This chapter took me way longer to complete than I had anticipated (totally not sorry for the length, it's worth it)! I feel I worked really hard on this one. A shout out to K-Yers for your help and motivational wisdom. Anyway, readers, I hope you enjoy!
Jack held Alicia against the wall next to the door in the bedroom. One of his palms was pressed near her head; his other hand was level with her chest. He gestured the hand with his words as he spoke in a low voice, "Alicia, you have to understand, there is nothing I can do. Not with Vida on board and Connor inbound. If anything were to happen to Reed because of me—"
"Why are you lying?" Alicia interrupted; scowling as she shook her head in antipathy. It made her uncomfortable with how close Jack had gotten to her.
"I'm not, I promise..." Jack stared raptly into Alicia's eyes; he actually was telling the truth in the matter. He paused, beginning to whisper, "Please, you have to believe me, Alicia. Reed is Connor's brother…if anything were to happen to him under my watch…I'm as good as dead."
Alicia started to nod her head, beginning to understand.
"Kipling!" Reed's voice called out from the corridor. He then appeared in the doorframe of the bedroom, "What'd Connor say?"
Jack quickly stepped back from Alicia, he began to fidget with the collar of his shirt, "Oh, um, he, uh, he said he was inbound. Should be here in under an hour."
He looked over at his companion and quickly noticed the new scratches on Reed's face. His right cheek was starting to bruise from where Nina had socked him, and his bottom lip was slightly swollen.
"Good," Reed met eyes with Alicia for a moment, ignoring her look of detest, "I gotta get daddy dearest to start the boat. When you're done, doing whatever it is your doing, take your little princess whore upstairs."
"Where's Nina?" Alicia asked with a hardened expression.
Reed cackled, taunting her, "Aww, you worried about what happened to your friend? Worried about what I did to her?"
"What did you do with her?" Jack intervened, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Don't worry about that little bitch, I've got her contained."
"What'd you do with her?" Jack repeated.
"Relax, Kip. She's still alive if that's what you're asking. Got her all tied up in one of the bedrooms…" Reed trailed off.
Alicia swallowed dryly; not liking the way Reed was staring at her. She tried her best to avoid his gaze.
Jack blinked with a blank face, pondering what exactly Reed might have been implying, "Since when was that okay?"
Reed snorted under his breath, "Oh, don't be such a pussy, Kip. You know you want a taste…" His eyes scanned over Alicia as he licked his cracked lips; he studied her the way a marauder observed treasure. Reed thought about how attractive Alicia was; pre-apocalypse she would be the girl way out of his league. He could not help but wonder what she would look like naked; a carnal fantasy played in the back of his mind. Why should Jack be the one to get the girl? He thought to himself. After a few seconds of contemplation he realised his feelings of jealousy had nothing to do with Jack and Alicia. It was all about being in control, being alpha, and dominating the situation.
"It's not like that." Jack countered. He gathered his companion's demons were starting to be unleashed—he was a loose cannon—ready to wreak havoc. The normal procedure was to take the vessel, raid it for supplies, and kill those deemed unfit (not torture them in the process). This time felt different: Was it because of his connection with Alicia? Or did it have to do with how Reed was escalating? Either one, Jack thought, it was becoming easier for Reed to dehumanise his victims.
"Keep telling yourself that." Reed sniggered, "I don't have time for chit-chat. I'm going upstairs; we got a boat to start." He eyed Alicia one more time before he left the vicinity.
"What the hell is wrong with him?" Alicia spoke up, breaking the chilling silence that had swept over them.
"Reed's become a ticking time bomb," Jack answered under his breath as he moved his eyes around until they landed on the backpack where he spotted the crowbar; an epiphany struck him. He brought his eyes back over to meet Alicia's jade orbs, "Do you trust me?"
"What?" Alicia asked in confusion, slightly taken aback by his question. Her mind was still focused on the exchange between Jack and Reed.
"Do you trust me?" He reiterated.
"No," Alicia answered bluntly, "Why should I?"
"Because I might know a way to save your family," Jack stated, going over to the backpack.
Alicia arched her eyebrows sceptically, "How?"
Jack took the crowbar from the Velcro straps it was attached to, and looked over at Alicia, "A mutiny."
