Seaswept (Seabound Chronicles Book 2) (10 page)

The men and women
working on the ship watched them closely as they boarded. A few sported fresh
bandages, and everyone was armed. Their uniforms were shades of green, clearly
salvaged and dyed to match. A handful of workers loaded barrels of oil onto the
deck with the crane, readying the ship to sail.

Rawlins walked
them directly to the bridge, where a very tall man guarded the door. He had a machine
gun on his shoulder, and his eye had taken a bad punch, probably recently.

“Rawlins here. Is
the captain in?”

The guard looked
the women up and down, spending a few extra seconds on Zoe’s long, lean frame.
“Yeah. He’s with the first mate.”

“He’ll want to
hear this,” Rawlins said.

The guard
shrugged, rapped on the door three times with the butt of his machine gun, and
then pushed it open. Rawlins sized up their group.

“Esther, isn’t it?
You seem to be the ringleader. Come with me. The rest of you stay out here. You
too, Luke.”

Esther
tried to give Zoe and Cally a reassuring nod, even as fear beat in her veins.
She stepped over the raised threshold and followed Rawlins inside.

Chapter 12—Captain
and Mate

The bridge was surprisingly
cramped, given the size of the
ship. The instruments were basic, and rust had infected the cold metal walls in
man-sized patches. Condensation coated the forward windows. A man and woman
turned away from a deeply creased chart when Rawlins and Esther entered. Both
wore green uniforms, the man’s with a star stitched in dirty golden thread on
the collar. He had a boxy, weather-beaten jaw and trim gray hair.

“Captain Alder?”
Rawlins said. “This here is Esther from the
Catalina
,
that cruiser. She has a proposition that might interest you.”

Rawlins pushed
Esther forward. The captain stared at her without expression as the ship rocked
on the unsettled sea.

Esther cleared her
throat. “Um, David Hawthorne, one of our men, was kidnapped during the attack
by the Calderon Group last night. He was trying to sell a revolutionary energy
technology. We think the Calderon guys wanted to steal it, so they took him.”

“What technology
is this?” the woman asked sharply. Her hair was black, and her hard eyes were
the same cloudy-green color as her uniform. Her nose looked like it had been
broken, possibly more than once.

“It’s a mechanical
algae oil separator.”

“Ha!” the woman
barked, making Esther jump. “That idea has been around for years. He wouldn’t
have made much off it. That kind of tech uses more energy than it produces.”

“This one
doesn’t,” Esther said.

“We get crazies
promising sea-shattering, energy-from-nothing whaleshit six times a year.”

“I saw it in
action myself,” Esther said. She was a little offended at the first mate’s
dismissal of her system, and it gave her courage. On this at least she wasn’t
out of her depth. “It produces enough biofuel to run the propulsion system on a
cruise ship. Think what it would do for a smaller vessel.”

The first mate
stepped closer, tipping her head side to side like a crow. She had a strange
frenetic energy, as if she was always moving a hair faster than she had to.

“And you say the
Calderon Group stole it?” she asked.

“One of my friends
heard Burns talking about it last night. We—I didn’t listen to her
warning in time,” Esther said. She felt a tight squeeze of guilt as she
remembered how she had dismissed Cally and Dax the night before.
I could have warned him.

Captain Alder
spoke for the first time. “There was talk of this technology in the bazaar
yesterday.”

“You really don’t
want the Calderon to keep that technology,” Esther said.

Captain Alder
remained expressionless, his voice steady. “I’ll decide what I do and do not
want. What is it that
you
want?”

“I need
information about the Calderon Group: where they might have gone, their
numbers, their methods,” Esther said. “And I’d like to borrow some men, if you
can spare them.” If Judith and the others wouldn’t give her the help she
needed, maybe she could buy it. This had to work. “David will give you the
separator technology in exchange for your assistance. I’ll guarantee that.”

“This technology
is worth less than the asking price now that the Calderon Group has it.”

“He won’t tell
them how to build the system,” Esther said. “You’ll get it practically for
free—and they won’t have it at all.”

The first mate
scoffed. “That’s a sweet sentiment, girl, but the Calderon Group will have no
scruples about torturing it out of him. They’ll have the technology by
sundown.”

Esther’s stomach
did a painful slow-motion flip. David wouldn’t be able to tell them how to
build her system because, of course, he didn’t know. She couldn’t let the Harvesters
learn that particular truth, or they’d never help her get David back. She
focused on Captain Alder, who had barely moved since they entered the bridge.

“Look, even if he
does tell them, it’ll take time to build it,” Esther said. “I need to chase
them down before they put the system in place, or I’ll never be able to catch
them. If I get to him soon enough, he won’t be able to help them bang out the
kinks. You, on the other hand, will end up with the separator plans, plus a
cooperative and grateful tech expert. All it’ll cost is a bit of information
and a few of your men.”

