I follow.
“Firstly, there are buttons all over the place. There will be more than one panic button, or radio button, or something to call for help. Secondly, he has a gun in his waistband, I can see it. I have no doubt he is far more efficient at aiming a gun than weare. And thirdly, if he actually refuses and we have to shoot him, the whole boat will come for us. If he does as we are told, it could be hours we are trying to hold him up, which will also mean the whole boat will come for us because there is no way we can re-route an entire boat without raising attention and even then, he could lead us anywhere. There has to be another way.”
My heart skips as Aggie stares over at me. “Dammit, I think she’s right.”
I think she is, too.
But if not this, then what?
Aggie glances at the captain again, then back to us, her jaw working. “We need a distraction,” she whispers, “something big. Something that gives us what we want, but doesn’t get anyone hurt.”
I stare at her. “Like what, set off the fire alarm?”
She shakes her head, but there’s a glint in her eyes that is somewhat terrifying. “Bigger. We need to stop this boat, and I think the only way to do that is to have an emergency signal go off so we can be rescued. That will throw any plan they have way off.”
Tatiana’s mouth drops open. “Um, no thanks. I’m not into shipwrecks.”
Aggie waves her hand, brushing it off. “No, not like that. But, like—maybe the boat becomes damaged, nothing major but enough to have them call an emergency. It’s scary, sure, but in this day and age we will be rescued quickly and those lifeboats are nice. I can mix something up from the cleaning room.”
I hate to admit it, but she’s onto something.
I raise my brows. “You mean, like, a... bomb?”
Aggie nods, her face oddly serene. “I was top in chem, you know? Gave my teacher an ulcer.” Her expression softens for just a second. “I can mix something to explode, not enough tohurt anyone, but enough for them to have to call an emergency and take us to land.”
For the first time all day, Tatiana actually looks hopeful. “You could do that? Like, really?”
Aggie nods. “Easiest thing in the world. But we would have to be fast, and well prepared. We’d need to set it off and run.”
My stomach twists. It’s a mad plan, absolutely insane, but it’s the only thing that feels possible. The only one that risks our lives a little less than the others.
“Okay,” I whisper, feeling the decision settle like falling glass. “But if we do this, there’s no turning back.”
Aggie doesn’t hesitate as she nods. “I’d rather risk doing this than wait and see what’s waiting for us when we dock. Wouldn’t you?”
We both look to Tatiana, and she nods.
It’s settled then.
Aggie looks at me. “You still have the gun?”
I nod, pressing my lips together. I don’t want to admit where I hid it. It’s so cliché it’s embarrassing.
Tatiana exhales, a shuddering little breath. “So, it’s bombs away, huh.”
I snort.
Aggie laughs. “Don’t worry, girls. We got this.”
We slip away from the hall we were hiding in, Aggie leading the way. Down the service stairs, through the narrow corridor lined with laundry bags and carts stacked with towels. Aggie walks like she’s done this a hundred times, never hesitating. She finds the locked supply closet, and from somewhere in her bag, produces a bobby pin.
She looks back at me, half smiling. “Saw it on YouTube. Turns out it’s mostly true.”
I press my lips together, narrowing my eyes, but in less than a minute, she pops the cheap lock and we’re inside.
I’ll be damned.
I look around; it’s a large room, wall to wall with shelves. Mostly, it contains towels and sheets, but there are also rows of shelves with cleaning products. Aggie grabs what she needs and finds a bag to put it all in. She pauses, eyes darting around, then grabs a few masks from a box near the bottom shelf.
