Cruisin' For A SEAL: SEAL Brotherhood #5 (25 page)

“What is all this about?”

“The bomb,” Moshe said.

“The bomb? What—”

Just then Maksym’s cell phone rang.

“You will answer it, and you will allow us to listen.” Mark was impressed by how commanding Moshe was.

“No. I cannot.”

“Don’t be a fool, Maksym. You have no choice but to cooperate,” Helena spat.

Maksym turned on her, seething. He was going to say something unkind, but Moshe took the wind out of his sales just after the ringing phone went silent.

“Maksym, you’re fucked,” Moshe interrupted. “We know about your little plan, and now we’re gonna tell your boss that we know about it. How valuable are you going to be if that happens? I think he’ll feel some resentment towards you, don’t you think? Your chips have just been taken away.”

The Ukrainian was starting to look like a caged animal. A
dangerous
caged animal.

The phone began ringing again.

“Answer it. And do as we say,” Moshe hissed.

“Da.” Maksym flashed a look at Helena who shook her head.

“You fuckin asshole,” she screamed and slammed him with a pillow. Maksym’s grip on the phone faltered and it clattered to the ground.

He fell to all fours and scrambled to find it, putting it back to his ear. “My apologies Wolf. I am in a serious argument with my woman.”

He pressed the speaker feature and the Team heard the clipped Italian accent on the other end of the line, full of restraint.

“Are you in a secure location, alone?”

“Helena is here, as you know. But yes, we’re alone in the cabin.” Maksym scanned his audience.

“You are both going to pay with your lives if this is not true.”

“I have found some relief in her arms. The pressure is getting to me a bit, I admit.”

“Time enough for fucking when this is over with. I know enough of Helena not to be concerned. She values her lifestyle, even if she doesn’t value your lives.” There was a pause and the man on the other end sighed as though it pained him to do so with patience. “So how did they find out about the bomb, Maksym? I hold you personally responsible for this.”

Mark saw Maksym react quickly. “Sir, you told me there was no bomb.”

He realized then that the captain’s call to the main office must have tipped this man off. That meant he was connected with the home office. At least they now knew where the enemy was hiding. Or had been hiding.

“It’s the delivery device, assuring us the plan will take place. They can’t stop it now if they can’t find it.”

“Wolf, how can you be sure they found out about it? I’ve heard nothing.”

“Because your captain relayed a suspicion expressed by some Americans on board. You know any such Americans?”

Maksym looked at the SEALs.

“There are several American couples I’ve met. Strictly tourists, I’d say.”

Mark could see Maksym start to sweat. The officer closed his eyes and swallowed. “What is it you would have me do?”

“I want you to guard it with your life.”

“Yes. But what if they contact me?”

“If they contact you, that means you are a dead man. If they know about you, then you are of no use to me. Make sure that they don’t.”

The man called Wolf hung up.

Maksym dropped his head into the palms of his hands, elbows braced on his knees.

“Where is it, Maksym?” Moshe demanded.

“It’s safe. Locked in the engine room.”

“That’s the worst place for a bomb, and you know it, Moshe,” Kyle snapped. “We gotta get it out of there.

“There’s no way without alerting the crew. Someone will talk. At this point, I don’t know who to trust,” Maksym said.

“You can trust us,” Kyle said.

“The chief engineer is my ally. We know there are others.”

“When is this supposed to take place?”

“After the next stop, at Cape Verde. When we cross the Equator. The ship will be stopped. Ransom demands will be delivered to the company. The insurance company always pays. I don’t even think there is a bomb, just something to make it look like the threat is real. I’ve seen it.”

“Would one bomb, if it’s big enough, sink this ship?” Moshe asked. He looked around to the faces of the SEALs.

“No. It would take several. It could disable it, but the ship is quite safe, and there are lifeboats to launch, plenty, not like on the Titanic,” Maksym added. He buried his head in his hands again.

“Who stages the takeover, Maksym?” Kyle asked.

“There are supposed to be more coming on board in Cape Verde. We’ve reported engine trouble and a team of eight ‘mechanics’ are supposed to arrive in the morning when we dock. We’ve been given clearance to allow them and their tools on board.”

“Sir,” Mark spoke up. “We can’t allow those men to board.”

“I know it, Mark,” Kyle said. “Moshe, you got anyone else you can call about this? We need some backup. We got nothing U.S.-connected nearby. You have any shipping companies that could be an ally in times of danger?”

“The Maersk lines, a Danish company, they might. But I wouldn’t know how to reach them, or what ships are in the area. They’re all over the world. Captain Phillips, do you remember him?”

“We remember. One of our guys was there,” Kyle said.

That brought Maksym out of his misery. His tear-stained face looked up at Kyle with an almost hopeful expression. “You guys are SEALs?”

“Nah, man, we’re UPS drivers,” Kyle replied and winked at Mark.

Moshe and the
Team regrouped in Mark’s room. Armando joined them and was brought up to date.

“I don’t like leaving Maksym on his own. I don’t trust the guy,” Kyle said.

“He’s a dead man, and he knows it. His best bet is to align with us,” Moshe said. “I’m going to go upstairs and start making calls to see if we can get some support from somewhere. I’m also going to notify the U.S. Authorities, not that they are likely to have any assets nearby. Closest would be the Mediterranean, and that’s at least two to three days away.”

“Maybe some air support,” Tyler suggested. “What we did in Somalia.”

“Not unless there’s a real threat. We don’t know for sure it’s a bomb, or even if there is going to be a takeover. I don’t think they’ll commit on a hunch, sad to say,” Moshe added.

They agreed to station Jones and Fredo near the cabins to guard the women. Everyone else was to be out and about, looking for signs of foul play, things that didn’t make sense. Scouting out places to hide, to stage a firefight. Looking for anything they could use if they had to defend the ship from terror attacks every man knew was definitely going to happen.

