Thursday, May 11th, 2017
13:32 GMT+7 (06:32 GMT May 11th)
Camp 43, Cambodia
Craig's mind was in torment.
On one side, he had to keep his mouth shut and not reveal a thing – he knew full well that revealing just one fact would start the ball rolling and bring the entire house of cards tumbling to the floor. On the other side, though, he was witnessing the vicious torture of his friends. That single fact, alone, tormented him more than anything. It was his fault that they were even there. He did everything he could to avoid looking at his friends as they were tortured and tormented by the Russian sergeant. Seeing Mindy being struck and her going down had almost pushed him to the limit of how much abuse he could allow his friends to absorb for him.
Mindy lay on the plastic, forcing down the pain and ignoring the trickle of blood which ran down her cheek. A foot away from her, Ariana was sobbing and suffering through her own personal pain. Mindy looked into the fourteen-year-old's eyes and she could see that the girl was all but broken. Mindy was incensed but there was not a lot she could do about it. She rolled onto her knees and pushed herself up against the pain. Her eyes locked onto Craig's and Mindy could see the sorrow and the guilt. She knew what was going through his mind – she had been there – and she could see the extreme torment in Craig's face. Mindy allowed her eyes to bore into his as she voiced her thoughts.
"Don't give the bastards a fucking thing!" Mindy ordered a moment after spitting out a gob of blood.
Mindy paid for the outburst as she was kicked in the side and punched in the left shoulder blade. Solokov grinned for a moment before his grin faltered slightly as he looked into his victim's eyes. He expected to see fear and pleading, but instead, he only saw darkness. That darkness scared the man, and he began to wonder what was keeping the woman and the rest of her team going despite the physical abuse which had taken down grown men in much less time.
"Возьмите мужчин!" Sokolov ordered.
13:48 GMT+7 (06:48 GMT May 11th)
Dave and Joshua
They had been kept in total darkness since their arrival at the camp.
They had both been incarcerated alone. The thick concrete walls and the solid wooden door had obfuscated any sound. Time stood still as they both lay on the concrete floor of their cells. Neither had any idea about their physical state as they could see nothing, but a quick physical check of their bodies had revealed nothing more than bruises and a few cuts. Surprisingly, both retained their clothing, what there was of it, but their footwear was gone. Independently, both took the time to rest, taking the opportunity to give their bodies time to heal. Surprisingly for them both, they managed to fall asleep as they rested – they were very tired, after all. Neither knew how long they had slept when they were rudely awakened by bright lights being turned on and their doors being heaved open. Blinking in the harsh white light, first Dave, and then Joshua emerged into the corridor where they both grinned as they saw one another. Both looked around for the girls – but they saw no one but their two guards. After having their hands secured behind their backs with handcuffs, they were led down a corridor, through a steel door, then down another concrete-lined corridor before they passed through a set of wooden doors and turned left.
Together, they both passed through the ominous double wooden doors into Room K.
..._...
Both stopped dead so fast at the sights before them that their guards cannoned straight into the back of them both before quickly sorting themselves out and prodding Dave and Joshua forward.
Mindy and Jennifer looked very relieved to see the boys, although both could see the sheer horror on their faces, so both assumed, quite correctly, that they both looked a state. There was no opportunity for introductions as Colonel Priabin stepped forward and he snapped the fingers of his right hand and pointed at a stout wooden table. Two soldiers ran over to lift the heavy table and deposit it before the Colonel.
"Sokolov – the girl!" Priabin ordered.
Sokolov grabbed the sobbing Ariana and he near enough threw the girl onto the table with her legs hanging over the edge at her knees. The girl continued to sob – at least until Solokov slapped her around the face . . . twice.
"Now," Priabin said calmly as he looked at Dave. "I think some entertainment is in order. Mr Lizewski, I'm sure that you are no stranger to sexual activities. As such, you will perform oral sex on this girl."
