Fair Game (48 page)

Konrad whirled around and then grinned when he saw the unconscious pirate. He made a whooping noise and began kicking the pirate in the head, cursing him in Polish. ‘Hey, leave him alone,’ said Shepherd, pulling him away.

‘Screw you!’ said Konrad. He pointed at the bandage across his nose. ‘Have you seen what they did to me? Hit me in the face with a gun. Broke my nose and smashed my teeth.’ He pushed Shepherd away and kicked the pirate hard in the stomach.

Shepherd figured that Konrad had a point so he left the scond engineer to get on with it while he went over to Tomasz. ‘So there’s only the captain on the deck,’ said Shepherd. ‘If we ask him to come down here, do you think they’d let him?’

Tomasz shook his head. ‘The leader’s too suspicious,’ he said. ‘He’ll know that something’s wrong.’

‘There are three pirates left,’ said Shepherd. ‘I’m going to need your help.’

Konrad stopped kicking the unconscious pirate. He knelt down and pulled a handgun from the pirate’s belt and pointed it at the man’s stomach.

‘Hey!’ shouted Shepherd. ‘Don’t!’

Konrad looked over at Shepherd. ‘I want to kill this bastard,’ said Konrad.

Shepherd went over and put his hand on Konrad’s shoulder. ‘We need to take the ship back,’ he said. ‘If we start losing control they’ll hurt the captain and the crew. Now’s not the time to get angry, OK?’

Konrad frowned, but then nodded. ‘OK.’

Shepherd took the gun off him. ‘We need this,’ he said. ‘How many pirates were on the bridge when you left?’

‘Just the leader.’

‘And the others are on G-Deck? In the corridor?’

‘There are some on the deck.’

‘Don’t worry about them,’ said Shepherd.

Tomasz said something to Konrad and Konrad raised his eyebrows. ‘You killed them?’ he said.

Shepherd ignored the question. He examined the gun. It was a Beretta M9, the handgun of choice of the United States and French armed forces. Shepherd wasn’t a fan of the weapon and had heard stories of the sliders breaking after extensive use, but it was serviceable enough and would do the job. He looked at Tomasz. ‘I need two tubes, one a bit larger than the barrel, another about three inches in diameter. Wire wool. Duct tape.’

Tomasz jerked his thumb at the door to the tool room. ‘In there,’ he said.

Shepherd looked over at Konrad. ‘Get some duct tape, bind him and gag him. Careful with the gag, we don’t want him suffocating but we don’t want him making any noise.’ Konrad nodded and went through to the tool room. Shepherd and Tomasz followed him. The chief engineer found a length of aluminium pipe and showed it to Shepherd. Shepherd slid the barrel of the gun inside the pipe and nodded. ‘We need to drill holes in it, each hole about five millimetres in diameter. Lots of them.’

‘You are making a silencer?’

‘It’s called a suppressor, but yes, that’s the basic idea. Now what about the larger tube? Something like a tin can will do.’

‘Coke?’

‘Perfect.’

Tomasz opened a cupboard and pulled out a six-pack of Coke. He ripped out one of the cans, popped the tab and drank it.

‘So here’s what we need to do,’ said Shepherd. ‘Cut a length of the thin pipe and drill holes in it. Cut holes in either end of the Coke can so that the tube can fit through it. Then pack the space between the tube and the can with wire wool. Can you do that?’

Tomasz grinned. ‘Ten minutes,’ he said. He put the tube in a vice and reached for a hacksaw. ‘You can time me.’

Shepherd patted him on the back and went through to the engine control room, where Konrad was winding tape around the unconscious pirate’s mouth. ‘Why don’t we just kill him?’ asked Konrad.

‘Use any more of that tape and you will do,’ said Shepherd.

‘They’re scum,’ said Konrad. ‘They’d have killed us without a second thought.’

‘We’re not them,’ said Shepherd. ‘Don’t forget that.’

A phone rang out. ‘That’ll be the bridge,’ said Konrad. ‘We’ll have to answer it or they’ll know something is wrong.’

‘We need fifteen minutes,’ said Shepherd. ‘Just tell them that you’re working on it and that we’ll be moving soon.’

Konrad nodded and went over to the phone. He answered it in Polish but then switched to English.

Shepherd went back to the tool room and watched as Tomasz finished the suppressor.

Shepherd took it and inserted the barrel of the Beretta into the tube. There was a gap but it was a reasonable fit. He picked up a roll of grey duct tape and began winding it around the can and the barrel. He used the entire roll, and when he’d finished he nodded at Tomasz. ‘OK, now I’m really going to need your help,’ he said.

