Page 13 of Finding Elodie
Mustang and his team plastered themselves to the side of the shipping containers, fading into the shadows. He gestured with his head to the aft of the ship, and Midas and Aleck quickly headed in that direction. Pid and Jag began the long walk toward the front of the ship. They’d gotten the specs and blueprints of the Asaka Express while on the USS Paul Hamilton. It was over three hundred feet long and would take three or so minutes walking at a normal speed to get from the back to the front.
There were also fifteen lashing bridges, five cargo holds, and the engine room was four decks deep. The captain had been right, there were innumerable places for the crew to hide, and Mustang prayed they’d all been able to do just that. They were obviously doing everything in their power to make things difficult for the pirates, dropping the watertight doors below decks, shutting off the engine, and cutting the lights.
Darkness might be a disadvantage for the pirates, but it wasn’t for the SEAL team. With their night-vision goggles, they could see almost as well as if it was daylight. Mustang and his team were on a hunt. They’d take out the pirates and hopefully this hijacking would be ended swiftly and with only one outcome— dead pirates.
Mustang usually wasn’t so bloodthirsty, but this was war. If the pirates hadn’t killed anyone, their orders might’ve been different…capture and interrogate. But because they’d upped the stakes by killing the captain and the other officers, they’d sealed their own fate.
Each of the men were wearing radios in their ears. They were voice-activated so they could quickly and easily communicate with the rest of the team.
“Ladder’s disabled,” Midas informed everyone.
The plan was to secure the outer decks before heading straight to the bridge. By throwing the ladder the pirates had used overboard, they’d made it more difficult for additional pirates to climb aboard and taken away a method for the current pirates to flee.
They’d take out anyone who was on the bridge, then search the rest of the ship. They had no idea how many pirates were wandering around, but they’d eventually find everyone and exterminate the threat to the employees onboard.
Midas and Aleck would continue around the back of the ship, while Pid and Jag secured the front before heading aft. Mustang and Slate would clear the mid-deck, then make their way back to the bridge, as well.
Through the radio in his ear, Mustang heard his team reporting the all-clear as they moved about the ship. No one was on the outside decks, which made for a quick and silent trip to the bridge. As he and Slate approached the rear of the ship, he saw Midas and Aleck already hunkered down, waiting for their arrival. The four of them would storm onto the bridge from starboard. Pid and Jag would hang back on the port side, out of the line of fire, in case any of the pirates attempted to flee the bridge on their side.
Mustang moved around his teammates, not reluctant in the least to take point. He held up his hand and counted down from three. He heard Slate say “go” through the radio even as he swung the heavy metal battering ram they’d lugged onboard for the sole purpose of knocking down the door to the bridge.
It flew open with one hit, and the four men poured into the space, overwhelming the two pirates who were inside.
The first reached for the rifle hanging around his body, but never had a chance to get ahold of it. Mustang’s bullet pierced his head and he fell to the floor without a sound.
The other man immediately turned and went for the door on the opposite side of the room, firing blindly behind him as he ran. Mustang and the rest of the team took cover behind whatever they could. The man ran out the door and two shots rang out, indicating that Pid and Jag had done their job.
The entire operation was over within seconds.
Standing, Mustang surveyed the bridge. There were six men, obviously dead, lying in a heap along the back wall. Even though they weren’t wearing uniforms, Mustang knew they were the captain and his officers. That meant there were still sixteen Asaka Express employees onboard.
“Only two?” Midas asked as he entered the bridge with Aleck.
“Yes,” Mustang agreed.
“Fuck. That means there’s probably still a handful of them wandering around then,” Midas said.
Mustang’s belly rolled. Normally he wouldn’t care so much, might have even looked forward to the cat-and-mouse game they were about to engage in. But he felt differently now, knowing Rachel was onboard. The thought of her being hurt, or killed, was unacceptable. He’d briefly checked in with her another time or two before sundown. Probably less than an hour’s worth of conversation, all told, since her first hail. And she’d somehow made this mission personal for him, which wasn’t something he’d ever experienced before. He wanted to know her better. Know what made her tick.
“Should we use the intercom to inform the employees we’re here?” Jag asked.
Mustang pressed his lips together. On one hand, it would be a morale booster for everyone to know help was at hand, but on the other, he didn’t want to inform the pirates they were aboard…and he didn’t want anyone to let down their guard and possibly get shot before their team could hunt the pirates.
“I think no, not yet,” Mustang said after a beat.
“We could use channel three, the one Rachel said the crew uses to communicate,” Slate suggested.
Mustang nodded. It wasn’t perfect, but it might prevent the employees from mistakenly thinking they were the bad guys. There was no way of knowing if anyone would be listening, but it was the only way they had to communicate with the crew without tipping off the pirates.
He pulled out his radio and turned to channel three. “Asaka Express crew, this is a representative of the US Navy. We have secured the bridge and will be sweeping the ship for tangos. For the moment, stay where you are. I repeat, stay where you are.”
Mustang nodded at Slate, who he heard reporting back to the USS Paul Hamilton. He knew, after the bridge and outer decks had been cleared, the plan was for additional personnel to come aboard to help secure the ship. Not only that, but because the cargo ship was floating adrift, they were sending someone who could pilot the large ship so it hopefully wouldn’t run aground. Slate and Jag would stay on the bridge to keep it secure. If any of the pirates returned, they would take them out.
Pid and Aleck would patrol the outer decks until backup could arrive and take over. For now, it would be only Midas and Mustang patrolling the lower decks. They’d work as a team, searching room by room for the missing pirates. It was disconcerting that they didn’t know how many men they were looking for, but ultimately it didn’t matter. They’d find them all and make sure they weren’t a threat any longer.
“Stay in contact,” Mustang told his team unnecessarily.
They all nodded. Their team leader wasn’t telling them anything they didn’t already know.
