Page 16 of Finding Elodie
Elodie hadn’t even remembered she was holding the thing. Now, she realized her fingers hurt from grasping it so tightly. She looked up, toward where she’d heard Scott’s voice, and was frustrated when she couldn’t see him. The flashlight the pirate had been holding was lying on the floor in the room next door, but it didn’t give her enough light to see either of the men.
“Are they all dead?” she asked, proud when her voice only shook a little. It was surreal that she was talking about killing people so nonchalantly, but she supposed she could be forgiven, given the circumstances.
“No,” Scott said, dashing her hopes that they could get in touch with the others onboard and have the electricity turned back on.
“This is the first pirate we’ve run across,” the other man said.
“Which one are you?” Elodie blurted.
He chuckled. “I’m Midas.”
“Hi.”
Just then, the radio the pirate had been using cackled to life, and a man began speaking urgently in whatever language the pirates used.
“Shit,” Scott muttered.
Elodie felt a rush of air as he moved away from her.
“I don’t suppose you’re a language savant and can understand what they’re saying, are you?” Midas asked.
She’d already told him and the other guys on the team that she couldn’t understand the pirates, but she appreciated that he was trying to lighten the mood. “Sorry, no,” she told him. “But right before you got here, he was talking to his friends and none of them sounded happy. He threw something big and it broke.”
“Yeah, I think it was a jar of spaghetti sauce,” Midas said, seemingly unconcerned.
She heard more sounds in the other room, but didn’t dare move from her spot next to the table. Then Scott was back. She wasn’t sure how she knew he was there, but she did.
Then he spoke, confirming his location. “Okay, we have to continue clearing the ship. You need to go up to the bridge—”
Elodie didn’t let him continue. “No!” she said frantically.
“Yes,” he countered.
“I’m staying with you,” she insisted.
“We’ve cleared the floors above this one. It’s safe for you to go back up to the bridge. Two other members of my team are up there, they’ll keep you safe.”
Elodie was shaking her head. She knew she was being completely irrational, but the thought of being alone even for the short trip to the bridge was terrifying. “You don’t know where the other pirates are. You said yourself that you’re clearing the ship. And I think they somehow know, if that conversation I overheard was any indication.”
The radio Scott had taken off the dead pirate came to life again. “Djama?”
A few more words were said after that. It was obvious his friends were trying to get in contact with him.
“They’re going to come looking for him,” Elodie said. “And if I go up to the bridge, I could run into them. And you don’t have time to escort me up there. They could be hurting or killing my friends. And if they find me, they’re not going to hesitate to kill me either. The safest place on this ship at the moment is with you guys, so that’s where I want to stay.”
She held her breath as she waited for them to comment. She was laying it on pretty thick, and she knew it. She also knew she was probably wrong about them being her safest bet. They were looking for the pirates. Would be shot at when they encountered them. But something inside her was telling Elodie to stick with Scott. He’d been her lifeline throughout the day when she was scared. He was calm and confident. Now that he’d found her, she didn’t feel comfortable letting him out of her sight.
When they didn’t immediately agree or disagree, she blurted, “I’ve seen Under Siege…bad things will happen if I’m not with you.”
She heard Midas choke on a laugh, but Scott didn’t even try to hold his back. He wasn’t loud, but he was definitely laughing at her.
“Right. First, I’m not Steven Seagal, and you aren’t…what was that character’s name in the movie?”
“Jordan Tate,” Elodie supplied helpfully. She loved that cheesy movie and wasn’t ashamed to admit it.
“Right. Anyway, I don’t want to hurt your feelings, Rachel, but you’ll slow us down. We don’t have an extra pair of night-vision goggles, and we aren’t exactly going on a moonlight walk,” Scott told her.
“I know. But I can hold on to your belt or something. I know I’m a liability, but I can also be an asset. I know this ship. I can help you get around the watertight doors and if the crew sees me with you, they’ll know you’re one of the good guys.”
