by Perrin Briar
Jordan stepped forward. Ori lowered the gun to his chest.
“Don’t come any closer,” he said.
“So this is it?” Jordan said, lowering one hand and running it over the tins and bars of chocolate between them. He picked up a tin of corned beef. “This is what you sacrificed us for?”
“Oh my Lord, no,” Ori said. “For a whole lot more than this. But then the Lurchers turned up in their little boat. They spoiled everything.”
“We thought you were dead,” Jordan said. “The blood on the deck…”
“Oh, that,” Ori said. “I was surprised by how much was in that skinny little pipsqueak too. I recruited the help of a local urchin boy. He helped me ferry the food from the vault.”
“The urchin boy…” Jessie said, her voice haunted. “I saw him. I helped him!”
“Thank you for that,” Ori said. “He turned out to be a harder worker than I’d expected. Without him there wouldn’t be half the foodstuff here.”
His expression darkened.
“That damn undead ship,” he said. “I could see what it was going to do before it did it. I cast off immediately. The boy was still on board, unloading his wheelbarrow. I considered tossing him overboard. Having no mouth to feed is cheaper even than a small one. But I didn’t have to feed him yet, and until that moment, he could only be an asset.
“As I sailed away from the docks the undead did a very curious thing. They looked at the back of this boat as if they’d seen it before. They looked curious. Curious! I assumed it must have been my imagination. Lurchers can’t feel curiosity any more than they can feel anything else. But it spooked me, I can tell you. But it didn’t really matter. I was leaving. The city could burn to the ground for all I cared.
“But as I got close to the Suez Canal entrance many other ships and their captains had had the same idea as me. No one would give way, and everyone rushed to get through. There was a crash, and they jammed together. I turned the wheel, but a damn fishing trawler pulled out in front of me! I confronted the captain, withdrawing my blade to stab him, when his eyes widened and he froze. Now, I can be a scary man when I put my mind to it, but right then his eyes were filled with a fear beyond life and death.
“I turned to see a small boat of the undead heading directly for us! So, I did what any sane man would do. I got the boy and nailed his hands to the boat. I was certain the creatures would prefer an easy meal, no matter how small, than one they would have to fight tooth and nail for.”
“You’re a monster,” Jessie said.
“I’m a survivor,” Ori said. “So are you. Sometimes that requires us to do monstrous things. I’m sure you understand.
“I came into this main cabin and hid amongst the foodstuff. The Lurchers discovered the boy and I heard them tearing him to pieces. They came down the stairs and bumbled around, bumping into stuff. It sounded like they were searching. A Lurcher who searches? I couldn’t believe it. But then I didn’t need to believe it. It was all happening right before my very eyes. Eventually they left. But they didn’t get back into their small boat, but climbed onto the fishing trawler. I couldn’t move. I stayed where I was.”
He smiled.
“And then I heard a wonderful sound,” he said. “Your voices. You saved me once, and now you were going to do it again! Unwittingly, of course. I don’t know how you got out of your prison cell, and I don’t care. But I was confident in your skills and allowed you to do what you do so well – survive. I would just tag along for the ride. I don’t know what you had to do to escape, but by the gunshots and explosions and Lurcher attacks I’m guessing it wasn’t altogether pleasant. Then it became silent. I just had to wait until the right moment to emerge.”
“That’s quite a story,” Jordan said.
“But now it must come to an end,” Ori said. “I no longer have need of you – any of you. You’ve served your purpose.”
He raised his pistol at Jordan’s head.
“You’re right,” Jordan said, voice calm and steady. “Except for one thing.”
Ori kept his arm up, but made no other movement. It was a sign to continue.
“Those Lurchers – the ones who searched this cabin – are indeed different to the ones you’re used to,” Jordan said. “They’ve been following us.”
Ori was silent a long moment, processing the ramifications of Jordan’s statement.
“Following you?” he said, a frown cutting deep grooves in his forehead. “Since when?”
“Since the beginning,” Jordan said.
“That’s impossible,” Ori said.
“Impossible, and yet it happened,” Jordan said. “It still is.”