Dave looked over at Ariana and he then looked up at Priabin incredulously.
"Get to fuck!" Dave exclaimed before he cried out as a soldier rammed the butt of his assault rifle into his back. "No."
Solokov drew his service pistol – an MP-443 Grach, Dave's mind told him. As Dave watched, Solokov turned the pistol around so he was holding it by the barrel. Then he brought the butt down onto Ariana's left thigh, causing the girl to scream out as Priabin's hand on her chest pinned her down.
"How about a knee . . . an elbow . . . her shoulder," Priabin mused conversationally as he slapped Ariana around the face with his bare hand. "Get to fucking work!"
Dave looked over at Mindy who simply nodded. Dave then looked down at Ariana whose pleading eyes were begging for mercy, but she nodded all the same. To her, sex was nothing more than a tool. She had been there before, but there had never been love present when she had been sexually involved with a boy. She simply laid back and she closed her eyes, wishing the pain would go away. Dave hated himself as he stepped closer to the girl who was shaking with fear. Dave tenderly placed a reassuring hand on Ariana's undamaged right thigh and the shaking seemed to lessen. Unknowingly, Dave's simple touch was reassuring to the girl. Tentatively, and fully aware of his audience, Dave lowered his head down and he brought his lips close to the girl's vulva. Dave's mind told him that there was nothing remotely sexually stimulating about the act he was about to perform on the girl – it was simply a task. A task which was made harder by the fact that the girl in question needed a bath.
Dave could smell sweat, urine, and blood – he could also see the small string barely visible within Ariana's dark pubic hair.
..._...
Ariana almost jumped as she felt something prodding at her labia.
She had felt Dave's breath on her pubes and despite the pain, anguish, and the audience, the young girl felt strange sensations between her legs. It had been well over a year since anybody had been that close to her naked body. She could remember the sensations which resulted from it and part of her looked forward to the coming sensations. Dave's tongue pushed against her labia before moving upwards and Ariana yelped as her clitoris received its first stimulation in months.
Mindy could not watch – she was horrified by the events unfolding before her. Despite her horror, she felt for her husband, knowing that he had had no choice but to comply with Priabin's order. It did not take long, thankfully, for Ariana to reach a climax which was heavier than Mindy had expected. Dave looked embarrassed but relieved that it was over. Ariana simply lay on the table, panting. The euphoria of the climax had momentarily replaced the pain and anguish which allowed the girl a few moments of rest.
"Take them back to their cages – let them stew for a while," Colonel Priabin growled. "Tomorrow, we begin removing fingernails . . . enjoy your evening and sleep well."
17:30 GMT+7 (10:30 GMT May 11th)
The Cages
Jennifer had seen the cages from afar, and closer in the darkness, but now that she was a resident, she actually realised how cramped they really were.
The heat was unbearable, she thought. The air-conditioning of the bunker had been cold, but the humidity had been a lot less. To a point, Jennifer missed it. Her first food since her arrival at the camp had also been a shock. Never in her life had she ever considered that she might be sitting naked in a bamboo cage in Asia, eating tasteless rice and sipping tepid water. On the plus side, she was not alone. To her left was Mindy. To her right was Ariana. Beyond Mindy were Dave and Joshua with Craig beyond them. It was hopeless, Jennifer thought.
They were to be tortured to death and nobody would ever know the truth.
21:00 GMT+7 (14:00 GMT May 11th)
The Main Gate
The gate guard was struggling to stay awake.
It was the most boring duty at the camp. But stay awake, he would – if he were caught dozing off, he would be shot for his lack of attention. He barely registered the Russian officer at the gate with two Cambodian soldiers. In his tired state, he never noticed the obvious, but simply saw what his mind expected to see, and he waved them inside after a brief inspection of their passes. There was no way for him to know that he had unwittingly just allowed a pair of wraiths into the camp.
The man nonchalantly went back to his musings as he wiled away the hours of his duty.
