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* * *
AFTER THE FLASH, Twitch had fashioned a new prosthesis from materials given to him by the dockworkers. Then he, Murphy and Li found a taxi and headed off for 45 Park Place.
By the time they arrived, a huge crowd had gathered outside. Strangely, it was not because word had gotten around about a possible terrorist incident on the roof, but because people had heard that the missing superstar Emma Simms had miraculously appeared inside.
The three of them were just getting out of the cab when Emma herself emerged from the building, led by a flying squad of handlers. There would be no ambulance for her. A stretch limo had made its way down the street and was waiting to take her away.
Hundreds of cell phone cameras went off as she made her way through the crowd, shielding her face from them, her entourage setting up a phalanx in front of her.
But just as she was about to climb into the limo, she spotted Twitch, Murphy and Li standing in the crowd nearby.
She quickly sized up the beautiful Li, then said to her: “What are you looking at, bitch?”
Then she got in the limo and roared away.
30
NOLAN WAS HELD in the federal lockup in Manhattan for the next three weeks.
In that time he recovered from his many physical wounds and was able to sleep and eat three meals a day.
He’d learned that he’d been arrested so quickly that day because, as one federal officer told him, his picture was on the wall of every FBI office in the country.
He was questioned a dozen times by the Bureau, then the Defense Department investigators, and then by people who never identified themselves, but who he knew were from the CIA.
He said nothing to the FBI or the DoD guys. To the spooks he said only the same two things over and over again: “Where’s our money?” and “And what happened to my team?”
Neither question ever got answered.
He was never given the attorney he’d been promised. He was kept in a cell, alone, twenty-four hours a day.
The only information anyone would tell him was that he would soon face another secret military court, similar to the one that had convicted him years before, and that he was facing a life sentence, and then deportation.
In that time, he wasn’t allowed any newspapers, was not allowed to watch any TV. He was given no information on what happened to the other people in Whiskey. He was not allowed visitors. He wasn’t even sure if anyone knew he was there.
* * *
ON HIS TWENTY-SECOND day in custody, he was told to pack up his meager belongings, and that he was being transferred to another, more secure facility upstate.
He was given some plain civilian clothes and then two faceless agents led him out to a black van by way of the lockup’s rear entrance.
He was put into the back of the van and driven to a small airport just outside New York City, in Rye, New York.
A small white business jet was waiting there.
The agents undid his handcuffs and turned him over to a pair of other faceless agents standing at the door of the plane.
Nolan climbed aboard, was led to a seat in the otherwise empty passenger cabin and left there alone.
The plane took off, but instead of turning north, toward upstate, it veered east, out over the Atlantic Ocean.
Only then did the cockpit door open and he found himself staring at three familiar faces.
Batman was flying the airplane. Twitch was sitting in the copilot’s seat.
Sitting behind them, smiling widely, was Bobby Murphy, the genius who’d just broken him out of federal custody.
“Sit back and enjoy the ride, Mister Nolan,” Murphy told him. “We’ll have to stop a couple times for fuel, but with any luck, we’ll be in Aden by tomorrow morning.”
Nolan was stunned. He couldn’t believe it. He had a million questions to ask. But the one that came out first was: “Did those bastards ever pay us our money?”
With that, a fourth person came out of the cockpit. Long blond hair, perfect shape, huge blue eyes and absolutely gorgeous face. It was Emma, wearing a very short, very tight 1960s-style-stewardess uniform.
She smiled at him, and then said: “How do you think we got the plane?”
• FORGE BOOKS BY MACK MALONEY •
The Pirate Hunters
Operation Caribe
Operation Sea Ghost
For a free Pirate Hunters patch, visit www.mackmaloney.com.
Rescue in the Jungle!
After a few minutes, she could fight the pirates no longer. She could only shut her eyes tight and wait for the pain.…
But the pain never came.
A huge explosion rocked the compound from one end to the other. Emma opened her eyes to see pirates lying broken and bleeding on the ground around her. She couldn’t believe it. More than a dozen bad guys had been killed, yet she was untouched.
