Hard Case VII - Red Waves (John Harding Series Book 7) (10 page)

“No… really? Damn, Ahab, that’s some insightful thinking,” Nick porked Lucas, causing a disrespectful outpouring of verbal insults in the same vein which Lucas went into drill sergeant mode to handle.

Lucas scrambled the contestants into position while I spotted for Nick. “No threat of substance. I think that was the only rocket launcher they had on board. They are assembling with AK47’s though. Hello… Ahab? Can you get the contest started before they start firing bursts into Gus’s Lucky Lady?”

“Shut the hell up, Recon! C’mon Lynn. Let the target drift into your sights.”

Lynn fired from her mark on the fantail. A bit of wood chipped from the railing. Her target fired a burst that hit the water too close to the now slow moving Lady. Nick put a .50 caliber round through the shooter’s head. The four other crewmembers still alive hit the deck as skull and brain matter preceded them. The shooter’s AK47 fell away from the corpse’s lifeless fingers as the body collapsed.

“Yep. That’s the same backup I got in the water when I was moving on an enemy tugboat a short time ago. Can’t we just flunk her out of the program, Pappy?” I could hear Lynn cursing at least three generations of my family with expertise.

“Wow, Lynn can really ride when she gets moving,” Nick observed with sights still on the target craft.

“What she’s forgotten is that I only know a little about my Dad. I have no idea whether she’s insulting my family or not.” I kept eyes on our target too. “Anytime now, Lucas. We’re going to get another burst quickly.”

John fired, hitting his target dead center. “Nice shot, Kabong.”

“I was aiming at his head, Cheese.”

I grinned at Nick. “That is of no importance, Kabong. Next.”

Clint nailed the next to stand with one head shot.

“Very nice, Clint,” I complimented him. “Why can’t we call it a day while we’re ahead?”

“I did not get my turn,” Cala complained.

“Oh… ah, okay, Cala. Let us know what you need for the shot,” I told her, trying to sight in the only survivor. He wasn’t cooperating. I called out distance, wind speed and direction I’d seen him duck down at. “Keep watching the general area, Cleaner. If he moves, Nick will trim a few pieces from him until you can get a shot.”

“Like hell, Cheese. We let Cala get her shot and then we blow the crap out of the ship and all its provisions. Let’s not push our luck. We’ll continue to enjoy the assault tunes while taking XM307 shots at the waterline until the Falak either blows up or sinks to the bottom.” Gus was not appreciative of giving the bad guys another shot at damaging the Lady.

“Okay, Gus. Cala, I saw a shadow near the second tire hanging over the side by the fantail. Fire a shot through the tire’s center.”

Damn if she didn’t hit dead center. The body tumbled out, moving only slightly. “Great shot, Cala. We’re moving in. Get the XM307 ready, Clint. No more fooling around. When Gus moves on the Falak this time with music blaring, you or Lynn fire the XM until it blows or sinks. I don’t care which.”

“Will do,” Clint answered. “Start the music maestro. You know which one to start with, Kabong. Let’s do this right.”

“On it, Nowhere,” John said.

Gus slowed on approach, caught in the moment as the Jaws theme rang out across the waves in a panorama of sound. We hung out everywhere on the ship as the Jaws staccato vicious attack at sea refrain enveloped us. When the ship swung into attack mode with a sweeping broadside continuing view, John switched to The Ride of the Valkyries. Clint fired the XM307 smashing into the Falak’s waterline from stem to stern with the explosive rounds. The first pass tore the ship apart. Gus weaved us into pass after pass with our assault of sound and weapons. We blasted the ship’s pieces with the M2 and XM307 until nothing remained but a film of debris where once the Falak sailed. We waited for the sharks to arrive. Nick’s Pacific Grove beaches have had the highest number of great white shark attacks anywhere. One showed for the Falak crew remains. Clint, Lynn, and John had taken turns filming the entire attack. They filmed the aftermath too, including the sharks. To describe our killers as enthusiastic proponents of this relatively new quirk in sea assaults would be an understatement.

