Page 21 of Harbored by the SEAL
“We need backup. I haven’t checked in with HERO Force, so I’m hoping they’ll realize there’s a problem and come to the ship, but with this weather that might be impossible.”
She sat down on the edge of the couch. “Why would someone do these things? What could they want?”
“Five thousand innocent people at their mercy. What does it make you think of?”
She met his eyes. “Terrorists.”
He nodded.
Fear settled on her like a weight. Terrorists didn’t care if they got hurt. They didn’t care if they took innocent lives. They thrived on the very things that served to keep evil in check.
“What can I do to help?” she asked.
“Get dressed and come with me. I need to find Harrison and Abby and figure out what we’re going to do.”
17
The Coast Guardcommander crossed his arms. “These are international waters. We can't just go out there and board a ship because you think there might be something wrong.”
Jax moved closer to the commander. “I realize that, sir. But I don't just think it, I know it. Hostile forces have infiltrated that cruise liner, putting all five thousand passengers and two members of the British royal family at risk.”
“Then maybe you should ask the Brits to help, because I can’t touch this one. That ship is flying a Bahamian flag. I have established radio contact and offered the assistance of the U.S. Coast Guard and been refused — very politely, I might add. Now, if I take your word for this and board that vessel, that could be taken as an unfriendly act from our country unto theirs. You see my problem.”
Jax did see the man's problem, which only served to exacerbate his own. Without the assistance of the Coast Guard, he and his men had no choice but to board the cruise ship on their own.
“There’s a storm at their location. Heavy rain and lightning with poor visibility. Looks like the worst of it’s about past them, though.”
Fuck.
Nothing like a helicopter coming down out of the sky to land on a cruise ship during a storm. “I’ll take it from here. Thank you for your candor,” said Jax. He walked off the bridge of the U.S.S.Raptureand back onto its sweltering deck. The rest of his HERO Force crew were standing beside their chopper.
It’d taken more than a dozen phone calls and calling in three favors to get an accurate location of the cruise ship and permission to board theRapture, just three hundred miles from theGem of the Seas. But no favor on earth would be great enough for a navy commander to board another country’s ship when he wasn’t welcome.
Jax spit on the ground and joined their small group. He looked at Matteo. “The cruise ship doesn’t want us there, so the Coast Guard can’t get us on the ship. The only way we’re going to make it on that boat is if we land on their helipad, uninvited.”
Hawk whistled. “Somebody could get hurt. There are thousands of civilians on that ship.”
Jax nodded. “The helipad is located on the point of the bow, like a triangle with water on two sides. The other side can see us coming. That’s not what I’m worried about. If they really don’t want us there, they’re not going to sit still like a bride on her wedding night waiting for us to hop on top of them. They’re going to keep going.”
Matteo pursed his lips. “You’re asking me if I can land on a moving ship.Mierda.How fast are they going?”
Logan cleared his throat. “The ship has a maximum cruising speed of 20 knots, about 23 miles per hour.”
“I know how fast a knot is, Doc,” said Matteo.
Jax knew what he was asking. It was the same thing he always had to ask. What’s the best you can do, and are you willing to put your life on the line for this mission? Neither question required an apology from him. His men knew what they’d signed up for.
He watched as Red considered his answer. Matteo had earned the nickname for the red matador’s muleta he kept in his locker. In a bullfight the muleta hid the sword, and Red had hidden swords of his own.
“I can do it,” said Red. “I’ll have to hover for a minute until I get the speed right, but I can land that bird on the bow, no problem.”
18
The courtyard belongedon a tropical island more than it belonged in this floating metropolis. Two clear waterslide tubes mirrored each other’s twists and turns as they fell from the highest stories of the ship to a pool a hundred yards away.
A piercing scream echoed in the distance and someone shot through a clear tube overhead. Cowboy sat with Harrison, Charlotte, and Abby at a table beneath a palm tree in the lush oasis of vegetation.
Harrison leaned forward in his chair. “I’d rather not talk in the security room anymore. Someone is communicating with the cruise line. Sending daily check-ins and reports.” He took a sip of his coffee, his hand shaking the cup.