"A mutiny?" Alicia nearly laughed at the word until she realised that Jack, Reed, and Vida were basically pirates. She kept herself against the wall, and moved her eyes down to the crowbar in his hands.
Jack nodded, tapping the hook end of the iron bar against the palm of his hand as he contemplated how exactly he would execute his revolt against Reed and Vida. This moment, he figured, could be a window of opportunity to escape the clutches of Connor. He did not trust Alicia's family, not after what Alex had told him about what they had done to her and Jake, but he trusted Alicia. "Okay, so if I—no, wait—maybe if we…"
His eyes enlarged as it all came to play in his head, "If I untie you, you promise not to run?"
"Where would I run to?" Alicia refuted with a dull tone. She wondered if he thought she was that dense.
"Alicia," Jack looked slightly offended, "I'm trying to help you."
All Alicia could do was stare through him.
Jack cleared his throat, his grip tightening around the crowbar, "We're only going to get one chance at this and it has to be before Connor gets here…"
"I'm listening," Alicia said with a creased brow.
"So, I'm gonna untie you, and you'll put this crowbar up your sleeve but you still gotta act like you're tied up when I take you upstairs." Jack looked up at the ceiling for a split second before he returned his gaze to Alicia, "Now, once the boats started, Reed normally waits at the stern acting like a lookout…so I'll put you as close to him as I can. Then I'll take Vida, knock her unconscious… long enough to distract Reed. With him distracted, you can hit him with this crowbar—"
"You want me to kill him?" Alicia cut him off. There was a sense of disbelief and confusion intertwined in her voice. "Why can't you?"
"Just think of Reed as one of those lead heads," Jack sighed as he tucked the crowbar in the belt of his jeans before withdrawing a switchblade from his back pocket, "You've got this, I believe in you." A small grin played at the corners of his mouth.
"And then what happens?" Alicia kept a straight face; she continued to stand with her back pressed against the wall.
"We toss Reed overboard, take Vida to shore, and then we sail away to...wherever. Connor won't be able to find us; he doesn't know how to read the radar correctly. That was my function."
Upstairs, during all the commotion downstairs, an uneasy silence had encircled the room. It was almost painful how quiet it had become.
Madison had looked over at Salazar to see if he was any closer to becoming loose.
He shook his head, knowing why she gawking at him.
She nodded to herself and peered over at Vida, watching the woman stare downward in deep thought, "Is she kicking?"
Vida snapped her dark eyes over to Madison, "What's it to you?"
"It's a strange feeling the first time you feel them kick, isn't it? It's that defining moment when you realise there is something—someone—growing inside you…" Madison trailed off; a distant look clouded her vision.
Vida's face dropped as she shrugged, "I guess…" She went back to looking down at the glass in her hand.
"When was the last time you felt her move?"
Vida nearly slammed the tumbler glass on the counter, "Excuse me?"
"Just a question," Madison shrugged, "When was the last time you felt her move?"
"I'm on the go a lot. I barely notice." Vida grabbed the gun from the counter and stepped around the bar.
"I lost one," Madison began, looking toward the stern, "between Nick and Alicia. One week her heart was beating—bap, bap, bap, bap—too fast to count. Next check-up, it just stopped."
Vida closed her eyes and exhaled, annoying by this woman's pestering, "I'm healthy. My kid's healthy."
"Taking prenatal vitamins?"
Vida scoffed, "As if I'm gonna find any—"
"When exactly was the last time you felt her move?"
"Shut up." Vida took a step forward, narrowing her eyes to a pinprick, tightening her grip around the gun.
Madison looked back at the young woman, "If she died, she may have turned."
"She'd feel that, though, wouldn't she?" Ofelia asked candidly, truly wondering what would happen if a baby died in the womb nowadays.
"She would have, if that thing was moving inside her." Madison answered, knowing she was pressing Vida's buttons.
Vida moved over to Madison, holding the gun into her chin, "I said shut the hell up." She leaned down to the woman's eye level, "I'll shoot you and I'll toss you overboard. Don't tempt me."
Reed sauntered back into the room, pistol in hand, "Is there a problem here?"