Denny was the first to speak after we gathered for a small debriefing on the bridge. “Okay, that was our first actual large scale sea assault with attack sounds. It was every bit as entertaining as I ever imagined. I must mention they had EMP protection on that small boat. It seems very strange they would have that type protection.”

“If they launch an attack on the Starlight with boats using Faraday Cage shielding it will make defenses much more difficult,” Lucas commented. “When they hit us with an EMP weapon on the Sea Wolf in the North Bay, I guess we should have assumed the bastards would invest in shielding too.”

“I’ve used an M136 AT4 in a combat situation with a still experimental EMP round set to burst over an intended target. Gus and I took out an Iranian gunboat with it,” Nick said. “The XM25 would be a better weapon. I’ve heard they’ve been working on an EMP round for it which follows the initial blast.”

“We have more than one XM25 aboard the Sea Wolf, Lora, and Valkyrie,” I told him. “It’s a hell of a nice weapon. If they have an EMP round for it, I don’t know about it.”

“As Nick said, they’ve been working on it,” Denny said. “I need to find out if they have it or not. I think it would be a perfect weapon to have with you on the Starlight along with the sniper rifle, whether they have the EMP round or not. It’s shoulder fired and programmable. I’ll get to work on it.”

“Not to be a nitpicker, but if you’re not planning on letting the Deluxe Cruises owners know about any of this, how do we sneak weapons like what we’ve talked about on board?”

“Fair question, Nick,” Denny said. “We have a collaboration with Red Dragon Security. They’ve been hired through mutual friends in high places to handle all phases of security. The owners of the Starlight of the Seas don’t even arm their security force, so Red Dragon will be breaking a few rules of protocol. They will handle getting our weapons on board through supplied goods meant for the galley. Getting the XM25 with your M107 sniper rifle will be doable with ammunition through Red Dragon. I want you to have what you need in your hands from the moment we leave port. The Royal Suite has numerous places for storing gear in locked trunks.”

I could tell Denny impressed Nick. The addition of our contacts who own Red Dragon Security, finalized only days before with the Deluxe Cruises ownership. Chuck Buchholz and Jan (Sal) Sallaz would be our infiltration aboard the Starlight. They already had key people in all phases of the crew billets in addition to total control over security procedures, check-in, and crew lists. We were all still investigating crew members to identify our terrorist moles. We didn’t know how many or in what facets of the ship they were able to infiltrate. The names pointed nowhere, obviously faked, but until we did extensive background checks we were whistling in the dark. We would find them either in the extensive background checks or in something they did our cohorts would notice.

“The addition of Red Dragon Security will be huge,” Nick stated. “They can get things done under cover we could not do. The ability to transfer major weapons on board through hired people will be a weakness we can expose easily. The XM25 is a dream. Having it and my M107 with plenty of ammo, I’d take on the terrorist assault ships by myself. I admit firing downward with the M107 will be a task that will take some getting used to. I’ll spend time with my scope up there getting accustomed to the movement felt from the top deck after I pick the best nesting spot.”

“I love this collaboration,” Lynn stated. “I’m excited about questioning our prisoners in the horror room. If they could shed even a small illumination on the Starlight happenings, we could really screw with the people behind this gig. You can bet one of our horror room guests holds the key to the head honchos’ exterior location… I hope. If not, they may know one of the moles hired to infiltrate the Starlight’s crew.”

“Oh shit… how do we ever keep any of this to a select number of people? I see our list of need to know people expanding faster than anticipated. I know all too well what can happen if one of those political dickheads gets wind of this operation.”

I could see Denny was looking too far down the road. “Calm down, Denny, you big girl. This is one of your ‘results bury everything’ games. What’s with this ‘oh woe is me’ stuff? We don’t have to reveal anything of this mission to anyone outside our trusted contacts. You’ve already stated you have people ready to transport the Sea Wolf. At worst they’ll think we’re going on another small scale pirate hunt. Lucas and Laredo can transport the Valkyrie with you on board. Lucas’s wife Rachel wants no part of this. Laredo doesn’t want Dannie’s Mom on board no matter what. The mission is still below the radar with your help and our money.”

