03 Deluge of the Dead (37 page)

“That little yacht looks like a good catch and it’s tied up to another nice one too,” Terrance said as he pointed at two late model motor yachts. One of them was tied to a mooring and the other was tied to the stern of the first boat. The second boat was the one with the mooring light. They tossed in the swells but, aside from the single light, there was no sign of life aboard them. “Take us over there,” Terrance told Billy. Then he turned to Floyd and said, “You watch the kid and make sure he doesn’t try anything stupid. I’ll take three of the other men onto those boats. If we can’t start them right away, we’ll just tie them to the back of this one and pull them out of here.”

“Sounds good to me,” Floyd replied. “Be sure to stake a claim on the best one for us. I didn’t leave the
Sovereign Spirit
to end up in the crew bunks on this boat. You know Scag will keep this yacht for himself, so we need to grab one of our own.”

“You read my mind,” Terrance said. He grabbed his shotgun and left the bridge.

Floyd turned to Billy and said, “You heard him, Billy, no funny stuff. I’ll shoot you, if I have to. But that won’t be the end of it. With you out of the picture we’d have time to play with your mom. You don’t want that to happen, do you?”  He finished with a chuckle that made Billy’s blood run cold.

“I understand,” Billy replied. “But you know these swells are pretty big, right? I might not be able to hold this thing alongside for long without the waves bashing us into those boats.”

“You’ll do what you’re told, if you know what’s good for you,” Floyd retorted.

“Just don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Billy said. “And trust me, I want you and Terrance to get your own boat and leave this one more than you do. I hope your boat sinks and you both drown, but anything is better than being stuck here with you.”

Floyd glowered at Billy, but didn’t say or do anything except point at where he wanted Billy to go. As they approached the boats Billy let go of the steering wheel and used the dual throttle controls to maneuver the
Expiscator
. He pulled her up on the southeast side of the moored boats, where the swells were less likely to cause a collision. Floyd moved over to the starboard side windows and watched as Terrance directed three of the Surf Nazis to board the boats.

The
Expiscator
was almost 120 feet long and the boats it pulled up to were in the 40 to 50 foot range. So, even with a ten foot rope separating the two smaller motor yachts, the
Expiscator
was able to pull alongside both of them at once. Terrance sent two of the Surf Nazis to board the boat tied to the mooring from the aft deck and brought the third pirate up to the
Expiscator’s
bow to board the other boat with the lit mooring light. Billy watched their progress closely as he manipulated the throttles to hold the big yacht in position. He saw what looked like a seal swimming between the boats, but didn’t give it a second thought.

 *****

Scott was very cautious as he swam up to the stern of the
Expiscator.
He could hear that the propellers were running, alternating between forward and reverse as someone used them skillfully to hold the yacht’s position. Scott suspected that Billy was at the helm, since he had heard Stan Dawson’s voice coming from the ferry in the harbor and doubted the pirates were capable of handling the
Expiscator
this well.  He hoped he was right, because it meant that Billy was still alive. Scott was careful to avoid the twin propellers as he pulled himself quietly onto the large swim step behind the fishing cockpit. Once aboard the yacht Scott crouched and waved his wetsuit clad arms towards the pier to signal Lance that the plan was in ready to be set in motion. Several seconds later he heard glass shatter on the bridge accompanied by a deafening gunshot from the pier.

*****

Billy was taken completely by surprise when Floyd’s head literally exploded from a high powered rifle bullet that crashed through the starboard window and into the traitor’s forehead. The 50 caliber round traveled straight through Floyd’s skull and took most of his brains with it through an exit wound the size of a baseball. Blood, brains and bone fragments splattered Billy as the bullet continued across the bridge and shattered the other window on its way out of the boat.  Billy ducked instinctively and threw both throttles forward as he tried to figure out what was happening.

*****

The
Expiscator
surged forward, nearly causing Terrance to fall overboard and incidentally saving his life as a second 50 caliber bullet missed his head by the thinnest of margins. It impacted the side of the yacht next to his head and Terrance scrambled over the covered Jacuzzi on the bow to seek shelter on the other side of the yacht.  He heard another loud gunshot accompanied by a cry of anguish and knew that the pirate who had gone aboard the smaller yacht had not been as lucky. Terrance stayed on his hands and knees as he crawled along the port side of the yacht, heading towards the aft deck.

