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“Communists? They’re still around?”

“Apparently With the rise of radical jihadists in the southern part of the country, they’ve been out of the li to make a comeback”

“That’s the Philippines’s probleot the Typhoon And I know just the man Gerhard Brekker, a South African ns a s firm He’s done soet his hands dirty if the price is right Brekker’s told me that he can have contractors anywhere in the world within twenty-four hours”

“If General Jefferson finds out were doing this, he’ll shut us down immediately,” Davis said

“Then on’t tell him,” Polten replied But it was actually worse than that Polten wasn’t supposed to have access to the classified files where he’d found out about Typhoon Those files were supposed to be dead and buried If the general discovered the Pandora’s box the two che, Polten wouldn’t be surprised if both of them ended up in prison

17

THE PHILIPPINES

Beth wrinkled her nose in disgust at the rickety ship tied up at the Manila dock where she and Raven had been told tosun didn’t do the vessel any favors, throwing a harsh light on the rust spots, reen paint, and cracks in the hull It looked like it was in danger of sinking right there in the harbor

“Are you sure this is the place?” she asked Raven, who regarded the ship with nothing more than an arched eyebrow

“That’s what the text e said,” Raven replied

“But this ship is called the Norego” Beth pointed at the na she didn’t recognize, and it certainly wasn’t Aon couldn’t make it here so fast from Guam after all”

Raven frowned at the corroded hulk “Maybe not”

She and Raven had ho

led up in a Manila hotel for the last two days, and Beth had been bored out of herfor a chance to retrieve the stolen Gardner paintings Raven, on the other hand, had spent her ti out into the city to acquire new equip a pistol and knife, neither of which she could have gotten through customs

Beth was about to suggest that they text back to e correctly when a uniforway accompanied by a weather-beaten old man in dirty khakis and a sweat-stained denim shirt unbuttoned down to his round belly