“What happened?” Eddie asked.
“We were attacked. It disabled the entire crew except for Linda here. If she weren’t deaf, we’d probably all be at the bottom of the Atlantic right now.”
“What are the casualties besides your nose?”
“Luckily, nothing too serious,” Linda said. “Four broken bones, two concussions, and a good number of stitches required.”
Eddie was surprised Linda had responded to him since Max just said she was deaf. When she noticed his puzzled expression, she added, “I can’t hear you, but my glasses translate your speech to text.”
“How’s the ship?”
“Some damage to the port torpedo tubes and the forward operational crane, but it could have been much worse.”
“How did all that happen?”
“From a missile fired at us by me,” Max said sheepishly, pointing at his nose. “That’s how I got this. Linda had to put a boot to my face to keep me from killing us all. I certainly deserved it.”
“It’s not your fault,” Linda said, patting him on the shoulder. “Believe me, I know what it feels like to be out of control from the effects of that sonic weapon.”
“We must have escaped the weapon’s range since the effects dissipated once Linda evacuated the tranquilizer gas,” Max said. “We think it was some kind of underwater device, but we never pinpointed the source.”
“Can’t wait to hear more about that,” Eddie said.
“What about the Chairman?” Eric asked. “Did you get his signal?”
“We’re tracking two,” Max said. “The original one is currently on a commercial flight headed to New York. We think that’s a decoy.”
“And the backup?” Eddie asked. “Is that one still on the Portland?”
“No. The tracker is currently broadcasting from the Edificio Libertador in Buenos Aires. It’s the headquarters for the Army and one of the most heavily guarded buildings in the country. If Juan is in there, we’d need a whopper of a plan to get him out.”
“Let me see what I can find out,” Overholt said. “Despite my current situation, I still have some friends in the NSA who could tell me if they’ve intercepted any calls about him.”
“Then I’ll take Mr. Overholt to Doc Huxley in the infirmary,” Linc said.
Max nodded. “Meanwhile, Eddie can fill me in on Buenos Aires, and I’ll recap our run-in with the sonic weapon. Let’s all reconnect in a couple of hours and come up with a plan to rescue Juan.”
* * *
—
Two hours later Max, Linda, Eddie, Murph, and Eric were in the Oregon’s executive boardroom. A map of Argentina was projected on the wall monitor behind Max, who sat at the head of the long oaken table. They’d heard that Overholt had acquired relevant information from his NSA contact, so everyone stopped talking and turned their attention to him when Julia escorted him into the room.
“You let me know if you have any subsequent symptoms,” she said while she stood at the door.
Overholt eased into a seat. “As I said, I’m feeling much better.”
Julia looked at Max. “I could barely get him off the phone long enough to examine him, but he doesn’t seem to have any residual effects from his near drowning.”
“You have an amazing sick bay facility,” Overholt said, throwing a glance at Julia, “and the medical staff seems to be top-notch, if a little overcautious.”
Julia ignored his lighthearted complaint. “I’ll check him again tomorrow for any signs of pneumonia. In the meantime, I’ve cleared him to be up and about. I’m going back to the medical bay to tend to my other patients.”
She closed the door behind her when she left.
“Glad to see you’re doing well, Mr. Overholt,” Max said.
“And I appreciate everything you did to rescue me. Has Juan’s status changed?”