“When this is over, it’s going to be time to teach that boy how to shoot,” Eric said.
“I can help,” Jonathan said. “Andrew is a pretty cool kid. I think he’ll be a fast learner. He wants a chance to try. He’s been telling me every day.”
“He’ll get his chance, but not here and not now. I want him to stay below like Shauna said. Have you ever shot an AK-47 Jonathan? It’s not all that different than the M4, just different controls and magazines.”
“No, dude, but I’ve always wanted to. Is it the real deal?”
“No, it’s semi-auto, if that’s what you mean, but that’s okay. You’ve got six 30-round mags. It’s not as accurate as the M4, but we’re not going for precision here anyway. It’s a bigger and heavier bullet and may penetrate their cabins a little better than the 5.56. The main objective is to lay down steady fire to keep them on the defensive. I plan to start with the grenades. Shauna will dump three or four mags worth of bursts from the other M4 and my father will pick off any targets he can see with his Springfield.”
“Dude, that sounds like a solid plan! That one grenade you shot at the boat down south of Miami sure changed their minds. Maybe they will scare these assholes the same way!”
“Maybe, but I’m not trying to scare them. If they come close enough to be in range out here on the high seas, then the gloves come off and they’re fair game as far as I’m concerned. We’re on our own out here. If we don’t stop them, you can bet they won’t give us any quarter if they board this vessel.”
When Bart changed course, putting them on a new west-southwest heading, the two boats trailing them turned to follow, just as Eric expected they would. They still hadn’t broken radio silence on any of the VHF channels he could pick up, but that didn’t mean they weren’t in communication with each other, probably via walkie talkies or some other type radio in a different frequency band. They probably assumed the course change was in reaction to their shadowing of the schooner, and Eric hoped they would think it was because of fear, rather than a strategic plan for counterattack. If they made their move now, it would make little difference, as the sun was still too high. In another hour though, Eric would have the advantage he wanted. The boats were still spread apart, running beam-on-beam, which put them at a slight angle to either side of Dreamtime’s stern. They were maintaining their speed and distance perfectly, cruising in formation like a pair of predators running down prey, waiting for the right moment to pounce.
Eric got the extra hour he’d hoped for, as apparently the men aboard the fishing boats were waiting for night. Maybe they thought they could close in quickly in the dark, running without lights until they were close enough that they couldn’t miss when they started shooting. Eric could see that both vessels had large spotlights on elevated mounts atop their bridge decks. If they lit up the schooner from both sides with blinding light, it would make it difficult to return accurate fire. The more he thought of that scenario, the more Eric figured that was their plan, and Bart agreed.
“We’ll beat ’em at their own game, only we’ll be using the sun.”
“It’s going to work best for the one that’s to starboard,” Eric said. “The captain of that one is running dead into the sun now. If we make our move in the next half hour, it’ll have maximum effect. That other guy to port won’t be as blinded, so we need to hit him first.”
“I say we cut the power hard without warning,” Bart said. “It’ll take them a minute to realize we’ve stopped, and unless they just stop too, they’ll be in range real quick. We can put the helm down to starboard and heave-to to steady the motion, and then she ought to lie off with her starboard rail facing the enemy. That’ll give us room to spread out to several firing positions.”
“I agree. I’m going to work from the top of the coach roof ahead of the foremast. I can brace against the mast to steady the grenade launcher. As soon as you cut the power I’ll help you with the sheets before I get in position. You should be able to get her underway again quickly by falling off under power if necessary.”
“Where do you want me?” Jonathan asked. “I can go up forward with you and cover for you.”
“That’ll be good, but stay low on the port side deck, so you’ll at least have the cabin sides between you and their guns. Shauna, I want you to stay low in the companionway. You can stand there on the steps just high enough to shoot over the cockpit coamings. If they open up on us, nowhere on board is going to be totally safe. We need to hit them with everything we’ve got before they get a chance to get off a lot of return fire.”
