Voyage into Slavery Chapter 19

A voice was inside Jennings' head,as he slowly felt the blackness lift.It was a woman's voice,and it seemed to get louder and louder,as his senses returned.It was only then he realised,that he was being shouted at.

'John,are you okay?!'It was Kelly's frantic voice shouting at him,'Answer me!John,please!'

'Kelly?'he managed to respond back to her,gingerly feeling the back of his head,where he'd been clobbered.

'Thank God you're okay,'the relief was fully evident in her tone,as she finally heard him.'Are you alright?I thought I'd lost you.'

Jennings was still rubbing the back of his head carefully.Whoever had hit him,he'd make sure to get his own back.

'I'm okay,Kelly,'he felt moreorless his usual self,as he went on,'takes more than that to beat me.'

'What happened?'Kelly's voice was still concerned.

'Just got whacked on the head,that's all.'Jennings then noticed the several placed bombs here,in the corridor.

'Damn!'He cursed out aloud.

Kelly heard him,'John,what is it?'

'I've found more of those bombs,Kelly,'his answer was grim,but knew he needed to deal with them,and that meant disarming them.

'Stand by,Kelly.I'm going to have a closer look.'

'Be careful.'His sister told him worriedly.

Jennings moved up to one of the bombs,and began examining them.He noticed the digital timer on all of the devices,but there was no countdown visible.This puzzled him.Somethings not right,he told himself.

'Kelly,what's my current position?'Jennings asked.

'You're near the engine boiler rooms,John,'Kelly replied,'in fact,you're well below the waterline.If any of those things go off....'Her voice trailed away.

Jennings knew what she meant anyway,'Yeah,I know.'

He continued to closely study the bombs,knowing it was essential to defuse the threat against this ship.Jennings now recalled the moment he'd led the kidnapped girls back up to safety,but now knew they were all back under Captain Liu's clutches.He hadn't forgotten about Kieko and Sarah too.That damned Takachi,and the Chinese woman with him,were no doubt savouring their captives too.This made Jennings think more determinedly,as he still scanned the bombs working parts.It didn't need to be done,it had to be done.He continued his study of the bombs,when he suddenly noticed something,confirming his earlier suspicions.At first,he was totally surprised,but then his face hardened.

'Kelly,check for any radio signal units from my current location.'Jennings kept his voice calm,not wishing to upset his youngest sister.He needed her to confirm this.

'There's no radio signal emitting from where you are now,John.'Kelly informed him,then asked,'What's wrong?'

Jennings slowly stood up,his face mad,'The bombs are fakes.'

++++

In Captain Liu's ready room,he and Yee were waiting for Kim Yang to arrive.Liu was pleased,that they'd managed to recapture all the girls.If Jennings had somehow managed to escape with all of them,it would have been an utter disaster for Liu.
Fortunately,they'd managed to secure them all,Liu himself had just returned from the cargo hold,satisfied the women had all been bound and gagged once again,and were now locked up in the crates stored in the hold.Yee had decided to oversee the operation,making sure there were no problems in transferring the crates.He'd just come back reporting in.

'Any problems?'Liu asked him.

'None at all,Sir,'Yee smiled confidently,'all the girls are now over at Miss Yang's vessel.'

'Good,'Liu needed some good news,and he appreciated that.However,he still needed to know where Takachi was,and asked,'have you found the Japanese yakuza yet?'

Regretfully,Yee had to shake his head at that one,'Nothing so far,Captain.We're still searching,but we've found his bombs located all over the lower levels.'

'You've got to find him,Mr Yee,'Liu's voice was very insistent,'I don't want any damage to my ship.We need it for further operations.'

Yee understood completely.The 'Eastern Princess' had proved an excellent cover,for abducting their female targets,who'd made the mistake of travelling on the ship.It also provided many good hiding points from frequent inspections,when they docked at their assigned destination.If the ship was lost,so was their business.

Just then,there was a respectful knock on the door,and after being allowed in,handed over several large photographs to Liu.

