King Pirate

by Tom Stern

  Tsung asked, “Do you respect him?”

  It was an unexpected question. Kelley honestly thought it through before answering, “Looking at the way this operation works, I don’t know what I would be doing differently, or better.”

  Dao Jia said, “It can’t be just any oil tanker. There has to be a pattern.”

  Kelley shuffled through the print outs. Pointing to specs he’d circled; the tankers raided by Dilip Gaur’s crews.

  “See? Here, here and here. Different ships, different shipping companies. The common denominator is size and port. Each one is a Medium Range-class tanker, no more than forty thousand dwt. All of them heading to Japan.”

  “Wherever the pirates are taking the ships can’t be terribly large,” Tsung said.

  “Exactly. It’s probably a lagoon, like the one we used at Pulau Karimunbesar. I’ll see if we can’t get some satellite photos of likely candidates. But I think there’s a more direct way.”

  “Which is?”

  “Let’s pretend we’re Dilip Gaur and scout some targets.”

  …

  The information floodgates were open. Kelley got updates from Cuchulain as fast as he asked for them. He didn’t tell Cuchulain specifically what he was looking for. But the wily Irishman quickly guessed.

  Two days of research and study. Kelley wished he’d thought to do this before they left port. The men were bored and restless. Their first raid gave them a taste for more. But Kelley wasn’t going to dash all over the Strait just to keep a boatload of criminals occupied.

  He convened another meeting with Tsung and Dao Jia. They stood at the fore deck. Letting the wind whip them as the Yurei plied through the dark blue waves. There were few things Kelley loved more in this world that sea spray and ocean air, standing on a ship with a course. He finally had a mission. Kelley noticed shark fins poking from the water. He wondered if sharks were his prey, or his brothers. Both, he thought. A predator hunting predators.

  “Three choices,” he said. “We’ll have to pick one: the Amelia, the Al-Hazred or the Sekigahara. All within the strike zone in terms of weight and class, all bearing for Japan along the Malacca Strait within the next three days.”

  “Sekigahara,” Dao Jia said almost instantly.

  “Why’s that?”

  “I wonder if there’s a Japanese connection,” she replied. “We’re looking at the tankers going to Japan. But what if Dilip Gaur’s picking them because they’re coming to Japan? Perhaps he’s getting information from the destination?”

  Kelley grabbed her head and planted a kiss on her face. “You’re a genius!”

  He ran off to give orders. Brother and sister shared an indecipherable look.

  …

  Two days later. The Malacca Strait.

  Kelley and the crew of the Yurei shadowed the Sekigahara. Twenty-five klicks back. Just out of visual range. Remaining close without arousing suspicion. Kelley knew the Sekigahara’s skipper would see them on radar. He crossed his fingers they’d be ignored.

  Freed from their aimless boredom, his sea wolves now moved about the ship in tense expectancy. They were quiet. Internally preparing for the fight they wanted to come. Kelley well knew the feeling. He also hoped Dao Jia’s hunch was correct. If not, they’d be right back to square one. They only had supplies for another two weeks. What happened between now and the first time they called to port would determine if Kelley’s entire plan would fall apart or not. He needed success. He needed pirate blood on his hands and money for his men.

  He knew how to do it. Kelley grabbed Tsung’s arm. “Let’s get the Toy Box.” The other man’s eyebrows went up. Kelley smiled. They went down into the hold.

  The Toy Box was a military-green metal crate with an electronic combination lock. Kelley had also told the men that it was booby trapped. It wasn’t, but they were criminals; he needed to instill a healthy fear of the Toy Box. Bored criminals tended to look for things they could break into.

  Kelley undid the lock, popped the lid. The Toy Box held the more extreme tools of the privateering trade. When Cuchulain asked him for a shopping list, Kelley started with the basics, but also included several dozen long shots. A few things he thought might come in handy. Others that were very expensive. And a couple he included just to see what Cuchulain would say.

  It didn’t matter. Cuchulain provided everything. That was when Kelley truly knew Cuchulain and his mysterious backers were serious.

