Chinyere takes aim from her post hitting all four of them and leaving only the pirate captain to face her brother and his three pirates. Nwankwo reacts quickly by taking the pirate captain’s gun from him while Chinyere shimmies down the smokestack and follows the same path as Tawny to the deck.
“You should be taking care of Chioma,” Nwankwo gently scolds her.
“Chioma is good. She is vith de Americans.”
“Ver are dey now?” Nwankwo wonders where they went.
“Lost in the de gulf.”
“Dey stole my skiff?” He is not happy.
“Dey keep Chioma safe. And me safe too.” Chinyere will defend them.
“We take dis ship and go get dem.”
“No. I vant dis ship. I vant to be pirate captain now.” Chinyere is not backing down.
“You can’t be pirate captain. You is a girl.”
“I saved you. Now you do vhat I vant.”
“You is very smart girl but you vill not be a pirate.” He makes his point very clearly.
“Den you must promise me someting else.”
“Vaht?”
“I vill tell you vhen ve rescue Americans and take dem back to shore.” Pressing her will do no good. She is determined to get her way and she is holding a gun. Even Nwankwo knows she is a better shot than he is. “Tie up dis captain and ve vill use the modership to find dem.”
Nwankwo instructs his pirates to do as his sister says. She also has them gather the wounded and the dead. The dead are thrown overboard and the wounded writhe in pain but Chinyere never puts down her gun.
Nwankwo steers the mothership with Chinyere next to him. He is amazed how this wallflower became a force to be respected. He sees her in a different way now. She held her own in this fight and she saved him. He will have to save the Americans now, even though it is the last thing he wants to do.
Forty minutes pass before Nwankwo locates the tiny skiff wandering aimlessly in the gulf. Tawny is nearly passed out and Billy is frantic. When he sees Nwankwo barking at him to tie up, he is scared out of his mind but he listens and follows orders.
“I vant to kill you but my sister says no. Ve must save dem. So ve save you.” Nwankwo does not hide his disgust.
“Thank you.” Billy carries Tawny on board and Nwankwo steers the large ship to his own mothership. Arriving an hour later they are greeted by the authorities. Their guide informed the police that his two passengers were taken and conveyed what he knew about Nwankwo.
The police find Nwankwo’s mothership and raid it. Not finding him there they arrest his pirates and are now awaiting his return. Unknown to Nwankwo he will be arrested as soon as he climbs back on board.
Parking the stolen mothership near his own he helps Billy place Tawny in a skiff so that they can transport her to his mothership. He cannot tie up two motherships so this step is necessary. He tells Billy that he has a rogue medic on his team who should be able to help the suffering girl.
Billy, Tawny and one of Nwankwo’s pirates reach the larger mothership in the skiff and they tie up. Billy gets out first. The pirate picks up an almost unconscious Tawny and hands her to Billy who cradles her in his arms. The pirate jumps out and signals for Billy to follow him. As they make their way into the sleeping quarters, police pounce on them.
“It’s just us, the Americans. Please, my girl is badly hurt. Where is the medic?” Billy pleads.
After some rumbling a very young man comes up to Tawny and shakes his head. Then he disappears with a police officer following him. Billy calls after him.
The police seize the pirate and arrest him. He is angry and starts to blame the Americans. Billy is about to burst. One pirate is blaming him and the other is nowhere to be found.
“Get the medic back,” he tensely instructs the pirate.
“Nwankwo should’ve killed you. Now he be caught,” the pirate complains.
“Get the medic back and I’ll see what I can do.” Billy’s word is all he has, and after staring hard at Billy for a moment, decides to trust him.
“He vill be back. He goes for his bag.” Sure enough, the young pirate medic returns and immediately starts to cut Tawny’s pants off her right leg just above the gash on her thigh.
Billy gags as he sees how deeply the cut is. Dried blood covers the hole and has soaked her pants. The medic cleans the wound and the leg around it in such a gentle manner Billy is almost mesmerized. He then applies some form of medicine that makes Tawny jolt with pain. Billy quickly grabs her hand and she holds on tight.
