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“It’s okay, boys,” Juan called, and the weapons were lowered While he filled therae, and called Max “Give me a sit-rep”

“Mike fished the woman from the drink She’s fine, if a little hysterical Kovac is still at the heles We’ve spotted a second gunht now The three other women are still pressed to the s”

“Pull ahead of the Sky and get directly in front of her so you have a clear view of everything going on Mark and Linda are being held in an office behind the bridge See if you can spot them?

?

“Aye, aye”

Eddie called in to say they were in position and that they would have to blast through the door to gain access to the engine room Juan told him to wait so they could synchronize their attack

Max radioed back, “I see a door on the back wall of the bridge, it’s closed right now, but I bet that’s the place Kovac has shifted his three huoon is down a s at what I believe is the main entrance”

Cabrillo penned in the positions of everyone on the bridge on the diagram the first officer had drawn so his team knehat to expect To date, they had never caused as euphee, a record Cabrillo was immensely proud of and one he had vowed to keep

In the wake of 9/11, not only had cockpit doors on aircraft been beefed up but a great many cruise ships had also installed reinforced doors to protect the bridge Juan placed the plastic explosives on it himself and retreated back into the cabin He called Eddie and Max to tell theo in thirty seconds

He kept his eyes glued to his watch and held up his splayed fingers when five seconds reer at every tick of the clock and pressed the button on the remote with his other hand

The blast filled the hallith reeking white smoke and was a brutal assault on their senses Cabrillo was in motion less than a second after the shock wave rolled past the cabin door The bea haze

He raced onto the bridge with hispast the red-hot reore that had once been Laird Bergman

“Down! Everybody, down!” the men repeated as they swept the room with their weapons

Kovac had reacted faster than Juan thought possible As he pegged the Serb with his laser, Kovac had already pulled one of the women in front of him and pressed his pistol to her ear

“Another step and she dies,” he roared