A smile spread across Ori’s face. He turned it on Anne and Jessie, but they didn’t break their own serious expressions.
Ori’s grin slipped from his face.
“You’re lying,” he said. “These things are just beasts. Nothing more.”
“You’re right,” Jordan said. “But even beasts can have masters.”
“You expect me to believe you when you have a gun in your face?” Ori said.
“You can put it down, if you like,” Jordan said. “I’ll say the same thing. You can kill us and throw our bodies over the side, but their master will come looking for us, and he will find you. How do you think he’s going to react when he finds out you killed us?”
“He might reward me,” Ori said.
“You don’t know him,” Jordan said.
Ori’s eyes shifted from Jordan to Anne and back again.
“Even if what you say is true, it changes nothing between us,” he said. “I still have to kill you.”
“Not necessarily,” Jordan said. “Drop us off somewhere. Leave us alive for the overlord to chase. He’ll give up chasing you and will come after us.”
Ori pressed his lips together. He raised the pistol at Jordan again, and stared at him for a long time. Then he lowered it.
“Fine,” he said. “You get your wish. But obviously I can’t have you running all over the ship. Get down on your knees – all of you.”
They did.
“Hands behind your back,” Ori said. He turned to Sam. “You, pick up those zip ties and-”
Jordan whipped the tin of corned beef at Ori’s head. He ducked out of the way, lightning fast, and raised the gun. He pulled the trigger. The bullet caught Jordan’s shoulder and blew a small splatter of blood across the back wall. Jordan vaulted over the foodstuff, and grabbed Ori’s gun arm, twisting it. Ori moved with the twist and spun in the air, kicking Jordan back.
Jordan raised his own forearm, and connected with Ori’s hand. The gun went off again, this time blowing a hole in the roof. Jordan turned his hand into a C-shape and grabbed Ori’s wrist. He wrenched Ori’s shoulder and knocked the gun free. Ori landed on a sofa, but was up on his feet in an instant, his hands held in front of himself, prepared for the next attack.
“I thought you didn’t have any fighting skills?” Jordan said, panting.
“Oh, I might have stretched the truth a little bit there,” Ori said. “I might have picked up a few tricks in the Israeli army.”
“The Israeli army?” Jordan said.
“Former Captain Ori Mizrahi, at your service,” Ori said. “I never did learn where you’d trained.”
“The SAS,” Jordan said.
“The poor British cousin of the US Navy seals,” Ori said, shaking his head.
Jordan didn’t rise to the bait.
“But with self-control,” Ori said. “I salute you, sir. Or would, if I could lower my hands.”
“Why don’t you?” Jordan said. “Then we could settle this like men.”
Ori raised his head and laughed, a bark, but kept his eyes on Jordan.
“Ha! Did you honestly just say that?” he said. “You must have seen a lot of cowboy movies in your day.”
“I did,” Jordan said. “I suppose this is our big showdown at the end.”
He stepped toward Ori and threw a punch. Ori ca
ught it and, using Jordan’s momentum, pulled him forward, onto the stairs. Jordan turned and scrambled up the steps backward on his hands and feet. Not too graceful, but it got him out of harm’s way. Ori followed him up onto the deck. Jordan backed away from the stairs in a fighting stance.
With no one at the wheel, Hope Tomorrow had delivered them ten yards from the coast.
“Beautiful night, isn’t it?” Ori said, hands behind his back and taking in the cold night air. “So peaceful and calm.”
He was pretending he wasn’t paying attention, but Jordan could see the muscles in his arms were tense. An impatient man would have been angered at the rebuke and rushed him, but Jordan maintained his cool and waited.
Ori turned to him and smiled.
“You know, you surprise me all the time, Jordan,” he said. “And I’m a man who likes to think he’s not easily surprised.”
“I’m glad to disappoint you,” Jordan said.
Anne and Jessie came up the steps.
“Shall we make them part of our fun little game?” Ori said.
Jordan bristled. Ori had hit a nerve.
“Oo,” he said. “You didn’t like that, did you? Well, what if I were to lay my hands all over your lovely ladies? Treat them the way they deserve?”
