Running Dark by Jamie Freveletti Read Free Book Online Page A

prey and big money in ransoms. I’ll do anything to avoid Mogadishu.” A small radio attached to Wainwright’s belt crackled, and a voice poured from it.
    “Bad news, sir. The Redoubtable radioed back and said they can’t escort us anywhere.”
    Wainwright depressed a button on the device and placed it to his lips. “Why not? Twenty minutes ago they said they were on the way.”
    “They’re under fire from the insurgents. Four cigarette boats are bearing down on them, and two helicopters. I didn’t know the insurgents even had helicopters. We’ve been advised to change course and hightail it out of the area as fast as possible.”
    “What’s our situation?”
    “The lower decks reported in. No injuries. Two staterooms sustained damage. Satellite’s sporadic, radar’s out, but I think both canbe fixed. We’re not taking on water, but oil pressure is dropping like a stone. We’re trying to determine why. Unless we can plug the leak, we’re going to be floating dead in twenty minutes.”
    “Let’s get the generators ready to go.”
    “Already gave that order. I have two men suiting up. When we can safely stop, they’re going to submerge to see if there is any damage below the waterline that could account for the oil-pressure problem.”
    “Tell me when it gets too dangerous to continue. When it is, we’ll cut the engines.”
    “That would be now, sir.”
    Captain Wainwright sighed. “Fine, cut them.” He turned to Sumner. “We’re grenade fodder.” He rubbed a hand across his face. “Come on into the control room. Let’s assess our options there.”
    Sumner followed Wainwright into the control room, where Wainwright’s first officer, a plump man named Nathan Janklow, turned to greet them.
    “We only have so much fuel. We’re going to burn it at a ridiculous rate if we continue at the speed we need to maintain distance from these guys. We’re crazy to even consider Mogadishu. Frying pan to fire,” Janklow said. He was only in his mid-thirties but had the dour personality of a much older man. At that moment, though, Sumner agreed with him. Putting in at Mogadishu was a decidedly risky move.
    “What about Berbera?” Sumner said.
    “Berbera? That’s a Somali port, isn’t it?” Wainwright said. Sumner moved to a large map on the wall and pointed to the northern part of Somalia.
    “It’s in the separatist republic of Somaliland. No one really uses it. Technically, the area is a part of Somalia, but it’s been run by the same warlord for over seventeen years now. Somaliland wants nothing more than to break away from Somalia, and they like Americans. They might welcome a chance to play protector. Show the world how different they are.”
    Wainwright looked thoughtful. “It’s going to take longer to get there.”
    “I’ve heard the port’s a broken-down mess,” Janklow said. “Dilapidated as hell.”
    “So’s our ship, at the moment,” Wainwright said.
    “They don’t get much foreign aid, so there’s no money for the port, or for anything else. The United States backs the transitional federal government in Mogadishu. And that government considers Somaliland to be squatters. They refuse to recognize the area as its own country,” Sumner said.
    Wainwright gave a short laugh. “What government in Mogadishu? The city is a complete disaster, where anarchy reigns supreme. How the hell did we end up backing them and ignoring the peaceful regime located in the same region?”
    Sumner shook his head. “I have no idea. But tensions between the separatists and the transitional government are at an all-time low. The transitional government is pushing the U.S. to denounce Somaliland. If we go there, this administration will be put in a difficult position.”
    “They’ll have to be realistic. I can’t risk putting over three hundred civilians in at Mogadishu. It’s suicide,” Wainwright said.
    “You’re both assuming we’ll get there, but it’s likely we’ll be attacked again long