Daniel, seeing Shauna getting into position with the rifle, now made his way to the companionway to try and talk her into taking cover with him and Andrew.
“You need to stay inside with Andrew, Daniel. Both of you need to get down low and stay there until this is over!”
“Well what about you, Shauna? You may know how to shoot, but you have no business in a gunfight! You should come down here with us.”
“Don’t worry about me! I’ll be fine. The more firepower we have the less likely they’ll have a chance to shoot back at all.”
“If everybody’s ready, it’s time to do this!” Eric shouted. “Get in your positions. The sun is dropping fast. We’ll lose our window of opportunity!”
With that, Eric moved his gear forward to the foremast. Jonathan got into position next to him, crouching on the side deck with the AK and its spare magazines. The two boats were lit up by the low-angle sunlight, making it easy to pick out all the details on their decks. Using the binoculars, Eric could see a man standing on deck near the bow of the port boat, the AR-type rifle slung across his chest clearly visible and leaving no doubt as to what these ‘fishermen’ were up to. The rest of the crew was either inside the cabin or up on the bridge deck behind the pilothouse windows, which reflected the light, making it impossible to see inside. He couldn’t see anyone at all on the starboard boat.
“See that guy on deck there on the boat that’s to port?” Eric asked Jonathan. “He’s got a rifle. Dad may take him out first, but in case he misses, I want you to focus on taking him out too as soon as I launch the first grenade. I’m aiming at the pilothouse of that boat first, because they don’t have the sun in their eyes as much as the crew of the starboard one. They’ll be better able to return fire than the others that are blinded.”
“So, you’re not even going to give them a warning shot into the water, like you did those other guys in the speedboat?”
“No. This is completely different, Jonathan. In that case there was no way to be sure what the men in that boat wanted, because they just came up fast out of nowhere. These guys have followed us for nearly eight hours. I’m not giving them any more time to prepare their attack. Those boats are moving a lot slower too and they’re bigger targets. Once they come into range after we stop, I’ll have a good chance of making some solid hits with the grenades. Just make sure that guy you can see doesn’t make it to cover where he’ll have a chance to fire back!”
“I gotcha dude! Don’t worry about me. I can do my part. I’ll get him before he has time to even think about shooting our way!”
“Don’t fire until you hear the first grenade explode, though. When that guy is down, focus on the pilothouse next. Whether the grenade hits it or not, dump a mag through those windows and reload as quickly as you can. I’ll be focusing on putting a grenade into the other one and you can back me up on that one too. We want to hurt them as much as possible in the initial attack, to diminish their ability to retaliate.”
Eric was as ready as he’d ever be. He’d instructed Shauna to basically do the same thing as Jonathan. With her M4 and Jonathan’s AK, along with Bart looking for targets with the .308, the men aboard those boats were going to be on the defensive. Would it be enough to turn them back? There was only one way to find out. He rushed to the cockpit to help Bart handle the sheets so they could heave-to as soon as Bart cut the power.
“I’m ready if you are. Let’s do it, Dad!�
��
Bart pulled the throttle lever back to idle and put the helm over to bring the bow into the wind enough to luff. As soon as the sheets went slack, Eric and Bart worked quickly to haul the fore and main to the centerline, and then Bart put the helm down to leeward and lashed it in place. Eric was back in position at the base of the foremast before the boat even began to settle in. He glanced at the two fishing boats and saw that they were still steaming forward and had not reduced speed. The gap would close fast, and he steadied himself against the mast with the grenade launcher pointing at his first target. That’s it, just keep coming. Just a little more….
