Fire Ice (NUMA Files 3)

"No, thank you. I can walk on my own." She took a few steps and had to reach out for Joe's arm for support.

They climbed up to the aft deck. Even the fresh air and sun couldn't dispel the black cloud that hung over the ship. Ian sat on a coil of line, blinking her eyes in the sunlight. Zavala offered her a flask of tequila he carried in his pack for what he said were medicinal purposes. The liquor brought color back to her cheeks, and signs of life returned to the impassive eyes. Austin waited patiently for her to speak.

She stared out at the water in silence. Finally, she said, “They came out of the sea."

"Who did?"

"The killers. They came at dawn. Most people were in bed."

"What kind of boat did they come on?"

"I don't know. They were just… here. I never saw a boat." Once the plug was pulled, the story poured out. "I was sleeping, and they came into my room and pulled me out. They were dressed in strange uniforms, baggy pants and boots. They killed my roommate, shot her without warning. I could hear gunfire allover the ship."

"Did they tell you who they were?"

“They didn't say a word. They just went about their business as if they were killing cattle in a slaughterhouse. Only one of them talked."

"Tell me about him."

She reached out with trembling hands and took another swig of tequila. "He was tall, very tall, and skinny, almost emaciated. He was pale, as if he never saw the sun, and had a long beard and hair all matted as if he never combed it." She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "He smelled, too, as if he hadn't taken a bath in months."

"How was he dressed?"

"All in black, like some kind of priest. But the worst thing were those eyes." She shuddered. “They were too big for his face, round and staring. I don't think he blinked, They were like fish eyes. Dead with no emotion in them."

"You said he spoke to you."

"I must have passed out. When I awoke, I was lying on my bunk. He was bending over me. His breath was so foul, it was all I could do not to vomit. The ship was quiet. There was only that voice, soft like the hissing of a snake. Almost hypnotic. He said he had killed everyone on the ship except me. They were leaving me alive to deliver a message." Her body convulsed into choking sobs, but her anger helped her pull herself together and she continued. "He wanted NUMA to know that this was revenge for killing his Guardians and violating the 'sacred precincts.' He said he wanted Kurt Austin."

"You're sure he called me by name?"

"I wouldn't make a mistake about something like that. I said that you weren't here. They knew you were on the Argo. I told him this wasn't the Argo. He had one of his men check. When he learned he was on the wrong ship, he flew into a rage. He said to tell NUMA and the U.S. that this was a small taste of the destruction that was yet to come."

"Is there anything else?"

"That's all I remember." She stared dumbly.

Austin thanked her and went over to where his pack was lying on the deck. He pulled out his Globalstar phone. Within seconds, he was talking to Gunn. "Are you still in the air?"

"Just barely. We're running on fumes, but we'll make it. Are you and Joe okay?"

"We're fine."

Gunn sensed from Austin's tone that there was more be- hind the terse reply. "What's the situation on the Hunter?"

"I'd rather not say over the phone, but it's about as bad as it can get."

Gunn said, "Help is on its way. I talked to Sandecker, and he called his friends in the navy. They're grateful for getting the NR-1's crew back. When he said you needed some assistance, they broke a cruiser off from NATO exercises in the area."

"I wouldn't mind an aircraft carrier at this point, but a cruiser will be fine."

"The ship will be there within two hours. Anything else you need?"

Austin's eyes hardened and a razor-sharp edge came into his voice. "Yeah. I'd like about five minutes with a certain bug-eyed freak."

25

THE NAVY PUT an armed party aboard the Sea Hunter, but nothing could be done until an investigation team arrived. Austin needed no forensic expert to tell him the murderous sequence of events that had transpired aboard the unsuspecting ship. The attackers had arrived by sea, silently stolen onto the vessel, then made their way through the ship and systematically slaughtered everyone on her except for the one witness they purposely left alive. A maniac who talked of revenge had led the attack.