The Atlantis Plague (The Origin Mystery, #2)(75)
Milo opened the second book, The First Tribes of Humanity: A History. He understood this book even less. It was written in an ancient language Qian had made him learn. Milo had been thrilled to learn English, but this language was different—far more difficult. And the text… what did it mean?
“When you know the answer, only then will your journey begin,” Qian had said.
“If you know the answer, why not just tell me?” Milo asked, smiling. “We can save some time, and I can take off in the balloon and be there soon—”
“Milo!” Qian steadied himself against the table. “The journey is the destination. Finding the answers for yourself, achieving understanding, is part of your journey. There are no shortcuts along the path.”
“Oh. Right.”
By the time Milo reached what was left of Tel Aviv, he thought he understood the books. And he had changed, because of what he had seen and the things he had done to survive.
He found a fishing vessel he thought would take him.
“What do you want, kid?”
“Passage,” Milo answered.
“Where you headed?”
“West.”
“Got anything to trade?”
“Only my willingness to work hard. And… the greatest story you ever heard.”
The fisherman eyed him suspiciously. “All right, get on the boat.”
CHAPTER 66
Somewhere off the coast of Ceuta
Mediterranean Sea
David stared at the two sets of lights on the water for another second. “Kamau!” he shouted.
Within seconds, the tall African appeared in the saloon, covered in sweat and grease.
“Get us underway,” David said.
“To where?” Shaw cried.
David turned to him. “Kill all the lights on the boat.” To Kamau he said, “Make our heading away from those lights.” David pointed out the window. “Best speed.”
“Jesus,” Shaw said. He ran out of the saloon. The lights throughout the boat went out.
David retrieved the binoculars from the cockpit and focused on the lights on the water. Just as the boats came into focus, they cut their lights. Through the moonlight, David couldn’t make out any markings on the boats or even what type, but one thing was certain: they had cut their lights the second Shaw had killed theirs.
The boats were following them.
David felt the yacht lurch forward and they were underway.
Shaw returned to the saloon. “They cut their lights—”
“I saw it.”
“They’re following us.”
David ignored him. He said to Kamau, who was standing in the doorway, “Bring the map. Mark our position.”
“Let me make the call, David. My government can airlift us out of here. It’s our only way out. You know it,” Shaw said.
Kamau returned with the map and spread it out on the coffee table, covering Martin’s notes. He pointed at a dot in the water between Spain and Morocco. “We’re here.”
David’s mind raced.
“Fine,” Shaw said flatly. “I’ll say it. Someone killed Martin.”
Every set of eyes in the room went to Shaw. “We all know it. There are three doctors and three soldiers in this room; we all know enough to know that he was murdered. One of us killed him. It wasn’t me, and it wasn’t Kate. So I propose the following: Kate locks herself in the master stateroom with all the guns. We five gentlemen remain here in the upper deck until the SAS soldiers get here. That ensures Kate’s safety.” He focused on David. “Which is our priority, I believe.”
David read Kate’s body language. It said: not a bad idea. It was subtle, but he knew her well enough by now. And it was a good idea: if Shaw could be trusted. But… if he had killed Martin, it would be the perfect trap. Disarm everyone, call in whomever he’s working with and easily capture Kate.
David pointed to a small dot on the map. “What is this?”
“Isla de Alborán,” Kamau said.
“You said in Ceuta that the Immari had taken control of the islands in the Mediterranean.”
“Yes. They have Alborán as well. It is a very small outpost.”
“How small?”
“Tiny. The entire island is less than a tenth of a square kilometer. That would be… maybe fifteen or twenty acres. There is a lighthouse and a building with maybe six guards. A helipad with two large helicopters. Not significant defenses…” He seemed to read David’s mind. “But… it would be difficult to take with only two people.” His eyes cut to Shaw, almost involuntarily.
“Defenses?” David asked.
“Yes, some. A few fixed artillery batteries. We’d have to figure that out. The outpost mainly serves air support to Immari ships that run into trouble. Rescue, fending off pirates.”
“The helicopters are long range?”
“Yes, definitely. There was discussion of having them support the invasion of southern Spain, but they were held back.”
David nodded. That was the good news. If they could take the outpost at Alborán, they could fly anywhere.
Shaw finally broke. “You can’t be serious. You have the option of being airlifted out of here and your choice is to assault an Immari outpost? It’s ludicrous.”