“Sounds like a
Calderon ploy,” the first mate said.

“You said yourself
that you’ve already heard of the technology,” Esther said, still addressing the
captain. “You know it’s real, or at least that it’s too much of a risk
not
to take it seriously. It would make
you the most powerful supplier on the sea, no question about it.”

The first mate
whispered something in Captain Alder’s ear. He remained silent. Esther wasn’t
sure what else she could say. If they weren’t going to help her, she was
wasting time. There were three other ships docked at the
Amsterdam
that she wanted to try before she set out. And she still
had to tackle the problem of getting control of the
Lucinda
. Judith wanted to leave the
Amsterdam
today, and David’s position grew more precarious with
each passing minute.

Finally, Captain
Alder turned back to her. “If we do this,” he said, “we’re not going to simply
hand over our resources and intelligence.”

“We have a ship
already,” Esther said quickly. “She’s fast. We just need a nav— ”

“One patrol ship
won’t do it, even a nice one like
Lucinda
. Yes, I know about the
Catalina
’s
new toy. We’ll retrieve the inventor in our own ships,” Captain Alder said.

The last vestiges
of control over this operation spun away from Esther like a snapped line.

The first mate
grinned, her face sharp and unfriendly. “We were already planning to go after
the Calderon boys,” she said. “This attack was an act of war. Now we might get
something out of it too.”

Esther didn’t like
this at all. She didn’t trust these people, but without someone who knew how
the Calderon Group operated, she and the Catalinans had little chance of
getting David back in one piece. She was wasting time.

“Okay, use your
ships,” she said, “but I’m coming with you.”

“Ridiculous,” the
first mate said.

“I can guarantee
that David follows the terms of our agreement, since he’s not here to make the
deal himself,” Esther said.

“This ship is no
place for teenagers,” Captain Alder said.

“I’m twenty-two,”
Esther said. “You have crew younger than me. I’ll work in the engine room in
exchange for passage. And I want to bring some crewmates with me.” There was no
way Esther was letting Cally on this ship, but Zoe, Toni, and Anita would want
to come, and perhaps they could bring some of the oilmen from the
Galaxy
for protection.

“You may bring
one,” the captain said.

“But—”

“One.”

Captain Alder’s
jaw clenched, and for a moment Esther saw a different man beneath his calm
exterior. A dangerous man. His expression made her want to run all the way back
to the
Catalina
.
Then he relaxed and gave her a slow smile.

“Looks like you
have yourselves a rescue team. But understand this: I am in command. We are not
your employees, nor your mercenaries. You are only here to make sure our
arrangements with the inventor go as planned. We will conduct this operation in
our own way.”

“Yes, sir,” Esther
said.
 

“Good.
We sail at 1500 hours.”

Chapter 13—Departure

It was still raining
when Esther and Zoe boarded the
Terra Firma
later that afternoon
.
They
had enlisted Anita and Toni to distract Cally while they packed up. Everyone
was getting the
Catalina
ready to
leave before sunset. The Catalinans rushed around, nerves on edge, snapping at
each other in the corridors and squabbling in their cabins. They didn’t notice
Esther and Zoe making their own preparations.

“I told Cally the
Harvesters were casting off after dark to avoid suspicion,” Esther told Anita
and Toni as they stuffed their few belongings into knapsacks in the Mermaid
Lounge. “You have to keep her busy until then and make sure she’s below deck at
1500 hours.”

“She’s gonna be
furious when she finds out you’re gone,” Toni said. She was running her fingers
through Anita’s short, brown hair, twisting it into tiny knots. Anita sat in
front of her on the floor, quiet as ever.

“I know,” Esther said,
“but that ship is no place for her.” Esther didn’t fear Cally’s wrath as much
as she feared that of Captain Alder. And Cally’s mother. “What about you two?”

“We’re annoyed,
but we get it,” Toni said.

Esther hadn’t
wanted to push their luck with the Harvesters by arguing about bringing more
people aboard the
Terra Firma
. Anita
and Toni would stay on the
Catalina
while Esther and Zoe made the voyage. All the Galaxians who had planned to
leave now had no opportunity to seek other crews to join. Distrust was rife
around the
Amsterdam
. They would have
to sail with the
Catalina
again or
risk being marooned without any allies. At least there were still extra crew members
around to take over Esther’s duties.

Esther had thought
about taking Reggie or one of Dirk’s muscled cronies instead of Zoe for
protection, but there was a good chance they would tell Simon and Judith what
she was up to.

“You’ll be back
soon,” Anita said. “I have faith in you.”

“Why are you doing
this anyway?” Zoe asked. “I mean really. You were all about staying on the
Catalina
less than twenty-four hours
ago.”