“What if we paid the Captain,” John suggested after thinking about it, but with enthusiasm. “I didn’t want anything other than him staying out of our business at first. Our operation could go down as planned on board. Any innocent suspects taken into custody for a time would go free and we can settle with the Captain later as an apology. When things go down with the pirates, I’m certain the Captain will be glad we’re on board. On the other hand, if the Captain could be bought and read into our operation at the beginning, he could make this all go more smoothly. We may have to take a few suspects into custody until we can find out if they are okay, especially in key areas such as communications. The Captain’s help in handling them might mean less chance of other moles finding out about their cohorts and warning the terrorists.”

“That’s good thinking, John. I could still stick close to the Captain, but be less worried with having to obtain his help by threat. This was your idea to employ our own spies on board until we can find out who the moles are, Denny. What do you have in mind?” Lynn is suspicious of everything. Me too.

“I like John’s idea about having the Captain in on this, but it does add a real unknown to our need to know list. The Attorney General’s outfit will go on with what they’ve been doing with our observation, but without any clue about our plans. Keeping that leak fest out of the loop is a must. If I want innocent lives risked, I can keep expanding our need to know list,” Denny replied. “We have to be careful while we’re getting in front of this mole situation on board. If any of them become suspicious they could wreck our operation easily. I’ll look into the Captain’s background. He may be ex-military. That’s a hell of a bold move reading him in on this. I like having Crue watching him no matter whether he’s a good risk or not.”

“I do too.” Lynn can tell if a guy’s getting ready to screw us over or not. John’s idea needs serious consideration. “I guess there’s nothing left for us but to find out if Gilani and the shooters know anything about a planned Starlight assault.”

“You mentioned bringing your special interrogation kit along,” Nick said. “Do you need anything special? I’m looking forward to seeing you use the needles.”

“Nope. I have a self-contained portable unit. It’s like nothing I’ve ever used before. The pain is so excruciating we seldom need to do more than one treatment. The positioning of the needles is very important. I’ll show you how to do it, Muerto.”

“I’d like that very much.”

“Great,” Gus called out, “another torture tool for Muerto.”

“Yes,” John agreed, “and another excellent opportunity to make a new ‘Unholy Trio’ movie. My YouTube channel is again falling behind the stupid cat videos in hits. I must step up my game. Thank you, Lynn.”

“I have a great idea, Kabong,” Lynn said, rooting around in the equipment bag. She retrieved a black t-shirt, holding it spread out to display the front illustration. A skull wearing a red, white, and blue flag bandana scowled from the material with the lettering ‘I am the Infidel Allah warned you about!’. “I’ll wear this with my flag bandana over my face. You can introduce me as ‘Crusader Crue’, a technical torture specialist briefly assigned to show the ‘Unholy Trio’ a new way to extract information.”

“That will be incredible, Lynn!” Cala excitedly yanked on John’s arm. “Why cannot I, Cleaner Cala, become active in these movies?”

“We will consider your request, my love,” John acquiesced immediately. “That t-shirt is striking, Lynn. We shall film it exactly as you direct. Can you let us know where you acquired the t-shirt? I believe the ‘Unholy Trio’ shall adopt it as our uniform choice, right Muerto?”

“Absolutely,” Nick agreed.

“I’ll send you the link,” Lynn replied. “I get into trouble when I wear it. Clint and I took the baby to shop at the mall near us for a special baby carriage we saw on-line. Three refugees took exception and started harassing us.”

“We don’t know if they were refugees,” Clint said.

“They looked like refugees. Anyway, I handed Clint Jr. over to his Dad, and told them to come get some. Clint ruined my fun by kicking one in the head, knocking him out cold, so I only had two of them to beat senseless. I hardly worked up a sweat.”

“He was going to blindside you, Dear.”

“Anyway, mall security showed up at the end of my infidel training session. We had witnesses and FBI badges so mall security took care of it. My pupils didn’t want to press the issue. Some onlookers took movies for YouTube. They’re all under ‘Woman Infidel Schools Turd World Jerks’. Let’s make movies, boys. I’ll bring you with me on a film shoot down in LA, Cala. We have a pet project called ‘Hollywood Bounty Hunters’ you’ll enjoy seeing filmed.”