Hidden Sun Read online

  Malik nodded quickly. He peered over the gunwale at the rapidly approaching boat and shouted an oath at their attackers.

  Hendrick slung his AK47 over a shoulder, ran to the foredeck and immediately began climbing the ladder to reach the trapped man. Behind him the gunbattle began, with Malik and other crew members opening fire on the pirates. The battle was joined with both sides firing automatic weapons and trading lead at an enormous rate. Hendrick could hear bullets slap into the side of the superstructure just inches from him. He climbed as fast as his wildly pumping legs could move.

  He reached the trapped man and tried pushing the man upward to relieve the pressure on the man’s leg, but to no avail. A burst of gunfire from the attacking boat sent a stream of bullets slamming into the bulkhead and ladder around Hendrick and the trapped man. The air around them was filled with pieces of the bulkhead and wildly flying bullet fragments. Hendrick froze, expecting the thud of a bullet hitting him in the back. His muscles tensed, and he had the quick thought that this might be his last moment alive.

  The gunfire stopped, and the air calmed around them. Hendrick shook his head, looking at the man he was holding while simultaneously checking his senses. There was no pain, just some stinging around his face and left arm, and to his amazement the man next to him hadn’t been hit either. He used the respite from the gunfire to swiftly climb past the trapped crewmember to pull him upward.

  Hendrick glanced about and saw both attacking pirate boats circling around for another run at them. He had only seconds before the gunbattle resumed. He quickly climbed the last few rungs to the flying bridge, then lay down on the deck and leaned back over the edge. He grabbed both of the man’s hands and pulled with all his strength. After some resistance, he felt the man’s body begin to move toward him, and he heard his shipmate grunt with the effort. After a desperate minute of struggle, the man’s leg came free from behind the ladder. He gave Hendrick a frantically grateful look. The man came up the ladder quickly just as the pirates opened fire. He made it over the deck edge and onto the flying bridge amid a hail of bullets.

  Hendrick looked him over quickly. To both their amazement, he remained unhurt. The rescued man said something in Chinese, which Hendrick didn’t understand so he just grinned at him in return. He looked at his surroundings and suddenly understood why the man wanted to leave the flying bridge during the battle. The bulkheads were made of metal but of thinner construction than the rest of the ship. Hendrick could see daylight through the myriad holes in the bulkhead from their attackers’ gunfire.

  Stay here and we’re dead, he thought. He peered through a large hole in the port side bulkhead and saw that the attacking boat was still swinging wide to line up on the lumbering salvage boat. They both had fifteen to twenty seconds to get to relative safety below. Hendrick leaped to his feet and dragged the crewmember with him. He yelled to the Chinese man to follow him, then wondered if the man understood him. There was no time to explain. He leaped over to the port side ladder and flung himself over the side. Hendrick gripped the railing and planted each foot on the outside of the railing, then released his grip just enough to slide quickly down the ladder with his feet running down the outside of the ladder. Hendrick hit the deck below and immediately looked upward to see if the man was following him.

  The crewman imitated Hendrick’s actions, and after a false start, he swiftly slid down the ladder landing next to Hendrick. Hendrick slapped him on the back to the man’s obvious delight then made his way forward and crossed the foredeck to the starboard side where Malik was looking over his M16.

  “You done wandering all over the neighborhood?” asked Malik. Hendrick nodded. “Is he okay?” asked Malik.

  Hendrick knew Malik had been worried about both of them. Beneath the gruff exterior, Joe Malik cared about people. “Yeah, he’s all right,” replied Hendrick.

  “One of these days you’re going to get your butt shot off doing crazy shit like that,” mumbled Malik.

  Hendrick looked at him closely. “Not when I’ve got you to cover my ass.”

  Malik grunted and shook his head in seeming disgust.

  Hendrick glanced forward and saw that the third and largest boat was not coming near them. He and Malik recognized it as the pirate leader’s boat from the cleaner, fancier construction. They had caught a glimpse of the lead pirate when they had attacked the week before. He was a very small man with grotesque features. He seemed to be content to circle at a distance and just observe the attack. Hendrick wished the boat would come nearer so that he could get in one good burst from his automatic weapon. Just one clip, he thought. Twenty rounds into the bridge, into the little bastard that was orchestrating it all.

