Page 16 of Harbored by the SEAL
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“How the hellis that possible?” asked Cowboy.
Harrison dropped into a chair. “A well-trained saboteur would have little trouble knocking out our radio ability. The difficulty lies in the access. In order for someone to take out our radios, they have to have access to the bridge and an ability to override the computer. We’ve already seen their computer prowess.”
“I can’t believe it’s that simple.”
“Oh, I can assure you it is not. There are many safeguards in place. Double and triple checks to ensure this doesn’t happen.”
“Who has access to the bridge?”
“Me. The captain and first mate. About a dozen other crew members who work there. No one who should be suspect.”
“One of them did it. But why?”
“I wish I knew.”
“Because of the royals.”
The security chief nodded. “Maybe. It could be terrorists. With the royals on board–”
“And thousands of built-in hostages—” added Cowboy.
“They have the ability to capture the attention of the world.”
“I need to call for backup from HERO Force. I’ll call the authorities as well.”
“You can’t. The communication system—”
“I have a satellite phone.”
Harrison made the sign of the cross. “Then you will be our saving grace. May I use it after you? I will phone the cruise line and let them know of our difficulties.”
“Of course.”
Cowboy went back to his room. He picked up his satellite phone from where it sat charging, then took it out to the balcony to search for a signal.
The screen was black. “What the hell?” he whispered, pressing buttons to no avail. He knew it was working when he plugged it in yesterday morning, but now it was clearly dead.
So much for being anyone’s saving grace.
He was supposed to check in with HERO Force twice a day. In theory, failing to make that call should alert the team that something was wrong. He looked out at the seemingly endless sea, wondering if the lack of a check-in call would be motivation enough for HERO Force to do something about it.
He walked back inside and plugged the phone in again, just in case. He nearly bumped into Abby. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
She bit her lip, making her look like a teenager. “Please don’t be mad. I can’t find the royals. I’m sure they’re fine, I just don’t know where they went.”
Cowboy’s eyes went wide. “Why did you leave them alone?”
“Because I had to go to the bathroom! I waited as long as I could, but you didn’t come back and I couldn’t call you.”
“Son of a bitch.”
“I’m sure they’ll turn up really soon. I’m sorry, Leo.”
“It might not be that simple,” he said. “The Wi-Fi and cellular service going down was no accident. Somebody did it on purpose, probably the same somebody who disabled the ship’s radio.”
“The radio is down, too?”
