Fair Game (47 page)

Shepherd stepped back and then hurried over to the hatchway that led from the bow down to the Below Deck Passageway. He turned the wheel to open it and climbed through, then closed it behind him and headed down the ladder to the passageway.

He went to the port side and jogged towards the stern, counting off his steps. Once he got to a hundred and fifty he took the next stairs up and opened the hatchway to get back on to the Upper Deck. The two pirates were ahead of him, still moving towards the bow. Shepherd looked over his shoulder; there was no one behind him but even so he couldn’t risk using the AK-47 because it would be heard all over the ship.

He drew the machete from its scabbard and moved towards the two pirates, staying up on the balls of his feet, his left arm out for balance. The pirate closest to him was peering up a walkway between two lines of containers while the other one was shouting something in Somali, obviously looking for his friend.

As he got to within ten feet of the pirate, Shepherd raised his machete. He quickened his pace, grabbed the man around the mouth and, clamping his jaw shut, forced the tip of the machete into the man’s back and angled it upwards. The machete was designed for slashing rather than stabbing but there wasn’t enough room to swing the weapon properly and guarantee a kill with the first blow so Shepherd forced the blade up into the man’s diaphragm and on into the lungs, keeping a tight grip on his mouth to stop him making any sound.

Blood spurted over Shepherd’s hand and the pirate struggled but the catastrophic bleeding caused him to pass out within seconds. Shepherd pulled out the machete and then lowered the dying man carefully to the ground, keeping his eyes on the back of the remaining pirate, who had his gun over his shoulder and was still calling out in his own language.

Shepherd got up as the pirate at his feet took his last breath and died with a brief shudder. He began to move towards the remaining pirate, the machete at the ready, but he’d only taken two steps when the ship was hit by a bigger than usual wave and the deck lurched. Shepherd banged against the railing and the pirate whirled around.

His mouth opened in surprise when he saw Shepherd and he fumbled for his Kalashnikov. He was about twelve feet away from Shepherd and Shepherd realised that the pirate would be able to get off at least one shot before he reached him, so he drew back the machete and threw it as hard as he could. It spun through the air and the blade buried itself in the man’s throat. He fell back and smashed into the deck, his hands clawing at his neck. Shepherd ran towards him and grabbed the handle of the machete, twisting it to increase the damage. Bloody froth erupted from the wound in the man’s throat and his eyes stared glassily up at Shepherd, seconds away from death. Shepherd grabbed the man’s belt, heaved him up against the railing and rolled him over. The body spun through the air, hit the side of the ship, and splashed into the water far below.

Shepherd went back to the first pirate, took the man’s magazine from his AK-47 and then threw the body, and the gun, into the sea.

He stood where he was, his chest heaving from the exertion, listening to see if anyone was sounding the alarm, but all he could hear was the sea and the throb of the
Athena
’s massive engine.

There had been twelve pirates in the two skiffs, and nine had come on board. Shepherd had killed four, so that meant that there were five men still on the ship, assuming that no more had boarded without Shepherd knowing. The odds weren’t great, but they were improving.

There were bloodstains on the deck but they didn’t matter because one way or another it would soon be over.

He went back to the hatch and climbed down into the Below Deck Passageway, then jogged down the tunnel to the engine room. He stopped at the hatch that led to the engine room workshop. He turned the wheel to release the hatch and carefully eased it open. The room was deserted. He moved through the workshop and opened the door to the engine control room. It too was empty. The engine was throbbing and all the computer screens were on; Shepherd couldn’t see any warning messages. Whatever the problem was that had stopped the ship, it had now been resolved.

Shepherd stood in front of the engine controls that Konrad had shown him a few days earlier. He pressed the button that Konrad had said switched control to the engine room, and then he pulled the telegraph back to the Full Stop position. The engine began to slow.

‘What did you do?’ shouted Blue. ‘What did you do to the engine? Why are we stopping?’ He swung his Kalashnikov around and pointed it at the captain.

Dominik put his hands in the air. ‘I didn’t touch anything,’ he said. The telegraph was still in the Half Speed Ahead position but the ship was clearly slowing and the computer screen showed that they had already dropped to four knots.

Blue slipped his finger inside the trigger guard as he aimed his Kalashnikov at Dominik’s chest. ‘I want the engine on now. When we leave the ship I want to be closer to Somalia.’

‘I didn’t do anything,’ said Dominik. ‘Look for yourself. The telegraph hasn’t moved.’

Blue looked at the lever. The captain was telling the truth.

