Blood in the Water

by Jack Flynn

  Cicero gave a nod and pushed the door open.

  It swung in about six inches, and then stopped. Cicero frowned and pushed harder, but the door wouldn’t budge. ‘There’s something blocking it,’ he said.

  Buddy’s heart sank. If they didn’t make it through the door, it was a virtual certainty that he would never see Diamond again – both she and his unborn child would be killed. ‘Move away!’ he hissed.

  Buddy lowered his shoulder and charged at the door. He connected hard, and his shoulder shot pain throughout his body, but he felt the impediment give slightly. The door was close to a foot open now, and he was able to stick his head through. There was a large table with supplies pushed up against it. There was no one in the room, though, and Buddy assumed that anyone who had been there had been drawn to the northern entrance by Cormack’s attack.

  ‘We can move it!’ Buddy said. ‘Help me push!’

  Buddy and Cicero threw all their weight and effort into the door, pushing as hard as they could. The table moved, tipping up on two legs. Buddy was able to get his hand inside the doorway and give the table one hard, direct shove, and it upended, crashing to the floor, spilling the supplies over the cement.

  There was no chance now that the breach would go unnoticed; the table hitting the cement had been too loud. Both men knew that they had only seconds before Soh’s men would descend on them, and they would die in a hail of bullets.

  They pushed the door open and ran through, into the rear portion of the northern section of the fort.

  * * * * *

  The man sent by Soh to bring the girl to him was standing outside the room where she was kept hostage when he and the two guards heard the table crash to the ground at the far end of the complex. They exchanged a look, and the most junior of them headed down the passageway to check out what caused the noise. The other two opened the door to the girl’s room and stepped inside.

  They found her cowering in a corner, her back turned toward them. One of them went over to her and grabbed her by the arm. ‘Levantate!’ he shouted, telling her to get up. The girl pulled her arm back hard, though, and it slipped through his fingers. ‘Perra!’ he yelled at her, pulling her hair this time to get her on her feet. ‘Levantate!’ he yelled again.

  He had nearly pulled her to her feet when he heard his partner make a noise behind him, and he turned to see what was happening. It was a terrible miscalculation on his part.

  * * * * *

  The younger MS-13 soldier hurried down the passageway toward the store room at the very rear of the northern half of Fort Strong. He had his gun drawn, but he was inexperienced and nervous. He had never seen close combat; he was a street soldier, and had been involved in drive-by shootings and had killed defenseless enemies, but he had never experienced true face-to-face fighting.

  As he rounded the corner, he could see the table tipped on its side, the supplies covering the floor. Behind the table, he could see an opened door and a long passage. He’d never noticed the door before – the table had been backed up and covering it since the first time he had been in the fort, and he wondered whether anyone on Soh’s team knew that there were additional entryways.

  The wonder was short-lived, though. As he stood there, looking down the newly discovered corridor, he lost his breath. At first he wasn’t sure what was happening, but then he felt the pain shoot through his torso, and a hand on his throat. The knife was withdrawn from his back and then plunged into his rib cage again.

  He heard his gun fall to the floor and clatter into the corner. Then he was on his knees, looking up at two men dressed in black tactical gear. One was tall and the other short. He wondered what was happening, but he realized it was not his concern anymore. The blood was filling his chest, and he was gasping for air, and he knew that he would never see another sunrise.

  * * * * *

  Diamond saw the man pulling her hair turn his head toward the doorway. It was probably her only chance, she knew. She was almost fully standing, and he wasn’t looking at her at that moment. As she heard him call to his partner, she raised the empty bottle and brought it down on the back of his head.

  She’d never hit someone with a bottle before, and she had no idea what to expect. In the movies, the bad guys always seemed to collapse instantly when hit on the head. As the bottle connected, the glass shattered, and the man faltered forward. He let go of her hair and seemed to wobble, and for a moment she thought that perhaps the movies were right, and he would go down. He steadied himself, though, and turned to face her.