Esther hesitated,
busying herself with the straps of her pack. She wished she could keep acting
on instinct without uncoiling the feelings behind her actions. That was how she
had always been with David. Reacting. Pulled taut like a cable in a storm. But
now she was taking direct action for him in a way she never had before. The
decisiveness of it left her vulnerable. But David had done something like this
for her once.

When she didn’t
answer, Zoe nudged her foot. Finally, Esther said, “I owe him. He helped me
save the
Catalina
. We’d never have gotten to them in time without him.”

“Is that the only
reason?” Zoe asked, lifting her bag onto her shoulder. She wore a black jacket,
and she had tucked her blond hair underneath a patterned scarf. When she lifted
her arms to adjust the scarf, Esther spotted a small pistol tucked in Zoe’s
waistband beneath her tunic. The metal was dented, but it had been polished to
shine.

“I’m repaying a
debt,” Esther said. No matter how confusing her feelings were, that made things
simple. She may not understand why she dropped things in David’s presence or
why his absence made her feel physically sick, but she understood duty.
“Hawthorne can go where he likes once we save his skin.”

Zoe raised an
eyebrow, but Esther was determined not to let the conversation get back to her
and David.

“Ready?”

“If you are.”

They cleared up
some details with Neal and then ate a late lunch in the Atlantis Dining Hall to
avoid arousing suspicion. Esther wanted to sit with her father, but Simon was
absorbed in a discussion with the council at another table. He had just
returned from his meeting with the rig boss. Whatever he had learned, the
Catalina
would still be leaving the
Amsterdam
later that evening. Esther considered
writing her father a note to explain her departure, but she was afraid he would
find it too soon and try to stop her. She’d have to rely on Toni, Anita, and
Neal to fill him in at the right moment. She felt guilty for leaving him. She
didn’t know whether it was the right decision, but she couldn’t just abandon
David to his fate. He had helped her save the
Catalina
. If nothing else, she owed him.

With Esther’s
algae system now installed, her father and the
Catalina
would be okay for a little while. They had enough standard
fuel left to take the
Lucinda
with
them too. Esther wished she could set out in the
Lucinda
instead of joining the Harvesters, but she had no idea
where to look for the Calderon Group—and taking the
Lucinda
would put even more of her friends in danger. Hopefully,
she and Zoe wouldn’t be away long anyway. Every hour that passed made it less
likely that they would find David in time.

Before long,
Esther and Zoe were sneaking off the
Catalina
and making their way across the scuffed metal of the
Amsterdam
platform toward the
Terra
Firma
,
packs on their backs
and weapons in their belts. Esther looked back at the
Catalina
only once. The shimmer of the rain obscured the worst of
the dents and patches, leaving only the familiar silhouette of their floating
home. This journey was dangerous, and Esther knew how unlikely it was to
succeed. She might never see the
Catalina
again. The knot that had taken up residence in her stomach the moment she
discovered David missing grew harder.

The gray-green
Terra Firma
waited for them beyond the
cargo vessel. It was an impressive ship, perhaps 370 feet long. The sharp prow
with the Harvesters’ black coral logo loomed, slick with rain. The haze
obscured the broad deckhouse and lookout tower, but they were the same muted
color as the hull.

Luke and his
baby-faced friend Cody met them at the gangway between the
Amsterdam
and the
Terra Firma
,
clad in the same mottled-green uniforms. Water clung to Luke’s short curls.

“All right,
girls?” he said. “Cody and me are in charge of keeping you out of trouble.”

“Who keeps you out
of trouble?” Zoe said.

“No one. That’s
the beauty of this arrangement,” Luke said, giving Zoe a winning smile. “Come
on. I’ll show you your bunks, then full steam ahead. We got a lead on where the
Calderon boys are headed.”

Luke led the way
onto the deck of the ship, swinging his arms wide. Cody took up the rear and
offered to carry their packs. Both women declined his assistance.

Workers and
equipment crowded the foredeck. They wound through the bustle toward the main
deckhouse and made their way along the promenade, staying close to the upper
deck to keep out of the rain. The water was still rough, but they were all used
to sailing in hairy seas. They could barely see the other ships in the
Coalition through the mist.

“How many ships
did the Calderon Group have here yesterday?” Esther asked.

“There were two in
port,” Luke said, “but we think a few swept in for the raid. That’s how they
operate: attack from all sides and then melt away. Don’t know how they communicate
so well. We never pick them up on radio.”

“How do we know
which one to chase?”

“Beats me. But the
first mate seemed pretty confident when she briefed us.”

“What’s the first
mate’s name anyway?” Esther asked.

“It’s . . . it’s .
. .” Luke turned around and walked backwards for a few paces, trailing his hand
along the rough metal railing. “You know, I don’t think she has one. She was
just born a fully formed first mate.”

