by Beth Abbott
“What?” His question had obviously brought Abs up short.
“Do you have the keys to both rooms?” Zach repeated. “I want to get a shower and talk to Sacha, and you need to get Katya out of sight in cabin five.”
“I thought…” Abs stuttered.
“Well, you thought wrong.” Zach shook his head. “Drago asked me to get Katya for you. Now, do you have the keys or don’t you?”
Abs patted his pockets until he found the keys, pulling them out and handing one to Zach.
Zach opened the door and reached in to turn on the light.
“Get out of sight, the pair of you.” He managed to give Abs half a smile. “Sleep well.”
He didn’t wait for a response, just turned and entered the cabin, closing the door firmly behind him. His tablet was already ringing, and he knew who would be at the other end.
“Sacha, I’m alone, before you ask.” Zach didn’t wait for the question. “I had to ask for Katya because Abram has a crush on her, and he didn’t want her having to go off with anyone else.”
The sight of Sacha giggling on his screen lifted a huge weight from his shoulders.
“Zach, did you think that was why I was calling?” She snorted. “Because I didn’t trust you?”
“Well, not really, but I just wanted to make sure you knew.” He shrugged.
“Zach, you’re the most honourable man I know.” He watched her touch the screen. “I know you would never cheat on me, not even a one-night stand thousands of miles away while you were on a mission. You’re not a ‘What happens in Vegas’ kind of guy.”
“Then why were you calling?” He asked, sitting back on his bed and leaning the tablet against the lamp on the side table.
“No reason.” Sacha shrugged. “I was just chatting with the gang, and thought I’d give you a call. Have you been up to anything interesting?”
Zach smiled at the screen.
“Oh, you know… this and that.” He joked. “How about you? Watched anything interesting on the small screen tonight?”
“Not really. I read my book mostly.” Sacha shrugged. “Drew kept up a running commentary of some sporting event he was watching, but it didn’t sound too exciting, thank goodness.”
Zach chuckled at her nonchalance.
“He was right that it was pretty uneventful.” He confirmed with a smile. “The guy didn’t really have any skills, and he was quite a bit smaller. I took him down with Candy’s signature move, the head crushed between the thighs, in the third round.”
“You’re not even scratched?” Sacha sat closer to the screen, so she could see.
“Not a mark.” Zach turned his head from side to side so Sacha could see for herself.
Sacha inspected him thoroughly before pronouncing herself satisfied.
“Are you ready to go into the hospital tomorrow?” He asked, wishing he could be there with her to hold her hand.
“I’m all packed and ready to go.” Sacha nodded. “Vicky’s doctor called this afternoon to tell me the op would be at about one o’clock. She said I mustn’t eat or drink anything after about midnight to be on the safe side, but I needn’t go into the hospital until about eleven in the morning. They did some blood tests before I left on Friday, and she’s had the results back confirming that I’m infection free, so there’s no reason why the operation won’t go ahead.”
“You know I’m going to be thinking of you every second, don’t you?” Zach said quietly. “Can you make sure Vicky keeps me up to date with your progress? I want to speak to you as soon as you’re awake.”
“I promise I will.” Sacha smiled. “Candy and Tuck are taking the boys out for the afternoon, so I doubt Rocco will even have a chance to miss me. Although, he does keep asking when daddy is coming home.”
“Tell him I’ll be home in two days.” Zach smiled. “I’m missing you both too much to stay away any longer.”
A beeping noise alerted him to the door opening, and Kris and Drago walked in.
“Sacha, the guys are back now, so I’ll have to go because Hannah will probably want to speak to Drago.” Zach smiled ruefully. “I’ll call you in the morning before you leave Hannah’s place.”
“Ok, Zach.” Sacha blew him a kiss. “I love you, baby, and I’m so glad you didn’t get hurt tonight.”
“Love you, Sacha.” He smiled at the screen until it turned to black.
