ATLANTIS RESEARCH VESSEL — DAYBREAK 

Cat nudged her chair close to the conference table and tapped the enter key on her laptop. The communication program started up and linked her to Director Hardy in a matter of seconds. She transferred the incoming signal to the flat screen monitor mounted on the back wall of the cramped meeting room. The high-definition display emphasized the craggy lines feathering out from the corners of the director's eyes. She was about to watch the wrinkles grow like algae on a dying coral reef with the news she had to bear.

"What is it now?" Hardy asked. "I hope you're calling to tell me they're all aboard the Atlantis and ready to set sail."

How was she going to break this? "Something's come up."

"I can feel a gray hair sprouting as we speak. What is it?"

"It's Sarah."

The color drained from his face. She didn't need to say another word except to inform him of how severe the problem was. Cat looked down to avoid his stare, but only bumped into his fiery countenance on her laptop screen. She could tell from his arched brows, which loomed like a pair of thunderheads, that he was on the verge of hopping the next plane to Sydney.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice hollow.

"Zanderthal's chauffeur slash security chief abducted her. His name is Takeshi Ishikawa."

"What... how?" Hardy shook his head. "I don't understand. They were all at the hotel, safe, last night."

Cat rehashed the account Jake and Tony gave her of the early morning events. "Ishikawa is likely the same individual who blasted Sarah's house."

"Yeah, I know who he is, remember? I'm the one who sent you the pictures from Tahiti. I'm going to contact Zanderthal now and threaten to take his entire scheme to the media."

"That might drive him to more violence, William." Cat was the only person who called him by his first name, for reasons they liked to keep secret. "We've already got evidence linking him to three murders. What's a fourth one to him?"

Hardy opened his mouth to speak, looked at her for a moment, seemed to read her mind, and then lit into her. "Don't even tell me Jake and Tony have hatched a plan to rescue her."

Cat hesitated and wanted to glance away, but his penetrating gaze trapped her. When she found the nerve to speak, she chose her words carefully. "I've also got plans to use the security force we hired for the Atlantis."

"I take it that's not your first option."

"I'm about to send them on a mission to Zanderthal's remote compound."

"So you've already sent Jake and Tony out for recon?"

"That's correct. They've found something. A ship." She told him about the three semi trucks and the sea port thirty miles south of Sydney.

"To do it in the middle of the night means he wanted as little fanfare as possible," Hardy said with a pained face.

"They may or may not be setting sail at the moment, but regardless, Jake and Tony are on their way back to the quay to prepare for the inevitable." Cat checked her watch. "I expect them any minute."

"So what's next? Do they believe Sarah is being held on the ship?"

"They do, but I'm not so sure," Cat said. "That's why I'm sending the SEAL team to the remote compound tonight, because I think it's best to send them in under the cover of darkness. I'd like to do something now, but the sun is up. They keep the place secured and guarded. Later, when the time is right, they'll move in, do what they do best and move out, hopefully with Sarah in their possession. I'm also going to let Jake and Tony search the ship. The plan is to hit both places at sundown. The simultaneous operations might keep us from tipping our hand to Zanderthal, because if we raid one place and she's not there, he could move her to another location and we might never find her."

"My bet is on the ship. Why not send the SEAL team there first?"

"Jake's afraid the six-man force won't be subtle enough. He thinks they might get her killed."

"You're kidding me," Hardy said with a sarcastic sneer. "Navy SEALs are arguably the toughest special forces unit in the United States military, trained under the most stringent conditions. They could blend in with pavement in broad daylight."

"I know Jake and Tony aren't killers, but use your gut here, they're not slouches. Jake is former Navy, and Tony's ex-Army... Tony's climbed out of the Grand Canyon with nothing more than a backpack, a canteen and a pocketknife."

"He lost his raft in the rapids looking for gold."

"He might have found it if Jake had been there."

"Maybe."

"My point is Jake and Tony have saved Sarah before. They can do it again." Cat's last statement surprised her.

Hardy clenched his jaw tight and then blew a gust of air from his mouth. "Keep me abreast of what happens tonight, and I want the security team ready to jump in if necessary."

"Of course," Cat said.

Hardy looked away for a moment and then refocused his blazing eyes. "Jake and Tony better know what they're doing."

Cat didn't dare end the transmission, but waited a few seconds, their eyes locked in a silent stare. Then Hardy's face disappeared, and the screen went black. After he cut the connection on his end, she closed the laptop and sat in the room's quietness, recalling a night in Key West at a beachside restaurant called The Crab Factory. It wasn't business, a vacation, a tax writeoff. The company trip took place when Jake and Sarah were still together. Hardy sat at the head of the table with Cat next to him, the two playing footsie and making discreet eye contact with each other. Across from Cat, Sarah laughed, elbowing Jake in the ribs. Tony and Kevin were there. Rachel and Ben Porter were not. They were too new to go. Cat remembered how much fun they had that night. The king crab. The lobster. Sarah's dimples and playfulness. How much Jake and Sarah loved each other. She tried not to think about Kevin's betrayal. She knew about his sister's condition, but still...

The memory squeezed a tear from the corner of her eye; the drop running down her cheek. Only then did she realize the door behind her had creaked open. Cat wiped her face and swiveled her chair.

"Thanks for standing up for us," Jake said as he and Tony sat opposite of each other at the conference table.

"How long were you two listening?"

"Long enough," Tony said. "Considering the big guy's mood, we didn't think it wise to barge in unexpected."

"So, did you see anything that might reveal what Zanderthal is up to?"

"Nothing concrete," Jake replied. His voice sounded deflated, like he was near the breaking point. "But I'm sure it has something to do with his secret operation. He could be headed for China."

"China?" A fog of confusion settled over Cat.

"That was something I forgot to mention, given Sarah's abduction. When we infiltrated the compound, we noticed a group of military officials. I'm not a hundred percent sure, but the men appeared Chinese. They talked in some sort of foreign language, although, come to think of it, they could be Korean."

"Our guess is," Tony said, "the billionaire is planning to sell his growth hormone to China... or Korea, or both."

Cat didn't have to say what she was thinking. They had to put a stop to this.

"When does the Atlantis leave port?" Jake asked.

A vibration rattled through the research ship. The engines had fired up.

"Now," she replied. "I've informed the captain of our next move. I suggest you two get some sleep. We'll anchor a few miles offshore, out of sight. After lunchtime, say noon-ish, you two can get started on the preliminaries. You've got your work cut out for you."

Jake put his elbows on the table and buried his head in his hands. Then he looked up at Cat. "How are we supposed to sleep with Sarah out there... with them?"

She didn't reply, only looked away.