Marauder (Oregon Files 15)

MacD looked out the window, but all he could see was water. Judging by the sun’s position, they were heading east.

“And what is our destination?”

“A secluded location.”

“They’ll track us there.”

Polk shook his head, smiling. “Not with the plane’s transponder off, they won’t.” He sat forward. “Which brings me to my first question. Who are you and who do you work for?”

MacD stared at Polk as he considered how to respond. He knew the Oregon was tracking him, so he had to stay alive long enough for a rescue. And now that the secret ingredient to the antidote was destroyed, the only chance to cure Murph was for the Corporation to find Jin and Polk on the chance that they’d created their own supply.

When the pause went on too long, Polk said, “We dressed your wound, but that doesn’t mean I’m above torturing you to get what I want to know.”

“That wouldn’t do you much good,” MacD said, a delaying tactic forming in his mind.

“Why is that, tough guy?”

“Ah’m tough, but torture can break anyone. No, it’s just that Ah went to Ranger school, and Ah know that someone who is tortured will say just about anything to get it to stop. You can’t be sure it’s the truth.”

“I’m willing to try.”

“What Ah’m sayin’ is, Ah’m happy to tell you what you want to know. MacD Lawless is my name, and Ah work for an organization called the Corporation.”

Polk chuckled at that. “Can you be more specific?”

“No. That’s our name. It’s intentionally vague because we’re mercenaries.”

“You don’t work for the U.S. government?”

“We work for anyone who pays us.”

“Then who’s paying you to interfere with our operation?”

Here’s where MacD had to be careful. A good lie was always close to the truth, and he was about to spin a whopper.

“Interfere with it? We want you to succeed.”

“What are you talking about? You’ve been fighting with us for days. The factory at Nhulunbuy, the battle between the Marauder and the Norego, Christmas Island.”

“It all comes back to Lu Yang.”

Polk narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Lu was an arms dealer, among other things. You’ve got the Enervum gas courtesy of Lu. Am Ah right?”

“So?”

“So we were hired by one of his competitors to find the formula so y’all didn’t have exclusivity on that little weapon.”

“But you said you wanted us to succeed.”

“When we found out that there was an antidote, we thought that might be more valuable than the weapon. So we’ve been trying to develop it ever since. And if you carry out more attacks, it makes the antidote worth even more.”

Polk looked dubious. “So you’ve been searching for the antidote to sell it?”

“Of course. We do this for money.”

“How do I know you don’t work for the authorities?”