside her to help stuff them into the yellow raincoats, grabbing whatever was closest.

“Not that,” Remi said, pulling a silk blouse from Sam’s hands.

“If we fail, that shirt will be the last thing you miss.” He finished stuffing the first jacket, then picked up Nikos’s much larger coat, realizing for all the clothes Remi had packed, there might not be enough. He nodded at her carry-on. “That’ll make a good body for Nikos’s coat.”

Remi emptied it, then handed it over to him.

“I think we’re good,” he said, eyeing the stuffed dummies. Grabbing his backpack, he climbed down into the smaller boat, which Dimitris had left idling. “Nikos.”