Vida kept her eyes locked onto Madison like magnets, "She's just trying to get a rise out of me…"
"Trying to? Sit down!" Reed commanded with a stern tone. Ping-ponging his gaze around the room, he noticed everyone was staring at him. They most likely were wondering about his dishevelled appearance, and Nina's absence. "Bet you people are wondering where Nina's at, am I right?"
He let out a breathy laugh, catching eyes with a glowering Chris, "Wondering what I did with your girlfriend?"
"She's my friend," Chris said shortly.
"Oh, right, 'friend'" Reed nodded, putting his fingers up to gesture quote symbols, with a wink, "You wanna know what I did with your 'friend'?"
Chris pursed his lips tightly, his dark eyes manifesting rage.
Reed started to speak with a malevolent smirk; there was a taunting tone to his voice, "You wanna hear about how she cried? Begged me to stop, begged me not to do it…but you think I was bad? Should have seen the shit Jack did to your pretty little sister friend. Let me tell ya, Connor's got big plans for those girls—"
"Enough with the boy," Daniel interrupted; he could see Reed's bullshit meter ticking in the red zone.
Reed turned his attention to Salazar, holding his gun out with a lazy grip, "Hey! What'd I tell you about telling me what to do, old man?"
Madison's body tensed up as Alicia was mentioned. She convinced herself Reed was fibbing and everything he was saying was to elicit trepidation.
"You want me to start this engine or what?" Travis said abruptly, not liking the rigid aether of the room.
Reed pressed his tongue on the back of his teeth, his eyes roaming around one more time before he went over to Travis and tugged on his sleeve so the man would stand, "Let's go then, shithead! You've got fifteen minutes tops to start the boat…"
He shoved Travis in the direction of the stairs that led up to the control room.
Back on land, Luis brought his sports car to a rolling stop, reggaeton music blasted from the speakers for a moment before he took the keys out of the ignition.
Nick emerged from the passenger side, clean of all blood and adorning clean clothes: a navy blue button down (he had rolled the sleeves), and dark denim jeans. He started to go around to meet Luis at the trunk, "Okay, okay, so how difficult is just a few extra people?"
"Well, it's not like adding guest to a dinner reservation," Luis said after opening the trunk, "Okay? This was finely calibrated. It took time."
"Okay, is there any other way into Mexico?" Nick queried.
"We got to go through the flotilla. I secured transit for two," Luis held up two fingers, "I got money for two. Adding eight more? It's a problem."
Nick grabbed two suitcases out of the trunk, "Okay, well, Strand must have planned for us."
Luis came around the car to stand near Nick, holding a suitcases of his own, "Victor is impulsive." He countered.
"So you've known him a long time?"
"Victor?" Luis said, staring to walk in the direction of the shore.
Nick nodded, his steps staggered down the slope, "Yeah."
"Years. Since he met Tom." Luis laughed, ignoring the approaching biters behind them.
"Thomas…Abigail?"
"Uh-huh. My mom works for the Abigail's. For the father, now the son. She raised Tom with me and my sister. She and my mother are staying at the Baja house now."
"Okay, so it's safe there?" Nick asked, tossing the suitcases over the edge of the small cliff that hovered over the beach, "I mean you wouldn't let your mother stay if it weren't."
Luis picked up a rope that led down to the rocky beach where the launch sat. He laughed, "You don't know my mother, man. My mother would be safe anywhere, in any world. Especially this one."
As he unveiled the dinghy, he turned back to Nick with a smile, "Death is a way to new life."
Up on the bridge, in the control room, Reed aimed his pistol at Travis as he watched the man work diligently, "Walk me through it, crapface." He said with an irritated tone.
Travis raised his eyebrows and let out a small scoff, wondering if Reed talked down to everyone he interacted with. He thought the boy was extremely disrespectful and sadistic.
"This boat is complicated," he started, clearing his throat, "I think we should have gone down to the engine room—"
"I think you can start it from here, Travis. When Connor shows up, for your sake, I'd suggest you have it running. Now let's go, shithead. Prove your value." Reed jerked his gun with the last of his words.
Travis let out a heavy sigh, knowing he was lying about how difficult it was to start the boat but a part of him wanted to keep stalling, "And if I can't…"
"Then I start shooting your people off one by one until you do—starting with your piece of shit son."
