Free Grey Wolves by Robert Muchamore

sixteen, but only fifteen aboard because one is sick,’ the German blurted desperately. ‘There’s one officer in there, a real fanatic, plus a rating and two engineers. He ordered me to flush our code books and destroy the radio. He’ll shoot me dead for cooperating with you.’
    ‘What weapons do they have?’ Henderson growled.
    ‘Just a pistol I think.’
    ‘Well hopefully he’ll only shoot you once then,’ Henderson said. ‘Boo, open that bulkhead on three. Marc, there’s gonna be engines and fuel tanks back there, so we don’t want bullets flying around. How are your knife-throwing skills?
    ‘I’ll manage,’ Marc said, as he slung his rifle over his shoulder and took his knife out of its sheath.
    Henderson thumped on the bulkhead. ‘We’re coming in on three,’ he shouted in German. ‘This is your last chance to surrender. One … Two … Three.’
    Boo opened the bulkhead door with a metal clank and jumped out of the way. Henderson shoved the bleeding sailor through the opening and gave him an almighty kick up the arse. There was a pistol blast as the sailor tripped on the ledge of the bulkhead. His body spun as the German officer shot his own man in the shoulder.
    Marc glimpsed the shooter, but couldn’t aim his knife before he ducked behind a huge diesel engine.
    The German sailor thrashed about in agony as Henderson peered warily through the bulkhead. Simultaneously a huge man in a greasy singlet and trousers jumped across the narrow channel that ran between two diesel engines, towards the hiding gunman. Henderson took aim at his trailing leg, but was all too aware of the fuel tank directly behind.
    But the big man hadn’t rushed across to help the officer, he was squashing the life out of him.
    ‘Treason,’ the officer shouted, as the other engineer and the rating emerged from behind a third engine further down the boat with hands raised in surrender.
    Henderson rushed between the two engines, stepping over the sailor, as the engineer choked his superior officer.
    ‘Don’t shoot!’ he shouted, raising his hands. ‘A bullet in those tanks will blow us all sky high.’
    ‘Is there anyone else apart from you lot?’ Henderson shouted.
    ‘We’re all that’s left,’ the engineer shouted. ‘You can shoot me in the head if that’s not the truth.’
    Henderson lowered his gun and nodded appreciatively to the big man, before waving the three surrendered Germans forwards. ‘Get up on deck, no sudden moves.’
    Then he shouted in English. ‘Jarhope, you’ve got prisoners coming up. Do you hear me?’
    ‘Ready and willing,’ Jarhope shouted back.
    Henderson looked at Marc. ‘Tie up that officer before he comes round, then find a medical kit and see what you can do for the bullet in the sailor’s shoulder. Boo, your absolute priority is to get that radio working. Try and get a signal out to a Royal Navy ship. We need an escort or we’ll end up being blown out of the sea by our own people.’
    Marc looked down at the skinny, battered sailor. Trails of blood stretched from his head down to his boots and his right arm practically hung off at the shoulder. Marc had done basic first aid training, but this was beyond him.
    ‘Can’t you help?’ Marc said, aghast.
    ‘Whatever you can manage,’ Henderson ordered. ‘I’ll be back as soon as I can, but if they sent off a distress signal while they were under attack, we could have half their fleet on our backs if we stick around.’
    Henderson swept past Boo as she studied the controls of the German transmitter, then charged up the ladder into the bridge. Rufus had captained Madeline , but was laid out on deck, with blistered legs from the steam and arms embedded with glass. It wasn’t pretty, but he’d live.
    Jarhope had three prisoners to look after and was no sailor, so Henderson called Troy to the bridge. ‘I know you can sail, but how about engines?’
    ‘Never tried anything this big,’ Troy said, as he studied the bloody controls.