21:08 GMT+7 (14:08 GMT May 11th)
The Wraiths
That had been a lot simpler than either of them had expected.
Trudging quite a distance through the jungle had not been easy but eventually, they had found their way back to that dreaded camp. They had arrived in time to see their friends being thrown into their cages. Chloe was very pleased to see that everyone was alive. From their distance, she could not make out any detail, but they all appeared to be able to walk which was a positive point to what she had planned. Their prisoner had not had a fun time, but he had been cooperative and despite the language barrier which Chloe's limited Russian helped to breach, the universally understood 'gun in the back' proved useful. At one point, Freya had whispered to Chloe that she thought the man was 'shit scared' of them. Chloe had agreed as the man had followed every command – however, Chloe was also ready for a trap. They had taken the clothing off two of the smallest dead men and dressed themselves up as Cambodian soldiers. They had availed themselves of the food and water the dead men had been carrying which had assuaged their thirst and hunger and also kept them going on the long hike back to the camp. The hours of hiking had given Chloe and Freya time to work through a plan of action once they got to the camp.
It was not the best of plans, to be honest, but it was all they had.
21:48 GMT+7 (14:48 GMT May 11th)
The Parade Ground
The Kazan Ansat-U sat off to one side of the large area.
The utility helicopter was kept fully fuelled at all times – as per the orders of Colonel Priabin. The flight crew slept in a hut, just a few dozen yards away from their charge. Chloe and Freya had made it a priority to check the status of the helicopter and the young lieutenant had been very forthcoming with information. Yes, the young officer was scared to death, but he was also intrigued by his captors. He had not had much contact with westerners in his life, and the two girls were something new. The Russian which the older one spoke was crude – he figured that whoever had taught his language to the girl, they had to have a foul mouth, favouring crude epithets which turned most mundane statements into something with a decidedly vulgar twist. He was not a violent man, per se, but he enjoyed what he did. However, he abhorred what was happening to the westerners. He had cooperated with them, hoping that he might be allowed to live, but he also felt like he was betraying his comrades and the Motherland. However, he was developing an affinity towards the two girls and he hoped that they would not kill him. He had dutifully walked with the girls through the darkness until they had reached the far end of the camp. There, he was forced to kneel, and they bound his wrists and ankles before gagging him and shoving him under the nearest hut.
"Be a good boy," the younger girl said as she patted him on the head.
That was the last time he would see them for a while as he was left in the darkness.
23:03 GMT+7 (16:03 GMT May 11th)
The Camp
Chloe and Freya exchanged a look as they stared at an appropriated wristwatch.
It was time.
The past hour had been spent surveying the immediate area and checking for potential problems with their plan . . . and there were many. The plan had more holes than the Titanic, and that was being very generous, Chloe thought dryly. They were just two girls, neither in peak condition, and to say that they were outnumbered did not quite cover their situation. On the plus side, they had four Type 56-2 assault rifles and hundreds of rounds. They had made the Russian officer lug the ammunition while they had lugged the rifles – which had been enough weight for the both of them. Another positive was the hand grenades. Each of the dead soldiers had been carrying a pair of RGD-5 grenades which the girls had quickly appropriated.
"You ready?" Chloe asked her partner.
"Yes," Freya replied with conviction.
Chloe believed her. When they had attacked the six soldiers, deep in the jungle, Freya had been like a girl possessed. She fought with the same vigour shown by other Predators, but there was something more – a bloodlust which was only satisfied once she had slit the throats of her three men. Freya had appeared to relish the kills and Chloe had seen a look of pure pleasure on her face as the blood had spurted from her victims' necks. As such, Chloe believed in Freya's conviction and her ability to make it count when it was most needed. Chloe needed that conviction right at that moment if they were both to pull off the impossible and rescue those most dear to her. The two dogs which had been killed during the initial ingress, and the most recent escape, had not been replaced. There would not be any dogs on duty – which was a blessing. However, there would be more patrols; eight two-man teams, according to the junior lieutenant.