In the main gathering area, everyone waited uneasily until the soft purr of the engines filled the room. Vida, who was standing next to the bar again, respired heavily, "Finally."
As if on cue, Jack and Alicia came back into the room. Alicia walked in front of Jack with her hands behind her back; her poker-faced expression concealed any indication she had been harmed in anyway.
Jack guided her over to the farthest corner of the room, in order to get her as close to the stern as possible, he sat her down next to her mother on the bench. He could feel the glares coming from all directions; he wondered what Reed has said or done. Whatever it had been, Jack knew he was automatically guilty by association.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Madison turned her head to the left and whispered the question to her daughter. Her eyes scanned Alicia looking for any sign that she had been harmed; even if Reed had been lying, it irked her that her daughter had been alone with Jack in the first place.
Alicia nodded, "I'm okay." Her eyes followed Jack as he moved over to Vida. She could feel the weight of the crowbar up her right sleeve and her mind concentrated on how Jacks' plan would play out. Could she actually go through with killing Reed? She asked herself for what felt like the hundredth time.
Jack forced himself to swallow, his palms beginning to feel clammy. He casually ambled over to Vida, he tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, "They, uh, give you any problems?"
"Nah," Vida looked out at everyone from the corner of her eyes, she swirled the liquid in the tumbler she was holding, "What happened downstairs?" She turned her eyes back onto Jack, feeling slightly curious as to what had occurred below decks, wanting to know the extent of Reeds' actions.
"Don't worry about it," Jack said offhandedly, rubbing the back of his neck, trying hard not to look as nervous as he felt.
Vida stared at him for a moment before she rolled her eyes, "Whatever."
"Yeah, whatever's right," Jack snapped, finding his words out of character for himself, "Why don't you go downstairs and keep watch over Nina. Reed's got her stashed away in one of the bedrooms…"
Vida's brow deeply furrowed as she pursed her lips, "Since when did you get to tell me what to do?"
"Since Reed told me I could," Jack respired heavily, running his hands through his hair. "What are you doing still standing there for? I asked you to go do something—go!" Jack raised his voice, needing her to leave his sight. He knew with her being there it hindered his chance of taking control of the situation and the last thing he wanted to do was to physically harm his pregnant companion.
Vida frowned with confusion at Jack's sudden shift in behaviour. She shook her head as she picked up her gun.
"I'll get you when Connor gets here." Jack said as he watched her leave the room. He waited a moment before he grabbed a tumbler off the top shelf. He then lifted the decanter of whisky and poured himself a drink. He emptied the tumbler in one gulp and then leisurely refilled his glass; he told himself he needed some liquid courage.
"Drinking on the job?" Reed's taunting voice came from the stairs as he led Travis back into the gathering area.
"Thought the occasion called for a shot," Jack lied fluently before he tossed back the dark liquid.
Reed shoved his hostage onto the bench and observed the room; the power he felt in that moment inflated his ego. With a small smile, he nodded his head in agreement, "Right on. I think it's a little premature…but I dig. Pour me one."
Jack caught eyes with Alicia as he placed his glass down on the counter. He shifted his gaze downward to the tumbler left behind by Vida and then turned his attention back onto Reed, "I'm thinking, now with the boat started, we should be watching out for Connor and the others..." He said as blasé as possible.
"Excuse me?" Reed's smirk dropped.
Jack knew he had set his plan into motion with that statement. He repeated himself, "We should be on the lookout for Connor, not sharing shots."
"Don't tell me what to do," Reed scowled, "now pour me a God damn drink, Kipling."
Jack defied Reed's request as he remained in place.
"You know what," Reed shook his head, beginning to make his way over to the minibar, "I'll do it myself."
"Have at it, I'll go signal Connor." Jack moved around the bar to head to the stern. His confidence grew as he started to understand what he was doing, and how he was irritating Reed by taking charge of the situation.
As he passed his partner, Reed shoved Jack back with a small growl, "I'llgo signal my brother." He pocketed his gun and pulled out a flare gun as he made his way to the back of the boat.
Jack followed; as he trailed behind Reed he withdrew his gun. His confidence began to slip as he felt his palms grow sweaty once more, his heartrate skyrocket, and his stomach begin to churn.
