Adam’s sharp eyes swept over the ship’s internal monitors, noting where each pirate had disappeared. Two were prowling near the cargo bays, while the other three crept toward the crew quarters.
“They’re nervous,” Adam whispered to his lieutenants. “Good. Nervous men make mistakes.”
The officers nodded, tense but resolute. They had sailed with Adam long enough to trust his instincts completely.
“Here’s the plan,” Adam continued in a hushed tone. “We control the ship. They don’t. We know every stairwell, every hatch, every maintenance passage. They’re blind. We’ll use that.”
He gestured to the engine readouts. “The ship’s already dead in the water—makes it even harder for them to get their bearings. First, we take out the two by the cargo bay. Quietly. If they regroup, we’ll lose the advantage.”
The officers exchanged a grim look. This wasn’t a naval warship—they had no combat training beyond basic drills. But with Adam leading, they felt a surge of confidence.
Down in the cargo hold, the two pirates prowled cautiously among towering steel containers. Every clang of their boots echoed like thunder in the silence. One muttered under his breath in Somali, cursing the emptiness. The other grew impatient, banging on container doors in frustration.
Suddenly, the overhead lights flickered, plunging them into near-darkness. Startled, they raised their rifles, aiming at shadows.
From behind a stack of containers, Adam and one officer emerged, moving like ghosts through the steel maze. The other officer circled wide, approaching from the rear.
Adam raised his hand, signaling restraint. He didn’t want to start a firefight—it would put the entire crew at risk. Instead, he motioned toward the heavy steel hatch doors. Quietly, the officers slipped behind the pirates, then slammed the hatch shut and twisted the locking wheel.
The startled shouts of the two pirates echoed as they pounded on the sealed steel. Trapped.
Adam exhaled slowly. Two down.
But the real challenge lay ahead. The other three pirates were heading for the crew quarters—where the cafeteria full of sailors sat hidden behind locked doors.
Adam turned to his officers, his expression hardening.
“Now comes the dangerous part. We can’t let them near the crew.”
Would you like me to take this toward a direct confrontation between Adam and the pirate leader Arale, or should I build more tension with a stealthy, psychological game of cat and mouse before they clash?