Chris kept the Defiant on a collision course with the fishing boat. The men on the foredeck of the fishing boat knelt behind the bulwarks and rested their rifles on the rail.
“Meagan, Ted, get in the cabin,” Jack shouted, reaching for Winnie. “NOW! Lay down on the floor.”
Meagan and Ted quickly dropped down the hatch. Meagan whimpered.
The terrorist opened up beyond their range. They were still nearly a mile apart. Ted poked his head out of the companionway hatch. Jack slipped down behind the cabin, his Sten gun resting on the coach roof.
“Keep down, son,” Jack said, then turned to Chris. “Try to keep the cabin between us and them.”
“The fiberglass won’t stop a bullet,” Chris croaked.
Shot down, in a blaze of glory. The song continued to play in Ted’s head.
“No, but if they canna see us, they’ll have a hard time hittin’ us.”
Time froze. It seemed like hours. No one spoke. Ted waited for the next assault. The boats closed the gap between them.
Shot down, in a blaze of glory.
The second burst of gunfire from the fishing boat was more accurate. Bits and pieces of fiberglass and wood flew through the air. A bullet ricocheted off of the galley stove.
“Aren’t you going to shoot back?” Chris shrieked.
“Not yet, Laddie, ‘twould be a waste of good ammunition. They’re out of m’ range. Old Winnie here only is only good for about a hundred yards or so.”
The next burst was devastating. The forward end of the cabin virtually disintegrated in the wither of gunfire. The air in the cabin was filled with flying pieces of wood and fiberglass.
“Jesus God, that’s too close!” Ted looked up at Jack. “What do we do?”
Shot down, in a blaze of glory. The song repeated itself again and again.
“Hold yer course, Chris.” Jack’s voice was as calm as Sunday morning. “We’re about to give a little back.”
Jack pulled the bolt back on his ancient sub-machine gun and pulled the trigger. With a roar, he loosed a hail of fire towards the fishing boat. Ted could see wooden splinters flying from the bulwarks. The two men on the bow dropped behind cover.
Shot down in a blaze of glory. Beads of sweat ran down Ted’s brow.
“That should hold those bastards for a while.” A grin broke across Jack’s wrinkled face.
A head popped up behind the fishing boat’s rail and Jack let loose another burst of fire.
“Those lads’ve probably never been under fire before.” Jack seemed to be enjoying the exchange. “They’ve probably crapped their drawers.”
The two boats closed with each other rapidly.
Shot down in a blaze of glory.
Occasionally the men on the fishing boat popped up and fired off a few rounds, but nothing came remotely close. As their heads came out of cover, Jack expertly laid down a fusillade at them.
“Jack! Look out!” Ted spotted a third gunman on the after deck. It was an older man. He looked somehow like he knew what he was doing. The distance between the boats narrowed to less than fifty yards. The older man raised his rifle to his shoulder and fired. Jack jerked like a puppet in the wind.
Ted felt warm liquid spatter across his face.
****
“JACK!”
Ted heard the panic in Chris’ voice. He charged up the ladder with Meagan on his heels. “You bastards!” he screamed. The old man lay in the cockpit, blood oozing from a series of holes in his chest.
Ted grabbed Jack’s gun and wildly pulled the trigger. Two rounds fired, then the gun stopped.
“What’s wrong? It won’t fire.”
“It’s jammed,” Meagan yelled. She reached behind her back for the automatic pistol.
Out of the corner of his eye Ted saw Chris flung across the cockpit.
“CHRIS!” Meagan shrieked. She was on him in a heartbeat. A circle of blood spread on his shirt. She grabbed a seat cushion and pressed it over the hole. “Take the helm,” she yelled at Ted.
Ted leapt to the wheel. He squatted down and steered towards the fishing boat. The three men fired down at them, but Meagan and Ted were concealed in the cockpit.
“Ted, look out!”
Ted looked up and saw one of the terrorist, rifle in hand, climbing into the fishing boat’s rigging.
Meagan leapt across the cockpit and shoved Ted out of the way.