"Ready . . . go!" Chloe hissed, and the two girls ran off in opposite directions.
23:06 GMT+7 (16:06 GMT May 11th)
The Cages
Mindy jerked awake.
Her trained mind told her why – hand grenade. She heard yelling to her left, towards the south end of the camp, then there was the sharp crack and double thump as two more grenades exploded – to her right, over towards the main gate.
"Are we under attack?" Joshua called out.
"They sound like grenades, but could they be mortars?" Dave asked.
"Maybe," Mindy responded as she struggled to see what was going on.
"Maybe we're going to be rescued," Ariana offered hopefully.
There was a third, fourth, and fifth explosion, over to the west side of the camp.
"Could really do with that," Jennifer agreed.
"Keep an eye open, guys," Craig directed. "We might be able to make use of this attack . . . or whatever it is."
Two more explosions ripped out, only a few dozen yards away, and they could hear yelling, not to mention a few screams as the shrapnel from the explosive devices – whatever they were – scythed through anything nearby. Mindy had the distinct impression that the attack was coming from multiple locations at the same time. The explosions had apparently awoken the entire camp and there was random, uncoordinated gunfire sounding off all around them.
"This has to be the perfect time to make an escape," Dave commented dryly, "and here we are cooped up in our little cages."
"Tell me about it!" Mindy growled.
Dave was about to respond when their guard, standing nervously two feet away with his rifle poised for action, was viciously torn apart by a torrent of bullets from a Chinese-made Type 56-2 assault rifle – Mindy could identify the distinctive cycling sound of the action on the weapon. Then she saw what looked like a Cambodian soldier bounding up the steps and running down their row of cages, cutting off the padlocks with a large pair of bolt croppers.
"Aren't you a bit short to be a soldier?" Mindy growled as she looked up to see a familiar face.
"The rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated," Freya commented dryly.
"Same with mine," Chloe added as she fired off short bursts into the melee. "Get a bloody move on, you sorry bunch of twats!"
Freya passed out two assault rifles which were taken by Joshua and Dave. Both were still dressed, as was Craig. Freya passed over some clothing to Mindy, Ariana, and Jennifer.
"Ariana!?" Freya exclaimed as she recognised the younger girl.
"Freya?" a stunned Ariana responded.
"Time for hugs and kisses later," Mindy growled. "Let's fucking move! What's the plan, best friend?"
Chloe grinned.
"It's not exactly a plan," Chloe began.
"So, there's every chance of us all getting killed?" Joshua asked as he gave Chloe a kiss on the cheek.
"Every chance!" Chloe responded tartly as she returned the kiss.
"You two can fuck when we're safe – move!" Dave insisted.
"Parade ground," Chloe directed as the unarmed members were escorted away from the cages.
"We need weapons," Ariana commented.
Joshua gunned down four soldiers with his assault rifle.
"By your command, good lady!" Joshua called out.
Mindy, Craig, Ariana, and Jennifer each grabbed up a rifle and extra magazines. The camp was chaos as the soldiers looked around for the source of the explosions and the gunfire, not knowing that the gunfire was their own.
All eight of the now larger Fusion One ran for the parade ground, shooting as they went.
23:13 GMT+7 (16:13 GMT May 11th)
The Camp
As they ran for the parade ground, they all heard the sound of turboshaft turbine engines being spun up.
The sound was distinctive, even above the sounds of gunfire and battle. For a very brief moment, Chloe considered that her plan had failed, but as they came around a hut, they saw the helicopter, the rotors starting to turn with a pilot in the front left seat. She also saw the young junior lieutenant standing beside the helicopter and he surreptitiously waved at her to hurry up. Chloe ran forwards, her assault rifle raised, with Jennifer and Ariana close behind. Ariana quickly ran around the helicopter and she was beside the pilot's open hatch, a pistol to the pilot's flight helmet before he knew what was happening. Jennifer reached past Ariana, and she hauled the pilot out of the helicopter and onto the ground. He was set upon by Ariana, who yanked off his flight helmet and then clubbed the man unconscious.