  His expression was a tangle of rage and hatred, and he raised a pistol at her. She moved quickly, taking two steps forward and swinging her fist. She was still holding the jagged neck of the shattered bottle, and the sharp edges dug into his abdomen. He doubled over and he dropped his gun as his hands went to his stomach, grabbing hold of her wrist as she dug the broken glass further into him.

  The man’s expression intensified. The rage and hatred were still there, but now there was fear as well – an animal panic driving him to do anything necessary to survive.

  Diamond could feel the man’s hands on her wrist, trying to force the glass backwards, out of his body. She summoned every ounce of strength that she had to keep the broken bottle digging into his flesh, but he was too strong, and he slowly managed to push it back far enough that it was no longer slashing into him. There was a look of victory on his face – she thought perhaps there was even the hint of a smile – as he twisted her wrist back and lifted her hand above her head. She could feel his blood running down the bottle and onto her hand. Then he gave a tremendous twist and wrenched the bottle out of her hand.

  She was knocked off her feet, and she was looking up at the man coming after her. There was a deep, bloody gash in his belly, but that didn’t seem to be slowing him down. He had the broken bottle raised high above his head, and a maniacal look in his eyes. He took a step toward her and raised the bottle up even higher, ready to strike at her.

  All of a sudden, his chest seemed to explode. His blood splattered her face and the wall behind her. The man hovered above her for just a moment and then collapsed inches from her knees. Behind him, there was the figure of a man, a gun in his hand aimed at the body on the floor. He was dressed in what looked like a fitted high-tech scuba suit with a vest and a foul-weather hood that covered most his head and most of his face. He was looking at her in an odd, familiar way, and she wondered what was going on. The shock of watching her tormentor’s chest explode, and the taste of his blood in her mouth, had sent her into shock, and she was no longer processing information logically. Then the man reached up and pulled his mask off.

  It was Buddy, and she immediately started sobbing. She wasn’t even sure why, but the tears started streaming uncontrollably down her face and sobs wracked her chest. He came over, pulled her to her feet and put his arms around her, but only briefly.

  ‘We’ve gotta get out of here,’ he said.

  The thought of having him there with her inspired a strength that she thought had left her. The tears stopped flowing and she caught her breath. ‘OK,’ she said. ‘Let’s go.’

  Fifty-Two

  Soh realized quickly that something was wrong. The attack had been abrupt and intense, with deafening explosions and a hail of gunfire. Then, as quickly as the assault had started, it ended. It took a moment for him to realize it – his men were continuing to fire their weapons out of the small entryway, into the frigid night, and the gunfire in the fort was disorienting. But after a moment, it seemed that the fight was entirely one-sided.

  ‘Wait!’ Soh screamed at his men. ‘Stop firing!’

  It took a moment, but the gunfire died away from inside the fort. All that was left was silence. Soh made a motion to one of the MS-13 gang members closest to the entryway, and he pushed the door all the way open and crawled out. A moment later he called back into the fort.

  ‘They’re gone!’ he yelled. ‘I can hear them running!’

  ‘Move!’ Soh s
creamed at his men. ‘After them!’ Suddenly a bolt of panic went through his body. He turned and looked back toward the inner recesses of Fort Strong.

  Suarez was a few feet behind him, and he saw the look in Soh’s eyes. ‘The girl,’ Suarez said.

  Soh nodded, and the two of them were moving instantly. Several of Soh’s men followed them out of instinct. It took them less than a minute to make their way back toward the room where Cormack O’Connell’s daughter was being held. Soh knew the situation was worse than he’d thought when he saw one of his men slumped in the doorway. There was a bullet hole in his forehead, and his lifeless eyes stared out at Soh as if to mock him.

  Soh looked into the room and saw another body. This one was lying face up, his body mangled and twisted. Soh could see a hole in his chest and a great bloody tear in his stomach.

  The girl was gone, that much was clear. But where had she gone? She couldn’t have slipped past the men at the entryway. Even in all the commotion, there was no way to get by. Then the realization hit Soh – it hadn’t been an attack. Not a real one, anyway. It had been a diversion. Which meant that there must be another way into the fort that Soh was unaware of.

