Hatteras Abyssal Plain, 500 miles off the Florida Coast

The feeling scratched the back of his brain. An unpleasant feeling, one that stirred him from his long slumber. Much time had passed since he last experienced this. It hastened his awakening. For the only time he felt this way was when a great menace threatened the world.

His world.

Another tingle crept through his brain. He sensed something familiar about this enemy. They had fought before, many years ago. But he had killed that creature, and its masters not of this world.

Or so he had thought.

They were back. They wanted to visit destruction upon this world and the humans he was conditioned to protect.

His massive scaly green body, and the spiked plates running down his back, shuddered. He pushed himself off the ocean floor and shot through the water, breaking the surface in an explosion of white foam.

Godzilla reared back, let out a roar, and swam south, toward the enemy.

XXXXX

Something bumped into Ruffin's leg, waking him up instantly. For a split second he tensed, going into combat mode. That evaporated quickly when he realized he was in his hotel room, in bed, with Miranda Quintero stirring next to him.

He rolled onto his side, watching as she curled up under the covers. He softly sighed, thinking back to the Djibouti mission. Miranda's exotic beauty had been what first made him stand up and take notice of this CIA officer. But when he got to know her better, saw her dedication to duty and country, her intellect, her compassion, he couldn't help but fall hard for her. As their relationship grew more serious, he witnessed first hand Miranda's stubbornness and tough-as-nails attitude. Such traits might drive most men away.

Not John Ruffin. He liked women with fire in them, women who could challenge him. He counted himself lucky to be in love with a woman like that.

His shoulders sagged as he thought about those last days in Djibouti. He'd cracked the butt of his pistol over the head of some piece of shit pirate to get information on the whereabouts of an American yacht and the family aboard, which included two girls ages 11 and 7. His FAST team found the vessel, killed the pirates aboard and saved the entire family. But what was his reward? Getting booted out of The Corps for using excessive force. Good-bye Djibouti, good-bye killing pirates.

Good-bye Miranda.

Or so he thought until she began showing up during all his missions for Shield International.

Ruffin reached out and gently stroked her hair. His fingers then traced their way down the back of her neck, then down her spine. Miranda moaned softly, woke up and faced him.

"Morning," she said in a sleepy voice.

"Morning." He leaned over and kissed the top of her head.

"This always happens, doesn't it?" Miranda said. "I tell you to tell Shield International to back off, we argue, then we jump into bed."

"Something tells me you don't mind, otherwise you'd have your bosses get someone else to do this. Unless you're some kind of honey trap."

Miranda huffed. "You think that's the only reason I'd sleep with you?"

"Hey, you were the one who taught me all about the spy business."

"I think I taught you too well."

Miranda slid up to Ruffin and kissed him long and deep.

"You know you're not gonna get any information out of me," he told her.

"Maybe, maybe not." She lightly ran a finger down his cheek. "But I can have fun trying."

Ruffin let her push him on his back. He wrapped his arms around her as they kissed furiously.

That's when his cell phone rang.

"Aw, dammit," Miranda groaned, kissing Ruffin's chest before he picked up his phone.

He scanned the caller ID. It was Daniel Briggs. He wriggled free of Miranda, hit the scramble button, and put the phone to his ear.

"Yeah, Chief?"

"Are you secure on your end?"

"Affirmative."

"Good. We have a situation. A major one."

"What is it?"

"Sometime last night, an American-flagged cruise ship, the Emerald Wind, went down sixty miles west of Grenada. One of their coast guard ships came across a large debris field a couple of hours ago. The Grenadians and Trinidadians both have sea and air patrols in the area. So far we haven't had any word of survivors."

"No distress call?"

"Nobody picked up anything," said Briggs. "According to the cruise ship operator, all their communications prior to the sinking were routine. Whatever happened to that ship happened fast."

"You think the Venezuelans are responsible?" Ruffin sat up against the headboard.

"We don't know yet. In any case, I sent some of Tombstone's boys to fly CAP for the search and rescue teams, in case Moscoso tries anything."

"How many people were on the ship?"

"Over a thousand."

Ruffin closed his eyes and sighed. A thousand people. A thousand men, women and children just sailing around the Caribbean, enjoying food and games and dances and concerts, not a threat to anyone.

Anger pushed aside his sorrow. He didn't believe this to be an accident. Had Emerald Wind suffered some catastrophic mechanical failure or collided with another ship, the crew would have some time to get off an SOS. It had to have been an attack. And right now the only person he suspected was General Moscoso.

His grip on the cell phone tightened. Ruffin wished his hand was instead around Moscoso's throat, crushing the life out of him, making him pay for snuffing out one thousand innocent people who never did a damn thing to him.

"What do you want me to do, Chief?"

