by J. B. Hawker
“You make it sound so easy.”
“It is...and it isn’t. It is a simple choice, but I have to keep making that same simple choice every minute of every day. That’s the hard part. It has been worth it, though. At least, so far.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Bunny. You have given me much to think about...something besides these horrible pirati.”
Bunny tried to remember her pretended age as she walked around the designated area on deck, noticing how the guard tensed up when she approached the boundaries of her new little world. She was fortunate the pirates had relaxed a bit and were no longer requiring their prisoners to remain stationary and silent.
Her meandering brought her quickly to the group of men gathered around Max. She sat down at his side, resting her head on his shoulder. She was suddenly overcome with fatigue.
Max reached around and pulled her close and the others wandered back to their usual stations.
“You okay, Sweetie?” Max asked.
“I think the turmoil has caught up with me. I’m just exhausted, suddenly. How are you doing?”
“I’m a little worried, honestly. These guys seem to think everything is going to be hunky dory, if we just wait quietly until we’re ransomed.”
“You don’t agree?”
“Does this ship look like it belongs to anyone who could afford to pay a ransom?”
“What about the governments of all the people on board?”
“The U.S. does not pay terrorist ransoms. I don’t know about all the other countries, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they have the same policy.”
“Then what are we going to do? The pirates have already shown they don’t mind killing people.”
“I’m not sure. I’ve got a couple of ideas running around in my head. Why don’t you try to get some rest?”
Bunny made herself as comfortable as possible with her head in Max’s lap and, in spite of their situation, was soon asleep.
Virginia and Marki were sitting on the other side of the deck area discussing the new arrivals.
“I wonder what those two wrinklies were doing all alone in the middle of the ocean on a sailboat,” Marki said. “Shouldn’t they be in assisted living somewhere?”
“Oh, they aren’t as old as all that, dear. I talked with the woman, Bunny, and she’s not even as old as I am. She said they tried to make themselves seem older to trick the pirates into going easy on them.”
“So the old bearded guy isn’t really drunk, either? He sure stinks of booze.”
“That’s right. All part of the disguise, I understand.”
“Well, I don’t know what good it did them. Sounds sort of crazy to me. Do they think this is a game, or something? I sure could tell them a thing or two about that.”
“I know, dear. I’m sure they don’t mean to make light of your troubles. How are you feeling today, by the way?”
“My head aches, my face hurts like heck, my ribs are sore and I’ve got other pains I’d rather not talk about, but I suppose I’ll live.”
“That’s right, dear. Keep your chin up. We’ll all be out of this before you know it.”
“I hope you’re right, Virginia, but I seriously doubt it. I’ve seen just how vicious these guys are. I don’t trust them to let us go, even if they do get their ransom money.”
Chapter Eleven
There has been a great slaughter among the people. ─ 1 Samuel 4:17
The sun was still below the horizon, its rays just beginning to warm the sky, blotting out the stars and fading the darkness to a lush purple-gray, when Bunny’s parched throat and a stomach cramping from hunger awoke her. She arose carefully, each movement introducing her to a new stiffness as her joints and muscles protested against a restless night spent on the cold, hard deck.
Tiptoeing carefully over her still-slumbering fellow prisoners, their bodies sprawled awkwardly; she made her way to the communal water barrel to rinse her mouth and throat, still tacky with sleep. The brackish water slaked her thirst, but it did nothing to refresh her mouth.
“Oh, for a toothbrush!” she lamented to herself.
Bunny had not eaten since the previous day’s lunch. She began looking around for food and spied a cardboard grocery box. As she approached it, she began to notice an aroma of days-old garbage and discovered, as she feared, this box was the source of the stink.
Picking through the spoiled fruit, stale bread and partially consumed left-overs, she plucked out a half-eaten apple and some crusts of bread and ate them quickly, before she could dwell on just who might have previously shared these delicacies.
Her own immediate needs met, she continued picking over the more unappetizing bits until she found a few edible items to take to Max.
If they were going to get out of this mess, they must force themselves to eat, no matter how their stomachs might rebel at the thought.
Now she understood Sammy’s comment about the food when they first arrived. These poor people had been forced to live like this for days!
“Good morning, Buns. Where have you been?” Max was rubbing the sleep from his eyes when Bunny returned to his side.
“I’ve brought you breakfast. Not what we are used to, I’m afraid. The cuisine on this cruise ship isn’t up to the usual standards. I tried to find the least disgusting remnants available, though. Here.”
“Thanks, I guess. At least we won’t starve, if we can get past the smell and choke this stuff down. Did you have anything?”
“Half a bruised apple and some crusts of stale bread, but it should do me, for now. I don’t think I need to worry about gaining weight on this cruise ship.”
The others were waking, now, and going through the motions of their daily routines. They scavenged for edible morsels, just as Bunny had done, drank from the common barrel and made trips to the slop buckets placed in the most inconspicuous spot available.
Bunny marveled at the way basic human needs cut through all differences in background, status and beliefs in situations such as this. They were all equals here. They were, quite literally, all in the same boat.
