Dawn Patrol

118

Dave gags.

Even standing on deck in the sea air, the bottom reeks of vomit, urine, and shit, and Dave has to fight not to gag. Dave the Love God is seriously shaken up, maybe for the first time in his entire life. “Stay there,” he yells, shoving his palms out to make his point. “Just stay there!”

He strides back to the wheelhouse. Esteban is picking himself up off the deck. Dave grabs him by the front of the shirt and shoves him against the wheel.

“What the fuck?” Dave yells.

Esteban just shakes his head.

“I didn't sign up for this!” Dave hollers. “Nobody told me about this!”

“I'm sorry!”

“Where's Juan Carlos?”

Esteban points to the water. “He fell over.”

Good, Dave thinks. Adi-fucking-os. He'd just as soon toss Esteban over the side, too, but he needs him to help get these kids off the sinking boat and into the Zodiac.

It isn't easy.

The girls are sick, dizzy, and scared to death, reluctant to leave what little safety they have on the boat for the pitching sea. It takes all of Dave's lifeguard demeanor to calm them down and get them into his boat. He gets in first and stretches up his arms while Esteban hands them down one by one. He settles them into the Zodiac, carefully arranging them to balance the weight.

The boat is going to be too heavy and sit too low in the water to be really safe, but there isn't really a choice. He either leaves them out here or he does his best to get them all in. He's not so worried about the open sea-the storm is calming down and he can negotiate the swells. The critical moment is going to be busting through the shore break, where the overloaded boat could easily flip or swamp. He doubts any of these kids are strong swimmers. If he doesn't bring the boat in upright, most of them will probably drown in the heavy white water that comes with the big swell.

Esteban hands the last girl down and then starts to climb in.

Dave stops him.

“You're not on the list, pacheco. ”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Turn the boat around and take it back to Mexico,” Dave says. “What do you usually do?”

“I can't go back,” Esteban says.

“Why not?”

Esteban hesitates, then says, “I killed Juan Carlos. He was going to leave them out here.”

“Get in.”

Dave works his way to the aft of the boat.

There's no place for him to sit down, so he stands.