  He motioned for his men to follow him, and they headed toward the room further back where they’d stored many of their supplies. The third soldier was lying face down just inside the doorway. Blood covered the back of his shirt. The supplies had been strewn around the floor, and the table that had rested against the wall was overturned. At that moment, Soh saw the door for the first time.

  He let out a bloodcurdling scream. ‘No!’ he yelled. ‘Cormack O’Connell! I will kill you!’

  He stormed over the supplies and the overturned table and through the door. He could not allow O’Connell to escape. He could not allow him to have his daughter back. There was still a good chance he could chase him down before they could get off the island. And if there was any way he could get to him, Soh would make sure he took full advantage of that chance.

  * * * * *

  At that moment, Cormack was slogging along the shoreline. The night had clouded over, depriving him of the ability to see the rocks and ground before him. He was in the shallow water at the edge of the shore, moving as quickly as he could, but his feet were leaden, and he slipped repeatedly on the ice-covered rocks. He could hear Soh’s men crashing through the frozen vegetation on the side of the hill, gaining on him every second.

  He stepped over a large rock, and his foot came down on a slick spot. He lost his balance and went down face first into the shallows. The icy water jolted his system, and his breath caught in his chest. His beard was covered in ice, and his hands were numb. He wondered whether he’d be able to make it to his feet.

  Just then, he heard a gunshot and there was an explosion in the water next to him. He glanced back over his shoulder, and he could see Soh’s men fifty yards back, up on the hill. It was a long way for a good shot, but they had a clear line of sight on him, and it was obvious that if he stayed where he was, they would eventually get lucky even from that distance.

  He hauled himself onto his feet. His frozen legs felt like they would no longer obey his brain’s commands, and he was reminded of dreams in which he would struggle to move his extremities. Slowly, though, he moved himself forward as more shots splattered the water around him.

  Another twenty yards along the shore, he rounded the corner to the little inlet where the Citacea was anchored. He could see the inflatable raft on the water, headed out toward the large boat, and after a moment he could make out three people on the raft. His heart was filled with relief, even as Soh’s men continued to pepper the water around him.

  The tide had come in, and the Citacea was in six feet of water, around thirty yards offshore. He would have to swim for it, he knew. He didn’t know whether he had the strength left to make it, but he decided that it was worth a try. In any event, he preferred the prospect of drowning over capture by Soh’s men.

  He eased out into the water, and began the long swim.

  * * * * *

  ‘Did Cormack make it back?’

  ‘No! Isn’t he with you?’ Olney asked, confused.

  Cicero shook his head. ‘He went around to the north to draw their attention. He’s supposed to meet us here!’

  ‘He’s not here yet,’ Olney said. ‘We can’t stay here. We’re completely exposed.’

  Olney had barely finished the sentence when they heard shouting from the shore. Looking back up toward the southeast entrance, they could see a steady stream of men burst out onto the hill. They were shouting and running toward the shore – toward the Citacea – guns drawn.

  ‘Shit!’ Olney yelled. ‘We’ve got to get out of here!’

  Buddy looked north and saw additional MS-13 soldiers running along the edge of the water. They were shooting, and at first Buddy thought they were targeting the boat, but then he saw the splashes where the bullets were hitting the water, halfway between the shore to the north and the Citacea. He searched the water until he saw him.

  ‘There he is!’ Buddy shouted.

  The other three on the boat looked out and saw the dark spot in the water, like the hump of the Loch Ness Monster, arms laboriously slapping the surface in an attempt to swim.

  The first shots hit the bow a moment later. The hull shuddered, and Buddy wondered whether the rounds could pierce the carbon fiber and sink them.

  ‘We’ve got to leave!’ Olney shouted, scrambling to the flying bridge.

  ‘We’re not leaving my father!’ Diamond yelled. They were the first words she’d managed since the cell.

