Page 15 of Harbored by the SEAL
Keep it sexy.
He smiled and pushed through an unmarked door. Inside was a long hallway with many doors off it. The administrative headquarters of theGem of the Seas. He made his way to Harrison’s office and knocked on the closed door. An unfamiliar man in an employee’s uniform opened it. “Can I help you?”
“I’m here to see Harrison.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but Mr. Harrison—”
“It’s okay, Nicholas,” said a voice from behind the man. “He can come in.”
Something in Harrison’s tone had the hair on Cowboy's arms standing on end. Cowboy had been around trouble enough in his lifetime to feel it in the air. It had a physical presence, just like a human being.
“What’s going on?” asked Cowboy. Two more men sat at a desk along the side of the room working at computers with multiple screens.
Harrison crossed his arms over his chest. “I was just about to look for you. I would have called, but you’ve probably noticed our communications are down.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
“That’s why we’re all here. We have a problem, Leo. The cellular service and Wi-Fi were deliberately taken out.”
“By whom?”
“I wish I knew. Hell, for that matter I wish we could get it back online, but we can’t. Whoever did it installed a virus that took over our computers. Made them forget how to interface with the satellites that connect us to the world.”
Cowboy’s spine tingled. “That doesn’t sound like a couple of kids playing around.”
Harrison shook his head. “No way. Whoever did this is a professional, and it took planning. Hours of computer programming.”
“Why would someone do it? What’s their motivation?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” Harrison cursed under his breath. “My gut tells me this is big. Like there might be more to come.”
“I was thinking the same thing.” There was no way to know if this attack had anything to do with the royals, or was an isolated incident. “Can you fix the network?”
“So far, no. And the more they try, the more security cameras go off-line.”
Cowboy cocked his head. “I don’t understand how those two are related.”
“Me either. It seems to be part of the virus. A punishment of sorts for trying to free ourselves from it.” Harrison’s phone rang. “Excuse me, I need to take this.” He stepped out of the room.
Cowboy looked around at the men working. They seemed frantic, their attention clearly focused on the screens before them. He would bet none of them were computer programmers, and he mentally gave them fifty to one odds of getting the communications system back online.
He walked toward a wall of screens. Clearly these were the surveillance feeds from around the ship, nearly a quarter of them dark. He stared at one of the black screens, mentally surveying the situation.
A crew member had been killed. On its own, that was not necessarily anything that would affect the ship at large. But the deliberate attack on the communications system changed all that, making it far more likely that the two were related.
He remembered the thick folder Logan had given him before this trip. Briefing documents they’ve received on the prince and princess from the princess’s mother, who’d hired them.
It contained general information on the royal couple and current threats to the British Empire. The dossier clearly outlined some long-standing political grudges, a handful of nutjob royal watchers, and the pervasive threat of global terrorism.
Terrorism.
Prince Hugo was a member of the French Parliament, Princess Violet the youngest daughter of Princess Mary. Together they represented the coming together of two great families. It was a good thing, assuming you wanted them to come together peacefully.
But if you didn’t, taking over a luxury cruise liner where the young and beautiful royal couple were beginning their life together would make one hell of a statement, especially with thousands of innocent people on board.
“Wilson.” Harrison gestured for Cowboy to come to the door, then led the way to a conference room, closing the door behind them.
“That was the captain.” He sighed heavily. “The ship’s radio just went off-line.”
