Page 108 of Clive Cussler Ghost Soldier

Linc handed Juan a banana. “Potassium. You need it.”

“Thanks.” Juan peeled it.

“No, as a matter of fact,” Plata said. “There was an entire room full of equipment. But I’m telling you, there’s nothing for clearing mines.”

“We’ll take care of it,” Juan said. “Davis and me.” Cabrillo took a giant bite of his banana.

“How?”

“Not your concern,” Juan said, his mouth full of mush. He pointed at the map with his half-eaten banana. “Let’s talk about the other flags.”

?

The mercs discussed various plans to overcome the defenses of the other three flags. Juan and Linc offered the best solutions, which Plata immediately took credit for. They didn’t care. All that mattered was that every flag was captured before the deadline.

Capturing the flags meant not only survival but riches for the mercs. But for Cabrillo, sticking the Vendor in the eye with a bitter defeat and capturing or killing him was an even sweeter thought.

Minutes later, Juan and Linc were making their way back to the armory beneath the cover of the jungle canopy, their eyes constantly scanning the ground and the trees in front of them.

“So, you gonna tell me how we’re going to work our way through a minefield beneath an open sky without the benefit of mine-clearing equipment?” Linc asked.

“I was thinking about building a giant kite and having you hold on to the tail and I would fly you over it,” Juan said. “But I know how much you hate heights.”

“Yeah, I’d say that’s at least one reason why that plan might not work. Anything else?”

“The Vendor builds drones. Maybe he’s got a rig squirreled away in that storage room.” Juan tapped his watch as he marched. “If we can find a way to remove my watch and attach it to the drone, we canfly the drone close enough to the flag to capture it without exposing ourselves to overhead surveillance and avoiding the minefield altogether.”

“But what if we can’t get your watch off? And what if there isn’t a drone?”

“Then I’d say we’re back to the giant kite option.”

Juan suddenly froze in his tracks.

55

Linc stopped short, certain Cabrillo had spotted a trip wire or a mine detonator.

“Where is it?” Linc asked, scanning the ground.

“In my leg.”

“What?”

Cabrillo dropped his pants, accessed the storage compartment in his combat leg, and fished out the Mini-Sniffer. He couldn’t help but smile.

“The boys really came through,” Juan said as he studied the Mini-Sniffer’s display screen.

“Good news, I take it.”

“Not only has the Mini-Sniffer decrypted the signals, it’s also telling me what specific systems are connected to which channels.” Juan scrolled down the list and read a few aloud. “Surveillance…strike…strike…strike…surveillance.” There were two dozen more.

“That’s a start,” Linc said. “Now what are you going to do with all of that information?”

Juan’s fingers and thumbs flew across the display.

“Looks like there’s a central hub linked to all of the rest of the signals. It’s located about two klicks from here—and it’s moving.”

“The Terminator termite?”