He lay in the corner of the cockpit with Meagan on top of him.
“Thanks, chica. Now would you get offa me?”
Meagan didn’t move. Ted felt something warm and sticky dripping down his face. He wiped it away. Blood! He shoved her off of him.
****
9:12 am – On board the Valkyrie
Ahmad, head down, looked at the small black and white TV screen on the dashboard. He heard Mohammed shout from outside the cabin.
“They’re back. Look, it’s the sail boat.”
“What’re they doing here?” Hani stood at the big wooden wheel, steering the boat.
Ahmad heard the tension in his voice.
The cruise ship was right on schedule, coming out of the opening to the Johnstone Strait. It let out an angry blast on its horn.
The blue sailboat crossed right in front of it. The people on the boat waved their arms and shouted up at the ship.
Yasim, standing next to Ahmad, put a pair of binoculars to his eyes.
“They have seen us. The short one is pointing.” Yasim lowered the field glasses. “Mohammed, Kalil, get rifles.” He shouted down to the deck. “Get up on front of boat. Be prepared to keep them away from us.”
As Mohammed and Kalil grabbed their AK-47s and ran towards the bow. The sailboat changed course. It bore directly down on them.
Time slowed down. Everything seemed like a dream. Somewhere, from far away, Ahmad heard Yasim yell.
“Open fire,” Yasim commanded. “Chase off boat.”
Mohammed fired a long burst. It had no effect. They were still out of range.
“Why do they keep coming?” Kalil shouted. “Can’t they see that we’re armed?”
“Fire again,” Yasim yelled. “They are nearly in range now.”
Both men fired off another burst. This time Ahmad could see bits and pieces flying where their bullets hit home. Still the boat kept coming.
The next burst was devastating. The forward end of the sailboat’s cabin virtually disintegrated in the wither of fire.
“Ah-hah!” Kalil shouted, leaping up and down. “Did you see that?”
Ahmad was disgusted. You’d think his team just scored a goal in a soccer match.
He saw an old man’s white head pop up over the cabin roof, then the bulwark in front of Mohammed and Kalil burst into splinters. Both men hit the deck.
“In Allah’s name, what was that?” Ahmad yelled.
“They have an assault rifle,” Kalil screamed. “And they know how to use it.”
“Old fool.” Yasim flew down the stairs to the main deck. “He shooting back at us.”
Ahmad watched Mohammed peer over the rail, but every time his head went up, the fire commenced again. Both Mohammed and Kalil were pinned down on the foredeck.
“Kaffirs!” Yasim shouted.
Ahmad watched Yasim grab his AK-47 and work his way back to the after deck under cover from the rocket launcher. No one on the sailboat had seen him yet. Yasim raised his rifle and fired a short burst.
The old man went down.
“Easier than picking off Zionist on Yom Kippur!” Yasim shouted.
Ahmad saw the dark young man pick up the gun and aim it towards them. He readied himself for the hail of bullets that would take him to Allah. The gun barked twice, then nothing.
Yasim fired off another burst. The tall, blonde helmsman went down.
The short, dark man disappeared into the cockpit. The sailboat returned to its course, aiming directly for the fishing boat.
Both Kalil and Mohammed blindly poured gunfire into the sailboat. It had n
o effect.
“Kalil,” Yasim shouted. “Climb up high where you can see.”
“Fire missile!” Yasim yelled to Ahmad as he fired down at the enemy.
The sailboat was only feet away. Ahmad had to fire the missile before they rammed the Valkyrie. Who knows what damage they could cause?
Ahmad hesitated over the fire button. He was totally devoted to his cause, but he had an image in his mind of sinking a ship, fighting a machine. Pictures of the two fishermen, their heads severed from their bodies came to his mind. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. There were people on that ship. Thousands of people. Could he really do it?
Kalil slung his rifle over his shoulder and jumped into the rigging. He climbed the twisting ratlines, until he was high enough to see down into the cockpit. He raised the rifle to his shoulder and squeezed off a burst.
At that same instant, the woman saw Kalil. She leapt towards the dark man. Ahmad could see, in what seemed like slow motion, the bullets tearing at her body.
