CGN Valnea. Please respond.”
Yusuf said, “Cut that off.”
Water sprayed off the huge bulbous bow that would ram them in another thirty seconds. With the immense ship almost on top of them, her twelve knots didn’t seem so sluggish to Yusuf. The noise of the bow cutting through the water and the rumble of the propeller beneath the surface vibrated under his soles. He held his fist higher, to be seen by his men in the dim light. Twenty-three narrow Darood faces locked on him. Yusuf looked once to the stars—still a moonless night—to take a bit of peace with him into the hijacking.
The freighter charged so close that it blocked the stars to the east, and the walls of the hull echoed the splashing, bulbous bow. Yusuf nodded to his two kinsmen. He dropped his fist.
Instantly, the lines tying the skiffs together were let go. The trio of helmsmen blared their engines. Yusuf and Guleed peeled away left and right, playing out the coiled rope between them, straining to hold the line taut above the water. Suleiman’s skiff dodged left, barely escaping the slicing bow, almost swamped by the ship’s wash. Suleiman’s helmsman quickly regained control. Hugging the Valnea’s painted skirt, the skiff slowed, slipping along the hull back toward the stern and out of sight.
Yusuf’s and Guleed’s skiffs sped just ahead of the bulbous bow, avoiding the wake that nearly tipped Suleiman. The cousins leaned against the rope, stretching it above the surface. The bulb rose three meters out of the breaking water, over their heads. When Suleiman had first told Yusuf of this tactic weeks ago, it had sounded like an excellent ploy, a way to fool the ship and its armed guards. Now, attempting it, Yusuf wasn’t so confident. He was more sure with an RPG in his hands against a Goliath freighter than with a rope.
Both helmsmen nudged the cousins as close to the dripping steel as they dared. The surge and sound of the freighter here at the leading edge were overwhelming, so much force split the sea. Yusuf bellowed to Guleed, “Ready?” The boy could not possibly hear over the roaring water and skiff engines, but Guleed jerked his head to show that he knew what Yusuf wanted.
Yusuf gave his helmsman the order, and Guleed did the same. Both skiffs, twenty meters apart, eased their throttles to let the Valnea creep slightly ahead. The cousins yanked hard on the rope, nearing the nose of the bulbous bow. If the line hit the water, the freighter would run over it, Yusuf would have to cut the rope, and this tactic would fail. Then they’d untie the rocket launchers and hail the ship with threats. With grappling hooks and ladders, they’d attempt to board, the more usual tactic of Somali piracy. If the armed guards resisted, Yusuf, Guleed, and Suleiman in their skiffs would harass and beat the ship until she submitted, or until the pirates managed to board under fire, a violent and deadly option.
Yusuf pulled hard against the rope, hoping Suleiman’s gambit worked.
Mist off the bow clouded his vision. With no free hand to wipe his eyes, his tunic soaked, he lost focus. The line took slack and bounced on the surface, almost snagging under the bow. Yusuf and opposite him Guleed leaned back with all their strength to lift the rope free.
Yusuf’s hands burned around the thick hemp. The pain honed his will. He jutted his chin at his helmsman to ease the skiff’s speed a little more, to touch the rope to the front of the bulb. Opposite him, Guleed disappeared behind the bow and spray.
Yusuf hauled on the line through the assault of water, the bounding of the skiff over the chop. Slowly, the rope neared the bulb until it touched its tip. Now the trick was to lift the rope over the bulb to bridle Valnea so they could ride her.
Yusuf nodded to his clansman at the wheel. He envisioned Guleed on the right side of the ship doing the same, nudging closer.
The skiff angled in, shortening the distance to the colossal hull. Yusuf raised the rope high over his head. The wash from the bulb splattered his eyes, and he blinked fast to clear his vision. The helmsman fought to keep the skiff steady so Yusuf might not lose his balance.
Yusuf let a meter of slack into the rope; at the same moment, he flicked his arms and wrist to send a loop into the line. He tried this