"Who is that?" "Get up!" "They come from all over." "Pocket knife from the Philippines," "Vietnamese penlight, matchbook and condoms from China." "Even pirates play it safe sometimes." "But this is the key." "When the pandemic hit, pirates looted the Singaporean reserve bank for gold coins, and this became their currency." "They're the only ones in the region who use it." "Where do they spend it?" "Shanzhai." "It's an ungoverned Dodge City on China's south coast." "China?" "You want to go back to Peng's backyard?" "Well, essentially, it's an open city." "If the pirates had a capital, this would be it." "Before the attack in Vietnam, we tracked three boats in formation." "By last night, there was only the one." "This could be where the other two went." "Seems like our best shot, sir." "Get St. Louis on the line." "Set a course for Shanzhai." "Any idea just where in the hell we are, Master Chief?" "A rock and a hard place now." "I put us somewhere about 400 miles from Haiphong." "North Star was sitting at about 30 degrees when we boarded that ship." "We can see where it rises tonight and maybe get a ballpark on our latitude." "Welcome!" "Now you rest!" "Where's our captain?" "Where is he?" "Where is he?" "!" "Enjoy your new home." "Who the hell do you think you are?" "You speak English?" "You know what you did?" "You know who we are?" "You can't do this." "You're wrong, Captain Slattery." "I know exactly who you are." "No, no, no." "No." "No, no, no." "No." "No, sir." "Our rescue swimmers didn't find any of our people in the wreckage." "We still don't know if they were on that vessel." "Lieutenants Burk and Green did manage to escape the attacks in Vietnam." "They were attempting to gather intel from at least a half a dozen kidnappers when Burk was shot." "He's here now." "The corpsmen are taking care of him." "All that said, we have no concrete leads right now to help us find our people." "But you're certain Peng is behind this." "He blew up our plane, to be sure" "But we have reason to believe that pirates from Shanzhai were responsible for the attack in Vietnam." "So..." "We sortie the ships in Okinawa." "Shackleton and Hayward can be in the region in a matter of days." "I appreciate that, sir, but those ships need to be in Japan, investigating the possibility of the virus mutation." "And a larger presence here may draw attention, and it could be counterproductive." "I need a lower profile." "You?" "You're the Chief of Naval Operations and, for all intents and purposes, the head of our entire military." "I need you running our global operations from here." "Sir, the James is without its senior leadership." "I can't just leave anybody..." "I understand your loyalty to your people, Tom." "This isn't just about my people." "You sent me here because the region is a tinderbox." "I need to stay here now and find out why this happened, what the bigger play is..." "Not just to save my crew." "Though I believe that will be the first step, sir." "I want to know where you're going and what you're doing at all times." "Understood, sir." "Bring 'em home, then." "I will." "Thank you." "What the hell are you doing to me?" "_" "Aah." "I'm gonna kill you, you son of a bitch." "Come on in." "Thank you for loaning me the digis." "I'm glad they fit, sir." "Your name tag's being made, and we'll get those eagles for the collar." "And you should know Lieutenant Burk is stable." "HM2 Logan pulled a 762 slug from his leg." "I heard." "He's tough, your brother." "Always has been." "I want you to know..." "While I'm in command of the ship and until the return of your shipmates," "I've decided to make Lieutenant Granderson my acting X.O." "I understand you have seniority over her, but I cannot afford to lose you running combat right now." "You think I made the wrong call..." "Not contacting the CO when I sensed there was trouble in Vietnam." "That... was a difficult decision." "50/50 in my book." "Problem is, you think it was the wrong call and then you overcompensated." "Sir, we'd been tracking that vessel." "At the time, it was our only lead." "And then you chased it into shallow waters, leaving you out of position for the rescue, forcing me to fire on that boat when we still didn't know if our people were on it." "You're too hot now, and I can't have my X.O. making emotional decisions." "But I do need you in CIC." "You'll have me, sir." "So, where'd you learn to fly?" "RAAF?" "Australian Antarctic." "No, you're lying." "Rich pricks love their volcanoes." "Hey." "How long till your bird can fly?" "Not soon enough." "Then I'm out of here and this will all be a bad memory." " You're going?" " That's what I said." "I'd say we should keep in touch, but that's not your thing." " Jesse." "We need you." " I got you here." "Now I got to get back to what I do." "Your cover's blown." "You'll