Death Comes Ashore

by Corinne O'Flynn

  Alicia helped Corey squeeze the fabric of her dress. “I’m sorry. I could’ve shot you. It was stupid. It’s just, when I saw Agent Gallagan… I… I lost it. It was like I was two people, watching myself without being able to stop it. I’m really sorry I almost shot you.”

  “No, silly. I mean, yeah… It was totally stupid what you did. No way around that, but, Alicia… I’m not talking about putting me in danger. What were you thinking? You don’t want to kill a person if you can avoid it. That’s not who you are. And you can’t let what they’ve done to you turn you into that kind of person.”

  “That’s just it. I wasn’t thinking.” Alicia shook her head and glanced at the water. “Where did Gallagan go?”

  Corey shrugged. “I didn’t see. I hit her pretty hard in the face, maybe she got knocked out, sank? I don’t know.”

  The irony that she was scolding Alicia for trying to do the thing that she had apparently just done herself wasn’t lost on Corey. But this was her life… her job. She chose this and she was a cop first. She searched her feelings. If she was sorry Gallagan was dead, it was only because that meant she wouldn’t be brought to justice in the courts. Gallagan was the worst kind of monster. She was a dirty cop. An agent who betrayed her people. A traitor.

  When people in positions of trust abuse that trust and hurt the ones they are meant to protect…

  Corey’s thoughts swam through her memories and landed squarely on Darby Paul. Talk about abusing and breaking trust. The simple act of remembering brought back the words he used to say to her after he’d done the things he’d done. The name her called her rang through the years.

  Unworthy Trash.

  And just like that she was transported. The air around her filled with the smell of Darby Paul’s cheap cologne and the warm closeness of a little girl taking a bath.

  “You’re a broken little witch, now.” His voice echoed from the past, sounding as though he was right there next to her whispering in her ear. Corey shivered.

  That was the price she had to pay. It was the price all victims had to pay. When someone chooses to prey upon you, it’s you who pays the price. If they got caught, and they were brought to justice, sure… there were consequences for them. But it was the victim who carried it forever. It was the victim who truly paid.

  Gallagan deserved life in prison to think about what she’d done. And although Alicia had seen way too many things for someone her age, she was still innocent in a lot of ways. Corey would do what she could to help Alicia retain her hold on that part of herself. It was hard enough to see the changes in Alicia since her kidnapping. Corey would do everything in her power to keep Alicia from becoming her own version of damaged and broken.

  Alicia stood and helped Corey to her feet. Corey noticed Alicia was barefoot and feigned shock. “Aw! You lost your shoes!”

  “Oh those old things?” Alicia arched a brow. “Like I don’t have a hundred other pairs of designer bejeweled yacht wear?”

  Corey smiled. “Yeah. And I don’t think they were your color, anyway.”

  The sound of gunshots seared through the calm. Glass shattered, followed by the sound of women screaming.

  Corey pictured the boat full of drugged and disoriented young women, and what they must be thinking with all the noise going on around them. She needed to be there. It was the reason they were on this mission the first place. Corey and Alicia were tasked with helping the girls through this and keeping them safe.

  “Let’s go get the girls.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Corey followed Alicia across the main deck of the Oasis to the gangway connecting the first boat in the line to where the girls were being held.

  Alicia stopped and cocked her head to the side. “What’s that?”

  A soft whoop whoop of helicopter blades chopped through the air from somewhere in the distance. Corey scanned the horizon but didn’t see anything in the night sky. The fog had lifted, but it had left behind a haze that made the stars look blurry, as if she were looking at them through mosquito netting.

  “That’s a chopper. Can’t tell where it’s coming from.” That was odd. A helicopter wasn’t part of the operation tonight. Corey worried if someone had sounded an alarm and reinforcements from the Russian mafia were on their way. She scanned the sky one more time before turning to Alicia. “No time to waste. Let’s go.”