There were two Somalis standing guard outside the chief engineer’s cabin. Silver Tooth was the taller of the two, tall and lanky and wearing his favourite Manchester United football shirt. He had a Kalashnikov hanging from a canvas sling and a machete in a nylon holster and he was working at his gums with a toothpick. Silver Tooth was always having trouble with his teeth, a situation that wasn’t helped by the fact that there wasn’t a decent dentist to be found in Somalia. He prodded at the flesh around the silver tooth at the back of his mouth that had been put in by a Russian dentist fifteen years earlier and then stared at the pick’s bloody tip.

The other Somali was shorter and fatter, his black skin mottled and scarred from a childhood accident when he’d pulled a pan of boiling fat over himself while his mother lay on her bed drugged from too many khat leaves. His name was Abdu the Liar because given the choice between telling the truth or concocting a story, Abdu always chose the latter. He was armed with a pistol and had a large stainless-steel diving knife strapped to his left leg.

They were arguing over whether they had another hour or two before they were relieved when they heard the lift judder to a stop along the corridor. As the door rattled open, Silver Tooth took his gun off his shoulder and held it in front of him.

‘Who is it?’ asked Abdu the Liar.

‘How would I know, fool?’ said Silver Tooth, clicking off the safety.

Nobody stepped out of the lift so both men started walking towards it. Abdu the Liar pulled his pistol from its holster and pointed it down the corridor ahead of them.

A figure stepped out. It was one of the officers that had been taken upstairs to the bridge.

‘What is happening?’ asked Silver Tooth. He spoke Somali because he knew no English.

The man raised his hands and said something but Silver Tooth couldn’t understand him. He waved his AK-47. ‘Stay where you are!’ he shouted. ‘Do not move!’

The man carried on walking and said something else. A second white man stepped out of the lift. It was the other officer who had been taken up to see Blue, the one with the broken nose.

‘What are they doing?’ Silver Tooth asked Abdu the Liar.

Abdu the Liar shook his head. ‘Where is Blue? Why are they here alone?’

The two men got down on to their knees as if they were praying.

‘What do we do?’ asked Silver Tooth.

Abdu the Liar opened his mouth to speak but then his face exploded in a shower of blood and bone fragments and he staggered forward. He fell to his knees and then slumped to the floor.

Silver Tooth shrieked and jumped back and then he felt as if he’d been slapped behind his right ear and he whirled around and saw a man standing by the doorway at the end of the corridor, a bulbous grey thing in his hands. Silver Tooth tried to swing up his AK-47 but it suddenly felt as if it was made of lead and he couldn’t lift it and then the bulbous grey thing jerked and everything went black.

Shepherd went out on to the metal stairs on the starboard side and switched on his sat-phone. He waited for it to log on to a satellite and then he phoned Charlotte Button. ‘Tell the cavalry to come now,’ he said.

‘I’m on it,’ said Button. ‘Are you OK?’

‘Fine and dandy,’ said Shepherd. ‘There’s only one pirate left and no matter how it pans out your guys will have to come in now.’

‘What about the crew?’

‘The crew’s safe. They’re on G-Deck and I’ll get them to stay there. The captain’s on the bridge with one pirate and I’m on my way there now.’

‘Be careful,’ she said.

Shepherd laughed. ‘You really must stop saying that,’ he said. ‘Being careful just doesn’t fit with the job description.’

He ended the call and waved Tomasz over. ‘Do you want to help me save Dominik?’

‘Of course.’

‘It means using you as bait again.’

Tomasz grinned. ‘I trust you, Company Man,’ he said.

Konrad was in the cabin, explaining to the crew what had happened. Shepherd and Tomasz dragged the two dead pirates into the captain’s cabin and then closed the door.

The Filipinos were chattering and slapping each other on the back and Shepherd raised his hands and called for their attention. ‘Guys, listen to me,’ he said. ‘This isn’t over yet. I need you to all stay here, with the door shut. Help is on its way but we still have to get the captain out of harm’s way.’

The crew fell silent.

‘I suggest you all lie down and stay low. Don’t make any noise, and when the door opens just stay where you are and follow any instructions you’re given. Do you understand?’

He was faced with a wall of nodding heads but no one moved.

‘Now!’ said Shepherd. ‘Down on the floor.’ One by one the crew followed his instructions. Shepherd gestured at the second engineer. ‘Konrad, I’ll need you.’