  Kelley reached in for the items he wanted: ten GP-30 40mm grenade launchers, designed by the Russian military to fit under the barrels of AKMs and AK-74s. They also had one hundred VOG-25P explosive rounds. The 25P differed from the standard VOG-25 in that the rounds exploded one second after impact. The idea was to bounce the round a meter or so into the air so the entirety of explosive force and shrapnel flew into the enemy, rather than squandering a portion of it on the striking surface.

  “What’re we going to do with those?” Tsung asked.

  Kelley simply replied: “Shoot them at pirates.”

  They dug out the instruction manual, grabbed a set of tools and headed back up to the deck.

  …

  “Captain Kelley! Pirate ship sighted!”

  Four hours later. Moving south down the Malacca Strait. Kelley was ready for it.

  He dashed up to the tower. Checked the instruments. Three ships now glowed green on the radar. The Yurei, the Sekigahara and a third. He slapped a finger on the third radar blip: “That’s them.”

  “Are you sure?” Dao Jia asked.

  “Let’s find out.”

  “We should at least hail them!”

  “No. I want them thinking we’re part of the same merchant flotilla. They’ll never fucking see it coming.”

  Kelley threw himself down the stairs to the deck. His sea wolves were already racing for the speed boats. Kelley spotted a black smudge on the horizon: the third blip, the intruder. He glassed them with binocs. It was a similar setup to his. Handy-sized freighter, speed boats. Kelley searched the hull until he found her designation: Akuma. He swerved the lenses back up to her decks. Watched men get ready for action. No mistake where this situation was heading: a real-live, honest-to-goodness pirate raid.

  Kelley smiled. They had a new plan this time.

  …

  “Dao Jia! Launch!”

  The boats rattled down to the ocean’s surface. Each craft carried new weapons, and had slightly different attack orders. Kelley sat at the head of the lead attack boat.

  He aimed the binocs at the Akuma’s decks. Watching the surprised pirates react, pointing and shouting. Kelley couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Come in aft. Ride the wake!”

  The sea wolf piloting the speed boat obeyed. Taking them to the edge of the churning white water trail behind the Akuma. The other three boats fell in behind them.

  Kelley saw muzzle flash from the decks. Star-shaped yellow pops flickering from the rails. The pirates were shooting at them. For all the good it did. They were still well beyond effective range.

  “Closer,” Kelley said. “Closer.”

  They drew within one hundred meters. The pirates continued to fire. Kelley saw two of their smaller boats winch downwards towards the water. “Faster!”

  The pilot swerved to the edges of the Akuma’s wake. Bouncing and bobbing. No way Kelley could get a clear shot. He directed the pilot around the side of the wake. The man hesitated and said, “Too close.”

  “It’s my ass in the gun sites, I’ll risk it if I want! Closer, damn you!”

  Kelley went into battle as a man insane and desperate and already dead. When there was no longer fear of death, fanatic courage filled the void. Ten men cannot stand before such a fighter.

  They came within fifty meters. Now outside the wake, their ride smoothed. If the pirates’ rounds were getting closer, he didn’t notice over the roaring engine and sea spray. Their bullets became part of the illusion that is this material world. Kelley ignored them.

  Kelley he
fted his AKM, now affixed with the GP-30 grenade launcher. He unfolded the quadrant site from the left side of the mount. Tried to adjust for wind. He’d never fired one of these things in his life. Kelley shot an M203 in basic training, years ago. He hoped this was similar. He also hoped Cuchulain hadn’t gotten bum equipment off the black market. For all Kelley knew, it was going to blow up in his face. At this stage, he didn’t care.

  Fuck it. Kelley undid the safety and squeezed the secondary trigger. The grenade round launched from the tube with a thoomp. The recoil sent Kelley backwards. It was like firing a big ass shotgun. A tong gangster caught him from flying out of the boat.

  The grenade sailed into the air. Arced its way down to the Akuma’s aft. Struck the metal, bounced off. Exploded. The pirates watching it from the Akuma threw themselves to the metal deck. Kelley brought up his glass. It didn’t look like any of the pirates were injured.

  Kelley pulled on his headset comm. “Aim for the screws!”

  At his command, the other three speedboats converged. One of Kelley’s sea wolves handed him a fresh AKM with affixed GP-30. Firing at will, sea wolves in each boat took aim and fired grenades at the Akuma’s main screws.