Salazar twisted his torso to witness what was about to unfold.
Madison and Travis exchanged looks; both curious as to what was happening.
Alicia gulped; her jade eyes tracked Reed and Jack's movements. The crowbar up her sleeve felt as if it suddenly gained extra weight. She closed her eyes, unsure if she could go through with the plan. 'Just remember, if things go south, I'm gonna need you to hit him with this crowbar' She repeated Jack's words in her head.
Reed stood peering out at the horizon for any signs of an approaching boat when it dawned on him, "Where's Vida?"
He frowned at the silence and felt his brows draw further together when he heard a hammer of a gun clicking back. He cursed under his breath and slowly swirled around. "Really? A mutiny?" He said with scepticism.
Jack locked eyes with Reed, a determined expression etched on his face while he held the gun out at arm's length and up to eye level. "I'm taking the Abgail."
Reed appeared unfazed. He began to chuckle and it leisurely grew into laughter, "You can't be serious, tell me you're not being serious..." He inhaled sharply, trying to swallow back his laughter, "Oh, man, you really are pathetic. But I get it; you thought you could use this opportunity to accomplish your own ends. Sail off into the sunset with your new princess whore…" He gestured the flare gun as he beamed. He shifted his eyes between Jack and Alicia.
Jack tried to remain as brave as possible even though deep down he was wavering if he was making the right decision. He held the gun up a little higher, beginning to hold it with two hands, "I—I can put you on that raft and give you a chance or I can make it easy on all of us and kill you."
"You and I both know you ain't pulling that trigger. You're too much of a chicken shit."
Jack's hands quivered, his finger hovered above the trigger. His could feel his heart pounding against his chest. Taking in a shaky breath, he shot the gun as a warning shot; the bullet struck the table behind Reed. A couple of the playing cards on the table went flying.
"Whoa!" Reed's eyes widened, slightly taken aback. After a moment, he sniggered, "My man finally grew some balls." He started to cackle, finding this entire situation comical.
"Why are you laughing? How could any of this be funny? I'm serious, Reed. I'm taking the Abigail." Jack said with a stern expression, "Now, drop the gun, turn around and put your hands behind your back. You know I don't wanna hurt anyone."
Reed remained stationary, "Yeah, that's your problem, Kip. You're too soft and that's the kind of thing that'll get you killed."
Vida came scarpering back into the room, gun in hand, "What happened? I heard a gunshot—" She cut herself off at the sight; it confused her.
Jack instinctively swivelled, lowering his aim off of Reed, completely distracted by his pregnant counterpart.
Reed took advantage of the situation. Using his flare gun, he knocked the pistol out of Jack's hands and then swiftly knelt down to pick it up.
Jack blinked, realizing what was happening, a great look of defeat swept over him. He knew he was experiencing first-hand what it meant to be stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"What're you gonna do now, sport?" Reed taunted, aiming both the pistol and flare gun at Jack. He shook his head, "Vida, tie this cow-hearted traitor up."
Vida sighed, knowing better than to question Reed's demand. She put the gun in her pocket and withdrew wire from her other pocket as she approached Jack. She yanked his arms back and proceeded to wrap the wire around his wrist.
Jack rolled his eyes up to the ceiling and bit the back of his tongue. As he lowered his dark orbs, he met eyes with Alicia. He hoped she realised that this was the opportune moment for her to put plan B into action.
As Reed pocketed the flare gun, he spoke to Jack with a disappointing tone, "I have to hand it to ya, nice effort. You almost had me."
"Almost," Jack sighed, unable to look Reed in the eye.
Alicia inhaled slowly, finding herself frozen in place, unable to go through with the plan. Jack had come so far but his failure fuelled negative thoughts of what would happen to her if she also failed. She turned her head to stare out at the stern, not wanting to even look at Jack.
An uneasy tension hovered over the room; Reed and Vida had not said much since Jack's unsuccessful rebellion. After Reed had signalled Connor, it took another ten minutes before the man himself boarded the Abigail.
Connor was a middle-aged man of average built, with a dark beard speckled with grey. He smiled softly as he entered the main gathering area, his amber coloured eyes roaming the room, "This is a gorgeous vessel."
