Against the Tide

by John Hanley

  Miko collided with the German, who stepped backwards and fell into the water.

  Miko hung onto the oar and charged at Alf, who swung the gun towards him.

  Caroline screamed, kicked her father then wrenched herself away from him and rushed towards the sea.

  This distracted the South African sufficiently for Miko’s oar to connect with his arm and the gun skittered away on the flagstones.

  Alf spun around and raced for the boat, knocking Schmitz out of his way. He clambered up with help from Carl then shouted at the helmsman to get them away. Schmitz leapt for the side of the boat but missed and slipped into the water. A crewmen grabbed him and dragged him aboard. The cruiser reversed away.

  I looked up the slipway. There was still no sign of any pursuit. I was on my own.

  Rachel screamed and I spotted Kohler closing in on her. He dived under and came up behind her, his arm around her throat.

  He shouted to Alf to wait for him and started to drag her towards the cruiser, which was now turning towards the open sea.

  I started to run to the water then stopped. Assess the situation. Kohler’s stronger and faster but he’s fully clothed. I stripped off, struggling with studs and laces as anger burned through me.

  I teetered on the edge. Always take an aid with you if you can. I grabbed the rope and coiled it over my left shoulder.

  Ready now, I launched myself. The cool water cleared my head and I used the momentum from my dive to glide under the inky surface towards them.

  Rachel was struggling, her feet thrashing the water, as he held her under. I could just make out her face as I rose past her to the surface. Kohler had his hands on her shoulders and was pushing her down as I reached towards him.

  I swung my fist and made solid contact with his nose. He spun and pulled Rachel up between us.

  ‘Keep away, Renouf, or I’ll drown her.’

  I circled him but he twisted her round to force me to keep my distance. She had stopped struggling and was gasping for breath. This was not a life-saving scenario that I had practised.

  I could dive under and pull him down but, while we were wrestling, she could easily slip under and drown. The boat was about twenty yards away now.

  Caroline was screeching from the slip and her father was already hurrying towards his car.

  ‘Let her go, Kohler. Push her to me. Get to the boat while you can.’

  He looked over his shoulder, measuring the distance. ‘No, she’s coming with me.’

  ‘Make up your mind, German. We wait no more.’ Alf was standing in the stern. ‘Your uncle offer me a good deal if I pull you aboard. You come now.’

  Kohler continued to pull Rachel with him. I followed, determined to grab her before she could be hauled aboard. If I got her legs, he would have to let go. Perhaps I could get some of the rope around his neck and pull him off.

  Alf screamed as the oar slammed into his back. Miko had swum around the boat and got on their blind side. Surely these crewmen would have weapons. He was taking another crazy risk.

  ‘Rope, Jerk, throw rope.’

  I spotted him near the boat’s stern holding onto the oar and waving at me. I shrugged the coil off my shoulder and hurled it to him.

  He grabbed it and submerged, pushing the oar down with him.

  Rudi was almost there now, though Alf had retreated to the cabin. The engines were throbbing quietly in neutral, their propellers still disengaged.

  Miko bobbed up again without the rope or the oar. ‘You go now, Alf. Spumá.’ He cackled at his own joke.

  Alf screeched at the wheelhouse, ‘Get us out of here. Leave the German.’

  The gearbox clunked out of neutral and the engines’ beat increased but the boat didn’t move. Miko ducked under and emerged close to me.

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘I wrap rope round propellers, jam oar into rudder. They go nowhere, only where tide take them.’ He indicated the rocks behind us.

  I paddled towards the German. ‘Let her go now, Kohler. It’s over for you.’

  ‘Gehen Bumsen sich. It’s over for her as well, the Jew bitch.’ He grabbed her head, shoved her under and pushed her down.

  I swam at and over him, punching at his face. He parried the blows using her body as a lever.

  Just then, two crewmen jumped over the side and dived under the boat, probably to try to free the propeller. Miko reacted and swam after them.

  Kohler and I grappled again but he still had Rachel under the water.

  ‘Let her go, Rudi.’ Caroline had dived in and was alongside him. ‘Please, let her go.’