  Boom! Boom! Explosions puffed at the water line. Pounding indentations into the hull. Sending up columns of spray. The pirates swiftly realized what Kelley’s men were about. They re-doubled their fire.

  It did no good. Kelley launched another grenade. It skitched off the water’s surface like a rounded stone, popped up half a car-length away from the port screw and went off. There was a magnificent thud as the blast twisted the screw out of alignment. The diesel engine powering the Akuma kept trying to turn the screw. The folded metal blade screeched across the hull and splashed under the water surface like a wounded whale.

  More grenades from his sea wolves followed. Blast after blast. It was glorious chaos, a miniature artillery barrage. Dozens of grenade rounds pummeled the screws until the Akuma’s captain finally shut down the engines. Kelley’s heart thrilled at the sound and destruction.

  “Board!” Kelley’s four boats maneuvered towards the Akuma with the intention of replaying the job they did on the first pirate ship.

  The pirates already in their launch craft dropped into the water. More headed for their remaining boats. Two pirate speedboats from the Akuma lanced off from their mother ship. Heading for Kelley. His wolves in the other three boats saw them coming, but they were already close enough to the Akuma to head off the attackers. Kelley and the four men in his boat faced the pirates alone.

  Now the pirates’ small arms fire was within range to be of deadly effect. Bullets splashed up from the water, whapping into the fiber side of their speedboat. The tong who had caught Kelley screamed. Dropped, both hands clutching his side. Blood furiously pumped from between his fingers.

  Kelley felt a puff of air pass his left arm. Glanced down. A warm, dime-sized hole had appeared in his shirt sleeve.

  Kelley’s remaining wolves crouched to take advantage of what little cover the sides of the speedboat provided. They returned fire. The two pirate craft sped right for them. One port, the other starboard. Closing the gap from both corners. When they passed on either side, the pirates would tear Kelley and his men apart in a high-speed crossfire.

  Kelley eased his AKM’s barrel off the rail. Worked the GP-30. Sighting the port-side pirates. Angled the weapon downwards. Squeezed the trigger.

  The grenade round bounced off the water at a shallow angle. Skipped toward the fore of the pirate’s speedboat. It exploded three meters away from the craft. Raw concussive force coupled with momentum sent the pirate speedboat into the air. For one insane moment, Kelley and his sea wolves met the eyes of the pirates, five meters above the water line. The boat swerved mid-air and flipped. The pirates went into the water at high speed. The boat caught the water with its tip. It rolled across the water like a ladder going down a set of stairs. Kelley thought there might have still been a pirate clinging to the inside of the boat. If so, he was in deeper shit than Kelley had seen in a while.

  The pirates in the remaining boat on the starboard side watched their mates eat the ocean. Faces alive with fear and fury. A stunned moment as their fire slackened.

  It was just enough time for Kelley to grab up the second grenade launcher, aim and fire. His shot went wild. But the explosion on the water’s surface was still enough to send up a wall of spray between them and the pirates. The boats passed each other, knifing up wakes. Bullets flew from Kelley’s sea wolves, but it was like shooting at someone on the other side of a waterfall.

  “Swing around,” Kelley growled. “They’re not getting away. And fix up this man.” Two men bent to help the tong as their speedboat came around in a wide, fast arc. The pirates also turned to meet them.

  By now, Kelley’s other sea wolves had time to come to their captain’s aid. The other three speedboats circled to surround the remaining pirate craft. Gunfire erupted from every direction. To their credit, the pirates desperately fought back. Dozens of automatic weapons filled the air with a vicious clatter. One-by-one, the pirates went down. Kelley finished them off with a grenade round. It exploded to the side of the boat, chopping it in half and sending the pirates and their craft to the bottom. Kelley didn’t waste a second in mourning the greasy rats.

  He directed his wolves against the Akuma. Pirate crews are rarely very large. There are only so many ways money can be split and still be worth the death risk. Twenty-to-forty men were standard. The ten men the pirates lost in the speedboat fight cost them dearly.