“Fire! NOW!” Yasim let off another short burst.
Then came the collision.
Chapter 60
Johnstone Straits, Canada – On board the Star of the Northwest
9:14 am
Harry immediately recognized the Defiant. He saw his son and friends waving their arms and yelling at the ship. He saw Chris point to the east at the fishing boat. Then the people on the Defiant donned their life jackets. Four people? Who was that old man?
“Candace, something’s wrong. I’ve got to find an officer.”
Without waiting for a reply, Harry ran up the nearest staircase. She was with him step for step.
The officers were sure to be on the bridge deck, forbidden territory for passengers. This was an emergency.
Up the first flight, Harry looked for the next staircase.
“There, on your right,” Candace shouted.
Harry bolted up the next staircase. Looking over his shoulder, he saw two men on the bow of the fishing boat open fire on his son.
“Shit!” His speed increased as he made his way up yet another set of stairs. At the top of the stairs he spotted the flight of steps to the bridge deck. The way was blocked by a chain. The sign said, “Authorized Personnel Only.” Harry jumped the chain.
“Sir,” a uniformed man shouted. “Sir, you can’t go up there.”
“The hell I can’t. They’re shooting at my son.” Harry pointed. The young officer followed his finger, looking out at the scene below them.
“Jesus Christ,” the officer gasped. “What’s happening?”
“Gimme those.” Harry grabbed the binoculars from around the officer’s neck.
At that moment, the forward section of the Defiant’s cabin dissolved in a hail of gun fire. Then the old man behind the cabin popped up and began returning fire.
“What is God’s name is going on?” Harry yelled.
“Mr. Hardwick.” A tall man in an impeccable white uniform materialized out of the air. “We’re very busy now. You can’t be up here.”
A klaxon alarm went off all over the ship. Below him, crew members dashed about the deck.
“Call the Coast Guard! Change course! There are men on that boat, shooting at my son. There’s an old man on my boat shooting back.”
“Harry!” Candace grabbed his arm. “Oh God!”
The old man jerked off the deck and flew across the cockpit like a paper doll. In the next instant, he saw Chris crumple.
“CHRIS!”
A man on the fishing boat climbed into the rigging and began firing down into the cockpit, then a roar of smoke and fire burst from the strange metal box on the fishing boat’s deck.
“Jesus Christ.” Harry shouted.
“It’s a missile,” the captain yelled.
Harry saw the cloud of white smoke burst from the metal box and the trail that followed the missile as it left the launching pad and arched through the sky towards them.
****
On board the Valkyrie
9:21 am
In the instant before the collision, Ahmad heard a metallic clank on the rail outside the pilot house. He was thrown into the dashboard by the force of the impact. As he recovered, he looked out to see grappling hooks latched onto the starboard rail. Below him, Yasim grabbed his AK-47 and scrambled to his feet.
It was too late. Before he could raise his rifle, he was cut down by bursts of fire from two men in wet suits climbing aboard.
From his vantage point in the pilot house, Ahmad saw the frogmen board the Valkyrie. On their left shoulders he saw the Canadian Maple Leaf and recognized the insignia of a half globe separated from a half maple leaf by a dagger on their other shoulder.
Three of the men let loose a burst of fire. Kalil fell from the rigging.
Mohammed was cut in two by gunfire before he had a chance to react.
Hani reached for his rifle. The windows of the wheel house shattered. Hani was tossed across the cabin.
The missile was launched. Ahmad had to remain at the controls. He kept his hand on the joy stick, riveted his attention back to the small black and white TV screen. He could see the image of the cruise ship in the monitor. He made tiny motions to keep the missile on track. It would only take seconds to reach its target.
A frogman burst through the door and cut Ahmad down.
****
On the after deck, Yasim lay in a pool of his own blood. He reached into this pocket and retrieved a small electronic device. He slowly, painfully, flipped a switch. A red light came on. He pushed the button.
****
On board the Defiant
9:22 am
The force of the collision threw Meagan back on top of Ted. He gently lifted her free and felt for a pulse. He didn’t have time to find it.
