Coincidence - Alan May [52]
Assuming no one else had noticed Mac’s absence yet, what were the chances that it would stay a secret until he could warn them all how important it was to keep it that way? Because, it occurred to him, a secret person onboard could be a valuable thing. Extremely valuable.
It seemed to be taking a ridiculously long time for the man to take down their names. The other guy, Phillip, the one who’d done all of the talking, must be the brains behind the operation, Dave thought. The others did whatever he told them, and didn’t seem to speak much English.
Finally, all of the students had given the skinny guy their information. One by one they left the mess. Outside on deck they walked alone or in small huddled groups, saying little. Melissa held Pierre’s hand as if she intended never to let it out of her grip again.
The teachers and crew stood solemnly as well, most looking down or at the wall or anywhere except at one another, as they waited their turns. Dave kept trying to catch the captain’s eye, but he, too, was looking stonily ahead. At last Dave reached the head of the line, mumbled his name and cabin number, then turned to go. He brushed the captain’s arm on the way out, hoping he wouldn’t be blown away by a bullet for the gesture. Captain Marzynski, last in the line, looked at him sharply. Dave signaled as best he could, with a subtle nod, that he would meet him outside.
When the captain emerged, they fell into step wordlessly, walking toward the bridge. Severo headed them off as they approached with a furious shaking of his head, his gun in his hand. Phillip had given him orders: No one was to be allowed on the bridge.
They turned and headed for the bow. As soon as they were out of earshot, Dave asked Captain Marzynski about Mac. As Dave had suspected, the captain had realized that Mac was absent, too. He agreed with Dave that this might be their one hope for escaping with their lives. For after all, no matter what Phillip had said about not wanting anyone to get hurt, how could the hijackers just let them go now? They had too much at stake. They had, as far as the captain could see, practically no choice but to kill everyone onboard the Inspiration. If they did not, they risked being charged with piracy, on top of whatever else it was they were up to. Which was—what?
“Drugs, most likely,” the captain said. “Their boat is probably stolen, too. Did you notice the sides of the cabin? It’s not blue paint but some sort of stick-on material. They’ve gone to a lot of trouble to disguise the boat. They probably have drugs onboard. And Dr. W. thinks the injured man has been shot.”
Dave tried to get his mind in gear. Surely there was something they could do. And wasn’t he the guy who came to the rescue, time after time? But those times, he’d acted on instinct; there was something to be done, he’d done it, he was a hero. And he’d had only himself to think for, if he’d been thinking at all. Now it wasn’t just his own neck he’d be risking.
If only he could think of a plan. There were far more of them than there were hijackers …
The captain had been thinking along the same lines.
“We ought to be able to overpower them somehow. We have the numbers. But they have the weapons. No. We can’t take the chance. Not with the kids onboard.”
“But maybe,” Dave said, “maybe, with the element of surprise—”
“Which Mac might provide,” the captain said. “The first thing we have to do is find Mac.”
Dave went off to search, glad to be on the move, doing something. The captain stayed on deck, keeping his eyes on the hijackers. He walked, in what he hoped would be construed as a casual manner, over to the teachers, who were standing together near the rail trying to make sense of the situation.