Chapters (96)
- Cover
- Berkley titles by David Ricciardi
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- CHARACTER LIST
- PROLOGUE
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- EIGHTY
- EIGHTY-ONE
- EIGHTY-TWO
- EIGHTY-THREE
- EIGHTY-FOUR
- EIGHTY-FIVE
- EIGHTY-SIX
- EIGHTY-SEVEN
- Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- What’s next onyour reading list?
But the Saviz was ahead of schedule, and the pirates operated only at night. They would have to bide their time until the attack window opened—sunset would occur that evening at 17:32 hours and twilight would persist for seventy-five minutes after that. It gave the pirates a five-hour window to hit the ship, establish control, turn for the open ocean, and send it to the bottom before the moon rose half an hour past midnight.
They could do that in their sleep.
Nacay entered the variables into a spreadsheet on his laptop and came up with the plan. They’d let the Saviz pass by in the opposite direction until the mothership was out of radar range, then turn 180 degrees and lay on the speed, appearing to the Saviz to be a new contact approaching from astern.
The mothership would then pass far enough in front of the Saviz to drop off her radar again before launching the semisubmersibles once night had fallen. The two speedboats would lie in wait on either side of their target’s projected course—just like a World War II submarine wolfpack.
—
THE DRONE WAS running nonstop, alternating between low light and thermal modes as it orbited the target ship, gathering intelligence and informing the assault.
The ship was roughly 120 feet long, with a sharply raked bow and a two-story deckhouse in the stern. The waters off Oman were popular fishing grounds for sailfish, tuna, and dorado, and the Saviz was running longlines from her outriggers to keep up appearances.
Nacay updated on his laptop the positions and speeds for the target and the other vessels. They were close, there were more ships around than they would have liked, and it was going to be fast.
“Air-1, launch on my mark . . . Boat-1, launch one-one seconds from my mark . . . Boat-2, launch one-five seconds from my mark . . . 3-2-1, MARK.”
It was 19:42:03 hours when the helo lifted from the deck. They were two miles behind the Saviz, which was one mile behind the picket line formed by the two semisubmersibles.
The helicopter approached at wavetop level until the semisubmersibles had emptied their ballast tanks. The pilot activated the electronic-warfare pod, and the fishing boat’s radios, GPS, and satellite communications immediately turned to static. If the Iranians had put a military crew aboard, they’d know they were being jammed.
The semisubmersibles were alongside the Saviz thirty seconds later. The Norwegian on Boat-1 and the Italian on Boat-2 used bolt cutters to sever the longlines while the rest of the team threw grappling hooks and web ladders over the rails.
The gunfire started a minute later.