Rogue Justice (4 page)

"Sounds dreadful."

Katrina nodded her agreement, continued. "The third piece of the puzzle is genetics. For some unknown reason, animals with cancer are more likely to be inbred than those without it, so bad genes are probably at work here as well. Again, the data are incomplete."

"But Samson's been with us since... since he was a baby. He's eleven now. How could—"

"Well, as you know, killer whales eat about three to four percent of their body weight every day. Samson's what, four tons?"

"Five," Freeman replied, like a proud father.

Katrina quickly did the math in her head. The whales were eating, on average, at least three hundred pounds of food every day. It was very likely that at least some of the fish Samson consumed had been contaminated. She ran the numbers past Freeman, then added, "Over time, healthy cells turn into cancerous cells, causing tumors. It's only a theory, but that's my guess."

Freeman's face went pale. "Samson is dying. Is that what you're telling me, doctor?"

"Yes, sir, he's dying."

Chapter 3

28 March, 3:50 PM PDT

Puget Sound, Washington

Jia-li Han came to sometime later. How much later she wasn't sure. Everything was a blur. Her wrists were tightly bound with hemp rope that had been tethered to the starboard rail. Jason was tied up next to her, little more than an arm's length away. He was still unconscious. She craned her neck, slowly gaining focus, until her eyes locked on Madman. He was alone, pacing back and forth across the Skye Deck, eyeballing her like a cattle rancher judging a prize bull at auction. Jia-li could almost hear his brain clicking, and in that instant, she knew what she was up against. Thinking back, she'd known it the minute the thugs had stormed the boat.

The media machine labeled them "Pirates of the Pacific," a predictable play on the popular movie franchise,
Pirates of the Caribbean
. For two years they had played a cat-and-mouse game with authorities up and down the West Coast, committing ruthless acts of high-seas larceny, each more brazen than the last. And according to police reports, they were even more heartless than their infamous counterparts from Somalia.

The most recent attack—off the southern coast of British Columbia—had left a fifty-six-year-old bank vice-president paralyzed and on life support. Jia-li had covered the story, landing an exclusive sit-down with the victim's grieving wife. It was one of the toughest interviews she'd ever done. Now, crouching in the shadow of evil, she felt every bit as helpless, overcome with one of those pit-of-the-stomach feelings that something horrible was about to happen.

Madman stared at her for another long moment. Finally he spoke, his manner as chilling as his words. "You need to pay close attention to what I say here, snowflake, because I don't mince words, and I never repeat myself. Understand?"

Jia-li nodded, trying to impose a sense of control she did not feel.

"Okay, so here's the deal. My colleagues and I will take care of business, then we'll be on our way. As for you and your boyfriend, say one word to
anyone
and I promise I will hunt you down, I will put your arms where your legs are, and only
then
will I kill you. You got that?"

Jia-li was numb, trembling so hard she could barely speak. "Yes, yes," she stammered. "Take whatever you want and leave us alone."

"That's more like it," Madman said, his eyes firmly planted on her bare breasts. "Damn, you really
are
a gorgeous piece of meat. But then, you already know that, don't you? Your kind always does."

A long silence.

Footsteps broke the spell.

The other pirates climbed the ladder to the Skye Deck, loaded down with the bounty they'd lifted from below. Madman looked over the loot—a Movado watch, pearl earrings, two MacBooks, Czech crystal vase, a bundle of cash, and assorted other goodies. "Respectable haul," he said.

Whitey nodded. She then knelt down on one knee taking Jia-li's left hand in hers. "Yeah, but this, boys,
this
is the mother lode. What's it worth, sweetheart, two hundred grand? Three?"

Jia-li said nothing, tried to pull away, but her wrists were too tightly bound.

Whitey smiled a mischievous smile, then yanked off the engagement ring, a 5-carat Blue Nile stunner in a platinum setting. She stood up, handed it to Madman.

He examined the diamond with an experienced eye. "Well, well, your boyfriend's got good taste, I'll say that much for him."

Madman's next words were drowned out by an earsplitting crack of thunder.

Jia-li glanced up at the turbulent sky, now a cloudy mess of mustard yellow.

It was the birth of a storm. A big one!

"Okay, let's get the hell out of here," Madman barked.

The pirates moved to the ladder and began descending to the main deck, Whitey leading the way. Jia-li felt an overwhelming sense of relief... but it lasted only a fleeting moment. Mohawk hesitated at the top step, stopped, and slowly turned around. "Not so fast," he shouted, his eyes flying up and down her body. "I know this broad. She's on TV. One of them Seattle stations."

It was like getting punched in the gut. "Jason," Jia-li mumbled out of the side of her mouth. "Please come to. Please. Please!" Jason's eyes fluttered a few times, but remained closed.

The other thugs scrambled back up to the Skye Deck, gathered in a semicircle around Jai-li.

"Shit!" Madman screamed. "Are you sure?"

"Damn right, I'm sure. It's been bugging me ever since I laid eyes on her. News at Eleven, ain't that right, anchor lady?" He leaned down, groped Jai-li's breasts.

Shivering with rage, she lashed out with her right foot, landing a crushing blow to Mohawk's groin. He doubled over in pain. "Why, you little bitch, I'll—"

Whitey lurched forward, grabbed Mohawk by the scruff of the neck. "Get up, you moron," she screamed, pulling hard on his collar. He staggered backwards, squawking like an angry crow, arms wind-milling to keep his balance. "How the hell did we miss it?" she shouted. "The goddamn name is a dead giveaway—
Lois
fucking
Lane
."

