For Ransom

Chapter 32: The Beginning of the End

Alessandro

"Soraya, it's over. Give me your armada or else you all die here."

"Hermes." Soraya snarled, shouldering her way toward the tall man. Alessandro reached for his own, cursing when he remembered he left it on his now destroyed houseship. They were lucky that he had gathered the remainder of the crew onto this small boat before they left. That was ten million dollars down the drain. He would make Hermes pay. Literally.

"You don't have a choice. My men have you surrounded and they will sink you in minutes. Surrender here and you won't have to drown to death in these unforgiving waters." Submarines rose from the water, their bright headlights drilling ominously onto the group. Alessandro squinted against the shocking sight of the machines, trying to block the piercing light with his fingers. How rich was this man?

"Actually, it's you who doesn't have a choice." And Soraya grinned ferociously as she checked the watch on her wrist. She pressed her pistol onto the man's chest, crinkling the smooth surface of his suit. Alessandro surged forward in fear, but an arm stopped him. Nadia shook her head.

Let her.

"For years, I've been at your mercy. I've had to do unspeakable things in order to stay in your favor." Alessandro saw the shame flash across her face and knew she had been waiting years for this moment, to take back the dignity the man had stolen from her. Still, he was confused as to how she would do that when it seemed they had fallen right into his inexorable claws. But Soraya steeled her face with fierce resolution and continued.

"Things have changed. The girl that stole your precious desalination machine and got punished." Another glance at her watch. "But now she controls the Academy and the most powerful armada in the world. And she'll be stealing your entire company."

A gunshot sounded.

Hermes fell in slow motion, that stunned expression the last Alessandro saw of the man before he fell to his death.

"Go!" Soraya screamed, signaling for her ship to throw the ladder down. The first submarine attack struck the stern of their small boat and Alessandro tumbled to the ground, the deck lurching violently beneath them.

"HERE!" Nadia reached out, dragging him upward and pulling him onto the swinging rope.

"Pull! Everyone get on the ladder now or grab some rope!" A wave of frigid Arctic water drenched him as he attempted to grab a rope again. He finally made contact, but the cold had shocked his body too much and his fingers failed to hold on tight enough. He crashed back onto the slanted deck, a few other crewmates rolling on top of him, sucking all of the air out of his breath. Dammit.

"Just leave without me!" He called to Nadia, who stared at him in a mix of anguish and frustration. She shook her head, jumping off the side of the titanium lined ship.

"You. Are. So. Dumb." Nadia grabbed his trembling body. Soraya tossed three more lines of rope and a few extremely agonizing scrapes later, Alessandro was nursing his bleeding knee in the shelter of Soraya's ship.

A thunderous noise roared from the sky and they all looked up.

A massive metal bird soared over, circling the area with incredible speed.

"What the hell.." He muttered beneath his breath, blinking a couple times to ensure he wasn't hallucinating. The submarines halted in their path of attack as the entire world stopped to admire the feat that flew above them.

"The first aircraft ever created in the Oceania Period now flies above you. And she will drop her bombs if you do not surrender yourselves to me," Soraya commanded over the booming in the heavens. The submarine hatches popped open and men held up their hands in surrender and the ships following them stopped their chase as well. Soraya grinned as their ship rejoined with the remainder of her crew safely. The metal bird raced back over them, traveling back to an unknown destination.