Seabound (Seabound Chronicles Book 1) (26 page)

Esther pulled the
handheld radio from her pocket and switched it on. “Byron, come in.” She
waited. “Can you hear me?” She hoped the thick hull wouldn’t render the radio
useless. “Byron?”

Finally, a voice
crackled through the radio, barely intelligible. “Byron here. What’s your
status?”

“We’re in the
hold. Filters are good.”

“Right behind you.
Out.” Esther slowed her breathing and waited. Byron and his crew would follow
the
Lucinda
toward the water ship. In a few minutes, David would hail
Lucinda
’s captain from his yacht, the
Abby Rae
,
and talk himself aboard. Esther waited for Byron to confirm
David’s position. She listened to the low crackle of the radio, keeping her
eyes on Dirk and the others, trying the gauge their mood. They were not patient
men. They were capable of taking off with the
Lucinda
and leaving the
Catalina
to its fate.

Esther could feel
the
Lucinda
’s
speed
through her shoes
.
Even though it was just a delivery run, she
was swift. The rush of the waves and the hum of the engine buzzed through the
room.

Suddenly,
footsteps clomped down the stairs to the hold door.

“Rogers! Quincy!
You in here?”

Esther switched
off the radio and dove behind a box as the door opened and a beam of light
split the floor.

“Rogers? Quincy?
Where are you, you lazy bastards?”

The sailor walked
a few steps into the room, giving the boxes a cursory glance. Dirk crouched
opposite Esther, twisting the lead pipe in his hand. She gestured violently for
him to wait. He stared at her for a moment, then relaxed his grip on the pipe.

“Dammit. Probably
off napping somewhere,” the sailor muttered as he left the hold, slamming the
door behind him.

The oilmen emerged
slowly from the corners. “How much longer we gotta wait, girl?”

“Wait for the
signal or we’re cooked,” she said.

“How much longer?”
he repeated.

“We’ve gotta be
almost to the water ship by now. We’re moving fast.” Esther clicked the radio
back on. “Byron, you there?” Had she missed the signal? “Byron?” But there was
no answer.

Esther had lost
track of how much time they’d spent in the hold. What if she’d missed the
message? She wanted to kick Dirk for knocking out Rogers and Quincy. One of the
two had regained consciousness, but his bindings held him securely.

She went to the
door and eased it open. The passageway outside was deserted. The oilmen
gathered around her, hulking shapes in the darkness. They waited, breathless,
for any sound from above. All they heard was the hum of the engines, the
whisper of the sea.

Then the radio
crackled. “It’s time.”

Esther and the
oilmen shouldered their weapons and stalked silently through the door. She
walked a few steps ahead to make sure their path was clear and found a narrow
passageway of crew cabins. She tiptoed along, listening for any sound of
movement. There was a metallic clatter behind her. She whirled around. One of
the oilmen sheepishly picked up a dropped pipe.

At the end of the
passageway, Esther found a ladder leading up to a hatch that should open out on
deck. Carefully, she climbed up and pushed the hatch open a few inches. Sailors
walked back and forth in front of her, only their feet visible, shouting and
laughing as they went about their normal duties. Esther pushed the hatch up a
bit farther so she could see more of the deck and a strip of the sea beyond it.
There was no sign of David and his crew, and the
Lucinda
was almost to the water ship.

“Stop,” she
whispered to the men behind her. “We can’t go up yet. The others haven’t made
contact.”

The water ship
grew larger, looming above the deck as
Lucinda
sailed nearer. They were going to miss their chance. They were too late.

“Come on, David, don’t
let us down.”

A pair of feet
started toward her, and Esther crouched lower, only her eyes above the line of
the deck. Had someone seen her? The feet weren’t moving too quickly. She prayed
their owner had some other destination in mind than this hatch.

Then a shout came
from beyond the bow. “Ahoy there!”

The voice was
faint, but Esther almost cried in recognition.

“You, on the
Lucinda
.
We’re down here on the
Abby Rae
.
Where is your captain?” It was David.

The pair of feet
on the deck turned around. Other members of the crew followed, heading for the
bow.

“What’s your
business,
Abby Rae
?” said a woman.

“Permission to
come aboard. This is David Hawthorne, the captains’ spokesman.”

“We’re already on
goddamn delivery duty. What do they want now?”

She had a scratchy
voice like an old hinge.

“I have a new
mission for the
Lucinda
when you’ve completed your drop,” David called.

“So, radio it in
and let me get on with my business,” the woman shouted.

Esther imagined
the ingratiating smile that must be spreading over David’s face as he answered,
his voice full of charm. “This mission is sensitive. It’s ideally suited for an
exquisite ship like the
Lucinda
.
She’s the most beautiful thing on the water for a hundred leagues,
Captain.”

The woman snorted,
unimpressed. “Too sensitive for radio?”

“Yes, ma’am. I
received it from Captain Boris. He instructed me to deliver the message to you
in person. May we come aboard?”

The woman was
quiet for a moment. Mention of Boris seemed to convince her in a way that
flattery hadn’t.

“All right then,”
she barked. “Lewis, get the ladder.”

The crew gathered
around, and Esther counted pairs of feet. Eight. Ten. Twelve. It was close
enough. She held her breath until David’s shiny boots appeared on deck. He was
still singing the praises of the
Lucinda
to the captain as Neal and the
others came off the ladder. The hijackers were in place.

David’s voice rang
across the deck, close now. “Thank you ever so much. Now if you’ll just allow
us to bring a special shipment aboard, I’ll explain the mission. My crew may
need some help.”

Esther knew more
of the hijackers would be rolling barrels of oil onto the deck of the
Abby
Rae
to be loaded onto the
Lucinda
.
It didn’t matter if they got all of it on board before they made their move,
but it would certainly get the attention of the crew.

