Drunk on a Boat

by Zane Mitchell

  I peered over the staircase railing and down into the lower compartment. I couldn’t see anyone, but that didn’t mean someone wasn’t sitting in the little landing area below. I held my breath and slowly descended the stairs. Solo was right behind me. When my head sank low enough, I was relieved to find the landing area empty.

  Wasting no time, I rushed towards the room that I’d seen Pam in days earlier and flung open the door. A lump of a blonde woman lay unmoving on the bed. My heart stopped beating for a moment. Was she dead? I rushed to her side while the rest of the crew all slid into the stateroom. Diego, bringing up the rear, shut the door behind us.

  “Oh my God,” I breathed. “Pam?” I rolled her limp, lifeless body over. Her face was even more swollen and bruised than it had been before. Guilt flooded my body. Had they finally killed her. What the hell had I done?

  Francesca and her brothers’ eyes widened when they saw her battered and bloodied face.

  Beto stared at the door. “These guys aren’t getting away with this,” he said, his jaw clenched tightly and the hand that didn’t carry his rifle squeezed into a fist. “If someone did this to my wife or my sister or one of my daughters, they wouldn’t live to see the light of day.”

  “Is she alive?” asked Solo.

  Cupping her jaw, I shook her lightly. “Pam?”

  And then I heard a tiny sigh, like a gasp for air. It was barely audible, but I’d heard it.

  “Pam!”

  “Danny…” she whispered through pale, chapped lips.

  “Yeah, Pam. It’s Danny. I’m here. We’re gonna get you outta here!” Rage at what they’d done to her boiled my blood.

  “Oh, Danny!” Slowly she began to awaken.

  I tried to pull her from the bed, but she was chained.

  Without a word, Francesca’s brothers all knelt to the floor and began to work on her bindings.

  “Pam, where’s Al? Do you know?” I asked.

  She shook her head listlessly. “I don’t know. I-I… I think they gave me something. I think they gave him something too. My head hurts.”

  Francesca shook her head. “We’ve got to get her to a hospital, Danny.”

  From the floor, Rico looked up at me. “They’ve got her chained to the bed, and the bed is attached to the floor. We can’t budge it, and we don’t have any tools. We’re gonna have to shoot it off.”

  “But they’ll hear us!” I countered. “They can’t know we’re here. We still have to find Al and get him off the boat.”

  “We don’t have a choice,” said Solo. “She needs medical assistance. We don’t have time to go looking for the key to her cuffs. We have to get her off this boat now!”

  “Al needs medical assistance too,” I countered. “They cut off his fucking finger!”

  “We’ll wait for another bolt of lightning and time the thunder,” said Solo. “It’s our only chance to get her out of here.”

  I stared down at Pam and then looked up at Francesca and her brothers. If this went wrong, we could very well be sentencing the whole group to disastrous consequences.

  Francesca put a hand on my arm. “It’s our only choice, Danny. We don’t have any other way to get the chains off her.”

  I sighed. “Alright. We need to be ready to run.” I kneeled down to scoop her up.

  Rico shook his head. He shoved me out of the way and handed me his speargun. “I’ll take her back to the dinghy. You’ve gotta find Al.”

  Pam’s face broke out into a panic, and she practically climbed me, grabbing me around the neck and squeezing as tightly as her weak arms would allow. “Danny, don’t leave me!” she begged.

  Gently, I unleashed my head from her terrified grip. “Pam, this is my friend Rico, alright? He’s gonna take good care of you, I promise. He won’t let anything happen.”

  She panted wildly. “Danny, you have to come with me. I’m so scared they’re going to kill me!”

  When Rico had her scooped up in his arms, I pressed the Ruger into his hands and squeezed his shoulder.

  “I know you’re scared, Pam, but you’re in good hands,” I promised.

  “He’s right,” Rico agreed. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Okay?”

  Though she began to sob, she nodded through her tears. “O-kay,” she cried.

  Before anyone had time to discuss the getaway plan, a flash of light lit up the sky outside of the porthole in Pam’s stateroom.

  Solo sighted in his rifle, aiming at the foot of the built-in bed where the chain was wrapped around the leg. “Everyone get back.”

