The Final Storm

12. Family Reunion

With skin the colour of weathered mahogany, it should have been impossible to pale—yet still, he somehow managed it.

"Let's go!" Tightening my grip on my hubby's arm, I started towards the gangplank. "I get the feeling this is going to be fun."

"Which is why, Mrs Ambrose, I always try to avoid anything 'fun' as much as possible."

"Don't be a spoilsport! Oy, Adaira, help me with your stubborn brother, will you?"

"It would be my pleasure!" Racing up to us, she grabbed hold of her brother's other arm and started helping me to manoeuvre him towards the shore. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

Under his breath, I heard him mumble something that sounded suspiciously like "Traitor!" to my ears. However, I took note of the fact that he let himself be steered down the gangway, despite the fact that, if he really wanted to resist, wild horses would not have been able to move Mr Rikkard Ambrose. Oh, and speaking of people who weren't moving...

"Karim!"

"Yes, Sahiba?" came a voice from somewhere behind a nearby mast.

"Stop hiding and get over here!"

"Yes, Sahiba." I could practically hear his shoulders sagging. Trudging out from behind the mast, he marched over towards us as if he were walking towards a firing squad. Judging by the way he kept his hand on the hilt of his sabre, he wasn't going to go quietly.

"Come on, now." Patting his shoulder, I smiled at the two big men with solemn faces. "It can't be that bad, can it?"

The two exchanged a look.

"Have you ever met Karim's mother?" Mr Ambrose enquired.

"Um...no?"

"Then prepare yourself," Karim told me dully. "I would rather brave a horde of bloodthirsty maniacs than what we are about to face."

***

Bang!

"Bloody hell! How did they find me?" Throwing himself forward into the muck, Captain James Carter only just barely managed to avoid being shot by the bloodthirsty horde on his heels. He rolled around and, coming up on his knees, pulled up his revolver. Almost instantly, his eyes zeroed in on his pursuers, and he took aim.

Bang! Bang! Click!

Wait a minute...click?

Oh crap!

He hurled himself down into the dirt again—and not a moment too soon. Having noticed the abrupt lack of firepower on the other side, his pursuers immediately resumed their efforts to turn him into a captain-shaped sieve.

This was not one of his life goals. Neither was dying in a ditch, far away from home.

Quickly, he glanced around. On the left, enemies. Up ahead, enemies. On the right, there was thick jungle, but he had been in India long enough to know what lived in the jungle, and frankly, he'd rather take his chance with the hordes of bloodthirsty rebels. Last but not least...

Glancing back, he stared into the depths of the gorge right behind him, at the bottom of which he could hear the fierce rushing of water.

Oh, to hell with it! That river probably leads straight to Delhi, right?

Before he could think better of it, he leapt up. Three swift steps carried him to the edge. For a long moment, Captain Carter stared down into the deep chasm—then came another gunshot from behind him, and he decided he'd stared long enough.