A little more awake now, she stares up into his indigo eyes. Her vision is fuzzy and she wants to say something but the words will not come out. He leans over and kisses her forehead to assure her that he will not leave her.
“What about Nwankwo?” The pirate asks. Billy glances at him and then figures he can risk one bad move. He pulls out his phone and texts Ken, “Police are onboard.” It is not his proudest moment but if Nwankwo and the other pirates climb on board it could be chaos and Tawny could die. Ken will warn them and the police will have to capture Nwankwo another day. They already have most of his crew.
The pirate has no idea what Billy did and apparently, neither do the police but no one says a word. They all just wait.
Tawny is given some water and then some bourbon to drink. Eating some crackers and then some fish, the color in her face returns. Half an hour later, everyone figures out that Nwankwo is not returning.
Ken receives Billy’s text and warns the pirate captain just as he is ready to board the skiff. Nwankwo quickly jumps back on the stolen mothership and demands that they sail it as far away as possible. Ken says he will take the skiff and leave them be but Nwankwo will have none of it so Ken is captured.
As Tawny is recovering and Ken is quickly sailing away with Nwankwo, Chinyere, Chioma, the former pirate captain and Nwankwo’s two remaining pirates, Durvi is sitting under police protection calmly explaining his role in the whole escapade.
“I is holy man. I is not a pirate. I bring American boys to modership to rescue dis girl. Dat is all I do.” Durvi is well-known by many and the police believe his story but feel he is hiding information.
“What he’s saying is true. He’s been a big help, a hero, actually.” Billy needs at least one person on his side. It might as well be Durvi. If he is holy then any divine help he can garner is going to be appreciated.
The police look back and forth at each other then finally agree to release Durvi from his handcuffs. As soon as he is free, he comes to Tawny’s side and makes some crazy motions with his hands over her leg; kind of like children do when they say ‘abracadabra’ and pretend that the hurt magically disappears but nothing happens to Tawny.
The police decide that somehow Nwankwo learned about their presence and they send two officers up top. Sure enough the stolen mothership is nowhere to be found. They report back and Billy sighs deeply.
“They’ve got Ken. That’s the other American with us. He’s in grave danger. You must save him. He is friends with the Nigerian President.” Billy uses what little influence he has to convince them to now go after Nwankwo since Tawny is out of the woods.
“Why he know our president?” One police officer inquires.
“That’s why we’re here. He made a big deal with the government to help Nigerians and the water. They will want to protect him.” Billy is hoping that Chinyere will have some impact on Ken’s treatment. After all, Tawny did save the young girl.
The police shuffle around for a bit then decide to take the captured pirates to shore but radio out for another group to search for Nwankwo and his kidnapped victim, Ken Shelton. Billy hopes they find him quickly and rescue his good friend.
Billy and Tawny are also forced to go ashore with the police and the pirates. It is not a pleasant trip. The pirates blame the Americans for their capture and Billy cannot blame them. He cannot do much about it but he does not refute their claims either. As they draw nearer to the shore there is less chatter and the pirates g
enerally ignore the two lawyers.
All except one. Durvi sidles up to Billy and casually asks about Nwankwo and his sister. Durvi has little interest in either at the moment but he wants his money and making polite conversation with Billy seems the best way to get it.
Billy’s not fooled but he will wait until Durvi actually asks for it. Forty-five hundred dollars is burning a hole in his back pack and he figures Durvi deserves it for finding Tawny and Nwankwo’s sisters. If only Ken wasn’t stuck out on the boat with them.
“Do you have de money dat you bring?” Durvi finally approaches the subject.
“Yes. Do you want it now?” Billy already knows the answer.
“No, no. Not now.” The last thing Durvi needs is to get caught with that kind of money by the police. He will wait it out.
