Chapter 9
At a loud thud, Zoe’s eyes flashed open. The young sailor stood over her, and on the table was a cup of water. She glanced at him.
“Drink.” He was the only one in the room.
Zoe reached for the cup, her mouth dry. How long had she been sitting with her eyes closed? Surely it wasn’t too long.
The cable ties in her bra pricked her, reminding her of the sleeping powder nestled in her cleavage. Had they spiked this drink?
She hadn’t been handcuffed, but that didn’t mean they weren’t treating her as a suspect. “Where’s Darius?” she asked in Arabic.
“Busy with the commander.”
She adjusted her hijab, tucking back some loose hair, and swallowed hard. Across on the window ledge was her multi-tool, and below it were their backpacks. Too far away to reach.
“Where are we going? May I call my boss? He’ll be worried.” She checked the time. Just over half an hour since they’d spoken to Dobby.
The sailor glanced behind her and she turned to find another guard at the entrance to the deck.
“Back to Iran,” he said. “After we make a stop.” His English was stilted, but she appreciated he knew some.
“Where?” There weren’t many islands, and it wasn’t likely an Iranian naval vessel would go into UAE or Oman waters. She glanced out at the night but had no idea which direction they were travelling.
The sailor didn’t answer.
Would it give them an opportunity to escape? She needed to act fast. “May I use the bathroom?” It would allow her to call Dobby and see the layout of the boat.
The man grunted and gestured for her to follow the young sailor. They passed a galley kitchen before he showed her to a tiny cubicle with a toilet in it. She closed the door and retrieved her phone from her underwear. No reception.
Damn it.
Still, if she typed out a text, it might send when she did get reception.
Quickly she typed a text to Dobby, telling him they were on the Iranian vessel, that Heath knew the commander, Ali, and they were making a stop somewhere before heading back to Iran.
She saved the contact into her phone, used the toilet, and then pulled up her pants and replaced the phone.
After washing her hands, she used the tap to drink some water. She was worried about being drugged, but perhaps the sailors wouldn’t have the same concerns about her. If she could ask for a cup of tea… offer to make them one too.
It was worth a shot.
She retrieved the plastic bag of sleeping powder and slipped it into her pocket. Hopefully they wouldn’t search her again.
The guard pounded on the door, and she opened it with an apologetic smile. “Thank you.”
On the way back to the room, they passed the kitchen. She stopped and the sailor almost bumped into her. “May I make some tea?”
She didn’t wait for his response, simply entered the room and reached for the kettle. “Would you like one?”
He glanced at her with concern and confusion, but she smiled, filling the kettle and put it on to boil as if she did it every day.
“Do you have any cups?” She cupped her hands in case he didn’t understand, and he pointed to the cupboard above her. She held up two and smiled. “Yes?”
He nodded, relaxing a little, and she got a third one down for the older guard who might still be in the main room.
Could she get the sleeping powder into the tea without him seeing? Unlikely since he was less than a metre away.
She didn’t even know how much she should use or how quickly it would work.
Drugging government officials would probably land her in an Iranian gaol.
But who knew what they were doing with Heath?
If they’d resolved matters, surely they’d reunite them.
Exhaling a shaky breath, she measured tea leaves into the teapot and added the water. While she waited for it to steep, she placed her hands in her pockets, trying one-handed to rip the packet.
She couldn’t do it.
Her heart racing, she poured three cups of tea.
A shout from further inside the boat and the sailor turned, taking a couple of steps out of the room into the corridor, his hand going to the gun on his hip.
Was that Heath?
She couldn’t tell whether it was a shout of pain or anger, but she needed to act fast.
Pulse pounding, Zoe ripped the packet and poured half of it into two of the cups and tucked the plastic into her pocket just as the sailor turned back. She glanced at him. “Do you like sugar cubes with your tea?”
He held up two fingers.
Zoe placed two sugar cubes in the cup and stirred. The powder dissolved and she stirred the other cup as well. “Your friend?” She pointed to the cup and held up the cubes. He shook his head.
Right. At least the tea looked normal and not milky.
She handed him his drink and picked up the other two, making note of the drugged one. “Shall we go?”
She followed the sailor out of the galley and through the room she’d been sitting in.
Zoe handed the older guard his tea and sat opposite him, facing the door out to the deck.
It was closed now, maybe to keep the cold night air out.
She held her breath as he took his first sip, but he said nothing about the taste.
What was she going to do with them if the drug did work? They each had handcuffs on their belts, and she could gag them with her hijab, but if any of the other men came into the room, they would raise the alarm.
She could take their guns, but she had no idea how to fire one. Did they have safety things she had to switch off?
Better to take them anyway. They would still have their machine guns which lined the wall of the room, but maybe she could hide them in the toilet or something. She would have to find Heath and hope she could free him.
She sipped her tea. How long would it take to work?
What if the other guards came into the room before it had taken effect?
Her pulse felt as if it was going to vibrate right out of her skin.
The older guard finished his tea and placed the empty cup on the table. He said something to the younger one and left the room. A few moments later she heard the sound of a door closing.
Maybe going to the bathroom.
