The Collectors Book Six: Black Gold (The Collectors Series 6) (21 page)
Read The Collectors Book Six: Black Gold (The Collectors Series 6) Online
Authors: Ron Sewell
“Amadou, your questions?” asked Bear.
Amadou thought for a moment. “Are you sure you’ll be attacked?”
“At first I would have said fifty-fifty. Since someone damaged the cabling to the pumps and cameras, I reckon it’s definite.”
“Do we know their line of attack?”
“Six coffees,” said Colin as he placed the mugs on the table. “Help yourselves to milk and sugar.”
“Difficult to be one hundred percent but if they follow a similar approach to the attack on Goliath, they’ll use fast skiffs holding at best seven men including the driver. The problem we have is Leviathan’s hull rises vertical from the sea. This makes us targets if we lean over the side and fire on the skiffs. We have three options. Stop them before they’re close. Sink them with the water cannon. Hit those who make the main deck.”
Amadou’s eyes sparkled. “We have forty RPG7 rounds, and three launchers. As a bonus one hundred grenades. Two Russian sniper rifles with one box of copper-tipped ammunition. And I guessed these might come in handy,” he pointed. “Night vision goggles, straight from the good old USA. I also included a dozen boxes of AK47 ammunition. Our firepower will give them a few problems they didn’t count on. Now we have to decide on our strategy.”
Barry having waited, spoke, “The idea is to force them to choose softer targets but total elimination would make others think twice.”
“You’re forgetting their man on the inside,” said Bear. “That’s the reason I wanted the weaponry in this mess. Until we have an idea who he is, we play the game and don’t discuss our plan of attack outside of here.”
“How long before we start the war?” asked ZZ.
“From tonight we keep our eyes on the sea and the main deck. The officer on watch will search the sea for anything unusual and we’ll guard the deck. Amadou, ZZ, when the shit hits the fan we’ll be on the top of the bridge with RPGs. With luck we’ll cause major damage before they get close.”
Bear looked at his watch. “I suggest you go shower or whatever, and have your dinner. Sleep when you can from now on. At some stage it’s going to become rather busy.”
“The battle between the forces of good and evil,” said Barry.
“I agree,” said Bear. “But in this fight the winner takes it all. Go and enjoy your shower.”
@@@
“Long time no sex,” said a dark-haired, woman with a full mouth and a well-developed figure.
Linda’s eyes widened in surprise. “Lisa, come in. How did you know I was here?”
“I bumped into Jomo yesterday and he told me.”
“Coffee or something stronger?”
“Coffee, I’m working at the airport tonight.”
Linda’s eyes shone as an ecstatic shiver passed through her body. “I should have called but you know how it is.”
“Bet you don’t have my number?”
Linda stared at Lisa straight-faced. “I do.”
Lisa, licking her lips, held Linda’s shoulders and pulled her close. She covered Linda’s lips with hard passionate kisses as her hands fondled easy to reach parts.
They tumbled onto the soft mattress, Linda’s sheet falling to the floor. The force of need held them together
“Stop,” whispered Linda. “Take your clothes off.”
Lisa slipped out of her thin cotton dress in an instant. “When I knocked on the door I thought you might send me away.”
“I’m stuck here waiting for a phone call. You’re the best thing to happen in days.”
They exchanged kisses that scorched their souls. For a while they enjoyed each other, shuddering, moaning and screaming as the flood of delight erupted between them. With their lust sated, they slept.
A bad dream disturbed Linda’s sleep. Wherever she hid, a man with no face followed until soaked in sweat she awoke. She hugged Lisa, the warmth and softness of her reassuring, as she floated in a world between sleep and waking.
Later they showered and dressed. Linda watched her leave, her hunger growing.
“I finish at midnight.”
Linda laughed out loud. “I’ll be here. Bring a friend.”
“You owe me a cup of coffee.”
Linda said nothing as the door closed.
@@@
The Leviathan, her navigation lights dimmed, charged at maximum speed through the rolling waters of the Arabian Sea. Not a trace of the crew could be seen; even the normal red bridge night lighting was extinguished.
Dressed in his bespoke white uniform, Captain Richard Scott, his face flushed with rage, stared at the man who stood in front of his desk. He tried to ponder the problem but his self-control cracked as he roared, “My instinct is to toss you overboard and report you as missing whilst at sea. In this instance I’m sorry to say the United States has laws which prevent me from killing you. On our return home, you will be charged with piracy and malicious damage to this ship’s engine room. You’ll never work at sea again. Have you anything to say in your defence?”
Third Engineer Stevenson shrugged but looked smug. “The pirates are my friends. Touch me and you’ll never see the States again.’
Tony smiled as his right fist struck Stevenson’s face, knocking him to the deck. “Tell your friends it was me who gave you a black eye. If I had my way I’d let the crew use you as a punch bag until they were too tired to hit you anymore. I’m going to lock you in an empty deck store. Someone might bring you food and water if I remember. For your personal hygiene, you’ll have a bucket to crap in. The next time you go anywhere will be to jail.”