"Он готов уйти. Он готов," the Russian stated as he pointed at the unconscious pilot who lay on the ground.
"He says the helicopter is ready to fly," Mindy translated.
"Сделай это хорошо," the man said, looking at Mindy.
"Да. Спасибо," Mindy replied as she raised her rifle and struck the man on the side of the head with the butt. "He is helping us, and he wanted me to make it look like he was being coerced," she explained.
Chloe looked over at Craig.
"Can you fly it?" Chloe demanded of the man.
"Is Mindy a psychotic lunatic?" Craig grinned as he took the proffered flight helmet from Ariana.
"I heard that!" the psychotic lunatic warned. "Get your sorry butt into that pilot's seat, Commander!"
It took the commander a few minutes to get acquainted, not only with a helicopter he had never seen the inside of, let alone flown, but one where all the controls were labelled in Cyrillic. Thankfully, the start-up sequence had been completed and both Pratt & Whitney Canada PW207K turboshaft turbine engines were performing perfectly. Everyone was aboard, with Mindy alongside Craig in the front, while Dave and Joshua were keeping a wary eye open for anybody seeing them aboard the helicopter.
"Crap!" Joshua shouted as he pushed Dave aboard.
There were a dozen soldiers running in their direction.
"Here!" Freya said as she pushed the last five grenades into Dave's hands.
Dave began to pull pins and throw the grenades as fast as he could hurl them. He then hauled Joshua into the aircraft as shakily, the three-tonne helicopter lurched into the air, turned to the south, and left the camp, missing the fence line by only a few feet. Craig twisted the throttle to squeeze every kW of power from the engines as he dipped the nose and increased speed to around 140 knots. Mindy found the switches for the anti-collision lights and she shut them all off, plunging the helicopter into darkness.
"Where are we going?" Craig asked over the intercom.
Mindy turned to look at Chloe. They both wore headsets. Dave and Joshua also wore headsets and they were studying a map they had found in the aircraft.
"What range do we have?" Dave asked.
"At least two hundred nautical miles, I think," Craig replied as he studied the fuel gauges.
"We can make Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City – but not much further," Dave offered.
"If we stay over land, we'll get lost in the ground clutter," Craig advised. "We head over water, we'll be easy prey."
"Circle over the mountains, and we'll head north for now," Mindy suggested. "We use the darkness to cover our egress."
"We have about five hours of darkness left," Joshua pointed out.
"And about two hours or so of fuel," Craig interjected.
Dave and Joshua conferred as they examined the map.
"How about Rayong?" Joshua asked. "Thailand – we could steal a boat . . . again."
Mindy grimaced at that idea – but it was better than nothing.
Friday, May 12th
00:30 GMT+7 (17:30 GMT May 11th)
Aboard the Ansat-U
12°58.27'N, 102°3.15'E
52nm east of Rayong City, Thailand
There was intense relief that they were all out of Cambodia.
They were still not out of the woods – not by a long shot. The moment they put down in Thailand they could be immediately arrested. Once they were a good one hundred nautical miles from the camp, Craig had made some adjustments to the radio and he had made a simple broadcast.
"This is Rapier Eight, Rapier Eight, Rapier Eight, calling any Romeo, over."
He was broadcasting over an open frequency, so he could say nothing more as he broadcast the message twice more. However, there was no response, and Craig knew that there would be no response.
"That's all I can do," he admitted. "The rest is in the hands of the Almighty."
00:48 GMT+7 (17:48 GMT May 11th)
HMS ALBION
Three hundred nautical miles to the south
Gulf of Thailand
The young officer was fast asleep in her cabin when she was rudely awakened as the cabin door was shoved open.
"Ma'am!"