“What the hell’s
all this?” the captain demanded.

Esther pushed her
head a little farther out of the hatch. The woman, who wore a cap with the bill
pulled straight over her eyes, and several others watched David’s crew hoist
barrels up the side of the
Lucinda
with ropes.

The captain
scowled at their efforts. “You going to fill me in on this mission before you
start loading up my ship?”

“Don’t worry,
Captain. This is just a bit of insurance,” David said.

“That’s the
signal,” Esther said to the men behind her. “Let’s move.”

They burst onto
the deck, hollering and brandishing weapons. Paris had coached them in how to
carry the weapons so they looked real—and loaded. The oilmen rushed the
crew gathered in the bow, who whirled around, confused. The oilmen swung their
pipes, cracking as many heads as they could reach before the sailors knew what
had hit them.

At the first
shouts from the oilmen, David’s crew heaved a large barrel across the deck,
knocking down two sailors with the momentum. The barrel tumbled toward the pilothouse
and crashed to a halt.

David tackled the
captain, wrestling with her to keep her from running to the pilothouse.

Esther darted to
the starboard rail. Zoe, Eva, and Toni ran past, heading aft to catch anyone
who might be hiding at the stern. Zoe had a grim smile on her face. Another
group, brandishing stage guns, headed for the pilothouse.

Byron was waiting,
his water taxi bobbing below
Lucinda
’s
shoulder. He tossed a rope ladder up to Esther and she secured it. The crew
from the water taxi—including Dax, his remaining friend, Raymond, and
Adele—scurried up the ladder and onto the ship to join the fray. Adele
looked remarkably convincing with her fake machine gun.

Two gunshots rang
out from somewhere, but that was all. Everyone had been warned to take charge
of any real guns as quickly as possible.

It was over in
seconds. Esther looked around. The deck was quiet. David had the captain in a
headlock, but he stood calmly as ever, surveying the damage. The
Lucinda
’s
sailors were either unconscious on the floor or sitting beneath the barrels of
the stage guns. A muffled shout came from a man in the stern, but he was soon
quieted.

“Well, lookee
here. This turned out well.” Byron climbed from the ladder to the deck of the
Lucinda
.

“We’re not done
yet,” Esther said. “Let’s get the rest of the supplies on board. Neal, get to
the bridge and see whether anyone had a chance to send an SOS. Come on people,
let’s move.”

Neal saluted and
dashed to the pilothouse. Byron and a few helpers began to unload his boat and
help the children safely aboard.

Esther ran to the
bow and scanned the water ship looming over them. Had anyone seen them? David’s
crew loaded the last of the oil barrels and supply crates onto the
Lucinda
.
They’d managed to procure an impressive amount. They set the
Abby Rae
loose from her moorings and let her drift gently away.

Meanwhile, David
was trying to drag the captain to the pilothouse, but she was putting up a
fight. Her cap had come off, and her wiry dark hair clung to the sweat on her
forehead. David yelped as she bit into his arm. Esther arrived just in time to
catch hold of her and help him.

“Look,” Esther
said as they pulled the captain along. “We need your ship. Help us get her under
way, and then we’ll send you back to the
Galaxy
. No one gets hurt. Don’t
make this harder than it has to be.”

The captain
glowered at them and her struggling intensified.

“Hey, Esther! What
do you want us to do with these goons?” Dax shouted. He was standing over a
group of sailors, a stage gun in his hand.

“Get them onto
Byron’s taxi. He should be done unloading by now. Destroy the radio and disable
the engine. Watch them to make sure no one sends up a warning too soon.” She
forced an extra dose of menace into her voice. “If they swim for it, shoot
them.”

They were drifting
awfully close to the water ship. Esther looked up its sheer sides again. Was
that the outline of a head above the bulwarks?

Someone else
called to her. “Esther, where do you want the kids?” Byron’s wife had taken
charge of the three children in addition to Thera who were coming along with
their families.

“Take them to the
cargo hold for now. Bring a man with you to get the two sailors tied up in
there.”

Toni popped her
head out of the hatch. “Esther! Dirk said to tell you the engines are clear.
We’re fired up and ready to go.”

“Thanks. Check in
with Byron, will you? Find out how much time we have.”

“Got it.”

David was watching
her over the head of their captive captain. “It seems you’re in charge,
Esther.”

“What? We don’t
have time for this. Up you go.”

Esther grabbed the
captain’s belt and used it to push her into the compact pilothouse. The woman
was not light, but with David’s help they got her in front of the wheel. They
had agreed it would be easier to get the captain to steer them through the
Flotilla
than to waste time figuring out
how to operate the
Lucinda
during these crucial moments.

“All right, we’re
going as far away from the
Galaxy
as we can get. Take us east.”

“Fuck you and the
horse you road in on.” The captain spat, but Esther’s grip on her neck kept the
spittle away from her shoes.

Neal had already
taken over a headset at one of the control consoles. “We got people asking
what’s up, Esther,” he said. “We need to move now.”

Esther nodded.
“Come on, Cap. Let’s go.”

The woman didn’t
budge. They needed her to cooperate. They were too near the other ships. Anyone
could look down and see something was wrong.

David spoke up.
“Here’s the deal. That taxi we just loaded your crew onto? It’s rigged with
explosives. You help us, or we’ll blow the whole thing sky-high. You have ten
seconds.”

“You’re bluffing,”
the captain said.

David’s face
remained impassive. “You want to bet the life of your crew on that? Ten, nine,
eight . . .”

She stared daggers
at him. Esther gripped her tighter, ready for an escape attempt.