  He released his legs and kicked off Rachel, sprinting for Miko. I grabbed her as she floated up. She was barely conscious but still breathing. I started to pull her to the slipway but Caroline reached out.

  ‘I’ll do that. You go and help Miko.’ I stared at her disbelievingly. Could I trust her? Did I have a choice? Miko was on his own.

  ‘Please, Jack. You have to trust me for once. I won’t hurt her.’

  I looked into her eyes. Whatever I thought of her, I knew she would not deliberately harm me or Rachel. I had to believe that. I nodded and turned back to the boat.

  Miko had dispensed with one crewman and was fighting the other. Rudi was almost on him. I kicked my legs and sprinted after him, then clawed my way up his back and onto his shoulders.

  We both submerged, struggling for a grip on each other. I’d taken the deepest breath I could and tried to get behind him and get the stranglehold I’d warned my life-saving pupils was fatal. He twisted and bucked but was weighted down by his jacket and shoes, whereas I had the full freedom of movement.

  I got my arm around his neck and kicked upwards, breaking surface for a moment to gulp some air. I plunged down again so that he couldn’t get a breath. I repeated this again and again until he ceased to struggle.

  He was at my mercy. I could let him slip under now and within minutes he would be beyond revival. An unfortunate accident, or cold-blooded murder? Did he deserve to live? Who was I to judge?

  My anger had melted away and now I only felt pity for him. I’d beaten him and saved Rachel. That was enough. I looked across to Miko and could see he was winning his battle so I grabbed Kohler’s collar, hauled his inert body to the side of the slip and dragged him ashore.

  Caroline was holding Rachel a few yards away, helping her regurgitate the salt water she had swallowed.

  I rolled Kohler onto his back, checked his airways and listened for a breath. There was none.

  I felt in his neck for his carotid pulse and there was a weak flutter.

  I turned him onto his front, tugged his arms up, elbows out, placed his hands alongside his head and twisted it to the side. I shuffled round so that I could take an elbow in each hand but winced in pain as my bare knee scraped over the discarded carving knife. I nudged it away and settled again on the rough granite then started the Holger Neilson resuscitation drill, lifting his arms and trying to pump water out of his lungs.

  A stream of water spewed from his mouth. Ignoring the mayhem around me, I kept working on him, pausing only to check his pulse and breathing. He was slowly coming around, his large muscles starting to twitch.

  I felt faint. The kneeling had restricted my blood flow. I tried to stand to relieve the pressure but the aftershock of the fight, combined with the cold water and excess alcohol, overcame me. Desperately, I shook my head but midnight descended like a heavy blanket and I slid to the wet granite.

  I struggled up through seams of green and black. A great weight pressed on my chest. It was Kohler. He held the carving knife in his hand. I had no strength left. It was over.

  Dimly, I heard a gunshot then the engine note increased and the unmistakable sound of thrashing propellers floated over the water.

  Kohler bent his mouth to my ear. ‘Say goodbye to your Jew friend, Renouf. Then goodbye to everyone –’

  Suddenly, a new sound, one I knew well from the ranges, choked off his words. The snap of a su
personic bullet followed almost immediately by the crack of a high velocity rifle. I turned my head and saw triumph turn into confusion in Kohler’s eyes.

  Strength flooded back into my arms and I used the last desperate manoeuvre I had taught my students. I curled my right arm into my side and struck upwards with the palm of my hand into Kohler’s jaw, following through until my arm was straight.

  He fell off me, stunned, and I rolled on top of him, the knife now in my fist, its tip on his throat, my arm quivering, on the very edge of losing control.

  Caroline’s voice pierced the air. ‘Don’t, Jack. Don’t!’

  I raised my head and twisted my face to look at her. She was kneeling beside me, her hand reaching for the knife.

  ‘Why not? He tried to kill Rachel. He was going to kill me. He deserves it.’

  ‘He may do, Jack, but you can’t do it.’

  ‘Why not, Caroline? Why not?’ I screamed at her. ‘For Christ’s sake, give me one reason why not!’

  She screamed back, ‘Because he’s my brother!’

