Everyone turned to see Ben leaving the stairwell. He was wearing a thobe that was too small for him but at least it covered the private parts.
He rubbed a towel across his head and tossed it aside. “Kaan is dead. His security team is dead as well. Unfortunately, as he fled the bridge, Kaan sprayed the room with bullets and killed the other two bridge crew.” Ben looked at Marco. “I need you to radio an SOS.”
Marco nodded.
Ben looked to Moon, and he winced seeing the beating the woman received for helping him. “I’m very sorry you were hurt for helping me. Was anyone else hurt?”
Moon nodded. “Peter was beaten to death by the security team. But I saw they are all dead. Thank you for this.”
Ben still looked guilty. He nodded, then looked to Zama. “I need you and Yvonne to go down to the cargo bay.” He looked at the kitchen staff. “Can you go with them and cover up the bodies? I don’t want the children to see that gruesome sight.” He looked back to Zama. “Bring the children up to the guest rooms. They need a bath, clean clothes, food, and rest in a clean bed.” Zama nodded with a serious expression.
“Children?” Yvonne asked.
“Slaves. Kaan was a human trafficker. No doubt these children were being forced into the sex trade,” Ben explained with a grim expression, and Yvonne put her hands over her mouth in shock.
Ben looked at Marco. “Let’s go call for help.”
Zama watched Ben turn back to the stairs as he guided the radio man to go before him.
She smiled, certain she could not find a better mate than Ben.
-=-
Marco nodded to Ben. “The radio was spared from the gunfire. I can make the distress call now.”
Ben nodded to the man who activated the distress channel. “Mayday Mayday Mayday. This is the private unregistered personal yacht Gölge, once owned by Kaan Sadik and now under Maritime salvage claim by Ben Shepherd. Mayday Mayday Mayday.” He released the mic.
Ben scowled. “What was that bit about salvage claim?”
Marco gestured to the shot-up bridge. “With a few minor repairs, the ship could be sold for a lot of money. Someone needs to claim it. It won’t be me. I expect I’ll be going to jail.”
Ben looked around. He didn’t want it, but he could use the money to help those kids in the hold. “Fine. Repeat the message until you get a response. I’m assuming a US Navy ship is somewhere out there.”
Marco turned back to the mic, but the radio crackled as a reply came in. “This is the US Navy Aircraft Carrier, USS Harry S. Truman. Describe the nature of your emergency.”
“Would you like to tell them?” Marco asked, holding the mic up to Ben.
He frowned, then took it, squeezing the button. “Uh, this is Ben Shepherd aboard the yacht. The captain and helmsman are dead, killed by Kaan Sadik. The controls in the bridge were damaged by his gunfire as well. The ship is adrift. The hold contains weapons, drugs, and roughly two dozen abducted children. Uh, over.”
Marco looked at Ben as they waited.
“Mr. Shepherd. This is Captain Garrick. Are you currently in personal jeopardy by Kaan Sadik?”
Ben opened the mic once more. “Sorry. I should have said earlier. Kaan Sadik is dead, as are his security team and the man who managed his stock of slaves. The only crew remaining on the ship is Mr. Vicenti, the comm officer here, the kitchen crew, and a group of young men and women Kaan used as cleaners and sex workers. No more hostile elements are on the ship, but we’re dead in the water, so we could use some help.” He looked at Marco. “Do I say over when I’m done?” He released the button.
A jet shot past overhead. Ben squeezed the button on his mic again. “A jet just passed over us! Was that yours?” He released the button.
The captain’s voice came over the radio again. “Yes, Mr. Shepherd. That was one of ours. Hang tight. We’re on our way.”
“Thank you!” Ben sighed and smiled at Marco, but the smile faded seeing the bleak look in the man’s eyes.
“So, what’s your story? This ship was doing some truly evil things,” Ben said seriously.
Marco nodded with a sick look on his face. “Captain Kristof, Helmsman Müller, and I were in charge of moving the ship from place to place, but we had no involvement in Sadik’s businesses. He compartmentalized our duties, so we weren’t a risk to him for leaking information. I’m not saying I didn’t know his business was crooked, but this job was the only one I could get that paid this well. I’m sorry.”
“You were his communications officer. You know who he was speaking with?” Ben asked.
Marco looked at Ben for a moment. “Some truly frightening people. Dangerous and connected.”
Ben gave him a frank stare. “It doesn’t sound like your particular duties were that compartmentalized.”
“I didn’t know what he was selling or had in the cargo bay!” Marco insisted desperately.
