Marauder

by Clive Cussler

  “There’s the Marauder at the dock,” Sylvia said from the weapons station. During the past few days, Murph had been training her on the Oregon’s weapons systems to take his place while they were shorthanded, and to no one’s surprise, she had already mastered the basics of operating the rail gun and laser.

  “No Gulfstream, though,” Murph said from his chair next to Sylvia.

  Eric, who was at the helm, said, “Does that mean Polk is gone? He’s the one who’s been flying around on it.”

  “We only need one of them,” Juan said. “Gomez, switch to the infrared camera and see if the Marauder is hot.”

  The screen changed to black and white. Heat bloomed on two sections of the trimaran.

  “The midship hot spot has to be the charged plasma cannon,” Sylvia said.

  “And the stern section is the engine,” Eric said. “Looks like they’re not staying long.”

  “Then we still have an opportunity to capture April Jin,” Juan said. “We have to assume she’s commanding the Marauder.”

  As soon as they’d known that Marwood Island was their destination, they’d developed a two-pronged plan. The first part was a rescue of MacD. Max had already taken the Gator to the west side of the island to a tiny beach between the Mickey Mouse ears. From there Eddie would lead a team of Raven, Linda, and Linc to come at the base from the direction of the setting sun. They would sneak into the building where MacD was being held, free him, and exfiltrate back the way they’d come before anyone knew they were there.

  In the second phase of the operation, Juan would lure Jin and the Marauder out of the tight confines of the harbor, where the Oregon would have little room to maneuver. Once the trimaran had left the safety of the port, Sylvia would use the rail gun to disable the Marauder, and they would force Jin to surrender for questioning with the use of their tranquilizer. She would tell them everything they wanted to know about the upcoming operation with the Enervum gas.

  They were holding steady at the east end of Marwood’s runway so that low hills blocked the view of the Oregon from the buildings and harbor.

  “Stoney,” Juan said, “prepare to swing around to the harbor entrance.”

  “Affirmative,” Eric replied.

  Juan hoped repositioning the Oregon would allow a few free shots with the rail gun before Jin could bring the plasma cannon to bear.

  Juan turned to Hali. “Tell Max to commence his operation.”

  * * *

  —

  Eddie, dressed in forest green camos like Linda, Raven, and Linc, was having his team do one final check of their gear when Max turned to them from the cockpit.

  “Juan says they’re in position. You ready?”

  They confirmed their comms were working, and Eddie said, “Take us in.”

  This mission was all about stealth. The tree cover ended a few hundred yards from the base buildings, a lot of open ground to cover in daylight. Eddie, Linda, and Linc were carrying suppressed M4 assault rifles, but gunfire would alert the entire facility to their presence. After using up most of their limited supply of tranquilizer serum during the raids on the Dahar and Shepparton, they were down to only a few darts left. Instead of a dart pistol, Linc was armed with a tranquilizer rifle. He would tranquilize any guards between them and the buildings. Raven had brought MacD’s crossbow instead of a gun.

  Once they subdued the guards, it would be a simple matter of questioning one of them to find out where MacD was being held. Speed was of the essence. A missing guard would rouse suspicions just as much as gunshots would.

  Max brought the Gator close to shore, making sure there was no one around to observe them before he surfaced. He got as close as he could to the beach. They climbed out and waded to shore. The Gator moved back to deeper water and resubmerged, where Max would wait until they returned.

  The sun was starting to set behind them. If their timing was right, they would be hard to spot coming out of the trees.

  “Let’s move,” Eddie said.

  Based on the recon from the drone, they hadn’t seen any security precautions on this side of the island. Nevertheless, they made their way carefully through the forest as they climbed, wary of any motion sensors or cameras.

  When they reached the top ridge, they had an expansive view of the harbor below. Eddie used a pair of binoculars to watch the movements of the guards. None of them seemed to be on an active patrol pattern. Instead, they were busy moving equipment from the buildings to the ship, with the clanging of metal and shouts of instructions in Mandarin drifting up the hillside.

  “Looks like they’re getting ready to leave,” Eddie said. “We need to hoof it.”

  They double-timed it down the ridge until they were at the tree line closest to the cluster of buildings, nine of them in all.

  Beside the one farthest from the dock, a lone man was leaning against the wall taking a smoke break. If they could get to the edge and take him down, they had a clear path to the buildings.

  They moved along the trees to a point where Linc had a clear shot from a hundred yards away. He put the scope to his eye and held his breath as he aimed.

  He pulled the trigger, and the rifle puffed as the air cartridge ignited. The guard grabbed his chest where the dart hit him. He dropped his cigarette and slumped to the ground.

  Eddie said, “Come on.”

  The four of them sprinted across the open ground in a two-by-two formation. They had nearly reached the tranquilized guard when a second one rounded the corner of the building. He was carrying a rifle in his hands. Detecting a noise, he had come to investigate.

  When he saw the four of them running toward him, he raised the gun to fire. Raven stopped and snapped a shot with the crossbow. The bolt went through the man’s cheek before he could get his finger on the trigger.

