Uncertain smiles. And this was the easy part.
Laila took a deep breath. “And now to the second announcement. We have located Prince Timgad’s yacht, the Roc, and we are ready to go after it. We have only two days to intercept it and destroy it.”
A whisper swept through the audience. The smiles disappeared.
Ambra stood to speak. “When you approached us, we each signed up to take this submarine.”
Nods from a few women.
“And we took this submarine because we knew the prince intended to load a weapon onto it, a weapon that could trigger the next world war. We hoped that taking the submarine and killing the prince would be enough to stop that,” Laila said.
“But we didn’t manage to kill him.” Meri climbed on the table next to Laila and smiled at her. “Yet.”
Laila wasn’t sure she wanted Meri as an ally. Laila continued speaking. “As we suspected, the prince has loaded the weapon onto his yacht, and he intends to aim it at New York City.”
Instead of trusting her, the women turned to looked at Nahal.
“It’s true,” Nahal said. “I can show anyone the proof on my laptop. To save lives, we must send his yacht, the prince, and his weapon to the bottom of the sea. If he reaches New York and triggers it, it will do millions of dollars of damage, and thousands of people will likely die. After that, it could lead to international war with untold casualties.”
“Or it might not,” Ambra said. “The weapon might not work. No one might die. Even if they do, it might not lead to war. We don’t know any of that. What we do know is that if we torpedo the Roc, we will kill most of the royal family and their retainers. Our uncles and cousins and brothers are on that ship.”
A murmur of approval at Ambra’s words ran through the crowd.
Nahal struggled to her feet. “We can’t do this without you. We need every woman in this crew to man her station.”
“Some of us just want to disappear and set up our new lives,” said Cara, a willowy cousin of Nahal’s. “We thought we would take the submarine and kill the prince and that would put an end to it.”
“Well, it didn’t.” Nahal had gone paler, but she didn’t sit back down. “We had our hopes, but it didn’t work out that way. If we stop now, everyone we have killed will have died in vain, and the blood of everyone who will die after the weapon is activated will be on our hands. An ocean of it.”
“This will spread beyond New York to the shores of our country, to the deserts of Israel and beyond once the device is activated and Israel is blamed.” Laila watched the women’s faces. “We can stop that. We have the tools. We have the knowledge. All we need is the will.”
The women looked between Laila, Nahal, and Ambra.
“I will continue,” Meri said. “I gave my oath.”
“I gave my oath.” Nahal’s legs trembled, but she stood straight and proud.
“I gave my oath,” Laila echoed.
Slowly, the words spread around the room. Woman after woman reaffirmed her oath. Even Ambra. Laila hoped that they remembered their oaths. If more than two of them decided to jump ship and stay with Aunt Bibi, or faltered during the engagement, they would all die for nothing.
Chapter 36
“They’ve stopped, sir.” Vivian sounded excited and energetic and all the other things Joe ought to be. “And an object is approaching them from underwater.”
Joe opened his eyes and tried to sit up. His stomach told him that was a bad idea. This entire plan was a bad idea. He should never have left his cozy house underground. He should have sent the Navy. But they hadn’t been interested, and he couldn’t leave the mystery alone. His stomach berated him for his stubbornness and his curiosity.
“I’m bringing the mini-drone in,” she said. “The captain blacked out the lights, and it’s high up, so they shouldn’t notice it this time of night. We’ll change out the battery. Smart of you to order so many extra batteries.”
“Yeah,” he said.
The view on the monitors swayed sickeningly. A roiling black sea. He almost lost the meager contents of his stomach.
“I’m filming,” she said. “It’s streaming live to Mulcahy, as you requested. I’m also sending him the sonar feeds. He has all the data we can give him.”
Joe struggled into a standing position, his hand on the wall. “We need to affix the transponder. I’m going for the DPV.”
“With respect, sir, I don’t think you’re in any shape to do that.”
“Noted.” She was right, but he wasn’t going to admit it. “I’m going to suit up.”
She stood in an easy, relaxed movement. Like people move who aren’t seasick. “I’ve set the drone to hover. I’ll get Marshall to take over the feeds and keep the drone on track.”
He started for the door. Edison walked next to his leg, a calm presence in a rolling world. She slipped by him and jogged down the corridor like a superhero.
He kept going forward. He could make it to the end of the corridor without throwing up. He could. He did.
When he opened the door that led outside, his heart jackhammered, even though he wasn’t really outside. The captain had set up a long canvas tube across the deck to the swim platform. Like walking inside a hamster tube, but enough to keep his panic at bay. It just needed railings, barf bags, and lights.
The air smelled fresher out here, and his stomach calmed down. Wind rattled the canvas around him. Because it was night, he could barely see a few steps ahead, but that didn’t bother him. Edison strode along in front of him, showing him the way. Dogs saw better in the dark than humans, and Edison saw better in the dark than most dogs.
Too soon, the tube opened into a tent pitched on the swim platform. A dim red light illuminated what looked like tiny bombs — bullet-shaped cylinders with a round propeller on the end. As ridiculous as they looked, they were key for the next part of his plan. They were diver propulsion vehicles, called DPVs, bought by Captain Glascoe as military salvage.
In theory, a diver could hold on to the handles, and the vehicle would propel him forward at about ten miles an hour. They were quiet and small. The only trick was supposed to be controlling the buoyancy control. Or so he’d read.
He’d planned to practice driving his vehicle around the boat as they traveled after the Shining Pearl. Instead, he’d spent all that time throwing up in his cabin, monitoring the feeds. Vivian had used them and given him detailed descriptions of how they worked. If using them to drive around underwater bothered her, she hadn’t said anything. Not that she ever complained.
She popped into view with an armful of gear. “I sent Marshall down to keep an eye on the screens and to watch our six. I’ll leave Billy piloting the drones. He’s got an eye for it.”
“Thanks.”
“I know you originally planned to take the captain with you on this expedition, but he and I’ve agreed it’s better if he and I go and you stay.”
A lot less danger for Joe. “You don’t have experience with the equipment.”
“I trained on the DPV while you were indisposed.” She’d already stepped into her wetsuit. “You’re about my height, so everything fits, and he said I check out fine.”
Even with the fresh air, he still felt terrible, but he argued. “I set this up. I’ve studied this equipment a lot.”
She zipped up her suit. “Agreed. You’re strong on theory. But you’re short on practice.”
Captain Glascoe appeared next to her. He wore a pair of black pants and a dark turtleneck. The guy always dressed like death on the high seas. “Sergeant Torres is more than capable of completing this mission. As am I.”