Grant stood directly in front of Lin, who refused to look up. “Joe, how much farther?” Grant asked over his shoulder.
“Less than two miles, but looks like there’s some rough weather coming in.”
“Won’t matter. We’ll be on board the ‘mother ship’ by then.” Grant squatted down, getting eye to eye with Lin. With each statement, he counted with a finger. “I know who you work for. I know what you’ve done. I know what you planned on doing.” He grabbed Lin’s arm and jerked him up, as he stood. “And to tell you the truth, none of us like what you did. And especially what you did to our friends.”
Lin finally spoke. “They were already beaten up when we got there! We could have just left them!”
Grant was nearly toe to toe with him. “So, let me get this straight. You’re telling me that you ‘rescued’ them, but then decided to use them as part of your goddamn political statement?!” Lin remained silent. Grant backed away. “Hey, Joe, does anybody beside us know we’ve got these guys?”
“Nobody,” Adler answered, keeping his eyes straight ahead, focused on the ships in the distance.
Lin glanced over his shoulder, seeing only miles of open blue water. But he refused to show any fear, and, instead, became defiant. “You Americans!”
“Oh, ‘we’ Americans? I’ll bet your ass you’re an American. Aren’t you?!”
Lin avoided answering, but said, “You’re taking away Taiwan’s freedom as a country, as a people. You’re making us become part of Communist China! We had every right to… ”
Grant shoved him backward, hard. Lin lost his balance and fell, smacking his head on the deck. Grant knelt on one knee, pulling him up by the front of his jacket. “And what you were about to do — and to possibly thousands of innocent people — would have been nothing more than a callous, murderous act, you bastard!
“And what about Ang?! You didn’t even think twice about him. All you wanted was the plutonium. All he wanted was his freedom. And you took that away, then his life! Didn’t you?!” Grant let go of the jacket, causing Lin to fall. As Grant stood over him, keeping his eyes on the man, he said in a low, menacing voice, “Don’t talk to me about political bullshit, because I don’t like political bullshit.”
As Grant backed away, he finally took his eyes from Lin, and saw the Team watching him from outside the windows. He put his hands on his hips, and looked down again. “You know, I think we’ll just wait and turn you and your two friends over to the ‘Cowboys.’ You know them, don’t you?
“Just for your information, they’ve got these special little rooms hidden away somewhere in the Blue Ridge. In time, they’ll get all the answers they’re looking for. We’ll get our answers then.”
He turned and went forward, then stood next to the wheel. Adler gave him a sideways look. As Grant reached for the mike, he gave Adler a wink. Adler just shook his head.
“Alpha Tango calling Ageless Warrior. Come in Ageless Warrior. Over.”
“Ageless Warrior. Go ahead, Alpha Tango. Over.”
Grant looked forward and scanned the horizon. “Confirm you have visual. Over.”
“Standby.”
As Grant waited, he heard a muted, continuous rumbling sound, only this time it wasn’t another boat. “Your stomach talking to you?” he grinned.
Adler patted his stomach. “Consider this a warning. Stay out of my way once we’re aboard!”
“Hate to disappoint you, but we’ve got calls to make.”
“You’re shittin’ me, right? I can’t remember what real food tastes like, Skipper!”
Grant laughed and slapped his friend’s shoulder, just as he heard: “Ageless Warrior here. Confirming we have visual. Admiral’s barge has been launched. Do you copy? Over.”
“Copy that. And thank the admiral. Over.”
“You can thank him when he gets there! Out.”
Chapter 21
Flight ops had been temporarily suspended, but it didn’t prevent activity from taking place on deck. Rows of men continued walking with their heads down. They were trying to spot the smallest piece of debris that could be sucked up into an aircraft’s intake during takeoff.
Seas started getting rougher, with bad weather approaching. Waves were already at seven feet. It was hardly noticeable aboard the massive carrier, but the Admiral’s barge rose and fell on the rolling waves. Stepping off the deck of the barge then onto the stainless steel landing meant timing had to be nearly perfect.
Captain Gregson and Admiral Larrimore stood on the flight deck at the top of the ladder. Standing behind them was Chief Dave Carson, Master at Arms, along with two petty officers. They were waiting to escort three prisoners to the brig.
“Were there any problems, Admiral?” Gregson asked, as the two men looked down the ladder.
“None at all. Everybody was ready to go.”
“How are the two SEALs?”
“The medical officer needs to check them over, Nat. So far all they’ve requested was food and drink,” Larrimore responded as he looked down the steep ladder. “There they are.”
It was an emotional moment as the SEALs stepped on deck, saluted, and requested, “Permission to come aboard, sir.”
“Permission granted,” Gregson said, returning their salutes. He immediately extended a hand, then shook each of theirs. “Welcome back!”
“Thanks, Captain,” Becket replied.
Kidd smiled. “Thank you, sir.”
“Look, just follow Lieutenant Carey over there. He’ll see you’re both well taken care of.”
“Sir, is my Team still on board?” Becket asked.
Gregson shook his head. “Sorry, but Command at Coronado requested we fly them out.”
“Understand, sir.”
“You can make your call to Coronado whenever you feel up to it.”
“Thank you, sir.” Becket and Kidd slowly followed the lieutenant toward the island.
Larrimore kept his eyes on the two young men, as he said quietly to Gregson, “Those two boys deserve medals for what they did, Nat.”
“I’ll see the paperwork is started, Admiral.”
Hearing footsteps on the ladder, both men turned. Grant stepped onto the deck, shifting his rucksack to his left hand. “Sirs.”
Larrimore made the introductions. “Captain Gregson, this is Grant Stevens. Captain Grant Stevens, retired.”
The two shook hands, as Gregson said, “Great job, Captain.”
“Thanks, sir. It wasn’t without some problems, but everyone came back safe.”
“Glad to hear that,” Gregson responded.
“Sir, I’d appreciate it if you could take the three prisoners off our hands and put ’em in lockup.”
“More than happy to,” Gregson smiled. He turned to the Master at Arms. “Chief, you and your men get the prisoners.”
“Aye, aye, sir,” Chief Carson answered, motioning to the two petty officers. The three climbed down to the landing, then waited until the barge rose up on a wave, then stepped aboard. Within a couple of minutes, they brought the prisoners to the flight deck in cuffs, then led them away.
Following them up the ladder was Kwan then Team Alpha Tango, carrying their gear and weapons. Handshakes and introductions went around, after which Gregson asked, “What happened to the fishing boat you were, uh, traveling in?”
Grant looked at his watch. “After some assistance from EOD, she should be on her way down to meet ‘Davey Jones,’ sir.”
“I see,” Gregson replied, trying to stifle a laugh. “And I assume the hand-off of the canisters to the Chinese went without a hitch?”
“Yes, sir. We were glad to get rid of them, probably as much as the ChiComs wanted them back!”
“I can appreciate that! Listen, I know you’d all probably like to freshen up.”