“I’m not talking to you, Dr. Chang.” David stared at Kamau and Shaw. Neither made a move.
“David, there are pirates on the Med,” Kamau said. “We need to be armed—”
“It’s an order.”
Kamau nodded, glanced at Shaw, then extended his pistol, butt outward.
“Well, you can’t order me, and I won’t relinquish my—”
“Hand me your gun or I’ll shoot you right here, Shaw. Try me.” David took another step closer to him, lifting his pistol to chest height.
Shaw cursed and muttered but handed over his gun. He made to leave the saloon.
“You stay here, all of you.” He nodded to Kamau. “Bring me my sniper rifle and our automatic rifles.”
David knew that neither Kamau nor Shaw needed a gun to kill him or Kate, but ensuring they had to do it hand-to-hand gave David a bit more comfort. If it came down to fighting hand-to-hand with either man, he liked his chances.
Kate strained to hear what was going on up above. She heard footsteps occasionally, but no gunfire. That was a good sign. She considered leaving the bathroom long enough to retrieve the sat phone to call Continuity. She wanted to find out how much time she had, what the status was. She heard the outer door—the door to the stateroom—click open.
She started to call out for David, but she hesitated. Someone was running around the room, ransacking it.
A knock came from the bathroom door.
“Who—”
“It’s David.”
She opened it. Relief washed over her. “What’s happened?”
“We’re losing gas.”
“Losing—”
“Either someone sabotaged the ship or one of the bullets nicked the fuel line. I’m thinking sabotage.” He led her into the room. He had turned it upside down.
“What were you looking for?”
“A safe.” He pointed to a wall safe with a combination. It was closed, but a smaller, portable safe—what might have held a large necklace—stood open. Several handguns and magazines from rifles lay inside. David closed it and handed Kate the key. “You and I have guns now. Only us. We need to decide what to do from here. Stay focused. One of them is not who he claims to be. Their next actions could reveal who.”
CHAPTER 63
Somewhere off the coast of Ceuta
Mediterranean Sea
David led Kate up the stairs to the upper deck where the four men were waiting. Kamau and Shaw stood and paced impatiently; Chang and Janus sat, staring out the boat’s windows like nothing was amiss.
David focused on Kamau. “How much fuel do we have left?”
“Less than a quarter of total capacity.”
“Range?”
“Depends on our speed—”
“Can we make it to the coast?”
Kamau wavered. That made David nervous. “Assuming we fix the leak, I think so, but there is no guarantee that we will find fuel there.”
“We’re sitting ducks out here,” Shaw said. “This luxury liner is the juiciest bait on the Med. Pirates will be on us within hours, certainly by sunrise.”
David wanted to rebut the argument, but… it was true. In the post-plague world, for those that had survived the initial outbreak and avoided the Immari or the Orchid Districts, the seas were safer than the shore. A lot of people were waiting the plague out on boats scattered across the Mediterranean. Survivors could fish and catch rainwater—a lot of it on a boat this big. The one-hundred-thirty-foot-long motor yacht was irresistible bait, and it would draw pirates.
When David didn’t respond, Shaw continued. “Kate, I need to use your sat phone. I’ll have my government airlift us out of here within hours. You know we’re racing the clock here. We’ll be in London soon. You can continue your research there and hopefully save some lives.”
Chang and Janus both stood. “We’d like to join you—”
“Nobody’s going anywhere,” David said.
“We’ve been doing our own research,” Chang said.
“What sort of research?” Kate asked.
“Research on a cure,” Janus said. “We were close to a permanent cure, or at the very least, an Orchid alternative. We have worked in secret, withholding our findings from the Immari.”
“The treatment you gave Martin,” Kate said.
“Yes,” Chang said. “That was our latest prototype. It’s not one-hundred-percent effective, but it was worth a shot.”
Kate whispered in David’s ear. “Can I speak with you?”
Below deck, Kate turned to David and said flatly, “You know Shaw is right.”
David stared out the window. Shaw’s option was their best. David couldn’t take Kate back to Ceuta. Everyone would know who she was. The brunette look wouldn’t fool anyone. She wouldn’t be safe there. If word got out that she was in Ceuta, the entire world would storm the base.
David wanted to throw the other men off the boat, find a small island, escape there with Kate, and wait until the world was fit to live in again. Or better yet, stay there forever.