Page 13 of Crash Over Us
“You didn’t say anything about this taking all day and all night,” he muttered.
Gabe was right behind me the moment the bandana moved above the captain’s chin. This was it. The moment his hands were free. He was unarmed and unprepared.
I tackled him at the waist, hurling both of us to the floor of the boat. The beer flew through the air.
“Mother fucker!” he screamed. “Buddy!” He hollered for backup. I worried Buddy would grab the gun. I had to hope Gabe had tackled him too.
But the boat veered hard left without the captain steering. It was enough of a pitch to throw Gabe against the pole. Buddy landed on his knees as the gun skittered across the floor. I couldn’t reach for it and keep the captain down. Buddy grabbed for the barrel, spun it around, and smacked Gabe on the temple with the handle. I heard the crunch of bone against metal. Shit. Gabe slumped over. Lifeless. Fuck no.
I didn’t have time to think of a backup plan. I had to fight my way out of this to save us both. The captain, still stunned, tried to wrestle me off his chest. I reared back and punched the captain. The beer must have given him a boost of painkiller because nothing seemed to take him out. Not the bloody nose or the eye that was quickly swelling. By the third punch, his eyes rolled back, and he relaxed under me.
Buddy was nervous. He stared at Gabe, who still hadn’t moved. I edged toward my friend.
“Buddy, you don’t want to do anything else. You’re already in a lot of trouble.”
He shook his head. The gun wobbled in his hand. He was holding the wrong end toward his chest. He was in shock from hitting Gabe. He must have thought he killed him.
“Give me the gun, and we can get your friend some help. My friend some help.” I inched closer, still blocking Gabe from him.
Buddy shook his head. “I’ll go to prison.”
I exhaled. The fishing boat had drifted ahead and still didn’t know what was happening. As soon as they looked back and realized the captain was down and Buddy was in a faceoff with me, I was going to have more to deal with. I didn’t know how many of the other men were armed, only that there were three of them on the boat with the dive equipment.
“Buddy, no one else has to get hurt. But if you don’t cooperate. One more person is going to get hurt.”
He blinked, puzzled. “Who?”
“You!” I roared, racing toward him. My feet left the deck as I threw my body over the deck chair and hurled myself on top of Buddy. The gun flew toward the bow, landing on one of the cushions. Buddy’s body fell against the railing. His head dangled over the edge of the boat.
“Help!” he screamed. “Help me! I can’t swim.”
I planted my feet on either side of him and hoisted him upright. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” I spun him around, cinching his wrists together.
He started to sputter about how everything was Darryl’s idea and he was just supposed to be on the boat to help with things that hadn’t even been named yet. I yanked the cording off the life preserver hooked against the low wall of the boat and tied his hands together.
I did the same with the captain, whom I assumed was the Darryl Buddy had whimpered about. He was breathing but unconscious.
“Don’t move,” I ordered Buddy. I sat him in one of the fishing chairs and laced his ankles to the pole of the chair. He wasn’t going anywhere.
I knelt next to Gabe and patted his cheek. “Come on, man. Wake up.”
Gabe groaned. His eyes flickered open, then shut again. I checked his pulse. It was steady, but I didn’t like that I couldn’t get him to wake up. The side of his head had swollen to the size of a baseball.
The radio was tucked under the steering wheel. I fiddled with the channels until I had a clear connection to Channel 16.
“Base, this is Coast Guard Cutter 21. Mayday. Mayday. This is O’Connor. On a fishing vessel with Captain Axton and two other passengers who have been apprehended. Two need medical attention. Unsure of coordinates. Over.”
I tapped the radar and the compass, but they didn’t move. I didn’t know where in the hell we were. I worried for a minute that Channel 16 wasn’t working, but then I heard the radio crackle.
“Coast Guard Cutter 21, this is Base. Confirmed. We will send the chopper for medical assistance and to locate you. What kind of vessel? Over.”
I smiled, shaking my head. It worked. I began to circle the boat when I saw the fishing boat realized we were no longer headed in the same direction. They were coming back for us. Shit.
“Base, I’m moving fast. There is a fishing boat behind, tailing me. Can you get Brady in the air, asap? Over.” I held the radio to my mouth, but my hand was on the throttle, while my knee steadied the wheel.
Daryl groaned as he seemed to come to more with the acceleration of the boat and the wind in his face.
“What the fuck?” he grumbled.
