Chapter Twenty-Three
“Buenos dias, amigos (Good morning, friends)!” the commander barked. He was standing in the doorway of their cabin, and all Frank could see was a ghostly shadow of a figure, his features being blocked out by the sun behind him. “Es la hora del desayuno (It is breakfast time)!” he barked again, motioning with his hands repetitively from his stomach to his mouth.
This motion was universal, and slowly everyone got out of their bunks while glancing at each other. They were all bound to be so very hungry, and Frank reckoned their captors knew it as well. Frank tried to tell the others near him not to be fooled by this man and his pirates but was cut short by the bellowing of the leader.
“Hey! No hables ahora (Do not speak now)!” His angry face was evident as he put his right index finger up to his pursed lips. “Shhhh!”
With that order, the passengers aligned themselves, innately allowing the women to leave their cabin. They were then hustled to the room where they had eaten the night before and pushed through the door one by one. The long table had already been set with utensils and napkins, and each of them were motioned to sit. A rank cup of black coffee, some type of gruel, and a flat piece of bread were placed in front of them.
As they ate, Hector spoke sharply, “Atención!” while holding his left arm out, wrist bent up, and his palm facing them. They all immediately stopped eating. He then crossed his chest with a benediction sign and motioned them to continue.
His actions were not considered important as they resumed eating, but Irving was looking at Hector intently. Had he noticed a few things about him? He made a quick glance at Frank, who was always awaiting any signal from Irving, who then raised his left hand up and down at the wrist. Obviously, Hector was one man who would have to be dealt with if they were to obtain their freedom. Frank nodded as he continued to eat. Unfortunately, the food was not appetizing, but it was sustenance for all of the passengers.
The other two pirates remained in the room as they ate. Everyone took their time doing so, as if they’d finally realized something about their rescue was not right. Everyone but Kimberly. She scoffed down her food and the bad coffee and then held her plate out for more. Not one of their captors made a move to do anything.
Kimberly insisted by continuously pushing out her plate and saying, “Please, please!”
The nearest pirate finally shoved the plate back at her, but she wasn’t going to have any of his actions.
She stood and said, “I’m still famished. Please, please, more food!”
Frank spoke softly, “Kimberly, sit down. They are not going to feed us a lot. Please, sit down.”
“I don’t understand. They saved us. They will take care of us, and when we get to land, we will be returned home.” Kimberly spoke with a fervent belief that these men were her saviors.
Frank felt that this was not the time or the situation to try to calm her down, so he leaned back from the table and said nothing. Kimberly continued speaking but was ignored by the guards until she became belligerent by standing up and still pushing her plate toward them. One of them finally had his fill of her antics and slapped the plate from her hand. The tin plate slammed to the floor once it bounced off the bench, and a stillness suddenly came over the entire room. It was clear at this time that all of them realized these men were not their liberators, but who were they?
The boss was now standing in the doorway, having been summoned by one of the guards. “No more food! Levántate (Get up). Ven conmigo (Come with me),” he said as he motioned everyone.
They again glanced at Frank and Irving as if waiting for other instructions. Irving waved at them to follow. Irving gestured to Frank to get in the front of the line. Frank knew Irving wanted to check out the rest of the boat as he had mentioned it to him earlier, so Frank positioned himself as the second person in line and purposely walked slowly to give Irving time to get a good look at their surroundings.
Frank timed the boat’s sudden lurch against a wave to stumble and fall to one knee to give Irving more time to purvey the boat’s configuration. There were multiple compartments other than the mess hall. Their accommodations were in the hull below. As they passed down the corridor, Frank noted ‘Sala de máquinas’ on the door. The engine room. He stumbled again, this time putting his left hand against the engine room’s sign, hoping Irving would understand there was a significance to his actions.
His actions were not wasted. Irving picked up on his signal, but he also was able to pick out the communication room where there were radios and other communication equipment. Frank hoped Irving was making a mental note of these, too. Would he also feign being wobbled by the boat’s rocking motion in order to seek more information about the craft?
Finally, they were herded up another staircase to the deck, initially blinded by the sun as it shone from the cloudless sky. As his eyes accommodated to the light, all Frank could see was sea and sky, no land. Their raft had been tied to the back of the pirates’ boat. Suddenly the engines came to life as the vessel jerked forward, knocking several of the passengers off balance, causing them to crouch onto the deck, grabbing for anything to keep them steady. Their captors laughed at the sight of these gringos flopping on the deck like clowns, trying to keep their balance.
They were on their way, but where?
Chapter Twenty-Four
Soo Mi looked around at the others as they slept in their assigned bunks. She concentrated on everyone, one by one, to be sure they were truly asleep. Slowly pushing away the gray-blue blanket covering her, she slid her legs on the side of the bunk and slipped silently to the floor. She felt Kimberly turn to the hull’s side as she stood next to her bunk. She hesitated to be sure Kimberly was not waking. Satisfied, she peeked through the slit of the makeshift curtain her captives had made between the men and women and eyed Yuto’s bunk. Luckily, he was on the bottom, and this made it easy for her to get to it and nestle in next to him. He woke and, seeing her face, moved closer to the wall to allow her space. He held her tight, smelling her hair and caressing her face.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly.
