The Pirate (2 page)

Bob Dickerson and Franny Milanese sat close together quietly talking. They had both been on this trip before and were well aware of what was in store for their group.

“Hello, Daphne. Restless?” Bob asked. He stood as she entered the room.

She smiled to herself, touched by his old-fashioned manners. Bob was the leader of their team. His experience was a given and he was very good at putting their group at ease. Of the five of them he was the one they all seemed to look toward as the leader. “A little. I was talking to the captain up on deck.”

“You shouldn't be on deck at night,” Franny said.

“So I've heard.”

“Pirates operate in this area and it's too dangerous.”

“If they spot foreigners they will target this ship,” Bob said.

“If they target this ship it will be because it's a tanker and its cargo is worth more money each day. Besides, everyone in the crew is foreign,” said Daphne.

“That is true,” Franny said. “But foreign—European or American—hostages fetch more money.”

“I didn't realize that,” she said. “I'm sorry. I should have stayed down here, but it feels so closed off.”

“Yes, it does,” Bob agreed. “You'll have a little more freedom when we arrive in Somalia.”

“I'm looking forward to that. And doing work for people who need us. I haven't done this since I was in my first-year residency.”

Bob smiled at her. “We are so glad you decided to join us this summer. What made you change your mind?”

She shrugged. She didn't want to talk about her personal life with Bob or Franny. “The timing seemed right. Can I ask you both about the Captain?”

“Sure, what's up?”

“When I was on deck we heard an engine approaching and he told me to come downstairs. I did but waited to see if he would need help, and…”

She wasn't sure if she should say any more. What could Franny or Bob do to help the situation?

“Did he?”

“No. He knew the men who came on board. But he was speaking to them quietly and…they were all armed.”

Bob stood up. “I'll go up there and see what's going on. Daphne, you go with Franny back to our quarters. Make sure all of our group is awake. If there is a situation I want everyone ready to move.”

“Move? Move where?” she asked.

“Out of harm's way,” Bob said.

Franny led the way out of the galley. “Do you want me to come with you, Bob?”

He shook his head.

“No, stay with the others. I think that if there are too many of us—”

“My husband—ex-husband—is a Senator. I'm pretty good in tense situations.”

“I know that, Daphne. But in this part of the world sometimes just the fact that you are a woman will work against you.”

She nodded. There was a lot of truth to what Bob was saying. She followed Franny down the lit hallway to the bunks where the rest of their team was. Rudy was already waiting for them. When she entered they were all awake and waiting.

“What's going on? I heard a speedboat approaching on the port side.” Rudy asked.

Rudy was a nurse with their group who had been working for the last few years in South America. He said he was ready for a change of locale and had signed up to go to Africa with this group after rebels in the South American jungle had killed his girlfriend of eight years.

“I don't like this,” he said.

“No one does. Do we have any weapons with us?” Jerry asked.

“Bob always carries a handgun in his med bag,” Franny said.

She left them to go and retrieve it.

“Where is Bob?”

“I…was up on deck and overheard the captain talking to some men. Bob went to investigate.”

“Fucking hell,” Jerry said. “I was hoping for a little adventure on this trip but not this much.”

She shook her head. Jerry was her age and from California. He was fit and tan and according to Franny was on wife number four. Daphne knew Jerry by reputation only. He was an excellent surgeon, but she'd heard he was a bit of an asshole when he wasn't in the operating room.

Bob reentered the room. “There was no one on deck when I got up there, but I did walk the deck and saw a boat moored off the stern.”

“One of the rescue craft for this tanker?” Jerry asked.

“No. A speedboat. The captain was on the bridge talking with two men. But to be honest, at that distance I couldn't make out if they were crew members or not.”

“Did you confront the captain?” Franny asked as she rejoined them. She handed the weapon she had to Bob. He took it and then squeezed her shoulder as if to reassure her.

“No. Listen, folks, I'm not sure what's going on up there, but I think we need to stay alert,” Bob said.

“I agree,” Jerry said.

“Me too,” Daphne said. “But we're not armed nor are we trained to take on pirates. I think we need a backup plan.”

“I agree,” Franny said. “We need to send a message to the DAW home office in Manhattan. They will contact the UN and send forces to protect us.”

“How will we do that?” Jerry asked. “My cell phone signal has been spotty for the last twelve hours.”

