Free Trident Force by Michael Howe

overhaul was a very complex and challenging project. It’s very likely they would hang around the yard for a while, have a beer with some of their coworkers and celebrate the completion of the project.”
    The executive paused a moment, a frown on his face, then continued: “We allow no alcohol in the yard except for one canteen where the workers can have a beer or two after they have finished their shifts.”
    â€œCan you give us a list of the other shipfitters with whom they worked and where we can find them?”
    â€œIt might be best to leave this to the federal police. Drugs is a very violent business.”
    â€œWe’re primarily interested in determining if there’s any connection between these two and the fire—and the possibility of further fires. Sabotage, perhaps.”
    â€œOf course!” Palmeira smiled, not believing a word of it.
    Five minutes later—proving that the Tecmar shipyard really was totally up-to-date—the computer printer resting on a small table along one wall burst into life. Roberto Palmeira picked up the printout and scanned it. “Here are ten men who worked with Coccoli and Rojas on Aurora. All are in the yard now, so you can go talk to them. I will be pleased to provide you with a vehicle that you can drive yourselves, but I urge you to let Salvador drive for you. Some of these job sites are difficult to find, and Salvador will in no way interfere with your inquiries. He will stay in the vehicle if you wish.”
    â€œIf we’re going to find ten men in one afternoon, we’re going to need Salvador’s help,” said Ted, speaking for the first time.
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    With Salvador driving, Ray and Ted crisscrossed the Tecmar shipyard—visiting graving docks that baked in the tropical afternoon sun; fabrication and assembly shops filled with the screeching, pounding roar of steel being forced into useful shapes and forms and the ever-present smells of cut metal and petroleum in all its many forms and flavors—tracking down and interviewing the men on the list of shipfitters who had worked with Coccoli and Rojas. All seemed to agree that Carlos Coccoli was exceptionally brash and ambitious, although that was not so strange for a young man. Umberto Rojas had struck most as somewhat withdrawn. Everybody agreed they were good workers. Nobody knew anything about their personal lives, although one or two—after taking great care to describe themselves as solid family men who had only been passing by on the way to the bus—thought they’d seen the two patronizing some of the seedier bars and other establishments that lined the grimy streets surrounding the yard.
    â€œThose guys weren’t willing to admit anything,” said Ted as he walked through the door into the hotel room, stretched out on the bed’s worn spread and soaked up the air-conditioning, stale air and all. “They obviously knew more but didn’t want to admit it.”
    â€œYeah, this is one of those places where it’s dangerous to know or say too much. But I think we found what the boss sent us here for this morning.”
    â€œYou mean that the two guys worked on Aurora Australis ?”
    â€œRight.”
    â€œBut nothing’s happened to the ship. Nothing’s been found. There’s no intelligence . . .”
    â€œI know, but the boss seems to think there might be something, and I must admit that their having worked on the cruise ship just adds another dot to the picture.”
    â€œIt’s still pretty thin. Don’t you think we’re getting a little carried away with the ‘connecting the dots’ business?”
    â€œWhat about the yard itself?” asked Ray, knowing that Ted had been a third-class shipfitter before transferring to the SEALs.
    â€œThe yard impressed me. Cleaner, better organized than the two we had overhauls in before I joined the ‘chosen. ’ ”
    â€œYou didn’t