The Devil's Waters

CHAPTER 30





On board CMA CGN Valnea

Gulf of Aden

LB lit the face of his watch. “Oh–two hundred hours. Ten minutes.”

Iris Cherlina lifted her head from his shoulder. “Are you going up?”

“Yeah.”

She stood with him in the flashlight glow. After not seeing her in the dark for twenty minutes, only listening to her breathe and feeling the easy weight of her head against his ear, her long arm beside his, LB had lost track of how appealing Iris Cherlina was, and how unsettling.

She tapped fingertips, uncomfortable. “I have a question.”

“Okay.”

“How will they do it, do you think? The attack. Your friend.”

“Wally.”

“How will he do it?”

“He’ll bring them in on the port wing.”

Iris Cherlina screwed up her face, disbelieving. “There’s not much room.”

“Not much choice. They can’t land on the cargo deck—too open, too many obstacles. The bow’s out because of that light on the mast. They could try on top of the bridge, but there’s radar arrays and the smokestack up there. Lots to get hung up on. Plus it’s visible from all sides. That leaves the wings.”

“Can they do it? Honestly?”

“Like I told you, Wally Bloom under a parachute is a rat; he can squeeze in anywhere. Trust me, he’s scared the crap out of me more than once following him in.”

“There’ll be guards on the wings.”

“My guys have guns, too.”

Iris Cherlina covered her mouth behind both hands. “I didn’t imagine this.”

LB had to get climbing. He needed to be on deck, plugged into the team radio frequency and ready when Wally touched down.

“It ain’t your fault. Like you said, you’re a scientist. You’re doing your job. The pirates brought this on themselves.”

Iris Cherlina reached for his sleeve. “How long? The attack—how long will it take before your team gets control of the ship?”

LB shrugged. She slid her fingers to the back of his hand. He said, “Don’t worry. You’ll be safe down here.”

“How long?”

LB played the raid out in his head. Hit the LZ, stash the chutes, take assault positions, attack the bridge. Wally would have the whole team with him. With surprise on their side, if they could keep it, and some luck, that could take thirty to ninety seconds. Even after they got control of the wheelhouse, fourteen more pirates were still posted around the main deck. If the Somalis counterattacked and the bridge became a stronghold, the battle could get nasty fast. The pirates had plenty of guns and RPGs. Killing wouldn’t dissuade them; they’d shown that already. Wally couldn’t just sit with his back to the wall and let the pirates pummel him. He’d have to go on the offensive somehow. And what about the hostages? Still a wild card.

“I dunno,” LB said. “I haven’t got enough info.”

“Can you guess?”

LB wanted to ease Iris Cherlina’s fear. He made up an answer. “An hour ought to do it.”

“Thank you. Then what?”

“Iris, you okay?”

“Please. Then what?”

“There’s an American warship nearby. I suppose they’ll come alongside and take over.”

“How close are they?”

“Five miles.”

“Good.”

“Listen. You don’t fret about any of this. My guys can handle it. They’ll come loaded for bear. I’ll be up there to help. You stay below. Same deal as before. Don’t come out of hiding until you see me come back for you.”

Iris smiled bravely. The wind seemed back in her sails. LB checked his watch: six minutes to zero hour.

“Go.” She touched the bloodstain across his shoulder. “Be safe, Gus.”

LB paused long enough to suppress the urge to do something foolish like kiss her. He swung the flashlight around, headed to the first ladder.