“Mine too,” Rudy said.

“We'll have to go to the radio room and send a message,” Bob said. “Daphne, would you feel comfortable sending the message to your ex-husband? I feel like we need the U.S. State Department on this as well.”

She didn't like the thought of turning to Paul for anything, but dying or being held hostage wasn't like asking him to come over and help her figure out how to work the security system on her house. “Yes, I will do that.”

“But when?”

“Tomorrow,” Bob said.

They all went to their quarters. She and Franny were sharing accommodations that would have been for the first mate. There were bunk-style beds against one wall and a two-drawer dresser bolted to the floor.

“This is proving to be an exciting trip,” Franny said.

“It definitely is,” Daphne said. “I really wanted to do something different this summer.”

“Me too. I've been traveling to Africa for a while with our group but the restlessness in Somalia and seeing all those children with gunshot wounds and missing limbs…they need the help that our organization can provide.”

“Yes, they do,” Daphne said. “It was the kids that motivated me to come.”

That and the fact that her own life had become kind of pitiful. A boring routine where she did nothing but try to figure out what she'd done to drive Paul away. What she'd done to make him turn to another woman.

And that kind of thinking was making her crazy. Even her kids had suggested she do something this summer instead of staying home by herself, which had proven to her that it was beyond time that she started living again.

Lucas had summed it up nicely when he'd reminded her that he and his brother would be in college in less than two years' time and she'd be all alone in that big house.

J
.P. “Laz” Lazarus had reinvented himself more times than he could count. Captain of a Danish tanker wasn't too far of a stretch from who he really was. He loved the ocean and had grown up in the warm waters of Florida's Gulf Coast.

He used his given name—J.P.—with each incarnation to remind him of the family he'd left behind eons ago. His last alias had been J.P. Crosby. But some things—like his love of the sea—had stayed with him.

He'd been an idealistic eighteen-year-old when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and signed up for Navy SEALS. He'd become a SEAL, one of a team of men he considered closer than brothers. Losing them had forced him onto this path. He was a mercenary, a gun for hire, and that didn't cause him to lose any sleep.

He did what he was good at because frankly at his age—thirty-eight—it was too late for him to go back and try a new career. He wasn't exactly qualified to do much more than this.

And on a night like this, with the warm breeze stirring over the Indian Ocean and his team at his back, he didn't want to be anywhere else.

But talking to Daphne got him thinking about home. He had a place in the States that he went back to when he had some downtime. It wasn't much. Just an old Florida coquina home on a remote stretch of unspoiled Gulf Coast in south Florida where he could just hang out and fish all day and then drive across Alligator Alley to Miami when he wanted to taste a bit of the nightlife.

The Savage Seven had become his life and his family. The jobs they took working for different clients around the world had validated who he was in a way that nothing else ever had. The differences between Daphne and him were more pronounced than she could guess. He made his living taking lives; she saved them.

“What are you doing? Savage and the team are ready to come on board,” Hamm said joining him on deck.

“Quiet. I told Savage to hold because Daphne was just up on deck.”

“Daphne? Do you mean one of the doctors?”

“Yes,” Laz said, glancing over toward the gangway where she'd disappeared when he'd told her to go below.

He hadn't been sending her away only because he didn't want her to know that his team was coming on board; he needed to keep the deck clear until they found out what they were up against.

“We look clear. Savage, you're okay to come aboard,” Laz said. He lowered the rope ladder over the side. The first man over the side was Jack Savage.

He was their leader, and he was every inch the savage he was named after. He was as tough as nails and didn't back down for anyone except maybe his sweet British wife. But even that didn't happen too often.

“Boss,” Laz said.

“Romeo.”

Laz laughed. “I'm not romancing anyone.”

“Yeah, right. Just stay focused on the job.”

“I am. Let me show you the passive system I've added to the bridge.”

“Great. Hamm, show the rest of the men where to hide the weapons. We heard some chatter on the radio earlier. I think you should expect some action tonight or early tomorrow morning.”

Laz led the way to the bridge and showed Savage all the systems he'd been able to put into place.

“Since we are allowing the pirates to take the ship, I've added two recording devices here—one is video and audio, the other is just audio. The audio only is built into the radio and will allow you to monitor the frequency they are broadcasting on.”

“That sounds good. I'll need you to show Wenz how to handle the scrambler. We have had some problems with all of our communications.”

