44 |

Departing Beja, Portugal

 

Acton breathed a sigh of relief the moment the wheels of the Gulf V left the runway, then the frustrations he had kept bottled up erupted. “What the hell was that?”

Reading, sitting across from them with his son, shook his head, frowning. “That was the most inept rescue I’ve ever been part of.”

Acton regarded the young Spencer and frowned, the boy appearing pale and withdrawn. “Are you okay?”

Spencer seemed surprised at being spoken to. “Umm, yeah, I guess.”

Reading turned in his seat to face his son a little better. “That was not the way things are supposed to go down in those situations. You’ll be trained on how to deal with these things, and I’m sorry to say, you’ll eventually get used to seeing bodies, though it’ll be rare that you see them like that. That was a disgusting example of amateurs trying to be heroes. There was no reason to not negotiate for the hostages. Nobody had to die there.” He sighed, lowering his voice. “I’m sorry you saw that. I shouldn’t have brought you.”

Spencer’s eyes widened and he stared at his father, shaking his head. “It’s not your fault, and I’m glad you did.” He paused, as if searching for words. “Look, I’ve known I’ve wanted to be a copper for a while, now. This just makes me want to be one even more. I want to learn how to do things right, so that if I’m ever in a situation like today, I’ll know the proper thing to do. If you were running that operation, none of that would have happened, and everyone would be alive. I want to learn to do it like you.”

Acton watched as Reading struggled to maintain control. His friend was bursting with pride that his humility was struggling to suppress, all while he took in what was probably the nicest thing his son had ever said to him since the end of their estrangement. Acton reached over and squeezed Laura’s hand.

Three times.

I. Love. You.

She returned the gesture with a smile as they both enjoyed the moment. Acton decided to save his friend from embarrassing himself. He held up his wrists.

“We must have a first aid kit on board.”

Laura nodded. “I’m sure we do, but those bandages are fresh. We should just leave them.”

He agreed. “Let’s just keep it in mind for when we’re done with all this.”

“Do they hurt?”

“Are you the most beautiful woman in the world?”

She gave him the eye. “So that’s a no.”

Spencer snickered and Reading groaned, their awkward moment broken, Acton’s job done. He patted Laura’s cheek. “So beautiful yet so modest.” He slowly rotated both wrists and winced. “Yeah, they hurt, but nothing I can’t live with.”

Reading frowned. “If you intend to jump into the water and disarm a bomb—something, I remind you, you have no clue how to do—then not only are you going to be crying like a baby from the salt water on those wounds, you’re going to be attracting every damned shark in the area.”

Acton regarded his friend. “Who invited the voice of reason?”

“He invited himself when he saved your arses.”

Acton rolled his eyes and winked at Laura. “Something tells me we’ll never hear the end of that.” He became serious, holding up one of his bandaged limbs. “You’re right, of course. We can’t go in the water, not with a bomb there. But if we get there in time, hopefully we can direct the authorities to where the bomb is. Have you been able to reach anyone?”

Reading tapped the phone sitting on his crossed leg. “I’ve sent a message to Dylan, and my partner back in London will be working with the Portuguese authorities. Hopefully by the time we get there, this will all be over.”

Acton checked his watch. “Well, I’ve told the pilot to push it, so we’ll be there in less than an hour and a half.”

Laura leaned closer to him. “Mary is arranging for a vehicle to be waiting for us, and for dive equipment to be ready, just in case we do decide to go in.”

Reading stabbed the air between them with a finger. “Not going to happen.”

“Well, let’s just hope the Portuguese get there in time, with the proper expertise. I don’t give a damn about that cable, but if it detonates, it could send the entire find sliding down even farther.”

Reading frowned. “What would that mean?”

Acton shrugged. “It depends on how bad it is. It’s already pretty close to the maximum depth we can dive in suits, without having to switch to hydrox or something. If it slides too far, then only submersibles will be able to reach it, but that’s only if it’s exposed. If it slides and gets buried again, we might not ever find it. Nobody is going to be able to afford a dig that deep without an exact location. It could be years, even decades, before anybody could make an attempt.”

Laura squeezed his hand. “Let’s pray that doesn’t happen.”