Chasing Gold

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE

A late afternoon shimmer of deep crimson and gold burnished the tropical paradise as Alicia, Russo, Caitlyn, Austin, a host of FBI agents and the Hawaiian police chased down half a dozen remaining terrorists, their captive Terri, and their boss, Ricci.

Caitlyn, Austin and five agents had remained on the boats below but were now climbing the rope ladders. Paul Cutler, the thief they had brought along, didn’t seem to be anywhere around. Nobody had seen him since the jetty.

At the front of the pack, Alicia ran as fast as she dared, mixing care with abandon and using her years of experience. The terrorists didn’t look around, but maintained a breakneck pace for the ship’s prow.

Clearly, they were going for the inbound helicopters.

The terrorist choppers would arrive several minutes before the police ones. It would give them barely enough time to take on the new passengers and start to scuttle away. Alicia reached the other side of the tanker now and saw yet one more welcome sight.

The coastguard vessel, cutting the ocean apart in their direction, a bow wave blooming to left and right. It was a heavily armed ship with many men aboard and surely now would be the final blow to Ricci’s escape plan. Alicia didn’t exactly stop to wave but threw them a super-bright beam of a smile.

“Hello, sailors. Come to mama!”

Quickly she radioed it in to Vino. No point risking any form of friendly fire. The coastguard vessel was equipped with all manner of armaments and gadgets and would surely be able to force Ricci to give up.

The speed it was traveling at suggested it would arrive just a minute or two after the first set of choppers. It was going to be close.

Alicia saw Ricci and Terri slow as they approached the front of the ship. Ricci appeared to be shouting into a two-way radio.

“Gonne be up to us to stop them, Robster.”

“Do we really need to?” the big man wondered. “With all this firepower around they’re not going to get far.”

“True, but what about Crouch and Terri? We can’t risk hurt coming to either of them. For all we know they’re gonna dump them overboard to gain just a few seconds.”

“Or use them as hostages,” Russo acknowledged.

At that moment she saw Caitlyn and Austin tracking them on the other side of the ship among a dozen agents and cops.

“Be careful, you two,” she radioed across. “I don’t trust this scenario one bit.”

“We’re fine! Have you seen Cutler?”

“I thought he was with you.”

“We haven’t seen him since leaving the jetty.”

“Damn, if that asshole’s cut and run I’ll hunt him down and end his days.”

“Not to mention…” Russo gestured ahead. “Terri.”

Alicia finally came to a place where there were no more obstructions between them and the terrorists. They were huddled about twenty meters ahead, slowing now as they waited and gestured furiously toward the oncoming helicopters, urging them to greater speeds.

“Time to pay the ferryman, boys.” She lined up the first shot.

And found they had already anticipated it. She cursed as, in traditional terrorist manner, they shoved Crouch and Terri to the outer side of the pack and took shelter behind the two hostages. Alicia could still see arms, shoulders and even heads, but wouldn’t dare risk the shot at this distance.

She jogged closer still.

Russo swore too. The choppers were just drifting in off the starboard side. They were huge now, large black behemoths that pounded the ears with an angry roar and threw out a rotor wash that hit the deck and rushed at them so powerfully they were forced to slow to retain balance.

Two helicopters hovered and maneuvered for airspace at the ship’s prow. Ricci shouted and rope ladders were unfurled, swinging in the air and tapping against the front rail. Within two seconds he had caught one and ordered two men up, guns already poised. The second chopper was treated similarly. Alicia sighted on the highest terrorist.

“Hey!”

Her attention was drawn to the deck, where Crouch and Terri kneeled, guns to their heads.

“If you shoot, they die,”

“If they die, you die!” she countered.

“But we don’t care.”

She’d heard it before, and knew they meant it. Life was but a pivotal step to these fanatics, and they believed they were being blessed for their actions. Crouch and Terri were dragged toward the ropes.

“This can’t go on,” she said. “We have to stop this. I mean, where will it end?”

“Depends where they’re going. Look, they’re dragging the banner up now.”

Alicia watched as the banner was locked into a cradle and hauled up alongside the ladder. Ricci climbed with it, keeping it all flowing.

The men holding Crouch and Terri ordered them up next and kept their guns aimed the whole way. From inside the chopper, more guns protruded. Alicia fought to stay motionless in the face of the rotor wash, covering her head and eyes as one of the helicopters lost altitude and then powered back upward. To the port side she saw Caitlyn and Austin and their agents creeping forward.

Two terrorists remained on board. The coastguard vessel was alongside, bellowing orders at the tanker through a tannoy. Men were on deck, dressed in military fatigues and ready to jump into action. The police choppers were filling the skies to the right. The entire might of the authorities was converging on the oil tanker.

The last terrorists then started climbing. A rogue agent must have lined one of the men up and not realized what was at stake because, right then, he opened fire. The terrorist screamed and fell backward off the ladder, striking the deck and leaking blood.

He lay unmoving.

Alicia cringed, prepared to run and fire and hope for the best. Ricci leaned out of the lead bird, face livid. He had Crouch by the neck and dragged him until he was halfway out of the chopper, the upper part of his body sticking out, held up by Ricci’s grip. The powerful terrorist held a revolver to the top of Crouch’s head.

“You were fucking warned!”

“No!” Alicia set off at a sprint.

“I warned you. Shoot one of us and we shoot one of you. This is your fault.”

It always is…

Ricci squeezed the trigger of his gun. Alicia saw Crouch’s face twist in agony, barely breathing, unmoving, but his body didn’t jerk with an impact, and his face didn’t spasm as Ricci hauled him back in.

“Next one won’t miss.”

Alicia heaved a sigh of utter relief. Her knuckles had been squeezed into pure white fists, her heart pounding as if she’d run a marathon. Ricci threw Crouch down on the floor and disappeared. By now, all the remaining terrorists were on board.

The choppers roared as if preparing to swoop away.

Alicia saw the end coming. What could they do now?

Then it did come. But not in a way she could ever have imagined.

Michael Crouch heaved his pain-wracked, bruised and battered body once more through the doorway of the first chopper, hanging on with one hand, and screamed out a terrible warning:

“They rigged it to blow! The whole fucking tanker! Move! Move now!”