Jordan saw red and rushed forward. Ori was ready, and grabbed Jordan around the chest as he came in low and hurled him over the side. But Jordan had a good grip on Ori’s shirt, and as Jordan fell, he took Ori with him. They splashed into the water, but didn’t sink. The Red Sea was famous for its high salt content.
They turned to face one another, the salt stinging their eyes. They pounded at each other with their fists, but with nothing to offer purchase, it was a comical display. As trained fighters they made the most of it and leveraged their weight up and brought their elbows down onto one another’s ribs and head.
Ori grabbed Jordan by the hair, forcing his face into the water. Bubbles erupted out of Jordan’s mouth, but the water pushed back against him, and he was able to breathe a mouthful of air every few seconds.
Jordan turned in the water and put his feet on Ori’s chest. He straightened his legs and pulled himself away. There was a tearing sound as Ori wrenched a handful of hair from Jordan’s scalp.
Jordan reached down with his feet, his soles meeting solid ground. Ori’s did too. They shared a look and an unspoken understanding passed between them. They waded into the shallows and onto the coast. It was sandy with rocky pebbles.
“Are we going to do this all night?” Ori said.
“I’m willing if you are,” Jordan said. “What’s the matter, getting tired already?”
“Not at all, I’m just about warmed up,” Ori said.
“With the way you’ve been fighting, I’d believe it,” Jordan said.
“Ah, the playground insults,” Ori said. “A fight is never half so satisfying without them. It becomes too serious.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” Jordan said.
This time it was Ori who burst forward. He jumped and hurled himself at Jordan’s chest, but Jordan was ready for the move and stepped to the side and threw a punch to where he knew Ori’s chest would be when he landed. Ori took it with a grunt. He fell back a step and used the momentum to throw a punch at Jordan, who was pressing forward, and caught him on the chin. Jordan shook his head.
Ori was fast, and Jordan barely had time to detect the blows before he could react. Ori punched Jordan’s chest and responded with an upward thrust to Ori’s chin.
Jordan slipped in behind Ori and wrapped his arm around his neck, but Ori ducked and avoided the hold. He stood up and threw his head back, smacking Jordan in the face. Jordan felt his nose explode. Blood spilled down his mouth and chin, dripping onto the sand.
Jordan leapt back as Ori came in to capitalise on his successful strike. Jordan backed away again and rolled, moving to one side and then another until he came back to his senses.
Ori was on him. His fists flashed in the moonlight. Jordan blocked the first blow. His second struck Jordan’s ribs with a decisive crunch. Jordan crumpled sideways before Ori punched him full in the face, and Jordan dropped to one knee. Sensing victory, Ori raised his leg to slam his knee into Jordan’s face, when a finger slipped into the corner of Ori’s mouth and pulled him away. Ori spun and knocked his assailant to the ground. It was Jessie.
He rushed at her, but a leg caught him across the head, snapping his neck back. He hit the ground. This time it was Anne.
“Don’t tell us not to attack him,” Anne said to Jordan.
“I’m not going to,” Jordan said, getting to his feet. “Just be careful of his hands. They’re fast. We don’t want to get into a situation where he grabs one of us and holds us hostage to get what he wants. We know that’s his favourite tactic.”
“Beat him without giving him an opening,” Jessie said. “Got it.”
Anne and Jessie shared a smile and approached Ori.
“Three against one?” Ori said. “That seems fair!”
There was a polite cough.
“Actually, it’s four against one,” Sam said. He turned to Jordan, Anne and Jessie. “My wrestling skills might be a bit rusty, but they’re yours if you need them.”
“I don’t need to beat you one on one,” Jordan said to Ori. “Even if I couldn’t, so what? I’m not alone, and you are, so you were always going to lose. This is why being a lone wolf never pays. You need others to have your back. This isn’t a Hollywood film and I don’t need to pretend like I can beat you. You don’t stand a chance against us, no one does.”
“You’re going to let your women do your fighting for you?” Ori said with disdain.