  Linc dragged the body over to the still living guard, and Eddie knelt beside the man.

  “Where is your prisoner?” Eddie asked him in Mandarin.

  “The American is in the main building,” the man slurred, his eyes barely open.

  “Where in the building?”

  “The bomb shelter in the cellar.”

  Eddie translated for the others.

  “That explains why we couldn’t read his signal,” Linda said.

  “How many guards are here besides you?” Eddie asked.

  “Twenty-two,” the man said. “Some are already on the Marauder.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know where we’re going, but in fifteen minutes, we’re leaving the island.”

  FIFTY-NINE

  The repairs to the Marauder took less time than Jin had expected, and she was preparing to set sail, never to return to Marwood. After completing their task in Sydney, they would go to Hainan Island in the South China Sea. The Marauder and her plasma weapon would be turned over to the Chinese government in return for protection from any possible extradition. Jin and Polk already had their eye on a twenty-million-dollar seaside mansion on the outskirts of Haikou.

  Her husband had flown out after lunch. He texted her that he’d landed in Sydney and was on his way to the Centaurus, which was anchored near Shark Island in the harbor.

  By traveling at top speed, she expected to join him by nine the next evening, in plenty of time to watch the world-famous fireworks show launched from the Sydney Harbour Bridge. At the same time, two hundred and ninety-six rockets loaded with Enervum gas would be fired from the Centaurus. Most people would be focused on the bridge, but anyone seeing the launch from the cargo ship would simply think it was part of the show.

  Once the operation was complete, she would use the Marauder to sink the Centaurus and put to sea. By the time any authorities came from other parts of the country, she and Polk would be long gone. She would upload her video recording of the launch to the internet, leaving no doubt as to what had happened. News org
anizations around the world would carry the story, unlocking the cryptocurrency account.

  Jin could practically taste how close she was to her new life. She didn’t want to wait any longer than she had to for the end of this mission.

  “What’s the status of the plasma cannon?” she asked her XO.

  “All tests are complete,” he said. “The weapon is fully operational.”

  “What about our fuel and supplies?”

  “Topping off the fuel now. The last of the supplies are being loaded.”

  “Then make ready to cast off as soon as we have everyone aboard,” Jin said. “Have two men go get the American.”

  * * *

  —

  MacD’s cell was bare, but at least its underground location was keeping him cool in the tropical heat. There was a single bulb in the ceiling lighting the concrete ceiling, walls, and floor.

  A heavy blast door was locked from the outside. He’d tried opening it numerous times, but nothing short of a blowtorch would get it open from his side.

  The stitches under the bandage itched. They were made with thick black thread by someone who seemed to know what he was doing. It wasn’t a bad job, but it would leave a nice jagged scar to match his others.

  Propped against the wall, he tried not to move his arm, which was now aching. A sling would have been nice to keep it immobile, but he would have settled for an aspirin.

  Besides some water and a bowl of noodles, he hadn’t eaten anything since he left Christmas Island, and his stomach was grumbling. Still, it wasn’t his worst time in captivity. Afghanistan beat this experience by a long shot.

  In the stairwell outside, he heard the echo of two Chinese men speaking as they descended the stairs. Keys jangled. They were coming to get him for something. Whether it was for more negotiations, a trip, or an execution, he had no idea.

  MacD stood, grimacing from the jostling of his shoulder. The key was inserted into the door.

  Then he heard two thumps. It sounded like the men had fallen over.

  Moments later, the key turned. The door opened to the vision of Raven standing over two dead guards, one with a crossbow bolt in his neck, the other with a knife in his back. MacD’s crossbow was cradled in her arms.

  “Aw, you brought me a present,” he said with a grin. “You shouldn’t have.”

  “I didn’t,” Raven said, retrieving the knife and cleaning it off. “Now I know why you like it so much. I might decide to keep it.”

  “Over my dead body. Gimme.”

  She nodded at his shoulder. “What are you going to do, hold it one-handed?” She picked up one of the dead guards’ pistols and handed it to him.

  MacD took it and sighed. “Ah guess this is better than nothing.” Eddie and Linda entered behind her, and Raven gave back Eddie’s throwing knife. “Nice to see y’all here. Wherever here is.”

  “Marwood Island,” Linda said, “near the Great Barrier Reef.”

  “Are you all right?” Eddie asked, eyeing his wound.

  “Ah could use some water,” MacD said.

  Linda gave him her canteen. He drank half its contents in two gulps while Eddie and Raven pulled the drugged guards into the room.

  “How’s the arm?” Linda asked.

  “Ah’m not going to be swinging a golf club anytime soon, but it’s not too bad considering Ah got shot. Did everyone else make it off Christmas Island?”

  Raven nodded and locked the door behind them. “No casualties besides you. I think you just wanted to play the damsel in distress.”

  “Not likely. Next time Ah’ll be sure to duck.”

  “Let’s get out of here,” Eddie said, leading them up the stairs. “Are you up to taking a hike with us?”

  “Absolutely. Ah could use the fresh air.”

