Shadow Tyrants (Oregon Files 13)

“How do you know it wasn’t her?”

“I’ve seen her movies. Kiara doesn’t do her own stunts.”

“Never mind. It’s not important anymore. I’m obviously not safe here. We’re leaving tonight. Until we launch the satellite, I don’t want to be anywhere Carlton can find me. Make the arrangements.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll have your helicopter here in five minutes.”

“Then we’ll talk about payback. He comes at me that brazenly, I’m going to strike at him just as hard.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

Mallik could see that Torkan was troubled that Natalie Taylor could so easily get through his people and carry out an attack inside his own home. He should be.

“Is there anything you need?” Torkan asked.

“No,” Mallik said. “All I need is this.”

He picked up his laptop and stalked out of the room.

THIRTY-NINE

THE RED SEA

While they searched for a new exit from the Colossus 3, Juan and Linda’s suits were beginning to lose their ability to cool. In a few minutes, the coolant would be the same temperature as the surrounding water, and they would quickly overheat.

Juan had already tried smashing the windows on the bridge, but the thick impact-resistant glass was impervious to his attempts to shatter it with a fire extinguisher. He just couldn’t get enough momentum in the water.

Their efforts to pry open the doors were fruitless. The rust in the mechanisms was too solid.

He saw Linda clutching her head and said, “How are you doing?”

“A headache,” she replied. “Bad one.”

“That’s one of the first symptoms of heatstroke,” Julia said. “Your core temperatures are already above a hundred degrees, and still rising. If we don’t get you out of there soon, both of you will pass out.”

She didn’t have to tell them that death would soon follow.

“The lava flow has also taken a turn because of new pathways opened by the avalanche,” Eric said. “It’s headed straight for you now.”

“I could ram the bridge windows with Nomad.”

“No. You might damage the sub and then we’d all be in trouble. We’ll find another route.”

Linda was having trouble holding the weight of the mesh sack, so Juan took it from her. He also noticed that he’d stopped sweating, which wasn’t a good sign.

“Follow me,” he said, and swam for the stairs.

“That . . .” Linda shook her head, trying to clear out the cobwebs. “The door down there . . . on the deck. Eric said it’s blocked.”

“The windows in one of the cabins might be easier to break.” He took the fire extinguisher with him as a battering ram.

Juan was also feeling the effects of the heat. A couple of times as he was swimming, he lost his orientation and almost started going back up until he saw Linda behind him.

When they reached the next level down, he turned to port and went a few yards before he remembered that he was going in the direction of the oncoming lava. He backtracked and went to the opposite end of the corridor.

One of the cabin doors was open, and Juan was surprised to see a luxurious stateroom that could have served as the captain’s suite on a cruise ship. At first, he thought he might be hallucinating, but when he ran his hand over a sofa, he knew this was real.

“This ship is weird,” Linda said.