Amber held her breath as long as she could, then she put the plastic tube between her teeth and swam upwards until she was just below the surface with the top of the tube sticking out of the water. Now for the tricky bit. She blew hard to displace the water in the tube, then sucked in a lungful of air and dived again. No bullets snicked into the water above her head. The pirates had not spotted her.
Amber continued towards the yacht, swimming for as long as she could, then rising to the surface for another breath of air. All the while she looked about her under the surface, but she saw nothing except a startled shoal of wrasse and a few curious clownfish. Finally the hull of the yacht came into view. She was nearly there!
One more breath and she dived again, heading for the little boarding platform at the stern of the yacht. She had already spotted that the platform had been left in a lowered position. It would be easy to boost herself onto it then take the ladder up to the main deck of the boat.
In her mind, Amber was already on the yacht and picking up the handset of the satellite phone, so it took a couple of seconds to register the three grey shapes that came swimming out of the depths towards her.
Sharks.
Her heart clenched and she kicked harder in a desperate attempt to reach the platform. The sharks slowed and circled, watching her. Amber pushed on towards the platform. Ten metres. Nine. Eight. Amber felt as though her lungs were about to explode but, as the platform drew nearer, she began to hope that she would make it. Then the largest shark accelerated smoothly away from the other two and headed straight for her.
Back on shore, Alex, Paulo and Li were crouching in the undergrowth, watching Amber's progress across the cove. Every now and then they would get a glimpse of fluorescent green as the end of the plastic pipe poked above the water for an instant. Then a tiny waterspout would shoot up into the air as Amber displaced the water in the tube before diving below the surface again.
At first they would look nervously across at the pirate guards every time the little green tube appeared, but the pirates noticed nothing and gradually they began to relax.
'She must be nearly at the yacht,' said Alex, squinting as he tried to catch the next glimpse of Amber's makeshift snorkel.
'There she blows!' whispered Li. 'Only a few metres to-' She stopped and her eyes widened with horror as three dorsal fins rose out of the sea beside the yacht. Then one fin broke away from the others and arrowed through the water. The fin sank below the surface. Seconds later the shark began thrashing in the water and a plume of bright red blood rose to the surface. The other two sharks closed in, eager for their share.
On the shoreline, one of the pirates pointed out the commotion and they both laughed as they watched the sharks feed in the reddening water.
Li turned away, burying her face in Paulo's chest. She could not bear to watch any longer. Paulo gazed over her head at Alex and they shared a look of utter desolation. The three of them stood together in shocked silence. There was nothing they could do now. It was over. Amber was dead.
TWENTY-FOUR
Amber hauled herself onto the platform at the stern of the yacht and lay there, shaking all over. In the water behind her, the two surviving sharks fought over the body of the third, tearing great chunks of flesh away with their serrated teeth. Amber realized how close she had come to being torn to pieces like that. With a groan, she rolled onto her belly and vomited onto the polished wood of the platform.
She had felt a strange calmness come over her when the shark had moved in for the attack. Freeing the sharpened bamboo spear from the lace on her thigh, she had waited, treading water as the shark approached. She knew she only had one chance.
The shark had homed in on her, then turned sideways, opening its jaws as it prepared to attack. Amber had waited until the last possible second then she had rammed her bamboo spear into the dead, black eye with all her strength. The sharpened point had punctured the eye and kept going into the brain until nearly the whole length of the bamboo spear was buried in the head of the shark.
Blood had plumed out into the water and the shark immediately started thrashing erratically, cockscrewing away from her. Its lashing tail had caught her in the small of the back, knocking her out of the way as the other two sharks closed in to feed upon their former hunting partner. She had surfaced on the far side of the platform, coughing up seawater and not quite believing she was still alive.
Amber waited until she felt strong enough to stand, then climbed shakily to her feet and headed for the ladder. She tried not to think about how she was going to get back to shore. One step at a time, she told herself as she cautiously raised her head above deck level. The yacht was deserted. Amber padded across the deck, being careful to keep out of sight of the shore. She reached the glass doors leading to the main saloon, slid them open and stepped inside.
The skin rose up in goosebumps all over her body as the cool, air-conditioned atmosphere touched her. Thick carpeting deadened her footsteps as she moved further into the room, staring about her in wonder. Watercolours in gold frames hung on the walls of the saloon. Squashy white leather sofas and chairs were arranged around a large, glass coffee table. A huge bowl of fruit stood on the table and Amber felt her stomach growl as she gazed at the clusters of purple grapes and the soft, pink skin of the peaches. Less than a week ago, she would have moved carelessly through this elegant room, hardly noticing the luxury which surrounded her. Now she felt as though she had stepped into a different world.
She shook herself and tore her gaze away from the fruit, scanning the room. There was the satellite phone, on another low table in front of a wall of mirrors, and there was the expensive, leather medical bag, perched on top of the bar in the corner, just where Philippe had said it would be. Amber hesitated briefly, then headed for the medical bag first. She clicked open the locks and lifted the lid, then grabbed a plastic bag full of disposable syringes. Next she selected a box full of antibiotic vials and another box containing ampoules of sterile water and popped them into the plastic bag with the syringes. She knotted the top of the bag, then took the shoelace from her thigh and tied the bag securely around her neck.
Amber snatched a handful of cashew nuts from a bowl on the bar and shoved them into her mouth. Then she padded over to the phone, chewing as she went. She stopped in mid-stride with a look of shock on her face as she saw the tall, black girl reflected in the mirror wall. The girl was wearing nothing but her stained, grubby underwear. She was covered in cuts, grazes, bruises and mosquito bites. Her ribs and hip-bones poked out under her skin and her bedraggled hair dripped water onto her skinny shoulders.
Swallowing the nuts, Amber stared at her reflection in astonishment. How could she have got into such a state so quickly? She bit her lip and tried hard not to cry as, suddenly, the whole dreadful situation nearly overwhelmed her. Turning her eyes away from her reflection, Amber picked up the handset of the satellite phone and stopped again, staring at the illuminated keypad.
Who should she call?
Her mind was a complete blank. Nine One One was no good. That number would connect her to the US emergency services and they might have a bit of trouble getting to Indonesia within their guaranteed call-out time. Amber tried and failed to remember the number of the satellite phone aboard the Phoenix . Frantically she scanned the phone base and the table, looking for a list of useful numbers. The local coastguard, maybe, or air-sea rescue? There was nothing. Amber groaned in frustration. This was ridiculous!