prefer at least two certainly not to go, that Zach still thought there was an “if” in the matter. Then he looked at Kelsey, lounging in a comfortable chair and frowning at nothing. “Kelsey, are you sure that captain of Hagen’s came clean with you?”
Kelsey stopped frowning at nothing and nodded. “Sure as can be. Siran wasn’t happyabout the situation at all, and he’s—well, sort of an old friend. He told me all he knew. This enemy of Sereno’s, this Lucio, has the ability to intercept radio transmissions. And Hagen sent a coded message to Sereno by way of the captain, warning that you just might be en route to Kadeira. Or words to that effect.”
“Which means Lucio also might know,” Zach said in a determinedly conversational tone, apparently to the room at large.
“If he broke the code,” Josh added.
Derek Ross, the most recent arrival to the penthouse, along with his new wife, Shannon, said lazily, “Not a hard code, if I know Hagen.”
Josh looked at the big blond man sitting on one of the two long couches beside the delicate Shannon. “How hard is not hard?” he asked.
“That,” Derek replied, “depends on Lucio. If he knows anything at all about codes, he’ll find Hagen’s pretty much child’s play, particularly if he speaks good English.”
“He does,” Kelsey said. “Quite good English.”
“Damn,” Zach said.
Josh was frowning. “Okay, look at it this way.Maybe Lucio could and did decode the message.
So what?”
Zach swore again. “So you’d make a hell of a valuable hostage, that’s so what.”
“You have a one-track mind,” Josh told him dryly. “Think, Zach. What the hell would Lucio want with me?”
From her comfortable and usual seat in Zach’s lap, Teddy asked, “If he can get Sara, you mean?”
“Exactly.” Josh gazed around the room at his friends. “From all we can find out, this so-called revolution is just a feud to Lucio. He wants Sereno deposed and destroyed—period. And yesterday wouldn’t be fast enough to suit him. If he can get his hands on Sara, that’ll do it. And you can bet he knows it. I’m not saying that under normal circumstances he wouldn’t think of a lucrative kidnapping to help fill his war chest, but I’m willing to bet his mind is on Sara right now.”
“Willing to bet your life?” Zach asked.
“What about
your
life?” Josh retorted.
“That’s different.”
“No. You just think it is.”
Lucas Kendrick spoke quietly as he leaned on the back of a couch behind his wife, Kyle. “For what it’s worth, I agree with Josh. There’s a risk, but not much more than usual.”
“Traitor,” Zach muttered.
Luc grinned faintly. “Sorry, Zach. Look, we can minimize the risk; we always do that, no matter what.”
“Place is a fortress,” Kelsey commented almost idly.
“Sure,” Lucas agreed. “But we can’t change that, not without declaring—and winning—an all-out war. So we’ve got two choices when it comes to getting into that fortress. We take the
Corsair
and hope Sereno’s navy doesn’t have orders to sink any approaching ships. Or we take the jet helicopter and drop right down in his lap.”
“Antiaircraft guns,” Zach said in objection.
“Why would he have them?” Lucas asked reasonably. “Lucio doesn’t have a plane to his name; there isn’t even a landing strip on theisland. And God knows nobody else has bothered to attack Kadeira by sea
or
air.”
“There’s a relatively easy way to find out,” Derek said. “General Ramsey thinks the sun rises and sets on this crowd after the mess down in Pinnacle was cleared up so fast. Call in the favor. He can have a reconnaissance plane do a flyover of Kadeira and take some nice clear pictures. Infrared and the like. Within a few hours after he sanctions it, we’d know exactly what’s on the island.”
Josh smiled in approval and looked at Zach. “Well?”
“It’s all right as far as it goes,” the big security chief said. “But how
Kelsey stopped frowning at nothing and nodded. “Sure as can be. Siran wasn’t happyabout the situation at all, and he’s—well, sort of an old friend. He told me all he knew. This enemy of Sereno’s, this Lucio, has the ability to intercept radio transmissions. And Hagen sent a coded message to Sereno by way of the captain, warning that you just might be en route to Kadeira. Or words to that effect.”
“Which means Lucio also might know,” Zach said in a determinedly conversational tone, apparently to the room at large.
“If he broke the code,” Josh added.
Derek Ross, the most recent arrival to the penthouse, along with his new wife, Shannon, said lazily, “Not a hard code, if I know Hagen.”
Josh looked at the big blond man sitting on one of the two long couches beside the delicate Shannon. “How hard is not hard?” he asked.
“That,” Derek replied, “depends on Lucio. If he knows anything at all about codes, he’ll find Hagen’s pretty much child’s play, particularly if he speaks good English.”
“He does,” Kelsey said. “Quite good English.”
“Damn,” Zach said.
Josh was frowning. “Okay, look at it this way.Maybe Lucio could and did decode the message.
So what?”
Zach swore again. “So you’d make a hell of a valuable hostage, that’s so what.”
“You have a one-track mind,” Josh told him dryly. “Think, Zach. What the hell would Lucio want with me?”
From her comfortable and usual seat in Zach’s lap, Teddy asked, “If he can get Sara, you mean?”
“Exactly.” Josh gazed around the room at his friends. “From all we can find out, this so-called revolution is just a feud to Lucio. He wants Sereno deposed and destroyed—period. And yesterday wouldn’t be fast enough to suit him. If he can get his hands on Sara, that’ll do it. And you can bet he knows it. I’m not saying that under normal circumstances he wouldn’t think of a lucrative kidnapping to help fill his war chest, but I’m willing to bet his mind is on Sara right now.”
“Willing to bet your life?” Zach asked.
“What about
your
life?” Josh retorted.
“That’s different.”
“No. You just think it is.”
Lucas Kendrick spoke quietly as he leaned on the back of a couch behind his wife, Kyle. “For what it’s worth, I agree with Josh. There’s a risk, but not much more than usual.”
“Traitor,” Zach muttered.
Luc grinned faintly. “Sorry, Zach. Look, we can minimize the risk; we always do that, no matter what.”
“Place is a fortress,” Kelsey commented almost idly.
“Sure,” Lucas agreed. “But we can’t change that, not without declaring—and winning—an all-out war. So we’ve got two choices when it comes to getting into that fortress. We take the
Corsair
and hope Sereno’s navy doesn’t have orders to sink any approaching ships. Or we take the jet helicopter and drop right down in his lap.”
“Antiaircraft guns,” Zach said in objection.
“Why would he have them?” Lucas asked reasonably. “Lucio doesn’t have a plane to his name; there isn’t even a landing strip on theisland. And God knows nobody else has bothered to attack Kadeira by sea
or
air.”
“There’s a relatively easy way to find out,” Derek said. “General Ramsey thinks the sun rises and sets on this crowd after the mess down in Pinnacle was cleared up so fast. Call in the favor. He can have a reconnaissance plane do a flyover of Kadeira and take some nice clear pictures. Infrared and the like. Within a few hours after he sanctions it, we’d know exactly what’s on the island.”
Josh smiled in approval and looked at Zach. “Well?”
“It’s all right as far as it goes,” the big security chief said. “But how
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