Fair Game (18 page)

‘Because they’re fucking pirates,’ said Andrew. ‘Shit. What do we do?’

‘There’s nothing we can do,’ said Hoop. ‘If they shoot us with that the yacht sinks in seconds. Then what? We’re fifty miles from land.’

Andrew said nothing. The blood had drained from his face.

‘We’re going to have to let them board us,’ said Hoop quietly.

‘We can shoot their boats, they’re pretty fragile by the look of it.’

Hoop shook his head. ‘Shotguns are useless beyond fifty feet,’ he said. ‘The shot spreads out too far.’

‘So we wait until they get close and let them have it.’

‘There’s five in that boat, four in the other. We can’t shoot all nine. And even without the RPG they’ve got us outgunned.’

‘I’m going to fire a warning shot!’ shouted Andrew, raising the shotgun to his shoulder.

There was a short burst of fire from one of the men in the skiff. He’d fired over the top of the masts but he slowly took aim at Andrew.

‘Put the gun down, Andrew!’ shouted Hoop.

Andrew slowly did as he was told.

‘Start taking the sails in,’ said Hoop.

‘We can’t just surrender,’ said Andrew.

‘We can’t fight them and we can’t outrun them. And the longer we leave it, the more we’re going to piss them off. Now put down the gun and bring in the sails.’

Hoop ran back to the bridge.

‘What’s happening?’ said Katie.

‘We’re going to have to let them board us,’ said Hoop. ‘They’ve got an RPG.’

‘A what?’

‘A rocket-propelled grenade launcher,’ said Hoop. ‘It’d blow right through the hull, we’d be matchwood.’

‘What do they want?’ asked Katie. ‘Are they going to rob us?’

‘I don’t know,’ said Hoop. ‘They might just take our food and valuables but they might . . .’ He tailed off. The yacht was slowing as Andrew pulled in the sails.

‘They might what?’ said Katie, her voice trembling.

‘They’re pirates, Katie. They might want to take us hostage. For ransom.’

‘No,’ said Katie, hugging herself.

‘It’ll be OK, there’s no need for them to hurt us, we’re too valuable as hostages. Just smile and don’t offer any resistance.’

‘This can’t be happening,’ said Katie. ‘Can’t we call someone? I thought the navy was out here.’

‘It’s a big sea, Katie,’ said Hoop. ‘By the time anyone can reach us it’ll all be over. I’ll call it in but go down and get Joy and Eric up on deck.’

Hoop reached for the radio as Katie rushed below deck. He tuned it to Channel 16 and clicked the microphone. ‘Mayday, mayday, mayday,’ he said. ‘Mayday, this is the
Natalya
. Mayday, mayday, mayday. We are about to be boaded by pirates.’ He read his position off the GPS. ‘We have a crew of five and no passengers, repeat five souls on board. The
Natalya
is a 185-foot three-masted schooner.’ He gave their position again. ‘Mayday, mayday, mayday, is anyone receiving me?’

He took his finger off the transmit button and listened. There was nothing but static.

He heard the rattle of gunfire off the port bow and flinched. He looked over to the left and saw that one of the pirates was standing up and brandishing his AK-47. He looked through the window and saw Andrew standing up, his hands held high.

Hoop pressed the transmit button. ‘This is the
Natalya
, we’re about to be boarded by pirates, can anyone hear me?’

Katie hurtled down the wood-panelled corridor and banged on the door to Eric’s cabin. ‘What?’ he shouted.

‘Pirates!’ she shouted. ‘We’re being attacked!’ She banged on the door again with the flat of her hand. ‘Get the hell out, now!’

Eric threw open the door. He was wearing only tartan boxer shorts and his hair was unkempt. He was blinking as if he’d just woken up. ‘What are you talking about?’ he asked, rubbing his eyes.

‘Hoop wants you on deck. There’re pirates trying to board us.’

‘You’re joking, right?’

Katie grabbed his arm, her fingers biting into the flesh. ‘Get on deck now!’ she yelled.

Joy opened her cabin door and peered down the corridor, wondering what the noise was.

Outside there was a burst of gunfire, followed by angry shouts.

‘Katie, what’s happening?’ shouted Joy.

‘Pirates!’ Katie shouted back. ‘There are pirates with guns and they want to board us.’

Joy hurried down the corridor. There were more shouts from above deck. It sounded like Andrew. ‘Are you serious?’ she said.

‘Dead serious,’ said Katie. ‘They’ve got an RPG.’

‘Oh my God,’ said Joy. ‘What’s Hoop doing?’

