Zeus would have liked.
“The fishing vessels are a better way to escape,” Zeus told them. “They’ll be looking for military ships. Even the Zodiacs. They’ll have every asset out. You don’t think they’ll notice a patrol boat that’s not where it belongs?”
“They have not stopped us so far,” said the captain.
“That’s because they see us patrolling. We just came pretty damn close. Eventually, we’ll miss something and they’ll come over to see what the hell is going on. We may have missed it already. We’re pressing our luck, believe me. Mr. Quach, tell him.”
“The ship would be a big prize,” said Quach.
“What good will it be against a Chinese aircraft carrier?”
That logic seemed to settle it, though the marine captain clearly wasn’t happy.
“They’re getting greedy,” said Christian a little while later, as they stood on the fantail eying a pleasure boat passing about a half mile away. “That can be fatal.”
“Yeah.”
Zeus knelt down and opened the box with the timers. They were primitive, though undoubtedly reliable. Their fuses could only be set an hour in advance. That made getting off the ship a little tight, but it wasn’t an insurmountable problem.
“What do you think of this boat?” asked Christian.
Zeus rose. Still holding one of the timers in his left hand, he took the binoculars in his right. There were two men in the boat. The men seemed a little too intent to be just taking a pleasure cruise, but they weren’t headed in their direction.
“I thought the Asian mind always followed orders,” said Christian. “Does it apply across the board, or is it because we’re white?”
Zeus focused on the men. They seemed to be looking in his direction, but that might just be curiosity.
“You listening?” Christian asked.
“Vaguely.” He handed the binoculars back and turned around just in time to see the marine captain and three of his men emerge from the cabin with rifles. “Shit.”
“You will not plant the explosives on the ship,” said the captain. “You cannot do it.”
“You’re being foolish,” said Zeus.
“If you were to die, it would be easily explained,” answered the captain.
“Hey, relax,” said Christian. “This isn’t that big a deal.”
“What do you mean, big deal?” asked the marine captain.
“I mean it’s not a problem.”
Christian reached over to the timer Zeus had in his hand. “Put it down, dude. Come on.”
Zeus let Christian take it.
“It ain’t worth your life,” said Christian. “Or mine.”
“We will take the timers and the explosives,” said the captain. “I am sorry, Major. But this ship is too important to lose. I hope you understand.”
“I don’t understand,” said Zeus.
“I am very sorry.”
23
He just wanted to get the whole damn thing over with. He just wanted to go home.
Where was that, though?
The Midwest, where he’d grown up. Where his parents had been murdered.
God, how dark his life had been.
He thought about M?. He was really looking forward to seeing her, though he still had a lot of doubts about whether she should talk or not.
God, she’d had just as horrible a childhood as he had.
But he’d overcome it. Or at least dealt with it.
She would, too.
Josh took a quick shower — the only kind possible — then got dressed. Broome was outside once again, reading his newspaper. He had a cup of Starbucks coffee waiting for Josh.
“Figured you’d like a shot of joe,” said the marshal, handing it to him. “Sleep okay?”
“Like a baby, thanks.”
“Babies sleep like crap,” said Broome. “At least mine did. Mara’s downstairs, with that guy Jablonski. Just went down. They were going to wait for a while before waking you up.”
“Aren’t they nice?” said Josh sarcastically.
“Yeah.”
“I think you ought to get dressed for the presentation,” said Mara. “The schedule’s going to be tight.”
“What schedule?” said Josh.
“We’re going to meet the senator at eleven ten at the New York Hall of Science in Queens,” said Jablonski. “Then we’re going to come back to Manhattan and meet the president before his speech. He wants to go over a few things with you.”
Josh looked at Mara. She was wearing a dark black skirt that fell to her knees, with a matching jacket.
“You look nice,” he told her.
“Thank you. Mr. Jablonski picked it out.”
Josh felt a slight twinge of jealousy.
“No, actually my wife,” said Jablonski. “Very professional looking.”
“I’m with the State Department,” she told Josh, winking. “Public relations.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, let’s get you ready,” said Jablonski, taking Josh’s elbow and steering him toward the elevator. “Let’s run through your speech, and there’re a couple of things I want to tell you about the senator. First of all, he has an ego the size of Mount Rushmore. Never interrupt him. And never answer your cell phone or text a message while he’s talking.”
“I don’t have a phone.”
“That’s a start,” said Jablonski.
“So basically, this guy thinks he’s God,” said Mara.
“No, he thinks he’s a senator,” said Jablonski. “That’s a whole rung higher than God.”
24
