‘Sola said someone was coming to help us avoid the naval patrols,’ Annalie suggested.
‘Yeah, no,’ Arlo said, shaking his head. ‘Don’t think that’s happening. Now the Admiralty have invaded, all bets are off. You’d better just get out of here as quick as you can.’
They thanked Arlo again, and launched the dinghy with a renewed sense of urgency. He stood on the rocks and waved them off; by the time they reached the Sunfish, he’d gone.
They had to almost carry Spinner up the ladder and onto the deck; his strength was almost spent. But he still had the energy to notice the missing chunk of railing and deck that had been ripped away by the Admiralty’s grappling hook. ‘What have you been doing to the old girl?’ he said.
‘Blame Beckett for that,’ Annalie said.
Spinner looked around with obvious pleasure. ‘I thought I’d never see her again,’ he said softly. ‘She’s a good old boat.’ Then his knees buckled and he slumped against Annalie’s shoulder.
‘Let’s get him below,’ Essie said.
Fire!
Essie and Annalie settled Spinner in his old bed in the boys’ cabin. Essie cleaned the wound and dressed it using the first aid supplies Arlo had given them. They included powerful antibiotics, something their own kit still lacked.
Following Arlo’s advice, they set sail due west, the Sundian flag flying from their mast. Once they were in international waters, they would turn south for their final run down the coast, then they’d head east for Dux. What they would do once they got to Dux was another matter, but first, they had to make it out of Sundian waters without being caught by the Admiralty or the Sundian navy.
They were still in Sundian waters when the sleek shape of Beckett’s ship the Raptor appeared on the horizon and swiftly began heading towards them. Essie, Pod, Graham and Blossom joined Will and Annalie on deck.
‘Is there any way we can outrun them?’ Annalie said.
‘We’re already going as fast as we can,’ Will said. ‘And they’re going at top speed.’
‘Perhaps we could try and lose them on shore?’ Pod said.
‘You mean abandon the ship?’ Will said. ‘And then what? Go back to the desert?’
‘We could try and get back to the Ark,’ Essie suggested.
‘The Ark will be swarming with Sundian police soon,’ Annalie said. ‘If we go back, we’ll be arrested.’
‘Maybe we can hurry them up,’ Will said. ‘Graham, fly ahead and look for some of those buoys.’
As Graham took off into the sky, Will said, ‘If we trigger their alarm it might bring the Sundians. Right now, we could do with all the help we can get.’
‘I’ll run up a distress signal,’ Annalie said, and went to fetch the right signal flag.
They kept sailing west and a little south, with the Admiralty ship bearing down from the north. After a minute or two, Graham came back and reported, ‘Lots of floating buoys dead ahead.’
‘Lots?’ Will questioned.
‘Two.’
‘What did they look like? Were they the same as the one you pooed on?’
‘One same. One different.’
‘Spiky?’ asked Will.
Graham cocked his head, thinking, then nodded.
‘They’re getting closer,’ Pod warned.
Suddenly, from across the water came a boom, then a whistling sound, and then a huge detonation blew up the surface of the ocean just ahead of them. The Sunfish rocked wildly as the force of the explosion spread out through the water.
‘Did they just fire at us?’ Essie cried.
‘Yes, they did,’ Will said grimly.
There was a second huge boom. This time they saw the flash as the Raptor fired a missile at them; it screamed across their bows and hit the water even closer. The blast nearly capsized the boat, and they all had to grab onto something to stop themselves being flung into the water. Graham flew up into the air shrieking.
‘They missed!’ Pod shouted.
‘They’re getting closer,’ Will said. ‘Those were warning shots. They’re letting us know they mean business.’
‘Should we stop?’ asked Essie.
‘No,’ Will and Annalie said together.
They kept going, as hard as they could, but the Raptor kept coming, easily catching up to them, until the huge grey ship was cruising alongside, throttling back its engines to match their pace.
They heard a preliminary squawk and then Beckett’s voice came over a loudhailer. ‘This is your last chance,’ he said. ‘Hand Spinner over to me or face the consequences.’
They looked up. Beckett was standing on the deck of his ship looking down at them, flanked by a detachment of armed marines.
‘Never!’ Annalie shouted back.
‘You know what I’m capable of,’ Beckett said. ‘If you don’t obey me, I’ll destroy your boat and everyone on it.’
‘You wouldn’t!’ Essie cried.
‘Where is he?’ Beckett said. ‘I want to see him.’ He raised his voice. ‘Are you there, Spinner? Or are you going to keep hiding behind your children?’
‘Your crew wouldn’t fire on unarmed kids!’ Annalie cried. ‘What about the Admiralty oath? You’re sworn to defend us.’
‘Kids or not, you’re a bunch of criminals. You’ve had plenty of chances to avoid your fate and you refused every one of them. So now you’re going to get what’s coming to you.’
The marines cocked their weapons, ready to fire.
Beckett raised his voice again. ‘Spinner, this is your last chance! If you don’t hand yourself over, you’re about two minutes away from being blown to bits along with your children and all the strays they’ve brought with them.’
‘I’m not a stray!’ Blossom said furiously. Reaching into her pocket she hurled somethingin the direction of Beckett’s head. It was the glass paperweight she’d lifted from the Ark and if it had struck Beckett, it might have done him some damage, but the paperweight fell short and dropped harmlessly into the ocean with a plop.
‘Wait!’
Spinner had appeared in the doorway from the saloon. He stepped onto the deck, pale, wobbly, but very determined. ‘This is between me and you, Avery. It always was. You can do what you want with me. Let the children go.’
‘Spinner, no!’ Annalie cried.
Beckett weighed this up for a long moment. Then he smiled. ‘You’re
