Freedom Earned Page 17

  She snatched up one of their rifles, and we sprinted across the sand to reach the dinghy. All three of us climbed aboard and I untied the rope holding it in place. Prenie got the motor started while Kosum and I sat ready, aiming at the shore. A group of the enemy appeared along the beach, and we opened fire. The dinghy lurched as Prenie got us moving.

  We cleared the turn without being shot, but hadn’t gone far in the open water back toward the islands and abandoned yacht when the whirr of speedboats sounded behind us. At my side, Kosum fired and managed to take one of theirs out. A damn impressive shot, considering how the waves were rocking us about. Their shots went wild, although more than once the water nearby shot up in ways that were too close for comfort.

  I tried one and thought I nicked one of their boats but couldn’t be sure since it kept coming. Another shot hit the water as it lifted their boat, and then we turned again.

  “There, between those rocks!” I shouted. Prenie didn’t need to be told twice.

  The three large rocks were only visible because we had rounded the bend, so at the moment, we were hidden from our pursuers. As Prenie guided our small craft in among them, I motioned to Kosum.

  “You have a plan?” Prenie called as she slowed.

  “Come back around to the other side, so that we’re only showing them the rear of the dinghy. Got it?”

  When we were in place, I climbed out first. I nearly slipped on the rocks but managed to catch myself and made it. Next, I helped Kosum, and Prenie took off as instructed, no questions asked.

  “I hope you’re not an idiot,” Kosum said, preparing her rifle, “because then I’d be putting my life in the hands of an idiot.”

  My grin was answer enough, but the way my shot tore through the chest of the driver of the first speed boat that came into view sealed the deal. Prenie moved to my right, getting a good spot for shots, and she landed at least one as well.

  “A damn genius,” Kosum said, and she shot too as the boat swerved. The second boat was coming up behind and had to turn hard to avoid hitting the first, and that was our chance to pick ‘em off.

  Bam, bam bam! Three shots, three bodies falling into the water. Each of us was pelting them, along with those on the first boat who were desperately trying to get it back under control.

  At that moment, Prenie returned, coming up behind us, and I tapped Kosum’s shoulder. We turned back to our dinghy, climbing in to hightail it out of there.

  “That was insane!” Prenie shouted, then whooped.

  “Doesn’t mean we’re through with them,” I pointed out.

  “Maybe not, but you bought us time.”

  Kosum clapped me on the shoulder, kneeling in the dinghy to avoid falling since the water was getting choppier. “You two saved me. Thank you for that.”

  “Now, you get to help us save many more people,” I replied, also kneeling and facing back, rifle ready in case more trouble came. For the time being, we were on our own. Soon, we were all much more relaxed, the outline of the beached yacht floating ahead.

  “There she blows, Cap’n,” Prenie said, and laughed. “I can’t believe we made it.”

  Kosum nodded, eyeing her and then me again. “Seriously, how did she get wrapped into this?”

  “Is it okay?” I asked Prenie. When she nodded, I explained to Kosum how I had found her and Alex, but that Alex had been shot and died.

  “You’re a tourist…” Kosum said to Prenie. “We need to drop you off.”

  “She’s with us,” I countered. “And, for the record, I’m a tourist.”

  “You’re a lot more than that.”

  “So am I,” Prenie interjected. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

  Kosum shook her head, then sighed. “Fine, but you should know what you’re up against. That woman back there was Sroy Wu. She has ties to Southern Thailand and China. You’re both familiar with the struggles down south?”

  I was, but Prenie shook her head.

  “Southern Thailand,” Kosum continued, “is mostly made up of Muslims, the radicals who don’t agree with a Buddhist government controlling them. We have intel of operations by Al-Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiyah or JI, and Hezbollah in Thailand and the surrounding area, along with JI having used safe houses in Bangkok to conduct the 2002 bombings in Bali, Indonesia.”

  “Seriously?” Prenie asked. “I never knew there was any connection between those groups and Southeast Asia.”

