The patrol boat's radar screen lit up like a constellation.
Elias stood at the helm, one hand on the wheel, the other gripping the edge of the console. The blips were everywhere—three, four, maybe six contacts, spread in a loose arc across the southern horizon. They were moving fast, cutting off the open sea.
"He's boxing us in," Reyes said, her voice tight. She was bent over the navigation display, her finger tracing the enemy positions. "Graves must have every boat he owns on the water."
"Can we outrun them?" Elias asked.
"Not all of them. The two on the flanks are faster than us." Reyes looked up. "But there's a gap here, to the southeast. If we push the engines, we might slip through before they close it."
Elias stared at the screen. The gap was narrow, maybe a mile wide, and it w
