.On the sea, the fire caused by the leak of diesel is extinguishing, and the "Trident" is broken into two pieces, and a small piece of the bow and stern of the ship is still on the sea.

Seeing this scene, Johnson frowned and looked extremely solemn.

On the left side of Johnson, Major Hawke pressed his hand to the captain who was looking back and watched, letting him fly a little lower, and then handed a glimmer night vision telescope to Johnson.

There are only broken ships on the sea, and there are no moving objects, nor crew members' bodies.

Two MV-22s flew twice around the cargo ship wreckage at an altitude of less than 100 meters.

"There is no survivor." Johnson returned the telescope to Major Hawke, held down the microphone attached to the throat, and said to the Cia agent on the MV-22 behind, "Tomy, have you found a suspicious ship?"

"We are late. There are no other ships in the visual range, and the 'Hawkeye' has not detected suspicious ships. But who is right?"

Tommy didn't joke. Although the detection capability of the e-2d "Hawkeye" carrier-based early warning aircraft is very powerful, it is almost powerless to do anything about the wooden boats that the pirates ride, because the wood does not reflect electromagnetic waves, so it is difficult to detect by the "Hawkeye" radar.

"Tell Colonel Hubbard to send reconnaissance planes to search the surrounding waters."

"no problem."

After finishing the call, Johnson told Hawke: "Fly southwest and use the sea-to-sea search radar on the plane. If the pirates attacked the Trident, they would return to Somalia with their crew. If they move quickly, we can intercept the pirates before they get ashore."

"The one who attacked the Trident was not necessarily the Somali pirates."

Johnson nodded, contacted Tommy again and asked him to search northwest.

Although Somali pirates mainly appear in the Gulf of Aden, after the civil strife in Yemen, many Yemenis also started this promising business. The attack site of the Trident was about 350 kilometers away from Somalia and only more than 200 kilometers away from Yemen. If the pirates attacking the Trident came from Yemen, they would flee northwest and strive to get ashore before the arrival of international rescue troops.

While the two Cia agents were talking, Hawke gave the captain instructions.

mv-22 draws an arc-shaped route in the night sky, adjusting the course to 225 degrees. The fuselage is tilted forward, and two huge rotors stir the air, allowing the aircraft to slowly accelerate. Only when the level flight speed exceeds the minimum stall speed can mv-22 change from lift flight to cruise flight.

The conversion process is not long, only takes more than ten seconds.

At this moment, a Navy SEAL who was responsible for observing the sea surface discovered the situation. "Major, at 10 o'clock."

Hawke picked up his telescope and saw a crew member jumping into the sea from his raised stern and swimming out of the vortex area.

The major did not hesitate and immediately let the captain fly above the crew, and then asked the two commandos to put on their diving gear and prepare for getting in the water.

mv-22 adjusted its flight status again, came to the head of the crew, and stopped fifteen meters away from the sea.

A Navy SEAL first threw down a luminaire and then threw a lifebuoy.

When the mv-22 is stable, the two frogmen jump out of the cabin one by one.

Taking this opportunity, Johnson contacted Captain Colonel Hubbard, the captain of the USS Roosevelt, and asked first responders on the aircraft carrier to stand by on the flight deck.

The crew member was perhaps the only survivor, and only he knew what was going on.

Five minutes later, Major Hawke pulled the crew and two frogmen up with a hanging tray.

In order to get rid of the vortex that was created when the ship sank, the crew was exhausted. In addition, the cold sea water took away a lot of heat. When he was rescued, he only breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm Johnson, working for Cia, I have to know..."

Hawk pulled Johnson down and said, "Let him take a break. If you have any questions, ask when you go back."

After looking at the crew member who was trembling and bluish-faced, Johnson sighed and did not ask any questions.

At this time, the captain poked his head out and said to Hawk: "Major, you'd better come here."

After throwing a dry towel to the crew, Hawke entered the cockpit. "What's the matter?"

The captain pointed to the large screen in the center of the control panel and said, "The two helicopters are approaching from the south by 'Hawkeye'."

"Our helicopter?"

"No, it's the Chinese Navy's helicopter."

"Chinese Navy?"

"Two Chinese Navy escort warships were more than 100 kilometers south, and probably received a distress signal from the freighter and sent helicopters to investigate the situation."

"Damn it."

“What should I do now?”

"Wait a minute." Hawke called Johnson over and asked the captain to explain the situation again.

"Go back, don't let the Chinese know that we've been here." Johnson sighed and said, "Contact the aircraft carrier, we will return in forty minutes and be ready for the reception. In addition to the first responders, I also need a separate room and a confidential communication line."

After Johnson finished speaking, Hawke nodded, and the captain adjusted the route.

