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I LOOKED, ANDsaw her pointing off the port side. It was our boat that had caught her attention. The water police on the vessel beside ours had seen us go into the water and lashed our boat to theirs, but hadn’t sent another officer over to cover our absence. Hope had been watching our boat and noticed no one was on board.

“Shit,” I whispered.

“The officers who were on that boat moved over to the next one.” Chris tried to cover us. He didn’t sound confident enough. “They’re there, Hope. No one’s—”

“Someone’s boarded me,” Hope snapped. “One of your officers has boarded me, haven’t they? You people have no regard for life, do you? I’m going to kill this innocent woman if you don’t get your officers off my fucking yacht.”

She went to Jenny and actioned the rifle, pointed it at the woman’s head. The wind whipped the young woman’s hair as she stared out defiantly at the boats around her. I got up on my haunches and got ready to run.

“Hold your fire!” someone yelled on the wind. “Hold your—”

A couple of shots clanged off the edge of the vessel, just above Hope’s head. She slid down to her backside and growled with rage.

“Fuckers!” she yelled.

I watched the fury tremble through her, down her chest and through her stomach like electricity in her muscles. It was anger that moved her, taking over and crushing her logic. She kicked out and toppled the compressor over the edge of the boat.

“No, Hope!” I yelled. “No!”

It was too late. I saw the heavy machine go over the side.