She watched a young girl dab water on her bruised and battered face and wondered what had happened to her. She seemed to be the only member of their group with injuries.
Bunny was waiting idly beside Max, observing the others and wondering what was in store for them all, when she became aware of a commotion in the prison compound across the deck, about one hundred yards away.
“Bring them here! Bring those five there. Now, hurry, it is almost time!”
Shimbir was shouting at the men guarding this group.
“Jama, come here with your camera!”
Three frightened women and two men were pushed roughly against the railing and made to stand in place.
“Three more minutes, Jama. When I give the order, take the video.”
There were more shouted Somali instructions and one of the guards raised his weapon and pointed it toward the five standing petrified at the rail.
Shimbir, with his eyes on his watch, raised one arm overhead and paused for a moment before swiftly swinging it down, “Now!”
Gunfire rang out and five innocent blood spattered victims fell to the deck. The gunman swung his weapon on its strap out of his way so he could help Shimbir toss the bodies overboard while Jama recorded everything.
The guards resumed watching their surviving prisoners while Shimbir and Jama rushed off talking excitedly.
The people near Bunny just stood and gaped. She clutched at Max’s arm as her knees shook violently. Equally stunned, he eased her shakily to the deck. This was so much worse than he had feared.
Warren snapped out of it, first. He rushed to Max’s side and whispered, “Now is the time for Plan B!”
Leaving Bunny rocking and hugging her knees, the two men moved off to talk privately.
All around, the prisoners began talking to one another in low, frightened voices.
“Strother, those poor people! Did you recognize any of them? Oh,
how I hope they were believers!”
“It’s too late for them, now, if they weren’t.”
“Why do you suppose the pirates shot them? They seemed to pick them out at random.”
“My guess would be that the pirates set some sort of deadline for the ransom and it wasn’t met. We may see more of that, if payment isn’t made soon,” Strother said.
“Sammy! Did you see that? What are we going to do? We might be next!” Celine clung tightly to her partner’s strong arm.
“Easy, CeCe. Panicking won’t help,” Sammy replied gruffly. She had been shaken, too, more than she wanted to show.
Marcella choked back tears, “Do not worry, Marco. These men will not want to hurt us. Look, the new man, Mrs. Bunny’s husband, is talking with your friend, Warren. They will know what to do. Go to them. Tell them you want to help.”
Given a push by his mother, Marco shuffled uncertainly across the deck.
“It might work, Banks. It’s risky, but from what we just saw, it may be our only chance. Hello, Marco! What can I do for you?” Warren addressed the boy, quickly changing tack.
“My mom said I maybe can help with what you are planning.”
“That’s very brave of you, Marco,” said Max.
“We will need every man’s help, I’m sure,” Warren offered.
“What can we do, though? Those guys have guns. We have nothing,” Marco said.
“We have our wits, son, and we are desperate. Desperation can give a man strength,” Warren said and Max nodded.
“You go on back to your mother. We’ll let you know when the time comes to act. Thanks!”
The boy walked back to his place with a more assured step. He was determined to join the other men to do whatever was needed.
Bunny couldn’t stay still any longer. She got to her feet and began pacing randomly. When she found herself near Marki she stopped.
“What happened to your face?” she blurted out.
Marki merely offered a deadpan stare.
“Oh, I’m sorry. That was rude of me. I’m afraid what just happened affected me more than I knew. I’m Bunny, by the way.”
“Marki.”
“Well, Marki, I’m pleased to meet you. Guess I won’t bother you, anymore. Again, I’m sorry.”
“No, that’s all right. I didn’t need to be so huffy. We’re all pretty shook up, I guess.”
“Is this the first time the pirates have done something so cold-blooded?”
“Yeah. They were wild when they first attacked, really vicious. They shot my friend right in the face, for no reason. It was awful...and they did other terrible things, too, but nothing so, so...well, cold-blooded is the only word for it.”
“Did they do that to your face? If you don’t want to talk about it, forget I asked.”
“I don’t like to think about what I look like, is all. I used to be not bad-looking. Now I’m probably a monster.”
“You haven’t seen yourself, then?”
“There aren’t a lot of mirrors around here, in case you didn’t notice.”
“So, you’ve been imagining the worst, I suspect. It’s not so awful, you know.”
“Oh, really? You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”
“No, I’m not. You have several shades of bruises on your forehead, neck and cheeks, some swelling and a couple of cuts, but I can tell you are going to be lovely, again, when you heal. It doesn’t look like your nose is broken, or anything like that. You will need to see a good dentist, though, when you get back home.”
“If I get back home, you mean.”
“No. We are going to get home. My husband and Warren are plotting our escape right now and I have all the confidence in the world in them. So should you.”
“Oh, no, not me. I’ve learned never to trust any man. I’d rather you and I made plans with this pitiful assortment of females than put my faith in anything a man tells me.”
“What caused of all this venom? Is it because of what the pirates did?”
“That was only what I’ve come to expect. I learned at my father’s knee never to trust a man.”
“What did your father do to make you feel that way?”