Dreamtime was still rolling in the two to four foot seas, but the motion was slow and predictable now with the headsails aback and the main sheeted to centerline. Eric timed the roll and pulled the trigger when the deck was as near to level as it would get. The high-explosive projectile left the tube at just the right moment, arcing high through its trajectory before plummeting down again and penetrating the glass windows of the pilothouse. The detonation was instantaneous, and the next thing Eric heard was the first reports from Bart’s M1-A, followed instantly by Jonathan’s AK and Shauna’s M4. Eric saw the man on the deck go down, but his focus was on getting a grenade into the second boat. As he adjusted his aim to his new target, he saw several men pouring out of that second pilothouse with weapons. Bart’s steady firing dropped at least one, but the survivors were returning fire now, and Eric heard the incoming bullets hitting metal all around him. He was about to send his second grenade on its way at the peak of the roll when he was distracted by a sharp cry from Shauna, who suddenly dropped her weapon and disappeared down the companionway steps.
Eric knew she’d been hit, but there was no time to check her status until they could suppress the incoming fire. He aimed the launcher again and let the grenade fly. His timing with the waves wasn’t as perfect as the first, and the round missed the pilothouse but exploded on the side deck nearby. Eric saw two more of the men fall, but whether from shrapnel or his companions’ rifle fire, he couldn’t tell. He flipped the selector switch of the weapon to full auto and unleashed a sustained burst, cutting down at least one more as the others dove for cover. As he dropped the empty mag and inserted another, he swept his sights back to the first boat. It was still running at the same speed, but no one seemed to be in control as it veered off at an angle to the south. Someone was apparently still at the helm of the second one, however. Eric readied another grenade as it slowed and began turning to starboard.
“Go see about Shauna, Jonathan! Use pressure to stop whatever bleeding you see. I’ll be right there as soon as I take care of this!”
Six
ERIC PUT HIS NEXT grenade squarely into the port side of the second boat’s pilothouse, and when Bart finally stopped shooting, all incoming fire had ceased. Eric scanned both vessels through the binoculars, looking for signs of life, but when he saw nothing moving, he crawled aft to the cockpit where Bart was still kneeling by the helm.
“How bad was Shauna hit, Dad? Did you see?”
“No! I heard her cry out and just saw her stumble back down the ladder after she dropped her weapon. Jonathan says she’s bleeding a lot.”
“I’m going down there. I’ll send him back up to help you with the sheets. We need to fall off and get underway! If any of them are still alive, I don’t think they’ll follow us after getting hit like that, but I still want to create distance.”
Eric was confident that they’d taken out most, if not all of the crew of the two boats. He’d had better success than he’d hoped for with the 203s. Hitting both pilothouses from that distance was as much luck as anything else. Anyone inside those enclosed spaces was likely either dead or badly wounded, and the shrapnel would have damaged equipment and systems. The surprise counterattack had worked brilliantly, and the incoming fire had been minimal considering how outnumbered they were. It was enough to hit Shauna though, and Eric was anxious to find out just how badly she was hurt.
The handrail beside the companionway ladder was slippery with blood as Eric descended into the main salon. Shauna was stretched out on the teak sole with Jonathan and Daniel hovering over her. Andrew, who was sitting on the bunk beside them looked up at him as he entered, his eyes filled with fear and worry for his stepmom. Jonathan was applying pressure with a blood-soaked towel held against her right upper arm while Daniel and had her right hand in both of his, a bloody T-shirt wound tightly around it from her wrist to her fingers.
“Where is she hit?” Eric asked.
“It looks like a bullet went all the way through her arm just below the shoulder,” Jonathan said. “One went through her hand too. It’s bleeding like crazy!”
“Just keep the pressure on it! I’ve got something in my kit that should stop the bleeding!”
Eric yanked another of his dry bags open and pulled out his first-aid supplies. He felt like an idiot now for not having this stuff out and ready before the action began, but he’d been so focused on his weapons and strategy that it had slipped his mind. He opened a package of hemostatic combat dressings with a built-in clotting agent and grabbed a Rapid Application Tourniquet in case the hand wound involved an artery.
“I’ve got this, Jonathan! Go help my dad with the sails so we can get moving ASAP. Check with the binoculars to make sure you don’t see anyone still moving aboard those boats, and shoot any you do!”
