Chapter 2070 - 850: Squid~_2

Bramo was momentarily stunned.

"That's it?"

Victor looked at him.

"That's it."

He walked back to the table, sat down, and picked up the chopsticks again.

"An old man shouts a few slogans, and I'm supposed to jump? Let the whole world laugh at me?"

He picked another piece of beef.

"Wait. The show isn't over."

3:45 PM, Mediterranean, international waters.

The "Mexico Star" is a luxury cruise ship registered in Panama, but among the 3,200 passengers on board, half are Mexicans. They had just toured Greece and were heading to Egypt, with the next stop being Alexandria Port, then through the Suez Canal to Dubai.

The captain is Ernesto Torres, fifty-eight years old, who's been at sea for forty years, having seen all sorts of storms.

But today's situation, he had never encountered.

On the radar screen, three rapidly moving points of light were closing in from the east.

He picked up the binoculars.

Three warships.

Not ordinary patrol boats, but missile boats. The flags on the ships—blue and white, with a large David star in the middle.

Squid Navy.

"Captain," the Chief Officer ran over, his face pale, "they've sent a signal."

Torres took the signal slip.

There was only one sentence on it:

"Stop the ship for inspection. Refusal will result in firing."

Torres was stunned.

"Inspection? Inspect what?"

The Chief Officer shook his head.

"No idea. But they've trained their guns on us."

Torres picked up the intercom.

"All passengers return to their cabins, do not come out. I repeat, all passengers return to their cabins, do not come out."

Then he said to the Chief Officer:

"Tell them we're stopping the ship. But we need to know why."

4:00 PM, Mexico City, top floor of the "Feathered Serpent Temple."

Victor had just finished eating noodles and was drinking tea.

The teacup nearly fell to the ground as Casare rushed in.

"Boss! Something big has happened!"

Victor raised his head.

"Speak."

"The Squid People—they've detained our ship!"

Victor's hand paused in mid-air.

"Which ship?"

"The 'Mexico Star'. Cruise ship. 3,200 passengers, half are Mexicans. In the Mediterranean, twenty nautical miles from Squid's coast, stopped by three missile boats."

Victor put down the teacup.

"What's the reason?"

Casare shook his head.

"No idea. They only said 'stop the ship for inspection', didn't say for what."

Victor stood up and walked to the window.

Outside, the traffic on Paseo de la Reforma was still so slow, so orderly.

"Where's Bramo?"

"On his way. He rushed over after getting the news."

Victor was silent for a few seconds.

Then he spoke:

"Call the Squid Prime Minister's Office. Now."

4:15 PM, Jerusalem, Prime Minister's Office.

Prime Minister Benjamin Shamir was reading the intelligence reports just delivered.

The reports indicated that the 3,000-person rally by Joshua Ben-David was funded by money flowing in from Switzerland. From Switzerland, the source of the funds pointed to a shell company in the Cayman Islands. From the Caymans—they could trace no further.

He put down the report.

The secretary came in through the door.

"Prime Minister, there's a call from the President of Mexico's office."

Shamir was momentarily stunned.

"Put it through."

On the other end of the line was Victor's voice.

"Prime Minister Shamir."

Shamir cleared his throat.

"Mr. Victor."

"Your people have detained my ship."

Shamir's fingers tapped the table.

"Mr. Victor, I just learned about this as well. I'm in the process of understanding the situation—"

"Understanding the situation?" Victor interrupted him, "Your people have guns pointed at my ship, and you're telling me you're understanding the situation?"

Shamir was silent for two seconds.

"Mr. Victor, you know what happened this afternoon. 3,000 rabbis gathered at the Temple Mount chanting SZ. I need to figure out what's going on with this."

"That's your business." Victor's voice was very cold, "My ship is legally sailing in the Mediterranean, and your people have guns pointed at it. That's your business and mine."

Shamir took a deep breath.

"Mr. Victor, give me an hour. In an hour, I'll give you an answer."

The call ended.

Shamir put down the phone and said to the secretary:

"Get me the Minister of Defense."

4:30 PM, Mediterranean, on the "Mexico Star".

The three missile boats had already surrounded the cruise ship.

Torres stood on the bridge, watching as one of the boats approached. The gangway lowered, and six people in navy uniforms came up, led by a lieutenant colonel in his thirties with a solemn expression as if attending a funeral.

"Who's the captain?"

Torres stepped forward.

"I am."

The lieutenant colonel glanced at him.

"Captain Torres, under the orders of the Squid Navy Headquarters, we need to inspect your ship."

Torres stared at him.

"Inspect what?"

The lieutenant colonel didn't answer.

He waved his hand, and the five people behind him immediately spread out, heading into the cabins.

The passengers screamed.

Torres tried to block them but was held down by two soldiers.

"You—"

"Stay still," the lieutenant colonel's voice was very calm, "Once the inspection is done, you'll be free to go."

Torres struggled, but he couldn't move.

The five of them searched the cabins for twenty minutes.

When they came out, the leading soldier was holding something.

It was a metal box. Not large, thirty centimeters square, silver-gray, with no markings.

"Officer, found at the bottom of the cargo hold. Tucked between two containers."

The lieutenant colonel walked over and glanced at the box.

Then he turned around and looked at Torres.

"What is this?"

Torres was stunned.

"I don't know. I've never seen this box."

The lieutenant colonel stared at him.

"You don't know?"

Torres shook his head.