Stealing Asia (17 page)

You want to
though.

Barrett glanced
over at me and as he did so, he seemed to accept his partner’s denial and his
temper cooled a little. This meant he was now a regular psychopath as opposed
to a raving lunatic. I liked it when they bickered amongst themselves. The more
Barrett tried to poison his friend against me, the more susceptible Clay became
to my charms. After further deliberation they decided that they wanted to make
the ransom demand without delay. I needed to think of an excuse quickly.

‘You’re
forgetting about the time difference,’ I said. ‘America is sleeping right now.
We should at least wait until tonight. Knowing Dad, he will become spooked if
you wake him and then he’d be more likely to call the cops.’

I looked to
Barrett, as he was the one that I knew I needed to convince the most.
Thankfully, this time he did not voice an objection.

‘Tonight it is,’
said Clay. ‘We will come get you at eleven. I suggest you try to sleep this
afternoon as it will be a long night.’

They both rose
to leave.

‘Wait,’ I said.
‘There is one more thing.’

Clay turned back
to face me, whilst Barrett just brushed my words aside.

‘I’m through
with this bitch,’ said the larger of the men. ‘Whatever she wants; you can deal
with it.’

With that, he
disappeared into the corridor. The change was only slight, but with his friend
gone, Clay softened a little.

‘This better not
be a game,’ he said.

‘No games. I
just want to see Ben. If I am going to co-operate, I want to know that he is
okay.’

‘That’s not a
problem.’

‘Alone,’ I
added.

‘Forget it.’

‘In that case,
the deal is off. Without my co-operation there will be no civilised
negotiation. You will be forced to take a much more hostile approach and in
turn, Dad is more likely to involve the police. Hell, he may even get the CIA
onto you guys. Now wouldn’t that be ironic?’

‘I’ll give you
five minutes.’

‘Half an hour.’

‘Don’t push me.
Ten minutes and that is my final offer.’

‘Agreed.’

***

Ben was brought to
my cell directly after lunch. This was another act of cruelty, which was most
probably at Barrett’s insistence. He would have thought that we were less
likely to be in the mood for sex directly after eating. What he had not
realised was that my plan was far more noble than merely satisfying my carnal
needs. Once we were alone, I told Ben what I had in mind.

‘You are
planning to escape?’ he asked.

‘Tonight,’ I
confirmed.

‘Is it even
possible? They have us all under constant surveillance, they’re armed with
machine guns and we are in the middle of the ocean, possibly hundreds of miles
from the nearest land, which could be hostile even if we got to it.’

‘If you are
after a dull life, you picked the wrong girl.’

At first, he was
unsure, but then he relaxed and started to smile. It relieved me that they had
not taken his spirit along with his freedom. Before seeing him again, I had
worried that he might have been beaten or even tortured. Thankfully, he did not
suffer from so much as a black eye.

‘I take it you
already have a plan,’ he said.

This time I was
the one smiling.

‘A master plan,’
I confirmed. ‘All you have to do is stay awake and stay alert. I will do the
rest.

Chapter 3

Clay came to see
me at precisely 6pm. I knew this only because he was wearing a watch. With no
window or clock in my cell, it was not easy trying to keep track of the time.
Fortunately, the ship ran to a timetable that was not too far removed from my
own body clock. I generally woke shortly before breakfast and went to bed when
I became tired. Food usually arrived not long after hunger set in. The only
part of my day that did not run to a regular timetable was these unscheduled
visits from Clay and they were becoming more frequent.

‘Have you had
time to think about what you are going to say tonight?’ he asked.

What else did I
have to do with my time apart from think? He made it sound like we were lab
partners preparing a presentation together. I actually slept with my last lab
partner. No way was this jerk going to be so lucky. All I intended to do was to
make him think that he had a chance.

‘Is it not more
traditional that you will be the one doing the talking? After all, it is not
like I kidnapped myself.’

He sat on the
bed. I stood and walked over to sit on the table. The more I kept my distance;
the more he would want me.

‘I have been
doing some research online,’ he said. ‘So far I have found no reference to you
in any story relating to your father.’

Shit! – Had I
been rumbled? If so, this would surely jeopardize any plan I had of escape. I
had been counting on him not exposing my white lie for a little while longer.
My future was collapsing around me and I had no idea how to stop it. Just
moments earlier I was a million dollar hostage, but now I faced the prospect of
being sold on as a cheap ten dollar whore.

‘I can explain,’
I offered.

‘You don’t have
to explain,’ he said. ‘I know precisely what you are?’

‘You do?’

‘Yes.’

He paused, as if
he was so proud of what he was about to tell me that he did not want to have to
give the words up.

‘You were
abandoned,’ he finally added.

‘I was
abandoned?’ I replied, before quickly correcting myself; ‘I was abandoned.’

‘That’s right.
Your parents gave you up. I can only imagine how that rejection must have made
you feel.’