"Hell if I know," Madman said, a look of cold detachment in his eyes. "But it's really not a problem." Holding the ring in his left hand, he pointed his right index finger at Jia-li's temple like he was holding a gun. Then he pulled an imaginary trigger. "Bling bling, bang bang!" he grumbled, turning to Scarface. "Tank, take care of Clark Kent over here and make it quick."

Jia-li felt a chill rush through her body.

Dropping a name, even a street name, could mean only one thing: certain death.

"No!" she screamed. "We won't say a thing. I swear. Please don't..."

Tank/Scarface ignored her pleas. He pulled a Ruger pistol from the lightweight holster strapped to his belt, worked the slide, and jacked a bullet into the cylinder. The clip held 15-rounds, far more ammunition than this job would require. He then took two angry strides toward Jason, raised the pistol, and took a steady aim.

Jia-li turned away, gasping in horror.

She held her breath, waiting for the explosion.

It never came.

Instead, there was a sudden change in the sea's rhythm, subtle yet unmistakable. Then, a deep rumble shook the air, followed by an uneasy silence. In that moment, the center of gravity shifted and the entire earth seemed to stop its spin.

The pirates froze, their eyes darting about nervously.

Jia-li caught some movement off the port bow, followed by a sharp, piercing sound, like nothing she'd ever heard before. She swiveled around, craning her neck, pain shooting through her arms and shoulders.

It took a few seconds to register.

A dorsal fin—an
immense
dorsal fin.

Then... in a wild, frenzied blur, a black beast shot out of the sea like a giant torpedo, twisting and spinning, towering above the yacht, blocking out the last sliver of sunlight. Fifty, seventy-five, one hundred feet it soared into the angry sky before its massive tail even cleared the water, before it came crashing back to the surface with a ferocious concussion. The big boat lurched violently to one side, began rocking like an amusement ride gone haywire.

Tank/Scarface spun around, his eyes wide in shock. His legs skidded out from under him. The gun flew from his hand, swallowed instantly by the sea. The other pirates scurried along the deck grabbing for anything they could hold onto. Just then a second monster streaked past the yacht, going so fast Jia-li could barely follow its path. It burst through the surface in a spectacular breach, its back impossibly arched, torrents of water cascading down like a giant waterfall. Moments later, a third monster appeared, then another, and finally a fifth creature. They converged from every direction, moving with military precision, their giant tail flukes slapping the water in an awesome display of mass and power.

Swish, swish—WHACK! Swish, swish—WHACK! Swish, swish—WHACK!

Jia-li watched in astonishment.

Mohawk was the first to go, smeared by two colliding waves. An instant later, the other three pirates were swept overboard, their arms flailing about in the roiling waters. The giant beasts soon thundered around them forming a feeding carousel. They moved slowly at first, then gradually picked up speed as if powerful turbo-thruster engines had just kicked in.

The wind growled, thunder crashed, deafening loud and very close, followed by sustained bursts of lightning. Heavy rain drops began pelting the deck in blinding, horizontal sheets. Mountainous waves whipped the ocean into a fury of foam.

The scene was bedlam.

The pirates were now fifty feet off the port bow in a loose circle, clawing their way up and down the rising swells, groping for outstretched hands. They rode one wave after another, reaching the crest only to plunge down the back side into a swirling whirlpool, their frantic screams quickly whipped away by the wind and rain.

In the next instant, the underwater assassins burst from the raging black sea, vocalizing in a series of high-frequency calls that sounded like a chorus of shrill whistles. The noise was deafening, a ferocious sound that nearly shattered Jia-li's eardrums. She turned her head, forcing herself to look at the terrifying scene.

That's when they struck... with homicidal ferocity.

Whitey screamed bloody murder as fierce, twelve-inch conical teeth—teeth designed to tear, not chew—tore through her upper body, ripping apart tendons and crushing bones. The huge black mass wrenched her out of the water, soaring skyward in a wild shower of spray. For a long moment, they hung there together, suspended in mid-air, the writhing woman so tiny in the mouth of the giant beast, she didn't seem real.

"Good God, Jason!" Jia-li cried, fighting back nausea. "Did you see that?" The creature had dropped its prey and thick chunks of flesh were now hanging from its mouth.

Jason groaned, his eyes fluttered open, but no words came out.

Then, a second monster exploded from the depths. Mohawk spun around, his eyes wild with fear, his face dead pale. It was over in seconds. His legs disappeared, severed at the hips. He barely had time to scream.

An instant later, a third creature burst from the water, Tank/Scarface squirming in its mouth. Red rain streamed from gaping wounds in his neck and abdomen, the flesh completely shredded. He let loose a hideous cry that seemed to come from some other world, a shriek beyond agony.

Jason finally stirred. "Jesus," he muttered. "His guts are falling out."

Tank/Scarface was dead before he hit the water.

As the monster crashed back to sea, a huge wave torpedoed the
Lois Lane,
nearly capsizing the big yacht. The boat rocked wildly to port, then to starboard, back and forth, like a cradle in the hands of an angry giant. Loud thunder rumbled across the sky, followed by another wicked flash of lightning. The rain was coming harder now, so hard Jia-li could barely see. Her eyes stung. She tasted blood. The hurting cold cut to the bone. Then, amid the confusion and chaos, she spotted Madman. He was swimming hard and going nowhere. For an instant their eyes locked and, strangely, an image of Saddam Hussein flashed across her mind. She had reported on his execution in 2006, watched the pirated video of the hangman's noose tightening around his neck. Different fiend, same expression: defiant, yet panicked.