Ropes swung down from the pirate boat, crates already being hauled across in frantic haste. Shouts erupted as the men scrambled to finish their plunder. Then a new sound cut through the chaos—a deep, commanding horn rolling across the sea.
Liam’s head jerked up. Out on the horizon, a white cutter raced toward them, its bow cutting the waves clean, blue stripes flashing across its hull. Smaller crafts peeled off its sides in formation. Searchlights swept the water. Voices thundered through loudspeakers: “Drop your weapons! Cut your engines now!”