Love Began with the First Meeting
Chapter 831 Siege On The High Seas (Part Two)

"Who are these guys? Any intel?" asked Brian.

Eric shook his head and said, "They're not saying, and the cops need more time to figure it out."

Brian frowned and took out his phone, accessing XK's special network. His fingers danced over the keys, sending out a series of commands.

Molly was beside herself with worry, but she knew she needed to try and keep it together. Brian needed to focus on Mark, and not have to worry about her.

"Molly, leave this problem to me and Brian. We'll take care of it. Just wait here," Eric suggested. He was very concerned about Molly.

Molly shook her head, forcing herself to hold back the overwhelming inner anxiety, and said, "I'm fine." She paused, looking towards Brian, "You don't get it. I'm his mom. He's in danger, and I'm supposed to do...nothing? I need to go. He needs me." Hearing this, Eric knew he'd be wasting his breath, not to mention precious time. He stopped trying to persuade her and just nodded, his heart heavy.

Molly didn't want to wait, but at the moment, that was all they could do.

As the hours wore on, so did the negotiations. But they still couldn't agree on the terms. It was deadlock.

Eric was the picture of regret. He blamed himself for letting Mark tag along, much less leaving him in the amusement park.

But he did, and he had to face up to it. Regret wouldn't change a thing.

Brian's cell phone suddenly made a sound.

Hearing the cell phone click softly, Brian hurriedly checked his phone to get a look at the data. Touching the screen to wake up the phone, he focused his black eyes on the message coming from XK.

After he took it in, he frowned and said, "The terrorists have already withdrawn-with the hostages."

"Where did they go?" Molly asked hurriedly.

"Tell you on the way," said Brian. Brian cast a glance at the police who were still at the scene before he ran back to his car and got in, and Eric climbed into his vehicle as well. The two men revved up the RPMs and roared off in their cars, heading to the coast. The two autos raced along their way, Eric's car following Brian's. On the way they talked on the phone. "You mean they're heading to the high seas?" Eric asked while putting on a Bluetooth headset.

"Yeah," Brian answered, "If that's true we need to get to their ship before they set out. Once that ship starts moving, they could go anywhere." He spoke gravely of the situation. "I guess these guys are pretty rich."

Eric's eyebrows knitted in a frown. "If we hurry, we can catch up to them."

"I hope we're not too late." As they talked, the cars were well away from the urban district, headed for the coast. Brian continued to say, "It won't be easy, but if we're smart we'll be able to take 'em."

Eric's face was grave, but there was also firmness in his voice, "As long as Mark isn't hurt."

Suddenly, Molly broke in, "I'll go with you."

She was talking to Brian. There followed a moment of silence. After a while Eric heard Brian's voice coming from his end: he agreed.

The two men parked their cars at the shoreline, and then got out, Molly with them. A speed boat had already been prepared for them by XK. No one knew what dangers awaited them, so neither of them wanted to gather a team. Besides, a smaller craft might go undetected as it approached the ship. So they couldn't afford to linger-they must strike quickly and get out.

At first, Brian planned to take only Eric, but when he saw Molly's pleading eyes, he decided they should go together.

Brian knew that she was not the same Molly he used to know. Besides, they knew each other well. All it would take was a wink or a gesture, and the other would immediately understand. She'd be able to respond to him faster and more efficiently than a whole team of

mercs.

The three people hopped in the speed boat, steering for the high seas. When they were almost to their destination, they jumped out of the speed boat and swam forwards.

It was already dark. They were unlikely to be spotted under the cover of night. Before long, they were close to the luxury cruise ship they thought the terrorists were on.

As they came close, they grabbed the ship's outboard ladder and exchanged glances. "I'll go first. Eric, you bring up the rear."

Eric nodded, and then Brian boarded the cruise ship neatly and quietly. Molly held her breath in fear. She was no stranger to peril, but she had never felt so uneasy. She'd done this before, but the rescue was more difficult this time: they were abroad and in a completely strange place; there was no backup to coordinate with; and the hostage was the most important person in her life. She forced herself to remain calm, but her eyes were full of worry.

She was lost in a trance, but Brian called her, bringing her back to reality, "Move, Mol." Hearing Brian's gentle voice, Molly regained her cool. She looked straight upward and climbed into the cruise ship, using both hands and feet.

They quickly found somewhere to take cover, concealing themselves on deck with the help of shadows. Brian looked around with falcon-like eyes and whispered to them, "Eric, you go left and I'll go right. Mol, you follow me."

Eric nodded in agreement. The terrorists let their guard down-they thought they'd won, and no one would dare follow them, especially since the cops thought they were still at the park. That was one of the few advantages the trio had. Seeing Eric nod, he turned to Molly and received an affirmative nod and eye contact. Then they ducked forwards one behind the other on the starboard side.

It was dark and silent on deck. They moved quickly and soon arrived at the hatch, where Brian loaded a gun and handed it to Molly. As he put the gun on her hand, they gazed deeply at one another. After Molly gave him a reassuring glance, he refocused himself, and walked into the chamber, gun in hand.

The chamber was still quiet and the light was soft.

Brian and Molly moved slowly forward, back-to-back, stealing furtive glances around them, guns ready.

"Bam!"

"Bam, Bam!"

Brian and Molly fired at the same time, killing the two men who had dashed out from both ends of the chamber.

Molly got nervous and swallowed hard. Brian winked at her, calming her down. And then they switched positions with each other, holding their guns, their senses on high alert.

Seeing no sign of another terrorist, he thought they were safe for now and leaped upstairs with the help of a staircase handrail. After he got up there, he reached out his hand and pulled Molly up too. The glint of guns in the darkness revealed the danger. There was no time for our heroes to hesitate they fired two shots at once. Their actions were swift as a sudden clap of thunder. The terrorists had no time to react, dying with their fingers on the trigger.

After they dispatched the two terrorists, Brian put his pistol away and picked up the CZ Scorpion EVO 3 the terrorist once held. That guy didn't need it anymore. Then they moved on, back-to-back, watchful as two hawks. Along the way, they encountered another terrorist, then another, then three more. They gunned them down ruthlessly, efficiently, as they made their way along, until Molly's gun made an empty click when she tried to gun down another one.

"I'm out," Molly said in a low voice when she squeezed the trigger and nothing happened.

"Eject the magazine."

Molly did as Brian said. At the exact moment she discarded the magazine, Brian stepped forwards and quickly slammed a new magazine into her pistol.

Molly quickly chambered a round and thumbed the safety off. Then she continued to move forwards. After she killed a few terrorists, she heard Brian say, "Catch!" He'd found another EVO 3 and tossed it at her.

Nimbly, she holstered her pistol and caught the SMG he threw. She propped the gun on her shoulder, discovering a terrorist in his hidey-hole through the scope. It only took a single shot to take him down.

"Bri..." Hearing Molly call his name, Brian looked back at her. Beads of sweat dripped down her face. "I think this is a trap," she said. "Shouldn't there be more of them?"

Brian frowned, his eyes glinting, "I'm afraid they're below deck."

Molly swallowed again. Looking towards the staircase which led to the bottom. "Are they there?" she asked anxiously.

Brian didn't answer. He changed positions with her again. Brian led the way, and Molly followed him. They made their way slowly towards the staircase together.

A storm was blowing outside, and the wind blew cavernously through the bulkheads. The waves were hammering the ship the same way her heart hammered in her chest. The roaring sound sent a chill up her spine. Molly knew they were heading into unknown danger

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