Synopsis
PIRATES!! BEWARE!!!
‘I will not hesitate to kill in case the ransom is not paid.’ The threat in his voice was like a blast of icy wind and hearing him Phillip felt paralyzed. Osman went away closing the door closed behind him leaving the threat hanging in the air like a cloud of poison gas. Phillip recalled bored cold expression in Osman’s eyes as he made the ominous statement. This sadistic man was impetuous and almost obsequious in his manners and was sure Osman would not hesitate to kill if need be. He was responsible for the life of Samarth and could not risk another.
When Capt Phillip Mackenzie, boarded the Atlantic Splendor in Canada the whole ship was covered with snow. Thought the sun shone down brightly the next day the temperature remained at minus eighteen. The ship was to sail thirty hours later and the weather forecast for the next two days would continue to remain below zero.
In the North Atlantic a storm was silently brewing and would pass their track on departure. Capt. Mackenzie had ridden out many storms in his career and his reasons for concern now lay else where. He was deeply worried about the accumulation of the snow on the decks of the Splendor. If the thickness of the ice on the deck increased, so would the degree of tenderness and there were chances that the vessel might capsize in rough seas. He hoped that the temperatures would rise and melt off the ice as Phillip’s first priority was the safety of the ship and her crew.
Little did he then realize that this would be the least of his worries.
The next voyage was to load at a port in Saudi Arabia for U.S.A via the Suez Canal. The factual problems now began as besides being faced with a demoralized crew who did not wish to sail, he had to get his unarmed crew primed to defend his ship from the reckless armed pirates that hijacked ships in the Gulf of Aden.
He was lucky to escape capture in the Gulf of Aden due to the timely intervention by the collation forces. However fate had other plans as they were once again attacked in the Indian Ocean. With one of his officer shot during the siege Capt. Mackenzie had no option but surrender.
After being anchored off the Somalian coast and while waiting for the ransom to be paid, the pirates chagrin and take total advantage of the helpless crew.
While the shipping company and all other fraternities involved proffered for time to negotiate, families back home were in despair wondering when their beloved now held hostage would return to them in flesh and blood aware that there were no guarantees of their return.
‘I will not hesitate to kill you all in case the ransom is not paid.’ For an hour he lay on his big double bed. Osman’s words burning in his mind. He thought of the humiliation they had gone through in the last few months. The mortification he and his crew had faced at the hands of a few desperate puny men whose power lay in the artillery they held and greed for the ransom. He felt a wave of frustration and finally cold rage. He vowed to somehow get even with them.
No one had ever dared to speak to him in that tone. He swung his legs off the bed and stood up. The rage engulfing him left him breathless. He hammered his clenched fists against the bulkhead. His body was trembling with fury. Ire, disappointment and a feeling of shame gave him courage. He would make sure that Osman and his band of thieves would not get away.
What was Capt. Mackenzie’s plan? Would he succeed in executing it or would he be the victim of the men, sailors have to BEWARE!! PIRATES!!!
THIS BOOK WAS RELEASED IN NOVEMBER 2012
Available on line at itsallhere.in
or
GOA1556