Free The Pirate by Katherine Garbera

for times when he was dealing with cargo that couldn’t be trusted to one of his lieutenants.
    Tonight he was out on the Indian Ocean waiting for his prey. The Maersk Angus was a ship they’d taken before, and they had gotten a fair amount of ransom. This time they’d heard rumors that there was a different crew in place—the type of crew that only went out with heavily insured cargo. And that had piqued Samatan’s interest.
    He had one of his men—a Dane named Fridjtof—onboard. Fridjtof had been an asset to his group for a while. At first he’d relied on gut instinct to find ships to attack, but now he liked having inside information.
    He also had several contacts in the ports in the Gulf of Aden, which helped him decide which ships to attack.
    He was currently on his own ship. A tanker that housed machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, speedboats, parts for repairing speedboats, and two helicopters. His ship even looked like the Maersk tankers they often captured. He had spent the last three years perfecting every detail of his operation.
    Many nations had their navies patrolling the shipping lanes now to protect the ships so Samatan had had to up his game. He was now using nighttime attacks and men on the inside so that the alarm couldn’t be raised.
    Instead of taking his hostages to the pirate town of Eyl, Samatan preferred to keep them on his ship. It was easier because his location couldn’t be traced to any of the on-land locations. He’d seen his former leader captured that way, and Samatan had no plans on being tried in a Kenyan court for his crimes.
    â€œSir, we have word that the Maersk Angus has been taken,” Habeb said, joining him on the bridge. Habeb had been his first mate for the last eighteen months. He was a tall, skinny African who’d grown up in one of the poorer areas of London.
    They’d met in the early nineties when Samatan had attended university in Rome. It had been a troubled time for Samatan, whose father had been a vocal opponent of the dictator. Samatan had lost his scholarship money for school and his visa. Habeb had offered him a place to stay and had helped him find papers to stay in Rome and continue his schooling.
    â€œVery good. Was there any trouble?” Samatan asked.
    â€œThe Captain had a gun but we were able to capture him and the entire crew. There is also a group of doctors onboard from the U.S.”
    Samatan hadn’t planned on hostages that weren’t members of the ships’ crew. The crews were easy to manage because they’d been operating in this area long enough that most of the men understood that killing wasn’t the objective of the pirates.
    â€œThat could be bad. Does Fridjtof know who they are?” Samatan asked.
    â€œI’m not sure. Do you want me to get him on the radio?” Habeb asked.
    â€œYes. I want as many details on the hostages as he can get,” Samatan said.
    He had always been careful to keep close contact with his men. He knew that loyalties could quickly change. His men were loyal to him because he paid well and on time but also because he was quick to deal with anyone who betrayed him. And he never showed weakness.
    Walking down to the radio room, he knew that he was close to having everything he wanted. The life he’d always craved. It wouldn’t be in Somalia. Somalia was a land of broken dreams and death and he’d never bring the family he intended to have there. Instead he’d go to Sardinia, where Mare lived, and marry her. She knew nothing of this life. Of the man he was here. But he’d leave that all behind once he had his fortune.
    He could have stopped a year ago but he had made promises to his older brother and his mother. His promises were that he’d try to change the lot of their clan so he was still roaming the seas and taking his fortune from the countries that had turned their backs on Somalia because they didn’t want