He looked up to see Drago holding his hand out.
“What’s up?” He frowned at the Russian.
“I just had a text message from Hannah.” Drago grinned. “It looks like she’s figured out a way to get the women off the ship.”
Zach handed him the tablet, and in seconds Hannah’s face was smiling at them on the small screen.
“Good job tonight, Zach.” She nodded. “I don’t think I could have taken any more blood, even if it came out of your opponent.”
“I would’ve ended it earlier, but I didn’t want to piss off Lebedev.” Zach grinned. “I had to make it entertaining for a few rounds.”
“Yeah, well, Sacha and I are both grateful you didn’t make it last any longer.” Hannah nodded.
“So, what is it you wanted to tell us about getting the women off the ship?” Drago asked, as Kris opened the small fridge and pulled out a few beers.
“It’s about your friend Micky’s suggestion of using the lifeboats.” Hannah confirmed. “I was working with Ellen this afternoon, and we managed to hack into the ship’s computer.”
“You both hacked in? Or was that the royal ‘we’?” Kris smiled.
Zach looked at Kris with a frown.
“What is so royal about the word ‘we’?” He asked, confused.
“It’s known as the Majestic Plural.” Kris shrugged. “When Kings and Queens referred to themselves as ‘we’, they reckoned they were speaking for themselves and God as well, as though they were on speaking terms with the Almighty.”
“And you know this, how?” Zach wondered.
“Some of us used our downtime in the military to actually get an education.” Kris shrugged. “I have a Masters’ degree in European history, and Yuri has a Masters’ degree in business and economics.”
“I always knew Yuri was the smart one.” Zach chuckled.
“Erm, guys?” Hannah’s voice cut in. “Remember me? The lady getting older here?”
“Sorry, Hannah.” Kris chuckled. “You were saying…”
“I was saying that ‘we’ hacked into the ship’s computer.” Hannah continued. “I did the computer bit while Ellen translated everything for me.”
“Excellent.” Drago nodded. “And what did ‘we’ find?”
“We found that we can override the computer when it comes to the lifeboats, so that no alarm will be raised when the lifeboat is launched.” Hannah explained. “It can be launched manually from a hand-controlled unit in the boat itself.”
“Even better.” Drago smiled. “Do you know how many people you can get on board each lifeboat?”
“There are several different sizes.” Hannah explained. “Numbers five and six are the largest. They can carry up to thirty-six people in each.”
“There are roughly forty trafficked women, plus the five of us and Micky as well.” Drago frowned. “We may even have to take a couple of the hostesses with us. That means we’ll either need to take two boats, or just have one boat that’s seriously overloaded.”
“Well, five and six are on opposite sides of the ship.” Hannah pointed out. “You could go for five and seven, which carries twenty-four people, or six and eight, which would be the same, depending which side of the ship you can get to easiest. I think you’d be much too heavy for just the one lifeboat.”
Drago looked around at the size of Zach and Kris, and knew that collectively, Kellen and Abram were even bigger.
“I agree, the weight would be far too much.” He nodded. “So, when do you think you’ll be able to cut the link with the ship’s computer?”
“I could do it now, but w
e don’t know how conscientious the Captain is.” Hannah shrugged. “If he did a test and discovered we’d isolated the lifeboats, he might take steps to fix the break, or even patrol the boats with his own men.”
“Ok, that’s probably something best left until closer to the time we go.” Drago nodded. “Would the crew be likely to spot the lifeboat being launched?”
“Ellen has been through the training manual, and there seems to be some sort of light on the top which will flash once the boat is launched. It’s supposed to make it visible once it’s in the water.” Hannah frowned. “If we’re going to avoid being noticed, then someone will have to manually disable the light. You might just be able to remove the lightbulb from inside the plastic casing.”
“Would we be able to get the women off the ship first in the bigger lifeboat, and then the rest of us take the smaller lifeboat?” Zach asked. “Will the Russian sub be close enough to stop them being swept out to sea or smashed into the side of the ship if we’re not there to help them?”
