Making Waves by Tawna Fenske

Author:Tawna Fenske
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Published: 2011-09-07T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

“Okay, Phyllis, explain it again slowly,” Alex said.

They were all fully dressed now, and everyone was clustered around the table in the pilothouse looking faintly green. Jake was steering the boat, but his eyes were on the group, and his expression was grim.

Juli folded her hands in her lap, uncertain what was happening but certain she didn’t want to miss a word of it.

“I started getting some funny readings on the GPS tracker,” Phyllis said, taking a swallow of the water Cody handed her. “I thought it was a glitch at first, but then the alert went off for the ShipSafe system.”

“Jesus,” Jake hissed.

“Is something wrong with our boat?” Juli asked, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. “Are we sinking?”

Alex shook his head. “Our boat is just fine.”

Juli stared, trying to understand. “The boat you’re hijacking?” she guessed, still lost in the conversation.

Cody set a tray of cookies down beside a milk pitcher on the table. “Isn’t ShipSafe designed to alert the authorities?”

“Normally, yes,” Alex said, glancing warily at Juli. “That’s what the system is supposed to do. But obviously they would have disarmed that part of the software for an off-the-books operation like this.”

“I don’t understand,” Juli said. “What’s ShipSafe? What are you talking about?”

Jake sighed and broke a cookie in half, then ignored the two pieces. “It’s an alert system used in the shipping industry,” he said. “It uses a hidden computer to monitor the ship’s position. If anyone breaches a fiber-optic network around the perimeter of the vessel, it sends a signal to the ship’s crew and to the authorities on shore.”

Juli stared at the faces around the table, each more grim than the other. She frowned, trying to put the pieces together. “So something’s wrong on the ship you’re planning to rob. How do you know about it?”

Alex took a piece of cookie from Jake and began breaking it into smaller bits. “Let’s just say we’ve got a connection to the company operating the ship. We know the systems, the technology.”

“So you’re monitoring the ship,” Juli said. “And now something happened.”

“Which way is it headed, Phyllis?” Alex said, moving around her to check the controls.

“Southwest, last I checked,” she said.

“It’ll go right past us at that rate,” Jake said.

“It’s heading back the way we’ve just come?” Cody asked, clearly confused.

“Someone else must be controlling the ship,” Alex said. “Not our guys anymore. That has to be it.”

“Maybe that’s not it,” Jake argued. “Maybe the system malfunctioned or something.”

Phyllis folded her arms over her chest and glared at Jake. “I designed that system. It didn’t malfunction. No way.”

Cody frowned. “Maybe they’re rerouting for some reason? Bad weather? Just a change of plans?”

“We’ve been monitoring all their communication,” Alex pointed out. “We’d know about any foul weather or changes in plans.”

“Well, they’re sure as hell not going to be at the refueling station tomorrow afternoon,” Phyllis said. “That much we know.”

Alex stared at the controls, a frown etched on his face.

“So let me get this straight,” Juli said, grabbing a small stack of cookies and biting into one.

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