"What is it?" the annoyed Lieutenant Sarah Perrin had growled at the messenger.
"You're wanted in Signals, Ma'am."
"Thank you."
..._...
After scrambling into uniform, Sarah moved quickly through the sleeping ship as she made for the Signals office two decks below and eighty feet forward.
The door was secured – as always. Sarah banged her fist on the hatch which dutifully opened. She found herself facing the ship's XO, Commander Green.
"Come on in, Lieutenant," he ordered, shutting the hatch behind her.
The compartment was in semi-darkness as men moved amidst the towering racks of computer equipment and radios.
"We received a random signal," Commander Green explained. "About twenty-five minutes ago."
"Here, ma'am."
Sarah was handed a small slip of signal paper by one of the communications and information systems specialists on watch.
"Thank you, Mason."
"This is Rapier Eight, Rapier Eight, Rapier Eight, calling any Romeo, over."
"This is Rapier Eight, Rapier Eight, Rapier Eight, calling any Romeo, over."
"This is Rapier Eight, Rapier Eight, Rapier Eight, calling any Romeo, over."
It was the same message, repeated three times.
"Sir?"
"It's a classified message, but the computers identified the callsign – it's Commander Lawrence."
"What!" Sarah exclaimed.
"Hold your horses, Sarah. Rapier refers to the commander, however, the number refers to how many they are..."
"So, eight have escaped?" Sarah interrupted. "Sorry, sir."
Commander Green chuckled. The young officer had struggled to remain calm while her friends had been ashore, and then captured. He had allowed Sarah some considerable latitude as she dealt with something emotionally difficult, and he figured that he would not have been much better in her position and quoting regulations when a young and promising officer spoke out of turn was not desirable.
"The signal originated from up near Thailand. We've put the message up on the boards and any other units in the area may be able to triangulate it. As for now, they are on their own."
"Thank you, sir. Thank you for telling me."
"I know your father, Sarah – you're a good officer who has friends in harm's way and if I can do anything to ease your emotional torment, I will. I'm not the total bastard most onboard think I am."
Sarah grinned – the man did have a fearsome reputation.
02:30 GMT+7 (19:30 GMT May 11th)
North of Rayong City, Thailand
They had been on the ground a little over an hour.
Actually setting foot out of the helicopter, had been difficult, as for the first time in a long time, they were no longer in Cambodia. Craig had landed the helicopter in a field, behind some trees. They were about sixteen kilometres north of Rayong City and about as close as they dared get without being spotted and apprehended. There were more than a few tears of relief and Mindy was not ashamed to shed a few of her own. Before things got too soppy, Dave and Joshua headed off to find some transport that could handle eight people for the trip into Rayong City and then to the coast.
"Okay, girls – what's your story?" Jennifer asked as she studied the two Predators.
"Yeah," Chloe interjected. "You both obviously know each other."
Ariana looked over at Freya who nodded.
"Long story," Ariana said. "But we were marooned in Asia after a mission fell apart and we were abandoned. We tried to make our way home, however, we got dumped in Vietnam, and then when we got to Cambodia, things went from bad to worse. After about five months or so, I lost track, we were separated, and I didn't see Freya until today."
"Good enough – we'll hear the full version when we get to safety," Mindy decided.
..._...
It did not take the boys long to return with a very tired looking Land Rover Defender 110.
They all climbed aboard, and Dave drove them south through the night. They retained their remaining weaponry as they deemed it prudent to be armed but they kept their armoury hidden from casual sight, though ready for instant use. There was very little traffic on the roads of the city with its population of just over 64,000. As would be expected, most of the population were tucked up in their beds. The city had a sizeable industrial sector and that was the part of the city through which they were driving as they closed the Gulf of Thailand. It took them a while to drive circuitous routes to avoid any potential tails before they finally had the water in sight, and they began to look for marinas with suitable watercraft. Chloe and Mindy had argued – actually joked – about stealing a megayacht, but Jennifer had shut them both up by making a crude comment about a pair of lesbians chatting in a hot tub while inferring that it was Chloe and Mindy. Ariana and Freya had laughed at that, much to the older girls' annoyance.