“Don’t worry, Durvi. I’ll give it to you. You may have to come to the hospital where they take Tawny though.”
“I vill do it.” Satisfied he will get the cash he settles back in his seat on the boat.
Arriving a bit later, Tawny is whisked to an area hospital with Billy and Durvi by her side. He convinces the police she needs a holy man with her. Billy pays him off when they arrive and he disappears. Inside the hospital, Tawny is seen immediately and they do little more for her than the pirate medic did. It seems she will just need to heal now.
Ken is heading further out into the gulf. Wondering what in the world he is going to do to get back to the land he confides in Chinyere, who still has not put down the gun. She is fired up and he can tell Nwankwo respects her tenacity. Why he is letting her get by with it he cannot fathom but he gives the pirate captain credit that he knows what he is doing.
“I need to get back, Chinyere,” Ken pleads.
“I vill get you back to dem. You need to vait now,” Chinyere assures him. What she is planning he has no clue so he sits down and tries to talk about fishing with the conquered pirate captain, who has very little interest is talking right now.
After two hours the stolen mothership stalls. Nwankwo has decided to anchor it. Joining Ken and the captured pirate captain, his sullen disposition returns.
“I have no crew except dese two and you have no crew. Vat vill ye do?” Nwankwo is asking the former pirate captain his plans perhaps in an effort to figure out what he is going to do himself.
“I vill find a new crew.” The former pirate captain is much too confident for his predicament.
Nwankwo simply glares at him. His sister has shared her demand with him and he finds it very acceptable. He only needs to rid himself of these three pirates but he will not kill them outright. He knows what he must do but it will involve a risk he is unsure about taking.
“Chinyere, bring some food.” Chinyere glances at her brother, who knowingly nods at her. Reassured of his commitment, she does as she is told while Nwankwo orders them to move to the edge of the boat to throw the scraps in the gulf.
Gathering a tray of food she brings it out and Nwankwo sets it in front of the former pirate captain and his two mates. Untying the former pirate captain the man inhales the food. The bella donna has worn off completely now and the drug has left him famished.
Chinyere is poised with her gun once again and Nwankwo also has one at the ready. He motions for Ken to join him and they leave. Disappear out of sight. The untied pirate captain lurches at her. No way is this young girl going to trick him again. Nwankwo’s mates bolt upright in response and seize him matching blow for blow.
Fiercely fighting, the pirate captain withdraws a knife and slashes the throat of one of the young pirates leaving it one on one for the inexperienced pirate against the seasoned former captain. It takes little time for the captain to defeat the young lad and then he lays his sights on Chinyere.
She is ready for him. Living in fear in his quarters she has no reserve in defending herself at first. But then, as he quickly approaches her, she stands at the ready but fear is entering her head. The nearer he draws the less unsure she becomes. She never shot such a fierce man before. What if he doesn’t fall?
“Bang!” He lies dead on the deck. Nwankwo steps forward with Ken by his side from up above. Watching the entire scene unfold Nwankwo will not allow his little sister to be the guilty one. He has made his path in life and he will take one more life to save her. What happens to him is deserved but she does not deserve the same fate.
Throwing the three bodies overboard, Chinyere finally puts down the gun and Nwankwo takes it from her. She departs to gather Chioma in her arms and then returns to join her brother.
“Ve go ashore now and you go home. Ve vill find our vay.” Nwankwo has a plan of his own and good to his word, he takes them ashore in the deep of the night and abandons the mothership and the skiff with his two sisters.
“Where will you go?” Ken wants to know what will happen to the young man who grew up too fast in a wicked world of piracy.
“Home until dey catch me. I vill hide now. Dey vill catch me someday but not today.” The three siblings leave Ken to find his way to the hotel.
Billy is beside himself with concern once again. First, Tawny is captured and now Ken. How does he manage to get himself into these situations? God must be angry with him. He will have to figure out how to make amends later. Right now he needs a miracle.
