Chapter 26
Last time I was on a boat, it was freedom made manifest. Sensual, even tactile, with the sun on my face and the wind in my hair.
This time, however, the sea is a lake of fear – mine – and Will’s.
He grips the wheel, white-knuckled, his face tinged green.
My stomach roils as the boat passes the breakwater and is taken by the motion of the swell.
To the west, the sun sinks below the horizon, the last rays turning the sea golden, before the glow fades to twilight.
As darkness looms, the mists begin to set in. In the distance, I can make out the lights of a large vessel. But the little dinghy with my son and his friend is getting harder and harder to see.
I know Alex is Bridget’s friend, but I didn’t know about his family connections. But one connection does now make sense. Alex learning to crew, Alex in a speedboat that happened to be in the right place at the right time to rescue me.
With Ollie.
‘I’ve been so blind,’ I say to Will. ‘So stupid.’
‘No,’ he says. ‘This isn’t your fault.’
‘It feels like it.’
Will shakes his head, his jaw clenched in concentration as he presses the throttle forward.
‘Can we go faster?’ I say.
He shakes his head. ‘I think we’re pushing it as it is. Cliff hasn’t exactly upgraded her engine lately, and besides, we’re low on petrol.’
‘Great.’ I press my lips into a tight line.
Will puts a hand on my arm. ‘It’s going to be OK, Juno. I promise.’
And I want it to be. I want to believe him and for him to make it so. He’s a man of few words, but those words are truthful and believable. But there are forces at work that neither of us can predict. I can’t just go with the flow any more, hoping that everything will turn out all right.
‘Don’t promise that,’ I say.
‘Fine. You’re right. But I do promise that if there’s a shit show in the making, I’m on your team.’
‘Thanks,’ I say. ‘That’s much appreciated.’
We continue on without talking. In other circumstances, the noise of the engine, the motion of the swell, the moon rising at the horizon beyond the shifting haze, might be soothing, even romantic. As it is, my heart pounds out of time with the rhythm of the sea.
We round the headland towards Penglas Cove.
Alex’s boat moves towards the large vessel anchored in the deep water.
I recognise the triple masts, the riggings…
the Halcyon. A chill comes over me. The first time we met, Ollie said he was ‘a modern-day pirate’.
I chose to believe he was just having a laugh – but maybe he was telling the truth.
Maybe I couldn’t see what was right in front of my nose, hiding in plain sight. Not the first time that’s happened…
‘Damn,’ Will says, and I know I’m right.
‘This isn’t your fault,’ I say.
‘It feels like it,’ he replies.
He cuts the engine then and tells me to put out the light.
The rolling sea mist helps keep us hidden as we progress slowly towards the starboard side of the barque, where a large inflatable boat is floating alongside.
I can just make out the name: The Lammermoor.
The inflatable is in the process of being loaded with people – refugees, speaking together in low, frightened voices.
In the wake of the ship, the motion becomes rough.
I grow lightheaded and sick, my stomach ready to leave my body.
Especially when I see the men on deck; all of them have guns.
A child begins to cry. One of the men tells the mother to shut it up. But it causes enough of a distraction that we’re able to draw closer, unnoticed. Will and I watch as Alex manoeuvres the dinghy alongside the Lammermoor, where Ollie is at the helm.
‘What is he doing?’ I whisper, trying to distract myself from the queasiness.
‘I’m not sure,’ Will says. ‘But I don’t think we can risk getting any closer.’
The answer soon becomes apparent. Even at a distance, I can make out the shouted conversation.
‘What the hell are you playing at?’ Ollie shouts from the inflatable to Alex.
‘I brought insurance – like you said,’ Alex calls back.
‘You stupid idiot! I didn’t mean for you to bring Juno’s boy. Just the other one. The uncle’s agreed to pay the ransom.’
‘Get closer,’ I hiss to Will. ‘If things aren’t going to plan, it could get dangerous.’
‘And now we’ll get double,’ Alex says. ‘Just hold your damn nerve—’
But we’re way past that point. All of a sudden, I hear another shout – a boy’s voice. ‘Aisha! We’re here.’
Then in an instant, there’s a splash. Then a shout, and another splash. Then, screams and more cries.
‘What the hell!’ Ollie’s voice again. ‘Alex!’
