On the main level of the yacht was a large living area, stocked with a full bar, billiard table, dinner table, card table, a wide array of seating options, and of course a media center. Just outside the door was also a six-person hot tub. The walls were made entirely of tinted windows and the lights were turned off so it was hard to make out many details.
Along the starboard side of the boat Daniel noticed a metal set of stairs that led up to the second level. The helm was almost certainly up top, and from what Daniel knew about other yachts the living quarters were most likely down below, but he was careful to be quiet just in case there were some staff quarters above.
Quickly and quietly he untied the yacht from the docks before climbing the stairs to the second level. He made his way toward the bow of the boat, but found the door to the cockpit to be locked. The key he had stolen from the office was for the ignition only and did not fit into the door’s keyhole, so he promptly kicked it in with relative ease.
Once inside he ran to the helm and stuck the key in the ignition switch. He first made sure to choke the engines, and as he pushed the key in and turned he heard the twin six-hundred horsepower engines crank. He pushed forward on the throttle and off he went.
It was difficult at first to try and maneuver the massive boat out of the crowded marina, but once he got her pointed toward open water it handled with relative ease.
It did not take long before he heard one of the crewmembers—undoubtedly awaken by all the sudden noise and movement—come barreling toward the helm.
Daniel set the boat on a course for open water and ran to the door. He jumped up and grabbed onto the door framing, bringing his legs up and swinging them forward. It was just by pure luck that he timed the move perfectly and sent the man tumbling over the rail and into the water below. They were still close enough to shore that the man would be able to swim his way in safely.
Down the steps he could see another crew member making his way out onto the deck. Daniel sprinted back to the helm to make sure they stayed on course then took off for the stairs. The crewman was halfway up when he got there. Daniel leapt off the top step and dropkicked the crewman, sending him flying backward. Daniel fell hard onto the metal staircase and cursed himself as he switched off the pain.
He saw his opponent start to get back up and jumped down to join him on the deck. As he did he saw a third crewman coming at him through the lounge area. Daniel shoved the first crewman onto the deck as hard as he could and turned just in time to block a superman punch from the new attacker. After blocking the punch he hit the crewman hard in the gut with a ferocious uppercut. The man doubled over from the impact of the blow and Daniel slammed his knee into his chest.
As the second crewman fell to the deck Daniel turned his attention back to the other one, who was now running right at him. The attacker threw a wild haymaker which Daniel was able to duck easily. He then wrapped his right arm around the crewman’s chest and carried him backward, slamming him back first into the metal railing.
Daniel then reached down into a compartment beside him and pulled out an orange life vest, wrapping it around the crewman’s head. Once the life vest was in place Daniel proceeded to kick out the man’s legs and flip him over the side rail.
He looked up to notice the yacht starting to veer slightly off course, something that would need to be corrected soon, but the last crewman was now struggling to get to his feet. Each inhalation appeared to be a struggle.
“Really?” Daniel asked mockingly, knowing that the man stood no chance in his condition.
Daniel picked up another life vest and stepped toward the man. He tried to punch, but Daniel caught the man’s right arm and held it down firmly as he wrapped the vest over his head. The crewman tried to struggle, but breathing was hard enough. Daniel then grabbed onto the waist of the man’s pants and the back collar of his shirt and carefully lifted him up over his head. Daniel carried him over to the edge of the boat and threw him out into the bay.
Turning to head back to the cockpit, Daniel noticed two slender young women standing in the lounge looking terrified. One held a shotgun in her hand.
Daniel dropped his head and pulled out his pistol, holding it up for the girls to see. “Give me the gun,” he said as he stepped toward them.
The girl immediately dropped the gun onto the floor and Daniel recoiled for a brief second, fearing it might accidentally go off. When he was satisfied that it would not he reached down to pick up the weapon. As he inspected it, he found that it wasn’t even loaded. He rolled his eyes and ordered the two women to sit down on a couch. “I’ll let you off in a few minutes.”
Seeing that the boat was now pointed toward the shore, Daniel sprinted back to the helm with the shotgun and corrected course. He cranked the engines up to full speed. The sun was now starting to peak its head over the trees behind him. It would not take long before they would be out of the bay and into open water.