An hour later the angels must be singing as Ken knocks on Billy’s door. Opening it and expecting the police, he is overcome with shock and amazement at seeing his buddy standing there. Getting him inside Ken relays the epic tale of how he informed Nwankwo of the text and how the young pirate captain maneuvered the get-away and then the total escape from his past by plotting the young pirates against the former pirate captain.
“Chinyere confided that she told her brother she wanted him free from the pirate life and that she would shoot all the pirates to make it happen,” Ken explains.
“That girl grew up overnight.” Tawny awakens from Billy’s bed to hear the news.
“Yes, she did, although I think she has a bit of a wild streak in her. Maybe a little bit of Tawny rubbed off and she felt confident enough to spread her wings,” Ken teases and chastises at the same time.
“Maybe.” Tawny does not disapprove of Chinyere’s coming of age.
“So Nwankwo is not going to let his little sister gun down a bunch of pirates. She’s already saved him and that’s humiliating enough for him to tell but he’s also very proud of her. He realizes the only way for him to truly escape is for all pirates who know where they can find him to die. He suddenly rediscovers his heart and can’t shoot them himself so he sets up this plan that works like a charm,” Ken continues to tell the story.
“He’s still got the captured pirates to fear,” Billy reminds him.
“I believe they fear him more than he fears retaliation. They will make him a hero and will plan for his sudden mysterious return someday. Isn’t that what pirate lore is all about?”
“I guess.” Billy is just glad to be safe with Ken and Tawny in his room to worry about pirate lore.
“No one but me knows that he left the ship. He left it unanchored in the gulf and we took a skiff to the shore.”
“What about you? I suppose you’re not going to tell?” Billy feels a bit less guilty about his text, about evading the law now that Ken is in the same boat so to speak.
“I dived into the water, untied a skiff and brought it ashore. Alone.” Ken is determined to stick to the untruth.
“Why protect him? He killed so many.” Billy knows no one more justice oriented than Ken.
“He will be found; I’m certain of it. Before he is he can help those poor young children establish their home and feed themselves. If he doesn’t help them they are lost to the streets. He can establish order and guide them in their young lives. He’s seen and done it all now. Deep down, he’s sorry. As we were watching the men fighting he turned to me and told me he never wanted to be a pirate. He hates being a pirate. He was given no choice but now he has options and he’s going to use them.”
“You think he’s reformed?” Billy is not convinced.
“I don’t think he ever wanted the life of a pirate. He wanted to be a great fisherman like his father. He’ll be running from the law until they capture him. He will make amends for the choices he made when he wasn’t forced to do wrong.”
“He saved all of us,” Tawny reminds them both.
“Yes, he did; his family too.”
CHAPTER 29
T he plane taking the three Americans home stops in Paris, France. Bidding Ken goodbye as he boards an airliner heading to Houston, Billy and Tawny retreat to a small café in the Orly Airport and order a mid-afternoon meal with a glass of wine.
“I’m never taking you out of Chicago again,” Billy threatens.
“Well, then I quit,” Tawny replies.
“You can’t.”
“I am not a Nigerian woman. I can do as I please, Billy Solomon.” She takes a sip of her wine.
“You know it would be nice if you’d be a little more submissive.” He cannot help but taunt her.
“Dream on, Mr. Chauvinist.”
“Did you forget a word?” He looks up at her with a grin on his face.
“I don’t believe in calling people animal names.” She does not miss a beat in responding to him.
“So I’m just a chauvinist, not a pig.”
“You’re a human being. Not an animal. I don’t believe people should ever be called animals,” Tawny insists.
“That explains a lot. Is that why you never refer to other women as. . .”
“Witches with a ‘b’?” She does not say the word.
“Yes.” He smirks.
“Exactly. Why would I call another woman, or any person at all, a dog? Dogs can be cute and all but still, they’re animals and don’t have souls like humans do. No person should be called an animal.”
Limiting Liabilities: Book Two - The Martinique Files Page 38