  Alicia pulled Corey’s arm, preventing her from entering the next gangway. “No. I’m not talking about the helicopter.” She turned toward the back of the boat and watched as Gallagan, dripping from having just come out of the water, straddled one of a pair of Jet Skis docked off the dive platform at the back of the boat. The rumble of the Jet Ski echoed across the water.

  Alicia waved a hand as if dismissing Gallagan. “A lot of good that’s going to do out here in the middle of nowhere.”

  Gallagan steered the Jet Ski on and stood on one of its side panels. She leaned toward the hull, reaching for something on the outer rails of the Oasis.

  “Wait. What the hell is she doing?” Corey asked. She moved in Gallagan’s direction, never taking her eyes off the woman. Anything she was this determined with couldn’t be good. Out of habit, Corey reached between her legs for her gun and felt only an empty holster. She forgot she had lost it in the water when she wrestled with Gallagan. Damn. Her .22 pistol was no Glock .40, but anything would be better than running in empty-handed. “Agent Gallagan! Stop!”

  Corey inhaled and imagined a fire in her belly that spread throughout her body. She imagined rockets shooting from her hands and exploding Gallagan off the Jet Ski. She tried to channel the energy she knew she had, but hadn’t spent any time training herself to use and cursed herself for the hundredth time for denying her power.

  Red streams of light shot from Corey’s hands, throwing her off balance. The fireballs soared off into the ocean like a pair of red safety flares, missing Gallagan, the Oasis, and any of the boats by at least a hundred yards.

  “Shit!” Corey shouted in frustration.

  Gallagan stiffened when the magic shot from Corey but she quickly realized she was in no danger and returned to whatever she’d been doing with a sneer on her face.

  Corey hurried along the length of the boat, her bare feet slipping on the trail of puddles she’d left when she first came across the deck from the water.

  Agent Gallagan let go of something and hopped onto the Jet Ski, revved the motor, and sped off, glancing back once to look at Corey with a wicked grin on her face. She flipped Corey the bird.

  Corey shook her head. “Gallagan’s gone a little nuts, you ask me. Where the hell she think she’s going on that thing?”

  Corey got to the rear rail and peered over the side. There wasn’t anything there. She stepped to the left and the right, leaning as far over the rail as she dared. Nothing.

  Alicia arrived and stepped down onto the dive platform, bringing her closer to the water. She peered around the side where Gallagan had been tinkering. “I don’t see anything… wait.” Alicia gripped the edge of the dive platform’s ladder and swung her body farther out. “Oh no.”

  “What?” Corey asked. “What do you see?”

  Alicia pulled herself back and stood on the platform. “I can’t reach it, but I can see it floating away. The cable all the boats were tethered to? She disconnected it.”

  As if on cue, the gangway to the line of cruisers on their left squealed as it scraped along the side of the Oasis. The cruiser it was connected to had pulled away and the gangway bridge was no longer able to span the gap. The gangway fell, scraping the hull on its way down until it dropped into the water with a final splash.

  “Oh shit,” Corey said.

  “The girls!” Alicia added.

  They ran across the gangway and made their way over the first and second cruisers, but the bridge between them and the third boat had separated and they couldn’t get across.

  “We’re going to have to jump,” Alicia said. She didn’t wait for Corey, but g
ave herself a running start and leaped across the widening gap. She landed on the deck and slammed onto her knees.

  “Corey! Come on!”

  Corey grabbed the hem of her soaking-wet gown and hiked it up. Then she took a few steps back and ran for it.

  They padded along the deck to the cabin door, listening. Everything seemed quiet.

  Corey pressed her ear against the door and closed her eyes, concentrating on any sounds coming from the other side of the door. There was nothing. That didn’t seem right. She shrugged a question at Alicia.

  Alicia stepped to the closest window and peered inside. “I see a few girls,” Alicia whispered.

  Corey flinched as the fiberglass and steel of the gangway frame on a nearby boat splintered under the massive torque from the shifting yachts. Light from magic spells shot through the air, landing on walls and ricocheting off the water. Gunshots popped in the distance. Corey clenched her fists, feeling the adrenalin surging through her.

