Rising Sun by Robert Conroy Page B

and either steal it or destroy it while trying to get away. They had guns, but shooting other islanders was not part of the plan, at least not yet. Mack said he’d chased away a couple of scrawny local would-be tough guys who seemed far too interested in the Bitch . Their names were Ace and Mickey and they seemed interested in the three women as well as the cat.
    Amanda was back at the car, which was parked a good hundred yards from the boat. She’d gone there for one last check to see if she’d left anything important behind. She hadn’t. On a whim, she decided to leave the keys on the front seat. She sure as hell wasn’t going to be driving it any longer. Let some islander enjoy it and the half tank of precious gas, along with tires that still had some tread life on them.
    Screams and shouts pierced the air, paralyzing her for an instant. She got control of herself and moved slowly and stealthily toward where the catamaran was anchored in shallow water. It was just off the beach and in water that was barely knee deep. As she got closer, she saw two men whom she quickly identified as Ace and Mickey. They were struggling with Sandy and Grace, while Mack was down on his hands and knees and apparently unable to get up.
    Ace and Mickey were obviously hellbent on hurting her friends and stealing the Bitch . It was what Mack had feared. People were so afraid of what might happen that they would take desperate measures to get off the island. Amanda and the others were ready to leave; however, it looked as if they might have waited too long.
    The attackers had their backs to the water and the sailboat, which presented Amanda with an opportunity, however slim. The two men had knives, but apparently no guns. Mack looked badly hurt, but there was nothing she could do for him right now. The men were wrestling with Sandy and Grace and pulling at their clothes. They would be raped before the men departed, and possibly killed. They knew it and were fighting back desperately, clawing and screaming, despite the unlikelihood of anyone hearing them.
    Keep up the noise, Amanda prayed as she slipped into the shallow, warm water. She crawled silently to the cat and hauled herself on deck. She slid on her belly to the cabin where Mack had stored the weapons. Of the three, she liked the Winchester the best and quietly took it from the container. She checked and found it loaded.
    She couldn’t see Mack, but Ace and Mickey were still ripping the clothes off Sandy and Grace, who were screaming and wrestling while their attackers yelled and laughed. She couldn’t shoot at them because they were all twisted up together. Amanda took a deep breath and fired one shot in the air. The noise stunned everyone.
    “Drop them!” she yelled, wondering if that was quite the thing to say.
    “Bullshit,” yelled Ace, the one holding Sandy. She was already naked from the waist down and one of his hands was between her legs. Grace was totally nude and being held by Mickey. He threw her aside and pulled out a knife.
    Amanda fired and hit him in the leg. He fell screaming as blood began to gush from his wound. Ace twisted Sandy to use her as a human shield.
    “Drop the gun or I’ll kill her.”
    Amanda wavered. Once again, she didn’t have a clear shot. The man she’d shot had stopped moving and was glaring at her. His blood-covered hands clutched his wound and it didn’t look like she’d hit an artery.
    “Don’t believe me?” Ace snarled. “Watch.”
    Before Sandy’s attacker could move his knife into position, he flinched and a look of disbelief crossed his face. He staggered and reached behind him only to find Mack was pulling his own knife out of the man’s back. Mack quickly sliced it across Ace’s throat. Ace fell forward as blood pumped out. His arms and legs flopped for a moment and then he stopped moving.
    Mack walked across to Mickey, the man Amanda had shot. He was whimpering and trying to crawl away. Mack reversed the knife and hit him