be the dead the minute you hit Chinese airspace." "So I'll go to Phnom Penh or Mandalay." "They need cure." "I was headed there next, anyway." "Look, I get it, all right?" "You're mad at me." "But these people are the only ones strong enough to take on Peng and the people who killed your brother." "If you want to help the rest of the world, you should be helping them." "This isn't my fight." "Captain on the Bridge!" " Welcome back, sir." " Good to see you, Gator." "Mike Slattery's the Captain of this ship." "A simple "attention on deck" will do." "Understood, sir." "And I'll never sit in Commander Garnett's chair." "How's our new helo?" "Could be operational in 24 hours." "Not so sure I can say the same about the pilot." "She's a hell of a pilot, and we need her." "We've never operated this ship without a helo, and I don't want to start now." "I'll handle it, sir." "How far to the next objective?" "Once we make it past Qiongzhou Haixia, we bear north at 345 degrees and we'll be at Shanzhai within four hours." "There's a natural harbor there." "It's wide but usually filled with boats and debris." "The only other way in would be climb a 100-foot rockface." "Cruz and Evans will lead Cobra Team and stand by for the exfil on the beach while the T.A.O. runs combat." "How do you want to get in, sir?" "We'll commandeer a local boat into Shanzhai Harbor." "I'll disembark with Green and Taylor." "Are you kidding?" "You can't go." "You're the most recognizable face in the world." "Even in Asia." "I'm down three operators." "So for today, I'm just a body with a gun." "And if you die, you crew has just lost another CO." "A word." "What, am I being called into the principal's office?" "Is this your way of getting me to trust you?" "Challenging me in front of my crew?" "I challenged you because I think you could compromise the mission." "I'm fully capable of handling this with Wolf, Green, and their teams." "Well, I appreciate your self-confidence, but I think, at this point, I know how to run my ship." "You just demoted a senior lieutenant and put a 28-year-old in the X.O.'s chair while you jump headfirst into the battlefield again." "Is this about leadership or your needing to control everything?" "Controlling everything is how I've made it this far." "And as long as you're on my ship, you take orders from me." "Understood?" "Aye, aye." "Your man's a hypocrite." "I read every incident and action report he's ever logged, and he would have done the exact same thing as me in that situation." "Maybe." "Or maybe he would have sent the RHIB to chase down that vessel and left the James in position." "I mean, point is, Lieutenant Granderson's been knee-deep in it with him and you haven't." "They have a short-hand." "She knows how he thinks." "Yeah, and y'all know better?" "Like I was eating wings in Hooters when you were off saving the world?" " That's not what I'm saying." " For three months, I kept 400 alive..." " With no tomahawks and no cure." " You know that's not what I'm saying." "Look, you don't know the guy!" "Look, whatever went down, it's not on you, all right?" "All that matters is that you forget this crap, you do your job, and you help us find our guys." "You're a goddamn vampire." "The short answer is, yes." "The corn yields surpassed projections, but we're still short with respect to ethanol production." " Mr. President!" " Mr. President!" " Yes?" " Davis Vickers, Northeast Corridor." "Has there been any progress on repair of the rail lines since the riots in Philadelphia?" "Incremental progress." "Now, I know that reconnecting" "New York, Philadelphia, and Washington is a priority in your region, and we're doing the best that we can." " Mr. President!" " Mr. President!" "Yes?" "Mr. President, Jacob Barnes, mid-Atlantic region." "What can you tell us about Captain Chandler's progress in China?" "Captain Chandler is making good, solid progress in difficult negotiations with President Peng." "It's our position that China needs to do its part to distribute the cure to the people among that region." "So Captain Chandler is only there to discuss the cure?" "Because we've been hearing reports of border confrontations between Vietnam and China." "And I'm wondering if President Peng is using his control of the cure in Asia to make us choose sides in a foreign conflict." "With all that's going on here at home, is Captain Chandler there to prevent a war in Asia?" "Captain Chandler's only agenda is the fast, free flow of the contagious cure throughout the world." "Now, he's only just arrived in Hong Kong." "When we get further reports, you all will be the first to know." "Mr. President!" "Vulture Team, radio check." "Cobra Team reads you, Lima Charlie." "1,000 yards from rally point Alpha." "This is Vulture Team going silent." "Roger, Vulture Team." "Nathan James standing