  Alicia glanced over her shoulder at the sound and then brought her attention back to the window. “They are all just sitting on the sofa. Maybe they’re stoned or coming down off something? Agent Parks said they kept all the girls on drugs for the auction.” As if hearing her own words for the first time, Alicia froze mid-thought.

  “Jesus, Corey. That could be me in there right now. Nikki and I could have been those two girls sitting right there in that room.” Tears welled in her wide eyes.

  Corey wanted to feel for Alicia, but there was no time for either of them to fall apart. They had to hold it together and get through this. They could both break down when the girls were safe, when they were back home. When they were able to find and reconnect each of these girls with their families. But right now they had a job to do.

  Corey lifted Alicia’s chin. “Stay with me, okay? You got this. We both do. We’re going to open this door and figure out the best way to get those girls to safety.”

  Alicia nodded and wiped her tears.

  “Look, you’re not sitting in there with those girls, and because of that, they have a chance. We’re here to see that these girls are never put in a situation like this again.”

  Movement on the deck of the Oasis caught Corey’s attention. She glanced over at a line of six well-dressed, older men, their wrists handcuffed to each other to form a chain. The lead agent stopped them and looped the open end of the first man’s cuff through the railing and clicked it on the man’s free wrist. Good. That meant they were lining them up to get them processed into custody before the ride back home.

  Corey smiled and pointed over Alicia’s shoulder, indicating the men. “Look at that. Each one of those assholes is going away for a long time. None of them are going to be able to hurt any of these girls. Not ever. We’re doing good stuff, Alicia. We’re here and making a difference for these girls. You see?”

  Alicia nodded. “Sorry. I wasn’t expecting it to hit me like that…”

  “No worries.” Corey put a hand on the door latch. “You ready?”

  Alicia moved to get in front of Corey. “Let me go first.”

  Corey stepped aside and moved her hand away. She was proud of Alicia for facing this like a boss.

  Alicia eased the door to the cabin open and stepped inside. The main area of the space had a lounge feel, with a long U-shaped sectional sofa, coordinated overstuffed easy chairs, glass topped coffee tables, and thick carpeting that muffled all sound. The windows of the cabin were lined in sheer fabric, but it was so dark outside there was nothing to see.

  A tall, dark skinned woman in a dress that could have doubled as lingerie stood up as they entered the room. She leaned heavily on the corner of the sofa, clearly not sober.

  Her gaze went immediately to Alicia’s ankle. “Who… are you?”

  “I’m Alicia. Um…” She turned to Corey, her chin quivering. “I… I can’t…”

  Corey couldn’t imagine the thoughts running through Alicia’s mind. She was so close to having this be her reality. It had to be stunning to try to put what could’ve happened out of sight while standing here faced with a dozen women who hadn’t been as lucky as Alicia had.

  It was one thing to read stories about human trafficking, but seeing it up close… Being part of this rescue… It was overwhelming for Corey, she couldn’t imagine how it felt for Alicia.

  Corey pushed the door all the way in. “I am Inspector Corey Proctor with the MCU. We’re here with the Prestigium Investigations Office. We’ve come to take you home.”

  Chapter Forty

  There were sixteen girls in the cabin. Each of them had been told to stay put in the room or they would be beaten and thrown overboard. Judging from the way they flinched when Corey got close to a few of them, it was clear they’d been physically abused in addition to everything else. She made sure to keep her distance and keep her movements gentle and slow.

  Corey pinched the skin on her wrist. She had to stay focused. She couldn’t allow herself to get caught up in her emotions right now. Get a grip, Corey. Get a grip.

  It took a little bit of persuading to get the girls to step outside onto the deck. A few of them were tipsy, but for the most part, everyone could stand on their own two feet. “Okay, we’re going to make our way back to the Oasis. The big boat. Okay?” Corey spoke slowly and made sure everyone was paying attention.