The younger guard drank more tea and watched her with curiosity.
She took another small sip of her tea, and he drank some of his. “May I call someone?” she asked again. “So they know I am safe.”
“No. The Commander must approve.” He finished his drink.
There was little chance of that happening.
Down the corridor there was a thud, and they both turned, the guard getting to his feet, his hand pulling out his gun. He called something in Farsi.
No answer.
He glanced towards the deck and then at her. “Stay there.” He moved towards the corridor.
Zoe glanced at the windowsill. Her multi-tool and the backpacks still sat there. She shifted to the edge of her seat. The guard glanced back at her and then focused ahead. He called out a name.
Maybe the tea had worked.
Carefully, keeping her eye on the young guard, she stood and tiptoed to the windowsill, picking up her multi-tool and slipping it into her pocket.
Another thud.
She moved back into the corridor to find the young guard lying on the ground.
Shit. It had worked. She stared in disbelief for a moment before a groan deeper into the boat made her move. She rushed to the deck door and locked it, noting two men on the deck looking out at the ocean.
Zoe grabbed both backpacks and then ran to check the guard. He was still breathing. She shifted the gun away from him and found his handcuffs, quickly cuffing his hands behind his back. She grabbed the key to the cuffs and then tried to drag him into the galley, but he was too heavy.
It would take too much time, and Kamran could reappear at any moment.
She left him there and continued into the cabin.
The other guard was just outside the toilet. She took his gun and cuffed him as well.
Cautiously she picked up the second gun. It felt heavy and unfamiliar in her hands, a weapon she didn’t know how to control.
But no one else knew that.
She braced herself and headed deeper into the boat. Heath had to be somewhere with the two men who hated him.
She had to find him.
***
The room Ali pushed Heath into was clearly meant to hold prisoners.
Grey metal walls and a cramped space in the hull of the boat, with rings on the wall to tie people to and a very thick, solid door as the only entrance and exit.
Heath braced his feet to account for the rock of the boat and watched Ali.
The man had been unpredictable when Heath worked for him as part of an undercover intelligence mission.
He was the type of man who revelled in his power and exerting it over others.
Heath had avoided his wrath by being good at his job and keeping a low profile.
He’d spent six months earning Ali’s trust and figuring out just how narcotics were being passed through Iran and into Australia.
The resulting sting had closed down that avenue permanently, but he had been marked as a wanted man.
The fact that Ali had avoided going to prison meant he must have a lot of dirt on some very powerful people. The naval coast guard was the absolute worst place for someone who had been involved in drug smuggling.
Or, the very best place if they wanted him to continue his activities.
Something to consider. There might be drugs on the boat right now.
Heath hadn’t missed the respect on the other sailors’ faces as Ali had handcuffed him. That probably meant Ali had convinced them to follow him into whatever scheme he was running now. He always had a silver tongue.
That meant Heath would get no support from any of the other men he’d spotted on the boat.
Each man held a machine gun, handgun and, Heath guessed, several knives.
His chances of being able to sneak around and disarm them all without raising alarm weren’t zero, but they also weren’t high.
If Zoe wasn’t on the boat, he would have tried it, but she was a bargaining chip he wouldn’t gamble with.
He hoped the cargo ship’s captain had reported the incident in his logbook and his call for help would have been broadcast across the airways.
Not that records couldn’t be changed.
“I knew one day I would get my revenge,” Ali said, speaking in Farsi.
Heath stayed silent. It didn’t matter what he said now. Ali was looking for an excuse to hit him.
Kamran entered the room. “That woman of yours is feisty.” He grinned. “It will be fun to teach her some respect.”
Heath fought to keep his expression neutral. “She’s not my woman.”
“You always did have a soft spot for women and children in need,” Ali said. “A quirk I allowed because you were a good soldier.”
Kamran scowled. He’d always hated Heath due to the way Ali had accepted him so readily into the team.
“But,” Ali continued, “perhaps they will be your undoing now. We’d be quite within our rights to shoot that lifeboat out of the water.” He grinned. “Stolen and entering Iranian waters, running from the authorities.” He left the words hanging.
Heath stared back at him, his gut tight. It wasn’t an idle threat. It was just the kind of thing Ali would do to make sure there were no witnesses to what he’d done.
The boat had to be close to Qatari waters now if the kids had put it into full throttle. Would he risk the international incident, or was Ali banking on the fact the Qatari government had their hands full dealing with the revolt?
“So calm,” Ali said. “I always admired your even temper. A good asset.”
“A traitor,” Kamran reminded him.
Ali nodded. “How much did they pay you to betray me?”
Interesting. Ali hadn’t discovered his true identity. “They told me Kamran was ready to talk and they could only keep one of us out of gaol.” Heath shrugged. “I liked my freedom.”
Ali glanced at Kamran and raised his eyebrows.
“He’s lying. No one approached me.”
“Then they lied to me. I should have guessed.” He smiled. “It was just business.” Words Ali had said on multiple occasions to people he had betrayed.
Ali nodded. “As is this.” He nodded to Kamran who took two quick steps towards Heath and punched him in the face.
Darkness.