Part 23 (2/2)
He peered at her. ”Do you scare Banner as much as you're scaring me?”
”Nothing scares Banner.”
Cooley looked as though that answer made sense to him. ”I'm learning that.” He staggered to the kitchen door and was gone.
Two hours later Stromeyer stood in Darkview's reception area watching men in jackets labeled FBI carry out box after box of Darkview's files, two of their computers, and even their telephone console. Alicia sat on the long couch in the waiting area and watched the procession with wide eyes.
Stromeyer's cell phone rang. She flipped it open. ”Stromeyer, that you?” It was Ralston, the attorney.
”They're almost done here.”
”Get yourself to a safe location where you won't be overheard.”
Stromeyer went through the swinging door down the hall to the very end. She stood opposite the back stairwell door that was Banner's favorite way to leave the premises on the sly.
”I'm alone,” she said.
”Their subpoena is good. It was issued by Cooley's committee as a part of their investigation into the pipeline bombing. Apparently Cooley signed it two days ago. Right now no one is able to find him. Seems he dropped out of sight.”
”Will it help if we find him?”
”Conceivably. He could halt the seizure. Or, if he's feeling particularly benevolent, he could return the boxes altogether.”
Stromeyer watched as a group of agents headed toward her. All wore the same black pants and black windbreakers. She stepped aside while they swarmed past her down the stairs. Several jostled her.
”Last time I saw him, he wasn't himself,” Stromeyer said.
”Maybe that's good. Because in his usual mode he seems to be bent on destroying Darkview.”
Stromeyer hung up the phone, her stomach churning with worry.
40.
EMMA HANDED THE a.s.sAULT RIFLE TO STARK. HE TOOK IT FROM her without comment.
”It's on semi. I can't shoot, and neither can you-”
Stark looked about to protest. Emma put up a hand to silence him.
”-despite your years of skeet shooting. I'd recommend that you keep it on semi most of the time. Its recoil is hard to control when it's on autofire.” She grabbed the RPG and lifted the cus.h.i.+oned seat on the boat's side. She attached a rocket to the weapon's muzzle before turning to Ha.s.sim.
”Get us as close to the lead craft as you can. They'll try to take out the captain and anyone piloting the boat first. When the Kaiser Franz slows, the others will begin bombarding it.”
Stark gave Emma an impressed look. ”Where'd you learn that?”
”It's only logical. If you want to stop a car, you can either kill the driver or disable the car. Or both. Even with RPGs they may not be able to disable a vessel that large, so going for the bridge makes the most sense. Plus, without a captain the crew and pa.s.sengers will be less likely to put up a fight.”
Ha.s.sim turned the boat to follow the lead pirates. ”You should work for Banner. You're a natural,” he said.
Emma wasn't sure if Ha.s.sim meant it as a compliment or not, so she remained quiet.
”Our real problem,” Ha.s.sim continued, ”is getting them to regroup. We need all three on one side so we can drive around the other side and have you climb up the back.”
They surged toward the Kaiser Franz. By now the Somalis were within firing range of the s.h.i.+p. Emma, Ha.s.sim, and Stark, though, were not. Emma watched with a helpless feeling as the lead attacker fired his own rocket launcher. Flames shot out of the back as the missile climbed toward the cruise liner.
”They're too far!” Ha.s.sim yelled over the sound of their own boat's engines. ”That was a waste of a grenade.” Sure enough, Emma was pleased to see the grenade self-destruct a full twenty feet in front of the s.h.i.+p.
The popping sound of gunfire was followed by a yell. She watched a pirate in the lead boat fly back. He landed on the boat's floor, out of her range of vision.
”That was a nice shot,” Ha.s.sim said.
Emma looked at the men on the topmost deck. Sumner was no longer standing but was a dark ma.s.s on the edge, by the guardrail. He was on his stomach aiming a gun.
”I know that man. He's an expert marksman,” Emma said.
Ha.s.sim looked thoughtful. ”Is he the one that you're coming here to help?”
She nodded.
Ha.s.sim pointed his chin at the messenger bag at her feet. ”Take the bag with you. There are some grenades in there you can light and throw if you need to. Roducci sent them. He insisted you have them.”
Emma aimed the RPG without comment. ”Tell me when we're within range,” she said. She didn't want to make the same mistake the pirates had and fire too soon.
Ha.s.sim eyed the screen before him. ”I'll tell you in detail. Stark?” Ha.s.sim didn't turn his head.
Stark stepped up.
”Your weapon has a firing range of a hundred fifty to two hundred fifty meters. The RPG can get about three hundred. More, in the hands of an expert. Let Caldridge shoot first, then cover her by targeting anyone who looks like he's even thinking of retaliating.”
Stark moved up behind Emma.
”Don't stand there,” she said.
He started. ”Oh, right. Back blast. Don't fire that thing without warning me,” he said.
They came within four hundred feet of the lead pirates. By now Emma could make out the people on the Kaiser Franz, as well as a large gash on the vessel's side. The s.h.i.+p was huge compared to the tiny boats surrounding it. It churned through the water but seemed unable to maintain a steady pace. At one moment it appeared to surge forward before slowing and then surging again. It was like a barely functioning car lurching in its last throes.
The pirates shot another grenade. This one aimed true, headed right to the deck where Sumner waited. Emma held her breath. A cracking sound echoed in the air. The pirate holding the RPG went down. A second gunshot was followed by the grenade exploding in midair.
”Get ready to fire,” Ha.s.sim said.
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