After years of training to defend myself in case of surprise attacks, Rob wanted me to leave him behind.

It hurt that he had lied to my face to get me off the ship, but I had done it without questioning him. Being stubborn would have led to Rob neglecting his safety and getting himself killed trying to keep me alive; after all, even if he had no recollection of it, he had promised Maria that he would protect me with his life. Such promises settle in your heart. One just doesn't forget them, amnesia or not. 

I had to prove to Rob that I was not some spoilt, sex-crazed, waste of space, but a man who possessed foresight and intelligence. Like Batman! 

To prove my point, I made a detour and returned to the ship soon after Rob took his eyes off me. Now that he thought I was safe, he had probably turned his attention to the others on the ship. It was obvious that my father had not expected us to get attacked or catered to it in case it happened. Making Rob the only battle-trained soldier onboard. And I knew exactly what he would try to do. 

I had inspected the contents of my duffel while Rob was packing it. He had probably realized that the fuckers had jammed the cellphone signal and the only way to get help was for me to reach Lamo; for now, though, we were on our own.

I reached the ship and got my ass safely to my private cabin without being seen, an achievement in itself, if I may say so. From my vantage point on the third floor, I had a decent view of the happenings on the floor below. The only thing I could use was the sound gun. It was powerful, but its range was limited. There was no way I could get them all at once, so I bid my time till an opportunity presented itself, and it did, soon.

There were seven of them in total. And there was one of Rob, who threw his phone onto the floor that had sheltered me. I had left my spot in haste and hid under my bed. Unsurprisingly, no one entered my cabin. 

When all of them had returned to their spots, Rob had disappeared. I fished out my binoculars and zoomed in on the place he had last occupied. There, lying behind a pile of pool chairs, was a body in its underwear!

Connecting the dots, I moved forward, keeping my eyes on Rob until Niki came into the picture. 

I couldn't hear the conversation unfolding on the floor below, but from how Rob's body stiffened, it couldn't have been anything good. Shortly after, Rob walked towards the kitchen and fell out of my line of sight. I waited… and waited… and waited, and then, out of the blue, the deck exploded into a frenzy as first one and then three other men went towards the kitchen.

Rob! 

I had to do something. I heard footsteps climbing the stairs, closing in on me. It was time I used my sound gun. Placing the sound guards in my ears and turning the settings knob to the short-range full blast, I ducked behind a lounge chair, and as soon as the man was within the gun's range, I shot it at him. He dropped his weapon to the floor, covered his ears, and let out a blood-curdling scream. Without a second's delay, I rushed towards him. Targeting the gun's edge at the man's neck, I rendered him unconscious. To my knowledge, only the one aiming his gun at the hostages remained. 

With no time to spare, fueled by adrenaline, I bounded down the stairs two at a time. A gut-wrenching scream pierced my ears, making me pause. Even without witnessing it, I knew someone had just been shot. 

I didn't think from that point on. I wanted revenge. Before the leader could hurt anyone else, I aimed my gun at him and pulled the trigger. I hadn't thought it through, and the next second, everyone within a ten-foot radius screamed and shielded their ears. I repeated with the leader what I had done with his man upstairs, and as soon as I had taken care of him, I switched the trigger off. 

It took a few moments for the hostages to find their bearings; I knew they were going to be okay, so I rushed towards the kitchen. 

Towards Rob. 

"What the fuck are you doing back here, Mick!?" I turned around just before reaching the kitchen door and found Rob, who looked uninjured, angry as fuck, but otherwise alright. Considering it a win, I rushed to his side and threw his arms around him. "Do not lie to me again!" I whispered. "Or I will fire your lying ass."

Leaning away, he ran his eyes over me. "Are you hurt?" 

"No."

"Good." He nodded once, took the sound gun from my hand, and gestured to me to hand over the ear guards. "Niki's dead. She deserved it." His honey-brown eyes locked with mine. "I have to take care of the assholes I locked in the kitchen. All of us need to evacuate the ship. I suspect more will be on the way. I spotted their motorboat—"

"I saw it too," I interrupted. "How about I load the motorboat till then? I think it can hold seventeen people."
[8k milestone]

"Don't you mean eighteen people?" Rob asked. 

"No. Niki is dead, and I am not leaving your side. Ever."

Rob pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Pursing his lips, he glared at me. "Fine. Ask Jones to take them to the Eastern dock. It's closer to the hospital than the western one. Once he reaches there, he needs to inform your uncle about this."

"What about us?"

Rob glanced at the horizon. "We will disembark at Western dock. Our men need to be ready to receive us there. I am sure Mr. Vas will take care of it," he said, pointing at the deck. "It bothers me that we still don't know who they are." 

I bobbed my head in acknowledgment. "Will five minutes suffice?"

"Yes."

"Then let's meet at our boat in five."

"Will do."

With that, both of us got to work; six minutes later, we were rowing towards Lamo Island. 

"Jones and others will reach in ten minutes," Rob stated as the boat carrying our people became merely a dot floating on the vast blue expanse. 

"You know, we could have hitched a ride with them."

Rob kept looking out at the sea. "Yes. But then I wouldn't be able to come clean with you." He closed his eyes. A lone tear made its way down his stubbled cheek. "Mick, I am not Robert Pierce."

*****
[Chapter Word Count: 1148
Word count so far: 8245]

8k milestone reached!