42

A FAMILIAR KNOCK AT THE STATEROOM DOOR WOKE CHO. HE EXCHANGED a glance with his roommate, a hulking noncommissioned officer with a large collection of violent tattoos. On this trip, his name was Kang.

A second, more urgent knock sounded just as Cho opened the door. Mr. Lee stood outside, dressed in pants and a wrinkled t-shirt. “Sorry, sir. We were asleep.”

“Both of you come to my room now.” He turned on his heel and was gone.

Cho and Kang quickly pulled on some clothes. Sixty seconds later, they walked into Mr. Lee’s stateroom. Cho stopped in the doorway in surprise.

Jenkins sat in the room’s only chair, which folded out of the wall near a collapsible desk. He looked both nervous and pleased with himself.

Mr. Lee sat on his bed and nodded to Jenkins. “Go on, Mr. Jenkins.”

“I just talked to Granger and Daniels.”

“Yes, you said you would take care of them. This happened?”

The big American’s eyes flicked back and forth between Kang and Cho. “Not yet. They’re not as, um, reasonable as I am.”

Cho rubbed his eyes. Was there no end to the greed of these filthy capitalists? “How much do they want?”

“It’s not really a problem of… of numbers. They’re convinced that you’re going to try to blow up Los Angeles or something. I tried to talk sense into them, but it didn’t work. Granger can be an idiot sometimes, and Daniels believes whatever Granger tells him.”

So Granger and Daniels were potential allies. Best to stop this conversation now and continue it outside the presence of Mr. Lee and Kang. “Thank you for informing to us, Mr. Jenkins.” He turned to Mr. Lee. “Sir, would you like me to take care of this?”

Mr. Lee nodded.

“Mr. Jenkins, there is no need to keep these men awake. You and I can talk outside.”

Cho started to open the door, but Jenkins held up his hand. “Hold on, hold on. I haven’t told you everything yet. They’re planning something.”

Mr. Lee leaned forward. “What?”

“They want me to send a message to the Navy the next time I’m in the radio room. They’re going to try to set off a bomb as a distraction.”

Mr. Lee’s face hardened into a stern frown. “I see. Mr. Cho, Mr. Kang—please do what is necessary. Mr. Jenkins, have you ever operated an ROV?”

“Not this one. Granger won’t let anyone touch it, except him and Daniels.”

“You must operate it for the rest of the voyage.”

Jenkins’s eyes widened and he jerked upright. “I can’t do that! That’s why we’ve got Granger and Daniels, remember?”

“We will not have Granger and Daniels any longer. You will learn to operate this ROV or you will lose the remaining $2.5 million.” Jenkins opened his mouth to protest, but Mr. Lee cut him off. “And if you are not cautious, you will lose much more.”