Free Devlin's Defiance: Book Two of the Devlin Quatrology by Jake Devlin Page A

bay, she climbed aboard and
then looked out and down.
    “ Oh, fuck! The
other one is hanging below. Shit, shit, shit.”
    “ Becks, we've got
to go now!” A bolt of lightning far behind them startled
everyone on the helo. “NOW! Buckle in.”
    “ Shit, shit,
shit,” Becky said, wiping either tears or rain from her face.
“Got a GPS reading, at least?”
    “ Of course.
We'll come back and search after the storm passes.”
    “ Shit. Okay.”
    The helo, with its dual
cargo hanging below, rose up and raced the storm and the drone toward
the launch.

- 34 -
    November
13, 2012 7:27 a.m. local time
    Aboard Defiance
    On
t he
Red Sea

    The helicopter
approached, its cargo net bulging with a dozen 55-gallon drums,
hovered over the aft helipad until the yacht crew had unloaded and
stowed the drums, and then settled down on the pad. The side door
slid open, revealing a large wooden crate and six men, four in
unmarked drab uniforms, two in khakis and polo shirts, with hoods
over their heads.
    “ Ah, at last,”
Jake said, smiling.
    “ What's that?”
Pam asked.
    “ A new toy; let
it be a surprise once it's installed, okay?”
    “ Okay, Jake, if
you insist.”
    Six men from the yacht
crew picked up the crate and took it below. One of the uniformed men
gently escorted the hooded men off the craft and below, following the
crate; two more followed, carrying two duffel bags, two backpacks and
two suitcases.
    The fourth walked over
to Jake, Pam and JJ, nodded at Jake and said, “Sir, we'll be
ready to leave as soon as the equipment is unloaded and the techs get
started installing it; should be less than ten minutes. We'll return
for them once it's up and running; should be two or three days.”
    “ Very good.
Second cell in the brig, correct?”
    “ That's where I
was told it was to go, sir, yes.”
    “ And the techs
understand the reasons for the hoods and their isolation while they
get it installed, right?
    “ Absolutely,
sir.”
    “ Very good.
    “ And this is your
passenger,” Jake said, indicating JJ.
    “ Pleasure to have
you aboard, ma'am.”
    “ Thank you.”
    “ Have you been in
a copter before?”
    “ Sonny, back in
the '80s, I piloted 'em.”
    “ Really?”
    “ Really. And
those were a lot more bare bones than this one.”
    “ Well, we'll try
to make you as comfortable as possible until we land and transfer you
to the jet to the US. That will be much more comfy.”
    “ Or wouldn't that
be 'comfier'?” Pam said, chuckling and nudging Jake.
    “ Pardon me,
ma'am?”
    “ Inside joke,”
Jake said. “Never mind.”
    “ Yes, sir.”
    When everything had
been unloaded and taken below, and JJ's luggage had been loaded,
Jake, Pam and JJ shared a final hug, JJ got into the helicopter, and
it took off in a light mist.
    Jake and Pam, wiping
either the mist or tears from their eyes, gave a final wave and, once
the helo was out of sight, headed below.

- 35 -
    November
13, 2012 4:41 a.m. local time
    On the Aegean Sea

    The helicopter lowered
the two jet skis onto the aft deck of the launch, then landed and was
tied down securely. The passengers debarked, followed by Becky and
Craig, and all hurried into the main cabin as the storm hit with all
its fury.
    Four hours later, as
the storm passed and the skies cleared, both the drone and the helo
searched for Cam until dusk, finding nothing.
    The jet ski at the end
of the rope had a foot-long, shredded hole in the bow, just below the
waterline, with what was later determined to be pieces of bull shark
skin embedded in the edges. The jet pack was still locked in place,
but no sign of Cam was ever found, and even Becky was finally forced
to come to the inevitable conclusion that she never would be.
    The storm had washed
all signs of the battle at the monastery into the sea, but a small
crew returned to repair the front door and do a final inspection to
be sure that nothing inside or outside indicated anything other than
abandonment.
    The following Sunday,
Becky and Nate