Chapter #11: Boarding
Night has fallen once again over the ocean, dark clouds covering the sky. The ocean is black as pitch; perfect cover.
Kovich smiles, "See, what did I tell you, Ross?" he claps the nervous blond man on the back, "Any hiccups are for our benefit. Last night, the moon was ridiculously bright, now we have perfect darkness."
"What about the boats they sent out?" Burgess frowns, "Why didn't we stop them?"
"Burg," Ramirez smiles, "Didn't you notice that a few of the boats were damaged in the storm? With the passenger manifest, there's no way they could have crammed everyone on them. Someone was left behind, that's for certain."
"It's easier this way," Kovich assures, "We have fewer people to control. We probably would have had to kill some of them to make our point."
"Well," the young man pouts, "hopefully, we'll find at least one person who'll resist."
"There's something wrong with you," Burgess snorts.
"There is?"
"Seriously wrong," he repeats, earning a puzzled expression in return.
"Regardless," Kovich clears his throat, "We should get going. Move quietly; the remaining passengers could be armed. Watch out for that ghost from the previous night, too."
"We didn't see him, Captain," Ross whispers.
"No, but the other ghosts nearby freaked when they saw the ice," Ramirez replies, casting his mind back. The ghost had been a long-haired woman who floats in the water around the boat; they call her Rose. She is a typical sight in this area; a regular. She simply floats, her dead eyes staring up, and mutters about the stars, talking to a long-dead lover. But the other night, upon floating near the ice, she'd flown from the water, wailing about 'The Phantom.' Other ghosts had become paler upon hearing her, and fled to wherever ghosts flee. Other phrases, such as 'Pariah's Venom', 'King-Sealer', 'Halfa', 'Savior of the Two Realms', 'Warrior-King of the Far Frozen', and 'Observants' Bane' had been heard in the cacophony of shouts as they flew away.
It worried him, but he would never admit it.
None of them would.
…well, except maybe Ross.
-BREAK-
The ship is quiet, the only sounds being the quiet lapping of the waves. Danny watches the ocean, hidden in the shadows. Jeremy Manson, Alphonse Lacroix, and Captain Lex Voss sleep in the cabins behind him.
::How are things on your side?:: Sam asks from across the ship.
::I think they're beginning to move,:: he replies, ::They let the boats get away, so they might have thermal imaging of some kind.::
::Fewer hostages are easier to control.::
::Yeah,:: he sighs, ::So how are things over there?::
::My mom finally fell asleep. Natalie Lacroix…I can't believe that stupid Barbie from the pool stayed behind…!::
::Sam,:: he warns, ::Can you still call her a Barbie after she willingly stayed behind to let that husband on with his wife and child?::
::Yes,:: she sniffs, ::She's just not a paddling-pool like Paulina.::
::Ah, specific terminology,:: he snickers, fingering his pocket.
He doesn't dare leave it anywhere it could be picked up by pirates. Now it has to stay on his person. He'll have to guard his thoughts more carefully as well.
He takes a deep breath of the cool night air, allowing his mind to go blank. Tiny threads of emotion prick at his consciousness, and he tugs gently at them before snipping them off. He's going to need all of the energy he can get.
-BREAK-
The ship is entirely dark when they arrive. Kovich stares at the thermal camera, slowly sweeping the liner from bow to stern. No heat signatures appear on deck, save for one unusual flicker. It isn't red, however, so he dismisses it as a glitch in the screen. He turns and nods to his crew, consisting of two groups.
Ramirez nods, and he and Ross each fire an air-powered grappling hook, which latches onto the railing. They attach harnesses to small winches, and are pulled steadily up with a soft whine.
Assured that they're doing well, Kovich turns to Burgess and nods. They each lift their own grappling hooks and fire with a soft pop. They all begin to file softly onto the ship, a total of twelve men, six to each group. He orders the other team towards the stern, and he starts his own team towards the bow.
They have some hostages to find.
-BREAK-
Danny watches them, intangible and invisible in the water far enough away to avoid their ghost sensors. He watches them scale the ship, sending everything he sees to Sam, who directs her group – consisting of Pam, Natalie, and Ida – to avoid them.
The final men leave the ship, disappearing over the railing, and he floats back up, phasing through the wall and into the engine room, where he regains his human form. He opens the door, spitting into the hallway where Jeremy and the other two men wait.
"How do you do that?" Alphonse hisses.
"Do what?"
"Just…vanish and reappear," he frowns, "One minute, you're leading us, the next you disappear around a corner and I'm told over these little radios by Samantha that you're watching the pirates, and then you show up from the engine room?"
"I told you," he smirks, "I do stuff like this all the time. Don't think about it too hard."
"Are we still certain these are pirates?" Captain Voss asks.
"They just boarded us with air-powered grappling guns," Danny retorts, "I'm fairly certain."
"Alright," he nods, "did you notice how many there were?"
"Twelve," he replies, "They split into groups of six, one headed towards the bow, another to stern. They know that not everyone got off of the ship…" he takes a deep breath, clenching his jaw, "We need to focus on evading them for now. We don't have the manpower to take them out, especially at night. They probably have infrared equipment."
::You could take them out,:: Sam whispers in his mind.
::They're human, Sam. I…I won't hurt them.::
::Your ghost powers don't hurt people the same way they hurt ghosts, you know that!::
::Except that I'm a lot stronger than I was,:: he hisses back, ::Besides, when have we ever proven that it doesn't hurt humans?::
He can feel her fighting within herself, weighing the options.
::…we have guns, Danny,:: she mutters, ::My parents are pretty good shots, and so is Captain Voss. Someone could end up hurt anyway. Your powers give you more control–::
::Let's hope it never comes to that.::
::And your secret…:: she sighs, ::I…you've seen the way the government's been locking down on spectral activity, right?::
::Which is exactly why we need to keep it as quiet as possible,:: he replies gently, ::Or I might…::
::You might end up in prison,:: she finishes quietly.
::Or worse,:: he confirms, images of scalpels and dissection tables flashing through his mind, making him sick.
"Daniel, are you okay?" Al asks, concern etched on his face.
"What?" he swallows thickly, "And please, call me Danny."
"Well, Danny," he corrects, "Are you feeling okay? You look really pale."
"I'm fine," he assures, "Just thinking through all scenarios, and that includes the bad ones. Don't worry about it."
"What kind of bad scenarios?" Jeremy asks quietly.
"Nothing you need to worry about," Danny's hand clenches, "If anything happens, I'm the one who ends up in trouble. I'm not letting anything happen to anyone here," green swirls in his eyes, seen only by someone looking for it.
The older man stares at him for a moment before nodding.
Just so long as you don't die on her.
A/N: Here's chapter #11! Tomorrow will be an Amity chapter, as far as I have it planned. Things will really be picking up soon, now that our pirates are on board. :D Also, I've created a forum for this series. It has two sections, the Q&A and the Question Submission threads. Go to Question Submission to…well…submit questions. I upload new threads under Q&A for each topic. I've uploaded two threads to answer two very common questions. The link is on my profile: enjoy!
Kattyllin: Tuck being mayor is canon. At the end of the final episode, he mentioned himself as being the youngest mayor of Amity Park. :D So yeah, he's canonically mayor. Not sure if it was intended to be more than temporary, but in my 'verse, it is.