“Says the unmarried guy,” Logan quipped with a chuckle.
Blake raised his eyebrows. “Engaged, asshole. And if Clarissa thought we were in danger, she’d be the last person throwing a big wedding or anniversary party.”
“Touché,” Logan said.
“We don’t know if the captain and crew are injured or what the condition is of any of the passengers. Multiple gunshots were reported before the yacht set sail. The San Diego PD is pulling surveillance footage in the hopes that we can get an ID on these guys. The Navy has surveillance footage as well that is currently under review.”
“Jesus,” Troy muttered. “Where’s the rest of the admiral’s family? I know the wife was with him, but what about the kids?”
“They’re safe,” the CO confirmed. “They’re at his house under protection. Additional agents were sent over as a precaution. MPs are outside the home as well. It’s a whole damn crime scene at the pier—police, paramedics, investigators. It looks like the tranquilizer darts were shot from a distance. These guys are well-trained. More of them might be out there. If they’ve got eyes on the pier and activity there, it’s all the more reason we can slip in undetected. They know the Coast Guard is out there watching them.”
“But they don’t know about us,” Blake said.
“Damn,” Ethan said. “I doubt they’re expecting a SEAL team to move in so quickly.”
“Probably not,” Logan said with a chuckle. “Although if they wanted to negotiate, why would they remain incommunicado? Honestly, these guys sound like morons. Now they’re trapped on a boat. How the hell do they think they’ll escape in the middle of the ocean?”
“Helicopter?” Troy asked.
“If they have their own helicopter, it’d be damn easy to shoot down,” Blake said. “They’d have to take hostages with them. It’s not like the police department will be sending in a helicopter to escort them to safety.”
“They could be planning to take the admiral somewhere,” the CO said. “Everything is a possibility at this point.”
“Maybe they’re just making a statement,” Jackson said. “It could all be a distraction for something else. They have the admiral, and while all eyes are on that, something else happens.”
“The base has moved to FBCON DELTA,” their commander said. “Intelligence hadn’t indicated a threat to base security before this incident, the threats of blackmail against the admiral notwithstanding.”
“And you think this all ties back to the threatening messages Admiral Rice received?” Blake asked. He finished putting on his gear, grabbing his weapons. “They still haven’t released a damn thing. It was all an empty threat.”
“That seems nuts,” Troy said. “If it is the same group, now he’s got more security on him than ever. If they wanted intel the admiral had access to, it would’ve made more sense just to grab him somewhere before he was surrounded by federal agents. And lots of people on base have access to highly classified information.”
“He’s got codes to nuclear warheads,” the commander said.
“I still think it could be a distraction,” Jackson said. “It seems like a damn stupid way to get information from a high-ranking military official.”
“Maybe this was the only way to get him to talk,” Troy said. “They could threaten harm to the wife or other women. The admiral wouldn’t just stand around watching them be killed off one by one—or worse, tortured. The threats about releasing whatever incriminating photos they claim to have didn’t work, so this escalated.”
The CO cursed and looked around at the team. “I’ll be in communication with you the entire time. You’ll have to search the whole ship to make sure every gunman is accounted for. I’m still trying to establish the number of souls onboard. We don’t want an innocent civilian getting tossed out into the Pacific in the middle of the night.”
“Hell no,” Jackson said. “We’ll get to them and get everyone safely back to shore.”
Blake glanced around at the team as they stood at the ready. “Is that all for us, commander?”
Their CO nodded. “Let’s do this. Multiple lives are at stake here.”
“Then let’s move out!” Blake ordered.
“Hoorah!” one of the men shouted.
Troy gripped his weapon, hustling out of the locker area with his teammates, his pulse pounding. They exited the building, the sun nearly gone. Inky darkness was taking over, and he was damn glad for the cover of night. The assholes who’d hijacked the ship and threatened to harm both innocent civilians and senior military officers wouldn’t even know they were coming.
Chapter 9
Two Hours Later
Caitlyn huddled on the floor of the cabin, her neck aching from the cramped position she’d been forced to stay in. The admiral’s wife, Evelyn, was being kept in here as well, but she had no idea where Admiral Rice or the other men had been taken. Her wrists were bound in front of her, leaving her arms and shoulders stiff and sore, and her ankles were bound together as well.
The boat rocked in the water, and her stomach churned. She’d never been opposed to boats before and had never worried about sea sickness, but after the past several hours? She’d be happy never setting foot on a boat ever again.
“At least they haven’t taken us further out to sea,” Evelyn said, looking over at Caitlyn. She was tied up as well, her face pale as she hastily glanced toward the closed cabin door.
“How can you tell? The constant motion of the boat is making me seasick.”
“I don’t hear the engines,” Evelyn said. “Admiral’s wife,” she added with a half-smile. “We have our own small boat, and of course we’ve been on plenty of ships together over his years in the Navy.”
“Huh. I just thought we couldn’t hear it because we were below deck.” Caitlyn shifted slightly, her eyes moving to the closed door. The gunmen had left the light on in the cabin