*****

Scott almost fell overboard too when the yacht charged forward unexpectedly. He grasped the rail of the fishing cockpit while drawing a snub nosed .357 revolver from an ankle holster. He had left the Desert Eagle and M-203 with Rex to defend his own boat. Scott also trusted the revolver to work after being immersed in the ocean more than his automatic weapons.  He climbed into the fishing cockpit and moved swiftly towards the stairs to the aft deck.

*****

Special Agent Helen Slidell received a single word radio message from Lance: “Go.” It was enough to trigger a flurry of activity as the helicopter stopped circling the cove in front of the abandoned Miramar Hotel in Montecito and flew up the coast. They overtook the Cigarette boat which was also charging up the coast at maximum speed. Scott’s plan had taken them all by surprise, but Helen hoped it had taken the pirates by surprise too. The assault teams were less than two minutes away from the yacht and she hoped that Scott and Lance could keep the hostages safe until they arrived.

*****

 Billy was stunned by Floyd’s sudden death. He barely realized that he had sent the yacht moving full speed towards the shore. When he did register that fact he also decided it wasn’t such a bad idea. The beach in front of the yacht was all sand and shouldn’t break the hull if he didn’t run her aground too fast. However, beaching the yacht would prevent the pirates from taking it with them. It would also give him a chance to get his mother off the boat. Billy decided to reduce power, but left the
Expiscator
aimed at the beach. Then he stepped over Floyd’s body and rushed into the captain’s cabin to untie his Mother as the yacht bore down on the beach.

*****

Scott was crossing the aft deck towards the stairs to the Sky Lounge and bridge when he saw an armed man inside the main salon. The man saw him too and raised his pistol with a look of surprise. Scott was a moment faster. The snub nose revolver spit out a bullet along with a foot long muzzle flash. It wasn’t a very accurate gun and Scott’s shot was rushed, so the first bullet missed the pirate by several inches. It was enough to spook the man, though. His shot also went wide. Scott took better aim and shot the pirate in the chest.

Scott resumed his mission to reach the bridge. He had noticed that that the yacht was heading towards the beach and wanted to stop it from going aground. He also hoped that his wife and son were alive and located in the direction he was moving. The bullet that hit Scott in the right buttocks came as a total surprise.

*****

Terrance had been alerted to imminent danger by two loud gunshots. He reached the aft deck of the
Expiscator
and saw a totally black clad figure climbing the stairs to the upper level. Having dropped his shotgun while evading the sniper, he drew his pistol and fired at the dark figure.  Terrance was just about to celebrate the accuracy of his shot and fire again when his world was rocked, throwing him to the deck as the yacht came to a sudden and violent halt. His only consolation was seeing the wounded man in the wetsuit topple over the side into the surf.

*****

“Hang on, Mom,” Billy said as he finished untying Michelle’s arms and started working on the ropes binding her legs. “We’re going to run aground. It’s our best chance to escape.” No sooner had he said this than the
Expiscator
did indeed run up onto the beach and shuddered to a stop. “Come on, Mom,” Billy said as he helped her off the bed.

“Where are we?” Michelle asked in confusion. “And where are the pirates?”

“We’re on the beach in Santa Barbara,” Billy replied. “Scag and most of the pirates took the ferry to raid the harbor and most of the rest boarded some boats anchored off the pier. The one they left on the bridge, Floyd, was shot by a rifle. That’s when I decided it was time to make a move. Beaching the boat seemed like our best chance to get away.”

 “Good thinking, son. Let’s go,” Michelle agreed and followed him towards the sky lounge.

“Freeze, assholes,” Terrance said as he entered the other side of the lounge. “Get down on the floor! Now!” He waved a pistol at them menacingly. Terrance was also ducking to avoid standing in front of a window in case the sniper was still out there. Billy and Michelle followed his instructions and sat with their backs to the forward bulkhead.

“What the fuck have you done?” Terrance demanded of Billy. “Where’s Floyd?”

“A sniper shot him,” Billy replied. “And the boat has run aground. People will be coming to rescue us soon. Your best bet now is to just let us go and run away.”