  I let the knife drop to the granite. It rang as it struck the stone, an echo of the police bells clanging in the distance.

  45

  I rolled off him, picked up the knife and hurried down the slipway. I spotted the gun resting against the wall and scooped it up. It was dry. I had never used an automatic before but it couldn’t be that different from a revolver. The boat was heading towards the rocks poking out from the side of the slipway. Most were hidden by the high tide but the helmsman wouldn’t know that. She struck, twisted sideways then stopped, paralysed on the granite jaws.

  The rifle shooting had ceased and I looked across the sea towards our farm. Couldn’t be Fred, might be my father, possibly Alan. I waved then held my arms in a high cross. No more shooting please.

  Lorelei was moving in to the rescue. Saul would have admired the seamanship as the helmsman swung her alongside. One of Alf’s crewmen jumped first then leant back to help his boss. Carl shoved Sleeman across the gap and Alf dragged him aboard. Finally, the little bastard and the last two crewmen made the leap. They were leaving their other guests to find their own salvation.

  As the stranded boat lurched sideways, Fairfield vaulted into the sea. Relief flooded through me as I spotted Miko swimming towards him. He grabbed his hair and swam for the slipway. I didn’t think he’d bother to go back for the Germans.

  Kempler and Schmitz were also in the water and looked to be in trouble.

  I hurried back to Kohler and pointed the gun at him.

  ‘Don’t just sit there like a spavined duck, get in and rescue them before they drown.’

  Rachel was on her feet. ‘What about the diamonds? We can’t let them get away.’

  ‘How can we stop them?’

  ‘Saul’s boat. Can’t we chase them?’

  ‘Do you know how to run it?’ I pointed to the eastern sky, which was greying rapidly. ‘Do you know how to navigate?’

  ‘No.’

  Caroline spoke up. ‘My father knows how. He’ll want to go after them.’

  I doubted it. ‘Well go and ask him then.’

  Twin headlights shot between us and a door slammed.

  Saul ran down the slipway. ‘See, Jack. Taxis can be useful. What’s happening?’

  ‘I’ll fill you in later. First we need to get Jacob’s Star running and chase after Lorelei.’

  ‘What are you talking about? She’s wallowing in the channel somewhere.’

  ‘You might think so but look.’ I pointed to the fast diminishing hull as it cleared the end of the breakwater.

  ‘Kak.’ He cast around. ‘Here, let’s get that dinghy, find an oar and you can scull us out.’

  We dragged it down the slipway and Saul jumped in while I grabbed an oar.

  ‘Wait for me.’ Rachel was alongside, tugging my arm.

  ‘No, it’s too dangerous. They’ve got guns.’

  ‘So have you.’ She pointed to the automatic that I’d tucked into my pants.

  ‘They know how to use theirs. Sorry, it’s too risky.’

  ‘So what are you going to do when you catch them?’

  I hadn’t thought of that. ‘Follow them. See where they go. Report it.’

  ‘To whom?’

  Another fair point. ‘The authorities.’

  ‘I’ve got a better idea.’ She looked more determined than I’d ever seen her. ‘I know how to contact Hélène. She gave me a phone number after our meeting.’

  So that’s what they’d been discussing.

  ‘I’ll tell you why later but we’re wasting time. Come on, after them.’

  The police bells were getting closer. If we delayed any longer, they’d stop us. ‘Okay. You wait while we get the boat.’

  ‘No, take me.’

  ‘There’s not enough bloody room in this dinghy. Just wait. We’ll come and get you. See if you can find Miko.’

  She hurried off as I dropped into the dinghy and started sculling.

  Minutes later, we had Jacob’s Star alongside but Lorelei was out of sight. I jumped ashore and held her against the wall while Rachel rushed back with Miko. They clambered aboard and I was about to join them when Caroline grabbed my arm.

  ‘I’m coming as well.’

  I shrugged her off. ‘No, you stay and look after your brother.’

  ‘My father can do that. I’m coming with you and you’re going to need these.’ She thrust my clothes at me and, before I could stop her, she was aboard.

  I leapt after her and Saul powered us away.

  It might be a fruitless chase but at least we were doing something.

