The other goon swept the girl into his arms and took her below deck. He returned carrying a dark-blue towelling robe which he flung at Ray. “Put it on.”
Ray slipped it over one shoulder and struggled to put his arm through the other. The police boat got closer. How do I play this? Dob them in to the coppers, my arch enemies over the years, or what?
“You there, on the River Princess, prepare for us to come aboard.” The voice was insistent even through the megaphone.
“Let them on and we’ll deal with them,” the man with the gun said.
“What does that mean?” Ray asked, his voice high-pitched, the strain evident.
The man grinned, tucked his gun in the waistband of his trousers and fastened his jacket to hide the bulge.
The police boat moored behind them, and two young officers boarded the boat and joined them on the deck. “We’ve received a call about gunshots coming from this boat. Care to tell us what’s going on?”
“Sorry? I don’t know what you’re talking about. My associates and I were in the process of having a meeting.”
The young officer’s brow rose, and he pointed at the deck. “You’ll be telling me next that’s tomato ketchup.”
“Oh that, no, I cut my foot when I went for a dip in the river earlier.”
The officer chewed his lip and shook his head. “Don’t give me that bullshit. Open your robe.”
“I will not,” Ray replied indignantly.
The officer took a step towards him and yanked the robe open and grabbed his Taser at the same time, but it was too late. The goon with the gun whipped out his weapon and fired off two shots, each of them hitting their targets. Both officers dropped to the deck. One of them, the one who had the courage to approach Ray, writhed in pain at his feet.
The officer reached out a hand and begged, “Stop, don’t do this.”
The gunman silenced him with another two shots to the chest.
“Shit, shit, shit…what the fuck did you go and do that for?” Ray paced the deck.
“Don’t fuckin’ question my ethics, shitface. We need to get out of here. Start up the boat.”
“No way. I need to get to the hospital. I’m losing too much blood to steer this thing.”
“You’ll do as I say or I’ll finish you off here and now, it’s your choice.”
Ray shook his head and sighed. From what he could tell, he had no other option available to him.
He took up his position in the cockpit and started up the engine. The goons moved the coppers’ bodies to the rear and untied the police vessel, setting it adrift. They headed down the narrow part of the river. Ray’s eyes were everywhere, watching the pedestrians strolling along the riverbank with not a care in the world, while he was bricking it and losing blood fast by the look of things.
Jesus, why did I have to let my greed take over? I knew I was out of my depth getting involved in the drug side of things. Shit! They’re not going to let me get away with this, they’ll kill me next. Fuck!
“Where are we heading?” the guy with the gun asked.
“I thought it would be better to get away from there ASAP. We don’t want more cops showing up, do we?”
“Good point. But where are we going now?”
“Heading downriver. I can moor up again soon, if that’s what you want. Hey, man, I’m bleeding out here, I really need to go to hospital with the girl.”
“Dream on, mate, it ain’t gonna happen.”
Ray decided to push harder on the throttle. The boat surged forward, and the gunman lost his footing. He slammed into the door, and the gun skittered across the floor to Ray’s feet. He bent to pick it up. The guy twigged what was happening and pounced on Ray. The gun went off in the ensuing fight between the two men. It didn’t take long for the other goon to appear, and between them, the two men overpowered Ray.
They took it in turns to slam their fists into his gut and his face. He doubled over in pain. Sirens wailed behind; yet another police boat was on their tail.
“Fucking stop messing about. If we don’t outrun them then we’ll all be going down for murder, you hear me?” the gunman shouted in Ray’s face, baring his teeth as his lip curled up into a ferocious snarl.
Ray swallowed hard. “But I had nothing to do with it.”
The guy hit his temple with the gun. Ray’s gaze blurred. The boat bumped into a smaller craft coming in the opposite direction.
“What the fuck are you doing?” The gunman prodded the gun into Ray’s side, into his wound.
“Ouch! Shit, it’s not my fault, my vision is blurred.”
The gunman threw his weapon to the other goon. “Watch him. If he moves, fucking kill the bastard. I’m going to have to steer this thing, it’s our only chance of getting out of here.”
“Do you know what you’re doing?” Ray asked, fearing not only for his own safety but that of his new three-quarter-mill acquisition.
“Fuck off! How difficult can it be?”
“It’s harder than you think.” Ray peered over his shoulder. “They’re gaining on us.”
“Here, you take her then. No funny business or the girl gets it.”
“I swear. We need to go faster. Brace yourselves.”
The boat lunged forward at last. Their speed was greater than that of the police cruiser behind them.
The river widened, much to Ray’s relief. “We’ve got this. They’re losing speed rapidly, cowards.” He laughed.
“Just get us to shore in one piece. Round the next bend, pull over when you can and we’ll leg it.”
“Shit! We’ve got no chance of escaping. We’re doomed,” Ray shouted above the whine of the engine.
“We’re sunk with that attitude. Do your best. Be prepared to jump, Stitch.”
Stitch stared at him. “Are you fucking crazy? I ain’t