"Get down here to our usual spot." Briggs referred to Camp Ogden, the home base of the First Battalion of the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment in nearby St. James. Even on a secure line, they still had to choose their words carefully. "If the Venezuelans are stepping up their military operations, we need to be ready. I'll see you in an hour."

"I'm on the way."

Ruffin hit the END button and put the phone back on his nightstand.

"What is it?" Miranda asked.

He turned to her and bit his lip. The "need to know" mentality started to take over. He shook it off. The loss of a cruise ship with a thousand people had to be all over CNN and FOX News by now.

"That was Chief Briggs. A cruise ship called Emerald Wind sank last night near Grenada. One thousand people aboard. They haven't found any survivors."

"Oh my God." Miranda stared at him, mouth agape. "Does he think the Venezuelans attacked it?"

"We don't know yet. But we gotta get ready in case they did." Ruffin threw the covers off him and headed for the bathroom. "I'm just gonna take a quick shower and go."

He flicked on the light and the fan, closed the door behind him and turned on the shower. It didn't take long for the water to warm up. Just as drew back the sliding glass door Miranda entered the bathroom.

"I, um, I thought you might like some company."

Ruffin raised an eyebrow. The news of Emerald Wind's sinking didn't seem to put Miranda in the mood for a tryst in the shower.

But seeing her standing before him, naked, he found it hard to deny her.

Plus he did have an hour to get to Camp Ogden.

They both got into the shower and lathered each other's bodies. Miranda then pressed her wet, soapy body against his and kissed him full on the mouth. She moved her lips to Ruffin's cheek, along his jawline, and then to his earlobe. Heat and desire consumed him. He started backing her up against the shower door.

"Puerto Caballo," she whispered in his ear.

He looked her in the eye, his face scrunched in puzzlement. "What?"

"Puerto Caballo. The Venezuelan naval base there."

"What about it?"

"There's been quite a bit of activity there over the last year. Lots of heavy construction equipment, new antennae going up on nearby mountains and hills."

"Any idea what they're building?"

"It looks like it's something underground. Maybe hardened shelters for their submarines, like the Soviets had for their missile subs during The Cold War. Maybe that's what they used to sink that cruise ship."

Ruffin took a couple of breaths. "Why are you telling me this? You know you can get into big trouble divulging this kind of info."

"I know. But . . . just thinking about all the people on that cruise ship." She lowered her head for a moment, then looked back up at him. "If Moscoso's responsible for this, then he's not a head of state. He's a damn murderer. He needs to be stopped. Even after something like this, who knows if President Atherton would authorize any kind of recon mission on Venezuelan soil. You and your friends on the other hand . . ."

Ruffin's jaw stiffened. Now he knew why Miranda wanted to get in the shower with him. The fan and the running water would foil any listening devices the CIA had planted in his hotel room.

"Thanks, Miranda. I guess you're not all bad." He shot her a wry grin.

She smiled back. "Just do me a favor and be careful, okay?"

"I'm always careful."

"Bullshit. You're a former special ops Marine. Taking risks is in your nature."

"Okay, that last part is true. But not the one before. There's no such thing as a former Marine. Once a Marine, always a Marine."

Miranda chuckled.

"So, do I get a good luck kiss before I go?" asked Ruffin.

Miranda smiled. She pressed her back against the shower door, put her arms around Ruffin's back and drew him to her.

"You're going to get more than a good luck kiss."

XXXXX

Ruffin made it to Camp Ogden with ten minutes to spare. He strode to one of the bland, rectangular buildings that dotted the base and went downstairs into a concrete bunker. Swept for bugs every few hours and with no windows for laser surveillance mikes to penetrate, the place was as secure from unwanted eyes and ears as one could get.

Instead of going straight to the conference room, Ruffin swung by the small Spartan office Briggs used here. Luckily, the CEO of Shield International was at his desk.

"Chief, can I talk to you? Privately?"

"Sure thing, Major."

Ruffin stepped inside and closed the door.

"What's on your mind?"

"A source gave me some information about the Venezuelans that might be useful, especially after what happened to that cruise ship."

"Uh-huh." Briggs leaned back in his chair. "This source wouldn't happen to be a certain lady spook you know very, very well?"

Ruffin clenched his teeth for a moment. "Yes, Chief."

"So what did she tell you?"

"The Venezuelans had some big construction project at Puerto Cabollo naval base. They put in a bunch of new antennae and some kind of underground facility. Maybe a hardened shelter for submarines."

"And you think her information is legitimate?" asked Briggs.

"I do."

"Did it occur to you that she might be setting us up for something?"

"I don't think she is."

Briggs sighed. "I know she meant a lot to you when you were in the Corps. But our company and hers are kind of at odds right now."

