Page 143 of Clive Cussler Ghost Soldier

Max shook his head. “I wish I knew. It feels like we’re just chasing our own tail now.”

Callie stood next to Juan. “Can’t we fly another one of those EMP missiles over the island, just in case? Knock out any electronics that might be down there?”

“Irony alert,” Murph said. “The last CHAMP missile we had in the arsenal got fried in the electrical storm. Good idea, though.”

Cabrillo glanced over at Linda’s empty chair. He trusted her judgment. But she was in a clinic bed, face down, and under orders not to budge unless Huxley approved it. It was the only way her vision could be saved.

“Hey, Stoney, didn’t you say that Pau Rangi was a Japanese navy base during the war?”

“Yeah, but the Aussies didn’t find anything. Must not have been much of an operation.”

“We’re looking for a sub. If that island was actually a sub base—”

Murph palmed his forehead. “An underwater sub pen! Should’ve thought of that!”

“But with both theNomadandGatorout of commission, how do we find it—let alone breach it?” Max asked.

“Five miles is a long swim,” Eric added, “and that’s just to get there.”

“If there is a sub pen beneath the island, that means there’s an underwater entrance, right?” Murph asked.

“Keep going,” Juan said.

“This morning I was trying to figure out how the Vendor might have caused that lightning storm. I decided to check out the weather patterns in the region. Thought maybe that had something to do with it. Around here, we’ve been in the nineties for quite a while.”

“And you think ambient air temperature caused it?”

“Possibly, but that’s not what I’m getting at.”

Callie grinned. “I know where you’re going with this. With the hot sun and air temperature, the surface sea temperature would be warmer, too. And if there is some kind of underground lagoon or cave beneath the island, the water in there would be shielded from the sun, making it cooler—”

Eric finished her sentence. “So we could check for a water temperature variation along the coast. Wherever we find a cold spot, that’s where the entrance is. Brilliant.”

“A sub pen would also be leeching chemicals and other contaminants,” Max said. “If we could check for those at the same location we’d have all the confirmation we’d need.”

“Wepps, can you and Eric assemble a sensor array and put that on one of our drones and do another flyover?” Juan asked.

“Right away.”

“Then get cracking. And have Gomez lend you a hand.”

The two techies scrambled out of the conference room.

“Assuming we find the entrance, what’s the plan?” Max asked. “TheOregonhas the offensive capabilities of a declawed kitten.”

“We put a team of Gundogs in there. Tear the place up.”

“How? The AW’s shot, and theNomadand theGatorare kaput. We’ve got no way to get near it unless we want to expose theOregonto more of the Vendor’s missile and torpedo attacks.”

“How about theSpook Fish?” Callie asked.

“You can’t carry enough operators in it, and they have no way to egress while underwater,” Juan said.

Callie smiled. “Anybody got a towrope?”

?

Juan, Linc, MacD, and Eddie were in the moon pool, all kitted out for the mission. Each wore dive suits and fins, and full face masks with interior comms.