'I thought you'd like to see this,Sir.'he spoke respectfully too,'these were taken from from camera 12.'

Liu knew that camera's location.It was very deep within the ship,and he started to glance at the pictures,Kim Yang and Yee flanked him.The three of them looked at several images of Jennings,who was crouching over one of the bombs Takachi and his men had placed.

'So,'Liu's hopes were raised somewhat,not much,but they did rise,'our hero may be able to save the day after all.'

Yee gazed closer at the pictures,trying to see what the Englishman was doing.'He's disarming them?'

'It would appear so.'Liu nodded.'I just wonder how many of the damned things there are to deal with.'

There was one more photo that held their interest,particularly for Kim Yang.It showed Sarah bound and gagged in a dimly lit area.The English girl had been expertly tied to the support pillar she'd been forced to stand against.The many white loops of rope tied tight over her upper and lower body,gave the appearance that she was firmly welded to the pillar.The picture's detail was also very clear.Sarah's eyes above her gag,showed absolute terror.This made Liu give the still waiting crewman his new orders.

'Get that girl,and bring her to me.'His voice was sharp and commanding.'Remember,I want her alive,and unharmed.'

The crewman saluted,and almost ran out of the ready room to obey his captain.Liu then turned his attention to his two accomplices,in particular,Kim Yang.

'I don't suppose you know anything about this,do you,Miss Yang?'

'Let's just say that I was able to prevent Takachi,from taking Miss Jennings off the ship.'Her response was totally calm to him,then went on,'Takachi did take the Yamamoto girl with him though.No doubt,he took her to the helicopter.'

This thought made Kim Yang politely excuse herself from the ready room,and she walked out into the bridge.There was a good view of the flight landing pad from there,and she watched the helicopter.Her patience,and her suspicions paid off.She saw Takachi walking up to it,and after he'd checked nobody was observing him,slid open the door,then climbed aboard it.Just for a moment,Kim Yang saw what she needed to see.Instantly,she noticed one of her men on the bridge,and promptly ordered him to accompany her.

Kim Yang was correct.Inside the helicopter,,Takachi was sitting next to Kieko,still bound and gagged,and tightly trussed up to the chair she sat on.The girl kept on making quiet mumbles,due to her gag,and she cringed fearfully from seeing her captor give her a cunning smile.She'd never felt so frightened,or helpless.

Takachi then glanced back at his laptop,and was pleased to see Jennings' figure stiffen in surprise.Kieko noticed it too,and mumbled again,as if trying to attract Jennings' attention.It made no impression.

'He can't hear you,my dear,'Takachi smiled with utter menace,'even if he was standing outside right now.I'd make sure you were gagged to prevent that.'He watched Jennings check one of his fake bombs again,and was pleased to see his enemy's face go mad with fury.

'Well,well,'Takachi was still highly enjoying himself,as he stroked a hand through Kieko's long black hair,'your boyfriend's not having a good day,is he,Miss Yamamoto?'
Takachi enjoyed her frightened eyes,and for a few moments,simply stared at his bound,gagged captive,savouring his power over the girl.Then,he turned back to look at his laptop,and saw Jennings slowly stand up,and look over at one of the cameras there.Takachi was pleased to see the Englishman's face was mad.

'I'll let you into a little secret,Miss Yamamoto,'he decided to tell her,'the bombs we've planted there,are fakes.'He paused to watch her reaction,and wasn't disappointed.Kieko stared at him,shocked.

'Yes,indeed,my dear,'Takachi went on,very smug in his tone,'he's wasted a lot of time,thinking they were real,but he won't be able to rescue you now.'He finished with a sneer,then decided to speak to Jennings.

'My apologies,Jennings,'Takachi's tone was now more polite,but Kieko could still hear the gloating in his voice,'I knew you'd discover it sooner than later,but I'm afraid it's too late.I'm taking your girlfriend with me.Not only will she make a very pretty hostage,but once I've dealt with her father,she'll be my personal little pet.'

