“Yeah. I get that.”
Eli had a sister once. He was only thirteen at the time she went missing and I know it plagues him everyday that he could never find her.
He breaks the heavy silence. “Incoming.” My gaze snaps towards the water as the boat starts to drive across the dark water, the waves rippling underneath its power. It only takes a couple of minutes to arrive at the dock and that’s our signal to move. Within seconds me and Eli have split off into two, he takes the left side and I take the right, my finger poised and ready on the trigger of my rifle.
I plant myself behind a metal shipping container and peer round the corner to assess the situation. Eli is hidden behind a small brick building and I watch as a man exits the van first to meet with another guy who is stepping down off the boat.
“Ceasefire until we know there’s girls on there.” I say through the comms, keeping my position behind the container. The earpiece crackles to life with Eli’s voice.
“Heard. There’s a second target exiting the vehicle now on my left.”
“Copy that. Keep one alive, kill the rest. The girlsmustbe kept safe.” I order before bringing the gun up to my face, my chin resting on the hard metal as I look through the scope. The guy who came off the boat meets with the two men who arrived in the van, they’re talking about something but I can’t hear the context of the conversation. It only lasts for a couple of minutes before a wad of cash is handed over and they shake hands.
“Deal has been made, but we need to see the girls first.” I say.
The guy from the boat walks back onto the dock and up to the boat and as soon as he opens a door, he starts to pull out a group of terrified girls, each of them covered in dirt and bruises. My teeth grind tightly with anger.
“Girls in sight. Let’s end these fuckers.” Eli speaks with determination through the comms and I aim my rifle at the guy who’s pulling out the girls and press the trigger. The bullet splits the air with precision and pierces straight through his forehead. Blood and brain matter spray across the white paint of the boat and immediately the girls begin to scream and cry as they huddle together back inside the boat.
Gun fire sprays across the docks as the two men from the van begin to open fire, bullets pinging off the shipping containers. I watch as Eli moves from his position and successfully kills one of the men, the bullet firing straight into his chest. The other one lifts his gun to aim it right at Eli but I’m quicker, more skilled and I press the trigger again, firing a bullet straight into his kneecap, causing him to fall like a sack of shit on the floor.
“All clear. Keep him down, I’ll get the girls. Call Cecilia.” I say as I run towards the boat.
“Heard.” Eli confirms in my ear.
Once I reach the boat, I keep my rifle steady in case any other fucker decides to mess with me, and step over the dead guy whose now sprawled on the floor in a heap and into the room where I saw the girls come out of. It’s dark and silent as I enter, as soon as the moment my foot takes another step an arm wraps around my throat, a knife pressing into my skin.
Whoever the fuck has a hold of me isn’t one of the girls, I can tell by the force he’s using to try and get me on the ground but it’s useless. I rear my head forward before snapping it back, successfully connecting with the fuckers nose. I hear him groan in pain behind me and I use this chance to wrap my hand around his wrist and snap it clean it half, causing him to wail in agony and drop the knife to the floor. It clatters heavily and I kick it away from him then spin on my heels to find the guy rolling around in a heap on the floor, his hand cradling his opposite broken wrist.
The hand flops about at an unnatural angle. Without even thinking, I aim my rifle and fire a bullet straight in between his eyes, killing him instantly. At the sound of my gunshot, I see Eli climb up onto the boat and enter into the room.
“You good?” He asks, his gaze darting over me.
“All good, this fucker tried to get the jump on me.” I say and shove my boot into the dead guy’s side.
“Where are the girls? I’ve got the driver secured, he won’t be going anywhere with a smashed kneecap.”
“No idea, the moment I shot the guy they went climbing back in here. Let’s head down and keep an eye out for anyone else.”
Eli steps over the now dead guy and follows behind me as wemake our way through the dark room and down a set of stairs that leads into the belly of the boat. Soft whimpers and cries filter through the small space and I pause, keeping a hand on my gun then turn to face Eli. He nods once then signals to keep moving forward.
As we enter the lower deck, my gaze instantly lands on a group of girls and young women all huddled together in the corner of a small kitchen, their eyes widening with fear as soon as they notice me and Eli coming into the room.
“Holy shit.” Eli mumbles at the side of me.
I mentally count how many I can see. Two, four, six, eight, maybe twelve or thirteen of them, it’s hard to be sure when they’re all huddled together. One of the older girls at the front raises her shaky hands in front of her. “Please, don’t hurt us.” She begs, her voice timid and croaky.
I lower my weapon and Eli does the same before we raise our hands to show we’re unarmed, then I slip my mask off of my face. “We’re not here to hurt you. I promise. The guys who brought you here are dead.”
The older girl who spoke first scans over my face, probably to see if I’m lying. She’s smart. She mustn’t find the lie she’s looking for and begins to lower her hands.
“Who are you?” She asks, keeping her gaze trained on me and Eli.
“I’m Dean, this is Eli.” I say, lifting my hand towards him. “We’re here to get you out, but first, I need to ask you something, if that’s alright?” Maybe now isn’t the best time to be questioning these girls but time isn’t on my side when it comes to my woman.
The girl nods her head slowly. “Sure.”
“Did anyone tell you where you’d be heading after you got off the boat?”
