Kathleen screamed, “Shoot them, Martin, the both
of them. Don’t mind me.”
“I’ll kill her, I swear it!” Fox cried.
“No need. Just cool it.” Keogh handed the AK, butt first, to Dolan, who stepped back covering him
with it, a look Of unholy pleasure on his face.
“Now then, you bastard.”
The door to the engine room.companionway opened at the end of the passage and Grant stepped out, a revolver in his han5 “I’m here, boys,” he called.
Fox lowered his pistol and turned to look at him and everything happened at once. Kathleen half turned, her hand slipping inside her denim jacket. She found the Colt.25, pulled it out, rammed the muzzle .in Fox’s stomach, and pulled the trigger twice. Keogh hitched his right trouser leg revealing the Walther in the ankle holster, dropped to his left knee, pulling the gun out in one fluid motion, his first bullet catching Dolan in the left shoulder. He dropped the AK, spinning round, and Keogh’s second smashed his spine.
Grant got off one wild shot. Keogh fired back, creas- ing his shoulder, and the Scotsman disappeared fast.
Keogh picked up the AK and put a hand on the girl’s arm. “Are you all fight?” “Fine.” She laughed shakily. “I did what you told me and you were fight. Hold it against them and you can’t miss.” “So let’s get out of here.” He got the door of the companionway open and called across to the truck. “Michael, they tried to jump us.” “Are you all right?” Ryan called, opening his door and sheltering behind it.
“Fine. Cover us. We’re coming through.” He pushed Kathleen out. “Keep behind my back, girl,” and he turned, looking up at the wheelhouse, and fired a quick burst into the air when he saw a movement up there at the window.
Kathleen reached her uncle in safety. “Get back into the rear cabin. You’ll be safe there.” S.1,. did as’ she was told and he called to Keogh, who.as sheltering behind the passenger door. “What happened?” Keogh told him. “So you were right after all.” “I usually am. A bad habit.”
IN THE WHEELHOUSE IT WAS SEVERAL MINUTES before Grant reached the bridge by a circuitous route involving the engine room hatch. He was very pale, eyes wild, blood staining his left shoulder. He pulled off his jacket, found a piece of engine room rag, and tried to bandage his shoulder.
“That little bitch shot Fox. She had a gun, then Keogh killed Dolan and had a go at me. What do we do now?”
“I don’t damn well know, do I?” Tully answered.
He went to the stem window, killed the wheelhouse light, then opened the window keeping in the shadows and peered down. He saw the truck doors standing open like wings and realized Ryan and Keogh must be standing bghind them. He took careful aim at Keogh’s side, aiming below the door in the hope that he might get lucky and catch feet or ankles.
He emptied his revolver, firing six times. The response was terrible, as both Ryan and Keogh fired a long burst back, dissolving the wheelhouse windows into a snowstorm of flying glass.
Tully and Grnt went down on the floor fast, but Muller wasn’t so lucky, several rounds catching him in the back. He fell, the wheel started to spin, and Tully crawled to it and, hf crouching, pulled it
round, then secured the wheel with the chain lock.
“That’ll hold for a while.”
“But how long for and what do ‘(ye bloody do?” Grant asked.
“I don’t know, do I?” IT WAS TEN MINUTES LATER THAT THE RADIO crackled and Ryan said, “You there, Tully?”
“Yes, there’s still three of us,” Tully lied.’ “Muller, Grant, and me.”
“Are you going to be Sensible?’
“Why should I be? You need me more than I need you, Ryan.” The Irish Rose rolled heavily as the wind howled in. “Unless you can handle a ship like
this and I don’t think so, especially not in weather
like this.”
“So what do you suggest?”
“I don’t know. Only one thing’s certain. You can’t
touch us up here if we keep our heads down and we