by." "T.A.O., anything on radar or sonar?" "No bogeys." "Just fishing trawlers." "Keep looking." "Roger that..." "Ma'am." "You said it." "Dodge City." "It's not Hell, but you can see it from here." "Well, at least no one's shot at us yet." "Kind of wish they would." "Least we'd know we were close." "Wake up." "We need help." "Run for your life." "Get shot at." "Blow up a boat." "Crash-land." "See the world." "Ma'am?" "Here's your new torque pedal." "You can spare me the inspirational speech." "I already told Sasha I'm leaving." "I don't think you understand how much we need your helo." "Look." "I'm sorry about what happened to your crew." "I know what it feels like." "But I got to get back to my life, or what's left of it." "I don't know what happened between you and Ms. Cooper back in China, but I heard you risked your life to get the cure to those who need it most." "That makes us allies." "I hope you can see that you can use our help as much as we can use yours." "Or you can keep feeling sorry for yourself." "Either way, our crew will help you get your bird back into shape." " Nice work, Chief." " I'm trying, Ma'am." "What are you doing, Master Chief?" "Determining local noon." "See, you measure the shadow every 60 seconds until it starts getting longer." "Then count back to the shortest shadow." "That's local noon." "From there, you can estimate your longitude." "What do you see out there, Doc?" "Their security's pretty tight, especially that hut across the compound." "I saw that, too." "We have to get a look outside the perimeter, Ma'am." "That's a decision for the Captain." "Oh, my God!" "What have you done to him?" "!" " Hey!" " Hey!" "Don't..." " What are you doing?" " Get your hands off me!" "Hey!" " Sir?" " I'm okay." "What'd they do?" "Where'd they take you?" "Tied me down." "Took my blood." "Why?" "So much blood." "_" "_" "_" "_" "So... _" "_" "_" "_" "He's not so pleased to see you, Tom." "Says you're bad for business." "But he knows why you're here." "Everyone heard about the kidnapping." "He swears he has nothing to do with it." "He knows nothing about it." "Do you believe him?" "Absolutely not." "Neither do I." "The latest in Navy weapons." "Better than the crap you're peddling." "Guns for information." "You like this?" "IWC Chronograph, made for the pilots at Miramar." "Top Gun." "I need answers." "There is a man." "Kenji." "He came in here bragging about the kidnapping, throwing money around." "He says he threw him out of here." "Where is this Kenji?" "Luilichang." "Luilichang." "It's a flea market." " You know where it is?" " I do." "Assuming you've told us the truth, you'll never see me here again." "If you lied... or should something happen to me when I leave here, my ship will drop a half a dozen tomahawks on this dump you call your kingdom." "Now, that would be bad for business." "_" "It's been a pleasure." "Top Gun." "Master Chief's been gone for over two hours." "You tend to pass out afterwards." "How long was the needle in your arm, Captain?" "Half-hour, give or take." "It's like they're taking our blood and feeding it to half their crew." "During our first trials, when you got sick," "Dr. Scott used Bertrise's blood to buy some time." "Maybe they're sick." "Why take our blood when there's a cure?" "A feast for you." "Eat." "Apricots and steak..." "All rich in iron." "Fattening up the cows for the milk." "You join me, Captain." "I eat with my crew." "No, no, no." "You're a captain." "You eat with me." "You were military before the pandemic." "Japanese Maritime Self-Defense." "We probably met at RIMPAC one summer." "You're a captain?" "That was another life." "And now you're a pirate." "Times changed." "I adapted." "Funny." "I didn't get that memo." "Bad as things got, I never went around kidnapping innocent people, draining their blood." ""Innocent."" "Hmm." "Eat, Captain." "Get your strength." "Ms. Green?" "Hi." "Jacob Barnes." "Good to see you." "Yes." "Hi, Jacob." "Hey, if you're free, uh, maybe we could go for a drink." "You could give me the lay of the land, help me better understand the man behind the curtain." "Uh, no." "I'm sorry." "I have to get home to the baby." "Maybe schedule a coffee through my office." "And it's Mrs. Green." "Nothing behind that." "Sorry." "No problem." "Hey, are we going to war with China?" "What would make you say something like that?" "POTUS was a little dodgy on the subject at his presser last night." "Haven't seen even one photo op of Chandler and Peng, not even a handshake." "It makes me wonder what's going on." "And so you jump to war as a conclusion?" "The President's strategy is classified." "But rest assured, it's working." "Mrs. Green..." "While you were out on the James, there was a deafening silence from the top." "It cost lives." "Suffice to say that it's been a while since any of