"Miranda can be a pain in our asses, Chief, but I don't believe for a second she'd steer us into some kind of set-up."

"Is that your big head talking or your little one?"

Ruffin's eyes narrowed. Anger boiled inside him.

"Relax, Major." Briggs held up both hands. "It wasn't meant as an insult. But it is something we have to consider. Shield International is an embarrassment to President Atherton, because we solve problems he doesn't have the guts to take care of himself. Imagine if some of our people are captured during an operation on Venezuelan soil. Atherton could make a case that this company is out of control, ignores national sovereignty, and is a threat to international peace. That could give him the political and legal clout to move against us and shut us down."

"I don't think he'd do that."

Briggs' eyes widened. "Really? You've seen how Atherton and his lapdogs savage their opponents."

"In politics. Spouting out insults and accusations to the media is one thing. But tipping off the Venezuelans that we might be heading their way?" Ruffin shook his head. "I don't see it. That has the potential for violence, and we both know how much Atherton hates violence. If he's gonna come after us, he'll do it with suits from the Justice Department or a warrant from the International Criminal Court."

Briggs worked his jaw left to right, mulling over Ruffin's words. "You make a good point, Major."

"In any event, I still think Puerto Cabolla is worth checking out. Remember what that chopper pilot we captured told us. The Venezuelans are planning something really big. That base may be a part of it. If that's the case, it could threaten the security of Trinidad and Tobago, maybe the entire region, if they're responsible for sinking Emerald Wind."

"You really think this is some secret submarine base?"

"We won't know until we check it out. I can go in with a small team and recon the place. If we see any signs of a trap, we'll pull out immediately."

Briggs stared at him in thoughtful silence for a few seconds. "How many men would you need?"

"Four will do. Myself, Gomez and Fetisov, obviously, since one's a SEAL and one's Naval Spetsnaz, and Akua."

Briggs' brow furrowed. "A paratrooper?"

"The guy's been diving since he was eleven. He had plenty of opportunity to do it growing up on a little island in the Pacific. Oh yeah, we'll probably need Cheo to pilot the Zodiac. We hit the water, swim up to shore, look around and vacate."

Briggs nodded. "Authorized. You've got two hours to give me your plan."

"Two hours? Why the rush, Chief?"

"Because we're about to have company."

"Who's coming to dinner?" Ruffin asked.

"I heard from my contacts in Washington. President Atherton has ordered the Eisenhower and Truman carrier battle groups to this area. The 82nd Airborne is also sending a battalion here to Trinidad."

Ruffin's eyes widened in surprise. "I don't believe it. Atherton actually grew some balls."

"Don't get too excited. According to my contacts, he's doing this mainly to appease his critics who say he's soft on national security. Those troops will probably just stand around and those carriers will probably circle round the Caribbean to try and make Atherton look tough."

"Right. How stupid of me to get my hopes up about the guy."

"Anyway," Briggs said. "I want this mission to get off the ground ASAP. Those Airborne troops will be wheels up at any time, meaning the first transport will be landing at Piarco this afternoon. That's going to make our jobs a lot harder."

"Can they really interfere with us, Chief? I mean, we are working a contract with the Trinidadian government."

"I already have my lawyers looking at it. Legally, those troops don't have the authority to prevent us from operating within the borders of Trinidad and Tobago. Beyond those borders, however, is another matter, especially if they deem we're interfering with national security."

Briggs leaned forward in his chair. "Find out what's going on at Puerto Cabolla. If it's something major, we'll try and find a way to deal with it, because I don't trust President Atherton to use the US military wisely."

XXXXX

Ulljrex somehow kept himself from shaking his head in disgust as he watched General Moscoso's image in the monitor.

"Two, two of their carriers are coming here," the human blurted, a huge smile on his face. "Not only that, but one of their most celebrated army units will be landing on Trinidad hours from now. Can you just imagine the looks on the Americans' faces when they see their big ships and best soldiers annihilated?"

He threw his head back and laughed.

Ulljrex groaned. He found it unfathomable that an adult male should act like some human child who'd been given a new toy.

And this man actually leads a nation.

"The carriers of the American humans should be within aircraft range of Trinidad and Tobago two days from now," Ulljrex stated. "That is when we shall send Titanosaurus to attack them."

"Good, good, good." Moscoso grinned even wider. "This is a day I have waited for for years. My predecessor did not have the balls to challenge the Americans. But I do. When we sink their carriers and kill all their elite paratroopers, it will mark the beginning of the end of the Americans."

Now Ulljrex wanted to laugh. The fool. Titanosaurus' attack on the aircraft carriers and the paratroopers would not only mark the beginning of the end of the American humans.

It would mark the beginning of the end of all humans.

TO BE CONTINUED