“You’ll regret that,” mumbled Stevenson through a busted lip.
“Want another one?”
Stevenson cowered on the deck.
“Tony, how bad is the damage to the pumps?”
“Nothing that a gallon of oil won’t fix, sir. We were lucky. Mr Kyriades gave me three small battery-operated cameras which captured this creep,” he kicked Stevenson, “removing the oil drain plugs. I have a lad refilling the oil boxes now. My second engineer will test the pumps and report to me.”
“Thank you. Take him away.”
Tony grabbed Stevenson by the collar and lifted him into the air. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your decision.”
Stevenson turned, fists clenched. “When my friends attack you’ll be begging for mercy.”
“Oh dear, it’s the hard way and there’s nothing I’d like better than to shove my boot right up you arse until it tickles your tonsils.” In a split second Tony shoved Stevenson’s arms up his back before pushing him out of the cabin.
Richard dropped into the chair behind his desk. He jumped at the sound of a body tumbling down steel steps. “You should have chosen the easy way,” he muttered as someone knocked on his cabin door. “Enter.”
“I hear Tony caught him in the act,” said Petros. “Has anyone searched his cabin?”
Richard leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. “Not yet.”
A brief silence followed as Petros turned and walked to the door. “If you don’t mind, I’ll do it.”
“As it’s my ship I’ll join you,” said Richard as he heaved himself to his feet.
Petros nodded and let him lead the way.
Much to their surprise, Stevenson’s cabin was clean and tidy.
Richard opened the wardrobe. “I’ll check in here,” he pointed. “You, the desk. Not many places to hide things in these cabins.”
Petros opened the flap on the desk. “It’s here in plain sight.” He lifted the black plastic box no bigger than a mobile. “State of the art satellite tracker beacon, this device sends a signal every ten minutes. Simple and effective but a limited range.”
“Give it to me and I’ll heave it over the side.”
“Anyone with half a brain will have tracked this ship since you sailed from Fujairah. This makes homing in easier. Someone will be searching for this signal. If they don’t find it they’ll believe something’s wrong.” He chuckled. “No, let’s make it operational and wait for them to make their move. For the moment the odds favour us and I’d rather it stayed that way for as long as possible.”
Richard grew serious. ”Where are you going to position it?”
“Any suggestions?”
“I’ve plenty but in the meantime the top of the bridge should be perfect.”
The two men clambered up the vertical steel ladder to the upper bridge deck. To their right a standard binnacle with a magnetic compass, topped with a brass cover, stood in isolation.
Richard pointed. “On the mast just below the radar.”
“Perfect,” said Petros.
The warm air from the galley ventilation wafted across the deck. “Dinner smells good,” said Richard. “Time for a shower.”
“You sound just like Bear.”
He laughed. “See you later.”
Chapter Twenty
Richard Scott studied a chart at the back of the bridge. Beside him stood Andy and Petros. “Today we leave the Arabian Sea and enter the Indian Ocean. Any protection offered by the navies of the world will no longer be around. Are we ready?”
Petros smiled. “We’re as ready as we’ll ever be. Bear, ZZ and Amadou have set up a base for the RPGs on top of the bridge. They have night goggles if they need them. Barry and his team are equipped with grenades and their own weapons and have set up a base on the main deck. Your shipwright produced a barrier of steel and four-by-four shores that should stop a tank. I’ll be on the bridge operating the water cannon.
“Andy, make sure your men are inside the accommodation citadel; sun bathing for a few days is cancelled.
“Captain, you’re in control of your ship and we will obey any order you give. Out of interest, what’s your turning circle?”
“She turns very slow, why do you ask?”
Petros shook his head. “You never know if it might be useful.”
“Anything else you need me to do?” asked Andy.
‘Nothing at the moment but as soon as it becomes dark we’ll need a constant radar watch. You’ll know if the pirates are ready to attack because their two tanker configuration will appear somewhere on the radar. When you see them we’ll can expect trouble.”
“In hand. My three juniors have a watch rota to check the radar. I’ve told them to work out the closest point of approach of every vessel within a ten mile radius.”
“Andy,” said Richard, “I suggest you take time out and rest this afternoon. I need you fit and awake tonight.”
“I’m fine, sir. No problem.”
“Andy, it wasn’t a request.”
“Yes, sir.” He turned and with a long face disappeared down the companionway.
“Petros, I can’t order you to do the same but with everything prepared you could stand down your teams.”
“I agree. I’ll leave one man at each station. Bear will be happy, it means he can eat.”
Petros made his way to the forward mess, entered and grabbed a seat.
“What’s on your mind?” asked Bear.
“Just a few thoughts. We’re as ready as we can be. What’s your game plan?”
Bear shrugged. “We take them out as and when we see them. With luck we can hit their transports so they have no place to run except to us.”
“And that’s where we enter the fight,” said Barry. “We know they’ll use grapnels to climb on board. Henry and I will position ourselves either side of the superstructure with a bag full of grenades. When the line from the grapnel tightens we’ll lob a grenade over the side. There’s a good chance it will land in the boat and Bob’s your uncle.”