The world exploded. A ball of fire erupted from the fishing boat. He felt weightless, flying though the air, then he was in the water.
He hit the water with such force that he plunged down, down. He felt a lump in his throat as he tried to hold his breath. The CO2 cartridge in his life vest went off. The two bladders filled with gas and lifted him toward the surface. He looked up at the sun shining on the surface of the water above him. He could hold out no longer. He gasped for breath. Then everything went dark.
Chapter 61
Johnstone Straits, Canada
9:25 am
“Meooow.”
What was that? From somewhere far, far away, Ted felt the vibrations in his skull.
“Meoow!”
Oscar is not happy, Ted thought.
“Meoooooow!”
Light slowly returned to the world. The quiet was deafening. No, not quiet. Ted’s head was filled with a loud buzzing sound, excluding all else. Then he felt it again.
“Meooooooooow!”
Ted opened his eyes. He was in the water, surrounded by bits and pieces of the two vessels. Time ceased to exist. All color faded from the day, Ted gazed, stunned at the gray tableau. He felt the cold water prickling his skin. His life vest tugged at his chin.
He sensed more than saw a movement.
There, a short distance to his right was Oscar, soaking wet, clinging to a hatch cover.
“Meoooooooooow!”
“Just a minute, little man. Old Ted’ll help you.”
Something bumped against him. He turned to see the yellow hair floating in the water.
“Chris!” He pulled Chris towards him. Chris was motionless, blood from the wound in his chest spreading out in a pink pattern on the water. “Chris!”
There, just beyond Chris, Meagan bobbled motionless in her life jacket.
“Meagan! Chica, can you hear me?” Ted couldn’t hear the sound of his own voice.
He grabbed Chris’ collar and swam towards Meagan. He managed to grab her with one hand and Chris with the other.
“Oh God. Please, God, let them be okay.”
He hugged them both to him. He wrapped his arms around them. He willed them back to life.
; “Come on, you’ve got to be okay. En el nombre sea de Dios.”
He wasn’t aware of when he first felt the thump-thump-thumping in the air above him. Was it an hour or a second? He didn’t see the divers drop from the hovering helicopter; they just suddenly appeared in the water.
“Are you okay?” the diver shouted.
Ted could see the diver’s lips move, but couldn’t make out what he was saying.
“Help, you’ve got to help. They’re hurt. They’ve been shot.”
“It’s okay, now, sir. We’ve got them.” The diver rigged a sling under Meagan’s arms. He made a hand signal to the chopper and it lowered a steel cable to them. Hooking the cable onto Meagan’s sling, the chopper hoisted her into the air.
“Let’s get him next.” The diver pointed towards Chris.
The buzzing in Ted’s head began to recede. He slowly focused on the problem. It felt like he was waking from a heavy sleep, his movements slow and heavy. The water felt like molasses. He realized that he could make out what the diver was saying.
The divers repeated the procedure with Chris. The chopper lifted his twirling body from the water.
“You’re next, buddy,”
“No. We can’t go yet. We have to get Oscar.”
“Where’s Oscar?”
“On a hatch cover. He was right over there.”
“I didn’t see anyone else. Tom, can you check it out?”
“Roger that.” The second diver began swimming in the direction Ted indicated.
“Let’s get the sling on you, sir.”
“No, I’m not going anywhere without Oscar. You’ve got to find Oscar first.”
“I don’t see anyone over here,” Tom shouted. “Just a scared cat.”
“Oscar! That’s Oscar. I’m not going without him.”
“Tom, bring the cat, will you. We can’t leave him out here anyway.”
Tom handed the wet, complaining Burmese to Ted as the helicopter lifted him from the water.
Chapter 62
Seattle
Ted stood with his hands on the window sill, looking out at the gray Seattle day. It had rained incessantly since his return. Behind him he was dimly aware of the steady beep of the heart monitor. The gray hospital room exuded gloom and desperation. He existed in his own personal hell.
The Inside Passage (Ted Higuera Series Book 1) Page 31
