Page 97 of Clive Cussler Ghost Soldier

“They could be anywhere,” Linda said. “That’s the problem.”

“But they’re notanywhere. They’resomewhere. Somewhere on this map.”

“Not necessarily. They could have taken a short hop to an international airport and then flown to any place on the planet.”

“Why would they fly into KL, transfer to a smaller airplane at an airstrip, and then fly to a different international airport? Unless this Vendor creep is a complete paranoid, I think the small airstrip is the key. Whatever plane they flew could handle a grass strip, which means a smaller plane. And a smaller plane means they’re probably somewhere in this region. But where?”

Linda stepped closer to the map. “If you’re right, the first thing we can assume is that a grass airstrip means they’re flying in a turboprop. It had to carry at least twelve operators. An aircraft that size and capacity would have a range of at least fifteen hundred miles, if not more.”

She used her fingertip and drew a crude yellow circle approximately three thousand miles in diameter onto the map screen with theOregonlocated in the center of it, anchored in the Malacca Strait off the coast of Kuala Lumpur.

The circle still covered nearly two million square miles. Sri Lanka, India, and Bangladesh were west of their position, Myanmar and Thailand were north, as was China. Taiwan down to the Philippines and New Guinea and northern Australia bounded the east. And the long archipelagoes of Indonesia and Malaysia bounded the south with a lot of other islands in the middle.

Murph and Eric slipped quietly into their stations at weapons and helm.

Max turned around. “Sorry, guys. Short fuse today. Good work.”

“We get it,” Eric said. “We’re worried, too.”

“Well, just to play along,” Linda said, “I’d say the place to start is the Vendor’s dark web ad. If he really was recruiting for a security gig, there isn’t any point for a legit VIP to hire a platoon of miscreant mercs when there are so many experienced and qualified security services in places like China, Australia, and Taiwan.”

“But if he was recruiting serious people, he’d have to convince them this was a real job, otherwise they’d smell a rat. If that’s the case, his fake VIP would have to be a Third World politician.”

“Or maybe a criminal enterprise,” Max said. “But a small one. The big cartels all employ their own heavy hitters now, many of them ex–special forces.”

“Definitely another possibility. Either way, that still leaves a ton of places for them to go.”

Max stepped even closer. His eye was drawn to the giant island of Borneo, the third largest in the world, and shared by three separate nations. It was in the center of the mass of islands and archipelagoes between Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

“I’m sick of sitting around on my sculptured derriere and doing nothing. Let’s set a course for here…” Max touched the screen. A pin dropped off the coast of Brunei.

“But they could be in exactly the opposite direction,” Callie said.

“It’s a coin toss for sure,” Max said. “But it’s better than twiddling our thumbs. And with all of that free seawater powering our engines, it’ll only cost us time.”

“Eric, would you please lay in a course for that point?” Linda asked.

“Aye, ma’am.”

Max turned to Callie. “If Juan and Linc are in trouble there’s going to be fireworks. Let me get you over to KL and fly you back home and we’ll pick up where we left off with theSpook Fishwhen everything cools down.”

“Unless that’s a direct order, I’d rather hang around. Maybe I can be of help.”

“We can’t guarantee your safety,” Linda said.

Callie shrugged. “Of course you can’t. Danger is a function of disorder, and a battlefield is nothing less than controlled chaos. On the other hand, you might drop me off at a ‘safe place’ like the airport just in time for me to get pancaked by a runaway bus.”

“But a gunfight is a lot more ‘chaotic’ than a crosswalk.”

“Even in something as chaotic as a gunfight, something tells me my odds are better with theOregon’s highly trained and disciplined crew.”

Linda turned to Max. “Remind me to never play poker with her.”

Max chuckled as he fell into the Kirk Chair.

“Eric, is the course laid in?”

“Aye.”