  When the boom fired in the sky, Solo fired. The bullet glanced off the side of the chain and dug a hole into the sole of the ship.

  “Shit!” he cursed.

  But almost immediately after, another strike of lightning flashed past the porthole, followed by another boom of thunder. This time, he nailed the target, and the chain link exploded open.

  “Hurry!” said Rico, wanting to bolt to the door. “Someone could’ve heard the shots. We gotta get outta here.”

  Solo and I worked together to unwrap the chain from the bed, but it was still attached to the iron cuffs around her wrists. I piled the chain onto her stomach. “You’ve gotta hang on to these, Pam. Don’t let them fall while he’s running, alright?”

  Her head bobbed wildly as tears coursed down her cheeks.

  “Let’s go,” said Francesca, rushing towards the door. She opened it to find a surly Smitty standing in the doorway.

  “So I did hear something!” he snarled, pointing his gun at her. He reached forward and, grabbing a fistful of Francesca’s hair, jerked her around into a headlock. He pressed the muzzle of his gun against her temples. “Looks like I got me a room full of dead guys.”

  46

  We all turned our weapons on Smitty.

  “Let her go, Smitty,” I growled, aiming the speargun Rico had given me in his direction.

  With his arm still wrapped around Francesca’s neck, Smitty released his hold on her hair. With his free hand, he racked his gun, then pressed it harder into her temple.

  Francesca’s head dipped sideways. A tiny grunting sound escaped the back of her throat as her eyes closed.

  “Weapons on the bed,” he growled.

  My pulse surged. If anything happened to Francesca, I didn’t know what I’d do.

  Solo’s jaw tightened. Rifle drawn, he took a cautious step towards Smitty as the rest of us threw our guns to the bed as instructed. “You shoot my sister, and I shoot you.”

  Smitty grinned and pulled the gun off of Francesca’s head and aimed it at Solo. “Well, then, I guess you’ll just have to be the first one that I shoot.”

  Solo cocked his rifle and tipped his head sideways slightly, staring at Smitty down the barrel of his gun. “Take your best shot, cabrón.”

  Francesca’s hands shot forward, palms facing us. “Solo, no.” But before anyone could shoot, she smacked both of her hands against Smitty’s, knocking the gun loose. It went clattering to the floor and slid beneath the bed. In one smooth step, Francesca pivoted around and hammer-fisted him in the throat.

  Shocked, Smitty’s eyes bulged as he grabbed his throat, gasping for air.

  But she didn’t stop there. Francesca grabbed hold of his arm and hip-tossed the barrel of a man to the floor. His back hit the floor with a thud. Then, still holding his arm, she dropped into an arm bar and heel-kicked him in the chin, momentarily dazing him.

  “Holy shit,” I murmured.

  Her brothers and I all stared at her in stunned amazement as she climbed to her feet again. She’d no sooner recovered from her defensive move than Smitty tried to raise himself to his elbows.

  “Panchita! Watch out!” hollered Solo, pointing at the man behind her.

  Francesca spun around. Bouncing on one foot, she stomped her heel into his jaw, knocking him completely unconscious this time.

  With Smitty now down for the count, we stared at Francesca. All our mouths gaped open like we were members o
f the asthmatic mouth-breathers’ club.

  A slow grin poured across my face. I suddenly felt like raising her arm up and declaring her the winner by first-round knockout. I’d never seen a woman do anything so unbelievably cool. In another time and place, that might’ve been the match that lit my candle and then went on to burn the whole fucking house down.

  “Panchita! Where did you learn to do that?” asked Solo, his face full of shock.

  “Yeah, sis. We had no idea you had that in you,” breathed Diego.

  “There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me.” She grinned while readjusting her ponytail. “I told you I could handle myself.”

  “Yeah, but we had no reason to believe you,” he said, still stunned.

  Wide-eyed, I stepped over Smitty’s limp body towards the door. I chuckled. “Looks like you got a reason now.”

  “Yeah, it does,” said Beto, giving his sister a smile. “Impressive.”

  “Thanks, but we really need to get upstairs and find Al before someone else realizes we’re on this boat.”

  “But what about him?” asked Rico. Still carrying Pam in his arms, he gave Smitty a tap with his boot.

