Even Drake felt a rush of apprehension. “Cook turned back? What the hell is down there?”
Claude shrugged, then groaned in pain. “Nobody knows. But my guess is that Kovalenko will be the first to find out. He’s on his way there now.”
Drake’s heart leapt on that information. On his way there now. There was time.
By now Mai and half-a-dozen of soldiers had drifted over to them. Everyone listened with avid attention.
Drake remembered the business at hand. “We want the ranch locations. And we want Ed Boudreau.”
Claude reeled off the information. Two more ranches, one on Kauai, the other on the Big Island. Boudreau was en route to Kauai.
“And the terrorist attacks?” Mai asked quietly. “Is that just another ruse?”
And now Claude’s face actually fell with such despair and misery that Drake’s stomach plummeted through the floor.
“No.” Claude moaned. “They’re real. They’ll hit any moment now.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Ben and Karin drifted over to the window, each holding a copy of Captain Cook’s classified logs. As they read and reread the craziness therein, Ben quizzed his sister about the Blood King’s strange behavior.
“Kovalenko must have been about to embark on this journey when the portable devices were found. He’s too well prepared to have organized everything in the last few weeks.”
“Years,” Karin murmured. “Years of planning and practice and greasing the right wheels. But why did he risk this huge operation to go on a little side-jaunt to Bermuda?”
Ben shook his head at one of the passages he was reading. “Crazy stuff. Just crazy. Only one thing would make him do that, sis.”
Karin looked out at the distant ocean. “He saw something about the devices that was relevant to Diamond Head.”
“Yes, but what?”
“Well, clearly nothing too important after all.” They had been following the shaky head-cam images being broadcast from the Blood King’s ranch. They knew that the megalomaniac had left the portal device behind. “He doesn’t need it.”
“Or he believes he can just take it back at will.”
Behind them, coming from the operation uplink, they heard Drake shouting out the information he had gleaned so far from Claude.
Ben blinked at Karin. “He’s saying the Blood King’s already at Diamond Head. That means—”
But Karin’s unexpected scream froze the next words in his throat. He followed her gaze, narrowed his eyes, and felt his world collapse.
The black smoke of many explosions was streaming from hotel windows along Waikiki Beach.
Ignoring the tumult erupting from the offices around him, Ben raced over to the wall and turned the TV on.
His mobile rang. This time it was his father. They, too, must be watching TV.
Drake and the soldiers who weren’t engaged in rounding up hostages or routing the few remaining pockets of resistance saw the coverage on their iPhones. The commander of their unit, a man called Johnson, broke out the military Android devices and spoke directly to the mobile command post back in Honolulu as events unfolded.
“Bombs have exploded in three Waikiki hotels,” the commander repeated. “Repeat. Three. Outrigger West on the beach. Kalakuau Waikiki. Ohana Wave.” The commander listened for a minute. “Seems they exploded in empty rooms, causing panic… evacuation… pretty much… chaos. Honolulu’s emergency services are stretched to breaking.”
“Is that it?” Drake actually felt some relief. It could have been much worse.
“Wait—” The commander’s face fell. “Oh no.”
Ben and Karin watched in horror as the TV screen switched from scene to scene. The hotels were swiftly evacuated. Men and women ran and pushed and fell. They screamed and shielded their loved ones and wept whilst hugging their children tight. Hotel staff came after, looking hard-faced and terrified, but remaining in control. The police and firemen swept in and out of lobbies and hotel rooms and made their presence felt in front of every hotel. The TV picture panned away as a helicopter was brought in, showing the glorious view of Waikiki and the sprawling hills at its rear, the majesty of Diamond Head volcano and the world-famous sweep of Kuhio Beach, now spoiled by the stunning sight of high-rise hotels belching smoke and flames from their shattered walls and windows.
The TV screen flicked once more. Ben gasped and Karin’s heart flipped. They couldn’t even speak to each other.
A fourth hotel, in view of the world, was being invaded by masked terrorists. Anyone who stood in their way was gunned down on the sidewalk. The last man turned around and waved a fist at the hovering helicopter. Before he walked into the hotel and secured the door behind him, he shot a civilian who had been crouched down near a parked cab.
“Oh my God.” Karin’s voice was small. “What about the poor people inside?”
“The Ala Moana Queen has been invaded by armed individuals,” the commander told them. “Determined. Masked. Not afraid to kill.” He turned a murderous look onto Claude. “How many more attacks are there going to be, you evil bastard?”
Claude looked terrified. “None,” he said. “On Oahu.”
Drake turned away. He had to think. He had to refocus. This was what Kovalenko wanted, for them all to be distracted. The fact was — Kovalenko knew something staggering was hidden deep below Diamond Head and was on his way to claim it.
Something that might even eclipse the terror of these attacks.
His concentration crept back. Nothing had changed here. The attacks had been timed to perfection. They had disrupted the soldiers and the army and the emergency services all at the same time. But nothing had changed. They hadn’t found the Blood King so—
Plan B was now in operation.
Drake signaled Mai and Alicia. Hayden and Kinimaka were already close. The big Hawaiian looked shell-shocked. Drake spoke pointedly at him, “Are you up for this, Mano?”
Kinimaka almost growled. “Fucking right I am.”
“Plan B,” Drake said. “Kovalenko’s not here, so we stick to it. The rest of these soldiers will catch on in a minute. Hayden and Mai, you join the Kauai assault. Mano and Alicia, you join the Big Island assault. Get to those ranches. Save as many as you can. And Alicia…” His face turned to chiseled ice. “I’m counting on you to do murder. Make that bastard Boudreau die hard.”
Alicia nodded. It had been Drake’s idea to keep Mai and Alicia apart when they realized they would have to split their team up. He didn’t want the death of Wells and other secrets to come between saving lives and stopping the enemy.
Claude’s high-pitched voice drew Drake’s attention. “Kovalenko funded attacks on Oahu, Kauai and the Big Island just to draw your attention. To divide and conquer you. You cannot beat this man. He’s prepared for years.”
Matt Drake lifted his weapons. “That’s why I’m gonna follow him through the Gates of Hell and feed him to the fucking Devil.” He walked toward the supply chopper. “C’mon, people. Load up.”
Ben spun quickly as his mobile rang. It was Drake
“Ready?”
“Hi, Matt. Are you sure? Are we really going?”
“We’re really going. Right now. Did you get what you need from Daniel Belmonte?”
“Yes. But he’s a bit of a wan—”
“Good. Did you pinpoint the nearest lava tube entrance?”
“Yes. There’s a fenced-off compound about two miles from Diamond Head. The Hawaiian government fenced off every known entrance the same way. Most times, it doesn’t stop even a determined kid from getting in.”