Catalyst (Breakthrough Book 3) (30 page)

65

Hiding less than a hundred yards away, DeeAnn, Dulce, and Juan all jumped when they heard the loud gunshot.  But it was the Brazilians, even further away, who stopped in their tracks.  All eyes turned north with dozens of hands instinctively gripping their own guns.

Salazar and his lieutenant looked back at each other, completely ignoring both Otero and Russo.

There was no second shot.

Salazar began yelling.  “Hurry!  Move!”  He locked eyes with his lieutenant.  “Move your men out
with
the search team.  NOW!”

It was less than a minute before Caesare reappeared in the darkness and looked down at DeeAnn.  “We have to move.  Right now!”

They scrambled to their feet.  “What the hell was that?”

“An accident.”

“Did you shoot them?”

“Not exactly.”

“Not exactly?  What does that mean?”

“It means we’re going to have company if we don’t get out of here immediately.”

A few minutes later they all emerged into what DeeAnn recognized as a small camp.  Surrounded by four tents, several fold-out tables and chairs, they could see Anderson standing nearby, bandaging Tiewater’s arm.  On the ground was a large man with his arms bound behind his back.  He had a deep bronze complexion and sat dressed in rumpled camouflage clothes.  He watched the SEALs standing over him with a look of confusion.

“You okay?” Caesare asked Tiewater.

“Yeah.  Just a graze.”

“Where’s Corso?”

“Here.”

He turned to his left to see Corso’s large frame appear, pushing through a wall of waist-high plants. 

“Where are the others?”

“Sleeping.”

Caesare grinned and knelt down in front of the man, resting his rifle across one arm.

“What’s your name?”

The man stared at him without replying.

“Name,” Caesare asked again, louder.

Hugo stared uncomprehendingly at the men.

Caesare sighed and stood back up.  “Anyone speak Portuguese?”

“I can ask how much cab fare is,” Tiewater said with a grimace.  “But that’s about it.”

“Great.”

“Portuguese wasn’t exactly popular in high school.”

Caesare looked at Corso with surprise.  “Really? 
Now
you get funny?”

“It takes me a while.”

“No kidding.”

Tiewater straightened his arm and snaked his sleeve back down over his bandage.  He stared down at the poacher.  “We don’t need him.  We know where they were.”

Anderson nodded in agreement.

Steve Caesare thought for a moment before turning around to DeeAnn and pointing at her vest.

“Turn it on.”

“I thought you wanted it off?”

“It doesn’t matter now.  Everyone heard the gunshot.  Which means a company of soldiers is now headed this way.”

He watched DeeAnn turn the vest back on before kneeling down again, in front of Dulce.

From her own viewpoint, the small gorilla watched Caesare’s frame lower to the ground.  He was looking at her with an expression she’d come to know as worried. 

She stepped forward, studying him, and wiggled her large black nostrils.  She could smell his nervousness.

When he spoke, she heard his mechanical voice through DeeAnn’s vest.

You hear now, Dulce?

She nodded at the mechanical sound from the vest.

“Yes.  I hear you.”

Me need you help.

“Yes.  I help.”  Dulce grunted, smiling at Caesare.  “How help you?”

We need find friend.  Need fast.  Very fast.

“Yes.  I can find friend.  I find friend quickly.”  Dulce sniffed again.  It wasn’t just nervousness she could smell on Caesare.  Some of it was fear.  They were in danger.

“I find him.”

Yes Dulce.  Now.  Fast!

Dulce snorted confirmation.  At this distance, she could already hear the monkeys.  And they were close.

66

The rolling of the ship caused Alison to stumble and brace against the wall for support.  A few steps in front of her, Neely seemed to have less trouble keeping her balance, but even she stumbled slightly as she reached for Alison.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.”  Alison stepped back into the middle of the narrow passageway and continued forward with a hand on each wall.

Together they reached the door at the end, on which Neely knocked firmly.  She glanced anxiously at Alison and cleared her throat.

The door opened moments later with Captain Emerson standing on the other side.  Dressed in a pressed white, short-sleeve shirt, his trim frame filled the opening.  He examined them with his piercing gray eyes.  After a brief moment, he pushed the door open further and stepped back.

