Jamie Freveletti: Running Dark

A skiff floated directly below them, surrounded by the jellyfish bloom. In it were Abdul, the American soldier, and a man with angry eyes and the attitude of a commander. He spoke, and the others appeared to jump in response. Emma wondered if he was this Mungabe that she’d heard about. Next to him was a pirate holding an RPG with a piece of red-colored cloth attached to it. These three watched as their comrades climbed a ladder attached to the cruise ship.

The blaring of a huge bullhorn overlay the din of gunfire. It bellowed in short blasts. The third held fast, reverberating through the air in one long howl. A massive warship boiled toward them, less than a half mile away. Following the warning blast came the distinctive chop-chop sound of helicopter rotors firing up. A copter rose lazily into the air.

“It’s the Redoubtable, ” Sumner said.

The pirates who remained on the ladders all leaped away from the Kaiser Franz. Some fell onto the skiff, but others landed in the water around it. One man whimpered in panic while he splashed at the jellyfish all around him. The man with the angry eyes yelled at them, waving toward the cruise liner, as if exhorting them to return. Abdul, the American soldier, and the pirate with the RPG and the red scarf yelled as well, but the men surrounded the skiff, trying to pull themselves onto it. The one Emma thought of as Mungabe took out a pistol and shot the first two over the side. Their bodies fell backward into the waves.

Sumner shoved the Dragunov at her.

“Shoot it. I can’t. My arm isn’t functioning.” Sumner’s voice was thin. “We only have eight bullets left, so keep it on semi.”

“I’ll miss on semi,” Emma said.

“The switch is near the trigger. I’ll help you aim.”

Emma took the gun and pointed it at Mungabe. She felt Sumner stretch out next to her, leaning onto her side to steady her. He wrapped his right arm around her body but hissed in pain with the motion.

“Aim at the widest part of him. Take a deep breath and then hold it while you depress the trigger.”

Emma closed one eye and sighted Mungabe through the scope. He was a continually moving target as he braced himself against the motion of the little boat on the ocean’s waves. He glared at the men all around him in the water before looking up.

Emma took a deep breath, held it, and depressed the trigger. The gun bucked, and she watched Mungabe scream in anger. The bullet missed him completely. He raised his own rifle and fired. Sumner moved his entire torso onto her, sheltering her with his body as the bullets rattled into the side of the ship. Two ricocheted off the upright railing.

“Screw it,” Emma said. “I’m switching to auto. Help me hold it in place.”

She flipped the switch to auto. She didn’t bother to hold her breath, didn’t bother to sight him—she just pointed in his general direction and squeezed the trigger. The gun rattled in response, bucking and shivering against her as it let loose a volley of bullets. Sumner wrapped his hand around the butt, helping her hold it steady. She moved the weapon back and forth in a sweeping motion. Abdul dropped—if from a bullet, she didn’t know—and the American Somali followed. Within seconds the gun was empty.

Mungabe stood on the boat’s edge firing back at her, oblivious to the danger. Then, abruptly, he paused and watched. After a moment a grin creased his face. He reached for the rope that attached his skiff to the cruise liner and pulled closer. He placed a hand on the ladder and started his ascent.

“He knows we’re out,” Sumner said.

Emma could barely hear him, his voice was so weak. She slid out from under his body.

“Don’t move. I’ll be right back.” She crab-walked back to the stairwell entrance, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.

Pirates lay all around, their bodies draped at various locations in the stairwell. Emma picked her way over them, noting that most were breathing, albeit in short, shallow gasps. She pushed the door open to the bridge. Here the pirates were more alert. Some coughed, while others hung their heads outside a window that had been smashed. They’d managed to get enough fresh air circulating to retain consciousness. Still, none paid her any attention as she sidled in and grabbed the bucket’s handle. She worked her way back up the stairs and onto the deck. Sumner hadn’t moved. She swallowed her fear and focused on inching her way to the edge.

Mungabe had reached the railing on the deck below. His head was down while he concentrated on climbing the ladder. Emma hovered over him.

“Mungabe!” Emma prayed that she was right and the man climbing the ladder was indeed the pirate leader.

He looked up.

She threw the mixture.

The stream hit him slightly off center, landing on his shoulders but still managing to splash onto his face. He let out an ear-piercing howl. He made a grab at his eyes and fell backward, into the ocean. When his head reemerged, Emma saw him desperately splashing the water into his eyes.

She watched the massing jellyfish bloom encircle him. His frantic movements triggered their instincts to sting. His howls reached a fever pitch as the creatures stung him. He thrashed once before disappearing under the water.

The Redoubtable ’s horn blared again. The pirates who were left in the remaining small craft unwound the ropes that attached them to the cruise liner, tossing them off. They revved their engines and retreated, leaving their remaining crew members in the water to their own fates. Only Mungabe’s boat was left. No movement came from it.

Sumner lay on the deck, his eyes closed. The stark look to his skin told her that he was still losing blood from the wound. She inched next to him.

“Sumner?”

He didn’t respond. Emma checked for a pulse. She started to cry when she found one, thin but steady. A shadow fell across them. She looked up to see Block standing over her.

“Oh, God, tell me he ain’t dead.”

Emma shook her head, unable to speak.

Block squatted down next to her. “Marina’s bad. Bullet real close to her heart. Cindy’s holding a wadded piece of cloth against the wound, but we need to get these two onto that carrier and to a medic.”

Emma heard the sound of the first helicopter lowering onto the pool deck. Block shielded his eyes to watch it land.

“Here come the reinforcements,” he said.

54

BANNER STOOD NEXT TO THE REDOUBTABLE’S MEDIC AS HEworked on irrigating Sumner’s gunshot wound.

“The wound isn’t bad, but he’s lost a ton of blood and taken a hell of a hit on his head,” the medic said.

Banner nodded. Sumner still hadn’t regained consciousness after they’d boarded the Kaiser Franz, and now he wouldn’t. The medic had knocked him out with pain pills. Sumner lay on the gurney, looking like death.

Emma stood on the other side of Sumner, watching. Banner thought she looked pale but remarkably good, considering her ordeal.

“What will happen to Stark?” she asked.

Banner sighed. “Hard to say. He has an excellent defense, due to the fact that he notified the authorities about the theft.”

“Has he said who the financier was that propped up Price?”

Banner shook his head. “He says he’ll take the Fifth if asked. He seems to think he’ll be putting his life in danger if he speaks.”

Emma nodded, but Banner thought she didn’t look too concerned about the possibility.

There was a knock at the door. A man stuck his head in. “Ms. Caldridge? Someone has asked to speak with you.”

Emma stepped into the hall.

Stark stood there.

“What do you want?” Emma said.

“I wanted to see if he’s okay.”