  As we passed the breakwater, I scanned the horizon with Saul’s binoculars, hoping to catch some reflections off the fleeing boat. I thought I saw something in the distance heading southeast. Saul passed the controls to Miko and joined me on the cabin roof.

  He examined the distant speck. ‘Definitely the wake of a boat. Can’t be anybody else. I’m guessing she’s got the diamonds, am I right?’

  ‘So Alf said. You were spot-on about the price. Over one hundred million marks so there must be three million carats on board. Can we catch her?’

  ‘I’m running flat out but we’re not as fast. As soon as they spot us, they’ll speed up. It looks like they’re making for Granville. It’s about thirty miles from here. Say they’re two miles ahead now, running at eighteen knots, we’re making fifteen. They’ll get there at least thirty minutes before us.’

  ‘But won’t the weight of the diamonds and six passengers slow them down?’

  ‘A little but they’re still going to be tied up and unloaded before we get there.’

  ‘What about French customs, les Douanes?’

  ‘In France at this time of night? You must be joking. This lot have already got someone waiting for them. They’re not amateurs, Jack.’

  ‘They’re not that clever either. What if the golden syrup starts to work?’

  ‘Well that would change everything.’

  No one seemed to want to talk. Saul consulted his charts. The girls towelled themselves dry, strung a line over the throbbing diesels, and hung their expensive dresses and, in Rachel’s case, underwear over them. They found some blankets and wrapped themselves in them. I dressed but didn’t bother with my bow tie. Miko found a pair of Saul’s white shorts and a polo shirt and looked the most comfortable. It was a shame I didn’t have Fred’s camera. It would have made an entertaining picture.

  Saul reckoned we were about three miles from the French coast when Lorelei seemed to grow in size. Minutes later we were within shouting distance. She was stationery in the water. Perhaps my favourite liquid had come to the rescue after all.

  Miko checked the automatic as Saul cut our speed and held us out of accurate pistol distance. I hoped they didn’t have any rifles.

  I called across, ‘Do you have a problem. Can we be of assistance?’

  There was a pause.

  ‘Voetsek!’ Alf ’s voice slashed across
the water.

  ‘How very rude. We can take you in tow if you like but you’ll have to come back to Jersey.’

  Saul shouted to me, ‘Leave the kaffirs to sink.’

  ‘Caroline, does your father’s boat have a radio?’ I knew we didn’t.

  ‘No. I don’t think so.’

  ‘How long before they hit the shore, Saul?’

  ‘For the next couple of hours the tide will take them northwesterly back to Jersey. I think they’re hoping to fix the engines.’

  ‘Can they do that?’

  ‘Even if it was flat calm, they’d have little chance. If that mixture of ours has finally fouled the system, it’s a job for a boatyard.’ He scanned them with the binoculars. ‘They’ve got their dinghy back but I can’t see an outboard motor. They could row but, in this sea, they’d be lucky to get anywhere near the beaches. Basically, they’re fucked.’

  ‘What about flares?’ I asked.

  ‘It’s too far to be seen from Jersey but they might wake up the Gendarmerie Maritime. If they can be bothered, they might send a rescue boat but, as we’re outside their territorial waters, the lazy bastards are more likely to radio Jersey and ask them to send the lifeboat or States tug.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘It’s happened before. They don’t seem to like operating at night.’

  ‘Right. Bring us in a bit closer.’

  ‘What you do?’ Miko tugged my shirt. ‘We ram bastards, eh?’

  Saul answered. ‘Wish we could but they’ve got a steel hull against our timber. How close do you want to go?’

  ‘No less than fifty yards and keep us head-on.’ I cautioned.

  As he opened the throttles, I crawled onto the cabin roof.

  Miko passed me the automatic. ‘Here. It work now. Just pull trigger.’

  There was little hope of hitting anything but I could make some loud noises. I called out, ‘You can’t fix your engines in this sea. Would you like us to fire some flares and stand by until help arrives?’

  There was a slight pause then a pistol crack.

  Saul reversed rapidly.

  ‘I told you. Let the fuckers sink and the diamonds with them. Even if they surrendered, what would we do with them?’