Free Toxic by Stéphane Desienne Page B

the deck. Alva looked at the recipient with disdain. Then, she grabbed it. Rather haughtily and definitely gifted with a sense of theatricality, she walked towards him. She was wearing capris and a lace-necked tank top. She balanced the plastic basin on the rear deck and threw her black hair behind her. Elaine, Masters and Bruce froze, for fear of Hector's reaction. Alva crouched down, giving them an unobstructed view of her cleavage. “I deserve better than this. I'm going to go to the bathroom and shower.”
    Silence ensued. Masters became tense. Elaine shot him a wink to reassure him. The singer knew what she was doing. Even if this sort of situation could get out of hand, she also wanted a moment of comfort, to clean off the smells, blood stains and to scrub away the horrors incrusted on her skin. Alva played her part intelligently.
    “I'm asking you, as a favor.”
    The lips of the Colombian stretched. She was a master of this behavior and from her calm attitude, Elaine understood that this wasn't the first time.
    “
Sí
, everyone can clean themselves up a bit. One by one only. I'll kill the first person who tries to pull anything. And of course, don't take too long. Potable water is limited.”
    The woman thanked Hector with an eloquent smile. When she came back towards the group, she sported a satisfied expression. “I negotiated, so I'm first.”
    Elaine spread her hands as a sign of agreement.
     
    In the early evening, they congratulated each other on their re-found humanity. The mere smell of soap, to feel clean, was enough for each of them to feel happy. Even Dewei had asked to clean himself.
    On the horizon, a column of smoke cooled the atmosphere, bringing them back to reality: drones could be on them at any moment.
    “Most likely a boat on fire,” the colonel said.
    “Were they attacked like us the other night?”
    “I don't know. Before this morning, in the port, I didn't know you.”
    Bruce showed his curiosity and his insensitivity. “Oh yeah? What the hell were you doing in that shit hole? The whole area is infected, except you.”
    Masters shot him a nasty look. “I managed to survive by living with the rats.”
    With these words, he went and sat with his back against the cabin door. Elaine joined him. “He didn't mean it like that.”
    Fifteen minutes later, Bruce apologized and the marine accepted his outstretched hand. They talked for a moment, and the conversation quickly turned to the boat. The young man touched the base of the mast and asked what was the point of folding it up. Masters shared his own experience. “It's a semi-sub. The hull is filled with ballasts which fill up upon diving. The tourist companies used them to send customers to discover reefs or the bottom of lakes. I had the chance to visit what was left of the Great Barrier Reef on board a similar vessel.”
    “Oh! That must have been great. Did the hostesses wear bikinis?”
    Bruce wanted to calm down the atmosphere, above all, Elaine imagined.
    “Not even. The trip was ridiculously expensive. Two rows of seats crammed behind one another, ten bucks for a cold drink.”
    “They wanted to make a profit on their investment, I suppose.”
    “Of course. But sometimes they go too far. On the other hand, our savior over there must have got his investment back on his first trip.”
    “Oh?”
    Masters smiled. “The cartels bought these ships because they were capable of diving to escape the coastguard. The fiberglass hull, with the carbon mast: there aren't many metal pieces for radar to lock onto.”
    Alva stopped caressing her hair. The brown-haired woman, who was feeling flirty, bent over and lowered her voice. “You're saying that he's transporting drugs?”
    “I didn't see any.”
    “In the bathroom hallway, I saw three closed doors,” Alva whispered.
    The trio kept at it in low voices.
    Hector watched their dealings from his post without intervening. He held the only weapons on board, which allowed him to control