Deep Rising (An Outside the Lines Novel) (Entangled Select) Read Free Page A

Interpol and British intelligence.”
    “I already did,” Katherine assured him. “British SAS is sending in a team.”
    “What about the preliminary reports?”
    Katherine thumbed through the data recorded by NOAA and CIA satellites. “The wave traveled at a speed of sixty-four meters per second. From the onset of the earthquake and subsequent landslide as recorded, it took two minutes for the wave train to hit land. Even with a warning, there wouldn’t have been time to evacuate.”
    “How many casualties?”
    “Total? So far, twelve hundred and nine. American, eighty-six.”
    Gordon shifted in his chair. The last major, media-grabbing tsunami had occurred in Sumatra, and it had amassed more than two hundred thousand casualties. This limited death toll would be in and out of the news within a week.
    “What did we learn about the blast?” he asked.
    “Next to nothing. Luckily, the Italians know better than to cast any stones until they know where to throw them. Besides, tourism is the lifeblood of the region. Until they apprehend someone or have a decent lead, they aren’t about to broadcast how ill-prepared and inadequate their defenses are.”
    “If only every country were so reticent. What about Immigration?”
    “No Islamic, Russian, Korean, or South African notables have entered the area within the last two weeks,” Katherine said. “Harbor registers throughout the Mediterranean are notoriously lax. Ischia is off the coast of Naples and it’s a hot spot for yachts. It’s possible one of our most-wanted terrorists decided to go nautical.”
    Or it could be an unknown , Gordon thought. Thousands of whom popped up on their radar for a single, random act of violence before retreating into obscurity. Wild cards presented the most difficult miscreants to track. Gordon folded his fingers into a steeple. He closed his eyes to concentrate.
    “There are two naval carriers on hand…”
    Gordon shook his head. “The last administration used fear tactics to instigate wars,” he argued. “I’ll be damned if I’ll let this turn into another call to arms.”
    “It was only a suggestion, sir. Intel reveals a striking similarity between the attack and a scenario presented by…” Katherine paused and flipped through her papers. “Dr. Svetlana Orskya.”
    “Yes. I drew the same conclusion. I called in Jared Caldwell. He’ll apprehend and interrogate Svetlana.”
    Katherine smiled. “That woman doesn’t stand a chance.”

Chapter Three
    September 8 - 9:16 am
    The Isle of Ischia
    The Petite Cherie idled into the harbor, approaching the jetty at a forty-five. The boat glided into position against the dock with satin ease, a compliment to Randall’s skill at the helm and to the current weather conditions in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The first leg of the journey, flying from Marrakech to Naples, had been uneventful too.
    Jared stepped off the stern and onto the dock. He wore suit pants, leather loafers, and a white collared shirt. He completed the ensemble with an ugly navy tie. He looked like a representative for the American government, and with a glaring ID badge slung around his neck, Jared wouldn’t chance being mistaken for anything else.
    Debris littered the cove. Shards of wood, pieces of roof, paper, clothing. Confronting an enemy proved relatively painless in comparison to witnessing the senseless slaughter and devastation of the innocent. As he walked along the deck, Jared scanned the water. At any moment, he expected a bloated body to float up to greet him.
    Sliding a pair of sunglasses into place, he cleared the end of the bulkhead before a trio of Italian police officers cornered him.
    “ Buona sera ,” he said, flashing his badge.
    One of the Polizia di Stato , a fair-skinned man with jet-black hair and eyes, stepped forward and removed the badge from Jared’s neck. He punched a button on the radio he held and rattled off Jared’s information.
    “Hold up, partner,” Jared drawled. “My