‘I don’t believe you.’
‘I have no choice,’ said Cali, showing him his scarred arms. ‘They whip me if not.’
He glanced nervously towards the open door. ‘Guard be back soon. I hear bad things. They not release your friends. No one.’
‘What do you mean?’ exclaimed Connor. ‘Not even if the ransom is paid?’
Cali shook his head. ‘They hand them to Seven Sabres. White man order it.’
Seven Sabres? A white man? Connor was confused, as well as troubled, by this development.
‘You’re in great danger,’ urged Cali. ‘We go now. There are skiffs on port side. We take them. We escape.’
Connor searched the boy’s eyes for any hint of deceit. But saw none. Against his better judgement, he decided he had to trust Cali with his life. After all, what other choice did he have?
Connor waited in the shadows as Cali approached the guard from the other end of the corridor. Connor recognized him as the jug-eared pirate from the yacht. He was dozing, slumped against the wall, his arms wrapped round his AK47 like a pillow. The pirate roused at Cali’s approach and stood up. He muttered something. Cali smiled innocently and produced a handful of green stems. Grunting in satisfaction, Juggs snatched the fresh khat from Cali’s grasp. As he picked through the leaves, searching for the smallest, greenest, most potent ones, Connor crept up behind.
His rescue plan relied on stealth, cunning and a great deal of luck. Cali was opposed to the idea, but Connor refused to leave the ship without Chloe, at the very least, under his protection.
Despite his nerves, Cali kept the pirate’s attention focused on him by chatting and pointing out the choicest leaves.
Connor got within ten paces … then five … three … two … He pressed the barrel of his gun into the small of the pirate’s back.
‘Gacmaha madaxa saara,’ said Connor, repeating the Somali phrase Cali had taught him.
The pirate froze, then dropped the khat and obediently raised his hands. Cali grabbed the AK47 before unlocking the door to the captain’s cabin. With a prod from his gun, Connor directed the pirate inside.
A middle-aged Japanese man in a creased and dirty captain’s shirt was startled from his sleep on the sofa. Switching on a table lamp, he scrambled for his glasses.
‘Nani? What’s happening?’ he demanded, blinking in astonishment at the teenage boy holding the pirate at gunpoint.
Connor tossed the captain a roll of gaffer tape that he’d taken from the storage room. ‘Quick. Bind him.’
Without needing to be told twice, the captain bound Juggs’ wrists, torso and ankles, and lastly taped up his mouth, pinning his ears back in the process. He then rolled him on to the floor, where Juggs lay helpless as a trussed-up turkey. The pirate, wrestling against his bonds, shook with fury when he saw that he’d been duped by a boy with a flare gun.
Connor pocketed the improvised weapon. The plan had worked; luck once more on his side.
The captain frowned at Connor. ‘I’m Captain Takayama. Are you the rescue party?’ he asked dubiously.
‘Sort of. I’m Connor Reeves. Chloe and Emily’s buddy-guard.’
If the captain was surprised, he didn’t show it. ‘You certainly have courage, young man. But where’s the rest of your team?’
‘This is it,’ admitted Connor. ‘Where are the girls?’
The captain pointed to an adjoining door. ‘One of them is in my quarters with Ms Ryder. The other was taken by the pirates to speak with her father.’
‘That’ll be Emily,’ said Connor as he opened the door to the bedroom. He heard someone sleepily protest in the darkness. ‘Chloe! Amanda! Get up. It’s Connor. We have to leave.’
‘Connor?’ Chloe rushed out and threw her arms round him. ‘I thought you were dead!’
Connor experienced a moment of déjà vu. He pulled away, wondering if this was actually Chloe … or Emily. He’d confused the twins once before and he wasn’t about to make the same mistake again – not when one was a possible traitor. He studied her face hard, then ran a hand through her hair.
‘What?’ said Chloe, smiling at his touch.
On her earlobe Connor spotted the telltale mole. He was rescuing the right one.
Connor returned her smile. ‘Nothing.’
Amanda emerged barefoot behind her. For once the supermodel wasn’t a picture of unblemished beauty. Her complexion was pale, her hair a mess and her make-up smeared from crying. ‘Captain Locke said the pirates shot you.’
