The Rig 3: Eye of the Hurricane by Steve Rollins Read Free Book Online

and apologized to Elly for the rant. He asked her whether she had found out anything and was surprised to hear about Senator Jacobs and his involvement. He was not surprised to hear about William Portis being directly involved, though. It only made sense. He cautioned her about the dinner with Jacobs. He knew the man was a terribly lecherous dickhead. He mentioned one of the few female Coast Guard Commanders who had appeared before a Congressional committee the previous year and Jacobs had been all over her. Now, the Commander himself had also been all over her, but that was beside the point. What was important was his niece, and Elly Boukhari needed to make sure the dirty bastard could not get his hands on her.
    Then, right as he hung up the phone, the wind rose. It picked up suddenly and steadily rose to storm force. Moments later the heavens opened, pouring down water by the boatload. Within a minute, the deck of the USCGC Hurricane looked as though it was a swimming pool. The painted metal could not even be seen underneath the sheer sheet of rainwater. It fell faster than it was drained from the surface. The roads in San Clemente also looked as though they were made of water. The Commander could not see more than twenty yards ahead of them. And ‘The City’, which had been a burning beacon in the distance, was nowhere to be seen.
     
     
    Chapter Ten
     
    As the rain suddenly began to lash against the window of the bedroom of ‘The City’ suite, Joy slept on. She dreamed. Anyone looking at her would think her dreams were haunted, judging by the soft screams and small jerks. There would have been good reason for violent and disturbed dreams too, but she did not have them. Her dreams were of something else entirely.
    She was back in Samoa; Pago Pago, where she had first met Wes. They had ended up there working on the same research project to get their PhD. But this time she was not there with Wes. Another man was diving with her among the coral reefs of the Samoan archipelago. The man had long hair and tattoos. When she rose from the water next to him and they both took their masks off to join their lips in a kiss, she knew who it was. It was Dave.
    It was Dave's arms she felt around her and which made her squirm as she lay there in the bed.
    Then suddenly she woke up. There was a metallic groan that wrenched through the noise of the wind and rain. Moments later, something crashed into the window, shaking her awake altogether. One of the lifts from the helicopter deck had just come crashing down. Its cables seemed to have remained attached to something as the body was pulled from its bolts. It slammed into the window with all its weight. Only the reinforced glass of the windows had prevented it from breaking through and falling right into the bed that Joy lay in.
    She shot up and bolted into the sitting room, only noticing her dizziness again when she stood in front of the three others. They, too, had been shaken by the crash and Dave had jumped to his feet to check the bedroom.
    “You alright?” Dave asked her worriedly.
    Joy nodded and sat down. Her head was throbbing again, but it was bearable now. She looked at the three faces. “I assume you guys came up with a plan?”
    Wes nodded. “We need to take care of those FBI guys and then we'll take the sub out of here. It should be good for a trip to the mainland.”
    Sheila laid a hand on Wes' wrist and squeezed. She knew the plan, but it still scared her. Joy just nodded slowly. She could not nod more vigorously because of her head, but she could see no other way out of the predicament they found themselves in.
    “Anyone else still alive in ‘The City’?” she asked.
    Dave and Wes both shrugged. “There are people in the hospital and the staff are still finding people.” Dave answered her. “But I tried getting through to some people on their phones or intercoms and nobody answered. I doubt there's anyone who will be any use in taking care of those