Konrad followed Shepherd out of the cabin and closed the door behind him. ‘Right,’ said Shepherd, ‘we’re going to have to move quickly.’

The transceiver in front of Dominik crackled and he heard Konrad, speaking in Polish. ‘Captain, are you there?’

Dominik looked over at Blue, who was standing by the door to the bridge, his Kalashnikov against his chest. ‘OK if I talk to him?’ asked Dominik.

‘Tell him I want the ship fixed now,’ Blue said. He walked over to the middle of the bridge, keeping his weapon aimed at Dominik’s chest.

Dominik picked up the transceiver and clicked transmit. ‘What’s happening?’ he asked.

Konrad continued to talk in Polish. ‘When you see Tomasz at the window, get down and stay down,’ said Konrad. ‘Do you understand?’

‘English!’ shouted Blue. ‘Tell him to speak English!’

Dominik nodded and pressed the transmit button again. ‘He says you’re to speak English. And yes, I understand.’

‘What do you understand?’ shouted Blue. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘He said that they’re working on repairing the engine.’

‘What’s wrong with it?’ asked Blue, taking a step towards the captain, his finger on the trigger of his weapon.

‘They’re not sure yet.’

‘I want to speak to my men,’ said Blue. He held out his hand. ‘Give me the radio, I want to talk to my men.’

‘It’s OK, everything is under control,’ said Dominik. ‘We can fix it.’

‘Give me the radio!’ screamed Blue.

Tomasz appeared at the window close to the door leading to the starboard bow. He waved at Dominik, then rapped on the window with his knuckles. As Blue whirled around, Dominik dropped down by the side of his chair.

Blue screamed and aimed his Kalashnikov at Tomasz, but the chief engineer was already ducking out of the way. Then the window on the port side shattered and a hail of bullets ripped through Blue. The pirate’s finger tightened instinctively as his body went into spasm and bullets sprayed around the cabin as he fell to the floor. The firing stopped as suddenly as it had begun and Blue lay still as blood pooled around him. Dominik’s ears were buzzing from the loud explosions in the confined space and his eyes were watering from the cordite, but despite his discomfort he began to laugh.

Shepherd pushed open the door from the port wing of the outdoor bridge and kept his gun pointed at Blue’s body as he walked over to it. ‘Are you OK?’ he called over to the captain. The pool of blood was continuing to spread around the body. Blue’s left leg twitched once and then went still.

Dominik got to his feet, laughing nervously.

‘Dominik, take slow breaths. You’ll be fine.’ Shepherd kicked Blue’s Kalashnikov away, then went over to the starboard door and opened it. Tomasz had run down the stairs and was standing on the landing outside G-Deck. ‘Tomasz, it’s over!’ shouted Shepherd. ‘Come on back up here!’

Off to the right, two helicopters were flying towards the
Athena
, a few metres above the waves. They were Lynx Mark 8 anti-surface helicopters, both fitted with machine-gun pods. Shepherd took out his sat-phone and called Button. ‘All done and dusted,’ he said. ‘Tell the cavalry that they can holster their weapons.’

‘Are you OK?’

‘I’m fine,’ he said. ‘No casualties among the crew.’

‘Well done you.’

‘You can save the congratulations until we’ve got the yacht crew back,’ said Shepherd. He put the sat-phone in his back pocket and hurried back to the bridge.

‘What’s happening?’ asked Dominik, lighting a cigarette with trembling hands.

‘You’re back in command of your ship,’ said Shepherd, placing his Kalashnikov on the chart table. ‘The crew’s fine. No one got hurt.’

Tomasz joined them on the bridge. He said something to Dominik in Polish and the captain looked at Shepherd in astonishment. ‘You killed them? The pirates?’

‘Some of them,’ he said. ‘Look, in a few seconds there are going to be soldiers here. They’ll secure the ship but pretty soon you’ll be on your way.’ He went back outside to the starboard wing and watched as the two helicopters moved apart. One hovered over the port wing and two ropes dropped down directly over the yellow P on the deck. Two SBS troopers dressed all in black abseiled down, followed in quick succession by another four. They took their MP5 machine guns off their slings and rushed through to the bridge, where Dominik and Tomasz instinctively raised their hands.

One of the troopers walked through the bridge and out to the starboard wing, where Shepherd was watching the second helicopter moving in. ‘You Shepherd?’ asked the trooper. He was wearing an armoured helmet over a Nomex flame-retardant balaclava, a black Nomex one-piece assault suit, knee and elbow pads and a bullet-proof armoured waistcoat with ceramic armour plates covering his front, back and groin.