  Kosum nodded. “Many don’t. Maybe it’s best to keep it that way, so people aren’t scared to visit.”

  “Although knowing is good, too,” I pointed out. “So we don’t end up in situations like this.”

  “Hard to argue with that,” Kosum said with a nod. Eyeing Prenie again, she added, “The separatists have proven to be a real problem, and some people believe that foreign Islamic terrorist organizations have been sending troops and funds into the area for a while, now. At times, it’s a hearts and minds campaign, but at others, the fight is so much more.”

  Prenie nodded, but was staring off into the distance as she processed this.

  “And Sroy Wu?” I asked. “How does she fit in?”

  “Think of her as one of several top generals. We’ve been watching them, and especially looking out for her since an attack on our headquarters last month. If we can take her down, it will be a major blow to their organization.” She eyed Prenie again. “And this deal with saving people? What’ve you got?”

  Prenie took out the papers, slowing as she pulled up next to the yacht. To our relief, the ship was floating—although a little off from where we had left it, and apparently empty. If we hadn’t found it, it probably would have drifted out to sea like a ghost.

  She handed the papers over, then held the yacht for me to climb up first. I secured the rope, then helped her, Kosum last. She had skimmed the papers, having to hold them close and squint to make them out, then looked up at us with concern.

  “This is a big deal,” Kosum said. “It looks like there’s a major shipping operation that they mean to disrupt. Hurt our economy and trade business, while the last-minute plan seemed to have involved using Tyler, here, as a front man.”

  “I don’t follow why they would want him involved,” Prenie admitted.

  “Payback, for one. Maybe to sow doubt, making it look like a U.S. Marine had joined their cause?”

  “That’d be the day,” I said with a scoff.

  “And that’s why I need the two of you to help ensure it doesn’t happen,” Kosum said. “It’s not optimal, but since I’m unable to reach my team… can I count on you?”

  “You’re basically saying I’m going to help a Thai agent and U.S. Marine hunt pirates?” Prenie licked her lips, then grinned wide. “I’m in.”

  “It’s going to be dangerous—” Kosum started, but I held up a hand, cutting her off.

  “Don’t bother,” I said. “I’ve tried. Plus—”

  “You need all the help you can get,” Prenie said.

  Kosum nodded, eyeing her. “Exactly my thought on the matter.”

  “We’re in,” I said.

  Our pursuers still hadn’t caught up yet, so we went about quickly checking the ship while Prenie got it going. To our relief, it worked. She started guiding us toward our stash, while Kosum and I cleared the ship.

  “What about your team?” I asked Kosum as we made our way up to join Prenie as she brought the ship as close as she could to our stash’s hiding point.

  “No luck. I lost contact with them long before tracking you out here.”

  “The ship’s radio?” She caught my eye, then nodded to a section of the ship that was shot to hell. Clearly, it had taken a couple of hits. “That was it.”

  “Damn.” We used the ship’s dinghy to collect the stash, and as we brought it all back on board, Kosum looked it over, a mischievous hint in her eyes. “What is it?”

  “All this…I’d say we at least have a shot.”

  26

  We didn’t have far to sail. The map led us
exactly where we needed to go. When the instruments told us that we were near the spot, we made our way to the nearest land and lingered, with only an hour to go until the allotted time of attack. From there, we had to figure out our plan—if the enemy’s mission was still a go.

  Our approach had been a somewhat roundabout. While Prenie did a good enough job of piloting the ship, she hadn’t ever steered something so big, so more than once she got a little freaked out and shouted about icebergs. In my heightened state of being amped up, it took me a few times to realize that she was only playing around.

  “You’re a comedian, huh?” I said teasingly as she slowed the yacht, preparing to stop. “That job back home you won’t tell me about.”

  Prenie laughed, shaking her head. “Not going to tell. But…no.”

  Looking over the papers, Kosum nodded to the stairs. “They plan on blowing it up and they wanted to set it up so it looked like it was you doing it, Tyler. I say we catch them with their pants down. Use their tactic against them.”

