Hanley tried calling Cabrillo on every preset frequency their radios picked up. He got no response. He knew in his gut that Juan hadn’t gotten clear when the gas processor blew. There hadn’t been enough time. He’d sacrificed himself to stick to their plan.

THE SCENE ON THE GROUND was absolute pandemonium. Lieutenant Jimenez couldn’t find the Major, and the discipline they had drilled into their men seemed to have evaporated. This was the start of the American attack and yet many of his troopers abandoned their positions to gawk at the conflagration. He screamed at them to return to their posts and get ready for the assault. Noncoms added their snarls, and slowly they started getting the soldiers to pay attention to their duty.

Oil workers ignored the curfew and poured from their dormitories to see what had happened. When Jimenez yelled at them to return indoors, he was met with derision. Within minutes of the blast, a hundred men or more were outside.

A Corporal approached and saluted. “Lieutenant, it’s not the Americans.”

“What? What did you say?”

“It’s not the Americans, sir. The Guillermo broke free from her mooring and drifted into the big processing plant. That’s what caused the explosion.”

“Are you certain?”

“I saw it myself. It looks like a quarter of the ship is buried inside the building.”

Jimenez couldn’t believe it. An accident caused all this? “Have you seen Major Espinoza?”

“No, sir. I’m sorry.”

“If you see him, tell him I’m investigating the plant.”

“Sir. Yes, sir.”

Jimenez was about to start across the complex when he heard the unmistakable chatter of an automatic weapon. This was no accident. He took off at a run toward where the gunfire originated.

WHEN THE EXPLOSION ROCKETED into the storm-torn sky, Linc started hustling the prisoners out to the entry vestibule while Eddie used a lighter to ignite the flammable jelly. It went up even better than he’d hoped. The wood paneling was the cheapest product available and was made of sawdust and glue that burned furiously. In seconds, the top layer of space was a dense cloud of smoke.

He made sure he was the last person out. He rushed across the room where the guards still slept. They left the door open so fresh air would revive them, though the reason behind this was to feed the fire and not offer these men any humanity.

As Cabrillo had predicted, the Argentines had temporarily lost control of the situation. Soldiers had left their patrol sectors, and civilians were mingling in with the troops.