Slave Children

By Michael Faunce-Brown

A child trafficking master criminal, Fadwell, makes a fatal mistake when he abducts two nephews of Baxter, a tough mercenary, one for himself, if unsold. He misses rescuing Simon by seconds and the desperate boy's escape bid fails.
Aided by Wazim, the sadistic knife-man, the huge Carl and ruthless Georgina, Fadwell spirits Simon to an Arabian fort and Dan to a North African slave market. Surely they are beyond Baxter's reach?
Tracking down the 12 and 14 year-olds leads to the capture of our hero and fire-fights all over. Speed is vital as delivered to their masters, these and other boys may be impossible to trace, once abroad. Poetic justice is demanded. Will Baxter succeed?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael Faunce-Brown
• Release date: Nov 4, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301535866

Michael Faunce-Brown

Ex soldier, farmer and teacher of English and Maths. Writer and Producer of Fight Back, teen action movie, 82 minutes on DVD with Echelon.com Writer & Producer of 12+ Young Escapers Episode 1 (pilot) for TV producers to decide whether they want to make all 7 episodes. Playing in two musical duos. Written full feature film scripts in Action, Children's Action, Thriller, War and Horror genres. Produced several documentaries. Travelled to 40 countries so far.

Book preview

Chapter 1

The British container ship looked like any other as its bow split the dark blue waters of the Red Sea off the notorious Somalia coast. Its low profile made it an easy target for pirates and yet the captain rejected offers of support from various warships, making them wonder at his stupidity.

The Filipino crew were increasingly apprehensive as night fell and they rounded the horn of East Africa. The captain, Ted Olson, a rugged, middle aged Australian veteran of many such journeys, appeared calm, so much so they wondered if he had been on the bottle. Ted smiled to himself as if he welcomed being chained up in a stinking Somali mud hut, hoping for a ransom to be paid.

Crisanto Fermin, the mate and captain’s sheet anchor sat silently at the crew’s dinner table, twisting his hands nervously in his lap, trying to hide his apprehension from the crew. None were taken in by his quiet acceptance of their likely fate. Angelo Smith, part English, a souvenir of his sailor dad’s weekend in Southampton, secreted a sharp knife from the kitchen under his shirt. He had no intention of meekly giving in to pirates, even if it meant killing a couple and then hiding among the containers, stacked in towers on the deck, to seize further opportunities of evening the balance.

Ted Olson kept to his cabin, one eye on the radar and his ears listening for trouble. He was sure they would provide a tempting target no pirates could resist. He had a machine pistol partially concealed beneath his chair but surely would be outgunned if it came to a fight. Usually pirates climbed up their bamboo poles onto ships’ decks and surprised the crew into submission. The ship was so large and the crew just sufficient to make the journey, that it was impossible to watch for strangers all the time. Ted reckoned if they were attacked, the bridge and his cabin would be the first targets. He sipped a whisky and smiled grimly as if welcoming some action.

In such narrow waters it was essential to keep lights to alert other shipping and they attracted pirates like moths to a lamp.

At precisely twelve midnight the raiding party scrambled over the rails and onto the deck. The men on the bridge pressed an alarm button, which failed to make any noise. A light went on under Ted’s desk. He picked up his pistol and stood aside of the door so any bullets would be unlikely to cut him down.

The first the pirates knew of anything not according to their plan was when splashes could heard as bodies hit the water. Sam Hartley and his brother Baxter didn’t waste bullets as they silently chopped the invaders one by one. Johnny, only twenty five but a clean cut fighting machine, grabbed two pirates and knocked them unconscious as he jammed their heads together. Angus, the anti-pirate team’s second in command, took the invader’s leader out of the fight, before he could fire his weapon, with a stomach throw overboard.

A pirate threw his knife, striking Sam in the throat. Horrified, Baxter tried to stop the spouting blood and watched life fade away from his devoted brother. Sam, hold on! Baxter’s efforts were in vain. Sam gave a gurgle and died. Baxter felt for a pulse but found none. Sorrow gave way to rage. As two pirates jumped overboard and swam towards their boat, astonished and shattered at their reception, Baxter grabbed a rocket launcher from its hiding place in a lifeboat and fired, exploding the pirate craft into pieces, which rained down on the swimmers. Jock, the little Scot in the mercenary group, sprayed the swimmers with his lmg, attracting ever present hungry sharks.

Baxter was cradling his brother’s body, choking back tears.

Stockie Hayes, another mercenary, put his arm round Baxter’s shoulders, wisely saying nothing.