  Solo nodded. “Yes, we should probably secure him.” He patted his shirt and pants. “I don’t have any rope on me, though.”

  Francesca stepped forward and pulled a bag of zip ties from her back pocket. She handed them to her brother. “What is it that my big brother always says? By failing to prepare, you’re preparing to fail?” With a hand on her hip, she shot him a wink.

  A slow smile crept across Solo’s face. “Maybe I’ve underestimated you, Panchita.”

  “I could have told you that.” She pretended to think about it for a second, tapping a finger against her chin. “Oh, wait. Seems like I already did.”

  Solo sighed. “So you did.”

  Francesca pointed at her brother. “I saved your life, Solo. I think you owe me one.”

  He nodded, resigned to the truth. His sister had indeed saved his life. “So I do.”

  Diego stepped forward then and took the zip ties from Solo. “Listen, I’ll take care of this guy. You guys go get Al. I’ll be up when I’ve got him secured.”

  I patted Diego on the back. “Thanks, man. Alright, guys, let’s move out.” I led the group out the door, though the corridor, and back up the stairs to the saloon. When I was sure that the coast was clear, I motioned to Rico, and he followed me up, carrying Pam in his arms.

  “Go, go, go,” I said quietly as he dashed past towards the aft deck. Then I turned and gestured towards Francesca, Solo, and Beto to follow me to the galley and the stairs that would lead up to the top deck.

  As soon as I turned the corner into the galley, I ran into the tall ponytailed man that had abducted Pam from the resort. Behind him, seated around the L-shaped table beneath the large forward-facing windows, were the two monstrous guards I’d seen the last time I’d been on board.

  “What the fuck?” said the ponytailed man, clearly shocked to see us. “Where the hell did you come from?”

  I pointed to the air behind him. “He invited us.”

  When ponytail man turned to look, I gave him my best right cross, sending him stumbling backwards further into the kitchen.

  The two big guards immediately jumped to their feet, but my backups behind me had their guns drawn.

  “Don’t move,” said Solo.

  The two guards’ hands instinctively went up.

  Ponytail man stood back up, holding his jaw. “Ahh, is that all ya got?”

  Beto took a step towards him. “Is this the tough guy that likes to beat on women?”

  “That’s the guy,” I said.

  Beto nodded at me without peeling his eyes off of the ponytailed man. “We’ll take it from here. You guys go find Al.”

  “He’s all yours.” I reached back and pulled Francesca towards the stairs. Seconds later, the distinct smack of flesh on flesh echoed in the galley, followed by the thud of a body hitting the floor.

  47

  No sooner had my head crossed the threshold to the top deck than I heard Dexter’s crackly voice calling out across the room. “Well, hello, Daniel. So good of you to join us. I must say, I’m more than a little surprised to see you here. You’re more tenacious than Mack gave you credit for.” He tipped his head towards the sofa across the room, where Mack and Al were seated.

  Al’s eyes were closed, and his head bobbed forward slightly. His right hand lay across his lap, bandaged in a blood-soaked white cotton wrap, and his shirt was drenched in blood. His other arm was slung across the back of the sofa. He looked like he’d been through hell. I could’ve crawled out of my skin, I was so furious. I wanted to leap across the room and scoop Al up and get him to an emergency room, but Mack sat to the right of him, aiming a gun at his head.

  “You motherfucker! What did you do to Al?” I bellowed at Dexter.

  “It’s not what I did to Al. It’s what you did to Al. You weren’t following directions, Daniel. I had to send you a warning that you’d heed.”

  My eyes zeroed in on Mack then. “You bitch, I knew it was you.”

  “Oh, Drunk. It’s nothing personal,” said Mack, a smile curling the sides of her mouth into a smarmy grin.

  “Nothing personal? You let your goons take Al’s fucking finger!”

  “That wasn’t personal either,” she said with a shrug. “I told you you should’ve handed over the money to my brother.”

  “Your brother!” I bellowed. “This asshat Harry Potter wannabe is your brother?”

  Mack’s smile vanished as she turned the gun on Francesca then. “Make fun of my brother one more time, and I bury a bullet in your new girlfriend’s head.”

  I held my hands out in front of myself. “Whoa! Whoa! Mack! She’s not my new girlfriend!”