“Apparently the Russian sub has been pretty much beneath the Atlantic Carousel for the last twenty-four hours.” Hannah grinned. “They’re just waiting for the signal to surface. By the time the lifeboats are in the water, I have no doubt they’ll have men on deck to help pull you in. Of course, you won’t get too far once you’re all in the sub before they’ll have to offload you, as they’re not built to take almost fifty extra passengers. Plus, I think the Kremlin is a little worried about having Americans on one of their newest nuclear subs. They’re afraid you’ll take away all their military secrets.”
“So, should we expect to be blindfolded while we’re on the sub?” Kris asked.
“They haven’t actually mentioned it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if something like that happens.” Hannah shrugged. “I guess you should prepare for anything.”
“Ok, we’ll be ready.” Drago nodded.
“Good.” Hannah smiled. “Now if there’s nothing else, I’m going to head up to bed. I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be a long and very stressful day, and I’m going to have to bring my A game.”
“Once you’ve got access to Lebedev’s money, how much do you think you’ll be able to take from him?” Zach’s question made her pause. “Only I was listening to his conversation with Micky in the dining room earlier on, and she was talking about him walking away from the weekend with about forty something million dollars. It was all being moved into his accounts by bank transfer.”
“That’s going to be the tip of the iceberg.” Hannah grinned. “I was listening in too, and from his conversation with Micky, I got the impression that his fortune is in the hundreds of millions, even if most of it is owed to various assholes even tougher than Lebedev.”
“In which case you’d definitely better get some sleep.” Drago waved her away from the screen. “Because I want every penny of that money, and you’re probably the only person likely to be able to get hold of it.”
Zach watched Hannah sign off and stood up ready to grab a shower.
“One thing’s for sure…” He murmured, rubbing his chin. “I want to be well clear of this ship before Lebedev finds out his money is missing.”
Kris and Drago turned to stare at him.
“Damn straight!” Kris winced as he imagined what Lebedev would do.
“A long way off, or a long way down.” Drago nodded in agreement. “I don’t really care which.”
Chapter 48 – Kellen
Kellen waited outside the entertainment area, in a spot left in complete shade by the stack of containers in the hold.
He could just about see the door from his position and was watching for Micky to leave to go up to her cabin.
After their amazing encounter the previous night, he’d been disappointed to wake this morning to find she’d already washed, dressed and headed downstairs to the dining room. She’d spent most of the morning working on her laptop with Sergei breathing down her neck.
The rest of the day she’d been busy with every other task Sergei had seen fit to land her with, and there had never been a moment he’d felt comfortable approaching her to speak privately.
It seemed like Sergei, or Stan, or any one of a dozen other people were always within ten feet of Micky, most of them watching her like a hawk.
He’d almost been glad when the evening had arrived, and he had an excuse to be in the same room with her.
The second fight of the night had been far closer than Zach’s fight, and had gone the full distance.
Kellen had stayed in the background when Drago and Kris slipped out of the way, eventually escaping outside into the cool air.
Micky had been doing her job of keeping the bets recorded and making sure everyone paid up without any delay.
Sergei was making a show of being hands-off with the debt collection, but Kellen observed him watching Micky, and he never took his eyes off what she was doing.
Once the men stepped into the dining room for a meal and some fun with the hostesses, he knew Micky’s job would be done for the night, and Sergei would excuse her, so she could go and get some sleep.
He watched through the window as Sergei rounded up his guests and herded them into the dining room, pausing to speak to Micky as he passed by.
Whatever he said had obviously pissed Micky off big time, and for a few minutes they seemed to exchange words and glare at each other.
Bizarrely, just as they seemed to be getting into a stand-off, it was Sergei who was first to back down, and he stepped away from Micky with a wave, as if to let her know he was done with her.
