“I doctored the manifest, just in case,” Rathman said. “He seemed satisfied that we never had that man aboard.”
“Are there any other surprises I should know about?” Polk demanded.
“We rechecked the cargo when we lowered the anchor,” Rathman said. “All of the pallets weathered the storm intact and without damage.”
“And you have no other missing crewmen? No errant radio calls that might be investigated?”
Rathman shook his head vigorously. “Nothing like that. There shouldn’t be any more interruptions.”
“You should be glad that crewman died before he could divulge anything else,” Polk said. “Otherwise, I’d make this more painful.”
He drew the Glock and put a bullet in Rathman’s chest. He keeled over, and Polk bent down to make sure he was dead.
When Rathman’s pulse ceased, Polk stood and told
two of the men to take his body to cold storage.
As it was, he didn’t need the irresponsible captain anymore. The Centaurus was never leaving Sydney Harbour.
SIXTY-FIVE
THE GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA
While the Oregon raced south toward Sydney, Juan briefed Langston Overholt on the events of the last few days. The aristocratic CIA official nodded silently from the wall screen of Juan’s cabin until the end.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think we have enough hard evidence to convince the Australian Defence Force to mount a raid,” Overholt said. “The best we could hope for would be a thorough search of the ship’s cargo.”
“We can’t take that risk,” Juan said. “An inspection might prompt Polk to launch his rockets early. Besides, we don’t even know the name of the ship.”
“I believe I can help on that front. As you requested, I had the NSA monitor networks for the key words you suggested. They got a hit on Nhulunbuy. It seems a private yacht picked up a stranded man in the middle of the Coral Sea. He died from a shark attack, but before he succumbed to his injuries, he repeated the following phrase. ‘The Centaurus left me.’ His possessions included a matchbook from a tavern called the Lazy Goanna in Nhulunbuy.”
For the first time, Juan felt a ray of hope. “That’s where we met Bob Parsons. Was the man from the town?”
“The authorities circulated his picture there, but no one knew him. However, we ran him through the CIA’s database. Facial recognition identified him as a former soldier in the Chinese Army who subsequently worked for a private military contractor known for its brutal operatives and their willingness to do exceedingly dirty work if the money was right. The firm was owned by Lu Yang.”
“That can’t be a coincidence.”
“I agree.”
“‘The Centaurus left me,’” Juan repeated. “Did he fall overboard from a ship called the Centaurus?”
“That was a theory of the Australian authorities, but the ship’s manifest listed no missing crewmen.”
“Where is the ship now?”
“Its location is the reason I brought this incident to your attention,” Overholt said. “The Centaurus is currently anchored in Sydney Harbour.”
“The Coral Sea is on the shipping lane between Nhulunbuy and Sydney, and falsifying the manifest to cover up a crewman’s disappearance is not difficult. The Centaurus could be what Polk had been calling the Shepparton, but it’s a thin connection.”
“Hence my reluctance to involve the Australian authorities. Broadcasting our concerns to the general public would be even worse. Panic would ensue, and any effort to evacuate the city would be futile. As you said, it might also cause Polk to act prematurely. If he is determined to attack Sydney, I’m afraid it’s up to you and your crew to stop him.”
“Not just stop him,” Juan said. “Jin said he has thousands of doses of the antidote on board with him. We need to retrieve them, or Murph and the others who’ve been paralyzed by the Enervum gas will stay in that condition forever.”
“When do you arrive in Sydney?”
“Not until tomorrow evening. It’ll be barely enough time to mount an operation before midnight.”
“I’ll leave it to you how to proceed,” Overholt said. “But the first priority is stopping the launch of those rockets, even if it means destroying the antidote along with the ship. Five million paralyzed Australians would not only be a horrific tragedy, it could also irrevocably alter the balance of power in that region of the world.”