‘They did. But my phone saved me.’ Chloe gave him a perplexed look and Connor added, ‘It’s a long story. Look, we have to go.’
Chloe remained rooted to the spot. ‘What about my sister?’ she asked, her voice as fragile as glass. ‘The pirates took her.’
Connor didn’t know how to soften the blow. Nor did he have the time to do so. ‘I suspect she’s in league with the pirates. Possibly has been all along.’
Chloe’s eyes glazed over with shock. ‘That’s insane.’
‘I know,’ said Connor. ‘But when I tried to rescue her she tricked me and led me into a trap.’
Chloe went to argue but saw the harsh truth in Connor’s eyes. She sat down on the sofa, struggling to come to terms with her sister’s supposed betrayal.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Connor, laying a hand on her shoulder, ‘but you’re my priority now. And we have to get off this ship before they discover we’ve escaped.’
‘What’s the plan?’ Captain Takayama asked.
Connor explained about the pirate skiffs tethered to the tanker and HMAS Melbourne stationed twelve nautical miles due east. ‘It’ll be a blind run in the dark, but Cali says the skiffs are all equipped with VHF radios, fuel and water. Once we’re a few miles clear of the pirates, we’ll contact the navy and hopefully they’ll send help.’
‘It sounds suicidal,’ said Amanda. ‘Why don’t we wait until Maddox pays the ransom rather than risking our lives like this?’
‘Because the pirates never intend to release us. Cali says we’re to be handed to the terrorists – Seven Sabres.’
Amanda went deathly quiet.
Captain Takayama took the AK47 from Cali and flicked off the safety catch. ‘After nearly six months of being a prisoner, it’s time I was a proper captain again. I must rescue my crew … and yours. I know where they’re being held. And if, as you say, there’s been a fresh delivery of khat, the pirates will be distracted and off-guard.’
‘Cali and I will help,’ said Connor.
‘No, your duty is to these ladies. Get them to safety. We’ll meet on the port side. If there are any problems, just go. Don’t risk your lives waiting for us.’
With a bow of respect to Connor, the captain hurried out of the cabin.
‘I have to get my shoes and belongings first,’ said Amanda, returning to the bedroom.
‘Just your shoes – and hurry,’ urged Connor, feeling every second ticking away was another lost opportunity for escape.
The pirate Juggs continued writhing on the floor, but the captain had done his job well and the bonds held firm. He glared at Connor then at Cali, his eyes venomous and filled with hate. Connor had no doubt that if the pirate got free he’d tear them both limb from limb.
‘I can’t believe my sister would do such a thing,’ murmured Chloe, looking to Connor to take back his words.
‘I’m sorry, Chloe, but I can’t deny what I saw –’ Connor caught a flash of movement in the doorway. Bucktooth, a bruise purpling his jaw, had just walked in on them, stunned to see Connor free and Juggs held prisoner. Connor rushed to grab him, but this time the pirate boy got to his revolver first.
‘Joogso!’ said Bucktooth, shoving the gun into Connor’s face, his hands trembling ever so slightly as his finger wrapped round the trigger. Connor didn’t know if the boy had it in him to actually kill someone, but he wasn’t willing to take the risk. Retreating back into the room, Connor raised his hands. So did Chloe.
Bucktooth spoke rapidly to
Cali in Somali. Cali’s reply sounded to Connor as if he was pleading. He then stepped away, distancing himself from Connor. For all his protests at not being a pirate, the boy was quick to change sides when it suited. But can I really blame him? The boy was a survivalist. In his brutal world, he had to be.
‘Hubka dhiga!’ said Bucktooth.
‘Put your weapons down,’ Cali translated.
Bucktooth was taking no chances with him this time. Connor slowly withdrew the flare gun from his pocket and dropped it on the floor. The pirate boy dipped the revolver’s barrel towards Connor’s other pocket and gave another order. Connor obediently reached in and pulled out the slim black tube Bucktooth had spotted.
‘It’s just a torch,’ explained Connor, holding it up for the boy to see. ‘Look.’