Eric slid into place next to Shauna and kept the pressure Jonathan had been holding on the towel. Shauna was aware that he was there, and was holding herself together and remaining calm considering how much pain she appeared to be in.
“We stopped them, Shauna. I don’t think we have to worry about more trouble from those guys. Taking care of you is the top priority now.” Eric turned to Daniel: “How bad is her hand?”
“I don’t know, but it looks bad! There was so much blood I couldn’t see much of anything. I just wrapped it up to try and stop the bleeding.”
“It hurts,” Shauna mumbled. “It hurts a lot worse than my shoulder!”
Eric glanced at her rifle where it fell near the base of the steps. The bullet had also shattered the plastic pistol grip she’d been holding. Eric figured the round that hit her must have first struck her trigger hand and the grip and then gone through her upper arm. A couple more inches to the left and it would have been a whole different outcome. When he removed the towel Jonathan had been holding, and saw the entry and exit wounds, Eric felt much better about the situation. The kid had been right about the bullet going all the way through, but even so, it could have fragmented or shattered the bone. At the very least it must have tumbled by the time it tore through the arm, cutting through muscle tissue and doing plenty of damage. The first priority was to stop the blood loss, and after his quick assessment, Eric was confident the clotting agent in the dressings would take care of that.
“Keep the pressure on her hand,” Eric told Daniel. “I’m going to patch up her shoulder first. It looks like the round went all the way through, and that’s a really good thing.”
When he looked at her hand next after removing the bloody shirt, Eric saw that the bullet had ripped through the palm of her hand and out near the back of the wrist before continuing on to her upper arm cutting through the middle metacarpal and likely destroying both nerve and bone. She’d lost plenty of blood, but was lucky that it had apparently missed the larger arteries. Considering the conditions they were in now, without access to surgery, Eric thought she might lose use of the hand, at least partially. Even so, it could have been far worse.
“You’re going to have some pain to deal with, Shauna, but nothing life-threatening as long as it doesn’t get infected, so you’re pretty lucky.”
“Have you got something for the pain until we can get back to land?” Daniel asked. “We need to get her to a doctor as soon as possible.”
“Yes, I have something that will help, but a doctor? I don’t know where we’re going to find one, do you, Daniel? Maybe once we
find my brother, he might know. But we’ve got at least four days and nights of sailing just to reach the Louisiana coast. Then, we’ve got to make our way upriver, and hope that Keith is still around. It’s going to be up to us to help her get through this. I think you can forget about doctors. Give me a hand and let’s get her into that bunk, and then I’ll give her something to knock out the pain.”
When they had her situated, Eric told Shauna to hang in there. “You’re probably not going to enjoy the passage, and you won’t be hauling on any sheets or halyards, but you’ll survive. Just try to get some rest. We can handle everything else. I’m going back topsides to give Dad a hand.”
By the time Eric was back on deck, Bart and Jonathan had Dreamtime well underway with the sails set and the engine running at cruising speed. The two fishing boats were far out of rifle range now, the second one apparently dead in the water and adrift while the first was running off to the south as if it were on autopilot.
“That grenade you hit that one with must have killed everybody in the pilothouse,” Bart said. “No one has touched the throttle since and the helm must be stuck. Looks to me like she’s headed to the Yucatan.”
“Good!” Eric said. “If there’s anyone left on the other one, they must have lost interest in us, huh?”
“It sure seems that way. Jonathan told me about Shauna’s wounds. What do you think, son?”
“That she’s pretty lucky, considering. Clean entry and exit through the upper arm, so no bullet to dig out, and no vitals hit. Her right hand is pretty messed up though and it may not ever be the same. The incoming round almost went right up her gun barrel. It ripped through her hand and the pistol grip and her shoulder. The exit wasn’t much bigger than the entry though, so it had to be a jacketed round and it didn’t tumble much, if any.”
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