No bloody ship was worth Sam’s life, choked Baxter.

The plan was okay. We never saw the knife in the dark, said Johnnie.

They’ll never know what happened to their men, said Jock.

And good riddance, exploded Baxter. Give me a hand with poor Sam. It’s his wife, my sister-in law, Jenny, I feel for, and her boys.

They were joined by Ted and his shaking crew, amazed and relieved at their deliverance but wary of these hardened mercenaries, whose presence on board they had never guessed. Where had they materialized from, like magic?

Good work lads and I’m gutted by your loss. What a waste of a good man…The German Raider principle works. A clean sweep. Ted helped lift Sam’s body into a cabin.

Aye, but there’d be no need for all this if they sorted out Somalia’s problems, said Jock, always the philosopher.

Baxter ignored that and kept a tight lip. He was not relishing telling Jenny of Sam’s loss, and twelve year old Simon with brother Dan, nearly fourteen, just the age when every boy needs a dad.

Angus waited for Baxter to cease grieving and as he left his brother’s body in a simple coffin, he asked: What now, Boss?

Baxter replied through clenched teeth, We’ll teach the bastards a lesson they’ll never forget. Blow them out of the water before they have a chance for knives. If enough just vanish, the rest may get the message. Pirating means No Return… Ted, would you sail close to the Somali coast? And not too fast?

Ted thought for a moment. It might mean risking his ship, but no pirates were likely to come on board again with this mean squad waiting for them. It was time seafarers fought back, instead of meekly accepting their fate and being lucky to be ransomed after months of Hell. Some had been killed when rescue bids had misfired. The pirates had no compunction about slitting throats.

Yes Baxter; it’s time to send them a message. The other nations are too bloody wet to do what’s needed. We’ll take the fight to them. In Sam’s memory.

Ted turned towards the bridge.

Baxter relaxed and made for the main deck. He posted Angus on the bridge, Johnny at the Stern, Jock on one side and Stockie on the other. Soames was on the Bow with a crew member, who quaked in his company. The silent hulk made it abundantly clear that he was to keep quieter than any mouse if he did not want to swim. All had night binoculars, capable of enhancing any light.

Baxter was glad to see more lights had been posted. They were one huge present for any nearby pirates. He felt thirsty for blood and to send pirates a message they would not forget. They did not have to wait long; just a further twenty miles, far enough for the exploding boat to have been out of sight. The dim outline of a larger pirate vessel was spotted by Soames’ alert eyes. He pointed to the bridge and sent his crew man scuttling up the companionway.

Baxter had given instructions that no radios were to be used, avoiding high tech vessels becoming aware of their reception committee. The runner alerted the rest of the squad and they waited till the pirates were only a hundred yards off their bow.

Johnny, Stevie and Baxter each had rockets at the ready. One was aimed at the bridge of this mother ship, another at her bow and another at her stern. Jock, Soames and Angus had heavy machine guns ready to spray the entire deck and attack boats.

Ready, wait, fire, called Baxter, squeezing his trigger.

Each target was hit and in the resultant blaze they could see pirates running towards their three boats. The machine guns made short work of the enemy and a second rocket broadside caused a string of explosions as pieces of boats soared skywards. The ship started listing and in under ten minutes there was just an oily mess where the mother ship had sunk.

Time for them to have contacted their shore mates and have no doubt about the risks of pirating having soared. For you, Sam, gritted Baxter, with satisfaction.

On the bridge Ted was receiving messages from various nationalities asking what the Hell was going on. He pleaded ignorance, just saying his was a container ship and he was as mystified as the others by a sudden glow on his horizon.

Right, Captain, said Baxter. I hope we have started something the spineless nations might continue till it ceases. I suggest you make for open water and set normal speed.

Yes, you’ve had your fun. Keep the watch posted and you might like to join me for a noggin in my cabin. I’ll send round some refreshments to your guys. I guess they’ve earned them, offered Ted. He anticipated a pleasant evening entertaining the mercenary’s leader. He must have some stories to tell. Anything to take his mind off the loss of his brother.

As kids, Baxter and Sam had been inseparable. If one was bullied, they immediately joined forces and together scared away those cowards. Baxter told Ted how they used to steal their neighbours’ fruit and had their hides tanned more than once. Ted heard about past hostage rescues, their speciality but their conversation faded when Baxter got round to his nephews, to whom he was devoted.

The rest of their journey was uneventful and a grateful company paid for their return to the UK flying business class via Australia, plus a healthy bonus for their