Saturday, February 10, 2007

Carnage on the High Seas: Part Four

"So who is Rostov?" Lady Sylvia asked Ms. Madison as they walked the deck after dinner, looking out over the moonlit Atlantic. "I mean, what does he actually do?"

"Like I said," Ms. Madison smiled, "he's an international mercenary and peddlar of plots. He was a Colonel in the East German Army until 1989, when the army was largely disbanded. After that, he organised an elite mercenary squad, mostly composed of former special forces operatives from the old Eastern Bloc countries. Since then, he's been involved in about seven revolutions in the world, as well as a few wars. He fought for the Croats in Bosnia and with the rebels in the Congo."

"So he's a tough guy then?" Lady Sylvia looked impressed.

"A tough guy for hire," Ms. Madison confirmed. "He'll fight for whoever pays the most. Trouble is, that means that if Rostov's a part of this set-up, we can't really know who're actually behind the scenes."

"So what do we do?" Lady Sylvia leaned on the rail, looking out at the broad ocean. "I mean, if we can't..."

"We wait," Ms. Madison smiled. "Now Rostov knows I'm on board, if he is up to something, he's sure to show his hand sooner rather than later."
"How?" Lady Sylvia looked worried.
"I think you know." Ms. Madison grinned. "And you're right, Sylv, that's likely to be a bit strenuous."
"You're right, girlie." A litle crowd of tough-looking men approached the two girls. "You're poking your cute noses in just where they're not wanted. So we're going to teach you a lesson."
"Okay," Ms. Madison adopted a fighting stance. "Let's start school, boys."
The men closed in on the two girls, drawing an assortment of weapons from their garments.

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