‘Is it something you did?’ asked Dominik. ‘You stopped the ship before.’

‘This is not me,’ said Blue angrily. ‘This is something you did.’

‘Why would I stop the ship?’ said Dominik. ‘How does that help me? I want you all off, why would I stop you from going where you want to go?’

‘Then tell me what is wrong!’ shouted Blue. ‘Why have we stopped?’

Dominik looked at the instruments on the console. Everything was as it should be, but the ship was definitely coming to a stop. ‘There must be a problem with the engine,’ he said.

‘Then fix it!’ shouted Blue. ‘Fix it or I’ll kill you now!’

‘I’m not an engineer,’ said Dominik calmly. ‘I’m the master. I run the ship, but the engineers take care of the engines.’

Blue growled and pulled the crew list from the back pocket of his shorts and thrust it at Dominik. ‘Who?’ he shouted. ‘Who is engineer?’

Dominik got out of his chair and tapped Tomasz’s picture. ‘Him. Tomasz. He’s the chief engineer. He’s the one you want.’ He tapped the second engineer’s picture. ‘Him, too. They’ll know how to fix it.’

Blue called over one of his men and pointed out the two photographs. ‘Go down and get them, and bring them here,’ he said in Somali. ‘And be quick.’

The man hurried off the bridge and down the stairs to G-Deck.

Blue shoved the barrel of the AK-47 under Dominik’s chin and pushed it up, forcing the captain’s head back. ‘If this is a trick, I will kill you, I swear.’

Dominik nodded but said nothing.

Blue kept the barrel against Dominik’s throat until the man returned with Tomasz and Konrad. ‘Tell them what to do,’ said Blue. Konrad had a large plaster across his nose and he had two black eyes. His lip was split and his hand went up to his mouth as he glared sullenly at Blue.

Dominik looked over at Tomasz. ‘We’ve lost engine power,’ he said. He switched to Polish. ‘Engine room has taken control, there must be someone down there.’

Blue pulled back his gun and smacked Dominik in the stomach with the butt. The captain’s breath exploded from his body and he bent double, coughing and wheezing. ‘English!’ screamed Blue. ‘Only English. What did you say to him?’

Dominik tried to speak but all he could do was to gasp for breath.

‘He said I should check the turbocharger, that’s all,’ said Tomasz calmly. ‘Sometimes it’s easier for us to talk in our own language.’

Blue turned the gun around and pointed it at the chief engineer. ‘If you are lying, I will kill you.’

‘Why would I lie?’ said Tomasz. ‘Do you want me to fix it or not?’

‘Yes, you fix now!’ said Blue. ‘We have to move.’

Dominik leaned against his chair, his hands clutched to his stomach, still trying to catch his breath. ‘Are you OK?’ Tomasz asked him. Dominik nodded.

‘Don’t talk to him!’ shouted Blue. ‘You talk only to me. Now fix the engine!’

‘I can’t do it from here, can I?’ said Tomasz. ‘I have to go to the engine room.’ He pointed at Konrad. ‘He’ll have to come too.’

Blue shook his head. ‘You go first and find out what is wrong.’ He jabbed at Konrad with his gun. ‘He stays here. If you do anything bad, I will kill him.’

‘We just want to get the ship moving,’ said Dominik, rubbing his injured stomach. ‘Then we can get on with our lives.’

The ship’s speed had dropped to three knots and, having lost momentum, it was beginning to be buffeted by the waves.

Blue waved over the pirate who’d brought the engineers on to the bridge. ‘Take him down to the engine room,’ he said in Somali. ‘Watch him like a hawk. If he does anything wrong, anything at all, you shoot him. We have two more engineers, we can lose one.’ Blue looked over at Tomasz. ‘I told him to kill you if you try to do anything other than fix the engine.’

Tomasz held up his hands. ‘You won’t have any problem with me,’ he said.

‘I’d better not, because he will kill you,’ said Blue.

The pirate took Tomasz down to G-Deck at gunpoint and pressed the button to open the lift. They rode down to the engine room in silence. When the door rattled open the pirate jabbed his gun in Tomasz’s ribs and motioned for him to go first. Tomasz stepped into the engine room, pulled back his shoulders, and walked over to the console. The pirate followed him and then dropped like a stone as a heavy spanner smashed into the back of his skull.

Shepherd stood over the pirate but the man didn’t move. ‘Have we got anything we can use to tie him up?’ Shepherd asked the chief engineer. He put the spanner down next to the body.

