Chapter One
Location: Somewhere in the Indian Ocean
Timedate: 7th August 1993
Beneath the deep shades of the night, and among the troubled waters of the ocean, a lone research vessel ship drifted slowly and quietly. Within the ship however, things weren't exactly all that slow or quiet. Several faint gunfires could be heard rattling and echoing into the atmosphere, along with a few calls of order being yelled out.
Up in the outside decks of the vessel, a single dark-blond-haired man of mid-thirties, donned in a black polo-neck jumper, cargo trousers, laced boots, and dark body-armour, dashed around a corner and skidded about with a pistol clutched tightly in his sweaty gloved right hand, and a red kevlar float bag in his left. Pursuing the man were several mercenaries with rifles, pistols, and other weaponry firing away at their solely shared target. The man grunted as he kept out of any line of fire, heading from crate to crate and hiding behind them.
"Spread out, don't let him off this boat!" One of the hunters ordered the others with a stressed tone. "We can't risk him getting away with those files!"
Hearing that loud and clear, the rest of the hunters split up and went off to nearly all corners of the ship. Also hearing that loud and clear was the hunted himself, crouching beside one of the craters and quieting his heavy breaths. He fidgeted with the gun and kept the sealed-shut float bag close to him within the protection of his left arm.
If he was to escape this boat, especially alive, he would have to get out in the very same way he get on board. He instantly remembered the small and stealthily dark dinghy he rode in on, and hoped it would still be attached to the vessel while still hidden out of sight as to not be seen or taken in by anyone else. Keeping both ears out for any hard footsteps and eyes out for any armed shadows, the man crept about from side to side, from one potential hiding spot to another. However...
"Hey you!" A voice struck him from behind. "Stop right there!"
He quickly turned around to see a rather brawny women with half-shaven red hair, a sleeveless brown jacket, a pistol in hand aimed right at him, and a piercing look in her green eyes. The man slowly raised his hands, still holding the gun and bag.
"Drop the gun and package," the woman threatened. "And we can end this peacefully".
Briefly tensing for a bit, the man glanced and scanned his eyes all around for something, anything to use into his advantage. Then he looked down at the woman's boot-clad feet before eyeing back up at her pouting yet still unsuspecting face. By then, an idea hatched within his head, one with a 50/50 chance of actually working in his benefit.
And so, with a light casual nod, he opened up his right hand, letting the pistol loose to fall free onto the ground. Upon impact, the gun fired automatically and shot the woman quite literally in the foot, forcing a painful yell from her mouth and a few bullets to fire out into the air from her gun. Seeing her hop on one foot and nearly tripping back, while knowing that others catch the sounds immediately, he leapt over the edge of the ship with his bag within his arms and landed on his inflatable motorboat.
Setting the bag down on the seat next to him, the man untied the rope from the vessel, hastily flipped the ignition keys, and pushed forth the throttle. With its engine kickstarted, the small motorboat made way and fled the scene, driving deep into the deep night. The man himself sighed with relief before slouching and patting his bag.
To be continued...