She turned down a road lined with condos just before the entrance to the Cape Henlopen State Park, killing her lights first. Parking here was unlikely to draw any attention. It was a short walk down a path to the beach, from which she had a pretty good view of the ferry station as well as most of the bay. She stopped near the water at their pre-determined position and checked her watch. If things were on schedule, the pickup should have occurred a few minutes ago, so she expected him to make his appearance in short order.
She caught motion in the distance, but didn’t really pay much attention to it. If it was Carson, she’d know soon enough, and if it wasn’t, she didn’t need to worry about it. Even if he’d been caught or whatever, Carson would never reveal her location. She kept her eyes pointed that way, hoping to see his crouched form sprinting silently towards her, but there was nothing nearby. Shrugging, she ascribed the false sighting to a trick of the breeze and maintained her vigil.
It was only due to the glow of the lights on shore that she saw a ghostly-white form sliding away from shore as it emerged from behind the ferry terminal. Katie had trouble making sense of the scene. The human eye has trouble gauging depth and distance at night, so she couldn’t really tell how big the long, pale shape was. Only when she saw the funnel come into view did she realize she was seeing the ferry moving into the choppy harbor and towards the roaring breakers crashing further out in the bay.
***
Carson sensed the movement under his feet, and seconds later he could see the docks sliding astern as they moved forward under power.
“What the hell are you doing?” he shouted at Chops. He felt the roll of the deck from the relatively small inshore waves and knew it was going to be a lot worse if they dared to pass the breakwater.
“Geez, Navy. I shouldn’t have to explain a ship departure to someone like you, should I?” Just then a thinner figure came through the hatchway, moving with the power and grace of a stalking panther. Carson knew it was Peetey Hooks. Who else would it be?
“You’re insane! This is a ferry! The bow and stern are wide open, and those seas are running 15 feet! You’re gonna sink this thing in no time!”
“Well, you’re right about one thing,” Chops replied. “This boat will sink, that’s for sure. But, before that happens, it’d make me feel a lot better if you put your gun down on the deck.”
“Yeah,” Peetey said. “We’d hate to have to shoot you so early on. There’s a little matter you and I are gonna settle first.”
Chops laughed. “Later, Peetey.” Then he pointed a flashlight at Carson’s hip, shining it on the gun stashed there, and his voice changed. “Now, Navy, and I mean fuckin’ now.”
Carson, using his peripheral vision, could see the maelstrom into which the ferry was headed. He hadn’t been kidding when he warned Chops of the dangers of going out in this weather, but was willing to bet these two assholes (and whoever else was driving the boat and working in the engine room) didn’t believe him and had no idea of how exciting this ride was about to get. He needed to stall for time.
Slowly, he withdrew the gun from under the belt and, holding it out to the side, thumbed the magazine release, allowing it to fall to the floor. Then he racked the action once to expel the bullet sitting in the chamber before placing it at his feet.
“Smart boy. You learned to follow orders good. Now kick it over here.”
Carson did as directed, but waited for the deck to slope away slightly while kicking it a little too hard so that the weapon skidded past the two men and into the darkness, clanking as it hit the metal bulkhead.
“What the hell?” Chops roared.
“Hey, fuck you! Sorry I don’t know how to play handgun soccer!”
Chops mumbled something Carson couldn’t make out, but it caused Peetey to step forward. “Gimme your backup piece.”
“I only brought one. I didn’t expect to need that one, let alone a backup.”
“This ain’t amateur hour. Let’s see your other one!”
“I don’t have it, jackass! What, are you trying to make it so you have to give me a cavity search? Are you hot for me, gay boy?”
Peetey bared his teeth in a grin that seemed to Carson more like the snarl of a rabid dog. “Just for that, I’m going make it hurt before I finish you off.”
“I never figured you for that kind of kinky shit, Peetey, but it’s OK with me if you go that way.” He puckered up and kissed the air in his direction, wondering if Peetey was going to bridge the gap between them with one leap in an attack, so furious was his expression.
“Hooks!” Chops’ bark seemed to reign in his anger just a bit. “Go find the gun!”
Peetey stepped back, keeping his enraged gaze on Carson for several seconds until another roll of the ship forced him to face the direction he was walking. Chops watched him go before stepping unsteadily a few feet closer to Carson.
“I don’t know what got into you, Navy. You didn’t have to do a fucking thing except sit there and give her food and water and take her to the pisser. She wouldn’t have seen you, wouldn’t have known who you were, and when this was all over you could have shacked up however you wanted.”
“Bullshit,” Carson shot back. “Her douchebag husband was going to kill her!”
Chops let out a half-laugh, half-disgust snort of derision. “Did you really think we were going to get caught up in a fucking murder for such a stupid reason? We’d never let that rich little faggot do anything to screw up