us could rest assured." "You have the President's ear." "I'd just remind him not to forget that." "I'll call your office for that coffee." "Hey." "Russ." "Russ, how you doing?" "His pressure's too low." "He's dehydrated." "Here." "Whoa." "Slow, slow." "Slow down." "They had him in there too long." "Sir?" "I think I found a way out of here." "The bolts are rusted." "They'll never know how we got out." "I'm thinking Diaz and me pick our moment, slide through, down and out, get past the perimeter, see what's out there, report back." "I don't like it." "Too many guards, too many dogs." "We can handle this, sir." "This will keep 'em busy." "They won't kill us, sir." "Not if they need our blood." "Compliments of the X.O." "She's mocking us." "Thought you could change her mind with a Happy Meal and a carton of smokes?" "No." "But I heard she loves cherry cola." "How would you handle it, Lieutenant?" " I wouldn't let her leave." " What would you do?" "Conscript her?" "Put a gun to her head?" "Either sounds good, yeah." "Cobra Team, request your whiskey." "Cobra Team, check." "Read you Lima Charlie." "We are at point Zebra." "Standing by for exfil." "Kenji." "No." "Kenji?" "These people aren't from around here." "They all came looking for black-market cure, and no one knows anyone named Kenji." "Okay." "Where to next?" "Where are they?" "!" "Where did you get this?" "!" "No English!" "Who gave it to you?" "!" "Did you get this from my sailors?" "No!" "No English!" "_" "Tell me now!" "Men from Vietnam selling clothes." "I liked the shirt." "Who?" "!" "Who?" "!" "Pirates?" "!" "No, no!" "No pirates!" " Please!" " Captain." "MSS are here." "Time to go." "Hold up." "Hold up." "Cobra Team, this is Vulture Team." "Rally point Alpha is blocked." "Heading to rally point Bravo." "Do you copy?" "Captain, Zebra is compromised." "We've got MSS crawling all over the place." "We'll get to rally point Bravo when able." "I say again, rally point Bravo when able." "MSS on all sides." "We're outgunned." "We need a choke point." "There." "Through the bar." "It's worth a shot." "MSS!" "MSS!" "87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97..." "Please." "No pirates." "No pirates." "How's the other guy?" "I am the other guy." "Shit." "East." "300 paces south-southeast." "Nathan James, this is Cobra!" "We're under fire at rally point Zebra!" "We're pinned down by the MSS!" "Fall back, fall back, fall back!" "How bad is it?" "I'm still in the fight, bro." "Then move!" "Move, move!" "Cobra Team." "We're taking fire here at rally point Bravo." "Roger that, Vulture." "We're trying to exfil Zebra for Bravo." "We'll be there as soon as we can." "Vulture, we're heading to Bravo now." "Hey." "Do you know what that is?" "Those are my crewmates, and they're getting cut to pieces out there." "You cannot leave them out there." "What do you think I'm doing out here?" "Wave me off for Green Deck!" "Now give me the goddamn coordinates so I can pick them up." " I'll need a gunner." " You got it." "And it wasn't just the cherry cola and smokes." "Please no..." "No Takehaya." "No Takehaya." "What are you saying?" "Not supposed to keep the uniforms." "I was supposed to burn it." "He will kill me." "Who?" "Who told you to burn the uniforms?" "!" " Who?" "!" " Takehaya." "Kill me!" "Captain." "Exfil now on the beach." "Move!" "Move!" "Nathan James, I have the package." "Heading back to home... or whatever you call that ship." "Doesn't mean they're alive." "Doesn't mean they're dead." "It means we're on the right path." "I ran east for 100 paces before I hit water, then north for 600 paces." "I saw another beach with several small boats in the sand." "Guards all around." "There's no way down." "600 yards to a waterfall." "I followed the river to a cliff about 200 feet above a cove." "I found a radio tower." "Looked operational." ""Takehaya"?" "You're sure that's what Kenji said?" "That's what it sounded like." "Well, he's a pirate." "Sort of a legend in the South China Sea." "He and his crew have taken credit for ripping off hundreds of ships in the region." "To add to his mystique, he adopted the name Takehaya..." "The Japanese god of sea and storms." "And how do we find this Takehaya?" "Nobody's ever been able to track him." "He's a ghost." "So, is he real or not?" "He's real." "But I heard that he was dead." "Not to Kenji." "He chose to let MSS shoot him to pieces rather than rat on the legend." "No ransom, no demands." "If Takehaya's a pirate, what the hell does he want with us?" "Takehaya!" "Takehaya!" "Takehaya!" "Takehaya!" "Oh, God." "Stay strong." "Look him in the eye." "Mr. President, this is streaming on our local feed." "Michael Slattery." "Captain, United States Navy." "Serial Number 171811120." "I and five members of my crew are prisoners of war." "Oh, God." "Well, our secret's out."