Piranha by Clive Cussler Read Free Book Online Page B

on duty tonight?”
    Dominguez practically spit the words out. “Myself and ten sailors. The four of us here, two at the guardhouse, three on sentry duty, two guarding the payload.”
    â€œOnly two in the warehouse?”
    Dominguez hesitated for a moment. “I have no men in the warehouse. I could post some there, Captain, if that’s your order, but since it is empty I saw no need.”
    â€œI see,” Juan said. But he didn’t. If the payload wasn’t in the warehouse, where was it?
    â€œWe have intelligence to suggest spies may be trying to gain knowledge about this facility. I want two of these men to join the sentry posts.”
    Dominguez didn’t hesitate this time. “You heard the captain!” he yelled at the two men. “Move!”
    The sailors snatched up their rifles and donned their caps as they scrambled out of the room. The only one to stay behind was the man at the monitors.
    â€œGet back to work, seaman,” Juan said to him, and the man plopped into his chair. Juan shifted his gaze back to the lieutenant. “Show me the payload.”
    â€œSir, Admiral Ruiz ordered that no one was to view the cargo once it was loaded.”
    â€œYou will show us the payload or I will report that you disobeyed a superior officer.”
    Another hesitation from Dominguez. “The admiral’s orders were very specific.”
    â€œHis orders are immaterial. That is the purpose of a surprise inspection.”
    Juan was an excellent interpreter of people’s faces, and something that he’d just said was wrong.
    Dominguez’s arm did nothing more than twitch, but Juan could sense that the lieutenant was attempting to be a hero. Juan drew his pistol and had the FN pointed between Dominguez’s eyes before the lieutenant could even get a finger on his own sidearm. Linc moved even faster, whipping the assault rifle around in one smooth movement.
    Dominguez froze, then slowly raised his hands above his head without being told. Linc disarmed him and patted him down before gesturing that he had no other weapons. The seaman, who’d watched the whole sequence motionless and agog, moved against the wall with his lieutenant.
    â€œDon’t make a sound,” Juan said. “Either of you.”
    Slow nods confirmed the order.
    â€œHow did you know?” Juan asked.
    â€œThe admiral,” Dominguez said. “She’s a woman. You used the word ‘his’ when you talked about her orders.”
    Juan shook his head. Talk about playing the percentages. He didn’t know how many female admirals were in the Venezuelan Navy, but it couldn’t have been more than a handful. For once, the odds beat him.
    â€œWhat did he say?” Linc asked.
    â€œApparently the admiral in charge of this operation is a woman. I will have to remember to look her up when we get back. Keep an eye on the lieutenant here while I collect what we came for.”
    Since Linc didn’t speak Spanish, Juan would have to be the one to scour the files and computers for anything relevant to the smuggling operation. He hit the jackpot when he found an encrypted computer. He didn’t waste time trying to crack it. That wasn’t his expertise, and they didn’t have time. He’d let Murph and Eric, the Corporation’s computer specialists, do their magic once he got the computer back to the
Oregon
.
    A phone started to ring, but not one of the desk phones. It was the trill of a smartphone. Juan spotted it under some papers on Dominguez’s desk.
    Before either of them could stop him, Dominguez lunged for it and swept it off the desk, smashing it into the concrete wall.
    Linc grabbed him and pressed the barrel of the assault rifle against his chest. “Don’t do that again,
por favor
.”
    Juan picked up the pieces, making sure to get the memory card. Whatever was on there was important enough for the young lieutenant to risk his life to protect