Final Option (Oregon Files 14)

He was talking to her, yet she couldn’t hear him. She couldn’t hear anything. It was only now that Linda realized she was completely deaf except for the persistent ringing in her ears.

Gomez said something, and the two of them had a brief conversation until Murph nodded. He then knelt beside her and wiped his eyes while Gomez went toward the cockpit.

Moments later, Linda could feel the Gator turning.

Then she remembered with horrifying clarity.

She’d left them. Linda had left Juan and Eddie to die.

9

Ferreira had a pistol in his hand and it was pointed at Juan’s head.

“What’s going on?” he demanded.

Juan stood next to Eddie with his hands up. Ferreira’s three guards also had their weapons drawn, and the drone technicians had been ordered to leave. Not a good sign, getting rid of potential witnesses.

“You tell me what’s h

appening,” Juan said. “I have no idea.”

A phone was in Ferreira’s other hand. He’d been getting updates from the bridge.

“The captain says there are quadcopter drones exploding in the air fifty yards off the bow. One of you is trying to steal my technology.” He moved the gun over so it was pointing at Eddie. “Maybe the both of you. Maybe you’re working together.”

“I want to buy your product,” Eddie said, “not steal it. We have a deal.”

“It’s not a coincidence that you two happen to be here right when we’re attacked.”

He’s right about that, Juan thought. The guy’s not stupid.

“How would we steal it?” Juan asked, pointing at the Slipstream drone. “You think we’d carry this out with us?”

“I don’t know,” Ferreira said. “Right now, I have to get everyone off this yacht and regain control of the situation. But I’ll find out when I get back.”

“You’ll never do business with our cartels again if anything happens to us,” Juan said.

“Remember, I’m a risk taker. There are plenty of other buyers for my products. I’m sure your competitors won’t mind being exclusive customers. In any case, I’m going to learn the truth about this assault.”

Before Ferreira left, he said to one of the guards, “If they move, shoot them in the leg. I want them alive for questioning.” Then he was gone.

The three guards adjusted their aim so that the pistols pointed at Juan and Eddie’s legs.

Juan didn’t have any doubt that questioning would turn to torture once Ferreira discovered they were impostors. He and Eddie had to figure out a way to escape ASAP.

The odds of them making it out of this room alive and unharmed weren’t good. The guards were cautious, keeping a good twenty feet away, so Juan and Eddie would be shot long before they could attempt any kind of attack.

In Juan’s prosthetic leg, there was a special compartment hiding a .45 caliber ACP Colt Defender pistol, a ceramic knife, a packet of C-4 plastic explosive smaller than a deck of cards, and a single-shot .44 caliber slug that could be fired from the heel. If he could open the compartment and draw the pistol, he might be able to take down all three of them before they could shoot.

The problem was, he believed the guards would follow their command faithfully.

“I’m going to bend down,” Juan said. “I need to tighten my prosthesis. It came loose when I was walking.”

The lead guard stepped forward, but only six inches. “You try that and I’ll make sure you need another fake leg.”

“It’ll only take a second.”

“Do I look like I’m bluffing?” the guard growled.