‘He’s in the water,’ a crew member says. ‘Those boys pushed him in. And the girl – she jumped.’
‘Shit,’ Ollie says.
‘Aisha?’ the boy shouts again from the small boat. ‘This way!’
‘Should I shoot them, boss?’
I feel like I’m moving in slow motion as we come around the side of the ship.
My whole life flashes in front of my eyes.
Connor as a tiny baby in my arms; Bridget playing with him; Aiden taking him to football and rugby.
And now he’s in a tiny boat having pushed a much bigger lad into the water, trying to help rescue a girl who’s swimming for her life, while a grown man is threatening to shoot him.
All of this crosses my mind in a split second.
‘No!’ I hear myself cry out; Will tries to take my arm but he’s too late.
A shot goes off and hits the water. I scream; the people on the inflatable scream.
‘Missed!’ Connor jeers.
It’s mayhem as I run to the back of Cliff’s boat. The men with the guns become fully occupied by the terror amongst the refugees. In the water nearer the ship, I can see the girl floundering in the freezing swell. ‘Aisha!’ I cry. I take the life ring from the stern. ‘Here, grab this.’
I throw the ring in the direction of the girl, but she clearly needs help. There’s nothing for it. Holding my breath, I jump in.
The cold cuts like a razor, the pain searing almost like heat.
Keeping hold of the ring, I kick my feet as hard as I can towards the girl in the water.
I’m aware of another commotion going on – Alex trying to climb onto the inflatable that’s already overcrowded with refugees.
I don’t know if he makes it or not. Because just then, I reach Aisha.
She grabs me around the neck and for a second, I think we’ll both drown.
But the ring pulls us back to the surface and we both gasp for breath.
Then, slowly, I begin pulling us hand over hand back to Cliff’s boat.
‘You’re going to be OK,’ I shout. ‘You’re safe now.’
We reach the boat, and Aisha starts to go up the ladder.
As I’m about to follow her, everything starts to rock and pitch.
The inflatable is coming directly towards us at an unsafe speed.
There’s more shouting but I can’t make out the words.
Until I hear, ‘You bastard, Will, you’re going to pay for—’
I don’t hear the last word. It’s drowned out by the sound of a gunshot.
Above me, Aisha screams. I hear Will cry out and then a thud. Cliff’s boat lurches and I lose my grip on the ladder.
‘Will!’ I cry out.
‘I’m… OK,’ he says.
But I can tell from Aisha’s screaming that he’s not.
There’s nothing – nothing whatsoever – that I can do.
I cling to the ring for dear life. It’s still attached to the boat, but I’m fading fast. The stress, the cold, the chill mist obscuring my vision – I no longer have the strength to reel myself in.
Connor, Bridget… I don’t want to leave them. I must try—
‘Mum!’
A hand – more than one – I slam against a hard object.
The dinghy. Connor and Med attempt to pull me in.
With my last ounce of strength, I wrench my weight upwards, practically capsizing the little craft.
But they manage to keep hold of me and drag me over the side.
I collapse in the footwell gasping for breath. But I’m alive.
For the moment.
‘Those boys…’ Ollie says. ‘We can’t let them get away.’
Oh God.
‘Where are they? I don’t see them.’
‘Jesus Christ, what a cock-up!’
‘Do you know how to drive this thing?’ I say to Connor. ‘Cliff was teaching you, right?’
‘Well…’ He hesitates.
‘Turn on the engine. We’re getting out of here.’
Connor turns the key. The engine sputters and then dies.
‘Try again!’ I cry.
He does so, but there’s nothing but a clicking sound as the engine refuses to turn over.
A huge wave takes us. I realise that we’re being carried on the incoming tide further into the cove. At this rate, we’ll be smashed against the rocks. Unless…
‘The cave’s right there,’ Connor says. ‘We could swim for it.’
My teeth are chattering and the last thing I want to do is go back into the water.
‘There they are!’ Ollie shouts.
A bullet whizzes by my head.
Actually, the last thing I want to do is die right here and now, or get my son or his friend killed.
‘Abandon ship!’ I cry.
I don’t have to say it twice. Connor and Med jump overboard, and I follow them into the dark water. This time, it barely feels cold as a wave takes us and washes us up to the mouth of the pirate cave.