Page 20 of Finding Elodie
Mustang was glad to see the man alive and well, but he’d been hoping to find one of the engineers.
“I was too scared to go any farther into the engine room when we were told the ship was overtaken,” the man explained. “Is it safe to go back upstairs?”
“No, not yet. We advise that you get back in your hiding spot. Our team is making notes on where the crew is holing up. We’ll make an announcement when it’s all clear,” Midas told him.
“Okay,” Manuel agreed. “Oh, hey, did you find Rachel? She’s the cook, she was hiding up on the galley level.”
“We found her,” Mustang told the man, not elaborating.
He sighed in relief. “Good.”
“Stay put,” Mustang told him once more and watched as Rachel’s helper scooted back behind the duct where he’d been hiding.
Midas and Mustang made their way back through the side rooms to the large atrium space. Rachel was still standing right where they’d last seen her, rifle in hand, eyes wide, lips pressed together in determination.
“Did you find anyone?” she whispered in a tone so low, Mustang almost couldn’t hear her.
“Yeah. Manuel.”
“Was he all right?”
“Yeah. Scared but hiding.”
“Thank God.”
Mustang reached out for Rachel’s hand and curled it back around his belt loop. Without a word, they continued around the huge open atrium to the next set of rooms.
They quickly cleared the first floor and all the rooms as best they could, then made their way down to the next level of the engine room. The noise steadily got louder as they headed down. The electricity and engine might be down, but the pumps and other machines were still running. The temperature also climbed the farther they went into the bowels of the space, as well.
When Midas and Mustang had swiftly and preliminarily cleared the three levels above the main engine room floor, they were faced with the decision of whether to continue or to stay put and wait for backup. They hadn’t been able to search as thoroughly as they’d like, but a more intensive search would be done once backup arrived and the lights had been turned on.
They’d found four more employees, all hiding in various rooms on one of the upper three floors. That still left a lot of the crew to be discovered. The last thing Mustang wanted was to be ambushed by a ship employee if they thought he and Midas were pirates. Not to mention, they hadn’t found any of the remaining pirates themselves.
For a second, Mustang wondered if they were on a wild goose chase. Maybe there weren’t any more pirates. But he immediately dismissed that thought. The authorities had listened to the recordings of what was happening on the bridge and estimated at least six men had taken over the ship. That meant there were at least three more to find.
He and Midas were standing at the base of the stairs leading to the upper levels. There was a half wall behind them, with three large storage tanks behind it. He motioned with his head to Midas and his teammate quickly cleared that area. When he returned, Mustang turned to Rachel. “Stay here. We’ll be back.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but then pressed her lips together and nodded.
He wanted to reassure her. Tell her that they’d be fine, that she’d be fine. But there wasn’t time. He took hold of her arm and led her to the half wall then gently pushed her down behind it. She’d be safe there. He had to believe that, otherwise he’d never be able to leave her. But for the search he and Midas were going to need to do down here, he couldn’t have her hanging on to him.
She looked up at him, and even though they were in the shadows, he could still see the fear in her eyes. A piece of her hair was sticking to her forehead, and before he’d thought about what he was doing, Mustang reached out and gently smoothed it back. Then, without a word, he straightened and returned to Midas’s side.
“How long until backup arrives?” Mustang asked his other teammates.
“Less than five minutes,” Aleck told him.
“We can come down and help now, before the others get here,” Jag offered.
“No, we need you up there in case the rats try to flee the ship,” Mustang said softly. “We’ll take a quick look around then hold steady for the extra eyes.”
“Watch your six,” Slate said.
Mustang gave Midas a nod, and with one last thought for the courageous woman behind the wall, they headed out to see if they could find the pirates.
* * *
Elodie stayed crouched behind the half wall, gripping the rifle in her hands tightly. She didn’t dare put her finger anywhere near the trigger. She was jumpy and scared to death and the last thing she wanted was to accidentally fire the dang thing.