She shook her head up and down while raising her index finger to her pursed lips.
He placed his lips to her ear and whispered, “No place to go. We will have to wait. I love you and will protect you.”
She looked longingly into his eyes and nodded once again. “I never leave your side. We are as one.” And then she lifted her lips to his and kissed him.
They both hugged each other tightly until they loosened their grips and fell asleep.
Soo Mi woke with a start as the boat lurched over the waves. No one else seemed to react. She had no idea how long she had been with Yuto. She slowly stood, covered him with his blanket, and made her way through the curtain to the women’s side. As she prepared to stand on the side of Kimberly’s bunk, Kimberley softly grabbed her foot and rose up, looked around as if she didn’t know where she was, and whispered, “Are you trying to get us all killed? They will kill us, you know. I am going to get off this boat as soon as I can. I know you are scheming with them.”
“No, I was—” Soo Mi was cut short by Kimberly’s response.
“Yes, you were, but I’m not going to tell the others because I know they are doing it, too. I don’t think you will kill me. Let me die the way I want to.”
“Please, go back to sleep. I not interested ever hurting you. You must believe that.”
Before Soo Mi could prepare to respond to Kimberly’s next reply, she noticed Kimberly’s eyes were closed and she was breathing with slow, deep breaths. She realized Kimberly’s response was not a conscious one, but it certainly heralded a deep-seated paranoia within Kimberly, and this frightened Soo Mi.
Soo Mi ascended to her bunk, pulled the blanket over her, and stared at the ceiling of their compartment while the others slept.
~~ ~~ ~~
She did not realize that Irving had watched her closely.
~~ ~~ ~~
All the passengers were awaken
ed the next morning with an unusual sound that was nothing like the boat motors that had hummed throughout the night. They all strained to identify the sound as they held themselves up in their bunks on their elbows.
“What is that?” Helen asked.
“It’s an airplane, prop type, I think,” said Irving.
“Where the hell are we?” asked Kimberly
No one answered. No one knew. Slowly they all dressed and tried to align themselves toward the closed cabin doors that had been locked every night they had been aboard. Then they waited as the airplane seemed to circle the boat.
“Could that be a plane looking for us? What will they do if that plane is looking for us? Will the plane contact them? What will they do to us?” Helen droned on.
“It could be one of theirs, too,” Frank said.
“Damn, I didn’t think of that,” Helen replied softly.
Suddenly, the cabin door flew open. “Buenos Dias, amigos!” said the leader from above. “Sube las escaleras, vamonos (Go up the stairs, let’s go)!”
Almost everyone understood this command, and like soldiers, they marched up to the next level for food. Frank gave a fleeting glance to Irving, and he knew Irving also understood—that plane was not searching for them, for sure.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Cuantos tienes (How many do you have)?” came the voice from the radio in the communications cabin.
“Seis (six),” answered the radio man.
“Mujeres (women)?”
“Tres (three).”
“Estan viejos (They are old)?” spoke the voice again.
“No.”
“Bueno. Nos pondremos en contacto con usted. Adios (Good. We will contact you. Goodbye),” said the voice over the radio.
And then there was silence.
Frank heard this conversation as he passed the radio room to breakfast.
So they want to know if we were old. Thank God for that. They would have killed any old ones. The number of women? Yep, they’re up to no good.
As he was pondering the conversation, he realized the airplane noise was no longer present.
That’s their communication to their sponsors. Our destiny awaits us for sure as soon as that plane returns.
At breakfast, Frank tried to get Irving’s attention to tell him of the news. It was difficult because the pirates had mixed the women with the men, separating Frank from Irving. Irving was always looking for something from Frank, and he tapped his fingers on the table while reaching for his drink. Frank realized this as an attempt to find out anything new. Frank knocked after waiting for a period of time to pass. One tap for news, two taps for none. He tapped once. Irving nodded and wiped his mouth with a napkin, then repeated the action several times. Frank figured that Irving wanted him to take napkins with him, but why? Then Irving put the napkin down and pulled his index finger across it back and forth. Frank got the message that they could speak to each other by writing on the napkins and passing them to one another since their captors always wanted silence from them.
But what will we write with?
He faced Irving after being sure he wasn’t being watched and raised his eyes as if questioning Irving’s actions. Irving nodded. Frank positioned his fingers as if writing with his thumb and index finger together, flat on the table. Irving clearly understood his concern by giving a ‘thumbs up’ sign. It wasn’t the usual thumb sign but a pinky slightly elevated as he drank from his cup.
Frank thought Irving had a way of getting something to write with so he knew he just had to wait. But when and how could Irving get a pencil without those goons seeing him? They were always around watching, and it was unnerving for Frank that one slip-up would mean they would be tied up and shut up in their cabin for the rest of the trip.
