Page 45 of Croatia Collateral

“Precisely,” Maas said. “There are too many people in China as it is. Losing twenty-five million is a drop in the bucket of the over 1.4 billion who live there. That kind of jolt to their population and economy will provide opportunity for so many other corporations across the globe.”

“It’s murder,” Dax said.

“And unleashing a virus on the world wasn’t murder?” Maas demanded. He turned to Yamaguchi. “Let’s get this ball rolling.” To Rabinovich he said, “Get these two out of here. Take them to the dungeon.”

Giva would have snorted softly. Like all the rooms in the dark basement of Old Town, Dubrovnik wasn’t part of a dungeon? She almost asked what could be worse but thought better of it. By the look on Maas’s face, he had worse in his dungeon of horrors.

As if he’d read her mind, Maas gave a maniacal smile. “I had it outfitted with traditional shackles and torture devices used back when they built this city. After we take care of business, we’ll work them over. I’m betting if I use those torture devices on the girl, my imposter will squeal like a stuck pig. I want to know who sent them.” His eyes narrowed. “Just don’t let them go or let them out of your sight.”

Rabinovich gave orders in Russian.

One guard took her ankles, and the other slipped his hands beneath her shoulders. Evan keyed the code into the pad, making the door swing open.

The other two guards carried Dax out first.

As they passed Evan, the wealthy, crazy man, shook his head. “He looks nothing like me.”

“I beg to differ,” Yamaguchi said as she stepped up beside him. “The resemblance is uncanny.”

Maas snorted disdainfully. “You were too easily fooled.” He handed his stun gun to the Russian leading the guards. “Use this if needed.”

Rabinovich translated.

The lead man nodded and tucked the stun gun in his jacket pocket.

Maas turned back to Yamaguchi. “Now show me what he damaged, and I’ll tell you if I can fix it.”

As Giva was carried through the door, she could hear Maas and Yamaguchi discussing the biometric scanner.

“It’s a special brand,” Maas said. “If it’s broken, I can have another flown in overnight.”

“We can’t wait that long,” Yamaguchi argued. “There must be another way to work around it.”

The door closed before Giva could hear Maas’s response.

They had to get free of the Russian guards and stop Maas from carrying out their plan. The Chinese government couldn’t ignore an attack that impacted that many people and such a major port. They would look for the culprit and rain fire down on them.

Giva counted the number of guards positioned outside the door leading into the command center and along the passage to Maas’s dungeon.

Two guards stood on either side of the door. Each man held a military-grade rifle with a thirty-round magazine.

They had to get free first and then leave the subterranean maze of Old Town to report back to the team. Maybe Dmytro had a way of blocking the computer commands that would activate whatever device Maas had created to deliver such a devastating attack.

Her stomach roiled at the thought of such a massive attack. Though it wouldn’t kill people directly, the instant cessation of all electronics could and would kill people. Ships would become dead in the water, possibly crashing into each other. Cranes might drop shipping containers and crush people standing below them.

Airplanes in the vicinity would lose all electronics and struggle to make safe landings if they could land at all. People in apartments would lose heating or air-conditioning as well as the ability to prepare and store food. Vehicles would be stranded in the streets. Delivery trucks would cease to work and block roads. Phones, television and radios wouldn’t work.

Twenty-five million people could be stranded with no way to secure food and water. Evacuation would have to be on foot.

Twenty-five million people.

Giva had to find a way to stop the Nexus Collective from carrying out their plan.

When they’d left the command center, the guard in charge led the four carrying Dax and Giva. They made an immediate right turn, walked to the next intersection of passages and turned left. Another guard stood at that corner, holding a submachine gun.

Now was not the time to make a break for it. Giva remained still, focusing on how far they’d come, how many turns they’d made, where guards were located, and the weapons they wielded.

The lead man came to a halt in front of a door with thick iron bars and an ancient lock. One of the Russians lifted a ring of metal skeleton keys from a hook on the wall, fit a key into the lock and twisted.

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