‘You have no
idea how I feel.’

‘Do not be so
sure. You and I have more in common than you might imagine.’

‘So what is your
point?’

‘We don’t have
to be enemies, you know.’

‘Er, yes, we
do,’ I told him. ‘Friends do not hold one another to ransom. Or do you plan on
switching places with me?’

‘Unfortunately,
I am not worth quite so much. What I mean to say is that perhaps there is a way
in which we can both profit from this venture.’

He gestured for
me to move closer. I picked up a chair and moved it next to the bed. There was
no way that I was going to share a mattress with him, but I needed to hear what
he had to say.

‘Go on,’ I
urged.

‘Don’t get me
wrong,’ he began, ‘I am sure that your father loves you very much, but you
cannot deny that you have not been deprived of so much by his giving you up. He
owes you.’

He was playing
straight into my hands. I had planned on seducing him to get what I wanted, but
I now got the impression that he would soon be offering himself to me
regardless. The fool actually believed he could get both the money and me.

‘So what are you
saying; rather than issue a straight ransom demand you want me to try and
extort money from him?’

‘Money that you
are entitled to,’ he added.

I got back to my
feet and began to pace around the small amount of floor space that I had been
afforded. I wanted him to think that I was seriously considering his offer. In
truth, I had been thinking of pitching the same idea to him myself.

‘Like you say;
this is money I am entitled to - so why should I share it?’

‘Need I remind
you where you are?’

‘Okay, let me
rephrase that. Why should
we
share it?’

His back tensed.
It was time to move in for the kill. Weapon of choice; the kiss of death. There
is nothing deadlier. I walked back to the bed and this time I did sit next to
him.

‘You and I could
be good together,’ I said. ‘Barrett may be your friend, but he is holding you
back and we both know it. Come with me and I can get you more money than you
could ever imagine.’

He did not take
long to think it over.

‘What have you
got in mind?’

This was too
easy. The best part was that rather than thinking about how he could spend the
money, I knew that he was only thinking about what he would do to me once we
were free.

‘Firstly, you
have to persuade Barrett to drop this whole ransom charade. From the impression
I got, I do not think he was keen on the idea anyway. I will tell my father
that I am in trouble and need money right away. He can afford it, so he won’t
ask too many questions. I figure we can hit him for more cash maybe once a
month.’

I leaned in to
kiss him, but he placed his finger over my mouth when I was just inches away
from his.

‘What about that
boyfriend of yours?’ he asked. ‘Am I to believe that you’ve lost all affection
for him all of a sudden?’

‘Do you really
think that I see my future with him? I was only with him because he saved my
life and that was down to luck more than anything. I think it’s about time that
I got me a real man, don’t you?’

He slowly
withdrew his finger and we kissed. I had to give him a taste of what he was to
expect should he come through for me. He placed his right hand on my left
breast, but I was quick to push it away.

‘Not yet,’ I
told him. ‘I need to be sure you are doing this for me and not just the money.
Only once we are off of this boat can you have me, not before; do you
understand?’

He nodded. I
knew he would not let me down.

***

I told Ben I would
provide him with a diversion and I intended to deliver on that promise. My
kidnappers-cum-business partners came to collect me at eleven o’clock and took
me directly to the ships control room. It was filled with radio and navigation
equipment, the workings of which I did not understand. A telephone handset was
built into the main switchboard. I assumed it was connected to some sort of
satellite network.

‘What are you
waiting for?’ asked Barrett, ‘start dialling’.

‘May I have a
glass of water first?’ I said. ‘My throat feels dry. I can barely even talk
right now.’

‘I’ll get one
for you,’ replied Clay, whilst his partner just stood scowling at me.

He briefly
disappeared into an adjoining room before coming back with the glass of water.
I took it from him and slowly sipped from its contents. Barrett finally lost
his patience with my delay tactics and came stomping over. He grabbed the
handset and thrust it toward me.

‘Just make the
damn call,’ he demanded.

Like Clay,
Barrett always made a point of encroaching on my personal space. Unlike his
friend however, his intentions were driven more by intimidation than
attraction. Normally, I would recoil from him, but this time he could get as
close as he wanted. When his face was just inches from mine, I let him have it.
I vomited all over him.

‘You dirty
bitch!’ he screamed.

Clay was quick
to place himself between the pair of us. I clung to him whilst he shielded me
from the angry tirade that was coming from his partner. The larger man
eventually gave in and stormed out of the control room to go and clean himself
up.

‘Are you okay?’
Clay asked, showing genuine concern.

‘I’m so sorry,’
I told him. ‘I have no idea what came over me. I think that I need some fresh
air.’

He took me into
a small kitchenette where he helped me to clean up. Luckily, my aim had been
good and most of the vomit had landed on Barrett rather than me. Many of the
girls at college had succumbed to the habit of throwing up when their
macro-biotic diets failed. I would never prescribe myself to so gauche a fad,
but that is not to say that I am unable to regurgitate the contents of my
stomach on demand. With Barrett temporarily out of the way, I could start
working on my diversion.

