KILTED DESIRE 3 - New Blood

by McKINLEY, A. B.

  “Guid point, I really dinnae know. Let’s just get a couple of knives and see if we can find one of them.”

  They were soon down on deck 1. The ship was eerily quiet, like a ghost town. They made their way back carefully towards the aft of the ship, heading for a restaurant. Within a few minutes they’d both found more than adequate weapons in the deserted galley. It was half past midnight. They hadn’t seen a single person since they left the cabin. They’d already walked the length of the ship and seen nobody, so they climbed the stairs at the back of the ship, moving to deck 2.

  They started to make their way forward. Once again, it was completely silent and deserted. As they passed each bar and room, they checked for signs of life. It seemed as if everyone was taking the captain’s advice. About a third of the way along deck 2 was another staircase. Scott took a brief glimpse up the stairs, but didn’t see anything. They continued to move along, quickly arriving at the nightclub. Scott opened the door and went inside, it was quiet but the ‘disco’ lights were still on, flashing colors across the dance-floor. There was nobody in the club.

  Brandon moved forward down the corridor, closely followed by Scott. About 50 feet from the door to the nightclub, there was a woman’s black high-heeled shoe, just lying on the floor. As they passed it, they started to hear the faint sounds of what seemed to be someone crying. They moved towards the next flight of stairs and elevator bank, the crying was now louder, and there was an occasional scream. It was definitely a woman’s cries, and they were close.

  Scott and Brandon moved quickly to the doorway that led to the elevator and stairs. They got to the corner and peered around. It was one of the terrorists, and he was dragging a woman by her hair, towards the stairs. It looked like it was Lauren. She was crying and screaming. Her dress was ripped and she’d lost a shoe as he violently pulled her along. He had, what looked to be, an automatic rifle slung over his shoulder. They waited for a second to see which way the terrorist was going to go. He started to walk down the stairs, dragging her along behind. He had no regard or concern for her as she bounced down the stairs. He didn’t even look behind him as he pulled her along.

  Scott and Brandon had seen enough, they moved quickly and quietly to the stairs, checking to see if anyone was around. There wasn’t, so Scott quickly descended the stairs and prepared to jump the man from behind. He was being extra careful to try and avoid Lauren, but it wasn’t easy. Brandon was right behind him too. Scott threw himself on to the back of the terrorist and clamped his arm around the man’s throat. As he did this, he partially spun the terrorist around. The man’s arms were flailing as Brandon plunged a knife into his torso, under the ribcage and up into his heart. He was dead within seconds. Lauren was free. She was in shock, scratched and bruised, but hadn’t been seriously hurt. It was obvious that she’d been drinking though.

  Brandon searched the dead man’s body. He found a walkie-talkie type radio and a spare magazine for the gun, which was a Chinese QBZ-95, automatic rifle. Brandon put the gun over his shoulder. Then they bundled the dead man’s body into a nearby restroom, he had nothing else of use on him. There was a little blood on the carpeted staircase but it wasn’t that noticeable, as the carpet was red. They knew they had to get Lauren back to her cabin as her parents would be worried. So, Scott lifted her up and carried her, as she seemed to be struggling to walk. They quickly moved up to Deck 8 and located her room. Luckily she was coherent enough to remember her cabin number and her grateful parents were pleased to see her. Scott briefly explained what had happened to her father. Also explaining who Brandon and he were, and what they were doing.

  A few minutes later, they were back in the cabin with Tiffany and Shara. The men had a brief rest while they decided what to do next. As they were chatting, voices could be heard on the walkie-talkie. It was all in Arabic, and even though Scott spoke a little, he could not understand it. Tiffany and Shara both came up with the suggestion virtually simultaneously, that Dr. Mahmoud may be able to help. Tiffany knew he was on the same deck as them, but couldn’t remember the cabin number. So she and Shara called a few numbers on Deck 10 until they located him. He was only just down the corridor, a few doors away.

