Invisible Armies

Chapter 39

Keiran watches, partly from fascination, partly because he is memorizing the layout of the vessel as shown on screen. His guess when he first visited this vessel was correct; the Lazarus, like dot-com billionaire Jim Clark's yachts Hyperion and Athena, is almost entirely automated, run by this WHEELHOUSE software, via a ship-wide wireless network. This explains why he has seen so few people on board; Laurent, Sophia, the several burly thugs like the South African, and the five Filipinos Keiran saw this morning in the galley, one cooking breakfast, two dressed like chambermaids, two dressed in overalls. Cooks, servants, and a couple of mechanics in case something physical goes wrong, that's all the crew the Lazarus needs. He is impressed.

The helicopter noise crescendos, and then holds at a level sufficiently loud that Keiran cannot hear Sophia's keystrokes as she re-opens the radar screen. The red dot is circling the Lazarus, maintaining a constant distance. She opens four camera windows and tiles them across the screen. The helicopter passes through each in turn, circling around the ship. It does not say US NAVY on it, as Keiran had hoped. It is painted plain black. It seems bigger than police or news helicopters, but doesn't look military. There are at least a half-dozen people inside. Most of them carry assault rifles.

The door to the library opens, and the helicopter noise becomes thunderous. Laurent is there. "Gunther!" he calls. "Secure him and get down to the weapons room!"

The door closes. Gunther, the South African, is already on his feet, pulling Keiran's arms behind his back, cuffing his wrists and lacing the handcuff chain through a metal bar at the base of the chair, unaware of the paperclip concealed between two of Keiran's fingers.

"I'll come with you," Sophia says, and Keiran sags, dejected.

"No," Gunther says. "He ordered me to come. Not you."

"If there's a situation, you need me there."

Gunther gives her a patronizing look. "Girl, this is a security situation. You do what you're told. Stay where you are."

He closes the door behind him. Keiran has already opened the handcuffs.

"Fucking asshole," Sophia says furiously. She stands up and picks up her laptop, obviously about to follow him. "Don't go anywhere."

"Same to you," Keiran says, standing up, holding the metal cuffs looped around his clenched right fist, ready to beat her unconscious if he has to.

It takes Sophia only a moment to internalize the suddenly changed situation. "I'll do what you want," she says quietly.

"Sit down. Stay quiet."

She does. He grabs her arms, pulls them roughly behind her, and handcuffs her in the same way he was just restrained. Then he takes a piece of paper, rips off a corner, chews it into a tiny wet ball, and shoves that into the handcuff keyhole. It will be difficult to remove before it dries. Finally he stands and looks down at her for a long moment.

"What?" she asks, scornfully.

"I'm deciding whether to strangle you to death."

Sophia's eyes widen.

"I should, you know," he says. "It's the logical thing to do."

Then he picks up her laptop, opens the door and walks out of the library. He emerges from the galley onto the deck and starts towards the aft of the boat, towards the brig where Danielle is imprisoned.

** *

"Come on," Keiran commands, as he opens the door to the cabin that holds Danielle prison. "To the stern. Hurry." He doesn't know where exactly the weapons room is that Laurent and Gunther and the other thugs have disappeared to, it isn't marked on the WHEELHOUSE ship schematic, but he doesn't like the sound of it, and he is sure they don't have much time.