Page 66 (1/2)

27

GAMAY LISTENED to the water lapping against the side of the ship It wasn’t long before the reassuring and repetitive sound was overcome by the roar of the patrol boat It raced around the bow of the ferry and charged along the starboard side, slowing only as it neared the cable dangling from theof their cabin

Fro the cable out theand one overboard They think we’re swi for us now”

The anchor chain locker was crowded, oily and mildly claustrophobic, with several hundred feet of heavy chain piled up inside it It was no place for co spot

“I’d have preferred soo hold,” Paul said, “but those soldiers we spotted changed my mind”

They’d narrowly avoided one gang of soldiers in the forward section of the cargo hold and, after catching sight of a second squad, e of plans

Co forward, they pried open the hatch to the locker and climbed inside As Paul pulled the hatch shut, he made sure to prevent it f

ro

“The pièce de résistance was all your idea,” Paul said “If you hadn’t led his toes for emphasis

It had been Gaestion to dus in the room, with the exception of the laptop co and tucked under Paul’s shirt “Nobody sith all their luggage,” she said “It would have been a dead giveaway I’lad they took the bait”

“Can you see what they’re doing?” Paul asked

Large piles of heavy chain surrounded the called a hawsehole Gaap between the chain and the hull to see most of the starboard side “They’veunder the fantail”

A moment later, the boat disappeared around the aft end As it did, a second boat raced out toward the ferry and then a third “Calling in reinforcements,” she said

Shortly afterward, a distant boom reached them, muffled and distorted by the hull Over the next few moments, they heard several more Each farther off than the last The ih iant drum

“What do you think all that’s about?” Gamay asked