Tomasz found a roll of duct tape and tossed it to Shepherd, who used it to bind the pirate’s wrists and ankles. Then he wound a length around the man’s mouth as a makeshift gag.

‘What are you doing?’ asked Tomasz. ‘They’re going to pay the ransom, they’ll be leaving soon.’

‘I need to get off the ship now,’ said Shepherd.

‘You stopped the engine?’

‘Yes, I did,’ said Shepherd. ‘How many pirates are there up there?’

‘Why do you need to get off the ship?’

‘Tomasz, I need you to focus. How many men are there upstairs?’

Tomasz shook his head, clearing his thoughts. ‘There’s two on the bridge. The leader, and another one with him.’ He nodded at the unconscious pirate. ‘Plus this one. And there’s two on G-Deck, guarding the crew. And four more, I think.’

‘Don’t worry about the four,’ said Shepherd. ‘I’ve taken care of them. So there’s only four left? Two guarding the crew and two on the bridge?’

‘I think so. But I’ve been locked in my cabin since this happened.’ He looked down at the unconscious pirate. ‘What do you mean when you say we don’t have to worry about the four others?’

‘I took care of them,’ said Shepherd. ‘Look, I need you to think carefully, Tomasz. Could there be more than four?’

Tomasz shrugged his massive shoulders. ‘For all I know there could be a dozen of them with RPGs sitting in the crew’s mess right now.’ He scratched his chin. ‘You know this is totally against company policy. We’re told not to use firearms, or to offer any sort of resistance once they’re on the ship.’

‘Screw company policy,’ said Shepherd.

Tomasz’s face broke into a toothy grin. ‘Exactly,’ he said. ‘So what do we do now?’

The bridge phone rang and Dominik looked over at Blue. ‘Can I answer that? It’ll be Tomasz, down in the engine room.’

Blue nodded and Dominik picked up the phone. ‘I need Konrad down here,’ said Tomasz.

‘Why?’

‘Because it’s a two-man job and I need an extra pair of hands. And the quicker he’s down here the quicker I can get this done.’

‘Is everything OK?’

‘It will be when Konrad gets down here,’ said Tomasz.

Dominik took the receiver away from his face. ‘He needs the second engineer.’

‘Why?’

‘It needs two men. There’s a lot of heavy equipment down there.’

Konrad was standing behind the captain’s chair, looking at the radar screens.

Blue looked around the bridge. There was only one man with them; his name was Teardrop and he was a big man with a rope-like scar across his right forearm and a large black mole under his left eye. He was standing at the starboard side of the bridge, an AK-47 cradled in his arms. ‘Where is everybody?’ Blue asked him in Somali.

‘They went to find Marlboro,’ said Teardrop.

‘Where exactly?’

‘They were searching the decks. They only just went out.’

Blue pointed at the outside wing. ‘Go out and call them,’ he said.

Blue kept his gun trained on Dominik and Konrad while Teardrop went outside and shouted for the other pirates. After several minutes he came back in. ‘They must be near the bow,’ he said. ‘With this wind, they can’t hear us.’

Blue cursed. ‘OK, you take him down to the engine room. If he tries anything, shoot him.’

Teardrop nodded and gestured for Konrad to leave the bridge.

As the two men went to call the lift, Blue aimed his AK-47 at the captain’s chest. ‘If your men try any tricks, I will kill you,’ he said. ‘I will kill you and all your men.’

‘No one’s going to try anything,’ said Dominik.

The lift lurched upwards and Shepherd nodded at Tomasz. ‘There it goes,’ he said. He pointed at the far end of the engine control room. ‘You stand over there by that equipment so that they see you as soon as the lift door opens. Then call them over.’

Tomasz walked over to the spot that Shepherd had indicated. Shepherd stood to the right of the lift, the spanner in his hand. They’d dragged the bound and gagged pirate, still unconscious, into the tool room. Shepherd watched the deck indicator as it clicked up to G-Deck and then began the slow journey down. He took slow, deep breaths as he tried to stay calm. He was sweating, and he transferred the spanner to his left hand as he wiped his right hand on his trousers.

There was a dull thud as the lift arrived and then the door rattled open. Shepherd pressed his back against the wall. Tomasz waved over at Konrad and shouted to him in Polish. Konrad stepped out of the lift and started walking towards him. Shepherd saw the tip of the pirate’s AK-47 and then his shoulder and then the back of his head, and then he moved, bringing the spanner crashing down on the man’s temple. There was a satisfying crunch and the pirate dropped like a stone, the Kalashnikov clattering on the floor.