  Scott went quickly to his cabin, and dropped off the radio, asking him to make a note of anything he heard. Scott explained everything that had happened. The Doctor was happy to help and said he’d call Scott’s room whenever he heard anything he thought may be useful. Scott returned to the cabin and sat down with Brandon. They had about six hours left before the ship would be sailing into San Francisco harbor. There was one terrorist down and several more to go. Now that they had a gun though, Scott was confident that the terrorists’ numbers would be diminishing rapidly.

  Chapter 19

  For about half an hour, Scott and Brandon discussed what to do next. Scott was confident that there’d be explosives set somewhere on the lower decks, below the waterline. He wanted to head down there and see if there were, and if he could defuse them. They were slightly concerned though by the fact that neither of them knew the layout of those decks. However, it needed to be done. They were just about to leave the room. Scott checked the peephole in the door, and was about to turn the handle when something caught his eye. Someone was walking down the corridor towards their cabin, from the bow of the ship.

  “Quick, give me the gun,” he whispered to Brandon.

  “Sure, what is it?”

  “I think it’s one of them coming,” Scott answered, as Brandon handed him the weapon. Scott took off the safety and prepared to fire. He watched the peephole to confirm his thoughts. Sure enough, it was a Middle Eastern man in a security uniform with an automatic rifle slung over his shoulder. He was walking slowly down the corridor. Scott turned towards Brandon.

  “When I nod, open the door.”

  “Okay.”

  Scott watched the terrorist walk right past their door. He moved back a little and nodded at Brandon who opened the door quickly. Scott quickly glanced around the door and looked to the right to make sure there wasn’t anyone else coming, before stepping out into the corridor. The man had heard the door open and was turning around but it was too late. Scott squeezed the trigger, dropping the man instantly as he was hit by a hail of bullets. The noise echoed around the narrow corridor. Scott handed the gun to Brandon who’d moved out right behind him.

  “Cover me,” Scott said as he moved quickly to make sure the man was dead. He was. Scott took his gun, his radio and a couple of spare magazines and dragged the body through the door of the cabin.

  “Tiffany, Shara, close yer eyes,” Scott shouted as he moved inside.

  “Yeah girls, this isn’t a pretty sight,” Brandon said as he stood right in front of them trying to block their view. Scott dragged the man’s body through and onto the balcony. Then he called to Brandon to come and help him. The men lifted the terrorist up and flung him into the ocean.

  “That’s two down bud,” Brandon said as they heard the body splash into the water.

  Just then, the cabin phone began to ring. The guys rushed back inside as Shara picked up the phone. It was Dr. Mahmoud, she handed the phone to Scott.

  “Ali, what have yer got?”

  “It’s the bridge Scott. They’re planning on bringing down the Golden Gate Bridge. I heard them talking about firing up several ropes when we go underneath it. They have some specially trained men who are going to climb up and lay explosives on the bridge. They’re going to bring the bridge down on top of the ship.”

  “Och, I knew there had tae be a reason fer this. Is there anything else? How aboot numbers, do yer have any idea how many of them there are?”

  “I’ve heard maybe four or five different voices. They mentioned someone called Chan, I think. And they said they have explosive devices set on the ship too.”

  “Aye, it’s Chen. He’s the head of security. I’ve nae idea how or why he got involved in this. Is there anything else Ali?”

  “No, that’s all for now but I’m stil
l listening. Oh, we did hear shots a few minutes ago. Was that you?”

  “Aye, it’s nae anything tae worry aboot. We just got rid of one more ‘bad guy’. Thanks fer yer help. If yer hear anything else, call us,” Scott said and hung up the phone.

  “What is it Scott?” Brandon asked.

  “They’re after the Golden Gate Bridge. He said he heard them talking aboot firing ropes up and climbing up tae lay explosives on the bridge. They want tae bring it doon on top of the ship.”

  “So that’s why they didn’t just sink it!”

  “Aye, yer know more aboot ships than I do. What are the chances of being able tae stop something this size under the bridge so they could do that?”

  “It’s not easy, but it’s possible. I guess that’s why they’re keeping the captain and the officers up there. To help them do it!”

  “What if they slow the ship doon enough tae get ropes fired up and secured tae the bridge. If they’re secured tae the ship as well, is that going tae stop the ship?”

  “I don’t know Scott.”