  Joe Malik saw Hendrick’s stare and the set of his face. “Yeah. Just one good shot.”

  Hendrick turned away with an oath. He went back to the port side with Malik following him to locate the two attacking pirate boats.

  “Whoa, what’s that?” asked Malik, his eyes fixed on the mother ship in the distance.

  “What’s the matter?” asked Hendrick who didn’t turn from his assessment of the other boats. Malik scrambled over next to his friend.

  “Looks like someone fell overboard from the head ship,” replied Malik.

  “Too bad,” said Hendrick. “Tell the captain to head in that direction. Maybe we can run him over.”

  Malik gave his partner a short grin then braced himself for another attack by the pirates. The two smaller pirate boats began circling the salvage vessel and peppering it with automatic weapons’ fire. Hendrick and Malik fired long bursts at the attackers then hunkered down behind the gunwale to reload. The pirates suddenly stopped firing, and a strange quiet hung over the four boats.

  “Now here comes their offer,” said Hendrick. Malik nodded and grunted in return. They went back to the starboard side to listen to the expected pirate announcement.

  “Salvage crew! Hear me!” said an amplified voice from one of the pirate boats.

  “This guy speaks better English than the last guy,” said Malik.

  “Maybe they thought we didn’t understand them last time,” said Hendrick.

  “Heave to and prepare to be boarded!” said the voice with almost no accent. “All we want is the recovered treasure. We will spare your lives!”

  Hendrick peeked over the side of the ship to eye the still circling boats. They had a lot less holes in them than his salvage ship. The pirate also said something in Chinese, which Hendrick took to be a repeat of the same message.

  “You have one minute to reply,” said the pirate voice.

  Hendrick half stood and yelled forward and aft. “Everyone hold your fire!” He then slid down next to Malik. “If they want to give us a minute, then we’ll take it. We’ll be that much closer to the squall over there.”

  Malik risked a peek over the gunwale and saw a storm that was rapidly approaching. Hendrick slid over to a phone station and dialed the bridge. The ship’s captain answered the phone.

  “Captain, head at full speed toward the storm,” ordered Hendrick then hung up.

  “What do you have in mind, Steve?”

  “The storm will make it harder for them to board us if we’re rolling thirty degrees,” said Hendrick.

  “Yeah, if we can make it in time,” replied Malik as he gave a worried glance at the distance they had to travel to get into the rough water. He checked his M16, pulled back on the cocking bar, and put the weapon on full automatic. Hendrick did the same with his AK47.

  “Time is up!” said the pirate voice. “What is your reply?”

  “Bastards,” said Hendrick. “They only gave us forty-five seconds.”

  “Can’t trust anyone anymore,” said Malik. He tensed, waiting for the word from Hendrick.

  “Now!” shouted Hendrick. He turned aft shouting as loud as he could. “Fire! Fire!”

  Both he and Malik swung their gun barrels over the gunwale and pointed them at the closest boat. They emptied their clips with rapid bursts
of fire into the bridge, shattering the windows and putting holes into the steel sides. Most of Hendrick’s crew fired at the same boat, shredding the gunwales and sending pieces of metal flying in all directions. Hendrick saw at least three of the attackers fall away from their positions. He ducked behind the side of the ship and nodded to himself in satisfaction.

  “You think they got the message?” asked Malik.

  “Think so,” replied Hendrick.

  They began to hear a rapid thumping sound and an immediate crashing and rending of metal on the other side of the ship. Hendrick scrambled up on all fours and went forward, around the base of the ship’s superstructure and peered around to the port side with Malik close on his heels. Suddenly shards of plexiglass and steel flew around them. They threw themselves down flat on the deck just below the chaos above them.

  “Sounds like a fifty caliber,” shouted Hendrick above the noise. Malik nodded and spat some glass out of his mouth. He shook his head clear of the metal pieces that had sprayed over them from above.

