“The king mentioned it.”
“We need those plans.”
He knew exactly what would happen if the Agency got the plans. “So we can hide them because the oil lobby would bury the idea?”
She frowned. “We wouldn’t do that.”
Fuck yeah they would. “Let’s just get what we need to get and slide on out of here.”
He needed to get to Charlie. He needed to hold her in his arms again, but he had some work to do first. Part of that was making sure Sean was okay. As for the rest of it, he would prefer that the king dealt with the whole save the world shit. The save the whole world shit should come from a person who cared, and that wouldn’t be him or his government or the apparently naïve double agent.
“The office is this way,” she said. “We have to get through the living area first. Keep your head down.”
He moved through the large living space, keeping his head down, his body low to the ground. The starboard side of the living room was a row of windows that looked out to the sea. Now it showed the boots of the pirates Nelson had hired as they boarded the yacht. How many were on boat? Twenty? He hoped less. Luckily it was a big boat and it looked like they had split into pairs to search it. Two pairs of boots crossed his line of sight and then disappeared as they turned the corner for the door.
“Stop,” Kun said, her voice a whisper. “They’ll see us. Hide. You take one and I’ll take the other. Quietly.”
She disappeared behind a large lounge chair, and Ian put his back to the sofa. They wouldn’t immediately see him, but if they came far enough into the room, there would be nowhere to hide.
A firefight would bring more of them down here. Ian eased the knife out of his boot, his adrenaline pumping.
There was the sound of boots on the deck and the two spoke to each other in Somali as they rushed into the room.
Out of the corner of his eye he could see that they were carrying AK-47s, the long barrels pointed outward as they moved through the room. It was a big gun, so much easier to pry away because there was more of it to catch.
Ian heard the familiar crunching sound of a man’s neck being twisted and broken. Before he even had a thought about how disturbing it was that the sound was so familiar, a booted foot came into view and Ian struck. Before the man could do more than shout, Ian reached up, grabbed the body of the gun and hauled the man down. The pirate hit the floor, and Ian had his blade in his neck before he could pull the trigger.
Nice. Quiet. Really messy. Blood was already spilling across the pristine white carpet. He hated wet work. Unfortunately, he was really good at it.
“Let’s go before they find these bodies.” Kun was already moving.
Ian got to his feet, pulling the blade back. He wouldn’t leave it behind. If he could take out a few more quietly, he would.
He had his chance, sneaking up on another pirate who seemed to be looking for the king. He was coming from the opposite direction, but had stopped, looking into another room. Ian slit his throat easily and dumped the body in what looked like a secondary bedroom. Three down.
How many more to go? How many more until he got to Nelson?
Kun moved with deadly grace as she made her way to the other side of the boat. Ian followed, keeping his steps as light as possible. Gunfire could be heard above him as the pirates seemed to be sweeping the decks one at a time. They would be moving in soon, and the minute they found the bodies, they would be searching for him in earnest.
They came to a door with a high-tech keypad next to it. Kun placed her thumb on it, looking back as the door slid open. “What can I say? He really liked me. His office is back here in the private section. Only the king, his personal servant, and two of his women have access. The other girl is harmless. Seriously, not a brain in her head. Get in. It will slow them down for a bit.”
He stepped in and the door slid closed again, locking with a tiny snick.
Sean appeared, slinking along the wall as he exited what had to be the office. He tensed for a moment, pointing his SIG right at Kun’s head.
“Don’t shoot her. She’s a friendly,” Ian said, his voice tight. “Is the king with you? Does he have cameras on this ship?”
The king was standing behind Sean, wrapping a long black lanyard around his neck. Before it disappeared under his shirt, Ian saw a small thumb drive attached. “I only have them in the nookie rooms, but they are not attached to any network. I turn them on and off based on whether my partner likes to be taped.”
Even in the middle of all the tension, he had to shake his head. “Nookie rooms?”
His cousin Chapal was behind him, a laptop in hand and a disapproving frown on his face. “My cousin is a perverted man.”
The king stared at him, but Chapal held his ground.
