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“Looks like the sedative worked as advertised,” the sh-pitched, feminine voice

Juan stood up and said, “With this stuff, I could inal and Extra Crispy chicken Tanjung here tells me there are seven hostiles on board ar as we have the eleot the bo says we have about fifteen minutes left to deactivate the timers He also mentioned that Kersen, the leader of their terrorist cell, has a remote detonator as a backup Apparently, he didn’t trust anyone else not to blow up the ship with hi left ear”

Using his tongue, Juan clicked the molar mic embedded in his mouth The transceiver not only allowed him to use his radio hands-free, it also played the sound inside his skull through bone conduction, which meant he could hear communications even in noisy environments

“Is the deck clear?” He looked up, but the sh to be visible

“No movement,” came the reply

“Anyone on the Dahar’s bridge?” It would be easy to spot Juan and his teah perch

“Maneuvering to get a better look” A pause “It’s empty”

Juan put on his balaclava and a pair of auglasses and fed in the bomb locations They’d downloaded a detailed schelasses could guide theh the corridors of its interior In the corner of his eye, he could now see a deck by deck map of the Dahar’s layout

“Let’s go,” Juan said

He led the way up the terrorists’ ladder Juan felt it was his duty to be the first on the ship

All of them were members of the Corporation, and Juan was its Chair him Technically, they were mercenaries, but Juan hated that terhest bidders, no matter the cause or morals of their employers

Instead, the Corporation was a company of private contractors made up of US military veterans and former CIA operatives They had an unusual set of skills and did work for the US government when secrecy and plausible deniability were required One such e a Syrian pharas where they had acquired a li They also took jobs froovernment entities, but only if it served the interests of their home country

Juan Cabrillo was not only the Chairman of the Corporation but its heart and soul A foranization with fortitude and savvy, seely always one step ahead of his adversaries He had helped assemble the top-notch crew around him and placed trust in every ned job In return, he was deeply respected and ad him a close friend

The Corporation was unique in that it was based entirely on one ship, the Oregon The new Oregon

After the tragic loss of their previous ship, Juan and the rest of the crew had been eager to get back to sea to see what the new vessel could do Their first voyage was ines and a few of her other upgraded capabilities before returning to a Malaysian dry dock to finish prepping her for deployment But intel about an imminent attack in the Strait of Malacca meant she had to set sail before she was fully outfitted Now the Oregon was on her maiden cruise, and some of her creeren’t even on board yet