Isaac Bell 12 - The Saboteurs by Clive Cussler

Author:Clive Cussler
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2021-05-25T00:00:00+00:00

21

Bell was released from the hospital the next morning. His head was feeling clearer, though the retrograde amnesia persisted, and the knot above his brow was noticeably red. In addition, he had bruises on his arms, legs, and shoulders. None of his joints were impaired, thankfully. He wasn’t in top form, he freely admitted, but he could function.

It was on the drive from the Ancon Hospital to the Central Hotel that Bell began to sense rising paranoia in himself. Not knowing what had happened on the road from Gamboa made him feel vulnerable, and that made him imagine danger lurking all around. He no longer saw people walking the streets as they went about their business. He saw potential threats.

If he’d become a target of the Viboras, he realized that they could come after him at any time and any place and in any manner they chose. The passenger in the car next to him, as they idled at a crossing for a train to pass, could pull a gun and shoot him without warning. There was a man selling fruit juice, from a big brass urn strapped to his back, on the sidewalk outside the hotel. He could knife Bell, as he passed, then vanish in the crowd. There could be a sniper on just about any rooftop or window within a three-block radius.

That was the power of an insurgency, Bell knew, its ability to blend in and carry out attacks without provocation or warning. How does one fight an enemy you can’t detect until after they’ve struck? He thought about the guerrilla war grinding on in the Philippines and knew a long occupation doesn’t work. To end this, Bell had to think of some other way or the body count would continue to rise.

“Are you okay?” Marion asked. She was seated next to him in the hired car.

Sam Westbrook had been apologetic but resolute about Bell’s not borrowing a second government vehicle. He was already on the hook for the first truck’s loss and had to find a way of hiding it from the accountants. He did arrange for Isaac to rent a car from a friend who was laid up with a broken leg and couldn’t drive.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“You seem a little jumpy.”

“Vigilant,” he countered. “Not knowing who my enemies are is making me see them everywhere.”

“Isaac, you can’t go on like this.”

“Don’t you see? I’ve gotten to them. I think that’s why they tried to kill me.” He paused, then explained. “Every time an insurgency reveals itself, be it an attack or just graffitiing their name on a wall, they risk exposure. They must balance that risk with the reward. Understand?”

“Yes.”

“For them to expose themselves and try to kill me shows I am a danger to them, even if I’m not sure why.”

“I don’t like this, Isaac,” she said, unable to stop herself. “I manage to keep myself together when you’re on a case because I know how clever you are. But, right now, you’re not yourself.

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