  “That would be something new for them,” he replied.

  They both peered over the gunwale during a brief lull in the gunfire and saw that the crew of the second pirate boat had uncovered a large belt-fed machine gun and were dismantling the port side of Hendrick’s ship with a hail of lead. Hendrick slammed home another clip then emptied it into the area around the machine gun position. He saw one man fall, but another immediately took his place, quickly swinging the machine gun around to point directly at Hendrick.

  Hendrick rolled to his right and scrambled across the foredeck as gunfire pounded into the ship’s superstructure where he had just been. Hendrick kept going with his eyes tightly shut to avoid the pieces of metal and flying glass, until he bumped into Malik’s back. The firing stopped for a moment, and Hendrick risked opening his eyes. He gave Malik a desperate look.

  “Unless we stop that machine gun, it’s Adios Muchachos,” said Hendrick.

  “Yeah, they’ll cover their boarding party with that fifty caliber,” said Malik. He looked around him with desperation. “Just how are we -” He stopped in midsentence as he realized the imminence of their defeat at the hands of the pirates. And defeat would mean only one thing - death. He got up enough courage to peer at the pirate boat. The boat with the machine gun was traveling on their port beam and edging closer so its crew could leap aboard.

  Hendrick squirmed around and spotted another boat, the one they had hit with several good bursts of gunfire. It had wandered off course and Hendrick immediately knew why. They had hit the helmsman. In a few moments, their adversaries would correct that problem and be on them once again. He looked about desperately for an additional weapon they could use against the approaching pirate craft.

  “Yeah,” said Hendrick under his breath as a new thought occurred to him. He grabbed Malik’s arm. “We need bottles, rags, and gasoline.”

  Malik’s eyes showed he knew exactly what Hendrick was up to. “Yeah. If it was good enough for Molotov, it’s good enough for us.”

  Hendrick quickly began to scramble aft on all fours along the starboard side, and Malik wondered where he was going to get all the makings of a Molotov Cocktail.

  “We’ll use the gas cans on deck,” said Hendrick.

  “The boat is almost on us!” said Malik.

  They scrambled up to the gasoline supply for the emergency generators, which was just outside the aft part of the superstructure. Malik crawled over to Hendrick and took two cans of gasoline, which were shoved toward him by Hendrick.

  “Throw it high over the boat!” said Hendrick as he brought his automatic weapon up ready to fire. Malik nodded and scrambled across the aft deck taking up a position behind the deck crane on the port side. He turned to see if Hendrick was ready. Hendrick gave him a thumbs-up.

  Malik drew his arm back and swung the ten gallon gas can around in a rapid motion letting go at the apex of his swing. The can tumbled out over the pirate boat, which was within twenty feet of the salvage ship’s port side. Hendrick opened fire when it was ten feet over the boat’s deck.

  They could hear several slugs hit the can with a hollow, tinny sound. A second later, the vapor in the half empty can exploded, showering flaming gasoline over the aft end of the boat. The machine gun crew was largely unharmed, although one man had his back set on fire and fell screaming to the deck. Malik had missed the most important target of all, the machine gun nest. The gunners swung the barrel of the machine gun toward the salvage ship’s aft deck.

  Malik tossed his second and last gasoline can high into the air and this time put it perfectly over the pirate machine gun. Hendrick was ready and put two quick bursts into the can. The can was completely full of gasoline and wasn’t immediately set afire by the bullets passing through. Gasoline sprayed out of the bullet holes in the whirling can and fell in small droplets over the machine gun and its crew. The pirate gunners got off a quick burst a split second before the gasoline mist descended upon them. When the gas hit the flames already on the deck, it detonated with a loud thump as the fuel-air mixture exploded into a large fireball that consumed the machine gun and everyone within ten feet of it. Hendrick saw several pirates fall screaming and writhing to the deck.

  Malik ducked the last few rounds from the machine gun, then joined Hendrick in pumping several clips of bullets into the pirate boat. The fire spread over the aft end of the boat, and ammunition began to go off as the flaming gasoline flowed across the deck.