“The salt air will do it every time. I will show him how to maintain all the radios,” Laz said. He was the team's communications guy, as well as their transport expert. There wasn't a machine that Laz couldn't make work.

“As long as we can keep the lines open, I'm happy. Do you need me to leave another man on the tanker?”

“No. Hamm and I have it covered. Besides, at this point, if we had another man I think the crew and our passengers would question it.”

“I agree. Who are the passengers? Your message was a bit garbled…you said doctors?”

“Yes. They are going to Somalia, so we are going to take them close to the shore and they will take one of the speedboats there.”

“Who came up with that plan?”

“Their group. The plane they'd chartered was sabotaged.”

“Why didn't they turn back?” Savage asked.

Laz shrugged. “I didn't ask. But the fax I got from Maersk said that they were needed in Somalia to relieve the group of doctors who are already there.”

“Will they get in the way?”

“I don't know. I'm hoping we can deliver them before we lure the pirates to the tanker.” Maersk was a shipping line and not a passenger fleet.

Savage shook his head. “We can't count on that. I'd recommend locking them up at the first sign of trouble so that we can keep them all alive.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Laz? You here?” Hamm said through the wireless earpieces they all wore.

“Yes, what do you need?”

“One of the men is up on deck.”

“On my way. Savage, do you need anything else from me?”

Savage shook his head. “Mann?”

Laz heard the conversation via his earpiece.

“We're done. As soon as the deck is clear, we'll meet you on the boat.”

“Sounds good. We're running silent now,” Savage said.

Laz left his team leader and went back down to the deck to see what his crew member was doing at this time of night.

The ship was always active and this time of night was no different. It had taken a lot of careful planning to make sure the deck would be empty when Savage and the team arrived.

He wasn't bothered that Daphne had been up on the deck tonight. He remembered his first time on the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. He'd been anxious to see how these seas were different than the ones back home.

And he had found that for all that he was on the other side of the world there was sameness to the oceans. A feeling of home that came to him only when he was on the seas.

And like that feeling of home there was now the familiarity of having to deal with a fractious member of his crew. Since they'd left port in Madrid, Fridjtof had been running around making trouble.

Laz knew it was past time that he stopped it.

 

Tankers were like a city at sea and he was the man in charge. Laz hated the bureaucracy that went along with being the captain. He wasn't sure how Savage put up with it. Laz laughed to himself. Savage put up with it by ruling with a iron fist.

More than once the Savage Seven had had a knock-down, drag-out fight to settle differences of opinion. Violence was its own kind of peacekeeping method for their team. And right now Laz was running high on testosterone. He needed to get rid of his excess energy. He couldn't take it out on the small crew they had on the tanker, though.

They were running with a small crew on this trip because of the recent piracy. Maersk and their clients wanted the pirates stopped, which was why they'd agreed to allow Hamm and Laz to infiltrate the crew. The rest of the
Maersk Angus
crew totaled ten men.

Fridjtof was the one man who made Laz uneasy. He was always poking around where he shouldn't be. And twice Laz had caught him coming out of the radio room. The crewman was a loader so he had no business in the radio room.

Laz had already had a run-in with the man once before when Fridjtof was bullying one of the rookie crewmen. He was a tough man who only respected brawn. He wasn't the type of man that you could talk around—fists worked best for him.

Laz rubbed the back of his neck. Or was that his wishful thinking coming into play? He needed the release and sparring with Fridjtof that would do that.

And now he was on deck in the middle of the night when everyone else was sleeping. Well that wasn't true, Laz thought. Daphne had been up here but somehow he didn't think she might be working a double-cross on the tanker crew. To be honest he did believe that Fridjtof had two bosses.

“Fridjtof? What have I told you about being on deck after hours?”

“Ah, sorry about that, Captain. Just needed to get out of my bunk for a few minutes.”

The night was calm and clear and not the type of weather for the men to stay belowdecks, but the dangers of the waters they were traveling through had made the “no deck” rule that Laz had put into place viable to the men.

“No exceptions,” Laz said.

“I thought I saw a woman up here. Was she an exception?”

“She's none of your damned business. You will do what you're told,” Laz said, pointing his finger at Fridjtof's chest.

The other man took a deep drag on his cigarette and blew smoke back in Laz's eyes. “I guess if I had boobs you'd feel different.”