Kun rolled her eyes. “I didn’t even think of that. We can try it, but if the crew talks, we’re screwed. Move it, Tag.”
He was standing beside an ornately decorated wall. It looked like it had been fashioned out of beaten silver. It was a lovely work of art. It also was a hidden door, as Kun proved when she ran her hand down the side and it slid open.
Thank god.
He had a place to stash the king until he could figure out how to get him out of here because the halls had to be teeming with guys with guns at this point.
The king frowned at Jiang Kun. “I thought she was on the bad side.”
The king needed to stay out of the intelligence world. It moved mighty fast for him. “She’s working with us now.”
A smile came over the king’s face and he sent the double agent a suggestive wink. “See, I told you she was a delicate flower.”
Apparently the king could think about sex even when the world was falling apart. “Get in here, Your Highness. Did you do what you had to?”
The king shook his head. “He’s jamming the Internet. I couldn’t get it out. I downloaded the research to a thumb drive.”
Chapal held his computer over his chest as though it would prove a good defense. “I have the whole thing set to send the moment we have a connection. If we even have a few seconds, it will go out to several addresses.”
“I can’t lose it,” the king said. “It was my researcher’s whole life. I cannot have his death be meaningless.”
“You don’t know he’s dead,” Ian said. “But you’re going to be if you don’t hide. Unless you know a secret way off this boat.”
“You should get down to the garage,” the king said.
“Garage?” He wasn’t a big yachter.
“It’s where we stow the jet skis and small boats. The speedboat would have been in the garage if we hadn’t been anchored,” the king explained. “It’s on the lower deck, the one just below this one. There’s scuba equipment if you’re thinking of slipping out underwater.”
He wasn’t thinking at all. He was running on instinct. “Is that door the only way out of here?”
The king shook his head. “No, there is one in the back as well. It leads to stairs that go directly to the garage.”
That was better. “Stay here with your cousin, Your Highness. Wait until we’ve cleared the garage and then one of us will come get you. Do you understand? Don’t make a sound.”
He started toward the back of the magnificent suite of rooms. Chapal followed him. “I can reprogram the security to give you access. Our system doesn’t run off Internet. It should work.” His hand touched the keypad, typing in numbers. The screen next to it glowed. “Place your thumb over it.”
Ian put his thumb on the keypad and it blinked twice.
“Now you have access. I will keep trying to get into the system.” Chapal turned and walked back to the nookie room, his head held high.
“Kun, watch them,” Ian ordered.
“I should come with you,” she returned.
“Watch the asset for me. Shoot anything that comes his way. They’ll get through the door eventually.” He could already hear them on the other side of the suite, trying to get it to open.
She snarled a little his way. “You owe me, Tag.”
“Are you sure about her?” Sean asked.
As sure as he could be. “She didn’t kill me, and she knew Ten’s middle name. She works for him. She’ll keep the king safe. Well, as safe as he can be since we have pirates on board.”
“Any idea how many?” Sean followed him, closing the door behind.
The stairs were ornate, like the rest of the boat. Ian started down them, keeping his step light. “No idea. I’ve had to keep my head down.” He touched his earphone. “Any count on how many hostiles we’re dealing with?”
Knight’s voice came over the line. “Tag, it’s bloody good to know you’re alive. We didn’t want to make contact in case it could be overheard. There are two boats off the yacht. You’re dealing with at least twenty armed men. Pirates, from the look of them. They’re likely hired hands. One of the boats is hidden by the yacht. I can’t see how many people are still on it.”
It didn’t matter. He just needed a rough number to know how to proceed. He reached the door that hopefully led to the garage.
“Can you see the garage?”
“That’s an affirmative, Tag.”
“How many?”
“I can’t see inside, but the boat that’s parked on the port side let two out before parking. It’s open to the sea. Are you going to attempt to swim out?”
“I’m going to see if we can get the king out that way. He says there’s scuba gear. If we can go deep, we will. What’s the ETA on the Coast Guard?”
“The commandant said they’re on their way,” Knight explained. “Fifteen minutes out.”
“Understood. Tell Ten I expect my wife to be unmolested when this is over.”
There was a long pause on the line.
