“It won’t happen that way, at least not right away,” Luger said softly. “The odds are a thousand to one we’ll even get any information that she was recovered, and about five thousand to one she’s alive. But if she beat the odds and survived, the Libyans will keep her in complete isolation until she recovers, which could take weeks, even months. Then they’ll start interrogating her. She’ll be able to resist for a short time, but they’ll finally break her. They won’t be as scientific as the Russians. They’ll break her, and then they’ll discard her.”

“Dave, that’s enough,” Patrick shouted. “This search is going forward, and I don’t give a shit how hopeless you think it is. I don’t think she’s alive—I know she’s alive. And as long as I know she’s alive, I’m going to plan to locate her and rescue her.

“To answer your question: I’ll risk the lives of any man or woman who agrees to stand beside me on this mission, because I know Wendy would agree to stand beside me to rescue anyone on this team. Now, if you have any other problems with this mission or my leadership, I suggest you get off this ship and evacuate to Israel with the others. If you stay, you will obey my orders. End of discussion.” David Luger stood and looked at Patrick carefully. Patrick returned his glare until finally Luger nodded, satisfied that Patrick had his emotional act together enough to lead the team.

At that same moment, Patrick received a beep in his subcutaneous microtransceiver; then Hal Briggs spoke: “Patrick, supply barge coming in, one kilometer south.”

“Roger,” Patrick acknowledged. “Use the sensors in your armor to scan the supplies for weapons and explosives as they come aboard. I’ll be up to relieve anyone that needs a break.”

“I could use thirty mike for relief,” Chris Wohl, stationed on the port rail scanning the north for any signs of danger, radioed. That was no exaggeration, either—Patrick had seen Wohl go for hours after taking only a twenty-minute combat catnap. He seemed able to go indefinitely with virtually no sleep.

“I’ll be right up, Chris,” Patrick responded. He turned to David and said, “Ask Commander Farouk to get a party together to unload the barge.”

“Okay,” David replied. He paused for a moment, then added, “Sorry, Patrick. But I feel I had to tell you how I feel—I’m responsible to you and the entire team. I love Wendy. But I know what I’m talking about.”

“I know, Texas,” Patrick said. He unplugged himself from the wall outlet, reattached his exoskeleton, and put on his helmet. “We’ll find her, and then we’ll all go home—together.”

“Absolutely.” Patrick nodded, then went up on deck to relieve Wohl.