The Emperor's Revenge (Oregon Files 11)

Gretchen edged toward the screen. “Yeah, but who were they bringing the meals to?”

“That might be where Whyvern is working.”

“Looks like there are at least a few more of them, by the amount of food they brought in.”

“Assuming we get confirmation that he’s there, let’s go over the plan for bringing him out.”

After calling in Linc and Eddie to join them in the op center, they spent the next three hours plotting out their strategy for abducting Whyvern, knowing that time was of the essence if the hacker’s threat was real. Juan was impressed to see that Gretchen hadn’t lost any of her tactical skill when she proposed some truly inspired wrinkles.

Gomez interrupted their discussion to note that three cars were approaching the front of the castle.

The gates were opened to allow a black Mercedes to drive into the castle interior, followed by two black SUVs. A pair of hulking bodyguards got out of the Mercedes and opened both rear doors while eight other men dismounted from the SUVs.

Two men stepped out of the Mercedes’s rear, one older and one younger.

“Zoom in,” Juan said.

The older man was dressed in a two-piece silk suit that softly reflected the afternoon sun. He was wearing sunglasses and had long, wispy gray hair.

“Can we bring up the picture of Simaku?” Gretchen asked.

Juan nodded and instantly a picture of the same man appeared, this one taken by a long lens on a city street.

“That’s him,” she said.

The younger man was shoved forward by the bodyguard and stumbled, nearly falling to the ground. He was dressed in a T-shirt and dungarees, his hair was tied in a ponytail, and he had a scraggly beard.

Before anyone asked, a picture of Erion Kula appeared on the screen. In the photo, he was clean-shaven, and his hair drooped down to the shoulders, but it was clearly the same person being manhandled in the castle.

“Seems like Whyvern isn’t there voluntarily,” Juan said.

“Maybe Credit Condamine wasn’t enough for him,” Murph said. “Could be that he stole the Mafia’s money, too.”

Max shook his head in amazement at the thought. “That’s never a smart move.”

The hacker was practically dragged to the barracks and pushed inside. Simaku talked to the bodyguards for a few moments and then walked with the rest of the soldiers to the main building. The bodyguards disappeared inside the barracks.

“We need to capture Erion Kula before Simaku does anything to him,” Juan said. “At midnight, we go in and get Whyvern.”

FIFTEEN

Pavel Mitkin’s teeth chattered as Rahul Sirkal strapped lead diving weights to his ankles. The terrified engineer couldn’t move because Seamus O’Connor held him down by the shoulders, and his hands were tied behind his back. Mitkin shivered in the wind coursing over the aft deck of the Achilles as it sped east toward Malta.

Nearly the entire crew of fifty had gathered to observe his punishment. Only Maxim Antonovich and the bridge officer were missing and both were likely watching on the closed-circuit TV system. The crew Mitkin could see from his supine position were the men and women on the balcony above. Their expressions ranged from anger to open curiosity to unrestrained excitement about what was about to take place. Some of them murmured to one another in hushed voices while a few jeered at him. Though his lip quivered, Mitkin held back the tears that threatened to stream out.

When the twenty pounds of weights had been secured to his legs, and another ten pounds had been placed around his waist, he was hoisted to his feet. Sergey Golov slowly approached him, appraising the job that Sirkal had done before looking Mitkin in the eyes. The captain shook his head in disappointment, then turned to address the crew. His daughter Ivana stood behind him with her arms crossed.

“We are supposed to be a team,” Golov said in English, the common language of the multinational crew. “We are supposed to support each other, protect each other, even die for each other, if it comes to that. By going on this journey together, we have made that commitment.”

Golov pointed at Mitkin. “But this man has betrayed us.”

Catcalls rained down on Mitkin until Golov held up his hands to silence them.

“Not only is he a deserter, but Pavel Mitkin is guilty of the most heinous crime at sea: mutiny. When he was caught, he tried to convince other members of this crew to rise up against the senior officers and overthrow our command of this vessel. Of course, the rest of you are loyal crew members and refused to take part. For his crime, Mitkin must be punished.”

Mitkin couldn’t hold his tongue any longer.

“Don’t you all see what’s going on?” he cried out. “The captain is leading us all down a terrible path. He’ll get us all killed! Think of what Mr. Antonovich—”