“But you have information you could give the authorities to assist them with collecting these bad, dangerous, connected people. That would go a long way toward repaying your debt for being part of this monstrosity,” Ben insisted.
Marco looked at him sadly. “I’m not a brave man.”
Ben shrugged. “It’s up to you. You’ll have to live with it in either case. Come on, let’s go join the others.”
They took the stairs back to level B, where the kitchen staff hustled back and forth, bringing the children soup and bread as it was gentler on their stomachs.
Ben saw Moon leading the little boy Ben had focused on earlier toward one of the rooms. His feet moved him to join them. He knelt before the child, and the boy looked through him lifelessly. Then something in his eyes changed. To Ben, it seemed like one moment the boy’s eyes were empty, then someone was behind them peeking through. They flicked up to his face.
Ben sat cross-legged on the floor with his back against the wall to bring his face down to the child’s level. The boy tugged his hand free from Moon’s and climbed into Ben’s lap. Wrapping his arms around the child, Ben struggled to hold back his own tears as the boy began to cry. He knew tears were far healthier than the emotionless state.
Tears running silently down his cheeks, Ben glanced up from the child to see the adults watching him with various expressions of sadness and guilt. He returned his attention to the boy and kissed the top of his head.
He was done with leading. This was more important.
Help was on the way.
-=-
Marine Lieutenant Rick Hernandez led his team through the yacht’s side access. An Asian man in a white uniform was standing by the controls for the door. Rick gestured for him to stand back. “Who are you?”
“I am Wing. I work kitchen,” the man responded with a nervous smile.
“Where are the others?” he asked.
“In kitchen on D, in lounge on C, or with children on B,” Wing said, pointing up.
“Go join the people in the lounge and stay there,” Rick commanded, and the man nodded and rushed away. Rick’s squad moved into the ship and began finding bodies under sheets. Each had suffered some terrible wounds.
“What kind of weapon does this?” O’Malley asked with a grimace as they lifted another sheet to see an enormous deep gash across the dead man’s chest. They dropped the sheet.”
“Fuck if I know. Broadsword?” Jensen, their medic replied.
They confirmed the lower levels had no living people on it. There were ten bodies. They climbed to the deck level and found a dead body by a damaged bar and three people in the kitchen making soup and slices of bread. The marines sent them up to the lounge level with two Marines to keep them under guard as the rest of the team confirmed the deck level was clear. They joined the others in the lounge as they confirmed the level was otherwise empty of people. Going up one more level, they found a large man sitting cross-legged in the middle of the hallway with a sleeping boy in his lap, cradled in his arms. He had a rough bandage wrapped around his leg, blood spotting the white fabric.
“Mr. Shepherd?” Rick asked.
The big man smiled and nodded. He looked both relieved and exhausted.
“Sir, who killed the men below the deck level?” Rick asked.
“I did,” Ben said.
“All of them?” O’Malley blurted. “With what?”
Ben scowled at the man. “With anything I had handy to keep them from killing me.” He closed his eyes and sighed to calm himself. When he opened them, he looked at Rick. “There are two more bodies on the level above. A woman I believe was a CIA operative Kaan was torturing. He shot her multiple times. Kaan… is there too. She stabbed him, but I finished him off. On the bridge level above that, you’ll find the captain and the helmsman who Kaan shot when he fired wildly into the bridge trying to kill me. He caught my calf, but the bullet passed through.”
“We’ll get you medical attention once you are on board the Truman,” Rick said. “We’ll make sure the kids are healthy as well.”
Ben smiled and rested his head against the wall as his eyes closed.
Rick shared a look with the others. He left two of his team to guard the floor and climbed to the next level. They found the bodies in a tiled room, and the stench of death made them leave after seeing what they needed.
“The guy in there with the ax in his head seems to have been tortured,” Jensen suggested.
Rick looked at him. “Is that your official statement?”
Jensen looked back and paused. “No. He died of a blow to the head with a fire ax.”
Rick nodded. No sense in muddying this rescue operation with needless sensationalism.
-=-
General Davis leaned back in his chair with a sigh. Captain Garrick just gave him the good news. Ben was safe. He immediately dialed a number, and it picked up after just two rings though it was early there.
“Yes! Alex!” Gabriella’s voice asked eagerly though sleep still clung to her. Even in this state, she’d kept her promise to use his first name.
He smiled. “Good news, Gabriella. They found Ben, and he’s okay. A little worse for wear, but otherwise healthy.”