A light flickered on the dashboard and Blaine said, “It’s him.”
“I guess they can see us after all,” Carly said.
Lara nodded, and Blaine pressed a button. Riley’s voice echoed through the speakers along the walls of the bridge a second later: “Thanks for coming.”
Lara picked up the microphone and pressed the transmit button. “So how is this going to work?”
“I don’t suppose you’d take my word that I mean you no harm and send my men back to me?”
“Captain Optimism, this guy,” Carly snickered.
Lara said into the microphone, “You supposed correctly.”
“Then I guess there’s nothing left but for us to talk face-to-face,” Riley said.
“Just you and me.”
“Yes.”
“And your men?”
“Since you’re not willing to return them to me yet, the only way I can see this working is for you to hold them onboard while you’re over here. Is that acceptable?”
She exchanged a long look with Carly and Blaine.
“I know I haven’t told you this recently,” Carly said, “but you’re worth more than six of them. Let’s turn around and leave. Danny’s going to radio in at any moment, and we need to be there to pick him up when he does.”
“Blaine?” Lara said.
He shook his head. “Carly’s right. You’re worth more to us than six of them.”
She couldn’t help but smile back at the two of them. “Stop it, guys, you’re making me blush.”
“We mean it,” Carly said. She was as serious as Lara had ever seen her. “Blaine, me, everyone on this boat — we don’t know this Riley from Adam. He may or may not give a crap about Hart and the others. I don’t think we should risk it if it means risking you.”
“I can go,” Blaine said.
“Or me,” Carly said. She shrugged, then smiled mischievously. “He doesn’t know what you look like.”
“He knows what I sound like,” Lara said.
“Hey, who sounds like themselves over the radio?”
“She’s got a point,” Blaine said.
“Gee, thanks, Blaine,” Carly said. “I don’t know whether to be happy-happy that you’re backing me up or kind of pissed off you’re willing to risk my life if it means keeping boss lady here.”
“I, uh…” Blaine said, but wisely didn’t finish.
“Anyway,” Carly said, turning back to Lara. “I’ll go. We can’t afford to lose you. Me, on the other hand…” She let it trail off with a shrug.
“Danny would kill me if I did that,” Lara said.
“Yeah, there’s that,” Carly smiled. “But he’ll get over it. I mean, look at all the single and available ladies on this tub. He’d probably forget about me within a week, that asshole.”
“No, he won’t,” Lara said. “Besides, this is why I get paid the big bucks, remember?”
Carly shook her head. “I don’t like it.”
“Neither do I, but I don’t see any other way unless we want to turn around and leave, and our fuel reserves can’t afford that right now.”
She looked over at Blaine, as if to ask him, “Right?”
He nodded back, even though she could see he didn’t want to.
Before Carly could argue, Lara pressed the microphone and said, “Riley.”
“I’m still here,” Riley answered.
“You’ve been awfully quiet.”
“I assumed you and whoever is on the bridge with you needed time to debate the pros and cons of accepting my offer.”
“He can definitely see us,” Carly said, lowering her voice for some reason while turning to look out the windshield at the oil rig.
“He probably has lookouts on that big ass crane out there,” Blaine said. “I would.”
“Did you come to a decision?” Riley asked through the speakers.
“One hour,” Lara said.
“I’ll send a boat to come get you. One man. Unarmed. You’re free to bring your weapons.”
“One boat, with one man on it. If I see more than one at any time between now and when I return to the Trident, the yacht will turn around and leave with or without me onboard. My people will then execute Hart and the others and toss their bodies overboard so you can pick them up. Are we clear?”
“Crystal,” Riley said. Then, “Expect my man in one hour.”
Lara put the microphone back down on the dashboard. When she looked up, Blaine and Carly were staring at her.
“Tell me you weren’t serious,” Carly said. When Lara didn’t answer right away, she sighed. “God, I don’t whether to be impressed with the new and way more badass Lara, or hate you so much right now for taking this stupid risk.”
Lara smiled at her friend. “I love you, too.” Then, to both her and Blaine, “Now pay attention; this is how we’re going to do this…”
11
Gaby
She woke up to gunfire — or, at least, she thought it was gunfire. She couldn’t be entirely sure because of the sea of molasses swooshing around inside her head that made every part of her body heavy and at the same time disjointed. How was that even possible? Maybe it had a little something to do with the constant pounding—
“There she is,” a voice said. “Good morning, sunshine.”
It only took half a second for her to recognize the voice: Fucking Mason.
“Back to the land of the living,” Mason said. “Well, mostly anyway.”
“Fuck you,” she said. Or croaked. What mattered was that she got it out.
“Now where’d a pretty little thing like you learn to talk like that?”
She had opened her eyes to Mason’s face (Squirrelly, as Lara would say) hovering in front of her. He was crouched with his hands draped over his knees, but what she really noticed was the fresh black uniform he had on. The only thing missing was his name on the tag over his breast pocket; there was no cursive stenciling, just the word Mason written in what looked like permanent marker.
“Yeah, it’s a rental,” Mason said when he saw where her eyes were lingering. “Unfortunately, proper uniform distribution’s taken a bit of a hit recently. Can’t blame them, what with Mercer’s goons running around out there.”
The crack! of a rifle shot echoed in the background. She tried to figure out where it had come from, but it faded too quickly, replaced by the same pervading silence of a dead world that was all too familiar to her.
“Speaking of the devils,” Mason said, tilting his head a bit. “They’ve been at it all morning. Showed up as soon as the sun poked over the city. I guess all that action from yesterday drew them here. What’s that saying? Like moths to the flame? Making a real mess out there, too.”
They? she thought, but couldn’t push the word out this time.
Why was she so tired? She wasn’t in pain. Not really, even though her throat felt as if she had a rubber band around it, constricting airflow. She reached up and massaged the area where the creature had grabbed her last night, but it didn’t seem to help. She had to use both hands, because her wrists were bound together with plastic zip ties. Her legs were similarly restrained at the ankles. How long had she been like this? Tied up and sitting on the floor against a wall? Probably the entire night.
“I know how you feel,” Mason said. “The first time I met one of those things, I almost shat my pants. They still give me the willies.”
He shivered, but she couldn’t be certain if that was involuntary or for her benefit.