“It’s doubtful that towin’ the ship will prevent the bots from spreadin’,” Rawlings said, his voice tense. “Aiden’s previous crew is still mobile, even though they ain’t breathin’. If those little bastards can terraform the dead, what’s to stop the crew onOura’s ship from diving into the ocean and swimming for shore? If they’re infected, they ain’t gonna drown. It won’t matter how long it takes them to get to shore.”
“Man’s got a point,” Cosky said.
He did. Aiden just didn’t know what they could do about it.
Mackenzie was the one who finally broached the touchy subject, the choice they were all avoiding. “Even if we manage to get that ship into the middle of the ocean, it’s too dangerous to leave out there. We need to blow the motherfucker up. Make sure everyone on board is reduced to itty-bitty pieces. So small, even the bots can’t put them back together.”
Day 31
San Francisco Bay, California
Wolf stared across the moonlit water. Perhaps if he’d taken more time planning thisaggress, they would be better prepared. But he’d rushed thisaggress,ordered his warriors to the Chinook without exploring all the possibilities, or the contingencies.
True, he’d considered the possibility of theWanatesaweapon infecting those on board. But he had not considered the possibility that those infected would not become violent and kill each other. He’d expected the violence the earlier victims had shown. The kind of violence that would contain the plague on board, as the crew succumbed to their injuries. Which wouldhave given him time to guide the ship out to sea and sink it without the possibility of murdering the living or allowing the plague to escape.
If he’d prepared for thisaggress,as he had in the past asBetaneeof Shadow Mountain, or even as Jude’sCaetanee, he might have considered the current situation and produced the means to counter it. Perhaps then, things would not look so...bleak. He would not be experiencing this heavy certainty that his lack of leadership was leading to theWanatesa.
As Cap worked on finding the correct AIS signal, the ping of a text hit Wolf’s phone. O’Neill again, with another picture attached.
“The new photo shows they haven’t moved. Same place, still staring,” O’Neill offered, loud enough for the others to hear. “They haven’t noticed us, either.”
“Small favors.” Mackenzie’s growl filled the boat.
As always, Wolf ignored theumbretan.If they hadn’t decided on a wateraggress,he would have stranded Mackenzie and his warriors on base. But the warriors of theNeealahohad little experience mobilizing from the Zodiac.
According to the time stamp, the picture had been taken seconds ago. But— “I heard no drone.”
From this distance, the telltale buzzing of a drone should have been audible.
O’Neill lifted his head from the gunwale and glanced toward the ship in the distance. “My guy developed a drone prototype, for surveillance. It’s small and quiet. Barely audible.”
Wolf grunted. Indeed, O’Neill’s contacts were impressive. Benioko had been accurate when he’d claimed they needed him. Particularly now, this was not anaggressthey could afford to fail at.
“Still need to get closer,” Cap announced.
“Start the engines.” Wolf waited for Cosky to oblige. Capland tucked his laptop back under his raincoat, and the rest of them went back to hugging the gunwale.
Aiden had explained the importance of keeping a low profile to avoid detection. But riding atop the side of the boat, was not...comfortable. His torso had bruises on top of bruises. He’d originally questioned whether Aiden was toying with him, but a simple internet search on SEAL water assaults had turned up pages of photographic evidence backing hisjavaanee’sclaim.
A hundred feet from the Harbinger, Wolf had Cosky cut the engine again. Their target looked bigger and brighter now, a cascade of lights blazing across the dark water. But there was no evidence their approach had been noted—no shouting, no shots, no maneuvering away.
They waited in silence as Capland went back to work on his laptop. Periodically, he removed his glasses to wipe the rain from the lenses. And then he lifted his head, offering Wolf a gloating smirk.
“I’m in.”
Everyone in the Zodiac looked across the shimmering water. The ship hadn’t moved.
As if he could sense the disappointment building, Cap started speaking without looking up. “I’m pulling the anchor, which will take a few minutes. Be ready. Someone may notice the grind of the winches as the chain is hauled through the hawsepipe.”
But there was no reaction from the ship.
The Harbinger didn’t move for what seemed like forever. Had someone halted the anchor’s retreat? How long did it take to haul anchor and change course? But he held the questions inside. Capland knew what he was doing. And he would have told Wolf of any problems.
Eventually, he noticed a difference in the ship’s position. The bow no longer lined up with the lights on the beach. Its position had changed. Little by little, it changed even more.
With the speed of a snail, the ship turned until the bow pointed toward the head of the bay. His phone vibrated again. Another text, another picture. No changes in the huddled crew. They were still at the rail, still staring down at the water, fully engrossed in whatever they were seeing, even though they were looking at a different part of the bay now.
Whatever they were so focused on didn’t have anything to do with the water.