‘He’s calling for help on the radio but he says we can’t stop them boarding.’

‘Why are they boarding us?’ said Eric. ‘We’re a yacht, we haven’t got anything they want.’

‘We’re what they want,’ said Joy. ‘Don’t you watch TV? They kidnap people.’

‘Not yachts,’ said Eric.

‘Yes, yachts,’ said Joy, nodding. ‘They take anyone hostage, they don’t care. And this boat is worth millions.’

‘Hoop wants us all on deck,’ said Katie.

‘Maybe he can talk to them,’ said Eric.

‘Eric, Hoop says now. Everyone up on deck now!’

They heard Andrew shouting again and the tat-tat-tat of automatic gunfire.

‘Oh my God, Andrew,’ gasped Joy, and she headed down the corridor and up the stairs that led to the deck.

‘Did you see them, the pirates?’ asked Eric as he grabbed a pair of jeans from his bunk and pulled them on.

‘They were in two boats. They had guns and the RPG. Hoop said they can outrun us.’

‘I thought we had guns on board?’ said Eric. He picked up a T-shirt and stepped out of the cabin. ‘Are you going up?’

‘I need the bathroom,’ she said.

Eric nodded and padded down the corridor in his bare feet. Katie watched him go up the stairs to the deck, her mind in a whirl. Her heart was pounding and she felt as if she was close to fainting. She’d seen the look of hatred on the faces of the men in the boats and she doubted that there’d be any reasoning with them. She could tell that Hoop was scared, too. He had tried to put a brave face on it but he couldn’t hide the fact that he knew what a dangerous situation they were in. She ran down the corridor to the master cabin and threw open the door. It was a huge room, panelled in light oak, with a king-sized four-poster bed, a walk-in closet and a marble-lined bathroom with a massive shower and a roll-top bath. She closed the door and leaned against it, panting like a racehorse that had been ridden too hard. She wanted to hide, to be somewhere they wouldn’t find her, and then after they’d done whatever it was they wanted to do they’d leave and she’d be OK. She rushed over to the bathroom. The shower walls were glass, and the bath was in the middle of the room. There was a porthole beyond the bath and she peered through it just in time to see one of the boats whizz by, the men in it shouting and screaming and waving their guns. She jumped back as if she’d been stung.

‘OK, OK, OK,’ she muttered to herself. ‘It’s going to be OK. Stay calm, Katie, come on. It’s a game. Hide and seek. We’re playing hide and seek. Now think.’

There was room to hide behind the bathroom door so she stood there but realised immediately that she could be seen in the mirrored wall of the cabin. She went back into the cabin and opened the closet doors. The rails and shelves were empty. There was a shoe cupboard at the far end but it was lined with shelves with no room to hide. She could stay in the closet but anyone who opened the doors would see her immediately.

‘Coming ready or not,’ she whispered to herself. ‘It’s only a game. All you have to do is to find somewhere to hide.’

There were drawers underneath the bed, two on one side and one on the other that ran the full length of the bed. She pulled open the large one. It was filled with a duvet. She pulled it out. The drawer was about the size of a coffin. Big enough for a body. Big enough to hide in. There was another burst of gunfire from the starboard side, and more cheering. She could hear Hoop shouting but couldn’t make out what he was saying.

There was a silk bedspread on the bed and she pulled it off, then threw the duvet on and smoothed it out. She heard footsteps running across the deck above her head and her heart pounded. She threw the bedspread over the duvet then rushed around the bed straightening it, and ran to the side with the drawer. She pushed it halfway in, which left just enough room for her to slip inside. She lay down on the floor then slid her left arm and leg into the drawer, grunting as she pushed up with her right arm and eased herself inside. There was plenty of room to slide in and then she rolled over on to her back, breathing heavily. She placed the palms of her hands flat on the wood above her head and pushed hard, levering the drawer into the bed. It barely moved and she tried again, panting with the effort. It moved a couple of inches. Katie was drenched in sweat and the third time she tried it her hands slid across the wood. ‘It’s OK, it’s OK,’ she muttered. ‘You can do this, Katie.’ She wiped her hands on her shirt and tried again, this time bucking her body up with her heels and shoulders. It worked and the drawer slid in two inches. The gap was now less than six inches. She kept pushing and gradually the gap closed. Five inches. Three inches. Two inches. An inch. Katie gasped and put her hands on her stomach, her chest rising and falling as she sucked in air.

She heard more footsteps on the deck, and shouts. She forced herself to breathe slowly. ‘Coming ready or not,’ she whispered.

