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Linda finally drew a breath “That was close,” she said to Eric in a quiet voice that was high pitched but still radiated authority She tapped her balaclava “It’s good I have this on”

Linda was known for regularly changing the color of her hair to suit her reen that would have surely been seen by the terrorist if she hadn’t been wearing the head covering

“I intend to write a strongly worded letter to the Dahar’s captain telling him to make sure his crew locks down their equipment properly in the future,” Eric said

Eric had also been a US Navy officer and was now the Oregon’s helmsman Usually, he was dressed in a button-down shirt and khakis, not coear He and his best friend, Mark Murphy, were the smartest people on the crew, so they were nor out technical solutions to proble down armed terrorists

Like Linda, however, he had seen his fair share of fighting over his years with the Corporation, and the Chairman hadcurrent while they finished constructing their new ship She was glad to have Eric with her, not only for his expertise on the analysis of the bo tactical instincts

Now they just had to plan how to approach the terrorists without being seen

The pu units were housed in a

small shack that protected the valves from the elements Pipes snaked from the structure in all directions to theoff in there would rupture a dozen pipes, igniting the oil feeding theen to the fuel vapor in the tanks that could cause a giant fireball to erupt The blaze would be visible from the coasts of Malaysia on one side and Indonesia on the other

“I’m too short to climb over those pipes,” Linda said

“I could give you a boost,” Eric said He wasn’t big guy, but Linda was tiny, so she had no doubt he could do it

“Too exposed,” she said

“Going around will take too long”

“Then we go under” She pointed to a gap between the pipes and the deck It was a narrow space, but they could belly-crawl through

Juan’s voice caain “Linda, do you copy? We’ve taken doo hijackers so far That leaves five more”

Linda clicked her ot two hostiles here About to make our move”