  A few of the girls nodded. But most of them stared absently with blank gazes. This wasn’t going to work. The boats had drifted too far apart to have even a hope of reaching them. There was no way these girls would be able to navigate jumping across the gap in their present condition. Corey had no idea what kind of drugs these girls were on, but she couldn’t risk one of them falling into the water. They had to figure out something else.

  Corey inhaled deeply and blew out a breath. “Okay. Plan B. We’re going to stay put, and instead of walking out of here, we’re going to drive the boat. Does that sound good?” She smiled and tried to make eye contact with each of the girls. She imagined she was speaking to a room full of children like the time she and Young had visited the school to talk about safety. While it was important for them to share the information, they had to be careful not to freak anybody out with the seriousness of the situation. Right now, she felt like they were one girl’s panicked reaction away from mayhem.

  Corey smiled as though they’d all nodded along with her. “Good. Alicia? Let’s bring everyone back inside so they can have a seat while we get a move on. We can leave the door open… none of you will ever be locked up again.”

  Alicia opened the cabin door and found the latch to secure it open. She stepped into the living room and ushered each of the women into a seat.

  Corey stood on the deck, making sure each of the women filed back inside in a calm and orderly fashion.

  Alicia turned and stepped to the window on the far side of the room. She pulled back the curtain and squinted at the view. “Hey, Corey? Can I talk to you outside?” Alicia’s sing-song tone a clear indication of something wrong. She didn’t wait for a response but zoomed past Corey, out the door, and stood on the deck.

  Corey was confused. “Everything all…”

  Alicia grabbed Corey by the arm and dragged her around the side of the cabin until they stood on the main deck, with a view of the ocean on the opposite side.

  Alicia pointed at a boat that had been tethered at the end of one of the rows. “Is that boat heading toward us?”

  Corey took a step toward the railing and squinted to get a glimpse at the cockpit. There was someone standing at the wheel. Corey blinked. “That’s Gallagan.”

  Agent Gallagan had detached one of the larger yachts and pulled it around the far side of the collection of boats. As Corey and Alicia watched, Gallagan gunned the engine and the yacht seemed to jump out of the water toward them.

  “Oh my God. She’s headed straight for us,” Alicia said. “We have to get out of here.”

  Corey’s mind snapped into tactical action. “Okay. There’s no time to get the g
irls off the boat. And we can’t risk moving them now since all the boats are pulled apart.”

  “You know how to drive a yacht?” Alicia asked. Corey shrugged. “It’s a boat. How hard could it be?”

  They ran to the bridge, slamming open the cabin door and stepping into the cockpit.

  “Shit!” Alicia said as she took in the gigantic pilot house with a dashboard that took up the entire wall and was loaded with all kinds of screens, buttons and dials. A pair of enormous silver steering wheels stood out from the panel, surrounded by a ridiculous number of gauges and buttons.

  Corey rubbed her face. “Okay. You take the left wheel and I’ll take the right. Something’s got to have a key.”

  Corey glanced out the window and watched as Gallagan lined her boat up with them. She was definitely on a collision course.

  “I can’t believe she’s actually going to ram us.” Corey pulled open the drawer, rummaging through it. “Doesn’t she know that the girls are on board?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe all that matters to her is that you and I are on board.” Alicia flipped open a tiny cabinet door. “I found the key!” She grinned as she held up a foam key ring with a single silver key.

  Corey hurried over and stood next to Alicia. “Where’s the ignition?” She scanned the dashboard.

  Alicia located the keyhole, shoved the key in and turned.

  Nothing happened.

  “What’s wrong?” Alicia asked. “Why isn’t it starting?”

  Corey glanced out the window again at the luxury yacht bearing down less than one-hundred feet away. “Damn. We are not going to make it.” Corey scanned the dashboard again and located a button immediately above the key hole marked start. “My God, Corey. Get it together.”

  She slammed her palm on the button, and the engine rumbled to life, raising the vibration throughout the vessel which just as quickly died.

  Born and raised on the east coast, it was kind of ridiculous that neither woman knew how to operate a boat. “Shit!”