Jaws of the Tiger Page 12

  A passenger began to shout. “Light a fire! Light a fire! We’re being gassed. Get stuff to light a fire. It’ll trigger the sprinklers and the water will dilute the gas.”

  A young man with a goatee rushed to the stage and tore down one of the side curtains. Others fell unconscious and slumped in their chairs as the Benzorban depressed their central nervous systems and slowed their respiratory functions. Soon, the amphitheater was filled with unconscious passengers, some fallen in the aisles, others on the stage or slumped in their seats, mouths agape. A few passengers still walked around, their faces blank, trying to fight the paralyzing effect of the gas by staying in motion.

  * * *

  On the sky deck, Dulac, Karen and Hank reached the metal enclosure of the foremost staircase, leading to the decks below. Dead ahead off the ship’s bow, surged the high, dome-like shape of Corvo, its dark cliffs now clearly visible through the driving rain and clouds.

  Dulac heard bullets ricocheting off the enclosure. He looked aft. The two terrorists were closing in. Dulac tried the door of the staircase.

  “It’s open. He motioned Karen and Hank forward. He shut and locked the metal door behind them. They started down the narrow metal steps to the deck below. Karen stopped abruptly. ”What’s that smell?”

  Dulac started to feel dizzy. “Smells like some sort of gas. We’ve got to get out of here fast.”

  They scrambled down the stairs to the next level. The door in front of them indicated they’d reached Deck 5.

  A gust of wind tore the door from Dulac’s hands as soon as it opened and flipped it back onto the wall with a crash. They stepped outside and Dulac looked aft, then forward. A huge mass of land obliterated the horizon dead ahead of the ship.

  No one spoke. Dulac looked left across the open corridor and saw two of the hijackers, guns drawn, herding six hostages in front of them.

  The armed men looked right at Dulac and for a split second, the members of each group eyed the members of the other group with equal surprise and indecision.

  “That’s them! They killed Jawab.” The hijacker shoved Dickinson aside and started shooting.

  Dulac, Karen and Hank jumped back from the corridor, out of the line of fire.

  The squat pirate started after them, the other shouting after him. “Get back! There’s no time!”

  The squat man didn’t listen. He kept going, spraying the corridor with gunfire, bullets ricocheting off the metal columns. When he stopped to reload Dulac saw his chance and broke cover. He took aim and fired three shots. The squat man looked at him in surprise. The he dropped to his knees and fell forward, still clutching his Uzi.

  The remaining hijacker froze in place for a moment, glaring at Dulac. Gunfire erupted to the terrorist’s right and he swiveled to return fire. Caught in the crossfire, two hostages fell to the ground. Four others screamed in panic and fled down the corridor towards Dulac. The hijacker took aim and fired, hitting a small woman in a grey jumpsuit in the leg. She fell, screaming and clutching her left leg. Dulac fired back at the tall man, who was receiving heavy gunfire from his right.

  “Help me, please, someone help me!” The injured woman stretched her left hand out in Dulac’s direction.

  “Jesus!” said Karen. “We’ve got to do something.”

  Dulac eyed Hank. “Grab her and pull her back. I’ll cover you.”

  Hank crawled on his stomach and grabbed the woman’s hand, pulling her back to safety. The other hostages fled down the corridor, past Dulac, Karen and Hank. The tall man fired again but missed.

  Hank checked the woman’s leg. “She’s losing a lot of blood.”

  “Can you make a tourniquet?” asked Dulac.

  “I’ll do it,” said Karen. “Done this before.”

  “Good,” said Dulac. “I’m going to get that sonofabitch.”

  He thought fast. Fighting his way down the corridor was not an option. No protection. He checked the Glock. Five bullets left. He had to cross over to the other side to get a better angle.

  The firing from the tall man’s right had become sporadic. Dulac saw his opportunity and sprinted across to the other side of the corridor. He huddled behind a column and saw another passageway, one that led to the deck. I can get behind the bastard!

