The Blood King Conspiracy (Matt Drake 2) by David Leadbeater Read Free Book Online Page B

night, he heard her Skype-ing, or on the phone. He fancied she was still in contact with the serial killer’s victims’ families. Was that a good thing? Would it bring closure?
    Or would it bring despair?
    His own demons were no less brutal. The memory of Alyson walking out the door, tears in her eyes as she walked to the car. No goodbye. No last wonderful memory. Just those tears, clouding her vision . . . as she drove rapidly towards her fatal accident.
    He focused on the present. The salvage crew were aboard a medium-size boat that swayed in choppy seas. There wasn’t a whole lot going on, and after a few minutes everyone just looked at Harrison.
    The Secretary’s aid just shrugged. “It’s Blackbeard’s ship.”
    Then he spoke into a wrist-mic. “Let’s go.”
    They sped off, heading for the U.S.S. Port Royal and its world-shaking cargo.
     

 
     
    CHAPTER ELEVEN
     
    Forty-five minutes later they were being taken board the U.S.S. Port Royal, a Ticonderoga-class cruiser, something Drake knew to be a part of the Navy’s ballistic missile defence initiatives. These babies had been commissioned to help intercept and shoot down incoming ICBMs.  On the water they were a genuine floating fort, 9000 tons and six hundred feet of sensors and processing systems, armaments and even a few Sikorsky helicopters.
    A grey billion-dollar monster, a turbine-propelled death and defence machine.
    When they hit the deck Harrison was saying: “This thing’s equipped with more sonar and surveillance equipment than anything in the vicinity, even more so than some newer missile cruisers, to be honest. We’re lucky it was so close.”
    Drake stared at the cold steel, the cold eyes of the crew watching them, the hard men with their fingers already on triggers.
    My God, he thought. They’re acting like we’re at war.
    Below decks they were shown to separate, Spartan cabins. Harrison left them with a brief: “Thirty minutes,” and Drake found himself with some alone time, at last, with his friends.
    He went to Hayden first. Not that he had to walk far in the cramped confines since Mano Kinimaka took up half the room.
    “There is no doubt we will avenge them. Trust me, Hayden. No doubt. ”
    “Boudreau . . . he’s not only a sadist and a murderer, he’s damn clever too.” Hayden eyes were saturated with pain. “A terrible enemy.”
    Drake leaned in close. “We’ll get him. Trust me. ”
    The words he left unsaid echoed around his brain: I’m a far worse enemy to him than he ever will be to you.
    “So what’s the verdict?” Ben was saying. “Something still doesn’t ring true here,” and now he looked at his girlfriend. “They brought all this stuff out of the ocean. Cannons. Anchors. Sounding weights. And nothing happened. Then boom! , they bring up a rusty old box and some mythical monster decides to surface and  fight the U.S. military for it who, in turn, decide to guard it with a damned army,” Ben spread his arms. “How did everyone know what it was? And, why not go get it before the salvage operation?”
    Drake thought about that for a second. “Toddler Blake’s got a point.”
    “Bollocks, crusty.”
    Hayden shrugged. “For me, it was just another day, another case I pulled. They told me to investigate, so I did. We don’t question why.”
    “And how did Blackbeard, of all people, get involved?” Kinimaka spoke up. “And the alien thing? Bullshit.”
    “What did you find out?” Drake asked Hayden. “You said it was the answer to the Bermuda Triangle mystery. What is it?”
    “I also just found out the damned thing comes in two parts. Two. We have the first. I don’t think there’s anyone alive who knows where the second part is.”
    “But what is it?” Kennedy was getting frustrated. “Maybe you could tell us, Mano?” She turned a sweet smile on the giant. Drake shook his head - bemused.
    “Boss did go over it,” Kinimaka admitted. “Most of it skimmed right over the top of my head, to