Read Online Rogue Angel 46: Treasure of Lima by Alex Archer - Free Book Online
Authors: Alex Archer
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things to the next step, they were in a whole heap of trouble.
Stealing the ship made sense, in a warped and twisted kind of way. Selling something like the Neptune’s Pride would be a challenge, Annja knew, but so would simply letting it sit and rot on the tide. At the very least they could strip her of useful equipment and then carve her up into smaller pieces, selling both the equipment and the scrap metal for a profit.
If they were smart, they might even do one better: they might keep the boat for themselves. A quick paint job and a few changes to the identification numbers would give them a ship that could be used to further their piracy efforts, particularly if they could get the vessel legitimately registered through some foreign nation that didn’t look too closely at where the vessel had come from.
That wasn’t what sent a shiver of apprehension up Annja’s spine, however. No, that was a result of the fact that she knew she and the rest of the crew, Captain Vargas included, would either be killed outright or kept alive just long enough for the kidnappers to receive a ransom, at which point they’d be killed, anyway. In order to survive this thing, they had to keep from getting captured.
That meant keeping the pirates off the ship for as long as possible.
All this flashed through her thoughts in an instant, helping her make up her mind. She turned and headed across the room toward the door.
“Wait! Where are you going?” he whispered frantically as he saw her getting ready to leave the bridge.
“Someone’s got to stop us from being boarded, right?” she replied, then slipped out the doorway onto the narrow walkway just outside. The sound of the engines was growing louder; it would be only moments before they were alongside. She could even hear the men aboard shouting to one another, but couldn’t make out what was being said. She hurried over to the steep set of stairs—almost a ladder, really—leading down to the main deck and raced down them as fast as she dared.
Just as she reached the main deck, she ran into Claire and Marcos coming up the stairs from below.
“What’s going on?” Claire exclaimed upon seeing Annja racing toward them.
“Pirates,” Annja told her. She didn’t have time to explain anything beyond that, for the patrol boats were closing in.
Thankfully, Claire didn’t need anything more. Annja could see the woman was practically bursting with questions, but Claire managed to hold on to them all with the exception of the most important.
“What do we do?”
“Keep them from getting on board,” Annja said. “No matter what. If they do, we’re all in even more danger than we’re in right now.”
“How?”
Excellent question. Just how were they going to keep the men from boarding?
“Are you or any of your men armed?” she asked.
Claire shook her head. “We’re carrying a pair of rifles as part of the expedition’s gear, but both of them are packed away with the rest of the supplies. There’s no way for us to get to them in a hurry.”
Annja had her sword, and she wouldn’t hesitate to use it when the time came, but it wasn’t going to do them much good against armed opponents. They needed something to keep the pirates at a distance; if they were close enough for Annja to need her sword, then she and the others aboard the Neptune’s Pride had already lost.
As the sound of the approaching motorboats filled her ears, Annja’s gaze fell upon the glass-fronted case mounted on the side of the ship. Inside was a long-handled ax and yards of coiled hose, both designed to be used in case of a fire on board the boat.
For Annja, the sight of them was like water to a man dying of thirst.
“Help me! Quickly!” she exclaimed, racing over to the case, Claire and Marcos on her heels.
Annja didn’t have time to locate the key, so she lifted one booted foot and kicked out sharply, driving her heel through the front of the case and shattering the glass. Reaching
Stealing the ship made sense, in a warped and twisted kind of way. Selling something like the Neptune’s Pride would be a challenge, Annja knew, but so would simply letting it sit and rot on the tide. At the very least they could strip her of useful equipment and then carve her up into smaller pieces, selling both the equipment and the scrap metal for a profit.
If they were smart, they might even do one better: they might keep the boat for themselves. A quick paint job and a few changes to the identification numbers would give them a ship that could be used to further their piracy efforts, particularly if they could get the vessel legitimately registered through some foreign nation that didn’t look too closely at where the vessel had come from.
That wasn’t what sent a shiver of apprehension up Annja’s spine, however. No, that was a result of the fact that she knew she and the rest of the crew, Captain Vargas included, would either be killed outright or kept alive just long enough for the kidnappers to receive a ransom, at which point they’d be killed, anyway. In order to survive this thing, they had to keep from getting captured.
That meant keeping the pirates off the ship for as long as possible.
All this flashed through her thoughts in an instant, helping her make up her mind. She turned and headed across the room toward the door.
“Wait! Where are you going?” he whispered frantically as he saw her getting ready to leave the bridge.
“Someone’s got to stop us from being boarded, right?” she replied, then slipped out the doorway onto the narrow walkway just outside. The sound of the engines was growing louder; it would be only moments before they were alongside. She could even hear the men aboard shouting to one another, but couldn’t make out what was being said. She hurried over to the steep set of stairs—almost a ladder, really—leading down to the main deck and raced down them as fast as she dared.
Just as she reached the main deck, she ran into Claire and Marcos coming up the stairs from below.
“What’s going on?” Claire exclaimed upon seeing Annja racing toward them.
“Pirates,” Annja told her. She didn’t have time to explain anything beyond that, for the patrol boats were closing in.
Thankfully, Claire didn’t need anything more. Annja could see the woman was practically bursting with questions, but Claire managed to hold on to them all with the exception of the most important.
“What do we do?”
“Keep them from getting on board,” Annja said. “No matter what. If they do, we’re all in even more danger than we’re in right now.”
“How?”
Excellent question. Just how were they going to keep the men from boarding?
“Are you or any of your men armed?” she asked.
Claire shook her head. “We’re carrying a pair of rifles as part of the expedition’s gear, but both of them are packed away with the rest of the supplies. There’s no way for us to get to them in a hurry.”
Annja had her sword, and she wouldn’t hesitate to use it when the time came, but it wasn’t going to do them much good against armed opponents. They needed something to keep the pirates at a distance; if they were close enough for Annja to need her sword, then she and the others aboard the Neptune’s Pride had already lost.
As the sound of the approaching motorboats filled her ears, Annja’s gaze fell upon the glass-fronted case mounted on the side of the ship. Inside was a long-handled ax and yards of coiled hose, both designed to be used in case of a fire on board the boat.
For Annja, the sight of them was like water to a man dying of thirst.
“Help me! Quickly!” she exclaimed, racing over to the case, Claire and Marcos on her heels.
Annja didn’t have time to locate the key, so she lifted one booted foot and kicked out sharply, driving her heel through the front of the case and shattering the glass. Reaching
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