“Tell me my wife is on the beach, Knight.” Every muscle in his body tensed. Charlie was safe. She had to be safe.
Knight’s voice was very calm as it came over the line. “I think Nelson had a mole on the yacht. The boat you put her on turned and went around to the other side of the boat. I haven’t seen it since. Your wife was on board.”
Ian heard Sean curse behind him. At least he didn’t have to fill his brother in.
His wife was in Nelson’s hands, and he’d left his only bargaining chip behind.
“Hey, calm down, brother. We can handle this. Let’s get our assets in order. Let’s take the garage and then we can go from there. He said there were two, maybe three? We can handle that.” Sean was cool and collected, which was good because Ian felt like running screaming through the fucking boat.
Sean took over the conversation. “Knight, we copy you and we’re going silent.”
He cut off the feed.
Ice. Charlie needed him to be the ice man. And Sean was right. From the garage they could move into the water if they had to.
The garage might offer a few distractions.
He would need them if Knight was correct and Charlie was in Nelson’s hands. Shoving his panic down, he put a hand on the door. As quietly as he could, he pushed it open no more than a half an inch. He caught sight of two men moving at the water’s edge and another walking up the side.
Without looking back, he held up three fingers, then gestured to show his brother where they would be.
They would have seconds. Surprise would be their only real advantage.
Ian shoved the door open and used the P90 to lay out a line of suppressive fire. The air cracked around him, a symphony of bullets and low shouts that was so familiar to Ian he’d almost missed it.
Cover. He’d taken down one, hitting him squarely in the chest, but now the others were returning fire and he needed cover. He ducked, throwing himself behind a row of jet skis.
To his right, Sean took up position behind the door, only the barrel of his gun sticking out. His brother proved he hadn’t lost a beat as he placed a bullet neatly in a pirate’s forehead.
But that left one, and he’d taken position behind a small boat, tied up on the side of the garage just at the water’s edge. Ian fired but the boat looked solid. His opponent simply shoved his gun over the top and fired, not giving Ian a target.
But he didn’t need one because his backup was on the way. He saw a figure surface, his head coming briefly out of the water before he took a silent breath and went under again.
There was a strangled scream and the sound of a body hitting the water and then silence.
Sean stepped out. “What the fuck just happened? Tell me that guy didn’t get pulled in by a shark.”
He should never have let his brother watch
Jaws
when he was a kid. Sean could stare down just about anything but still had a fear of sharks.
Luckily, this shark had a British accent.
Simon hauled himself onto the ramp, standing gracefully and straightening his tie. The fucker even swam in a tie. He slicked back his hair and sounded as though he’d come for tea instead of just drowned a man. “Sorry I’m late.”
Ian pointed at him. “You I like. Now we have a problem. Nelson has my wife.”
Simon simply took the gun Sean was holding out for him. “Then we shall have to get her back.”
“Mr. Taggart?” A familiar voice came over the overhead speakers. “I hear you’re already at work.”
Shit.
They’d found the bodies, and it sounded like Nelson was already on the bridge. Or they might have heard all the shit that had just gone down.
“We never had to play it this way, you know,” Nelson continued. “We could have worked together. Alas, you had all the skills but lacked that special something I require in a partner.”
Yep, Ian had a conscience. Oh, it was a flexible conscience, but it was there. He also had a certain loyalty to his country that Nelson would find offensive. Fucker.
“Luckily, I managed to find a couple of friends to help me out along the way. They’ll be the ones who kill you if you don’t surrender right now and bring me the king of Loa Mali. I’ll need his computer as well. You see, I bombed his testing site so I really am going to need that computer. I’ll just have to kill his employees until he brings it to me.”
Thank god for soundproofing or the king would likely be martyring himself.
“Or maybe I’ll just start with the pretty lady in the white bikini.”
Ian’s body went cold.
A nasty chuckle came across the speakers. “You dressed her nicely for me, Tag. I’m going to enjoy her before I kill her. Or I could always reunite you. I have a soft spot for lovers. Especially when I was such a good matchmaker. Your choice, Tag. Your wife has five minutes before I slit her throat.”