Shadow Tyrants (Oregon Files 13)

While he took care of that, Max called Linda to find out what happened to Juan.

* * *

—

Juan dug his fingers into the grating at the bottom of the catwalk and caught himself before he tumbled into the roiling water.

The dangling end of the catwalk was near the vat-topped walkway. He couldn’t climb back up, so Juan swung himself over and landed on the metal walkway.

He looked up and saw Linc and Murph still up on the catwalk.

“Are you all right?” Linc called down over the rushing water’s roar.

“Bumps and bruises! You?”

“We’re okay. We’ll be down in a minute to get you.”

“No!” Juan yelled. “Get off the ship now. That’s an order!”

“Aye, Chairman. See you on the Gator.” He pushed Murph forward, and they ran toward the bow.

That way was blocked for Juan, the explosion taking out most of the vat he’d have to cross. The water level was already three-quarters of the way up the sides of the vats.

He raced for the stern. About halfway there, his path was blocked by a huge pipe knocked off its base by a flying girder.

Xavier Carlton was trapped underneath it, his legs pinned by the enormous metal cylinder. He was still conscious, his face contorted in agony. Juan tried lifting the pipe, but it was no use. It had to weigh more than half a ton.

When he saw Juan, he gritted his teeth and said, “Do you realize what you’ve done?”

“I’ve kept you from unleashing a deadly force that you couldn’t possibly hope to control.”

Carlton shook his head. “You fool. You’ve killed us all. Colossus was the only thing that could stop Romir Mallik and the Vajra satellites.”

“We already know about the Vajra electromagnetic pulse weapon. Mallik is planning to use it for the Indian military. He already used it on Diego Garcia. His newest satellite is going up any day now.”

The water continued to rise. Juan had to leave soon if he was going to get out of the hold alive.

Carlton shook his head even more violently and grabbed Juan’s arm.

“You don’t understand anything! Vajra wasn’t designed as a weapon. He’s going to shut down everything.”

“What do you mean, everything?”

“Once he has all twenty satellites in orbit, Mallik will activate them all simultaneously. It will set up a resonant wave that will multiply the effect of the individual satellites and wipe out all computers across the world.”

“Are you sure?”

Carlton nodded, and grimaced as he spoke. “I had a mole in his organization. He showed me the calculations.”

“How long will the effect last?”

“For as long as the satellites are in orbit and have power. Fifty years. Maybe a hundred. Nobody knows. But for all that time, no computer on the face of the planet will work again, not unless it’s deep underground or under the water.”

The water had risen to the top of the vat. It began to cover Carlton’s body.

Juan needed to hear more. He tried again to move the pipe, but it was futile.

“Get Mallik!” Carlton screeched in a terrified wail as he attempted to keep his head above the water. “Don’t let him stop the world! Don’t let him—”