The Atlantis Plague (The Origin Mystery 2)

“It’s not him,” David shot back.

“How can you be so sure?”

“He saved my life in Ceuta.”

“That may have been his mission—to save you and follow you to me.”

David exhaled. “Let’s move on. Chang was also an Immari loyalist when this began.” Kate could see that he was angry now. “Hell, he’s the biggest mass murderer on this boat. How many did he kill in China? Hundreds, thousands?”

“I don’t think he could have broken Martin’s neck,” Kate said.

“Maybe not while he was alive, but what… what if Chang had already killed Martin? You said he gave him a therapy on the plague barge. What if that therapy killed him, and Chang broke his neck after the fact to hide it?”

“We can’t test that theory. There’s no way to do an autopsy here. Kamau is a better suspect. He’s a trained killer.”

“So am I. So is Shaw.”

“You haven’t mentioned Janus.”

“I just… don’t think it’s him. I don’t know why.”

“Shaw saved my life in Marbella,” Kate said.

“That could have been his mission—”

“That is his mission—”

“His Immari mission,” David said. “There’s another motive. Forget the cure. What if Martin knew who the SAS operatives were—and he knew that Shaw wasn’t one of them?”

David’s words silenced Kate.

“You said Shaw sure knew his way around that Immari camp.”

“From the sounds of it, you got up to speed pretty quickly too.”

David shook his head. “Touché.”

There was something Kate wanted to say, before the discussion, or argument, or whatever it had become went any further. “Look, I don’t know who killed Martin or what we should do. But I know this: whatever you decide, I will go along with it.”

David kissed her burning forehead. “That’s all I need.”

Everyone was assembled on the yacht’s upper deck: Kamau, Shaw, Chang and Janus. David handed Kamau an automatic rifle and a sidearm. A matching automatic rifle hung from David’s shoulder.

Shaw looked from David to Kamau. “You’re not arming me—”

“Shut up,” David said. “We’ll arrive at Isla de Alborán in twenty-five minutes. This is what we’re going to do.”

When David had finished relating his plan, Shaw shook his head. “You’ll get us all killed. Kate—”

“This is what we’re doing,” she said flatly.

In the ship’s cockpit, David nodded to Kamau.

The tall African activated the radio. “To the outpost at Isla de Alborán, we are Immari officers, survivors from the battle of Ceuta. We request permission to dock.”

The outpost responded, asking for Kamau’s rank and Immari officer code. The African called it out quickly and calmly, his back to David.

“They’ve cleared us to dock,” Kamau said.

“Good. Let’s proceed.”

CHAPTER 74

Isla de Alborán

David adjusted the binoculars. From the ship’s cockpit, Isla de Alborán was coming into view. The rising sun illuminated the tiny rock platform that rose out of the Mediterranean. It was smaller than a city block. At the far end stood a simple two-story stone and concrete building. It looked almost like a medieval jail. A lighthouse rose at the center, looming over the plain building.

On the other end of the island, the helipad held three helicopters that waited silently.

A dock spread out at the base of the twenty-foot-high cliff where the stone island met the sea. David adjusted the boat’s course for the dock.

“Do they usually keep a complement of three Eurocopter X3s?”

Kamau shook his head. “No. Usually only one. They have received reinforcements. They can only be from the primary Immari fleet or the invasion force in southern Spain.”

David considered the development. Each helicopter could carry a dozen people. There could be over forty armed soldiers in the building, waiting to attack. Too many.

He made a mental adjustment to his plan.

Kamau tied the boat off at the dock, and began climbing the staircase that led out of the cliff, up to the surface.

There had been no soldiers on the dock, and at the top of the stairs, he stopped, surveying the bare rock-and-sand landscape that spread out before him. There were no soldiers here either, just dust blowing in the wind. The lighthouse waited fifty yards ahead. The tower cut a dark shadow out of the rising sun, like a pathway of darkness leading into the unknown.

Kamau stepped out of the shadow. He wanted them to see that he was unarmed—that might save his life. He held his hands out at his sides.

Approaching an armed installation without a single weapon made him uneasy, but there were no alternatives.

A shot rang out and dust flew up from the ground three feet beside him.

Kamau stopped and raised his hands.

On the roof of the building, four snipers emerged.

Seven soldiers ran out of the building and surrounded Kamau.

“Identify yourself!” one of the soldiers barked.

Kamau kept his hands up and his voice calm. “I take it you received my message. You need to arm me and we need to storm the boat now. They’re onto me.”

The soldier hesitated. “How many on the boat?”

“Two soldiers, well armed and well trained. They’re on the upper deck, waiting for me to return. Three scientists belowdecks, each locked in a separate cabin. Unarmed. The female is the package. We need her unharmed.”

The Immari soldier spoke into his radio and three more soldiers exited the building and joined the seven standing around Kamau.

“You need to arm me—”

“Shut up. Stay here,” the soldier said. “We’ll sort you out after.” He motioned for his men to follow him. He set off with seven of them, leaving two to guard Kamau. There were only two men on the roof now; one of the snipers must have joined the raiding party.

Kamau stood there, his hands still slightly raised, and watched as the troops reached the end of the rock platform, stormed the stairs, and descended toward the dock below.

He focused intently on the boat.

Five seconds, ten seconds, fifteen seconds, twenty—

A massive explosion erupted from the dock, sending a wave of fire up the rock cliff. The blow sent Kamau and the two soldiers beside him to the ground. He rolled and punched the closest one, knocking him out. The other was on his knees now, and Kamau lunged for him. The man tried to land a blow, but Kamau pulled him in close. He slammed the man’s head into the ground and felt his body go limp.