Another man stepped behind Connor. He was tall and lanky; his balding head contrasted with his thick beard—his name was Ben.
A homely ginger haired woman paced beside Ben—her name was Briannah. Her dark green eyes scanned the room. There was a heavy scowl on her face and her lips were pursed tightly in disgust.
Connor frowned seeing Jack, sitting on the bench adjacent to Chris with his head turned away to the stairs. Connor looked at Reed for an explanation, "What happened?"
Reed scoffed, "Jackass here thought he'd take the Abigail from us. Thought he'd sail off into the sunset with his newfound whore."
Jack finally looked over at Connor and Reed with an unintentionally look of embarrassment.
Connor frowned, "After everything we did for you? I'm greatly disappointed. We're definitely gonna have a little one-on-one later." He nodded to himself and peered around the room again, taking in all the troubled faces. "Which one is Travis?"
"That's him," Reed pointed to the bench on the far right, "He's the one who started the boat."
"And Alicia?"
"Jack's whore is sitting right there." Reed pointed straight at Alicia, his dark eyes narrowing.
Connor assessed the young woman with a faint smile; he did think she was pretty. He craned his head over in the direction of Ophelia, "Is this Nina?"
"No, I got Nina downstairs in one of the bedrooms," Reed scowled, "We don't need her anymore. You see what the smutbag did to me?" He circled a finger around his face, hoping his brother understood.
Connor raised his eyebrows as his attention was drawn to his younger brothers face; he noticed the long scratch marks and busted lip. He had assumed Jack had been responsible. He ticked his tongue, judging the room one final time. "Travis and Alicia will come with me for now. I'll collect Nina when I return."
"Only if I get to tear her apart later," Reed spat in revulsion.
"Now, Reed," Connor chided his younger brother in an almost too calm of a voice. He forced himself to lightly chuckle, "Let's get to it. We don't have all day." He snapped his fingers and pointed at Travis signalling Ben to collect him.
Alicia straightened her back and let the crowbar slide out from her sleeve and onto the bench. She pushed it gently so it would nudge her mother as she kept her eyes pasted onto Connor.
Madison felt something poke against her thigh; she peered down to see a crowbar being placed between her and her daughter. She realised what was happening and she shifted her weight to sit on top of the iron bar to conceal it from anyone else seeing it.
"What about my family?" Travis asked as Ben pulled him up from the bench.
"We only need the three of you." Connor answered.
Travis struggled against Ben, feeling himself be brought to his knees, "Whoa, whoa, hey! What are you gonna do?"
"Dad!" Chris yelled, feeling helpless.
"Travis!" Madison gasped under her breath.
"It's okay, Maddy. I'll bring her back." Travis said as Ben put a black bag over his head.
"Dad, Dad, please. Dad." Chris begged, leaning forward, wishing he could do something.
"Stay with Maddy, Chris." Travis grunted as Ben hoisted him to his feet.
Alicia stood up, stepping in front of Connor, her jade eyes widening with swelling tears. Based on her earlier conversation with Jack, she had a strong indication of what was coming and it drove her to beg, "Connor, please, back at your base, I'll contribute. I'll help—but please—you have to protect my family. Promise me you'll get them a boat—they're good people…"
Connor stared down at Alicia with a toughened expression for a moment before he began to nod gingerly, "We'll get them to shore." He forced a faint smile.
"Promise me." Alicia pleaded.
"I promise," Connor said with a stoic expression before he jerked his head in the direction of the loading dock, "Now come with me. I don't want to have to force you."
Alicia nodded, catching eyes with her mother one final time before leaving the vicinity.
Vida pulled up on Jack's upper arm so he would get to his feet, "Let's go. Come on, come on." She shoved him forward so he would head to the back of the boat.
Briannah and Ben stood on either side of the doorframe leading out to the stern. The ginger-headed woman held a semi-automatic weapon while Ben held a simple handgun. Both were ready to shoot and kill if anyone tried to make a move.
At the sound of the other boats engine revving, Madison let out a heavy sigh at the thought of Travis and Alicia having been kidnapped right before her eyes.
