She heard the sound of voices in the galley and recognized them as two of the other members of her group. She entered the dining area, where a long table was bolted to the floor with two solid teak benches on either side.
Bob Dickerson and Franny Milanese sat close together quietly talking. They had both been on this trip before and were well aware of what was in store for their group.
“Hello, Daphne. Restless?” Bob asked. He stood as she entered the room.
She smiled to herself, touched by his old-fashioned manners. Bob was the leader of their team. His experience was a given and he was very good at putting their group at ease. Of the five of them he was the one they all seemed to look toward as the leader. “A little. I was talking to the captain up on deck.”
“You shouldn’t be on deck at night,” Franny said.
“So I’ve heard.”
“Pirates operate in this area and it’s too dangerous.”
“If they spot foreigners they will target this ship,” Bob said.
“If they target this ship it will be because it’s a tanker and its cargo is worth more money each day. Besides, everyone in the crew is foreign,” said Daphne.
“That is true,” Franny said. “But foreign—European or American—hostages fetch more money.”
“I didn’t realize that,” she said. “I’m sorry. I should have stayed down here, but it feels so closed off.”
“Yes, it does,” Bob agreed. “You’ll have a little more freedom when we arrive in Somalia.”
“I’m looking forward to that. And doing work for people who need us. I haven’t done this since I was in my first-year residency.”
Bob smiled at her. “We are so glad you decided to join us this summer. What made you change your mind?”
She shrugged. She didn’t want to talk about her personal life with Bob or Franny. “The timing seemed right. Can I ask you both about the Captain?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“When I was on deck we heard an engine approaching and he told me to come downstairs. I did but waited to see if he would need help, and…”
She wasn’t sure if she should say any more. What could Franny or Bob do to help the situation?
“Did he?”
“No. He knew the men who came on board. But he was speaking to them quietly and…they were all armed.”
Bob stood up. “I’ll go up there and see what’s going on. Daphne, you go with Franny back to our quarters. Make sure all of our group is awake. If there is a situation I want everyone ready to move.”
“Move? Move where?” she asked.
“Out of harm’s way,” Bob said.
Franny led the way out of the galley. “Do you want me to come with you, Bob?”
He shook his head.
“No, stay with the others. I think that if there are too many of us—”
“My husband—ex-husband—is a Senator. I’m pretty good in tense situations.”
“I know that, Daphne. But in this part of the world sometimes just the fact that you are a woman will work against you.”
She nodded. There was a lot of truth to what Bob was saying. She followed Franny down the lit hallway to the bunks where the rest of their team was. Rudy was already waiting for them. When she entered they were all awake and waiting.
“What’s going on? I heard a speedboat approaching on the port side.” Rudy asked.
Rudy was a nurse with their group who had been working for the last few years in South America. He said he was ready for a change of locale and had signed up to go to Africa with this group after rebels in the South American jungle had killed his girlfriend of eight years.
“I don’t like this,” he said.
“No one does. Do we have any weapons with us?” Jerry asked.
“Bob always carries a handgun in his med bag,” Franny said.
She left them to go and retrieve it.
“Where is Bob?”
“I…was up on deck and overheard the captain talking to some men. Bob went to investigate.”
“Fucking hell,” Jerry said. “I was hoping for a little adventure on this trip but not this much.”
She shook her head. Jerry was her age and from California. He was fit and tan and according to Franny was on wife number four. Daphne knew Jerry by reputation only. He was an excellent surgeon, but she’d heard he was a bit of an asshole when he wasn’t in the operating room.
Bob reentered the room. “There was no one on deck when I got up there, but I did walk the deck and saw a boat moored off the stern.”
“One of the rescue craft for this tanker?” Jerry asked.
“No. A speedboat. The captain was on the bridge talking with two men. But to be honest, at that distance I couldn’t make out if they were crew members or not.”
“Did you confront the captain?” Franny asked as she rejoined them. She handed the weapon she had to Bob. He took it and then squeezed her shoulder as if to reassure her.
“No. Listen, folks, I’m not sure what’s going on up there, but I think we need to stay alert,” Bob said.
“I agree,” Jerry said.
“Me too,” Daphne said. “But we’re not armed nor are we trained to take on pirates. I think we need a backup plan.”
“I agree,” Franny said. “We need to send a message to the DAW home office in Manhattan. They will contact the UN and send forces to protect us.”
“How will we do that?” Jerry asked. “My cell phone signal has been spotty for the last twelve hours.”
“Mine too,” Rudy said.
“We’ll have to go to the radio room and send a message,” Bob said. “Daphne, would you feel comfortable sending the message to your ex-husband? I feel like we need the U.S. State Department on this as well.”
She didn’t like the thought of turning to Paul for anything, but dying or being held hostage wasn’t like asking him to come over and help her figure out how to work the security system on her house. “Yes, I will do that.”
“But when?”
“Tomorrow,” Bob said.
They all went to their quarters. She and Franny were sharing accommodations that would have been for the first mate. There were bunk-style beds against one wall and a two-drawer dresser bolted to the floor.
“This is proving to be an exciting trip,” Franny said.
“It definitely is,” Daphne said. “I really wanted to do something different this summer.”
“Me too. I’ve been traveling to Africa for a while with our group but the restlessness in Somalia and seeing all those children with gunshot wounds and missing limbs…they need the help that our organization can provide.”
“Yes, they do,” Daphne said. “It was the kids that motivated me to come.”
That and the fact that her own life had become kind of pitiful. A boring routine where she did nothing but try to figure out what she’d done to drive Paul away. What she’d done to make him turn to another woman.
And that kind of thinking was making her crazy. Even her kids had suggested she do something this summer instead of staying home by herself, which had proven