“Yeah, someone already tried to come aboard, but I shot him,” Terrance muttered. “And there’s not a chance I’m letting you go. Scag would skin me alive.” He moved forward to kick Billy and grab Michelle, saying, “Come on, Bitch!”

Billy rolled away from the kick and his hand darted up under the seat in front of the computer where he had been sitting when the pirates stormed the yacht. His hand reappeared with a 9mm Beretta pistol and he fired it over his mother’s head into Terrance’s startled face.  

*****

Scag had given up any hope of raiding the harbor, or seizing more boats or supplies, let alone women. The resistance was too fierce. His pirates weren’t soldiers and he had already lost more than twenty men to the concentrated gunfire from the Coast Guard and whoever was on the pier. Now he just wanted to get away and keep heading north.

“Keep the hostages in front of the windows,” Scag ordered. Turning to Stan he said, “Take us out of the harbor right now.”

Stan was silent for a moment and hesitated until Scag grabbed one of the young twins and put a gun to its head. “Okay!” Stan agreed. “Whatever you say.” Stan had hoped that the pirates could be contained and captured or killed here, but he knew that Scag wouldn’t hesitate to kill the boy and then start torturing the rest of his family until he got what he wanted. The Coast Guard and the Marines on the pier held their fire as the big ferry turned and moved swiftly out to sea.

*****

Billy and Michelle ran out onto the main deck and Billy said, “Wait a second.” He darted into the salon where he saw the dead pirate and yelled, “Come on, girls. The pirates are dead or gone. Let’s get the hell out of here!”

The three young coeds ran up from the cabins below in various stages of undress. They were clearly terrified, but they knew Billy and trusted him. He herded them and Michelle towards the bow. The yacht had run straight up onto a sandbar and the waves hadn’t turned it broadside yet, but the hull did rock with the pounding surf. Billy looked back out to sea and saw two of the boats seized from the oil rig moving slowly towards the
Expiscatror
. They had a shallower draft than the big yacht and could probably get close enough to board the stern. Billy didn’t want another fight.

“We have to get to the beach,” Billy said.  “Jump in and swim to shore. It’s not deep.” Michelle jumped over the side and the girls only hesitated a moment before following them. Billy was right behind them.

*****

“Where the fuck is my yacht?” Scag screamed. “What happened to the
Exterminator?
”

“She’s up on the beach,” Stan said with a smile. The rain had stopped and they had clear view of the grounded yacht as they came around the pier. Stan knew Billy must have run her aground and realized that it was one of the only places that Scag wouldn’t follow.

“Son of bitch!” Scag yelled as he cuffed Stan in the side of the head. “Can we get it back?”

“No way,” Stan answered honestly. “It would take hours and whoever you sent to set up the tow lines would be exposed to rifle fire from the pier.”

“Shit!” Scag grumbled in disgust. Then he pointed at some figures struggling to reach shore and said, “There go all my bitches and that brat! Shoot those fuckers!” Some of his men started firing at the figures running out of the surf onto the beach, but they were several hundred yards away and the pirates were firing from a moving vessel.

Lance didn’t have that problem. The .50 caliber semiautomatic sniper rifle immediately decimated any pirate that fired towards the beach, as well as a couple that returned his fire on the pier.

“Oh fuck it!” Scag yelled. “Get us out of here.” Stan was happy to turn the ferry away from land and increase power. At least he was taking the pirates away from his friends on the beach.

*****

Billy led his mother and the girls up the beach, away from the water and the gunfire directed at them. As the ferry turned away he gave a sigh of relief. It was short lived. The rain had stopped and the gunfire had attracted the attention of others who had been hiding near the beach.

A least a dozen of the undead boiled out from under a bridge on Cabrillo Boulevard. More came out from under the pier. Others emerged from the public restrooms where they had been hiding from the rain. As soon as Mindy saw them she screamed and all of the zombies ran towards them.

“Get back in the water!” Billy yelled. The women turned to run, but the zombies were closing fast. Billy raised his pistol and shot the closest ones in the head. His efforts gave the women time to reach the tide line, but slowed Billy down. As he ran out of bullets the remaining zombies were right on top of him. Billy almost wished he had saved a bullet for himself.