On the other hand, Dave, Craig, and Joshua had decided on finding a much smaller craft which would not attract too much attention if it went missing, but it had to be large enough to be safe to take to sea. It also had to be a craft which they could safely operate on their own. After half an hour of fruitless searching, they found a marina filled with small to medium-sized watercraft. They parked up a short distance away and Dave told Mindy and Chloe to behave while he and Craig went to check things out.
Dave and Craig then vanished into the marina in search of a suitable craft.
03:50 GMT+7 (20:50 GMT May 11th)
North of Rayong City, Thailand
Dave returned about twenty minutes later.
"We've found a suitable candidate," he explained. "Let's move and get aboard – Craig's dusting her off."
They abandoned the Land Rover, taking their haul of weapons with them, and headed down into the marina. Dave had broken the lock on a gate which passed through an eight-foot-tall wire-mesh fence. There were dozens of boats, of all shapes and sizes, including cruisers and sailboats. Some were impressive and expensive while others were in need of some tender love and attention. After a lengthy walk along a maze of interconnected floating pontoons, Dave finally slowed up and he stopped beside a pale grey craft sitting in the water alongside the pontoon.
"All aboard!" Dave directed, and he held out a hand to Jennifer and helped her aboard before stepping aboard himself.
"What about me!?" Mindy asked indignantly.
"Since when do you need assistance?" Dave chuckled, and Mindy grinned.
The craft was about twelve-years-old and while it may not have been ideal for the trip they had planned, it was better than nothing, and it appeared seaworthy as well as being easy to operate.
"What is it?" Mindy asked.
"A Sunseeker Sportsfisher 37," Craig responded. "It has a range of maybe six hundred miles on full tanks – which, apparently, it has. If we take it gently, we might get another eighty to a hundred miles out of her. Should get us to Kuantan in Malaysia and we can refuel before hopefully going onto Singapore. It's over eight hundred nautical miles and it will take us almost three days depending on fuel and weather."
"Do we have any food and water?" Ariana asked.
"Yes, the boat has full tanks of fresh water – about sixty gallons. There are plenty of canned goods on the shelves. It appears that the owner might be about to put to sea – his loss, I suppose, as our need is greater than his," Craig replied. "If Mindy reigns in her legendary appetite, we should be good."
Mindy scowled as Craig winked at her.
04:40 GMT+7 (21:40 GMT May 11th)
South of Rayong City, Thailand
They had edged out of the marina at a dead slow speed so as not to arouse too much attention.
The diesel engines had sounded extremely loud as they had rumbled into life and the noise had everybody looking all around for any sign of police or security. Nobody challenged them and before long, they were a mile off the coast and everybody began to breathe a little easier. There was plenty of room up on deck for everybody. The cabin below was equipped with air-conditioning, but everybody preferred to stay up top in case of danger. Joshua and Craig sat in the twin chairs at the aft-mounted helm while the remainder took up residence on an L-shaped settee ahead of the helm. The induced cool air as they headed southwest towards the western side of the gulf was bliss. Jennifer ensured that everybody had a drink of water – at least two litres each – before checking out everybody for injuries. Apart from the latest batch of cuts and bruises, everybody had escaped relatively unscathed. Chloe was the first to express immense relief at being able to sit on a proper toilet for the first time in almost two weeks and pee in private.
"I have never been so happy to see bog roll," Joshua had commented as he had returned from the head.
That had caused much laughter from everybody present and each person had, in turn, spent several minutes enjoying the privacy of the small head.
09:17 GMT+7 (02:17 GMT May 12th)
11°57.77'N, 100°3.74'E
Gulf of Thailand
13nm SE of Khao Daeng, Thailand
They had eighty nautical miles under their belt, not to mention five hours of peace without being beaten or humiliated.
