Targets Entangled (31 page)

“How?” Ferrin asked, wanting to keep him busy from noticing that Gunny was getting a little closer to them. She could see he had on a headset and she wondered if Daegan could hear what was taking place. “I didn’t even know—”

“Reporting the frequency changes to Jackson for starters, you stupid bitch.” They finally came to the ladderwell, although Roger stopped their momentum. “Taylor, I’m giving you one last warning. You tell Agent Joel to have that helicopter ready or I’ll start shooting. I’ll take out as many crewmembers as I can if you fuck with me.”

“She’s not due for another fifteen minutes, Edelton,” Gunny replied, stopping in his tracks but not backing up. He met Ferrin’s gaze and nodded slightly, as if she were doing a good job by keeping him talking. Hell, she’d do anything at the moment to help get herself out of this situation. “Agent Joel has been contacted and is aware of the situation. She wants to speak with you when she lands.”

“There will be no negotiating. I want that helicopter refueled and a pilot.”

With that, Roger moved her into the ladderwell. It was so quiet within the stairwell that Ferrin could hear her own struggled breathing as she continued to tug on his arm to prevent too much pressure on her windpipe. He relented slightly as they slowly took each step down toward the main deck, her boots catching on the steps every now and then.

“What assignment are you talking about?” Ferrin could see Gunny had stepped into the ladderwell above, watching them as they descended. “Who paid you?”

“I was paid to delay Red Starr from reaching the coast of Nigeria for as long as I could. Pretty damn simple. Or it should have been without your damn interference.” Roger practically carried Ferrin down a few more steps before stopping and trying to see who might be waiting for them below. She winced when he pressed the suppressor tighter to her temple. She closed her eyes, trying to even out her breathing and squelch the panic taking hold of her. The thought that he would pull that trigger without thinking twice was hell on her psyche. “I’m surprised they didn’t find the real Roger Edelton’s body by now, but it worked to my advantage. Tami’s murder should have stopped this mission in Panama, but that bitch had to go and fuck Farrell, making him the obvious prime suspect.”

Ferrin’s heart stopped beating for a moment as she tried to compute what he was saying. He wasn’t Roger Edelton? How was that even possible? She couldn’t see Gunny anymore, but surely he’d heard the exchange and was relaying this information to the rest of the team.

“You didn’t stop the mission, Rog—” Ferrin broke off, not knowing what to call him now. She needed to keep him talking, but they were getting closer to reaching the flight deck. What would happen when they got up there and he saw that Gunny was telling the truth? If Agent Joel wasn’t due here for another fifteen minutes, what would happen then? “Will these people still pay you? Have you thought about asking for immunity? Tell Starr or Agent Joel who hired you and they might let you go.”

“Immunity? You and I both know that won’t happen. I’m not an idiot. And then I can’t spend a dime of what I’m getting if I’m locked up, can I?” Roger had moved her down the length of the main deck to the ladderwell that would lead them up to the hangar bay on the flight deck and Ferrin could smell the salt air over the stench of their body sweat. What was waiting for them up there inside the hangar bay? “It’s always easier to deal with a corporation than it is with the feds.”

Ferrin wasn’t quite sure what he meant, other than some company had hired him to stop this mission. He’d certainly done his best and in the process had hurt, maimed, and killed without any thought to the consequences. It was hard to believe that he could have murdered Roger Edelton and taken the man’s place without getting caught. Ferrin was sure that Roger had been with the original
Promised Land
crew roster, so for the man to be able to go this long without being noticed was beyond astonishing.

“If you try anything when we step out onto the flight deck, I won’t hesitate to pull this trigger. Do you understand me?”

Ferrin comprehended every word and ice replaced the blood in her veins, settling a chill into her bones like she’d never experienced. This man didn’t care who he killed or what he had to do to get off of this ship and if anyone made an attempt to take him out, he’d take as many other innocent lives as he could. She didn’t want her life to end this way and she certainly didn’t want Daegan to witness her death should she be summarily executed. She thought about fighting against her captor here and now, within the ladderwell where no one else could get hurt…but it was too late. He’d pushed her forward and up the steps into the open hangar bay which faced directly west, the setting sun blinding her eyes as to what was in front of them. She lowered her lashes and prayed that the team she was working for could do the job they were trained for—because she was now a hostage that needed rescued.

‡

I
t took every
ounce of willpower that Daegan possessed to remain in position up on the winch housing. When he heard Gunny report over the headset that Roger Edelton had shot Jerry point blank in the chest and that Ferrin and Chief Jackson were still in the radio room with him, Daegan’s immediate thought was to go to her. Memories of what he’d gone through with Kayla came crashing down on him and he couldn’t survive if the same thing were to happen to Ferrin. Starr had directed everyone to maintain their positions until Gunny could give an update and she’d specifically ordered Daegan to remain where he was until they knew more. He was about to break that directive when Gunny announced that Roger and Ferrin were heading down across the main deck and up to the flight deck.

Daegan had to move fast to stay ahead of them and gain a perch that could afford him a shot inside the hangar bay. He placed his weapon back in its scabbard and scrambled down the backside of the housing to the weather deck, slinging the scabbard across his shoulder as he ran to the watertight hatch at the forward port side of the weather deck. Slowly cracking it open, he peered down the long main deck passageway to the hatch that led to the mess deck. They hadn’t made it that far just yet. He quickly crossed the threshold of the hatch and headed for the ladderwell leading up to the hangar bay just as the hatch at the far end of the passageway opened. He launched himself up the ladderwell and scrambled to find a reasonable hide inside the large open area.