  At the top of the stairs, Linc was keeping watch. He glanced at MacD and said, “Nice to see they decided not to mess up that pretty face.”

  MacD smiled at him. “Not this silver-tongued devil.”

  “We’ll go out the back door,” Eddie said.

  They went low to avoid being seen from the harbor through the windows. At the rear of the building, Eddie eased the door open and looked out.

  As he did so, someone cried out in Mandarin from a few buildings away.

  Eddie shook his head and looked at the rest of them. “I don’t think you need a translation to know someone found the dead—”

  Before he could finish, bullets ripped into the door above his head. They all dived to the floor as a klaxon began to wail.

  SIXTY

  Where’s that gunfire coming from?” Jin demanded.

  “From the main building,” said the Marauder XO, who was on the phone. “One man reported dead, another incapacitated.”

  “They’re here.”

  “Who?”

  “Juan Cabrillo’s people. Send everyone available to track them down and kill them.”

  If they had gotten this far into her base, then his ship must be close by.

  “Relay that order,” she said. “Throw off the moorings. Now.”

  While the XO went out onto the bridge wing to give the command to cast off, she took the phone and called the leader of her guard unit. She had to know if the harbor exit was clear before walking into an ambush.

  “Get someone on an ATV and send them to the end of the runway. Make sure he has a phone so he can make a video call. I want to see what he’s seeing.”

  “Yes, Captain.”

  A man on the dock jumped onto an ATV and raced down the runway at top speed.

  The XO ran back inside. “Mooring lines are cast off.”

  “Take us away from the dock.”

  The Marauder’s engines increased power and pushed them into the harbor.

  “Shall I take us out of the harbor?” the XO asked.

  “No. Go out two hundred meters and turn the ship around.”

  “Captain?”

  “Do it.”

  He gave the order to the helmsman, and the trimaran moved out into the harbor and rotated.

  “Bring the plasma cannon online.”

  “What is the target?”

  Jin raised binoculars and watched dust rising from the impact of bullets around the central office building. It was the one where MacD was being held prisoner. She couldn’t tell if her men or theirs were winning.

  “Our target is the whole base,” Jin said. “Starting with the main building. We can’t afford anyone surviving.”

  “But our men . . .” the XO protested.

  “Will be making a great sacrifice for the glory of China.”

  * * *

  —

  Eddie and Linc took up a defensive position at the front door while Linda, Raven, and MacD took the rear door. They were taking fire from all directions. Sprinting for the hills now would just get them all killed.

  “Hali,” Eddie said into his molar mic, “we’re taking heavy fire.”

  “Can you make it to the Gator?”

  “No, we’re pinned down at the base.”

  Two of the guards ran toward the office building from the direction of the dock, and Linc took one down, but the other ducked safely behind the corner of an adjacent building.

  “What are they doing?” Linc wondered aloud as he looked out into the harbor.

  Eddie didn’t understand the question until he turned and saw the Marauder pivoting so that its bow was facing the base complex.

  The barrel of the plasma cannon was swinging around to aim right at them.

  “She wouldn’t,” Linc said. “Not with her own men so close.”

  “She would,” Eddie said. “Time to go.”

  “I think you’re right.”

  They dashed toward the back of the building. They made it halfway when a momentous crack pulsed th
rough the room. Linc dived and pulled Eddie down with him. The opposite side of the building was smashed, raining pieces of sizzling concrete around them. Searing heat seemed to boil the water vapor in the air, causing steam to instantly appear along with the dust.

  Eddie and Linc scrambled to their feet and kept going.

  “What was that?” Raven shouted.

  “Jin’s firing the plasma cannon at us,” Eddie yelled back. “We have to get out of here now.”

  A second blast pulverized the front of the building where he and Linc had just been standing, reducing it to particles.

  “Where should we go?” Linda asked.

  “Anywhere’s better than here,” MacD said.

  Eddie pointed at a barracks fifty feet away. For a moment, the gunfire had stopped, giving them a brief opening to make a run for it.

  Eddie nodded, and they burst out the door, Linc firing in one direction with his assault rifle, and Eddie giving covering fire in the other. Raven used the crossbow to take out one man who poked his head around a corner, while Linda and MacD took point.

  Before they could get a quarter of the way, a third shot from the plasma cannon utterly wiped out the remainder of the office building. The impact threw them all to the ground.

  The plasma cannon began to tear apart the barracks, systematically blowing it to pieces. The wooden roof was a blazing inferno.

  “Back to the main building,” Eddie yelled. Maybe if they took refuge amongst the rubble, they’d be spared while she destroyed the rest of the complex.

  They sprinted back to the ruined building, which looked like it had been shelled by artillery. At least the jagged concrete debris provided protection from the guards who continued to fire at them.

  “Hali, a little help, please,” Eddie said. “The Marauder is about to annihilate us.”

  SIXTY-ONE

  Even before Eddie’s call, Juan had ordered Eric to bring the Oregon into Marwood Island’s harbor. Gomez’s drone gave them a bird’s-eye view of the Marauder pounding away at the base facility. But with the hills between them and the trimaran, they had no way to use the rail gun against her.