“Commander Lawton.  Dr.  Shaw.  Please come in.”

They both entered without a word and walked into a surprisingly roomy cabin, complete with a small dining room table and leather couch.  On the opposite wall stood a chest-high shelf, filled neatly with books and secured behind four small, decorative glass doors.

“Have a seat,” he said, motioning to the couch.

The two women complied as they watched Emerson pull out a chair and sit facing them, wearing a dour expression.  “We should be arriving in a little less than an hour.  So I thought we should have a talk.”

Both women nodded in silence.

“This isn’t the first time Langford has commandeered my ship like this.  In fact, he seems to be making a habit out of it lately.  This is, however, the first time he’s done so without giving me much information as to why.  What he did tell me is that you two ladies are looking for something pretty damn important.  And my job, and that of my crew, is to do whatever we can to help you find it.”  He leaned back slightly and crossed his arms.  “Is there some light you two care to shed on this?”

Neely and Alison looked at each other, unsure of what to say.  Emerson continued, shifting his gaze over to Neely.  “I’m sure you would agree that being ordered to relinquish part of my ship to a junior officer, and a civilian, begs for a bit more explanation.”

Neely cleared her throat, nervously.  “Uh, well, the truth is Captain, we’re under orders as well.”

“From Langford?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’m not surprised.”  He relaxed slightly and reached up to rub an eyebrow.  “Okay.  Then let me go first.  Some of what I’m about to tell you, you may already know, but some you may not.  Our destination, from the coordinates that I believe Ms. Shaw provided, seems to be pretty damn important.  And not just to us.  Therefore, I’ve been ordered not to loiter.”

Alison looked at the captain with a confused look.  “What does that mean?”

“It means we are not to be here when the sun comes up.”

“What?  Why?!”

“Because there are dozens of satellites poised to snap pictures of this area, and someone may be watching.  And if whatever you’re looking for is as important as it sounds, Langford is not willing to broadcast precisely where we’re looking.”

“H-how long do we have then?”

Emerson glanced at his watch.  “A little less than ten hours.”

“Ten hours?!”  She glanced nervously at Neely.  “Then what?”

“Then we leave.  And head for Guyana where we will anchor and appear to be examining the wreckage of the Bowditch.”

Emerson watched the expression change on Neely Lawton’s face.

“Guyana?”

“I’m afraid so.  I’m sorry, Commander.  It’s the only place the Pathfinder will seem
expected
.  If we need more time back here, we’ll have to figure out how to do it without being noticed.”

“And how will we do that?”

“Likely with something less noticeable, perhaps a fishing boat.”

“We’re going to steal a fishing boat?”

A smile emerged from Emerson’s mouth.  “No, Ms. Shaw.  We’ll charter one.  I’m aware of your opinion of the Navy, but we’re not
that
bad.”

Emerson turned back to Neely.  “I know this won’t be easy for you, Commander.  Your father managed to bring us to a draw on the first fight, but it seems the battle isn’t over.  So if you two are going to find what it is you’re after, I suggest you do it before sun up.”

Neely blinked at him, surprised. “With all due respect, sir, ten hours isn’t nearly enough time.”

“Then I guess we’ll have to make the most of it.  Which leads me to my next question.  How can my ship, and my crew, assist you?”

Alison wasted no time.  “Let me talk to Sally and Dirk.  We need time to test with them.  Otherwise, our translation system may not operate correctly in the open water.”

Emerson thought it over.  “You’ll have to wear a harness.  These swells won’t get any better until we can power down.  And even then only moderately.”

“Fine, I’ll wear a harness.”  Alison was growing desperate.  They’d planned to use the entire trip to work out the bugs in the new software code, but outside conditions on the deck had made it impossible.  Instead, Lee was left trying to make some progress through loopback testing, but there was only so much he could do through simulation.

What Alison feared now was that it simply wouldn’t be enough time.  That a badly functioning unit would make their deadline impossible to meet.  And on top of it all, if these plants
were
like those in Guyana, it wouldn’t just be amazing.  It would call into question something even bigger ––
where exactly was the source?
  And that was why she needed Dirk and Sally so badly, not to mention a working vest.