Daegan trained his sight on the ladderwell where Roger and Ferrin were due to come out at any moment, doing his best to even out his breathing after having just run a marathon that in actuality couldn’t have been more than thirty-five yards. He was unsuccessful and he swore the only thing that kept him calm enough to have a steady hand was the fact that Gunny was giving updates on everything that was being said.

“They’re coming out. I repeat—they’re exiting the ladderwell topside.”

Within seconds Daegan had a visual on Ferrin and his gut tightened at the fear that laced her beautiful features. His heart nearly stopped and his fingers tightened on his weapon when he saw blood on her face and hands, but he couldn’t find any injuries on her no matter where he looked. She was up on her tiptoes as Roger had her in a firm grip around her throat, but he was turned in such a way that Daegan couldn’t take the shot. There was a problem in that this particular .308 Winchester round used a 167-grain hollow point boat tail Lapua bullet. The designed capabilities of this bullet were centered around maintaining enough energy to penetrate a soft-skinned light-boned target and fully develop the mushrooming round for full impact at long distance. In other words, he would probably end up shooting through both of them if he shot Roger from the back.

“I do not have a sight line on the target,” Daegan said, readjusting his shoulder. “Allow them to move forward onto the flight deck.”

“We need to extract information from him.” Doc muttered those words in his usual levelheaded manner, but Daegan didn’t give a shit. Ferrin was the hostage in this situation and he wouldn’t stand by with his hands tied. “Let Starr have a crack at him first. You know that she’ll signal you if there’s no turning back.”

Daegan inhaled and slowly let out his breath as he zeroed in on Ferrin, waiting for the moment Roger shifted their stance enough so that he could lock in on his target through and through. Sideways would be best. Trigger and Diesel had come up through the port ladderwell immediately after Nina had told Gunny what had happened. If Trigger or Gunny had thought siccing Diesel on Roger would have gotten the man to release his hold on Ferrin, they would have done so. As it was the duo and Stick had instead moved the crew to the other end of the weather deck and secured the watertight hatch to the main deck. Once Roger had moved Ferrin up the ladderwell onto the flight deck, they cleared the weather deck and secured all personnel below. When Roger called out for Starr, she immediately stepped up out of the ladderwell into the hangar bay without hesitation.

“What is it that you want? Now that we’ve met face to face, I know you aren’t Roger Edelton. You’ve done an outstanding job of staying out of my sight.”

Daegan couldn’t make out the man’s reply, nor did he care. Ferrin was looking around the deck and his chest hurt at the thought she was searching for him. She wouldn’t find him and he couldn’t stand her thinking he wasn’t here to help her. When the low murmur of the man’s voice stopped, Starr spoke once more.

“That’s not going to happen. As a matter of fact, the helicopter won’t be returning any time soon. You see, Agent Joel isn’t making an appearance. It was a ruse to flush you out. Now that we’ve done that you have two options.”

Daegan tightened his hold on his rifle when Ferrin clutched at the arm underneath her chin. Roger, or whatever the fuck this man’s name was, was putting too much pressure on her neck and closing off her windpipe. He was agitated enough that his voice raised and his words carried into Starr’s headset.

“I want that helicopter now!”

“No,” Starr stated calmly, her arms down at her sides. Her weapon was holstered, but damn if she was setting herself up to be shot. She seemed to be maneuvering the target around to the angle Daegan needed for his shot. “You came aboard my ship and murdered two of my employees. As I specified, this will end one of two ways. You either let Ms. Hewitt go and I’ll communicate to the federal authorities that you were accommodating or I’ll give the signal for my sniper to take you out. Either way, this ends now.”

Whoever this man really was, Starr had definitely alarmed him with the news that Daegan was in place and itching to take him out. Unfortunately he pulled Ferrin desperately tighter to his chest and didn’t shift sideways as much as Daegan needed him to for a clean shot.

“…need my information. You won’t…”

“You have ten seconds to make your decision before you have a bullet in your head.” Starr’s tone broke no argument. She understood like the rest of them that this man wasn’t about lay down his weapon and give up the information they needed. He might want to take it to the grave with him, but he wouldn’t be taking Ferrin. “Ten, nine, eight…”

“…the hell…take her out with…you fucking…”

The target’s voice kept drifting in the wind, but by then it didn’t matter. Starr had given the signal. This man was full of greed and arrogance—he would take as many people out as he could if he thought he was going down. It was up to the team to see that it didn’t happen that way. He for one refused to lose Ferrin to the same fate as Kayla.

Daegan’s hearing droned out everything but his heartbeat. He parted his lips, evening out his breathing and becoming one with his rifle as his cheek rested on the warm composite material. His body heat had done its job and as he nestled his baby and readied his finger to squeeze the trigger, nothing else existed but him and the target. This would be the most important shot he’d have to take and there were no second chances.

As if a movie was playing out in front of him, Daegan watched, observed, and waited for… just… the… right… moment—he pulled the trigger. The rifle kicked, but it was a welcome feel. He never took his eyes from the scene before him, visually confirming his shot. The bullet hit its target between the four and fifth ribs, slightly to the inside front of the man’s right side. The bullet was still supersonic at twenty-seven hundred feet per second. It likely passed under his sternum by two inches, piercing both lungs and shattering the costal cartilages on both sides with the shockwave of the bullet’s passage. The hollow point would have been fully formed as it entered the right side of his heart and carved a golf ball-sized hole through to its core causing the toughest muscle in the human body to literally explode inside his chest. The bullet exited Roger’s body at just over eighteen hundred feet per second, flying out to sea. He dropped to the deck like he was a limp noodle. Ferrin wasn’t able to get out of his grasp immediately, so she was dragged down as his dead weight pulled at her, his arms unwinding from around her. Her frantic motions to stop it from happening were something Daegan would never forget as she was flung backward where Starr caught and held her. It meant she was alive.