Marauder (Oregon Files 15)

“That guy is certainly audacious,” Polk said.

“What do you think about his plan?” Jin asked. “Is it worth the risk?”

“He’s provided all the resources to get us this far. It’s just a matter of delivering the goods now and making our escape.” He looked his wife in the eyes. “I see no reason not to finish the job.”

“Fair dinkum. My stepfather might not care about revenge, but I will love seeing the Australian military raked over the coals for this debacle. Serves them right for throwing us in prison.”

“I’m just glad I don’t ever have to listen to him again.”

“How much more do you have to do there?”

“Not much. All the factory workers are already taken care of. Now I’m just packing up. Then I’ll blow the place and get back to the airport outside Nhulunbuy. Lu’s jet is waiting there.”

“Don’t forget the antidote,” she said.

“It’s already on the helicopter. Let’s hope we don’t need it. Makes me ill to think about being paralyzed like that.”

“See you soon, my love,” Jin said.

It was time to purge all the on-site computer servers along with his laptop since the files had already been backed up to the main computer on the Marauder. Polk pressed the button to begin the deletion procedure. A window popped up saying that the entire database would be wiped clean in fifteen minutes.

He stood up and walked over to the window. All of the trucks seemed to be in place.

No, he counted only seventeen out of the eighteen that were to be taken out of the hovercraft. The other two left on board would blow the Marsh Flyer to bits.

Where was the last truck? These ex-soldiers hired by Lu were supposed to be top notch. Not the smartest apparently, but fanatical in their loyalty to Lu and his vision.

Polk took a SIG Sauer pistol from his desk, shoved it into his waistband, and left his office to find out what was going on. The gun was so he could tie up one other loose end, namely the Marsh Flyer’s pilot.

He had to kill Bob Parsons.

TWENTY-NINE

The dynamite truck rolled to a halt, and Juan could hear the muffled voice of Eddie talking to someone in Chinese outside the truck. The conversation got heated, so he had MacD, Linda, and Linc ready to fire if the rear door was opened for an inspection. But a moment later, the truck started up again. After a few turns, it stopped.

Eddie hauled the door open, and they all got out. It looked like they were on a narrow concrete strip between the rear of the building and the swamp. There were two doors, one into the main factory and another into what looked like an office annex or living quarters with windows facing the swamp.

“Sounds like we had a close call,” Juan said.

“The guy wanted me to drive into the factory,” Eddie said, “but I convinced him that I was told to go around back. We probably don’t have a lot of time until they wise up.”

“Then let’s check it out. When we’re done, we’ll steal one of those Qingdao hovercraft and get out of here.” Though the speedy Chinese-made vehicles were built to carry four people, he felt sure they could squeeze an extra person on board.

“Eddie and I will take the factory. Linda, MacD, and Linc, use the annex door. Remember, this is a recon mission. Engage only if you have to. We’ll rendezvous back here in ten minutes.”

As the three others went into the side building, Juan cracked the factory door open. A quick scan showed that they were in the clear.

He and Eddie ducked inside. It was a vast room containing robotic machine tools, laboratory equipment, and stacks of crates marked with the Alloy Bauxite logo. Other than the guards that Juan could hear farther along the building, there didn’t seem to be any workers. Wide aisles allowed room for the forklifts that were parked along the back wall. Now the trucks from the hovercraft were jammed into the free space.

Juan assumed all the other trucks were packed with dynamite as well, which meant they were getting ready to destroy the building.

Eddie tapped his shoulder and pointed at an enclosed stairway leading up to what looked like an office, perhaps the factory foreman’s. It might be a good place to find information about what had been going on in here.

They climbed the stairs, and at the top peered through the glass in the door to see that the office was empty. They crept in low so they couldn’t be seen through the window overlooking the factory floor.

The file cabinets were pulled open, and every drawer was empty. The high-capacity shredder was still warm, and several garbage cans were overflowing with minced paper.

The only remaining intact item was a laptop on the desk.