Free Rogue Justice by William Neal

a study in contrasts. Heads—she is strong, resolute, scary-smart, and impetuous. Tails—she is somewhat shy, aloof, restless, and emotionally vulnerable. Or, as her first mate described her, "Skip is Thelma and Louise rolled into one."
    Zora's adventure begins in the mountains northwest of Boise in the spring of 1976...
    Chandler scanned the rest of the story: Grew up running the rivers of Idaho... parents fearless adventurers... vagabond lifestyle... fierce independent streak... loses father at young age... soldiers on with mother... graduates high school at age sixteen... awarded graduate degree from Stanford at twenty... backpacks around the world... befriends the Dalai Lama... establishes orphanage in Nepal.
    The woman's bold foray into the world of commercial fishing and her dramatic rescue in the Bering Sea played out in all their glory, clearly written by a journalist who knew her craft. But what really grabbed Chandler's attention was the captain's fascination with the Dalai Lama and his nineteen "instructions for life." She claimed that three of those instructions had profoundly impacted her own life: One, be gentle with the earth. Two, great love and great achievements involve great risk. Three, learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
    Chandler read over the short list several times, smiled, and lowered the magazine to his lap. He had always considered the Dalai Lama to be timid and weak, yet surprisingly the man's philosophies seemed to closely mirror those of the great Sun Tzu.
    Leaning back on the sofa, he closed his eyes... and a plan began to take shape.
    It was a good one, too.
    Brilliant, audacious, imaginative—and risky as hell!
    Just his style. He'd never been one to take the easy route. Tackling the seemingly impossible had always been a lot more fun and infinitely more rewarding.
    But this was a whole new ball game.

 
     
     
    Chapter 10

     
    29 March, 2:30 AM PDT
    Marin County, California
    Savannah soon returned, wearing slim-fitting, midnight black velour pants and matching hoodie. She sat down and curled up against the end of the sofa. Taking a sip from her drink, she said, "Hell of an article, isn't it? That woman—Zora what's her name—is either the bravest person on the planet, or the craziest, I'm not sure which."
    "I agree," Chandler said, lifting the magazine, and scanning down the page. "I especially like the part where one of her crew says, 'She gets rammed by the biggest damn shark I'd ever seen, does this insane acrobatic flip, then comes firing with a freakin' pistol—and there we are standing on deck with our dicks in the wind and our jaws hanging open.'"
    Savannah chuckled. "Yeah, nice imagery, don't you think?"
    "The captain's a piece of work, all right. And she just might be our ticket out of this mess."
    "How? What do you mean?"
    Chandler understood Savannah's confusion. He spent the next twenty minutes fleshing out his plan, going over it this way, then that, as it took shape in his mind. She looked at him the entire time like his hair was on fire.
    "Okay, let me see if I've got this straight, Mitchell," Savannah said. "The sick whale dies and you somehow convince the captain here to dispose of the body, then capture his replacement. I don't see that going particularly well, but let's say, for the sake of argument, she pulls it off. You then have someone train the new and improved Samson to perform just like the old one and hope no one notices. Is that about it?"
    "Yeah, that's about it. Look, Savannah, killer whales are practically indistinguishable from one another, right? They're like penguins. Do you really think anyone will be able to tell the difference?"
    "The average Joe? Maybe not. But what about Big Boy, the trainers, the marine biologist? They're gonna know."
    "Our people will keep their mouths shut, and there are ways to deal with the scientist."
    "Money and muscle."
    "Powerful incentives, Savannah."
    She took another sip of her drink, peered