  As they’d been trained, Kelley’s sea wolves kept the pirates’ heads down with incessant fire while the grappling hooks flew upwards. This time, they added a grenade volley. Kelley and his men traded grim smiles as they listened to the explosives crumping overhead. Pirates screamed in agony.

  Kelley and the wolves hurled themselves up the lines. The blood-splashed deck was strewn with body parts. Hardened as they were, it was too much for some of the wolves. They were criminals, not soldiers accustomed to the battlefield’s harvest.

  A knot of pirates tried to make a stand. Kelley stunned them with a flashbang and let his sea wolves end their lives in a hail of AKM fire. The remaining scattered defenders put up their hands in surrender.

  The sea wolves raced to crack the ship’s safe, while others went below to explore her cargo hold. Kelley ordered them to also take whatever charts and hard drives they found. Meanwhile, he had the pirates lined up against the railing. On their knees.

  “Who’s your captain?” Kelley asked in Malay. He only asked because he knew the captain of the Akuma was the man on the far end. He had the most tattoos. But Kelley wanted to see if the captain’s men would give him up in front of him. They did. The captain glowered. Kelley stepped to him.

  “I’m Captain Kelley.”

  The pirate captain spat on the deck at Kelley’s feet. Sea wolves moved for their weapons. Kelley stopped them with a motion. He continued: “I’m going to let you live so you can pass along a message.”

  The pirate stared, waiting. Kelley drew his fighting knife. Placed the tip, sharp as a snake’s fang, against the pirate’s throat.

  “Are you listening?” The pirate captain tried to play it tough. Kelley applied pressure. Drew blood. The pirate nodded. “Good. Tell King Pirate I’m going to tear his entire organization apart. And then I’m going to tear him apart. Tell King Pirate that he now knows the way he will die. Now he knows the man who will kill him. That man is Captain Kelley. Me.”

  A garbled whoop sounded across the waves. All heads turned. In the distance, a fourth ship sped towards them. Kelley stepped away from the pirates’ ear shot. Got into the headset. “Tsung?”

  The other man’s voice crackled over the ear piece. They weren’t made for long-range communications. “They’re hailing us. It’s the Tun Abdul Razak, a Malaysian coast guard cutter!”

  That was all Kelley needed to hear. “Off! Back to the Yurei! Now!”

  His m
en grabbed the loot from the safe and dove over the sides to their waiting speedboats. They sliced across the water between the Akuma and the Yurei. Dao Jia already had the engines cranked.

  With the sea in their faces and police minutes from contact, they re-hooked the speedboats to their lines and got under way. Kelley gained the deck and headed up to the tower.

  “Where to, cap’n?” Tsung said.

  “Away. Fast as we can.”

  “Why’re we running? The crew of the Sekigahara saw everything. They’ll tell the coast guard we saved their asses from pirates.”

  “Yeah, but we saved them using black market military hardware. Grow a fucking brain and get us out of here, Tsung!”

  They brought the Yurei around. Though a relatively small and nimble example of her class, the Yurei was still essentially a freighter. The Tun Abdul Razak closed fast.

  Kelley glanced out the window at the deck. Saw his sea wolves preparing to fight off the coast guard. He snatched up the microphone. “Do not fire on that ship! Any man who fires on that cutter is going overboard!” The criminals looked up to the tower, uncertain. They out-manned and out-gunned these water cops. No one doubted the fire in Kelley’s belly. But… perhaps he’d lost his good sense? Kelley read the crew’s thoughts in their up-turned faces.

  “Tsung, if you don’t get us away, we’re gonna have a fire fight with the coast guard on our hands.”

  “I’m trying, dammit!”

  As he shouted, the Yurei finally got her bow pointed north-northwest. They kicked the engines to full power. She leapt forward. The distance between them and the cutter leveled off.

  They passed the Sekigahara. “Tsung, hail Tun Abdul. Tell them wanted pirates are on board the Akuma.”

  Tsung relayed the message. A moment of silence. Another moment. And a storm of words came back at them, distorted beyond understanding. “What the hell?” Tsung just shook his head.

  The coast guard boat was mounted with a .50-caliber machine gun on her forward deck. She sent a volley across the Yurei’s bow. It was too far away to pose a threat, and they weren’t shooting to kill. But the message was clear.