This mv-22 belongs to the Marine Corps and is deployed and used by the Sixth Battalion of the Navy Seals. The captain only obeys Major Hawke's command.

At this time, the USS Roosevelt was on board.

After receiving the news from Agent Cia, Colonel Hubbard immediately let four EA-18g "Growler" electronic warplanes hang onto the reconnaissance pods and enter the takeoff site. Although the two Cia agents' fingers made the colonel very dissatisfied, he had no right to protest because this was a secret operation led by Agent Cia. In addition to Agent Cia, there was also the Sixth Battalion of the Navy Seals.

The USS Roosevelt's aircraft carrier was very efficient. In less than five minutes, four reconnaissance aircraft were launched one after another.

Subsequently, the two Chinese Navy helicopters were discovered in the southwest direction of the aircraft carrier battle group. Johnson decided to evacuate the waters where the incident occurred. Hubbard had to suspend reconnaissance operations and let the four "Growlers" hover over the aircraft carrier, waiting for the next instructions.

Did the pirates attack the Trident, or was Cia playing some tricks?

Hubbard didn't know, nor did he want to figure it out.

According to the orders issued by the Pentagon and the Central War Theater, after dawn, the USS Roosevelt aircraft carrier battle group will turn toward the Strait of Hormuz and enter the Persian Gulf, replacing the Enterprise, which has been active there for half a year, and continue to carry out strategic deterrence operations against Iran.

No matter what Cia is playing, it has nothing to do with Colonel Hubbard.

On mv-22, Johnson's mood was unable to calm down.

On the way back, the rescued crew recovered, and Johnson took the opportunity to figure out his identity: it was Gerald, the eldest mate of the Trident.

Now, the problem is much simpler.

Like Eric, Gerald served in the US Navy for eight years. After retiring, he cooperated with CIA to become a "quasi-agent" installed in all walks of life.

"Did you see the pirates attacking the Trident?"

Gerald shook his head, looking very depressed.

"Where were Eric and Lynch when the attack happened?"

Gerald shook his head again, not looking at Johnson.

"Did they enter the safety compartment?"

Gerald still shook his head, not seemingly intending to speak.

"Why don't you know anything?"

"They didn't enter the safety cabin." Gerald then raised his head, looked at Johnson, and said, "When the attack happened, I was in the cabin with the Engineer. Eric and Lynch were with most of the crew members in the restaurant, and only two crew members from the Engineer Department were with us."

"What are you doing in the cabin?"

"The transmission shaft of the No. 1 main engine broke, and we are replacing the transmission shaft."

"When did it happen?"

"About fifteen minutes before the attack."

Johnson jumped a few times and said, "What happens often, isn't this?"

"It happened a few times, but it doesn't happen often."

"You mean, it's not necessarily a coincidence?"

Gerald hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"Gerard, you have to tell me everything you know, otherwise we can't save Eric and the others."

"They are dead."

"Dead!?"

Gerald gritted his teeth and said, "The attack came very suddenly. After hearing the gunshots, Paul and two crew members of the Turbine Department went to find the captain. I went to the safety cabin."

"Why don't you go to find them?"

"Only I and the captain have the password to the safety compartment. If both I and the captain are captured by pirates, other crew members will not be able to enter the safety compartment."

Johnson nodded and asked Gerald to continue.

"In less than five minutes, the pirates attacked. They must have a structural diagram of the "Trident", otherwise it would be impossible to find the security cabin so quickly."

"At that time, you were the only one in the safety compartment?"

Gerald nodded and said excitedly: "When the pirates came, I was the only one there. If the pirates entered the safety compartment, we would have no hope at all. But... but I shouldn't have done that. It was all my fault. I killed the captain and the others."

"What happened?"

"After I closed the safety compartment, the pirate took the captain and all the crew members over, and executed the captain on the spot, and tied the crew to the explosive barrel. I...I..."

Johnson was stunned and seemed extremely shocked.

"It's all my fault. If I open the safety compartment, maybe the pirates will let the other crew members go, maybe..."

"You did right. Even if you open the security cabin, the pirates will not be lenient. And no one told me what happened." Johnson patted Gerald on the shoulder and said, "Was Lynch on the ship also killed?"

"No, he's still alive."

"Living?"

"The pirate executed the captain in front of him and took him away. There was an external camera in the security cabin, which captured the whole process. If the wreckage could be salvaged, it would be possible..."

"We will salvage the wreck, but not now."

"Must find those guys and promise me to avenge Eric and all the brothers on the ship."

Johnson nodded, patted Gerald on the shoulder and said, "I promise you that I will do my best. You can re-talk about the incident, start from the beginning, and don't miss any details."

Gerald took a few deep breaths and told the whole story of the Trident set sail from Naples to the attack and sinking.
Chapter completed!