The boat moved
mostly at night. The drone of the engines was a constant companion throughout
the hours of darkness. I guessed that this was because they feared greater
likelihood of an attack during this time. Clay took me outside and to the rear
of the vessel to get some fresh air. As I leaned over the guardrail, I watched
the wake of the engines create a bridal train, which trailed off into the
night.

‘I guess we’ve
been pushing you a little hard,’ said Clay.

I merely
whimpered in response.

‘I know that
this is not easy for you, but we cannot allow Barrett to suspect what we have
planned,’ he added.

By this time he
had begun to completely lower his guard when around me. He was seated on a
railing, which ran along the outside of the deck. Ironically, it was there to
stop people falling overboard. I crouched low, pretending to compose myself. I
then took a final glance over my shoulder to make sure that there was a guard
nearby, albeit one who was not watching us directly.

‘Are you really
willing to betray Barrett for me?’ I asked.

‘Of course,’ he
replied. ‘I would make any sacrifice for you.’

That was exactly
what I wanted to hear. It was going to be a long night and the last thing I
wanted was for my head to be clouded by a guilty conscience. Before he had time
to react, I quickly made a grab for his feet and held onto them tightly as I
raised myself back up onto my own. The poor bastard had no idea what had hit
him as I shoved him away from me and out into the black waters below.

‘Man overboard!
Man overboard!’ I yelled.

The guard came
quickly. I frantically pointed for him to shine his torch into the wake of the
boat. It did not take long for him to spot Clay, who was now about twenty
metres away and falling further adrift by the second. I was completely ignored
and it was all hands on deck as the other guards left their posts to try and
assist in rescuing their boss. The ensuing commotion allowed me to slip
unnoticed below deck, which gave me the opportunity to search for the cell
where my lover was being kept.

I came across a
door that was bolted from the outside and figured that this had to be a prison
cell. The corridor was now deserted so I pulled back the bolts and opened up
the door. The room contained rows of bunk beds, the occupants of which began to
stir as soon as I entered. I spotted Izzie first and then Dee. The other
prisoners, whom I did not recognize, were all girls. I called out Ben’s name
and as I did so I felt strong arms grab hold of me from behind. At first I
feared it was a guard, but as the clasp softened into an embrace, I knew that
it could only be one person.

‘I love you,’ he
said.

It felt so good
to feel his touch again. All of my fear vanished, taking the adrenaline rush
with it. It may sound corny, but I actually did go weak at the knees.

‘I love you too.’

For the briefest
of moments, he smiled with a careless ease that I had not seen since we were on
the beach. It only lasted for a split second and then he snapped back into
reality.

‘We heard a lot
of noise coming from the guards and then they all deserted their posts. What
did you do?’

I told him how I
had pushed Clay overboard, but for his sake; I left out the scheming that
preceded my actions. We still had a long way to go before we could count
ourselves as free and I had to ensure that Ben kept himself in the correct
frame of mind. After all he had been through, jealousy would have destroyed
him.

‘Did you get a
good look at the life rafts?’ he asked.

My original plan
had been to get off of the boat, but after seeing the commotion on deck, this
no longer seemed possible. I had also not figured on all of the other hostages.
In my feverish planning I had even forgotten about Izzie and Dee.

‘That won’t
work,’ I replied. ‘The entire crew is swarming all over the deck. I do know
where the control room is though. We can barricade ourselves in and call for
help.’

‘I’ve just
escaped one cell,’ he replied. ‘I am not creating another.’

He strode past
me. I could see strength in him that is all too rare in most men. I followed
him along the corridor hoping to persuade him not to do anything too rash. His
bravery would be of no use if it got him killed. The girls crept slowly behind
us, but it was obvious that there was not even the slightest chance that we
could all get off the boat. If only I could have just taken Ben out of the
cell, it would have improved our odds dramatically. He paused when he came to a
ladder, which led up to the top deck. I was about to try and reason with him,
but he placed his finger to my lips.

‘The engines
have stopped,’ he whispered. ‘They must still be looking for Clay.’

I shrugged.

‘Don’t you see?’
he continued. ‘This is the best chance we are going to get.’

‘Our best chance
of survival is to wait for help,’ I told him. ‘Esteban will have alerted the
authorities, but they cannot attack with so many hostages on board. If we can
somehow let them know we have found a secure place to hide, they can come and
get us. The control room has a radio.’

‘Esteban is not
coming.’

He climbed the
ladder and then took a peek out of the hatchway. I squeezed my eyes shut and
waited for the gunshot that would take off his head, but it did not come. When
I looked again, he was actually making his way onto the deck. I placed my foot
onto the bottom rung and then tentatively followed him up the ladder.