  “I guess the best thing we can do is kill them all afore we get there.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. We’ve both got guns now.”

  “The only thing I’m worried aboot, is if we shoot too many of them too early. They might realize there’s a problem and panic. If they blow up the ship oot here then its nae going tae be guid.”

  “Yeah, I agree. If we wait until we’re closer to the bay, then even if they set off the explosives below the water-line. The ship should stay afloat long enough to rescue people.”

  “Aye that’s what I’m thinking. And I’m sure they have the detonators fer the explosives on the bridge. It’s going tae be hard fer us tae get in tae there.”

  “It’s a tough call Scott, I’m as impatient as you are to carry on shooting these bastards but I think you’re right. We should wait a few hours before we start killing them. Maybe we can work on figuring out what they’ve done to the cell phone signal. If we could get a message to the Coast Guard, they could have rescue ships out to us.”

  “Aye, we’ll sit tight fer a while. And they must have put signal blockers aroond the ship. There has tae be a lot of them. At least a few on every deck I would imagine fer a ship this size. If we can find just one and destroy it, we can get a message oot.”

  Scott walked over to the couch and sat down next to Tiffany. He held her hand and kissed her cheek.

  “It’s going tae be okay, I’m nae going tae let anything happen tae yer, I promise.”

  “I know Scott, I trust you.”

  For the next few hours, Scott and Brandon took it in turns going out to look around the ship. They were looking for the signal blocking devices that had to be around somewhere. Looking for small transmitters on a ship that size though, was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Scott returned to the cabin, he’d just finished his turn searching. Brandon let him in. Scott shook his head as he entered into the room, indicating that once again his search had proved fruitless. They both went to sit down on the couch. It was a few minutes after 6:30 a.m. Just after they sat down, the captain’s voice came over the loud-speaker system.

  ‘LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, THIS IS THE CAPTIAN SPEAKING. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION. THE SHIP IS NOW JUST OVER HALF AN HOUR AWAY FROM THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA. WE SHOULD PASS UNDER THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE AT APPROXIMATELY 7:30 A.M. AND SHOULD DOCK AROUND HALF AN HOUR LATER. DUE TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES WE CANNOT PERFORM OUR NORMAL PRE-DISEMBARKATION ROUTINE ONBOARD. I STILL HAVE NOT BEEN TOLD BY THE TERRORISTS WHAT THEY PLAN TO DO, BUT THE SHIP IS STILL ON ITS ORIGINAL COURSE. THEY HAVE HOWEVER REITERATED THAT NOBODY WILL BE HARMED IF WE CO-OPERATE. SO, ONCE AGAIN I ASK YOU ALL TO REMAIN IN YOUR STATEROOMS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. I HAVE BEEN TOLD TO TELL YOU, THAT THERE HAS BEEN SOME TROUBLE DOWN ON THE LOWER DECKS WHERE THE CREW’S QUARTERS ARE. SOME OF THE CREW DID GET INTO A FIGHT WITH SOME OF THE TERRORISTS. THIS HAS LEAD TO VARIOUS CREW MEMBERS BEING INJURED. PLEASE, EVERYONE, STAY IN YOUR ROOMS AND DO NOT TRY TO ENGAGE THE TERRORISTS. IF THERE IS ANY MORE TROUBLE ON THE SHIP THEN I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT MYSELF, AND THE OFFICERS WHO ARE BEING HELD WITH ME HERE ON THE BRIDGE, WILL BE EXECUTED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CO-OPERATION.’

  Scott was surprised that more people hadn’t tried to fight back. However, he realized that the vast majority of people onboard didn’t know that this was an Al-Qaeda operation. Plus, most of the passengers were older, and were not used to this kind of thing. They were just doing what the captain had told them to do. Scott turned to Brandon.

  “I think most of the terrorists are on the bridge with the captain, and they just send someone oot occasionally tae have a quick look aroond the ship,” Scott said.

  “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. It’s the most secure place. If they’ve got a few specially trained guys to go up those ropes and lay explosives, they’ll be in there.”

  “Aye, but they’ll have tae come oot soon and start setting up. When they do that, we’ll take them oot.”