Well, maybe just the beaten part as two young girls had thoroughly humiliated themselves before the boat had covered five nautical miles. Chloe had laughed her head off as Ariana and Freya had both puked their guts out over the side while Jennifer had gamely held onto the pair of them. For the past three hours, the two girls, their faces pale as death, had slept in the bow cabin on the double bed. Jennifer had checked in on them both every twenty minutes or so. Both girls were very tired, and they had not stirred during their three hours asleep. After the most recent check, Jennifer returned to the deck and she found Mindy grinning up at her.
"Okay, Jen, what's with the tat?" Mindy asked.
Jennifer grinned.
"You saw that, did you?"
"Kind of hard to miss, considering you were butt naked," Chloe pointed out.
Jennifer sighed as she sat down on the settee.
"When I was seventeen, I got drunk on Growers peach cider and awoke the following morning with a blasted unicorn tattoo on my lower back," she explained. "I've been continuously mortified about it ever since. I also haven't drunk cider since that night, if anybody's interested. Well, I was in L.A., a few years ago, and I overheard somebody talking about a great tattoo artist who was a master at the cover-up tattoo. It was the worst three-and-a-half hours of my life, up till now at least, and it was painful as hell, but the artist had managed to convert that damn unicorn into something much better – I love my Pegasus."
"Let's have a butchers," Joshua suggested.
Jennifer rolled her eyes as she pulled up the back of her T-shirt – she had found the clean article of clothing in a cupboard aboard and appropriated it.
"Cool!" Chloe exclaimed.
"Not bad, Jen," Mindy added.
"I will admit that the tats Saoirse and Morgan have are better," Jennifer admitted.
"You're a dark horse, Jen," Craig chuckled.
14:30 GMT+7 (07:30 GMT May 12th)
HMS ALBION
Gulf of Thailand
"Lieutenant Perrin!"
Sarah turned to see Commander Green striding towards her.
"I've been all over the ship looking for you."
Having the XO 'looking for you' was rarely an event with a happy ending and for Sarah, it was a daunting feeling.
"You could have sent for me, sir?" Sarah offered helpfully.
"No – too sensitive . . . er, how do I explain this? I'll just come out and say it – we have a spy aboard who has been selling shit to the Russians. That sailor is partially responsible for what happened to your friends . . . and . . . and . . . we think he has sold the information about where your friends are now."
"FUCKING BASTARD!" the young lieutenant yelled, drawing attention from sailors and marines going about their business.
To a man, they were shocked to see a mere lieutenant using crude language within a nautical mile of the XO, let alone only a foot away from the man.
"My sentiments, exactly, lieutenant."
The XO began walking and Sarah followed as she had not yet been dismissed. They headed aft and down two decks before they entered the ship's capacious, and very well-equipped, armoury.
"Sir!" the Royal Marines corporal on duty said smartly as he snapped to attention.
"I'll need a Glock 17 with a loaded magazine," Commander Green said. "Give the lieutenant whatever she wants."
The corporal looked at Sarah expectantly.
"G36K," Sarah said without hesitation. "With a loaded magazine."
The corporal raised an eyebrow and he looked over at the XO who simply nodded. The corporal vanished to draw the relevant weapons and magazines. He was back within two minutes, and he laid the weapons and magazines down on his counter. The two officers signed the paperwork and then picked up their weapons, clearing them before inserting the loaded magazines. The corporal raised his eyebrow again at the sight of two sea officers carrying loaded firearms aboard the ship. The XO gave no explanation as he left the armoury and led the way forward with Sarah following.
"Six hours ago, we copied the same Rapier message as before," the commander explained. "Then, just an hour ago, we received a signal from GCHQ – apparently, they intercepted a phone call, originating from this ship . . . and containing that message, plus the bearing from the ALBION."
Sarah tightened her grip on the automatic weapon and she felt angrier than she had felt in a very long time.