“So long, suckers. Mr. Vautour thanks you for the gear,” Hunter called out, one leg up on the edge of the boat like Captain Morgan.
Vautour? They worked for him, too?
“Hey! Wait! Give us our stuff!” Miri said, running toward the riverbank.
“Nah, we’re good. Besides, you won’t be able to carry it all back to your van anyway,” Hunter yelled back at them.
“Then give us the keys!” she yelled, pointing at the truck.
Hunter raised a set of keys above his head and jingled them in his hand. “What? These keys? I think we’re good.” He tossed the keys in the air then placed them on a crate on the boat.
Shit! How could they have been so foolish?
Rafa opened his mouth to scream profanities at Hunter and Kevin when the sight of Miri hurling her body over the river swinging from a vine in the direction of the boat stole his attention. “Miri! What are you doing?” he screamed.
Shit. Fuck.
She was just short of the boat, her legs flailing about in the air. She let go and plummeted into the water. Rafa went runningalong the river after them, with Logan and Felix close behind. The boat thankfully hadn’t picked up enough speed yet, and Miri reached a rope ladder in the back, pulling herself onto the stern of the boat. Rafa couldn’t hear what they were saying over the puttering of the engine, but he watched everything like it was in slow motion.
Pringles, what are you doing?
Rafa looked down the current and saw a fallen tree hanging over the river braced against another across the way, almost like a bridge over the water. “There!” he said, pointing out the tree to Felix and Logan. “Hurry!”
Rafa raced toward the tree, running up its trunk like a champion parkour athlete, and launched himself into the boat. He landed with a thud and was instantly met with a punch in the face. With a quick shake, he jumped up only to be faced with another swing from Hunter, though this time Rafa ducked, barely missing Hunter’s fist. Rafa and Hunter circled each other, trading punches, before Kevin joined.
“Two on one? Really?” Rafa said, squaring up for the fight.
“This is real life, dickwad, and life’s not fair,” Hunter said.
Right as Hunter geared up for another swing, Miri jumped on his back, beating him with her fists. He growled at her, desperately trying to get her off him. Miri was a scrapper. For a moment, a sense of satisfaction—and a little pride—overcame Rafa as a smile escaped from his lips. But Hunter rammed into the boat cabin, pinning Miri with a dull thud before she crumpled to the deck.
“Leave her alone!” Rafa said, lunging for Kevin and pushing him over the side of the boat, where he dropped into the river with a splash.
“Enough!” Hunter called out, pulling out a knife frombehind his back and pointing it right at Rafa. “Both of you, over there,” he said, motioning to the deck’s handrails with the blade. “Don’t try being a hero.”
Rafa’s heart pounded as his stomach sank. This was it. This was how they were going to die. How could he have been so stupid to get into that truck and risk their lives?
This was all his fault.
“Look, all we want is our stuff,” Miri said with her hands raised to her chest, palms facing out. Her voice trembled, but she spoke calmly. “Give us our things and then you can go.”
“Why are you talking like you’re the ones in charge here? Like you have any negotiating power. I’m the one with the knife, if you haven’t noticed,” he said, waving it around like it was nothing more than a rubber movie prop.
Something caught Rafa’s attention behind Hunter—Felix and Logan climbing over the side of the boat, completely unbeknownst to Hunter.
“Senhor! Watch out!” Sérgio called out.
Hunter spun around just in time to catch the force of Felix and Logan wrestling him to the floorboards. Rafa dove for the knife and twisted it out of Hunter’s hands before Felix and Logan picked him up and tossed him overboard. Rafa then pointed the knife at Sérgio.
“I suggest you jump as well,” Rafa growled at him.
Without hesitation Sérgio launched himself off the boat. Rafa rushed over to the steering wheel and put the boat in full gear to speed away from Hunter, Kevin, and Sérgio crawling their way back up on the riverbank.
“If you think this is the last you’ve seen of us, you’ve got another think coming!” Hunter screamed. “See you at the Moon City!”
Rafa shot a look at them as Miri flipped them the bird.
“Don’t forget these!” she yelled, dangling the keys to the truck overhead before flinging them into the dark, murky river off the front of the boat.