Reed leaned against the bar; gulping down the drink Vida had left behind. He pulled poured himself another drink; his other hand still held onto the gun. "You know, it's interesting how much a woman can affect a man's behaviour. Some, like Alicia, cause men like Jack to take more risks. While others, like Nina, make men, like me, want to treat them just like the dissolute creatures that they are…"
"Put us on the launch." Madison said suddenly, ignoring whatever Reed was babbling on about. She turned her head to face him, "We'll go to shore. You can take the Abigail."
Reed scoffed, getting to his feet, "The thing is, the launch goes with this yacht, doesn't it?"
"We'll swim to shore. Just let us."
Reed glared at Madison, "What am I? Stupid? You'll want your boat back—I don't like that ending."
Ben turned around, catching sight of a fast approaching dinghy. He put a finger up to his mouth, "Shh!"
"Excuse me?" Reed turned his attention onto Ben with a large scowl.
"Incoming." Ben pointed outwards, going out onto deck.
Briannah followed, holding the scope of her gun to her eye to get a better look.
"Did Connor come back?" Reed asked, growing agitated.
"Zodiac. Looks like two—" Her body jerked forward as a bullet ripped through her skull.
Another shot rang out followed by Ben getting his brains blown out.
Madison nearly fell out of her seat from shock.
"What the—" Reed murmured, scared shitless. As he strode forward, Daniel, who was already free from his bindings, purposefully tripped him.
Ofelia stood and pushed him against the sliding glass door as hard as she could, "Ahh! Somebody—Get him!"
Madison grabbed the crowbar and rammed the iron bar through Reed's back.
Reed jerked forward, groaning in pain. He peered down at the crowbar sticking through his abdomen in disbelief. He barely noticed Chris shoving him backwards toward the wall.
"Chris, don't!" Madison tried to grab onto the hood of Chris's jacket to pull him off Reed. After a moment she gave up and moved to the back of the boat when she caught sight of Nick.
Daniel, who had grabbed the semi-automatic off Briannah's body, went back to help Ophelia out of her binds. He noticed Chris, and picked up Reed's pistol off the ground, "Chris!"
Chris turned and took the gun from Salazar. He stepped back and aimed it at Reed's head.
Ophelia yelped as her binds were yanked off her wrist. She looked at her father for a moment, "I'm going to find Nina." She sprinted off below deck to find the young woman.
"Mom. Hey." Nick stated, making quick strides over to his mother.
Madison did not know whether to be angry or relieved to see her son, "Nick! Where were you!?"
"Hey! Drop it!" Luis threw up his semi-automatic, "Where's Victor?"
Daniel continued to hold up his gun, "Drop it!"
Nick shook his head, holding his hands up, starting to step in between the two bickering men, "Whoa, whoa. Hey, hey. He's okay. He's okay. He's a friend. He helped."
Daniel frowned, unsure if he should completely believe Nick.
Nick put an arm around his mother as he spoke, staring intently at Daniel, "Strand sent me to get Luis, okay? He's gonna help us get into Mexico."
A sceptical expression formed on Luis face, "I was getting Strand into Mexico."
"He left when they boarded, when they tried to take the Abigail." Madison said as Nick untied her.
"Victor escaped?" Luis frowned.
"They shot at his raft. He went down." Madison spoke as Nick pulled her into a hug.
Madison resisted and pushed her son away, "I have to go after Travis. I have to find Alicia."
Nick pulled his mother back into another embrace.
"We do not cross the boarder without him." Luis countered; he could honestly care less about what happened to Travis' and Alicia. His main priority at the moment was Strand.
Daniel lowered his gun, "We don't need Strand."
"Well, he didn't need you either, but here you are. Without Strand, we don't get into Mexico."
Ofelia cut the zip-tie off Nina's wrist, "Are you okay though? Reed didn't—" She cut herself short, unsure if she could vocalise what she wanted to ask. From the looks of it, though, Reed might have very well being lying about what he had done to Nina.
"I'm fine," Nina said rather darkly as she brought her wrist in front of her, staring down at the marks the binds had left. "What happened upstairs? I heard gunshots…"
"Nick came back," Ofelia sighed, "just in time too."
Madison directed the launch to the spot where she was certain she had spotted Victor in the water. She shook her head as she reached out to pull him into the boat. A part of her second guessed if she should be rescuing him—did they really need Strand?