As he neared the mouth of Little Traverse Bay he sent a text message to Jessie who responded with his longitude and latitude. Looking at the GPS unit, he needed only to make a small correction to arrive at the correct location. Just a couple minutes later he saw both of Jessie’s father’s boats floating out in the open water.
Daniel backed down on the motors as he approached the nineteen year-old and his friend.
“Ahoy!” Jessie shouted. It appeared as though he and Marvin had quite a night. They seemed to stumble about a bit, the motion of the waves not helping any.
Daniel smirked and went down to address the two frightened ladies waiting patiently in the lounge. “Take the dinghy,” he ordered them.
With a little assistance from Jessie’s friend Marvin, the two crewmembers successfully lowered the motor powered life raft into the water and cranked the motor. As quickly as they could, they turned the dinghy and made a B-line for dry land.
“Do you know where the tracking unit is on this thing?” Daniel asked Jessie.
“Yeah.” For being a delinquent, Jessie was extremely tech savvy when it came to boating equipment.
“Could you go grab it for me? And hurry, I dropped off the first crewmember pretty close to the marina so we probably don’t have much time.”
“Sure thing, give me five seconds,” Jessie replied standing up tall and proud, a shit-eating grin on his face.
Daniel laughed and shook his head as Jessie made his way toward the command center, grabbing an axe off the wall along the way. He believed he was going to miss that kid.
“Marvin,” Daniel called to the rather round, pizza faced young man he had never met before.
“’Sup?” Marvin responded.
“Go get the sailboat ready to move.”
Marvin did as he was told and a few minutes later Jessie came back carrying a small electronic unit, and Daniel’s black bag strapped over his shoulder.
“I believe this belongs to you,” he said, handing Daniel the bag.
Daniel opened the bag and started digging out money. “Is that the tracking unit?”
“Damn straight,” Jessie answered, handing it over to Daniel. “It’s still active though.”
“Good,” Daniel said, pushing it back toward Jessie. “I need you to do me a favor. Get this thing as far south from here as possible. Send them in the complete wrong direction.”
A wicked Cheshire grin crept up on Jessie’s face. “Like…say…Chicago?”
Daniel leaned in closer. “That’s perfect.”
“Hey Marvin!” Jessie called back to his friend, still looking at Daniel. “Looks like we’re going to be taking Daddy’s boat on a little adventure.”
Daniel pulled out five grand from his bag and handed it to Jessie. “This is for helping me out. I can’t thank you enough for this. You’re saving my life here.”
“Are you kidding?” Jessie yelled. “I would do this shit fo’ free.!”
Jessie then reached forward and snatched the stack of cash out of Daniel’s hand. “But it’s rude to refuse a gift.”<
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Daniel again laughed and tossed his bag onto Jessie’s dad’s cruiser.
“What are we going to do with this thing?” Jessie asked him, referring to the Boone’s yacht.
Daniel grinned and started toward the bow where he found the steps that lead down to the cabins below. He pulled out his pistol and walked the length of the boat, unloading his clip into the bottom as water began to pour in from the lake below.
He climbed back up the stairs and tossed his empty clip to Jessie. “That oughta cover it.”
Jessie threw his arms up and let out a joyous howl. “Man, I knew you were crazy!”
The two then departed the slowly sinking yacht, Jessie onto the sailboat and Daniel onto the cruiser.
“Goodbye, Jessie,” Daniel said as he fired up the twin motors.
“Later, bro,” Jessie waved back, turning the sailboat in the opposite direction and heading away.
Daniel punched the throttle and he was off, heading north on Lake Michigan toward Mackinac. He didn’t know exactly where he was headed to yet, just that wherever it was it needed to be far away. Far away from Petoskey and Harbor Springs, far away from Indiana, and far away from Chicago. Far away from his family, far away from Agent Eva Stone, and far away from Jordan. All things considered he really needed to get far away from his life as he knew it.
But most importantly, he needed to get far, far away from those arrogant bastards who call themselves the Birthright of the Elite.
Elite 2: The Wrong Side of Revolution Page 24