As Bucktooth peered at it, Connor depressed the button and a glaring green laser shot out. The Dazzler blinded the pirate. Darting forward, Connor leapt on Bucktooth and sent him crashing to the floor. In panic at losing his sight, the boy thrashed wildly and Connor fought to pin him down. Cali rushed to Connor’s aid, grabbing the boy’s gun and wrenching it from his grasp. Connor immobilized Bucktooth with a reverse choke. The pirate boy started to shout for help, but Connor applied pressure and the cry died in his throat as pain racked his body.
‘Quick, get the tape,’ Connor ordered Cali, glad to discover the stowaway was still on his side.
As Cali bound Bucktooth, the pirate boy started to sob. Connor couldn’t help but feel sorry for the lad. ‘Tell him the blindness is only temporary.’
Cali spoke quietly and the boy calmed down. Then Cali taped up his mouth.
Amanda peeked round the bedroom door. ‘Is it safe to come out?’
‘Depends upon your definition of safe,’ replied Connor, rolling Bucktooth on to his front and leaving him beside the other trussed-up pirate. He picked up the flare gun and Dazzler, pocketing them. Cali armed himself with Bucktooth’s revolver. ‘Time to go.’
The four of them hurried from the captain’s cabin, Connor taking a moment to lock the door. Then they dashed along the corridor to the main stairwell. Connor was about to lead them down, when he heard footsteps and saw the bald dome of Spearhead through the metal grilles. The pirate was coming their way.
Doubling back, they discovered another flight of stairs, reaching it just as Spearhead entered the corridor. Descending two flights to the main deck, they arrived at the external door. Connor peered through a porthole. Outside it was pitch dark, the stars pinpricking the sky. There were no guards in sight.
Connor looked back at Chloe. ‘Stay close to me.’
Chloe nodded. Connor put on his night-vision sunglasses. He’d need every advantage if they were to reach the skiffs without being spotted.
‘What’s with the sunglasses?’ hissed Amanda.
‘Night vision,’ whispered Connor, checking through the porthole once more; a good thing too. In his silvery enhanced vision, he spied a pirate leaning against the rail, smoking a cigarette. He’d been partly hidden behind a stack of oil drums stockpiled to refuel the skiffs. They’d have to wait for him to move on.
A tense minute passed. Still the pirate leisurely puffed away, seemingly unconcerned at holding a lit cigarette beside containers of flammable fuel.
‘We can’t stay here forever,’ whispered Amanda, glancing nervously over her shoulder at the cabins behind, any one of them potentially harbouring a pirate.
‘I know,’ said Connor, aware that Spearhead might have discovered Juggs and Bucktooth and already raised the alarm.
Footsteps rang out on the stairwell above.
They couldn’t wait any longer.
‘What’s hello in Somali?’ Connor asked Cali.
‘Iska warran,’ he replied, bemused.
Connor opened the bulkhead door and strode through the darkness towards the pirate.
‘Iska warran,’ he called out.
The pirate turned to him, expecting a friend. Instead he was blinded by a strobing laser. Connor rushed forward and shoulder-barged the pirate over the rail. The man let out a shocked cry then tumbled from view. Connor heard a splash and hoped he could swim. Noticing a life ring, Connor tossed it over the side just in case the man couldn’t.
Connor glanced along the tanker’s port side. Halfway down the deck, he spotted the figure of Captain Takayama. His crew clambered, one at a time, over the gunwale to descend a rope ladder. One of the skiffs was already full. He was too far away to be certain but Connor thought he recognized two women among the passengers, Sophie and Kathy from the Orchid. Which meant Captain Takayama had been true to his word – he’d freed the Orchid’s crew too.
Connor beckoned Chloe, Amanda and Cali out.
‘Stay underneath the pipework,’ he instructed. ‘There may be lookouts on the bridge tower.’
With a quick check above, Connor led the dash across the exposed deck to an overhead walkway. They ducked beneath its shelter, then picked their way through the tangle of struts, pipes and metalwork. The going was slow, since only Connor could see well enough in the dark. As he helped Chloe over a pipe, there was a startled movement and strange noise. Amanda let out a scream. Cali stifled it with his hand.
‘Goat,’ he whispered in her ear.
