Free Double Vision by Vicki Hinze Page A

is that he noted an oddity in some ships heading to port,” Forester said. He held up the whiskey bottle, silently asking if she wanted more. When she shook her head, he went on. “Theywere weighted down and for all intents and purposes appeared to be full of cargo. Douglas deduced that explained why they rode lower than usual in the water.”
    “The weapons arriving?”
    “A three-mile stretch inland has been dredged for shallow watercraft. These ships were too heavy to make it through the channel.”
    Kate was confused. Why was this significant? “So they off-loaded at the main port and didn’t move inland. What’s the challenge there?”
    “Oh,” Forester’s eyes gleamed. “But they did move inland.”
    “How? If the water was only deep enough for shallow craft, they couldn’t use it.”
    “That’s what Douglas wanted to know.” Forester leaned forward, legs spread, hands laced between his knees. “He suspected the added weight was weapons, but he claimed his reasons for believing so were based on classified information he couldn’t share.” Forester straightened, stiffened, a knowing gleam in his eyes. “I’m guessing that classified information came from you.”
    Kate nearly frowned. “Forget speculating that I breached security. I didn’t. All the tactical team on the ground during the compound raid in Iran knew GRID would sell weapons, technology and drugs for quick money.”
    “GRID’s very successful. Why would it need quick money?”
    “Because we’d taken out two compounds in short order. It takes a great deal of money to replace lost resources at that level.”
    “GRID knows you’ve arrived here,” Forester speculated.
    “Yes,” she confessed. “I was nearly captured.” And she’d lost the C-273 communications device. God, but she hoped it wasn’t in Thomas Kunz’s grubby, greedy hands. Hostiles would pay a fortune for it—and use it against them.
    Forester’s solemn expression sobered even more. “Does GRID know this outpost exists?”
    “I have no way of knowing that.”
    “But you’re sure you didn’t compromise our position during your escape from them?”
    “No, I’m sure.” She explained how she’d hidden in the grave and stayed there until darkness fell and then made her way back to the outpost. “However, it’s hard for me to believe that they’re operating in such close proximity and haven’t discovered you on their own.”
    “If they have, then why haven’t they destroyed us?”
    It was a reasonable question. Unfortunately it was one Kate lacked sufficient information to answer. Damn it, she needed to talk with Douglas. “Only GRID can answer that question.”
    He smoothed his fatigues over his thigh with his hand. “I requested intervention on the ships.”
    “You did?” Kate felt a crease form between her eyebrows. She’d have to report this to Home Base, and have Maggie relay it to Darcy. Nothing had come through from outside to intel sources—or if it had, Darcy hadn’t considered it worthy of mention. Now, in context of GRID being in the immediate vicinity, it could be an important key to finding weapons, and if they were here, the hostages.
    Forester nodded. “The Navy intercepted and ran a topical search on three vessels, but they didn’t find any contraband. Nothing illegal.”
    “Then there has to be another explanation.” The shipscouldn’t be carrying weapons. If they hadn’t put into port, and the Navy hadn’t observed the vessels off-loading cargo onto another ship, where the hell could it have gone?
    “I’m not ready to consider that this isn’t the explanation. Neither is Douglas,” Forester said. “The vessels the Navy searched rode low in the water, obviously weighted down. Nothing illegal was found on the topical. Yet when they reached port and underwent a thorough search, all three of the ships were riding high, not low, in the water.”
    “How did the captain explain the difference?”
    “He