Deep down in the ship,Jennings clearly heard Takachi's threat,and he also heard Kieko's muffled scream,hearing her future being so chillingly told.This enraged him.

'You bastard!'Jennings was livid with fury,'let her go!'

Takachi's sneering laugh was his answer,'I don't think so,Jennings.Besides,you still have to deal with the bombs.Your sister is still down there,isn't she? I'm sure you won't let her die needlessly.'

'These bombs are fakes,'Jennings snarled back,'what makes you think I'll believe any of these bombs are real?'

'Oh,trust me,'Takachi's smug tone returned,knowing of course the Englishman wouldn't trust him,'I've still got the detonator on me.If you'd like to call my bluff,please do so.'

There was a momentary silence,before Jennings coldly told him,'I'll make sure you'll never leave the ship,Takachi.You're going to pay for what you've done,and I'll get the girls back,every single one of them.'He finished that determinedly.

'So noble.'Takachi's sarcasm was fully evident,'You can try,but I assure you,Jennings,you won't succeed.'

Then his voice became filled with lust.'Now,if you don't mind.I'm going to enjoy Miss Yamamoto's company.'

Again,Jennings heard Kieko's muffled cries,and he clenched his fists angrily.He had to help her,and he'd never forgotten Sarah,still bound and gagged deeper within the ship.Then,he had an idea,and got back in touch with Kelly,who'd listened to the whole thing.

'John,he's a monster.'Kelly sounded appalled.

'Yes,he is,Kelly,'her brother agreed grimly,'Can you do me a favour? Check for Kieko's position.I gave her a tracking bracelet earlier.'

'Got it,'Kelly was already checking,then she found her,'she's on a helicopter,John,on the flight deck.'He then heard Kelly gasp in shock,no doubt seeing what was going on inside it.

'Kelly,I need you to send a jamming signal into the helicopter's flight systems,'Jennings wanted to get his sister's attention away from that.'Anything that will show up as a malfunction,when they start the helicopter up.Can you do that?'

'On it.'Kelly then told him to wait a moment,before she came back with good news for a change,'I've managed to send in a virus program into the flight panel,that will show a fuel leak.They'll have to look into that,but the program will take a while to take effect,John.'

Jennings appreciated her help,and said so,'Anything you can do to stop that helicopter flying off,Kelly,I'll take care of the rest.'

'Please be careful,John,'Kelly's voice was anxious again,'Watch yourself.I don't want anything to happen to you,or Sarah.'

He acknowledged her,replying,'Don't worry,Kelly.I won't let anything happen to Sarah.I promise.'Jennings meant that,but he was still worried about the bomb threat.It was blatantly obvious Takachi wasn't telling him everything,and he did believe there was still at least,one live bomb aboard.The question was,where was it?

He spoke to Kelly again,asking her to do another scan,checking for radio signal receivers.This time,he got lucky.Kelly told him to go to the bow area,as she found what looked like a very big receiver.This time,Jennings thought,it was bad news.Finding something that big could only mean a big bomb.

'Can you give me a precise fix on it's location?'Jennings asked.

'No,not at the moment,John.'Kelly's response wasn't encouraging.'I'm having trouble pinpointing it.Looks like somebody's trying to jam the scan,but I'll do it.'

'Okay,Kelly.'He nodded,grateful for her help.She always would help him,as he would.

'I'm heading back up to that helicopter.'Jennings informed her.'I'm not letting Takachi escape with Kieko.Let me know the moment you find that bomb,okay?'

'I will,John.' Her answer was positive,lifting his spirits.'You know you can trust me.Just remember what I said.'Kelly was hoping he hadn't forgotten her reminder for him to be careful.

Jennings hadn't.Grimly,he began to climb up,and head up towards the upper levels of the 'Eastern Princess.'The helicopter landing pad his destination,and a hardened resolve within him to stop Takachi.

Chapter 20 to follow...