And her father! More than ever she found herself unable to fathom what went on in his mind. Regardless, there was but one certainty where her father was concerned. That he had to be stopped, whatever the cost.
As the defenders prepared themselves to deal with the enemy, Anana approached Roman where he brooded, watching the warship which was now stalled a short distance from the mouth of the port. It was late in the day and would be dark in a few hours. Already the defenders were in shadow, their eyes bright as they watched the enemy in silence.
Anana handed him a steaming cup of coffee in an enamelled tin cup. 'I'm sure that Kara is safe and alive somewhere,' Anana offered.
'At the moment, I am sure of nothing,' he replied quietly with a worried smile. 'Such as, "What was the mission of the mercenaries I was foolish enough to kill without questioning?"'
'Pietro was right,' Anana said, watching the motionless enemy ship with him. 'As were you. Keeping them alive . . . it would have been holding a live scorpion cupped in your hands. They were not the regular sort of soldier who deserves mercy.'
'No?' Roman said, his features bleak. He lowered his gaze. 'Well, I am not Dios himself, nor are any of us. It is ultimately up to Him to give or to withhold mercy. I should not have killed those men, regardless how repugnant their chosen way of life.' He sighed and, raising his head once more, changed the subject.
'Apparently Ricardo was showing Savalas' men the way to Port Haven, but he was unclear as to what they meant to accomplish there. I think, however, that they intended to lay in wait until darkness, before making their move-' a look of revelation spread across his features. 'They were to disable or interfere with the cannon. Savalas intends to move his ship closer before the launches are lowered to the water. He will do so after dark, when we can't see his men approaching.'
He took a deep breath, let it out slowly. 'Well, we shall have to do our best to surprise him. There are two heavy guns on the outer wall that are just inside the outer mouth of the port. They were put there to protect against any ship that managed to gain the mouth of the port. The problem is, despite their size and power, there are only the two of them, and the moment they go into use, the warship would quickly respond, destroying the guns and killing the men manning them.'