  That’s what we needed, thought Hendrick. If we had been lucky enough to shoot the machine gun crew, others would have only taken their place. Now, not only is the machine gun useless, but they have a fire they have to put out before they can attack us again. The pirate boat swerved away from them and slowed down, dropping swiftly aft of Hendrick’s boat as the salvage vessel lumbered inexorably along.

  Hendrick suddenly caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He knew it wasn’t any of his crew, and there was only one other possibility. He whirled around facing the danger and shoved Joe Malik to one side. Two pirates had jumped aboard and were just getting set up behind some deck equipment on the port side. Hendrick and Malik leaped behind the deck crane just as the pirates opened fire. Bullets slapped and pinged around the support for the metal crane, showering them with bullet fragments.

  “Joe, keep ‘em busy while I get around them,” shouted Hendrick over the gunfire. Malik nodded.

  Hendrick waited until the pirates began to reload then slithered along the extreme aft deck to get to the starboard side. He slowly worked his way forward, keeping low and only moving when he heard gunfire from the pirate AK47s. He went from one piece of equipment to another until he had the ship’s superstructure between him and their attackers. He rose into a crouch, ran up the starboard side, across the foredeck and peered around the ship’s forward cabin down the port side.

  He could see the two pirates facing aft, intermittently firing their weapons at Joe Malik. Hendrick boldly walked down the port side, then stopped just twenty feet away. One of the pirates said something to the other, then turned to run up the port side to outflank their adversaries. He spotted Hendrick standing in his way a second before Hendrick opened fire. The pirate’s mouth dropped open in astonishment.

  The burst from Hendrick’s weapon cut across the man’s chest and flung him backwards to the deck. Hendrick readjusted his aim and squeezed the trigger. He fired only one shot, which went wild, then his weapon went empty.

  The second pirate heard the gunfire behind him but was slow to react. Only when his companion’s body rolled into the back of his legs did he realize that someone was behind him. Hendrick’s single bullet whizzed past his head as he squirmed around to get a shot at Hendrick. The pirate fell backwards, tripping over his friend’s body and momentarily ruining his aim.

  Hendrick leaped toward the fallen pirate swinging his empty AK47. The pirate saw the large American running toward him and fired a short, badly aimed burst, which hit a nearby bulk
head. Hendrick was on him a split second later.

  Hendrick’s rifle butt smashed into the pirate’s right arm, causing him to shout with pain. Hendrick raised the rifle once again after kicking the pirate’s weapon aside. The pirate slid sideways, avoided Hendrick’s blow, and managed to get out onto the open aft deck. He stood and ran for all he was worth toward the starboard side. Malik was taken by surprise, but quickly aimed and got off a short burst of gunfire in the pirate’s direction. He was off the mark.

  The pirate didn’t hesitate. He ran full speed toward the starboard gunwale and didn’t stop at the railing. He leaped headfirst over the side of the ship and was gone.

  Hendrick ran to the railing and saw only a dot on the sea, which was the pirate’s head among the waves. Malik checked the aft deck and passageways up the port and starboard sides of the ship, and double-checked the other pirate’s body to make sure he was dead. He declared that the ship was clear of any more of the invaders as Hendrick walked toward the stern.

  Hendrick glanced forward and saw that the storm would be on them in just a few moments. A look aft told him that the pirate boats would not catch up to them before they were well into the rough water.

  His gaze centered on the large boat, which contained the pirate leader who had stayed well away from the fighting. Hendrick stood up straight and quickly brought his right arm up with a clenched fist while slapping the inside of his right bicep with his left hand in a universal gesture of contempt.

  “I hope he’s watching us,” sneered Hendrick.

  “Let’s also hope he’s not doing it down a gunsight,” said Malik who slid across the deck next to his friend.

  Hendrick ducked below the stern rail and gave Malik a rueful grin. His face gave away the stress and fear from the battle. He let out a sigh and gave Malik a quick look. His friend understood. All the smart talk was just a cover for what they were feeling inside. They and the entire crew knew that the pirates would have killed them all without hesitation, recovered treasure or not.