  Suddenly he heard the dull sound of grinding and felt the whole ship start to vibrate.

  Low at first, the sound became deeper, louder, and the vibrations increased. Dulac’s right shoulder pressed against the wall of the corridor. He felt dizzy for a moment but tried to shake it off.

  We’ve hit the reef!

  He felt the ship slow to a halt. The pressure on his shoulder eased and Dulac got up and started down the passageway to the deck. He felt the dizziness return, stopped and leaned against the corridor’s wall. After a moment, he started towards the deck again. The gunfire was getting louder. He looked left down the deck and saw the tall higjacker, alternately darting behind the cover of a metal column and firing at the Seals. He was 20 feet away, his back to Dulac, oblivious of his presence.

  Dulace took a wide stance and tightened his grip on the Glock, aiming squarely at the middle of the man’s back.

  “Drop it!”

  The man turned, swinging his UZI.

  Dulac fired two shots.

  Then everything went black.

  Chapter 34

  Onboard the Anzio, a half-mile astern of the Caravan Star

  Donnelly peered through his binoculars. “She’s hit! She’s hit the reef!” He grabbed the VHF and called the chopper pilot. “Becker, do you copy, over?”

  “Yes, Captain, this is Becker. Loud and clear. Over.”

  “What’s your situation?”

  “The Caravan Star’s hit the reef. My men are facing heavy gunfire at the bow. We’re hovering to cover them.”

  “What about the bridge?”

  A waving hand in Donnelly’s peripheral vision caught his attention. The radioman. “Sir, I have Admiral West on the line.” Donnelly grabbed the microphone.

  “Donnelly.”

  “We’re watching the satellite tracking. The Caravan Star isn’t moving,” said West.

  “She’s on the reef. Becker is hovering over her in the chopper.”

  “Damn.” Short pause. “Are you in control?”

  “I didn’t copy that. Please repeat.”

  “Are you in control?”

  “Negative. No report from the bridge. I—”

  The ensign signaled Donnelly with the portable VHF. “Sir, the Caravan Star’s sending a Mayday on channel 16.”

  “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, this is...this is ….Star, do you copy, over?”

  Donnelly grabbed the microphone.“Caravan Star, this is the Anzio, over.”

  “Jones, sir. I’m on the bridge with Edwards. She’s aground. The ship’s officers are unconscious and they don’t look good.”

  Chapter 35

  Department of Homeland Security, Washington

  West finished briefing Lombardi on the latest information on the Star.

  “Shit, shit, shit!” Nancy Lombardi banged her fist on the table and glared fiercely at West. “How fast can we get the Naloxone to those hostages?

  “According to our test info, most people won’t need it.”

  “Most people? Great. Then all we have to worry about are the ones who do, right, Admiral?”

  “Of course. We’re doing all we can. We—”

  “Yes yes, I know. “ She looked at the monitor. “How far is the Monterey?”

  “About 20 miles off. She sent her chopper with 10 SEALs and 100 doses of Naloxone. They have two doctors on board. They’re waiting for Becker’s instructions.”

  “So between the Anzio and the Monterey...”

  “Madam Secretary, we don’t have control of the Star,” said West.

  A secretary rushed in. “Sir, I have Captain Donnelly on the line.”

  “Transfer him to the speaker phone,” said West.

  They heard gurgling noise masked in heavy st
atic, then a voice came on the line.

  “Admiral, this is Donnelly. I—”

  The radioman interrupted. “Sir, it’s the Caravan Star again.”

  “I’m going to have to call you back, Admiral. I have the Star on VHF.”

  Donnelly turned to the ensign. “Put them on.”

  “Egan here, sir. We have control of the bridge, Decks Three, Four, Five, Six and the engine room, Captain.”

  “Good work, Egan. What about the rest of the ship?”

  “The men are mopping up, sir. So far, no resistance.”

  “Casualties?”

