I could feel my eyebrows inching towards my hairline. “Seriously? How can anyone be that secretive, especially in this day in age?”
The man shrugged. He’d drawn one leg up to his chest so he could drape his arm over it. The other hand plucked at the grass beneath us, his gaze dropping for a moment as he seemed to think.
“About five years ago, I was on a mission, deep in a South American jungle, far down the Amazon. Our job was to take out one of the few bases of theirs we’d been able to ferret out. We managed to take out most of the base, but we didn’t learn much from the mission. But they’d already scrubbed the base clean—most of the equipment was gone, and what wasn’t gone had been destroyed. We caught them when they were already moving on.”
“Where were they going?”
He shook his head. “No idea. The terrorists didn’t give up without a fight. A few escaped and apparently made their way here. We managed to capture two alive, but one was too badly wounded, and the other took a cyanide pill before we could question him.”
The answer made me shiver. Was that anything like the movies depicted? I swallowed the question because I’d already watched two men die. I didn’t want to carry images of a third for the rest of my life.
“So, what’s their goal?”
Again, the soldier shrugged. “That’s the problem—we don’t know. After that mission, they fell off the map and seemed to go dormant. Not that there was much about them before, but they were entirely silent. But it looks like they’ve picked up again.”
“Why now?”
Pieces of picked-apart grass littered the ground around the man’s feet. He may not have been outwardly upset, but something about this was clearly bothering him. “No idea. We didn’t even know what we were dealing with when my team and I set out for the island. Nobody knows who heads the organization, where they’re based, how they recruit, or the location of their bases. We don’t even know why they do what they do—they keep silent on their motivations.”
“They’re not out there celebrating their wins, you mean?” I asked.
“No. This terror cell doesn’t broadcast anything, so we have no motive behind their actions. They seem to want to sow seeds of chaos, pit country against country. In the past, the origin of the attacks has been indeterminate, and often two countries ended up blaming each other while denying any involvement. But the terrorist cell carries out their missions so well, no one can prove who’s telling the truth and who isn’t.”
“Which sounds extremely dangerous?” I hazarded.
The soldier nodded, then remained quiet for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was soft, strained. “My guess is they want to start a conflict, a big conflict, even World War Three. They must have been using that island as a base from which to operate, laying the groundwork to disrupt communications and power by cutting the Internet cables before launching something else. Something big and toward both sides, so each country blames the other.”
“Russia and Japan?”
“Yes.”
Disputed territories would undoubtedly be the place from which to launch such an attack—both countries had been fighting over the islands for almost a century, tensions escalating and deescalating. It wasn’t a big jump to assume one had decided to go the distance this time.
“Do you think we stopped them at all?” Hope sprang eternal, and between this SEAL and his teammates, they’d killed a lot of terrorists.
But my heart sank when he shook his head. “No. I would bet my life that there are more of them. Many more. We only slowed them down, hopefully, made them think we were on to them, and that they need to be slower and more cautious with their plans.”
I swallowed, fear like acid in my mouth. This was as bad as it could get, and we were stuck here on this island.
“The islanders all seemed anxious,” I said, remembering the day that seemed to be years ago.
His blue eyes rose to meet mine, suddenly sharp. “They were?”
I nodded, still thinking back. “I had to get a ride to the research station because I didn’t want to hike, but no one would take me, until I finally found one woman who was willing. They all seemed incredibly nervous about something.”
The eyes narrowed. “You think they knew something?”
I had no answer for him. “Either they knew, or they noticed something wrong. Either way, I’m sure they were terrified out of their minds, probably kept their noses down to stay out of trouble.”
I could see thoughts spinning behind the soldier’s eyes at my words. Then he shook his head. “They must be somewhere on the uninhabited side of that island. We need to get word to my commander. We have to get off this island and back to Japanese territory.”
“How do we do that?”
He looked back in the direction of the boat. “I had an idea to row back to the island once the terrorists stopped looking for us and the heat was off. But now that I know who they are, I don’t think that will be possible. They know how to play the long game. So, maybe we row back towards Japan. Take supplies with us.”
I watched the man for a moment, my eyes wide, wondering if he really meant what he’d said.
“Do you know where we are?” I finally asked.