Dark Watch

“Because none of you either speak Arabic or look Arabic.” He laughed. “Although Hali’s portrayal of the steely-eyed terrorist, Mohammad, left a lot to be desired. He had just a couple of lines to learn, and he managed to mangle both. On a brighter note, I have to hand it to Kevin and his team in the Magic Shop. They really outdid themselves this time. Especially Linc’s effect. For a second I thought it had gone wrong and his head really had exploded.”

“Scared me, too,” Julia admitted.

Juan called out to gather the rest of the team. “Okay everyone, listen up. First off I want to commend each and every one of you on a job well done. This little caper was a long shot from the beginning, and you pulled it off flawlessly.”

“That mean we’re getting bonuses?” Hali asked.

“You most of all, Hali. I’m sending you to a Berlitz so you can at least fake speaking Arabic.” This earned a round of good-natured laughter at Kasim’s expense. “Julia, head back to your hotel as soon as you’re ready. You’ve made your flight reservations?”

“I’ll be in Istanbul by two o’clock. From there I can hook up with you anywhere. Judging by what Isphording said, I take it we’re going to Indonesia?”

Cabrillo nodded. “Shere Singh sounds like the next link in the chain.”

“As soon as I reach Ataturk International I’ll book a flight to Jakarta.” She slipped into a dark blouse. “All of my disguise stuff is in a suitcase in the office.”

“I’ll make sure it’s burned,” Juan assured her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Julia waved good-bye to the others and settled into her rental car. Linc opened the garage door, and she roared out of the warehouse.

“Okay then, I’ve wiped down the armored van for prints and hit the cab and door handles with bleach. Even though we’re torching this building, make sure you go over everywhere you’ve been, especially the bathroom. Not that any of our DNA is at Interpol, but I don’t want to take any chances.

“You all have your escape routes planned. Stay loose, and we’ll all be on the Oregon by this time tomorrow.”

Although he’d used disguises each time he’d made most of the rental arrangements, Cabrillo was the most likely to be identified, so he would be the next to get out of the country. While the others cleaned up the warehouse, he changed clothes and used a bucket of water and a rag to wash the concrete dust from his Mercedes SUV. By the time he finished, Hali, Linc, and Trono had finished scrubbing down the warehouse and placing incendiary bombs throughout the structure.

“How long should I set the timer?” Linc asked.

“Hold on.” Juan used his cell phone to call the Oregon.

“Law offices of Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe,” Linda Ross greeted in her high-pitched voice.

Cabrillo calculated the time difference between Switzerland and the South China Sea. “Good evening, Linda.”

“Chairman, how’d it go?”

“Smooth as silk. Listen, have Murph and Eric been monitoring the news here in Zurich?”

“Sure have. Let me get them.”

Mark Murphy came on the line a moment later. Juan could hear the speed metal music blaring from the headphones Murph had pulled down around his neck. It sounded like someone using a chain saw against a piece of railroad track. “Chairman, from what I’m getting from CNN and SkyNews, the Swiss don’t have a clue what happened. At first they thought it was a structural failure of some kind, and then they thought they were having their own 9/11. From what I can get from local police chatter, there’s been a couple mentions about the missing armored car and unknown gunmen at the scene when the explosions went off.”

“Are they closing borders or delaying flights?”

“No. They think this is a local thing.”

“So we’re safe for the time being.”

“It’ll take them so long to add two and two they’ll need to include interest.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a joke. You know, Swiss banks? Interest? Hey, that was funny.”

“Stick to being a connoisseur of fine music and leave the humor to the professionals, like Max. How far are you from Sumatra?”

“A few days still, why?”

“Rudolph Isphording said the guy who controls the Maus is named Shere Singh. He owns a company called the Karamita Breakers Yard. Check them both out. Also track down another floating drydock called the Souri. Singh owns it, too.”

“How do you spell that?”

Juan did and added, “It’s French for mouse.”

“Got it.”

“Thanks, Murph. Tell Max I want you to break off from the Maus and make best practical speed for the Karamita Yard.” Best practical speed was far slower than the Oregon’s top speed, but running that fast during daylight hours or without radar jamming would give away one of the ship’s most important secrets.

“I’ll pass it along.”