  “I like it,” I said, trying not to think of the ‘pants down’ line and the fact that both women had caught glimpses—Kosum at the club, and Prenie when my mouse had slipped out of the house back at that farm place.

  “Either of you ever dove?” Kosum asked, a smile pulling at the edge of her mouth.

  Prenie shook her head. “Only snorkeling.”

  “Dog paddling for me,” Kosum said, then eyed me speculatively.

  “I took a class back at Camp Foster, on Okinawa,” I said. “Supposed to be a diver cert course, but I wasn’t able to finish it because of work commitments.”

  “You might be our best bet, then.” Kosum beckoned me over. “Come on. Before we see what we’re dealing with, let’s see if we can squeeze you into that dive suit. These look like one to three mil neoprene suits, shouldn’t be too bad.”

  I glanced Prenie’s way with concern, but she gave me a comforting smile. Whatever we had shared back there on the beach, she wasn’t worried about me going below with another woman. Given the circumstances, I suppose we were all too caught up for that sort of thinking, but it was in my thoughts. In part, because I was worried that she was using all this as some sort of death wish—charging into danger after her friend died as a way of dealing with the grief and maybe hoping death would find her, too. Maybe not. But if so, I would be there to ensure death’s hand never came close.

  Below, Kosum studied the papers again. “We don’t have much time. You sure you got this?”

  I glanced over the diving equipment, running through a mental check to ensure it all came back to me, then nodded. We went through the usage of the explosive devices and the timing of them, then she let me finish changing before checking that everything was in place.

  The plan was set. We got me set up in the diving gear, stationed at the rear of the yacht with the explosives, and then started sailing toward the designated location in the Gulf of Thailand. It wasn’t the best plan, but hey, we were going with what we had. We knew that if we didn’t act, innocents would be hurt, and there would be further ramifications beyond that. Taking the explosives, I readied myself and crouched at the sight of another yacht.

  We didn’t have fancy comms or anything like that, and even the radio on the yacht was busted. All we had was our gut feeling that this was going to work. It had to work.

  At the wheel, Prenie pushed the engine on, aiming right for the other yacht. Based on the fact that it was there and no large shipping vessels were blown up, it seemed we were on time. One shipping vessel loaded with goods was visible in the distance, however.

  “Make it count,” Kosum said, kneeling at the edge, rifle up, and shooting for cover fire as Prenie turned the ship as best she could. I would have bet money we were going to hit, cringing as I pushed off and into the water, using the turn and slowing momentum to sink in unnoticed. Everything in place, I seemed to be proceeding without issue.

  From my position below the water, looking up, I could make out shapes, hear the sounds of more shooting, muffled. The other ship wasn’t moving, though, so I took my shot. Using my fins to swim, I went to three separate points along the hull and placed the explosives, then activated each in succession. Two minutes seemed enough.

  Swimming out of there, I came up some distance away from the yacht, noting that I had surfaced in the opposite direction of where we had agreed. Still, Prenie was adapting, having seemingly spotted me and heading around toward me.

  They had pulled me up and we were about to sail out of there when one of the men on the other yacht appeared, pistol to someone’s head as the man shouted at us.

  Not just anyone’s head, either—that was Jason!

  I nearly yelped. At any minute, the ship he was on was going to blow. Kicking off my fins and unloading my gear, I shouted, “Tell Prenie to swing around.”

  “What?” Kosum asked in confusion and surprise.

  “My friend, right there. Jason—he’s on the yacht!”

  She turned, cursed, and then ran to tell Prenie as I glanced around for ideas. Meanwhile, several speedboats appeared from the other side of the yacht—with more rifles and pistols coming our way. I ducked, then shouted, “Jump!” as loud as I could. Nothing. Again I shouted, but it was no good. Finally, as the ship swerved again, I called a third time and saw Jason struggle, then plummet into the water.

  “We can’t get too close or the explosion will hit us, too!” Kosum yelled back my way from her position in the bow.