  “As if I believe you. You’ve got a real problem bouncing from woman to woman. You know that, Drunk?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I know that. I’m working on it. Put the fucking gun down, Mack.”

  She turned the gun back to Al’s temple. “You know, I do kind of feel bad about getting him involved. Mr. Becker’s always been nice to me.”

  “Then what the fuck were you thinking?”

  She furrowed her brows. “I was thinking seven million dollars in my bank account would provide a much better lifestyle than being a stripper in Vegas for the rest of my life.”

  “But you’ve got a fucking gorgeous mansion and a yacht, for crying out loud. Why the hell do you need seven measly million dollars?”

  “Duh, haven’t you figured it out yet? That’s not our aunt and uncle’s villa. Our aunt and uncle live in a trailer in West Virginia. The villa and the yacht belong to some shmuck who thinks he’s my sugar daddy. He said I could crash at his villa while he takes his wife on a European vacation. Who knew his offer included the use of his yacht?” She giggled. “He sure didn’t.”

  “But now my sister and I want our own villa and yacht. And that’s where you came in, Daniel. When my sister mentioned that one of her new coworkers, this idiotic manwhore, was worth seven million dollars, we knew we had to figure out a way to get our hands on that money.”

  I shook my head. “But I don’t understand. How’d you even know about Pam? You couldn’t have possibly known that she was gonna show up at the resort. I didn’t even know she was gonna show up at the resort.”

  Mack laughed. “I didn’t know about Pam. My plan was just to sleep with you, get you to marry me and then take your money. But then, lo and behold, Pam showed up. I thought kidnapping her and demanding ransom sounded a hell of a lot easier than trying to convince you to marry me.”

  “You were going to convince me to marry you?” I said, astounded.

  “I know. You would’ve been a lucky man. It would’ve been a win-win, honestly. I would’ve gotten your money, and you would’ve gotten to be married to me.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Oh, please! I wouldn’t have married you if my life depended on it! You we
re a distraction. A flavor of the week. Sorry to break it to you, little girl, but men don’t marry flavors of the week.”

  Mack pursed her lips and pushed her hair back over one shoulder.

  Nothing made me happier than to see that I’d wounded her pride after everything she’d put all of us through.

  “Well, I admit, it might have taken me a while, but I would’ve gotten there eventually. Which is why, when Pam showed up, it sounded like a much faster plan just to kidnap your old fiancée and hold her for ransom. But you fucking lied to me and told me you still loved her.”

  “Oh, let’s talk about who fucking lied to who, shall we?” I bellowed.

  Mack waved a hand in the air dismissively. “Oh, Drunk. Can’t we let bygones be bygones?” She patted the green duffle bag on the sofa next to her. “After all, I’ve gotten what I came for. I think I can finally forgive you.”

  I grimaced. “Oh, gee, thanks.”

  She smiled. “My pleasure.”

  Dexter stood up and looked at Mack. “I don’t know about you two, but I’ve had enough of this chitchat.”

  Mack rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

  He turned his gaze on me and Francesca. “Daniel, you and your new girlfriend have hitched a ride on my boat long enough. I think it’s time for a repeat of the other day. Don’t you?” He smiled, his eyes widening with glee. “I actually never thought I’d get to say it again. Of course, this time there’s not going to be any boat waiting for you.” He pouted out his bottom lip. “Only sharks.”

  Francesca looked at me, worry in her eyes.

  Dexter put one hand on his chest, and with the other pointed towards the ocean, like he was fucking Lewis and Clark, he said, “Now I think it’s time for you to walk the pl—”

  I pulled the speargun out, and before he could finish his sentence, I fired. The spear soared through the air, piercing through his hand and sending blood splattering against the back wall.

  Mack whipped her gun around at me as her brother screamed in agony.

  “Ahhhhhhhh! My finger! You fucker!” Dexter screamed.

  That was when the lights went out. The room went dark. Thunder growled around us as lightning flashed out on the horizon. Through the thunder and Dexter’s wild screams, I could hear the sound of a scuffle breaking out on the sofa across the room. And then a shot rang out. I heard the bullet whistle through the air and shatter the window behind me. I tackled Francesca to the floor.