There weren’t that many napkins on the table and they were not neatly placed for each passenger. Helen was by his right side, so he touched her leg to get her attention. She looked up, and he motioned to her to get a napkin by reaching for one for himself. As she did so, he tapped her leg twice to stop her immediate reaction.
Take your time. We don’t want to let them get suspicious.
He was amazed that she stopped her grab for the napkins and instead reached for a glass of orange juice and waited for a good period of time before obtaining two napkins that just happened to be stuck together. There was a twinkle in her eye as she tilted her head to eye him. He knew she was on the same page as he. From now on, Helen was ready to help.
That’s three of us!
~~ ~~ ~~
The weather was bright, sunny, and warm. The water from the bow splashing back over them was warm as well. Their captors had allowed them a small window of time to get up on deck and get some relief from being kept isolated below. As Frank and the others looked around from the sides and back of the craft, all Frank could see was ocean. The boat was seemingly at top speed and certainly was not slowing. They were on an obvious time schedule to get to wherever they were going.
Irving positioned himself next to Frank by pretending to look over the side of the boat, acting like a tourist on a tour. “Anything?” he said to Frank.
“Human traffickers,” Frank replied.
Irving let his head slump farther, signaling his disappointment. He then stood and walked behind Frank. Frank responded in kind and moved toward the area previously occupied by Irving.
“Must be going to land,” Irving whispered. “Will need a plan after we get there.” Irving pointed to a swell in the water as if he was showing Frank something in the ocean to cover their conversation as small talk.
“Napkins?” Frank asked as he, too, pointed to the same swell.
“Yep!” Irving sidled slowly away after the boat hit a high wave, and he stumbled to catch his balance.
Frank still had no idea how he was going to write on his napkin. As he turned around to scan the top deck of the boat, he noticed that Irving wasn’t there anymore. He had disappeared. The guards were still standing around the passengers and seemed unaware he was gone.
What the hell?
As he searched for him, Frank became uneasy. Irving was a cog in the wheel of success that they could not afford to lose. Where was the commander and Hector? Had they grabbed him? No one was showing any signs of uneasiness. The guards were the same, stone-cold faced without showing any anxiety or change in emotion. Suddenly, there was Irving, looking up at the sun with his eyes closed as if sunning his face and attempting to get a tan. His index finger was touching his thumb as he placed them in a circular motion on the railing of the boat.
Frank then closed his eyes and tried to get a tan as well.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The weather had changed so quickly. It was as if they had entered a tunnel. The clouds were dark, the wind blew in uneven circular patterns, and the boat was tossed to and fro. The passengers were hustled down to their bunk room, told to keep quiet and get into their bunks. A guard stood at the door, although he was having a great deal of difficulty keeping his balance. After a while, it became apparent the he had had it with this job, and he closed the door and left.
All Frank heard was a key enter the lock of the door and the turning of the tumblers. There was silence among them, and slowly Irving got up. While holding on to the bunks and the hull, he eased over to the door and placed his ear on it. He stood there for a while, changing his ear position several times. Then he turned and faced the rest and shook his head from side to side, signifying there was no one outside the door. He placed his index finger to his lips and softly whispered, “Shhh!”
Frank responded to Irving’s hand motion to come closer to him.
So we’re to be auctioned off or what? Irving wrote on a napkin with a small pencil he had stolen the day before, then handed the napkin to Frank with the pencil.
Traffickers, no idea what they are going to do or when they’re going to do it. Plane to give orders now they know we’re valuable candidates to sell Frank wrote then passed the napkin back to Ir
ving.
Irving read the note, crushed it in his hand, and whispered, “Well, that means we have to start organizing quickly. We have no idea how many of these goons there are on land. There are four of them on this boat. I expect there are at least four AKs here as well. I know I can take out two of them, but it will be hard because of the number of us and three women who will not be able to physically engage with them. I don’t know much about Yuto. Would be great if he knew karate, but I’m not betting on it.”
“I can ask, but I’m thinking like you. The women are the biggest problem, and Kimberly has been acting loco as of late, and I’m afraid she could be losing it. Just look at her over there all hunched up on her bunk. She really hasn’t been communicating with the others, even when we’re alone. I think she really thought these guys were saving us.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” Irving responded.
Frank eased his way over to Yuto and Soo Mi. Any experience in fighting? he wrote on another napkin.
“I hold my own,” Yuto replied softly. “Just because I Japanese not mean I know karate, if dat what you mean, but I think I hold own when needed.”
Soo Mi whispered, “Only Kung Fu. Me beginner. Only for exercise. I know not how fight.”
“I understand. Thanks. Good to know,” Frank acknowledged. “Everyone, come here,” he beckoned.
Everyone slowly got out of their bunks and surrounded Frank. Kimberly did not, so Frank walked over to her bunk and tapped her on the shoulder as she faced the hull. She did not respond right away. He tapped again.
“Please, Kimberly, this is important. Come on over.” He returned to the group, and Kimberly grudgingly slipped down from her bunk and joined them as Irving once again listened at the door.
“We are really in trouble here. I think these guys are human traffickers,” Frank said.
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