Guy did not appreciate the younger man’s tone. ‘We should stay put,’ he said. ‘It’s safer for us to all be in one place.’
‘You’re such a friggin’ wuss,’ Den said in disgust. ‘Don’tcha understand what’s goin’ on here? You’re not in charge of me or anyone else. This is a shit situation, an’ I’m not sittin’ around waitin’ for it to get worse.’
Ignoring Guy, he started talking to a few of the crew who finally seemed to have realized that they did indeed have balls, and even better — they now had guns.
Den proposed that several of them set off to find out exactly what was going on. The First Officer and two of the crew agreed.
Den took the front position.
Jabrill, an emaciated man with slit eyes and a mean mouth, guarded the speedboat on the left-hand side of the yacht. A former fisherman, he was not as bloodthirsty as his comrades and preferred sitting on the sidelines, chewing on his khat while thinking about his Ethiopian girlfriend and the money he had coming to him.
Jabrill was anxious to get home. He hoped that the ransom would be paid fast, and that they could be on their way soon.
When Cruz appeared, Jabrill was pleased. It seemed things had happened quicker than expected, although he hadn’t heard a helicopter overhead, and usually the ransom was paid in cash and dropped off that way.
Cruz was not alone. He had an unknown white man with him, a man he shoved into the speedboat ahead of him at gunpoint.
Jabrill stared at his boss and wondered where Amiin was. Cruz never made a move without Amiin by his side. Amiin was Cruz’s conduit to the pirates, the only one who could translate his orders.
‘Let’s go,’ Cruz shouted, jumping into the boat.
Jabrill continued staring, his expression blank.
‘Go!’ Cruz yelled. ‘Fuckin’ take off, you moron.’
Jabrill did not understand a word he was saying.
Fully charged with the leadership gene, Den experienced no fear as he and several members of the crew began checking out the yacht. On the upper level they came upon Aleksandr, Cliff and Luca, and quickly exchanged information.
Once they saw Kyril’s lifeless body, they all realized the seriousness and extreme danger of the situation.
Den was on fire. They had guns. They had balls. He decided that if he got through this, he was going into the security business. Maybe start his own firm. Yeah, no more barman crap, he was hot to strike out on his own.
He suggested to Cliff and Luca that they should get Aleksandr down to the mess-hall, pointing out that it was safer if everyone stayed together.
Luca and Cliff seemed to think it was a smart idea, and Aleksandr agreed.
‘We should go find Flynn and Taye — tell them what’s going on,’ Cliff announced, commandeering an AK rifle. ‘I’ll do it.’
‘And I’ll stick with you,’ Den said, thinking of his mum’s face if she knew he was on a dangerous mission with an actual movie star.
Oh yes, his mum would have a fit! So would his married sister who had a big crush on Cliff Baxter. She’d always considered her little brother a total loser, so screw you, Big Sis!
Den had never felt more alive.
The movie star and the barman set off to find Flynn and Taye, while Luca and several crew members assisted Aleksandr downstairs.
Aleksandr was not happy about being a victim. He was a strong, powerful man, and being unable to walk because of his injury infuriated him.
In his mind he was going over how this could’ve possibly happened and who was responsible. He had enemies. Every successful businessman had enemies. And then there were his soon-to-be ex-wife’s brothers. He wouldn’t put it past them; they were a bunch of jealous, greedy pricks, who thought he owed them a living.
He promised himself that, however long it took, he would find the person who had masterminded this outrage, and they would be duly punished. Not only by law, but by his own hand.
Aleksandr never made a promise he couldn’t keep.
‘He’s dead,’ Renee cried out, her eyes wide with fear. ‘A man… a bad, bad man shot him.’
‘What did you say?’ Jeromy asked, leaning closer to the girl. These were the first words she’d spoken and he couldn’t quite understand her; she wasn’t making much sense.
‘Dead,’ she repeated, shivering uncontrollably, her face deathly pale.
‘Who is dead?’ Jeromy asked, fear creeping up on him, for surely this couldn’t be true?
‘The Senator,’ Renee gasped, breaking into heavy sobs. ‘He was on top of me… the man shot him… I could’ve been shot too.’
Jeromy didn’t like what he was hearing. He summoned Guy, who came over carrying a blanket that he wrapped around Renee.
‘She’s saying something about the Senator being shot,’ Jeromy informed him. ‘It can’t be true, can it?’
‘God, no!’ Guy said. ‘I’m sure it isn’t. She’s traumatized, doesn’t know what she’s saying.’
‘There’s an evil man in my cabin,’ Renee whispered, barely able to speak. ‘He’s asleep on the bed. He has a gun. If he wakes up he’ll come and kill us all.’
Guy looked around.
Where was Den?
Moving as fast as she could, Mercedes made it to the speedboat just as Cruz was screaming at Jabrill to take off. She shimmied down the rope ladder and jumped into the boat, clutching her garbage bag of cash, the ring stuffed into her bra for safekeeping.
‘Were you leavin’ without me?’ she said accusingly.
‘Who d’you
‘Why’s
‘’Cause he might be useful,’ Cruz said gruffly. ‘An’ when he’s not so useful I’m gonna toss him overboard. Now tell this motherfucker to start the boat an’ get us the fuck outta here.’
Mercedes knew a few words of Somalian, enough to tell Jabrill to go.
But Jabrill wasn’t having it. Sensing all was not right, he demanded to know where the others were — Cashoo, Hani and especially Amiin.
Cruz screamed his frustration as Flynn and Taye appeared on deck.
Spotting Mercedes and Captain Dickson in the boat, Flynn figured they were both being kidnapped and instantly knew he had to do something.
‘Get out of the boat with your hands up,’ he yelled at Cruz. ‘It’s over. The Coast Guard’s on the way. You may as well surrender now.’
‘Go fuck yourself,’ Cruz screamed, raising his Uzi and letting forth a barrage of bullets.
Jabrill jumped to attention. Violence was not his thing unless absolutely necessary. To hell with the other pirates, they’d be okay on the other boat. He revved the engine, and within seconds the powerful speedboat took off.
Chapter Ninety-Five
‘Get out!’ Sergei screamed, wrenching the covers off the bed.
Ina opened one eye. ‘What?’ she mumbled.