“Oh, nothing much...just walked out and left me and my mom and never looked back. He was just the first in a long string of guys who let me down.”
“I’m so sorry, Marki. Now, I can understand. Our earthly father sets the pattern for all our relationships, both with men and with our Heavenly father. Are you a believer?”
“Ohmigosh! Not you, too! I’m surrounded by Jesus freaks,” Marki exclaimed and walked quickly away, hugging her arms and slowly shaking her head.
Bunny shrugged and made her way back to Max and Warren.
“Hi, Buns. We’ve been trying to figure out how to get the guard to come close enough for us to overpower him and get his weapon. Once we do that, we’ll have a chance against the rest of them. Warren, here, has an idea that just might work. Tell her, Warren.”
“Before you people got here, one of the passengers in our group died. I don’t know if it was a heart attack or exposure, or what. She just died in her sleep. Anyway, I called to the guard and he came over. He made us all move back, then approached the body and kicked it to be sure the woman was dead.”
“Warren thinks if I play dead, and you cling to me, overcome with grief, as you naturally would be to lose such a prime specimen of manhood. I can trip up the guard when he tries to kick me, or whatever, and you can stick him with your knife. He probably won’t feel threatened by you, since you’re so decrepit and all. Warren can have my knife and as soon as you stick the guard he can jump in and finish him off. I think something like that could work. What do you say?”
“Oh, dear...Is that the only idea you can come up with?”
“Don’t you think it will work?” Warren asked her.
“I suppose it could, but Max is taking such a risk. What if that pirate decides to see if he’s dead by shooting him?”
“He’s not going to waste a bullet on a dead old drunk like me, Hun.”
“Are you worried about being able to stab him, Bunny?” Warren asked.
“Oh, this won’t be the first man she’s stabbed, don’t worry about that,” Max interjected.
“You make me sound like some sort of street fighter, Max. I certainly don’t look forward to feeling a man’s life blood pour out over my hand, again, but if you think it is really necessary…”
“That execution we witnessed must have been because the ransom wasn’t paid in time. This cruise line probably can’t come up with the money. There will likely be more deaths as each arbitrary deadline passes…eventually the pirates will just kill us all,” Warren explained.
“We really do have to act, Buns. This is the best plan we could think of.”
“Okay. But, after we have the man’s gun, what happens? There will still be almost a dozen armed soldiers, against a group of non-combatants with one gun and two knives. What’s to keep the others from gunning all of us down? We might just be rushing the inevitable.”
“We can’t just do nothing. Another deadline could pass at any time.”
“Don’t you think we should consult the others? Their lives are on the line, too.”
“She’s right, Max. Everyone needs to know what we plan…but, I’m all for going ahead, no matter what the others say. There’s a time to wait and a time to act. The time to act is now.”
Chapter Twelve
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ─ Matthew 28:19
“You’re looking pensive tonight, darling. What’s up?” Gilles greeted Ellery as he returned home.
Ellery had been watching the local Seattle television station’s evening news report about a cruise ship in the southern Indian Ocean being attacked by pirates. The name of the ship had seemed familiar to her.
“I’m trying to remember where I heard that name, bef
ore, Gilles. Does the name Mers Comtesse seem familiar to you?”
“Afraid I can’t help you there. What exactly is a Mers Comtesse when it’s at home?”
“That’s the name of a cruise ship some pirates have captured. They are holding all the passengers for ransom. It was on the news, just now, and I know I’ve seen or heard that name somewhere…”
“Maybe it will come to you over dinner. Have you planned anything, or shall I cook? Would you rather go out?”
“Ooh, can we go to that new Italian place in the next block? I love their pizza! I could eat it for dinner every night and cold for breakfast the next morning. Just let me grab my coat.”
Bunny left Max and Warren working out the finer points of their escape scheme while she wandered around the confined area of the deck, trying to walk off her opening night jitters.
Seeing Virginia sitting alone, she went over and sat beside her on an overturned bucket.
“I understand you were a missionary, Virginia. Where did you serve?”
“Oh, lots of places, but mostly in Congo…of course that country went through so many names during our time, we could have stayed there and still served many different countries. The name kept changing, but the circumstances never improved much for the people. There’s an unfortunate tendency for leaders in a country, or any organization, really, to think all they need to do is change the name and all their problems will magically go away.”
“Like manufacturers slapping new and improved on a product, without changing it?”
“Exactly. Whether they call it the Congo, Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, or just plain home, the citizens have the same struggles. For four hundred years, before the arrival of the Portuguese, the Kingdom of Kongo was a dominant force in that region of Africa. It is a crime and a shame what these once flourishing people have been reduced to,” Virginia concluded, her cheeks flushed.
“Well, they can take the missionary out of Africa, but not Africa out of the missionary. I can see your heart is still with your people,” Bunny smiled.
“I suppose I do tend to get a bit het up when I talk about them. Strother said my ‘heart connection’ often came through on our fund-raising furloughs back in the States and helped support us. I sort of forgot I wasn’t addressing a congregation, I guess.”