  Brandon nodded. Just then, the cabin phone rang again. Tiffany answered and passed it to Scott. It was Dr. Mahmoud again.

  “What have yer got Ali?” Scott asked

  “They’re talking about another bridge too. The Oakland bridge maybe, I didn’t catch exactly what they said. There’s another team, but not on a ship. They’ll be in a vehicle. They’re going to try and co-ordinate the explosions.”

  “Could it have been the Oakland Bay Bridge?” Scott asked.

  “Very possibly, they’re talking about this being bigger than 9/11. Scott, a lot of them have started praying and talking about 72 virgins! I think the men going up the ropes are not going to lay explosives. I think they are the explosives,” he said.

  “Okay, we’re on it. Is there anything else?”

  “That’s all.”

  “Thanks Ali, we’ll take care of it.”

  “Good luck Scott.”

  Scott hung up the phone and turned to Brandon.

  “He heard them talking about another bridge. I think it’s the Oakland Bay Bridge, there’s another team planning tae blow that up at the same time as they take oot the Golden Gate. We’ve got tae find one of those signal blockers and get a message oot.”

  “It’s time to go Scott, come on,” Brandon said as he stood up.

  They said a quick farewell to the ladies and left the room. As they made their way to the ship’s bow, Scott turned to Brandon.

  “Ali thinks the guys going up the ropes are going tae have explosives strapped tae them. They’re going tae blow themselves up when they get up there. I think that will be the sign fer the others on the bridge tae set off the explosives below the waterline too.”

  “Yeah, well we’re not going to let them get that far, are we?” he said as he winked at Scott.

  “Nae a chance,” Scott replied smiling.

  The men reached the staircase at the front of the ship and started to ascend.

  “I did want tae wait up on the top deck, and take oot the people who came up. I dinnae think we can do that now though, I think we have tae storm the bridge. We need tae get this taken care of quickly, so we can get a message oot aboot the other attack. Plus there might be other targets too. We just dinnae know!”

  “I agree, we have to move fast.”

  They climbed the stairs quickly, deciding to check the top deck first. They wanted to make sure that the terrorists had not already gone up there. If it was empty, that pretty much meant that they were all on the bridge. Or, at least the vast majority of them would be. When they reached the top deck, they peered through the small porthole window in the door that led to the outside. There was nobody in sight. However, the door faced back down the length of the ship. There was an elevated area at the very front of the ship that could not be seen from the door.

  Scott slowly pushed the heavy door. It was very windy, the door creaked a little as it opened. It was daylight, but it was an extremely foggy morning and visibility was not good. Scott couldn’t see land on either side of th
e ship but he knew they had to be close to the coast. The ship did seem to be moving quite slowly. They moved slowly outside, and began to hear voices, a lot of them. Scott and Brandon carefully moved out to the corner of the structure that housed the stairs. Scott peered around towards the very front of the ship. There were about eight men there, he thought. He saw lots of ropes on the deck. One man looked to be taping what appeared to be plastic explosives to one of his colleagues. Scott signaled Brandon to take a look, which he did.

  “I think there were eight of them,” Scott whispered.

  “Yup, I counted eight. They’re all pretty close together too.”

  “This is our best shot, are yer ready?”

  “Oh, I’m ready!”

  “Yer take the four tae the left and I’ll get the others,” Scott said as he crouched down onto his haunches and readied his weapon. Brandon nodded then stood above him.

  Scott raised his hand and signaled that he was about to act. He moved out and began to fire from his position, down on one knee. At the same time Brandon stepped across and opened fire from his standing position. Within two or three seconds all the men were accounted for. The element of surprise had paid dividend.

  They quickly checked the bodies, looking for more ammunition and more importantly, a signal blocker. All they found though was ammunition, and an abundance of plastic explosives. Scott wasn’t sure if the remaining people in the bridge would have heard the gunshots. It was noisy up there, with the wind and the sound of the ship’s engines. The gunfire had only lasted for a couple of seconds so it was probable that they hadn’t noticed. Still, Scott and Brandon remained on guard. As they made their way back inside the ship and down the stairs, they were ready, in case of attack. Instead, they moved without incident down to the bridge.