Darling chuckled at the thought. Kannaday smiled uncomfortably. The man has no imagination, Darling thought. Then again, he was at something of a disadvantage here. Because Darling was silhouetted by the patio lights, Kannaday could not see him clearly. He could not tell from Darling’s expression whether he was joking or being serious. That was how Darling wanted it. He wanted his guest off balance and open. Vulnerable.

Darling crossed his arms and regarded the captain. “I understand that replacement gear is being sent over to the yacht.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I want you back at sea as soon as possible.”

“Of course,” Kannaday said.

“Before you go, though, I’d like an explanation,” Darling said.

“First, I promise that nothing like this will happen again,” Kannaday said. “We should have foreseen it. Your security chief agrees.”

“Hawke agrees?”

“Absolutely,” Kannaday said.

“And how will you guard against future attacks?” Darling demanded. His mood soured quickly. “A sampan full of sea rats drew close enough to put a hole in the side of your vessel! How did that happen?”

“Sir, the men in the sampan did not cause the explosion,” Kannaday said. “We did.”

“How?”

“By accident. We hit the pirates hard, fast, and decisively,” Kannaday told him. “The attack triggered explosives that were on board the other vessel.”

“Why did you let them get so close?” Darling asked. “You have a good radar system on board.”

“The sampan did not create a blip that was distinguishable from porpoises or flotsam,” Kannaday said. “We failed to identify it until the security camera picked it up. By then it was nearly upon us. At that point we decided not to strike until we were certain that we were facing an enemy,” Kannaday replied.

“Why?” Darling asked.

The question seemed to surprise Captain Kannaday. “Sir, are you suggesting we should have attacked what may have been an innocent vessel?”

“Preemptive strikes reduce risk,” Darling told him.

“I would have thought that a stealthy passage was more important,” Kannaday replied.

“The best way to assure a low profile is to eliminate potential witnesses,” Darling pointed out. “Now, you say Mr. Hawke agrees that adequate security precautions were in place?”

“He does,” Kannaday said.

“Or am I hearing a case of ‘You watch my back, I’ll watch yours’?” Darling said.

“Excuse me?” Kannaday asked.

“I don’t know Mr. Hawke very well,” Darling said. “I doubt anyone does. A good security chief does not share his thoughts. But I cannot believe Hawke would agree that a disastrous operation was, in fact, a competent one. It is an indefensible position.”

“Sir, forgive me for repeating myself, but what happened was unforeseeable,” Kannaday insisted.

“And I say that what happened was preventable!” Darling yelled.

Kannaday said nothing.

“As for Mr. Hawke, you would not misrepresent what he said. That would be easy to check. So we have a contradiction.”

“Mr. Darling, you’ve lost me,” the captain said helplessly.