an: so this has been a long time coming. I've put a bit of an explanation in my profile for those who are interested, otherwise here is the latest part of Castaways. Hope you enjoy.
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RHIB team
Location: Unidentified Island, Coral Sea
0726 hours
Pete eyes the boat moored in the bay, squinting against the glare from the water. There's been no sign of the X since she'd been taken below deck, and the other guy, the one they called Zack, hasn't come back out.
"Hey, look," 2Dads voice breaks into his darkening thoughts, and he glances over. "They're up to something."
"What'd you think Swaino?"
"Something's stirred them up alright," Swain agrees, giving the group a dark look. "They're taking down the camp, and they're being pretty quick about it too."
The sound of the Zodiac starting up draws Pete's attention, and he tenses automatically as he watches the lone man steer the inflatable away. "Where's he going?" he mutters, almost to himself, before turning his eyes back to the group of men talking amongst themselves.
"Uh guys?" Bomber shifts in the sand next to him, her voice at a whisper. "I've got my hands loose!"
"On ya, Bomb! How'd you get out of the zip-ties?" 2Dads cranes his head back to see her hands. "Jesus Bomber, your hands!"
Pete looks over, swears when he sees the bloody smears across her hands and wrists.
"Guess my hands were numb enough that I didn't realize that I was bleeding – and then the blood just helped me slip through them." Bomber flexes her wrists, wincing. "Don't think that's going to help you guys though."
"Are there any rocks or shells nearby? Anything with an edge might be enough to shimmy through these." At Swain's words, they all look discretely around, while Bomber sifts her hands through the sand.
"There," 2Dads calls out softly. "Looks like there's a bottle just ahead of you Swain."
"Yeah, I see it."
"Can you get to it?"
Pete can hear Swain move. "No, Bomber, you're gonna have to grab it."
"Hold up guys," Pete says, stopping Bomber from sliding forward. "They're on the move."
The camp-site has been cleared – if Pete hadn't seen them there himself, he'd have said the cove was untouched from a distance. "They definitely know what they're doing." He glares at the men as they pass, his skin itching with the urge to take them down.
"They're cutting out," Pete exchanges a glance with Swain. Five of them jump into a second Zodiac and push off, the outboard engine cutting through the water at high speed. There's only a few guys left, but they're all still armed with semi-auto's.
"Bomber, you're going to have to be quick," Pete warns, watching the remaining men. They're looking towards the boat that's still moored out in the bay, the Zodiac bumping against it gently. He sees her shift into a crouch from the corner of his eye. "Go, go, go." She springs out, her arm reaching out for the bottle. "C'mon Bomber…" She drops back into place with a muffled grunt, twisting her arms behind her just as one of the men turns towards them sharply.
"Did he see her?"
Pete eyes the man, who watches them closely, before turning his back to them again. "No, we're good," he replies, feeling his muscles ache as he relaxes slightly. He's still running on adrenaline, has been since they'd had guns shoved in their faces on the beach, but he can't afford to crash right now. Keep it together, he tells himself. He needs to keep it together.
"Careful Bomber," Swain cautions her as she moves. "You'll end up cutting yourself on the glass." Even as he says the words, Bomber swears, drops the bottle end and clenches her hands together.
Pete glances back, can see the blood drip out from between her fingers and whistles lightly. "Christ Bomber, that doesn't look good."
"Doesn't feel too great either," she says before she wipes her hands on her pants, smearing blood over the dark material. "Okay, 2Dads, I'll try and get you free first. Then you can get Buffer and Swain."
"You're good Bomber," Pete tells her, watching the three men. He can hear her moving around behind him, and then apologising to 2Dads for cutting him as she tries to fit the edge between his skin and the hard plastic.
"It's alright Bomber, just keep going."
"Yeah, just a little bit…" she pauses, and Pete's muscles contract again. Keep it together, he repeats. "Further!"
"Way to go Bomber," Swain says from behind him. "Get some feeling back into your hands 2Dads, before you start," he advises.
"Good job Bomb, only took a couple of slices out of my hands while you were at it."
"Yeah whatever," Bomber shoots back. "Let's see how you go with Swain."
"Thanks Bomber," he replies, before he inhales sharply.
"Sorry Swaino," 2Dads says, before he tries again, grunting in frustration as the tie refuses to budge. "C'mon…"
"It's okay 2Dads, you've got it."
"Swain, can you shift this hand a little, just angle it a bit…" 2Dads trails off, "got it!"
"Okay Buff, your turn."
Pete extends his arms as much as possible behind him, while watching the drug runners. They're still talking amongst themselves, occasionally gesturing with a wild swing of their hands and guns.
When he hears the first shot, Pete thinks that someone's pulled a trigger accidentally. When the second shot fires, his eyes fly back to the boat, still moored out in the bay. Pete can hear his thoughts intensify and run together even as the sound of a third shot echoes through the air.
Keep it together, keep it together, keepittogether.
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HMAS Hammersley
Location: Coral Sea
1123 Hours
"Anything on the EOD, Spider?"
"Nothing boss," Billy replies, keeping his eyes trained on the little screen. He doesn't want to take the chance that he'll miss something.
"Nav, how're you going with the new search pattern?"
"Sir, if we factor in prevailing currents and what we know about the storm patterns, this is the area we need to be looking at. See these islands here? If something went wrong with the RHIB, that's where they're likely to have washed up."
"Yeah, if they didn't go down on the sinking rust bucket," Billy whips his head around just in time to see RO shrug defensively. "What, it's not like we're not all thinking it."
"RO, that is not the attitude I want to hear right now," the boss says, his voice low and a little menacing.
"Yes sir."
Billy turns back to the EOD, not wanting to draw the boss's attention. "Nav, set a new course to widen the search radius, Charge, I want a team ready to go on Thunder as soon as we have land in sight."
"Aye sir. Steer one-five-eight, revolutions two-zero-zero."
"RO, try them on the radio again. ETA Nav?"
"Another thirty, boss? If we can maintain current speed?"
"Charge?"
"Giving you all she's got boss, she'll hold."
Charge leans on the chair behind him, looking over his shoulder. "What'd you think Charge?" Billy asks quietly, hoping the boss won't hear him over RO talking on the radio. "Reckon RO's right?"
"Nah, they'll be right." Charge claps a hand on his shoulder lightly before continuing. "Probably sitting on the beach right now, enjoying the sun and surf, waiting for us to pick them up."
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