Amanda, her eyes wide, nodded that she understood and Cali removed his hand. But the damage had been done: her cry had caught the attention of a pirate. Through the lattice of pipes, Connor saw someone approaching on the walkway above. He signalled to the others to stay absolutely still. The pirate stopped no more than a few metres from them, his sandaled feet visible through the metal grilles. Connor watched the pirate as he hunted for the source of the sound. His eyes passed over them, but evidently he didn’t see them in the darkness. Then the pirate heard the goat bleat, a forlorn cry for its missing companion. The pirate spat at the beast, then shouted some abuse before walking away.
Further along the deck, Connor noticed Captain Takayama glance in their direction. He’d heard the pirate shouting and now hurried the last of his crew over the side before following them down the ladder himself.
‘They’re going to leave without us!’ gasped Amanda, abandoning their hiding place.
‘No! Wait!’ hissed Connor.
But Amanda had already bolted. She ran out on to the deck, putting herself in full view of the pirate. Connor prayed the man wouldn’t turn her way. Amanda reached the rail and was climbing over when a blaring alarm shattered the night and the tanker was suddenly ablaze with light.
Connor grabbed Chloe’s hand to make a run for it. But the pirate came charging back down the gantry. He saw Amanda and raised his AK47.
‘Joogso!’
He shot at her, bullets peppering the deck, just as she disappeared over the side and down to the skiff below.
With their escape route cut off, Connor hurriedly led Chloe and Cali round a storage tank to the opposite side of the ship. Pirates were now rushing on to the main deck. Some started firing over the port side. Connor could hear the roar of outboards as the two skiffs powered away.
With a sinking heart, Connor realized Captain Takayama and Captain Locke had been left with no choice but to abandon them. The Japanese captain had said himself, If there are any problems, just go.
‘What do we do now?’ said Chloe, cowering in the shelter of a pump. ‘We’ve no way to get off this ship.’
Connor glanced along the tanker’s starboard side. The gangway was still down. ‘The pirates think we’re on the skiffs. We need to get to the Orchid.’
‘Do you know how to pilot it?’ asked Chloe. ‘I certainly don’t.’
‘No. But the tender’s ready to launch.’
The alarm ceased. Only the crack of gunfire now punctured the night. Spearhead appeared on deck, barking commands at the pirates to pursue the hostages.
‘Let’s go,’ said Connor.
Stepping from the cover of the storage tank, they sprinted along the deck towards the gangway. Suddenly gunfire burst around thei
r feet. Connor pulled Chloe into his protection and dived behind a control box. Cali dropped down next to them. More bullets pinged off the metalwork.
‘Joog halkaaga!’ screamed a pirate.
‘He say to stay where we are,’ whispered Cali, his eyes white with fear.
‘As if we have another choice,’ Connor muttered, peering round the control box. Pirates were closing in from all sides. They were pinned down. Just as he’d been in his Buddyguard training exercise only a month before. But this time the bullets were real. And this time any mistake meant certain death.
As before, his next move would be crucial. He shook off any sense of tunnel vision, making certain to look everywhere for threats. In the daylight brightness of the tanker’s halogen floodlights, Connor spotted a pirate positioned by the oil drums, another on the walkway overhead and two sneaking down the port side, concealed by the network of pipes. Oracle was on a gantry overlooking the main deck. Emily was with him, Mr Ali holding a gun to her head.
Over the ship’s tannoy, the pirate leader announced, ‘Give yourselves up, or the girl dies!’
Chloe locked eyes with Connor. ‘We have to surrender.’
‘They won’t shoot her,’ Connor insisted. ‘Whether Emily’s one of the pirates or not, she’s more valuable to them alive than dead.’
‘I’ll give you to the count of five,’ said Oracle, his fury evident in his tone.
Chloe grabbed Connor’s arm. ‘How can you be so sure? They killed Brad!’
Connor couldn’t be sure.
‘Five …’
‘Emily could’ve been forced to trap you. Tortured. Anything!’ cried Chloe, becoming more and more distraught.
Connor realized he was taking a huge gamble by assuming Emily was one of the pirates.
‘Four …’
‘The Emily you describe isn’t the one I know,’ continued Chloe. ‘She’s my twin sister. We have to save her.’
‘Three …’
Chloe went to stand, but Connor pulled her back down behind the control box. ‘You may be right. But we’re not surrendering. The pirates never intend to release you.’
Bodyguard: Ransom (Book 2) Page 26