Sitting next to her, Neely Lawton felt a very different fear building up inside her.  She was now quietly praying that the plants were in fact what they hoped they were –– not just for the discovery, but because the last thing she was prepared for was revisiting the place of her father’s death.

Emerson was still watching them from his chair.  “Anything else?”

“Yes,” Neely said in a low voice.  “Admiral Langford ordered us not to reveal what we’re looking for…to anyone.”

“He informed me of that as well.  Not exactly as easy as it sounds.  Nevertheless, all personnel aboard have been instructed to provide whatever assistance you need, but they are not to ask any questions outside of their charge.”

Alison turned curiously to Neely, who merely nodded in response to the captain.

“A question, Ms. Shaw?”

She looked puzzled.  “Is that…even possible?”

“A ship-wide gag order?”  The corner of Emerson’s lips curled.  “It happens more than you might think.  Especially on this ship.”  He leaned forward and stood up.  “All right, that should do it.  The ship is yours for the next ten hours.  Whatever you need, we will provide.  But as of this moment, we weigh anchor at zero-five-thirty, sharp.”

“Captain,” Alison said, standing up with him.  “I hate to say this…but I think we’re going to have even less time at the site.”

“And why is that?”

“Because we have to slow the ship down.”

“What do you mean, slow it down?”

“We’re going too fast.”

“Too fast for what?”

“Captain, those coordinates you’ve plotted are home to the largest breeding ground for mammals I’ve ever seen.  We’re about to sail straight through an awful lot of dolphins.”

Emerson stared at her.  “How many are we talking about?”

Alison grinned.  “More than you might think.”

67

They were getting closer. 

From inside the tank, Dirk and Sally could both feel it.  Privately, they’d been feeling it for hours.  The gradual strengthening of a sensation deep within their lipid-rich melons used for echolocation.  It was a subtle but unmistakable sensation they’d known since birth.  A feeling which was found only one place on Earth.

Sally spoke directly to Dirk.  “We’re getting closer.”

Dirk nodded and lifted his head above the water in the tank.  “Yes.  I hear them too.”  He dropped back below the water.  “I’m hungry.”

Sally made a slight sideways movement, similar to a human shaking their head.  “You’re always hungry.”

“Because I’m strong.”

Sally laughed.  A moment later, she heard something and rose above the water.  From her viewpoint, she spotted Alison, moving slowly down the outside of the ship.  Accompanying her was a larger human, one they recognized but didn’t know a name for.

The larger human attached something to Alison’s body.  He then held tightly as Alison approached.  She was having difficulty walking.

When she reached the tank, Alison looked down and touched the talking machine on her front.  The bright blue light appeared, followed by a mechanical translation of Alison’s voice.

Dirk.  Sally.  How you?

“We fine, Alison.  How are you?”

Alison gripped the side of the tank to steady herself.

Me good.  Need help.

“Yes.  We are happy for help.  What help do you need?”

Help fix metal.  Practice talk with Alison.

“Yes,” Sally replied.  She watched Alison, wondering what she was trying to do.  “We are happy to practice talk with you.

Alison remained staring at the dolphins for several seconds, wondering what she sounded like to Dirk and Sally.  She finally turned away and used her free hand to press the earbud in tighter. 

“Lee, can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear, Ali.”

“Are you connected to the vest?”

“Yes, I am,” Lee answered, typing diligently.  Next to him inside the ship’s bridge, Chris watched Lee’s screen.  “I’m reactivating the new code.  Stand by.”  A few moments later, Lee slapped the enter button and double-checked the screen.  “Okay, I think we’re set.”

“So tell me again how we’re going to do this?”

“You need to have them speak at the same time but saying different things.  That way I can test the filter.  Let’s try to filter Dirk out first, then Sally.  If that works, we’ll try it against more complex translations.”

The ship suddenly rolled hard to starboard and Alison briefly lost her footing.  Jim Lightfoot, standing several feet behind her, began to rush forward as she quickly scrambled back to her feet.

She steadied herself again and shook her head at what Lee had just said.  “How on Earth am I going to communicate
that
?”