  “Four hijackers dead. Two are in pretty bad shape. We have three SEALs with non-life-threatening wounds and one with a stomach wound. Also one man with an apparent heart attack. They’ve given him a defibrillator boost and he seems to be okay. We’re evacuating them to Lajes.”

  “What about the passengers and crew?”

  “The Monterey’s helicopter is hovering on standby. They’ll take care of passengers and crew, and distribute the Naloxone as needed. The Portuguese helicopters will also help evacuate.”

  “Good. From where we are, the Star seems to be listing.”

  “Affirmative. I can feel heeling from the bridge.”

  “Listen to me Egan. I want you to look at the instruments and tell me how much. You’ll find an inclinometer somewhere on the console. It’s gradated in tenths of degrees.”

  “Where, sir?”

  “Near the Azipod lever, the one that steers the ship.”

  Brief silence.

  “I think I’ve found it sir. It indicates 4. 6 degrees ST.”

  “Good,” said Donnelly. Donnelly knew the chopper’s limit for a side-slope landing was 10 degrees. Beyond that, evacuation could only be done when hovering, two passengers at a time. “Keep an eye on it and relay the info to Becker and the other choppers. Check back with me in twenty.” “Roger that, sir.”

  Egan checked back in precisely twenty minutes. “Sir, the hijackers are contained. Six dead, two badly wounded. We’re evacuating passengers on the Monterrey’s chopper now. The Portuguese helicopters and our chopper are on standby in Corvo for the next run.”

  “How many evacuated so far?”

  “One hundred twenty, sir.”

  “Degree of list now?”

  “8.5 degrees with high winds. Not safe to land, so the pilots are hovering and lifting two at a time.”

  “Unfortunate but unavoidable. Overall status?”

  “We have passengers in the water. They decided not to wait for the choppers and took to the lifeboats. Three broke loose at launch. We did our best but we’re in heavy seas.Doesn’t look good, sir.”

  “Jesus.”

  “Also some passengers didn’t react well to the Naloxone. We’re flying them to the hospital in Lajes.

  “Total casualties?”

  “Twelve confirmed deaths not counting the hijackers, sir.”

  Donnelly grimaced. “Christ. Get the remaining passengers and crew off with all speed. I’m sending more boats to pick up survivors. Keep me posted.”

  “Roger that, sir.”

  Chapter 36

  Santo Espirito Hospital, Terceira, Azores. October 18th, the next day

  Dulac awoke, looking up at a drab green ceiling he didn’t recognize. His left hand hurt so he looked down. Ah! No wonder. A transparent bag of serum hung on a support to the left of the bed, dripping into the IV tube protruding from his wrist. He shifted to the right and saw Hank, semi-reclining in an adjacent bed, reading a newspaper. With considerable effort, Dulac propped himself further up and sat upright.

  Hank put down his newspaper and looked at Dulac. “How are you doing?”

  “Not great. What happened?”

  “You passed out on the deck after the ship hit the reef. They say the gas can kick in as much as twenty minutes after inhaling it.”

  “The last thing I remember was firing at the tall hijacker. Did I get the sonofabitch?”

  “Don’t know, but I heard one of them was operated on yesterday and he’s here under police custody.”

  “What are you in here for?”

  “Nausea from the gas. They’re just keeping an eye on me for a while to check for other side effects.”

  “What about Karen? How is—”

  The phone beside Dulac’s bed rang. He leaned over and picked up the receiver.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello Thierry, it’s Marie. I’ve been trying to reach you for the last two days. When I couldn’t reach you on your phone, I got your coordinates thru P & W lines. I didn’t know about the hijacking until this morning. They didn’t give me a lot of details. Are you all right?”

  “I’m ok. Just a few side effects from the gas.”

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m in Espirito Santo Hospital in Lajes. Probably here for a bit while they check me out.”

  “Where can I reach you?”

  “This number, my cell.”

  “Good, good. Call me when you have news. Love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  Dulac hung up and turned towards Hank.

