Marauder (Oregon Files 15)

“Because we know who you are and we have witnesses who identified you and Angus Polk as the people responsible for a series of poison gas attacks. We know about your production facility in Nhulunbuy. It’s only a matter of time before we shut down the rest of your operation.”

“And who is ‘we’?”

“I’m Linda. That’s all you need to know.”

“Actually, I need to know more. That’s why I’ll make you this one-time offer. Surrender now, and I won’t destroy your ship.”

“That is a tempting proposal. We’ll have to think about it and get back to you.”

“Don’t think too long,” Jin said. “It expires as soon as those rain clouds go by.”

“April, I have to tell you, I’m not a big fan of the hard sell.”

“I’ve disabled your Kashtan control system, and your anti-aircraft laser is nothing more than an annoyance. Face it, you’ve already lost.”

“You know what?” Linda said. “You’re right. Come on over, and we’ll bring you on board for tea and cookies.”

“Very inviting, but I’ll give you something else to think about. If I don’t see your crew up on deck with their hands in the air by the time the rain stops, I’ll light up your ship like a Roman candle. Got that?”

Before Linda could respond, Jin drew her finger across her throat, and the connection was cut.

Based on what she’d heard, Jin didn’t actually think they would give up. A shame, really. She was quite curious about who she was going to kill.

* * *

—

Linda was hoping that her dialogue with April Jin had bought enough time for Sylvia to get comfortable with the stern Kashtan Gatling gun’s manual targeting system. Without the automated targeting, the guns were tricky to aim. Although she was a weapons expert like her brother, Murph had to give her a crash course on its operation.

If Linda had been able to turn the ship around, she could have brought the bow’s powerful rail gun to bear. But the channel was so narrow, she was afraid they’d run aground and become a sitting duck.

On the screen, she could make out the trimaran through the haze of the downpour. The Thai Navigator was now past, giving the Marauder a clear shot at them.

“Not to hurry you guys,” Linda said, “but the rain is starting to let up.”

“I’m ready,” Sylvia said.

“What’s the range to target?”

“Two miles,” Hali replied.

“That’s at the edge of the Kashtan’s range,” Linda said. “The counter says we’re down to four hundred rounds on that gun. We’ll only get one or two salvos out of it before it’s dry.”

At the Kashtan’s ten-thousand-round-per-minute firing rate, it was barely enough ammunition for two seconds of shooting.

“She can do it,” Murph said.

Sylvia nodded in agreement, her gaze focused on her control panel.

“Then target that cannon and take it out before it blows us out of the water,” Linda ordered.

Sylvia activated a burst, and a second of tracer fire poured from the double barrels of the Kashtan. They missed to port.

“This is tricky,” Sylvia said, re-aiming the weapon.

Then as if a knob on a shower had been turned off, the downpour ended abruptly.

Sylvia fired again. This time the rounds made a direct hit on the Marauder, causing the deck to spark and smoke.