Her vision was obscured by dust and smoke, but she could see pirates stumbling about. Three of them began staggering toward her carrying long, razor-sharp knives.
Suddenly, a helicopter appeared out of the darkness. With its engines screaming, it slammed down to land. Armed men jumped out and began firing on the pirates.
Some of the pirates tried to surrender, but the attackers weren’t taking prisoners. Other pirates tried to fight back, but to no avail. The attackers were staggered by the gunfire, but it was not slowing them down.
Wild-eyed and screaming, three pirates she’d spotted before emerged from the smoke. They were going to kill her, Emma could see it in their eyes.
But just as the first pirate raised his knife to slit her throat he suddenly fell away, a bullet hole in his skull.
Instantaneously, a soldier literally fell out of the sky and landed in front of her. He shot the two remaining pirates dead, just like that.
She looked up at him and said: “Who the hell are you?”
The man took off his battle helmet to reveal a handsome face marred only by a patch over his left eye.
“Snake Nolan. At your service…”
* * *
“I really enjoyed Pirate Hunters … it kicked butt. Team Whiskey makes the A-Team look like Girl Scouts.”
—Operational Specialist Second Class Philip Motoike, USN, USS Antietam (CG–54)
More Praise for Mack Maloney
“Mack Maloney is the best high-action thriller writer out there today, bar none. The high-octane, blisteringly paced Operation Caribe makes us remember how much fun books like this used to be when Sean Connery was still James Bond and the work of the great Alistair MacLean defined the genre. The book, and Maloney, wondrously showcases why reading remains the greatest entertainment there is.”
—Jon Land, bestselling author of the Caitlin Strong series
“A topical tour de force. This is a great read that will keep you on the edge of your seat!”
—Walter J. Boyne, author of Hypersonic Thunder
“The Pirate Hunters rocked! Action packed and jammed with genuine military gear and tactics.”
—Sgt. David Graves, USA, 82nd Airborne Division
“The Pirate Hunters—lots of action and adventure fueled by adrenaline…”
—Cpl. Rick Kolan, USMC (ret.)
“With clever plotting, scorching pace, and ‘from the news’ situations, Maloney’s straight-ahead style makes the reader realize the high seas can be filled with unusual and unpredictable danger.…”
—Boatswain’s Mate George Mann, USCG (ret.)
“The Pirate Hunters is well written, captivating, and adventurous!”
—Information Technology Seaman “Rage” Legrand, USN
“Operation Caribe’s constant action and plot twists kept me wanting more. I still can’t believe they made it out of Singapore alive!”
—Sonar Technician First Class “Slim” McMillion, USN
“Take it from a real-life Pirate Hunter—reading one of Mack’s books is just like being there.”
—“PO,” U.S. Navy boarding team suppor
t, USS McFaul (DDG 74)
“While assigned to CTF 151, fighting real Somali Pirates in the Gulf of Aden, there has been no more welcome diversion than reading Mack Maloney’s tales of Team Whiskey. He makes every effort to blend action, excitement, and reality into one of the most prevalent and enduring maritime issues of our time.”
—Special Agent Chris “Shakespeare” Ahr, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, senior law enforcement adviser, USS Mason (DDG 87)
“Mack Maloney clearly did his homework when it came to this book. As a Naval VBSS member and trainer, I know this great read will get the attention of anyone interested in fighting modern-day piracy.”
—Intelligence Specialist Third Class “Junior” Lawson, USN
“An awesome book! A thrilling take on this modern-day scourge of the high seas. Those of us fighting piracy out here every day love it!”
—“LURCH,” VBSS team member, USS Mason (DDG 87)
“The Pirate Hunters is nonstop action. Whiskey does what I wish America could do. A take-no-prisoner, don’t-mess-with-us attitude to the world.”
—“DEXTER,” VBSS team member, USS Mason (DDG 87)
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
OPERATION SEA GHOST
Copyright © 2012 by Mack Maloney
All rights reserved.
Edited by James Frenkel
A Forge® eBook
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
Forge® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
ISBN 978-0-7653-6523-1
First Edition: February 2012
eISBN 978-1-4299-7115-7