“One,” Jordan said, holding up a finger, “they’re not my women. They’re people I care very much about. They don’t belong to me, or anyone else. And two, we’re a team.”
Anne threw a punch, striking Ori in the face. He stumbled back a step. Then Jessie kicked him in the knee, taking out his balance, and threw a solid punch, at the same time Anne kicked him in the groin. Then Jordan leapt forward.
All three of them tore into Ori with their fists and feet, elbows and knees, beating and pulverizing him like a slab of meat in a butcher’s window. Sam kept a discreet distance back, prepared to jump in should they need him.
Jordan punched at Ori, but he did well in blocking him. Then Ori reached up to seize Jordan by the shoulders, and positioned his weight to knee him in the ribs, but Anne was already there to his right, and brought her foot down on Ori’s back leg. The extra weight brought Ori to his knees. Jessie performed a side kick, her form perfect, the weight of her whole body coming through the sole of her boot and into Ori’s face. Ori’s teeth flew from his mouth amid a spray of blood.
Anne took a punch to the face and fell back, but Jessie was there, and dealt Ori a vicious open-palm thrust to the chin, knocking his head up, and followed with an elbow across the chin. Jordan grabbed Ori’s leg and spun around, twisting, holding him tight. Anne did likewise with his arm.
Ori struggled, but it was no use.
“Stop,” he said. “Stop!”
Jessie got in a couple more kicks to his ribs before falling back, panting with the exertion. Jordan and Anne released him.
Ori fell to his hands and knees, breathing hard. Blood spilled from his split lips. He gripped a handful of sand, no doubt to throw. Jessie stomped on his fingers with her heel. The sharp clicks of broken fingers was audible to all. Ori grunted, his fingers wobbling all over the place like they were made of jelly. He held his fingers to his chest.
Ori chuckled through his pain.
“Is something funny?” Anne said.
“Yes,” Ori said. “You. All of you. You do this, but you won’t kill me. You can’t. Your consciences won’t let you.”
A wave of revulsion rose up in Jordan, Anne and Jessie’s throat. At this sorry piece of humanity, at themselves at the truth of his words.
Ori grunted through his teeth as he got to his
feet, a little unsteady.
“It’s been fun hanging with you all,” he said. “But now I really must be going.”
He extended his hand. Jordan looked at it.
“You don’t think I’m going to leave empty-handed, do you?” Ori said.
Jordan considered Ori for a long moment.
“Give him some of the food,” he said to Jessie.
“You can’t be serious!” Jessie said. “Not after everything he did to us!”
“We’ve paid him back,” Jordan said. “Besides, it’s worth it to see him go. He might be a liar and a cheat, but we don’t have to sink to his level. Give him one bag.”
Jessie glared at Jordan, and then Ori, before turning and marching into Hope Tomorrow. No one said a word as Jessie, audibly, and with great anger, filled a bag with food. She hopped down onto the beach, drawing the drawstring top closed. Ori extended his hand. Jessie tossed the bag at his feet. Ori smiled as he bent down, hissing between his teeth at the pain.
“No kiss goodbye?” he said.
Jessie spat at him. Ori wiped the phlegm off his face.
“Almost as good, I suppose,” he said. “At least we shared some bodily fluids, even if they’re not quite the ones I was hoping for. I enjoyed our little party. We should do it again sometime.”
Jessie turned away, studying the calm water with intensity, arms folded.
“You truly are weak,” Ori said to Jordan. “One of these days you’ll be forced to do what you so detest. I just wish I could be there to see it.”
“You’ll be too busy dying in a cold dark cave with your enemy wrapped around your throat,” Jordan said. “Alone. I don’t need to be there to see that. I see it every time I look at you.”
Jordan smiled.
“Happy trails,” he said.
Ori considered Jordan’s words for a moment before shouldering his bag. He saluted, turned, and headed into the darkness, the twigs and dried lumps of dirt breaking beneath his feet.
39.
“I still don’t see why we let him go,” Jessie said, still staring out at the calm water. “He deserved nothing from us, and it means we have to work harder to stay alive.”