Thunder Point

closed with him. “If you’re going to do it, do it, don’t talk about it.” They struggled for a moment, feeling each other’s strength. “Why don’t you call for help?”

“Because I’ll kill you myself with my own hands,” Algaro told him through clenched teeth. “For my own pleasure.”

“You’re good at beating up girls, aren’t you?” Dillon said. “How are you with a man?”

Algaro twisted round, exerting all his strength, and pushed Dillon back against the rail at the prow. It was his last mistake, for Dillon let himself go straight over, taking Algaro with him, and the sea was Dillon’s territory, not his.

Algaro dropped the Walther as they went under the water and started to struggle and Dillon held on, pulling him down, aware of the anchor chain against his back. He grabbed for it with one hand and got a forearm across Algaro’s throat. At first he struggled very hard indeed, feet kicking, but quickly weakened. Finally, he was still. Dillon, his own lungs nearly bursting, reached one-handed and unbuckled his weight belt. He passed it around Algaro’s neck and fastened the buckle again, binding him to the anchor chain.

He surfaced, taking in great lungfuls of air. It occurred to him then that Carney would be watching events through the night sight and he turned and raised an arm, then hauled himself back up the anchor chain.

He kept to the shadows, moving along the deck until he came to the main salon. He glanced in a porthole and saw Santiago sitting at the desk, the briefcase open, reading. Dillon crouched down, thinking about it, then made his decision. He took what was left of the Semtex from his dive bag, inserted the two thirty-minute detonator fuses, went and dropped it down one of the engine room air vents, then returned and peered through the porthole again.

Santiago was sitting at the desk, but now he replaced the documents in his briefcase, closed it, yawned and got up and went into the bedroom. Dillon didn’t hesitate. He moved into the companionway, opened the salon door and darted across to the desk, and as he picked up the briefcase, Santiago came back into the room.

The cry that erupted from his mouth was like a howl of anguish. “No!” he cried and Dillon turned and ran for the door. Santiago got the desk drawer open, grabbed a Smith amp; Wesson and fired blindly.

Dillon was already into the companionway and making for the deck. By now, the ship was aroused and Serra appeared from his cabin at the rear of the bridge, a gun in his hand.

“What’s going on?” he demanded.

“Stop him!” Santiago cried. “It’s Dillon.”

Dillon didn’t hesitate, but kept to the shadows, running to the stern and jumped over the rail. He went under as deep as he could, but the case made things awkward. He surfaced, aware that they were firing at him, and struck out for the darkness as fast as possible. In the end, it was Carney who saved him, roaring out of the night and tossing him a line.

“Hang on and let’s get the hell out of here,” he called, boosted speed and took them away into the friendly dark.

Serra said, “Guerra’s dead, his body is still here, but no sign of Solona and Algaro.”

“Never mind that,” Santiago told him. “Dillon and Carney didn’t come all the way in that inflatable from St. John. Carney’s Sport Fisherman must be nearby.”

“True,” Serra said, “and they’ll up anchor and start back straightaway.”

“And the moment they move, you’ll see them on your radar, right? I mean, there’s no other boat moving out to sea from Samson Cay tonight.”

“True, Senor.”

“Then get the anchor up.”

Serra pressed the bridge button for the electric hoist. The motor started to whine. Santiago said, “What now?”

The three remaining members of the crew, Pinto, Noval and Mugica, were down on the forward deck and Serra leaned over the bridge rail. “The anchor line is jamming. Check it.”

Mugica leaned over the prow, then turned. “It’s Algaro. He’s tied to the chain.”

Santiago and Serra went down the ladder and hurried to the prow and looked over. Algaro hung there from the anchor chain, the weight belt around his throat. “Mother of God!” Santiago said. “Pull him up, damn you!” He turned to Serra. “Now let’s get moving.”

“Don’t worry, Senor,” Serra told him. “We’re faster than they are. There’s no way they can get back to St. John without us overtaking them,” and he turned to the ladder and went up to the bridge as Noval and Mugica hauled Algaro’s body in through the chain port.

At Shunt Bay, Ferguson leaned anxiously over the stern of Sea Raider as the inflatable coasted in out of the darkness.

“What happened?” he demanded.

Dillon passed the Bormann briefcase up to him. “That’s what happened. Now let’s get out of here.”

He stepped on to the diving platform and Carney passed him the inflatable line and Dillon tied it securely, then went to the deckhouse and worked his way round to the prow and started to pull in the anchor. It came free of the sandy bottom with no difficulty. Behind him, Carney had already gone up to the flying bridge and was starting the engines.

Ferguson joined him. “How did it go?”

“He doesn’t take prisoners, I’ll say that for him,” Carney said. “But let’s get out of here. We don’t have any kind of time to hang about.”

Sea Raider plowed forward into the night, the wind freshening four to five. Ferguson sat in the swivel chair and Dillon leaned against the rail beside Carney.

“They’re faster than we are, you know that,” Carney said. “And he’s going to keep coming.”

“I know,” Dillon told him. “He doesn’t like to lose.”

“Well, I sure as hell can’t go any faster, we’re doing twenty-two knots and that’s tops.”

It was Ferguson who saw the Maria Blanco first. “There’s a light back there, I’m sure there is.”

Carney glanced round. “That’s them all right, couldn’t be anyone else.”

Dillon raised the night sight.

“Yes, it’s the Maria Blanco.”

“He’s got good radar on that thing, must have,” Carney said. “No way I can lose him.”

“Oh, yes there is,” Dillon said. “Just keep going.”

Serra, on the bridge of the Maria Blanco, held a pair of night glasses to his eyes. “Got it,” he said and passed the glasses to Santiago.

Santiago focused them and saw the outline of Sea Raider. “Right, you bastards.” He leaned over the bridge rail and looked down at Mugica, Noval and Pinto, who all waited on the forward deck, holding M16 rifles. “We’ve seen them. Get yourselves ready.”

Serra increased speed, the Maria Blanco raced forward over the waves and Santiago raised the glasses again, saw the outline of Sea Raider and smiled. “Now, Dillon, now,” he murmured.

The explosion, when it came, was instantaneous, tearing the bottom out of the ship. What happened was so catastrophic that neither Santiago, Captain Serra nor the three remaining crew members had time to take it in as their world disintegrated and the Maria Blanco lifted, then plunged beneath the waves.

On the flying bridge of Sea Raider what they saw first was a brilliant flash of orange fire and then, a second or two later, the explosion boomed across the water. And then the fire disappeared, extinguished, only darkness remaining. Bob Carney killed the engine instantly.

It was very quiet. Ferguson said, “A long way down.”