Chapter 20: Fire Away

 Jason looked at Marla as she swam,so peaceful. Unknown to her that they were being tracked down by rogue cops. He went back to the swimming pool and joined her for a swim. As he entered the pool he made sure to look at the time. It was 7:40 pm. According to Tyler, the three police officers in pursuit would be there in about forty minutes but not later than one hour. They enjoyed themselves for around ten minutes teasing each other when Jason asked Marla if she wanted to see something phenomenal to which she agreed. When they came out of the pool they were met by another young gentleman almost the same age as Jason,but he was dressed like captain Bennet.

"Marla, I'd like for you to meet Peter,he's the second in command from captain Bennet." Jason introduced him as he handed them both towels to dry off and robes to cover themselves in.

"So,what is so incredible that you couldn't resist to show me?" Marla asked

"How would you like to see the marine life as if its outside your window?" Jason enquired

"No way" she responded

"Peter here will take you there and I'm sure he'll be a good guide. If you'll have any questions just ask him" Jason told her.

"Wait. You're not coming?" She asked him

"Unfortunately I can't. The call I just received minutes ago, it was the coast guard telling me that there might be pirates on the route that were using. I'm going to check it up with the captain." Jason told her. He then pulled Peter to the side," make sure she's safe down there. And Peter, not a word of what's happening up here,comprende?" Jason asked

"Comprende" Peter assured him. "But boss,what happens if she gets curious?" He asked just as he was about to turn back

"Think of any way of handling her," Jason responded as he went to where Marla was standing and from the looks of things she was obviously worried.

"Why you making such a face?" He asked

"What face?" She answered his question with a question

"The 'are we going to die' face" Jason answered

"You just told me that we have pirates on our tail and here you are acting all calm expecting me not panick. Are you fucking kidding me!????" She asked 

"I admit,really was a wrong move telling you the situation at hand" Jason said with a scoff so that she couldn't make out all the words he was saying.

" I'm sorry,I don't know that we're to make jokes" Marla said little surprised at Jason's composure. He looked more calm than ever and didn't seem to be worried.

"I just wish I told you that we were given a storm warning" Jason said with a chuckle

All that Marla did was give him an unhappy stare."Peter, take her down there and make sure she's safe"

Peter took Marla to a changing room where she got a pair of sweatpants, a hoodie and a t-shirt laid out for her to change into. As Peter stood outside the room waiting for her to change,she saw it as a good conversation starter.

"So," she started,"how did Jason pick out these clothes? Because they fit me so damn good. "She asked

"Jason is a man who knows his way around things,he always looks at the finer details that most people would miss to see. One look at you and he can dress you up like a fashion designer" Peter answered

"Why am I not surprised. And by the way,how much did he use today?" She asked again

"What do you mean?" A puzzled Peter asked as Marla walked out of the room fully dressed.

"I mean,how much for the yacht for a night? How much for you and the captain? How much did he spend?" She rephrased the question

"I'm sorry miss, but it seems like you have clearly misunderstood who Jason is" Peter answered

"Can you please stop with the charade? You can stop acting for once that he owns this whole yacht. This thing must cost a fortune and I'm sure that West is not on the same level as Bill Gates." She said as she followed him into the underwater viewing room

"All that I can say Marla is,Jason doesn't like to flaunt money around and show the world how much money he has. But take it from me,Mr West owns this very yacht from the front to the back" Peter concluded as he turned on the underwater lights revealing the marine life beneath the surface. Marla was mesmerized by the beauty of the fish that she could see,the very sight gave her goosebumps.

Meanwhile,Jason went to the controls room where he found Bennet looking at the radar.

"Anything?" He asked

"Yes,I've been able to see three targets heading our way,about fifteen minutes out and closing in fast." Bennet responded

When Jason looked at Bennet he saw the look that a parent would give a child just when they are about to scold them.

"What?" Jason asked

"Nothing" Bennet replied

"I know that look,its the same one you used to give me when me and my brother got into trouble" Jason told him

"I was about to ask what you have got yourself involved in this time,but there's no use to know." Bennet said

"It's best if I don't get you involved in this,I can't take any chances" Jason said as he patted him on the back,"I hope you still have your rifle,"Jason enquired

"I take it anywhere I go" Bennet answered as he took the rifle from a secret compartment in one of the filing cabinets

"Good,I'm sure from where they are they can see our boat because of its lighting and they're tracking us using modern radar. So here's what I want you to do, slowly dim the lights and kill them,set the underwater lighting to a dim deep colour to camouflage. I also want you to change course, put the boat at full speed till I return." Jason said as he was leaving the room

After about five minutes he came back with an assault rifle fitted with a scope that had thermal imaging and two night vision googles

"Where the hell did you hide that?" Bennet asked

"You might live on the boat but I know every corner better than you" Jason replied." Are our unwanted guests still catching up?"he asked

"Yes,about five minutes out" Bennett responded

"Good,now on the count of three,I want you to turn this boat at 90°." Jason said as he went to one of the control panels and lifted a whole section of buttons to reveal another hidden set of buttons. "One,two, three...." Jason counted down and when he reached one he flipped some switches on the new panel. Almost immediately the whole system shut down for about three seconds with the yacht using the acquired speed to move it and maneuver the corner. After those few seconds of silence the systems came back online with very minimal lighting and almost no sound at all. The captain was the one who was surprised most.

Jason handed him one of the night vision googles,after both had worn theirs its then that Bennet asked, "What did you just do?"

" Those guys back there were tracking is via the yacht's digital technological system, so as long as the yacht was functional, they would be able to track is. But now that's not going to happen since I just activated the yacht's analog system. The same ones used in the world war. With the analog system we are virtually impossible to track because it also kills the noise brought about by the system by nearly 80%"Jason answered him

"And you're telling me this now?" Bennet asked

"Quit your whining and follow me up to the deck" Jason replied

"What are we going to do there now?We just drifted from their path and there's no way they can find us. According to your words,we just disappeared from their radar" Bennet said as he followed Jason to the deck

"If whoever I'm after is willing to send three guys to hunt me down,I better send them back a message telling them to bring it on" Jason said

"So what do we do now?" Bennet asked fearing the worst

"We wait for those bloody bastards to show up and we lay them to waste" Jason said as he looked through his scope to see if he could see anyone. On the other hand,Bennet lay on the ground and put his long range sniper rifle ready. For about two minutes they did not see anything,until finally they spotted them. Three men on jet skis arriving at the spot where the yacht last transmitted a signal. They watched as the trio tried to figure out what they were missing. They were about two hundred metres out.

"Ben,take out the one on the left. He's the one farthest from the others, I'll take care of the other two,ready when you are." Jason told him

Bennet took a few deep breaths as he calmed his nerves. Luckily, there wasn't much wind that evening so shooting was rather easier for both of them. As soon as Bennet's bullet went flying out of the chamber, Jason moved swiftly and opened fire on the other two who were caught unaware. Only five shots were fired,one from Bennet and four from Jason who made sure both victims received two each.

"Nicely done" Bennet said as he got up

"You too,I can see you haven't got rusty" Jason said as they both chuckled and went back to the controls room