  “I got it,” I said, an idea already coming to me. We still had the dinghy, so I jumped in and started it, then moved out into the water. All attention was on the yacht as Kosum shot at them again, with them returning fire, so I was able to cover the distance between us before anyone noticed. And there was Jason, spluttering and flailing in the water.

  As I reached him, a shot hit the water at my side. I grabbed Jason and threw myself back, twisting as I did so to get him aboard. Another shot came, this one tearing through my leg so that pain left me with clenched teeth, unable to think in any way except to say, “Get us out of here!”

  Jason was trying to catch his breath. Between my grunts of pain and trying to come to my senses, I saw that half his face was beaten to hell. He was confused and disoriented, but he managed to steer the dinghy away. Before we had gone anywhere, though, a figure leaped, lunging for us from above.

  It was Sroy Wu! She had a knife and went for me, but Jason tackled her, the boat veering as it jolted forward and away from the yacht. Those speedboats were moving in but not close, and as Jason and Sroy wrestled for the knife, the explosion happened.

  With a massive blast that sent water spraying and our dinghy flipping, we were all thrown into the water. Ocean all around me, ringing in my ears and that damn pain from my leg still pulling at my attention, I found myself not knowing which way was up or down. My arms flailed and feet kicked, head swiveling. Fear kicked in. My leg was bleeding and I thought about sharks in the water, but considering everything else going on, it was probably the least of my worries. A hand grabbed me—Jason’s face appeared a moment later as he pulled me up.

  We came up splashing and gulping for air. The enemy yacht was in flames, the back half starting to sink. Sroy had already surfaced, and as I spotted her, she was climbing up over the side of one of those speedboats. To my surprise, she knifed the one remaining man in it, threw him overboard, and then took off toward land. More speedboats were nearby, a couple circling to see what had happened, one abandoned and rocking. My guess was that the blast had knocked its crew into the water.

  “Tyler!” Jason shouted, pulling me toward that speedboat. “She’s getting away.”

  Kosum and Prenie never would have been able to find us in that carnage, so we had to make a move. For a moment, I struggled, wanting nothing more than to give up and sink away to be lost in glorious oblivion. But that would mean abandoning all of them, letting Prenie’s friend die for nothing, and letting Sroy get away with it.

  No, Jason h
ad the right idea. I turned and cleaved at the water, using my arms to make up for my one unresponsive leg.

  He reached the boat first, helped me up, then saw the leg and cursed. “Know how to operate this thing?”

  I shook my head. “Figure it out. Fast.”

  To his credit, he did. Not more than a few seconds later, we were turning in the water, in pursuit.

  An old canning company or something of the sort stood on a weathered and broken-down pier. Sroy had deserted her boat to disappear within the shelter of its supporting pillars. We were too far behind, so by the time we reached the shore, her shadowy form had vanished into the darkness below.

  Lights bobbed in the distance. A car was coming our way. It very well could have been hers, but wasn’t likely to reach her for a few good minutes.

  “Got a plan?” Jason asked, helping me from the boat.

  I eyed him. He was beat up and I had a gunshot wound in my leg. “Yeah, give up.”

  He pursed his lips, considered that, then shook his head. “Nah. Not our style. Come on.” Taking me under one arm, he helped me give chase.

  “Those boats?” he asked.

  “My guess is agents, maybe people working with Kosum.” I glanced over, shaking my head. “Sorry, a lot to fill you in on, I guess. And you, me.”

  “Agreed. My version is pretty short, though—after you vanished, I was freaking out. Nobody could find you, so I figured you went back, found a ride and made it back to the hotel, somehow. I mean, we searched that place. Me to save you, some of the others to kick your ass or take you to the police.”

  “Damn.”

  “Yeah. Well, turns out someone was waiting for me at the hotel, only it wasn’t you. They said you had escaped them, so now it was up to me.”

  “They were going to have it look like you caused the explosion,” I said, the realization washing over me.

  “That, and put your death on me, they said. I tried to fight, but as you can see…”

  “You got your ass whupped.”