  “Where’s Karen?”

  Hank hesitated and looked uncomfortable. “They couldn’t tell you. You were unconscious…she…”

  Dulac felt his nerves tighten. “Tell me what?”

  “Right after you rushed the two hijackers pinning us down, another one came up from behind and opened fire on me and Karen. Before the SEALs nailed him, she took two bullets, one in the thigh and the other in the abdomen near the spinal cord. They operated on her yesterday.”

  Dulac felt his jaw go slack. “Good God. How is she? Where is she?”

  “She was in intensive care yesterday. Better ask the doctor for details.” Hank shook the newspaper slightly. “We were the lucky ones.”

  “How’s that?”

  “Here, read this.” Hank handed him the newspaper.

  He stared at the bold headlines of the October 18th Herald Tribune

  Hijacked cruise ship hits reef.

  At 11. 45 am. local time yesterday , the cruise ship Caravan Star, carrying 527 passengers and crew, ran aground on Torrais Reef off the Island of Corvo in the Azores. The ship had been hijacked earlier that day by a terrorist group calling themselves the Baluchistan Tigers, a spokesman for P & W lines said. In a dramatic rescue operation, the crew of USS American missile-cruiser Anzio, which had been tracking the cruise ship, helped save the lives of the majority of the passengers and crew after the ship hit the reef. P & W listed 27 fatalities at this time and would not release their identities until notification of next of kin.

  “Jesus.” Dulac brought his left hand up to his forehead and felt a lump.

  “I heard the doctors say you must have hit your head on something when you fell. Funny isn’t it?” Hank looked down at the front page. “They don’t mention anything about the gas.”

  “The Navy is probably trying to keep a lid on it as long as possible. That lid will blow sky-high once reporters start interviewing passengers.”

  Chapter 37

  Washington, DC

  The President summoned Lombardi to a 10.00 am. meeting, a she did not want to be late for, especially since the President had the habit of arriving early. She entered the small conference room next to the Oval Office. Admiral West and Admiral. Turner were already there, sullen expressions on their faces. Also present were Jane Winney, Secretary of State, Nick Winters, Presidential Press Secretary, and Attorney General Calvin Smith.

  The meeting was not going to be pleasant. Lombardi steeled herself and walked to one of the remaining seats. “Good morning.” She tried to retain the right mix of gravity, humility and self-confidence in her voice.

  The President entered the room just as she was about to sit down. The attendees stood up in unison. “Mr. President.”

  The President nodded. “Good morning ladies, gentlemen.” He was not smiling. He sat down and rolled up the sleeves of his blue shirt. “Now then
, where are we on this?” He eyed Lombardi. “Nancy?”

  Lombardi put on her glasses and opened her laptop. “Mr. President, according to the information I have, we were able to successfully airlift 488 passengers and crew from the Caravan Star. I—”

  “How are they doing?” interrupted the President.

  “We have news from Lajes that most have fully recovered and are being taken care of by the Portuguese authorities. They in turn are coordinating with P & W for the passengers’ return home.”

  “Most meaning what exactly?” The president’s tone was anything but friendly.

  “From the latest report I have, 422 passengers and crew have recovered.”

  “And the casualties?”

  “There will be a coroner’s inquest as to—”

  “How many dead, Nancy?”

  “Not counting the seven dead hijackers, but including Captain Peterson and Mary Dickinson, the Governor’s wife, twenty-seven, Mr. President. Some were quite elderly and could have had strokes or heart attacks, and—”

  “And the others died from the gas.” The President’s cold eyes fixed West for a moment, then Smith.

  “Mr. President,”started Smith, “I—”

  Lombardi interrupted Smith. “Mr. President, autopsies will be carried out in Terceira to determine the exact causes of deaths.”

  The President turned slightly and eyed West. “What about these hijackers, Admiral? What information do we have on them?”

  “Mr. President, I don’t have much more than what was said at the last meeting. I’m waiting for a full intel report from the CIA.”