Whatever he’d said to Micky had obviously riled her up, and she’d stomped across the room like a woman on a mission.
Kellen edged forward out of the gloom just as Micky stepped through the door, and as though she’d sensed he was there, Micky turned her head, her eyes searching him out.
“Hey there.” He gave her his most charming smile. “Everything Ok?”
Micky didn’t hold back the growl as she glared at him.
“If you were expecting me to go all the way tonight, you’ve got another think coming!” She couldn’t have been much ruder if she’d tried, and he could feel the anger rolling off her in waves.
Kellen held his hands up in a defensive pose.
“You seriously think I was hanging around here hoping to have sex with you?” He huffed. “Of course, I wasn’t! Where I come from, the second date usually ends in a blow job.”
Micky’s jaw dropped, and he could see her warring with herself whether to march over and punch him, or just stomp off up the stairs to her cabin.
Thankfully, at the last second before the decision was made, she must have noticed the twinkle in his eye and the twitch of his lips, because she stopped dead.
“You’re not serious, are you?” She guessed with a half-smile.
“Not in the slightest.” He grinned. “Unless, of course, the idea of a blow job sounds good to you, in which case, I’m deadly serious! Serious as a heart attack, in fact!”
“Frankly, the idea of getting on my knees in front of you or any man is the last thing I’d want to do.” Micky growled. “Not unless I had a very sharp knife in my hands.”
Kellen toyed with the idea of explaining that you didn’t have to be on your knees to give a blow job, but he guessed that the timing probably wasn’t right for that sort of conversation.
“Would I be right in supposing that our friend Sergei might have something to do with your rather… ‘prickly’ demeanour this evening?” He guessed.
Micky snorted in a rather unladylike manner, as she turned her head and glared through the entertainment room window.
“Oh, you would be absolutely spot on.” She scowled.
“Look, why don’t we go back to your cabin, out of the way, and I can sit on one bed, you can sit on the other, and you can tell me exactly what Sergei said or did to piss you off so badly?” Kellen suggested. “Preferably before anyone else comes out here and finds us togethe
r.”
Micky narrowed her eyes, obviously trying to decide whether he was trustworthy or not. Eventually she must have decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“Ok.” She turned for the staircase. “But no funny business.”
Kellen followed closely behind her, grinning to himself. He really wanted to remind her that it was she who had come to him last night whilst he’d been in bed, so that actually meant that she’d been the one to start the ‘funny business’.
Micky ducked into the hallway and had her door open in a couple of seconds, leaning in to switch on the lights.
“Hurry up.” She hissed. “I don’t want any of Sergei’s people to see you.”
Kellen darted into the cabin leaving Micky checking the hallway to make sure they hadn’t been seen, and he was already sitting on the bed he’d slept on the night before by the time she closed the door and clicked the lock.
“At the risk of sounding dismissive of your complaints against Sergei, could I suggest that you take a few deep, cleansing breaths before you try and vocalise your grievances?” Kellen suggested. “With the amount of negative pressure built up inside you right now, if you don’t do something positive to release it, the top of your head is going to explode.”
Micky stared at him with an eyebrow raised sardonically, before she actually paused and took a few deep breaths. When she was finished, he watched her roll her shoulders and stretch her neck out, as though she was well-practised at relieving the stress built up inside her.
When she was finished, Micky slumped down onto her bed, kicking her shoes off and flopping back onto the mattress.
“Ok, now you’re calmer, do you wanna tell me what Sergei said to piss you off?” Kellen suggested.
Micky turned her head to glare at him, the moment of calm completely washed away by his words.
“Sergei suggested that as it was apparently my fault he didn’t have any of the trafficked women to give to the fighters, I should offer myself to his guests as one of the hostesses for the evening.” She growled. “Apparently, one of his guests had expressed an interest in fucking me. He’s a high-stakes gambler, and Sergei wanted me to make sure he was kept happy.”