  ‘Too late, we gotta go!’ Olney shouted. More gunshots rang out, and Olney revved the Citacea’s engines. Cicero scrambled up to the flying bridge. From there, he had a good look at the two groups of Soh’s men on the shore; one shooting at the Citacea, and the other taking aim at Cormack.

  ‘We’re going to pick him up!’ Cicero shouted at Olney.

  Olney shook his head. ‘We can’t do it!’ he said. ‘We draw five feet, and the water he’s in is too shallow! We’ll run aground!’

  ‘We’re going to pick him up,’ Cicero said again. ‘I don’t care how shallow the water is.’ He pushed Olney aside and took control of the boat. Olney considered pushing back, but realized to do so would put him in graver danger than dealing with the gunshots coming from the shore. ‘Get down on the deck and help pull him in!’ Cicero ordered. Olney paused for only a second before he headed back down the ladder.

  ‘This is insane,’ he said to Buddy and Diamond.

  ‘We’re not leaving my father,’ Diamond repeated simply.

  Gunshots rang out again, and the three of them fell to their knees to take shelter. ‘We’re gonna be killed!’ Olney shouted.

  ‘Maybe,’ Buddy agreed. ‘But they’re right, we’re not leaving Cormack behind.’ He poked his head up above the side of the boat. ‘He’s about twenty yards to port!’ he shouted up to Cicero at the helm.

  ‘I’ve got him!’ Cicero responded. ‘They’re getting closer to him! I’m gonna swing in between him and the shore to cut them off! Get to the stern and get ready to pull him on board!’

  Cicero gunned the engines, and the Citacea shot forward. Buddy scrambled to the rear of the boat, keeping his eyes on Cormack.

  The Citacea closed the distance quickly, which was fortunate. Cicero could see that two of the MS-13 soldiers had left the land and were moving quickly into the water to try to catch Cormack. He steered the boat in between the men and Cormack.

  They hit the rocks when they were still ten yards from him. Both sets of Soh’s men were now firing at the boat, and the vessel lurched and groaned as it scraped over the harbor’s bottom.

  ‘You’re gonna sink us!’ Olney screamed. It was to no effect. Cicero leaned on the throttle, pushing the boat forward over the rocks.

  ‘He’s here!’ Buddy shouted. He reached over the starboard gunwale and grabbed Cormack’s arm. Bullets pelted the port side of the boat, which faced the shor
eline. Olney reached over with Buddy and the two of them hauled him on board. ‘We got him!’ Buddy hollered. ‘Get us out of here!’

  The two who had entered the water to try to catch Cormack were almost at the Citacea. They swam around the stern to try to get on board just as Cicero threw the throttle into reverse. The boat lurched and bucked, hung up on the rocks, struggling to free itself.

  ‘You’re gonna rip the hull apart!’ Olney screamed.

  Cicero floored the engine in reverse and the Citacea gave one great lurch and then bumped backward over the shallows. Soh’s men were floundering behind the boat, and they screamed in unison as the propellers shredded them, leaving them as chum in the water.

  The gunfire continued, and Buddy, Diamond, Cormack and Olney lay flat on the stern deck. Cormack slid his body over toward Diamond. ‘Are you OK?’ he asked her through chattering teeth. ‘Did they hurt you?’

  She shook her head. ‘Are you OK?’ she asked back.

  He nodded.

  ‘Are you shot?’ Buddy asked him.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Cormack responded. ‘But I can’t feel much at the moment, so we’ll have to wait and see.’

  Cicero had pulled the Citacea free from the harbor floor, and had turned the boat around. He pushed the throttle forward again, and the boat picked up speed as it pulled away from Long Island. There was still gunfire behind them, but fewer and fewer shots came anywhere near the boat.

  Olney hurried up the ladder to the flying bridge. ‘Let me take over,’ he said to Cicero. Cicero relented. Olney handed him a flashlight. ‘Downstairs, in the hallway between the state rooms, there’s a hatch that gives access to the hull. Go take a look,’ Olney instructed him. ‘We need to see whether the hull’s been breached. If so, she could go down quickly, and we’re all fucked.’ Cicero gave Olney an angry look, but headed down.