Joy hurtled on to the bridge. ‘Where’s Andrew?’ she shouted. ‘Where is he? What’s happening?’

Hoop was standing with one hand on the wheel, the radio in the other. ‘By the forward mast,’ he said. ‘He’s OK, they’re just firing to make us stop.’ He clicked the transmit button. ‘This is the
Natalya
. Mayday, mayday, mayday. Can anyone hear me?’

‘I thought the navy was out here, protecting ships?’

‘We’re not near the secure corridor,’ said Hoop.

‘Why the hell not?’

‘Because we’re a yacht, Joy, and we’d be asking for trouble trying to sail among freighters and tankers. The corridor isn’t for pleasure craft.’

Joy headed for the deck. ‘Stay here, stay on the bridge,’ said Hoop.

‘Screw you, Hoop, I’m going to my husband.’ She pushed open the door and rushed forward. Andrew had placed the shotgun on the deck and had one hand in the air while he used the other to balance himself against the mast.

‘Joy, go back inside!’ Andrew shouted.

She ignored him and hurried along the deck. When she reached him she put her arm around his waist and pressed her face against his shoulder. That was when she saw the pirates for the first time, four black men with guns while a fifth sat at the back of the skiff with his hand on a tiller that connected to two huge outboard engines. He was gunning the engines, edging the skiff towards the yacht. ‘What do you want?’ Joy screamed at them. ‘We haven’t got any money! This isn’t our yacht, we’re just hired hands!’

‘Joy, don’t antagonise them,’ hissed her husband.

Joy saw the RPG, a bulbous shell at the end, the pirate holding it so that it was pointing at the bow. His finger was on the trigger mechanism, she realised. All he had to do was pull it and the yacht would be destroyed. The skiff was close enough for her to see the manic gleam in the man’s eyes.

‘Go back to the bridge, Joy,’ said Andrew.

She shook her head. ‘I’m staying here with you.’

She heard the roar of engines and she looked to the left and saw a second skiff, this one slightly smaller with four pirates on board. One of the pirates was reaching out to grab the handrail and he locked eyes with her. He was tall with greasy dreadlocks and he sneered at her as he hauled himself on board. His bare feet slapped on to the deck and then he swung his Kalashnikov from around his shoulder and aimed it at her.

Katie flinched as she heard a door to one of the cabins bang shut, then there were footsteps and another loud bang. She was soaking wet and rivulets of sweat were running down her neck and between her breasts. She heard shouts in a language she didn’t recognise. She closed her eyes and clenched her hands.

A man laughed and then she heard the door to the cabin burst open. She heard bare feet on the wooden floor as he went over to the bathroom, and then a second voice and feet padding over to the closet. She heard the closet doors opening and a man laughing, then the bed shook and she realised that someone had climbed on to it. There was more deep-throated laughter and then the bed began to shake. He was jumping up and down on the bed, she realised. Playing like a child.

The bed shook with each jump, harder and harder, then there was a loud thump and the bouncing stopped.

Katie squeezed her eyes shut tighter. She bit down on the knuckle of her right index finger and concentrated on the pain.

She heard the sound of wood scratching against wood and the bed vibrated. They were pulling open one of the drawers on the other side of the bed.

She placed the palms of her hands against the wood above her face and pressed. Maybe if she pressed hard enough she could stop them opening her drawer.

She heard a crash as the drawer was thrown across the cabin, then a scraping sound as the second drawer was pulled out.

She began to tremble as footsteps padded around the bed. She pushed harder. The drawer shook but it didn’t move. The man who was trying to get it open said something and she heard a second man join the first and they both began to pull at the drawer. She felt her palms slide across the wood above her head and she pushed up with all her might but it made no difference.

She heard whoops of triumph and she opened her eyes and gasped as she saw two black men staring down at her. Their eyes were wide and they were grinning, their teeth white slabs. Katie began to scream as they pulled out the drawer and hauled her out. She tried to kick one of them but he seized her wrist and twisted it around her back and then threw her on to the bed. She rolled over on to her back, panting. She held up her hands. ‘Please, don’t hurt me,’ she said.

The two men looked at each other and said something in their language and then laughed.

The younger of the two was a teenager, tall and lanky, wearing a sweat-stained Nike T-shirt and raggedy denim jeans that had been hacked off above the knees. He was barefooted, as was his companion, a stocky man with a shaved head and pockmarked cheeks who was wearing a white string vest and cargo pants with a rope belt. The younger one had a machete tucked into his belt and his companion had an AK-47 hanging over his back from a webbing strap. They both turned to look at Katie, laughing.