The Collectors Book Six: Black Gold (The Collectors Series 6) Read Free Page B

blue sky covered Durban as HMS Decoy came alongside the stone jetty.
                  Seamen secured stern and bow lines followed by springs. The exec turned to his captain. “Shall I finish with main engines, sir?”
                  “Yes. Finish with main engines, number one. Must go and say goodbye to our guests.”
                  Combs, smiling, joined Daniel, Andy, and their crew as the gangway lowered into position. On the jetty a coach waited to take them to customs and on to their hotel. In their Royal Navy dark blue overalls they looked a motley bunch.
                  Daniel turned to Combs. “Thanks for everything, Commander. I can assure you we do appreciate it. Maybe one day we’ll meet again and I can offer you a drink in my cabin.”
                  He shrugged. “I’d like that very much.”
                  The moment the gangway was secured the Goliath’s crew ran to the waiting coach.
                  Daniel’s eyes gazed forward and aft. “This is an impressive ship. I would have loved to command her. How long are you in port?”
                  “Once my engineering department has refuelled and watered we head for Bahrain. Believe it or not, we start our patrol off Somalia in a week. The pirates who took over your tanker have changed their game plan.”
                  The coach driver sounded his horn. “Someone’s in a hurry,” said Andy.
                  “Thanks again, Commander.” Daniel and Andy shook his hand and strolled across the gangway.
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    Twenty miles from the west coast of India, Linda Liu checked the tidal stream and speed of Goliath. Her fingers operated the keyboard as she made minor corrections. She estimated Goliath would enter the dug channel at the peak of the spring tide.
                  She lifted her sat-phone and pressed a memory key. It was answered at once. A man asked, “Is everything ready?”
                  She paced from port to starboard. “The vessel is at maximum speed and on course.” The line went dead as she shoved the unit into her pocket.
                  The light breeze from the north did not affect the empty Goliath as the computerised controls compensated for tidal stream, wind speed and adjusted the course. The sea changed colour from an azure blue to grey and then black as Goliath sped on. Linda scanned her approach. Aged ships of every size and type, in various stages of being broken, littered the shore. More than a dozen obsolete tankers anchored in the bay floated high in the polluted sea. The gap between a freighter and a car ferry ahead of them did not appear wide enough.
                  One mile from the shore she called her men to the bridge. Each arrived carrying a mattress. “On the deck.” They knew why and laughed.
                  At twenty four knots Goliath charged between the two vessels. With both hands Linda gripped the safety rail, bent her knees and stared straight ahead. The noise of destruction roared as metal tore at metal. The excitement within her came alive as the screech of steel being ripped apart became deafening. She placed one hand between her thighs and rubbed. Then with a massive jolt the bow ploughed into wet sand. The revolution counter slowed as the propellers stirred silt. The lights went out as the generator overheated. Then silence as the main engines stopped. Linda shuddered, almost collapsing on the deck.
                  Gangs of men in filth-ingrained overalls descended onto the deck with cutting torches and began to carve holes in the steel and disfigure the superstructure.
                  Linda’s team jumped to their feet, bounded down the central stairway and trudged across the deck. Each carried one, sometimes two, suitcases filled with items which once belonged to the