Laz punched the other man on the shoulder. “Watch it. Our guests will be treated with respect.”

“Yeah, I know. They are off limits as well but not for you, eh, Captain?”

Laz narrowed his eyes on the other man. What had he seen? Maybe it would be simpler to simply take Fridjtof captive and send him with Savage and the rest of their team.

Daphne? How long had Fridjtof been up here? He didn't really like the thought of this man talking about Daphne.

“She isn't used to life at sea the way a seasoned crewman like yourself is.”

“I just think if I were curvy you'd be treating me differently.”

Laz shook his head. “Regardless, get below.”

Fridjtof looked like he was going to argue and Laz took a step toward the man. His command had to be absolute; there was no time to argue or run the ship like a democracy. “Or I can put you in lockup.”

Fridjtof held his hands up. “I'm going, Cap.”

Laz watched the other man disappear.

“Damn it, I don't like that guy,” Hamm said, joining Laz at the railing.

“I don't trust him,” Laz admitted.

“With the women?” Hamm asked.

“With anyone. Is the rest of the deck clear?”

“Affirmative,” Hamm said.

“Team, you are clear to retreat.” Laz spoke softly and knew that his message had been received when the other four members of the Savage Seven appeared on the deck. Aside from Savage, there was Kirk Mann, who was the second in command for their team. He had been a marine sniper before joining their unit. No one shot with more accuracy than Mann. Wenz was their medic and Van was the team's computer expert. He was the one they were all relying on to track Samatan's ship when it surfaced.

Samatan was the leader of a particularly bloodthirsty group of pirates. The Savage Seven had been hired to capture him. The general belief was that if the head of the viper was cut off it would lead to the nest of the pirates. Then the attacks would launch.

Hamm took up a post near the gangway so that they wouldn't have any more surprise visitors. Slowly the men departed over the side railing.

“We're not going far. Just out of sight of the ship. We'll be in radio contact if you need us,” Savage said.

“I'll alert you the minute we see anything suspicious.”

“Good. Once you let them on board don't fight. Their MO is that they take the ship with a show of force but usually don't kill their captives.”

“You're telling me stuff I already know, boss.”

Savage put his hand on Laz's shoulder. “I don't like having those civilians on here. The tanker crew knows how to handle this kind of thing.”

“I'll take care of them,” Laz said.

“You do that. I'm going to have Wenz dig up what he can on the doctors' group. I'll send you back what we find. Good luck.”

“Thanks, boss.”

Though everything was in place Laz didn't relax. Experience had taught him there was no such thing as an easy mission, especially with all the variables they were dealing with here. The added passengers and stopping to deliver them to their destination was not going to be an easy matter. But their schedule did have the time for a one-day stopover.

He almost wondered if someone knew that the Savage Seven was watching over this ship and that's why they'd arranged for the Doctors Across Waters group to travel with them.

Laz would keep the group safe. Savage would want them protected as well. He was keen on keeping as many civilians alive as possible on their missions. That was one of the things Laz liked about working for Savage. That and the fact that he was a valued member of the team. Despite the fact that Savage was their leader, the group respected everyone's opinion and skills.

Laz couldn't ask for a better life, he thought while standing on the deck and looking out over the moonlit ocean. So what if sometimes when he was at home he felt lonely?

This was the best job in the world for him, and he knew that nothing and no one would ever make him give it up.

 

“The deck is busy tonight,” Hamm said.

“Damn straight. I got an itchy feeling on the back of my neck that something is going to happen.”

“Having Fridjtof up here was odd. That man is always creeping around.”

“I agree. Keep a close eye on him.”

“I am.”

Hamm and Laz had been in some tight situations together but they always came out the victors. Their current mission was working secretly for the allied nations to stop the threat of piracy in these waters.

Their group's aim was to be offensive instead of defensive. Instead of waiting until a ship was taken hostage, they were proactively in the area to thwart and capture the pirates.

One of their own men—Kirk Mann—had been working in Somalia to infiltrate the pirates. It was Mann's lead that had brought them here to the
Angus.
Kirk was the best at disguising himself, and he had a soulless attitude that made it easy for him to fit right in with lawless men.

Laz had seen a different side to Kirk last year when he'd fallen in love with Olivia Pontuf. Laz had thought it would change Kirk but it hadn't. He still worked with them and was just as lethal as before.