The Admiral and the other officers left the room for part of the planning, so that they would have plausible deniability of any wrongdoing if things went badly. Once they were gone, one of the SEALs called Tex and put him on speakerphone. It was decided that he would illegally hack into the cruise ship’s systems and set off the fire alarms, tricking the crew into thinking there was a fire somewhere onboard. Even if the crew turned the alarms off, Tex could turn them back on again in different areas, buying time to get to the ship.
Then, since the ship would be following the coast until it reached Florida, the Coast Guard could quickly send a helicopter and a ship to help with the fire, without drawing suspicion from Paradise Cruises. Once the helicopter was hovering above the ship, several Coast Guard members, and SEALs dressed in Coast Guard uniforms, would be lowered to the vessel. Then, under the pretense of helping with the fire, they would spread out, some of the SEALs and Coast Guard members securing the ship, and a few looking for Kassidy and Harper. Once they’d been found, the Coast Guard would take over the ship and transport it back to the closest harbor, where we would meet them, make arrests, and provide assistance to the trafficked crewmembers.
The rest of our team was back in DC, waiting for the green light to arrest the executives as soon as Kassidy and Harper were safe.
36
KASSIDY
We’d been stuck on the ship for days. We hadn’t seen any sunlight, and we had no idea what the weather was. We’d even lost track of whether it was day or night. I was tired, Harper and I smelled bad because we couldn’t bathe, and even Harper was losing some of her optimism. I knew I was being even more pessimistic than usual because of the conditions we were living in, but I was starting to wonder if Evan and Nolan would ever find us. I was also beginning to question whether they even wanted to find us, which I knew on some level was unreasonable, but I’d passed unreasonable a long time ago, though, and was heading towards insane.
We’d worked at least a couple of shifts since I’d accidentally poured bleach on my skin in the ship’s laundry room. Since then, Harper had been hovering over me, constantly checking my burn. As for me, I was more worried about how hungry I was, and how much my feet hurt from all the standing. I just wanted to curl up somewhere quiet and sleep.
“Your burn is definitely infected,” Harper said. “It’s even more red and pussy than this morning.”
I could see my arm, so I already knew it was infected. I was also pretty sure that I had a fever, since I kept alternating between sweating and shivering, and every movement I made caused my joints to ache. I wasn’t going to stop working, though, even as Harper examined my wounds. They weren’t going to catch us not working a second time.
“I’m fine,” I said to Harper as I loaded laundry into a washing machine. “Just get back to work.”
She sighed and did as I said, knowing I was right. We’d been arguing more and more over the past couple of days. She wanted me to take care of myself, and I just wanted to keep my head down and make sure she was safe.
Finally, what felt like days later, our shift was over, and we followed the other women to the cafeteria. We only had time to swallow a few bites of the revolting blended-together leftovers before several men joined us, ready to choose their ‘companions’ for the night. Harper and I stared at our plates, avoiding making eye contact with the men in the hopes that they wouldn’t notice us, but one man put his hand on Harper’s shoulder, selecting her. She glanced up at me, panic in her eyes, as the man’s grip on her tightened. I had already prepared for this scenario, though.
“You shouldn’t choose her. I heard that she has some sort of infection,” I told the man. “I’ll go with you instead.”
He briefly looked between the two of us, then shrugged, seemingly satisfied with my idea. Then, his hands were on me instead of Harper, his fingers digging into my shoulders.
“What are you doing?” Harper whispered, and I could hear the anger in her voice.
I didn’t respond, just raised my eyebrows at her, silently pleading with her not to argue. Before the man could lead me away from her, though, alarms started to blare around us, the sound deafening. Then, everyone in the cafeteria area started rushing forward, pushing others out of the way. They weren’t making any progress, though, and it seemed like someone or something was blocking the exit. I pulled Harper into an empty corner of the cafeteria so that we weren’t trampled.
“What do you think is going on?” I had to raise my voice for Harper to hear me over the alarms.
“That sounds like a fire alarm,” Harper yelled back. “What do you do when there’s a fire on a ship?”
I tried to stay calm as I thought. “When I was on the cruise a month ago, we had a safety drill. They said that you should go to your designated emergency area in case of a fire. That way, you’re close to the lifeboats if you need to get off.”
“I don’t think they’re going to let us out of the cafeteria, let alone off the boat,” Harper shouted, gesturing to the mass of people still trying to escape. Some of them stumbled back, their faces and arms bloodied.
“They’ll probably put the fire out quickly anyways. I think it’s safest to just stay here,” I yelled in Harper’s ear, and she nodded at me.
So, while everyone else panicked, and while the alarms blared in our ears, deafening us, we hid in the corner, waiting to learn our fate.
Evan
As the military vehicle we were in sped down the interstate, heading south, Nolan and I sat in the backseat and focused on the radio we’d been handed. We were on a special frequency that allowed us to listen into the Coast Guard and SEAL’s communication as they prepared for the mission, and we’d be able to listen during the operation as well. Ally and Knox were in the vehicle behind us, listening in as well.
It was time.
“Bahamian Paradise, this is the Coast Guard. We’re picking up several fire alarms activated on your ship. We’re in the area, and are requesting permission to board and assist. Over,” a voice said over the radio.
“Permission granted,” another voice said, the line crackling.
“Copy that. ETA is 10 minutes. Over and out.”
The frequency was mostly silent for a few tense minutes, everything drowned out by the sound of the helicopter’s rotor blades. Then, finally, we heard the order for the men to rappel from the helicopter. Everything was chaos at first, everyone talking over themselves, but as the different teams separated, they became less talkative. I heard someone talking to the crew, presumably in the bridge, and telling them to stand down and allow the Coast Guard to take over the ship. I also heard the fire alarms blaring, the men yelling out “clear” every few seconds, and the teams talking amongst themselves. Finally, I heard what I’d been waiting for: The voices of the group tasked with rescuing Kassidy and Harper.
“On my six!” one of the SEALs said.
“Get back! Stay down!” I heard another one say.
It seemed to take forever as they cleared each area they were in, and updated over the radio as they descended floor after floor.