Mark made a beeline for the Kasbah lounge. The sound of disco music wafted his way. A small combo was playing on a raised stage. The singer was a bit off-key and the volume needed to be turned way down, Mark thought. The screeching-fingernails-on-the-chalkboard singer stopped annoying him when he saw Sophia dancing with the Indian security guard.

Kumar’s shiny satin shirt was undulating in moves Mark didn’t know the guy possessed. His eyes were wide and alert with excitement, like a five-year-old in a chocolate factory, he gazed at his lovely partner, the soft and sensual Sophia. Mark’s heart turned to putty as his libido kicked in. Though he liked the Indian and had spoken to him many times, he did not like the way the guy swung her around, sashayed up to her middle and held her tiny waist as he undulated his hips to their rhythm.

Mark could see she was actually enjoying herself, that is, until she spotted him in the corner. She faltered for a second, drawing the attention of Kumar, who raised his chin in polite greeting to him, as if to say, “Look at me, I’m dancing.” Poor Kumar was oblivious. Mark actually felt for the man. His finest hour was happening just when all hell was about to break loose.

The set ended and the seated audience loved it. Couples who had watched from the edges of the dance floor, looking like garnish on a buffet table, clapped and cheered for them. Kumar held Sophia’s hand and they took a deep bow.

Mark was there in an instant. “Sorry, dance party is over for Sophia,” he said to the tall Indian, who looked puzzled and more than a little disappointed.

“Mark, please, don’t.” Sophie started to protest. But she glanced up and saw the look he gave her and closed her mouth. He led her off the dance floor and down to Deck 5.

‡

S
he hoped the
look in his eyes was urgency to be with her. She certainly felt that strongly about him too, but something else was present. Some kind of danger or unseen evil about to envelop them all. Mark had a message for her of some kind, and it was more than that he loved her. It was something stemming from deep inside his soul, from who he was as a man.

She felt like she was seven, that day when she and her dad had rushed to the hospital when her mother had taken ill suddenly. She trusted her daddy, but he was driving too fast, he wouldn’t look at her with the reassurance she needed. He was scared for her mother, and because of that, she was scared. They ran to the Emergency Room, desperate to hear about her condition.

He only looked at her once he knew her mother was out of harm’s way. He’d grabbed Sophia and wept into her chest. And now something awful was happening again. She could feel it. Just when her life with Mark should be starting, something had gone very wrong. She needed to be brave for whatever it was he was going to tell her. Whatever it was.

He had a vise-like grip on her fingers and it hurt, though she doubted he realized. He pushed through the door to outer Deck 5, their love boat number 26 very close by.

“Stop.” She said as she pulled away her hand. “Tell me. Tell me what’s going on, Mark.”

“There isn’t time, sweetheart.” He pulled her into his chest, and that’s when she heard the rumble of his stomach and the fast beating of his heart. The man was running on adrenaline. He was sweating, breathing heavily. “Please, just follow me right now, and I’ll explain everything, baby.”

He led her to the boat. She was surprised to see military-looking supplies stored there. Some large black nylon zippered sacks were tucked into the corner closest to the doorway, angled against the wall like they were sitting in a gun rack. She recognized some of the scuba equipment and ammunition boxes tucked under the orange life vests. Several white boxes with red crosses on them were stacked in the corner. She saw a wet suit and fins, several dry blankets and various other satchels.

It looked like Mark was planning a small war.

“What is all of this?” she asked.

“Come here, Sophia,” he said as he sank to the floor below the level of the window, patting his thigh. She sat next to him, rather than on his lap.

“Tell me.”

“The ship is going to be taken over by terrorists, who apparently have planted a bomb on board. We are assembling equipment…we are making plans…” He looked down at his hands, which were shaking.

She took his hands in hers and held them, kissing the palms. She searched his eyes and…yes, she did see fear there. Not for himself so much, but she knew he feared for her life.

“Mark, could it be possible this is just all a—”

“No. There has been a well-executed plan done in stages. We don’t even know the identities of everyone involved, but we have confirmed there is probably a bomb on board. We don’t think it is big enough to scuttle the ship, but it could cause damage or loss of life. What we cannot do is allow the ship and passengers to become the property of a warlord.”

“I thought the pirates were on the other side of Africa.”

“So did we. But this location makes sense, if you think about it. We have no naval presence here, yet we are a huge ship, with tons of passengers and crew, run by an American company. It’s a huge, soft target.”

“I don’t understand. Why? There isn’t much cargo that can be of value.”

“Life. The ship contains 3,400 souls. The most precious of cargoes.”

“Who is doing this?” She couldn’t believe something so diabolical could be happening when, just thirty minutes ago, all she had to worry about was giving the wrong impression to Kumar, who was emboldened with each turn and dip of her body, each little glance and smile she gave him as part of their performance.

“Teseo and Moshe are to be trusted, but no one else, other than our Team guys, and of course Sanouk and the girls. Trust no one else, understood?”

“So what is all this?” She gestured at the piles of equipment.

“Teseo has been bringing things to this boat as a precaution, in case his quarters are taken over. We’ve asked for everything he can spare us, and they’re stashing it here. It was the only place I thought safe enough to—”

The moment their eyes met the connection was made and the reality of the danger took a back seat to the love between them.

“I’m going to protect you, Sophia. Don’t worry. I’m going to keep you safe,” he said as he brushed his fingers against her cheek and then planted a sweet kiss on her lips. “I would die if anything happened to you. I can’t—”

She’d closed the distance between them again and wouldn’t allow him to finish, as if saying it would make it come to pass.

“Love me, Mark. Do you at least have time for that? I need to feel your arms around me, your hands on my body.”