“Her last name is
Tchaikovsky or Tchaiklusky or something,” Cody said. “That’s why no one uses
it.”

“Those aren’t even
real names,” Luke said. “She’s First Mate to the likes of you and me.”

Luke and Cody took
them through a hatch and into a narrow passageway. Half the lights were out.
Their steps echoed in the dimness. Narrow doors, many of them open, lined the
corridor, revealing bunks stacked on top of each other inside poorly lit
berths. The occupants were mostly young men, clad in a patchwork of dyed green
uniforms. A handful of tough-looking women shared the cabins, their hair shorn
or pulled back from their faces.

At the end of the
corridor they entered a portside cabin with a handful of empty bunks. Each bed
had a thin, lumpy mattress, and the frames were rusted and brittle. There was a
bucket in the corner, and a bedraggled green coat hung from a hook by the door.
The rectangular porthole high on the far bulkhead was partially open, revealing
the dreary sky outside. A gust of cold sea air cut into the dank cabin.

“You can try to
get extra blankets from the quartermaster, but they’re a bit tight,” said Luke.

“Most of us sleep
in everything we own to stay warm,” Cody said, fiddling with the many pockets
on his jacket.

“Do these doors
lock?” Esther asked.

“No, just hide
your shit,” Luke said. “It’s when we’re in port that stuff walks away. Usually
no one takes anything when we’re out to sea. You should be fine.”

He grinned,
showing off his wide white teeth.

Esther was less
concerned about their possessions than their safety if the Harvesters decided
to turn on them.

A bell clanged
through the trawler. The crew in the corridor whooped and hollered.

“We’re shoving
off!” Cody said.

“You should stay
out of everyone’s way for now,” Luke suggested. “We’ll get you to oiling gears
or something once we’re underway.”

He and Cody headed
for the corridor.

On his way out,
Luke turned and called, “Have dinner with us later. Some of the guys can be
unfriendly to newcomers.”

“Sure,” Esther
said. She waited until he was well away before pulling the door closed and
heaving a sigh. “Thanks for coming with me, Zoe,” she said. “I’m glad I’m not
here alone.”

“You kidding?” Zoe
said. “I was dying of boredom on the
Catalina
. This is exactly the kind
of adventure we left the
Galaxy
for.
I mean, it’s insane, but it’s an adventure.”

She claimed a top
bunk and tossed her bag up. She seemed to have recovered a bit from earlier,
when the man’s death at her hands had upset her so much. The task of rescuing
David must have helped.

Esther sat on a
bottom bunk and checked underneath for a place to hide her pack. She had to
shove a disintegrating bit of cardboard and a piece of tire rubber out of the
way to make room for it.

“We have to be
very careful,” she said. “They were way too quick to let us chase after the
Calderon Group with them.”

“They’ve been
itching to start a fight,” Zoe said, leaning against the bunk and pulling out
her knife and whetstone. “They were going after the Calderon boys anyway. You
just handed them a bonus. They really want your tech.”

“It’s Hawthorne’s
tech, remember? At least until we have him back,” Esther warned, lowering her
voice. “As much as they want to fight the Calderon Group, their enthusiasm will
evaporate faster than gasoline if they know they have the real inventor on
board.”

“Are you sure it
was a good idea for you to come?” Zoe said. “Maybe Toni or Reg— ”

“No, it has to be
me, because I know how to build the system,” Esther said. “Hopefully, they
won’t shoot David on the spot when they realize he doesn’t know anything if I’m
right there with the real answers. This’ll all be on me, but they won’t kill
me—at least until after they have the tech.”

She wished she
felt as confident as she sounded. She didn’t know if the Harvesters would even
give her a chance to explain when they found out David wasn’t the inventor.
This could get bad faster than swimming with a shark while bleeding from the
nose. And she cared about David more than any of the others did. She couldn’t
ask them to risk themselves for him unless she was willing to do it herself.

The engines roared
to life, vibrating through the cabin. Esther could sense that the marine diesel
was old and grainy. The engines were choking on it. They wouldn’t last much
longer like this. The
Terra Firma
needed her system to produce clean fuel as much as the
Catalina
did.

The ship pulled
away from its dock by the cargo giant. Soon they’d leave the
Amsterdam
. It would shrink behind them,
taking with it their last trace of familiarity. Esther pushed away her fear. She
hoped the
Catalina
would be all right. She hoped this vessel would be
fast enough. The Calderon ships couldn’t have gotten far since last night . . .
as long as they chased the right one. She hoped she wasn’t making a terrible
mistake.

“Check the corridor,
will you?” Esther said.

She reached into
her bag and pulled out a heavy chunk of plastic with a panel and a group of
mismatched number buttons on it. According to Neal, this was the New Pacific’s
very first satellite phone.