Ghost Ship (NUMA Files 12)

“Not really my kind of people,” Kurt replied. “But I can’t say it was boring.”

Kurt looked back. Far behind them, the lights of the Massif were blinking out one by one. She was resuming her original course, taking whatever secrets Kurt had failed to pry from her into the night.

Questions about the evening reverberated in his mind, beginning with the identity—not to mention the sanity—of the dark-haired woman he’d run into.

He wondered what she’d meant by the quips she’d thrown at him. Could she really have seen him somewhere before? Or was it just a ploy to distract him? What was she doing there in the first place? What could she possibly mean by saying he was early?

In some ways he owed her for shooting Acosta’s thugs. On the other hand, they wouldn’t have found him without her screaming. He wondered if she’d escaped the yacht during the commotion. More important, he wondered who she’d been talking to on the phone and what they were up to.

“No luck finding Sienna,” Joe guessed.

“She wasn’t on board, as far as I could tell.”

“Any idea where she might be?” El Din asked.

“Not sure,” Kurt replied. “But I overheard a phone call referencing someone they were calling ‘the American woman.’ Whoever she is, it sounds like she’s been delivered into the hands of a guy named Than Rang.”

“Who?” Joe asked.

“Korean industrialist. Probably some well-connected guy who could cause lots of trouble if he wanted to.”

“When has that ever stopped us?” Joe asked, laughing.

“Never,” Kurt said. “And it’s not going to this time either. But something bigger is going on here. Something bigger and more complicated than a simple abduction.”

“Any idea what?”

“Nope,” Kurt said. “But I heard them talking about ‘breaching the American Wall.’ Whatever that means, we need to stop it from happening.”

“Than Rang is a stone-cold killer, not the kind of man you want to tangle with on a whim.”

The words came from Dirk Pitt. They were spoken via an encrypted linkup that ended in the display screen of Joe’s computer.

“Not going off on a whim,” Kurt said. “If Sienna is out there, this guy Rang has her. And based on what I saw on that computer, he’s gathering up a small stable of topflight hacking talent.”

“I believe you,” Pitt said. “The question is, why?” “What’s his background?” Kurt asked. “Maybe that will tell us something.”

“He’s the head of a South Korean chaebol. His corporation works in mining, waste management, and energy.”

“Can you give us some details?”

“Than was born in ’49, right before the Korean War. His family fortunes were already in decline, but because the North ravaged so much of Seoul and the surrounding area when they occupied it, the decline of the family businesses intensified. At some point, his father got involved with underworld elements to keep the cash flow going. By the time Than was sixteen, the company did more smuggling and laundering than anything else. When his father died, a war broke out within the ranks. By the time it ended, Than had murdered all those who opposed him, wiped out the criminals who’d funded him, and killed every family member who disagreed with his leadership.”

“A palace coup,” Joe noted.

“And then some,” Pitt said.

“Why didn’t the government go after him?”

“Friends in high places,” Pitt explained. “Most people forget that South Korea was basically a military-industrial dictatorship from 1951 to 1979. All emphasis was on growing the economy and doing so by any means necessary. They needed wealth to build a military and prepare for the next invasion by the North. Crimes had a way of being forgiven or ignored if they centralized power, brought about order, or increased industrial production.”

“So Than Rang is a glorified street criminal,” Kurt said. “But that doesn’t tell us what he wants with computer experts.”

“Could be any number of things,” Pitt said. “Considering the structure of the chaebol and the intense competition in today’s world, I’d lay my money on corporate espionage.”

“Makes sense,” Kurt said. “But the strange woman and her backers seemed to want these people for something else. She talked about breaching the American Wall. She also mentioned something called an air gap. Any idea what those terms mean?”

Pitt looked off the screen. “Hiram, you want to take this one?”