Chapter 15 #2
Snake pulled a monocular from his pants pocket and took a look. “Bah. It’s only Roland. He’s harmless.”
“Roland’s not harmless. He’s an idiot. Idiots are rarely harmless,” Seven said. “Especially one you have history with, Snake.”
“History is an overstatement. He claims I stole his boyfriend, but that was ages ago.” Horatio laughed when Snake turned and pointed the lens toward Seven’s exposed cock.
“Roland has a skeleton crew and a leaky ship. According to pirate hierarchy, he’s a notch above bilge rat.
Besides, we’re bound to run into another ship on a beautiful day like this.
” Snake leaned over the railing and watched the water flow by. “Or other things.”
“I meant to give you this earlier.” Seven snapped a silver bracelet onto Gunner’s wrist. “Never take this off. If you’re ever left behind or accidentally fall into another dimension, this will help us find you. We all wear them, right, Horatio?”
“I, uh, sort of lost mine,” Horatio winced. Seven was almost as scary as Sugar when he was angry. “It fell off in Turquin when I was running from a giant slug.”
Snake fumbled in his pockets. “I’m sure I have mine on my person.”
“They won’t save your necks if you’re not wearing them.” Seven plucked two more from his suit jacket. “Put these on right now.”
Horatio was struggling with the clasp when he noticed another ship appear in the west. “Roland brought a friend.”
“There’s a third one off the starboard side, too,” Seven said. “Bobbing in the waves without a care in the world.”
Three more boats appeared before Horatio could blink. “Is there a convention in town they forgot to invite us to? Maybe a fishing tournament?”
“It’s bluefin season, but fishing boats are larger than these.” Snake stretched. “The sun feels nice, doesn’t it? Just an enchanting day.”
“Six boats in a body of water this size are probably a coincidence.” Seven took another drink of rum.
“There are eight now,” Gunner said. “And that one is really booking.”
Snake turned. “That’s definitely not a fishing boat.” He raised his spyglass. “Bloody hell! Back to the bridge!”
They hustled down the ladder and closed the hatch. Snake slammed his palm on a red button, and an alarm sounded throughout the ship. “Matrix police!” he shouted into the intercom.
Horatio pressed his face against the window. Red and black ships raced from all directions. “Four more, no, make that six. They’re surrounding us!”
“That dickhead Roland turned us in for the bounty,” Seven snarled. “We should have taken off as soon as we recognized his floating trash heap.” He tapped a screen. “Twelve ships now. Getting closer by the second.”
“My baby can outrun those antiques. Find us a clear exit,” Snake snarled.
“Can we outrun cannons?” Gunner asked. “They’re pointing cannons at us, or torpedoes, I’m not sure, but they’re definitely ready to blast us full of holes!” He sounded terrified. Once again, Horatio had pangs of regret for getting him involved.
“How are we going to get out of this one, Snake?” Horatio asked. “We’re surrounded.”
Snake slapped his hand on the dash. “Seven, take us in the air.”
“The turbo boost! I forgot we installed that.” Seven’s fingers flew over various instruments.
“This is going to get rough. First, we’ll spin until we have enough momentum for a vertical takeoff.
Once we’re airborne, I’ll hit the turbo, which will rocket us forward at warp speed, right through the portal. ”
A loud boom thundered from the left. “That was a bloody cannonball!” Snake snarled. “How much longer until the turbo bits are powered up?”
“Five seconds,” Seven said. “More or less.”
Horatio hit the intercom. “Find a jump seat, boys, and lock in. We’re about to turn this boat into an airplane.”
“Copy,” Stiles said. “Don’t kill us, Seven!”
“Four more seconds. Gunner! Horatio! Strap into your seats!” Seven shouted.
“Got it.” Horatio’s chest strap dug into his skin. He checked on Gunner, who stared out the front window as if in a trance. “I trust Seven. You can, too.”
Eyes wide with terror, Gunner nodded.
“Boosters fully charged.” Seven tightened his seat belt. “Do it, Snake.”
“No turning back now!” Snake twisted a knob, and The Frances shook violently. “I hope she holds.”
“Spin cycle in progress!” Seven took over the controls, and the ship revolved, speed increasing with each rotation.
“Holy shit!” Horatio shrieked. Monstrous swells rolled toward the oncoming ships, knocking them around like toys. “We’re creating our own hurricane!”
“Eat our wake, fuckers,” Seven shouted, his maniacal joy terrifying to witness.
Pinned to his chair by inertia, Horatio’s jaw cramped. He managed to touch Gunner’s hand. “See? Just like a movie.”
“This is the worst movie I’ve ever seen,” Gunner wailed. “Zero stars.”
Sugar screamed over the intercom. “What the fuck are you doing, Seven?”
“Calm your tits! I’ve got this!” Seven screamed back. The ship rose into the air. “A few more feet and I’m hitting the boosters, then we’ll stop spinning, so prepare yourselves. Vampire, put in the coordinates to… anywhere.”
“Ready.” Snake white-knuckled the arms of his chair. “Punch it.”
Seven covered his cock with his left hand and smashed a button with his right. A thunderous boom reverberated throughout the ship. Horatio’s seat belt gave out. He hovered above his chair for a few horrifying seconds and then crashed to the floor.
“We’re hit!” Snake shouted. The lights on the equipment winked out. “Bollocks.”
Sprawled face down in the black void, a weight fell against Horatio’s back, and he thought the roof caved in. A flutter of movement against his shoulder and then, nothing.
The ship went silent.