Plan C stood for C4, of course. Our little yacht was loaded up with all the explosives that we didn’t put in the house, and it was plenty enough to take out both our boat and anything else we managed to get close enough to before detonating them. Everything else of value other than me, Maddie, her weapons, and the detonator had been moved to the stolen delivery truck that Uncle Jack had left with before we sprung our trap.

The original plan had been to use it to blow a hole in any blockades that Carmichael managed to set up if everything went to hell and we Naethari needed to bolt. Mom, Dad, Uncle Jack, and Aunt Carmen had all insisted that if things went to shit that the most important thing was that Carmichael never get his hands on us, and Luiza had agreed. So, the plan if that happened was for them to cover our escape with a big distraction and we would use the yacht to give them something else to worry about, theoretically allowing us to get away.

Plans had changed. Things went well and I was going to shove this floating bomb right up Carmichael’s proverbial ass before I allowed him to run away. He had been given all the warnings that we were willing to give, and I did promise to kill him if he didn’t back off. I was a Naethari of my word.

As I ran toward the yacht’s cockpit, I could already see Maddie changing position to aim her anti-materiel rifle at one of the choppers that was heading straight for the boats that were blockading the lagoon. By the time that I was inside and at the controls to start up the engine, I heard a muffled shot from her weapon and the chopper began flying erratically and losing altitude. “Nailed them!” Maddie confirmed as I gunned the engine. “Sis, head for the middle boat, it’s not the biggest of the three, but since the other two are fishing boats, and only have room for crew, I’d bet good money that’s where Carmichael is.”

That seemed like a fair assessment, and I had to agree with her. While all three boats had probably been modified for discreet patrols of Cuba’s coast, including the sonar I had sensed earlier, the catamaran in the center was basically a pleasure craft that was originally geared more to passengers and comfort. It had more chance of being modified with a setup that would allow Carmichael to follow their strike operation while still blending in among other craft like it while on patrol and searching for us. The catamaran was roughly the same size or a little bigger than the yacht we were currently on, so when I rammed this boat right into theirs, they were going to feel it, even before the fireworks.

~ You all might want to keep your distance from that barricade, at least until the fireworks, ~ I warned the other Naethari as I turned the yacht onto a heading that would take us straight at the center ship of the barricade and pushed the throttle to full speed ahead. ~ Feel free to come to join us after though, there might be people in the water who’ll need rescuing. We’ll save who we can, and only attack those who attack us first. Carmichael is a dead man though; I have a promise to keep. ~

Once we were close enough that I was sure that our course was accurate, I locked the wheel in place, grabbed the remote detonator, and bolted for the deck, where Maddie already had both of her weapons safely stowed in their watertight cases and slung across her back. She had also given herself legs to increase her mobility, for when we would have to jump ship. The instant that she saw me leaving the cockpit with the detonator in hand, my sister dove over the railing and into the water.

The catamaran was getting closer with every second, looming larger and larger before the bow of our boat. We were almost right on top of it when I hit the button on the detonator and dove over the railing to join my sister in the water. I felt more than saw the crash since I was under the surface when it happened, but the yacht rammed right into the rear of the catamaran seconds before exploding.

Warren Carmichael couldn’t believe how badly this op had gone. Six strike teams were wiped out by one small ragtag group of mercs, and not only had that bitch Holmes gotten away, but she had exposed the existence of the Mermaids to the public and his implicated him in actions that, if he was lucky, would only result in the end of his military career.

If he had at least captured Holmes, this situation would have been salvageable, but that girl had ruined everything. He fumed silently as he stowed his laptop in its case and headed toward the deck to await pickup from one of the choppers. He had barely gotten topside when Corporal Martinez approached. “Sir! The chopper’s been hit! It’s losing altitude and the pilot says they’ll be lucky if they can make an emergency landing in the cove, they won’t be able to pick you up.”

“Get them to send one of the other choppers then,” Warren snapped impatiently. Aren’t you supposed to be watching that yacht for any signs of movement? That’s probably where one of their snipers is.”

“Yes Sir,” the soldier agreed before repeating the orders into his earpiece. “ETA five minutes, Sir,” he added a moment later as he used his night vision binoculars to focus on the lone craft in the cove they were blockading.

“Good, keep an eye on that boat and let me know the moment that it starts moving,” he instructed. Not that he could do much at this point unless Holmes came for him personally, but he wouldn’t put it past her with her death threats. They had knocked that chopper out of the sky for a reason after all.

“Sir, it’s moving,” the corporal informed him a moment later, looking nervously toward the cove as he clutched his night vision binoculars. “It’s coming right at us at full speed!”

Warren’s eyes widened at this newest bit of information. He didn’t think that Holmes or one of those other mercs had the guts to try and ram them to get through the barricade, it would risk damaging their own boat as much as his. Even if he gave the orders immediately to start up the engine and raise the anchor, there likely wouldn’t be time to avoid the collision.

“Shit,” he cursed as he made his way toward the forward railing. He would have to go for a swim and board one of the fishing boats to wait for the chopper if he wanted to get out of this in one piece. Other men were already rushing to abandon ship before he could even give the order and he didn’t quite make it before the oncoming craft crashed into the rear of the catamaran with a lurch and the audible protest of metal and fiberglass giving way.

The impact sent him crashing into the railing. He quickly struggled to his feet, bruises and suddenly sore ribs protesting the movement as he tried to take stock of the situation. He had only just gotten to his feet when an explosion sent him flying over the railing and into the water below and pain seared through him.

By the time that I oriented myself and resurfaced after the explosion, the remains of both boats were listing and starting to sink. It looked like the fishing boat that had been positioned behind the catamaran had taken damage as well and the crew was hurrying to try to plug holes and bail water. Close to a dozen men from the catamaran were in the water, but right now, there was only one who interested me.

I dove back under the water and sucked in a deep breath, drinking in the scents around me. Fear was heavy in the water, but it didn’t take me long to place Carmichael’s scent among the others. Maddie swam to my side, so I pointed her in the right direction before speeding toward our prey, with my sister right behind me.

Sonar and my sense of smell helped to pinpoint not only Carmichael and the other men who were in the water and swimming toward the pair of fishing boats, but also our fellow Naethari. Kieshala, Kara, and Jenny were all coming in from the other side of the now-ruined barricade and sinking ships. I saw no sign of Nat though and assumed that she was still at the planned extraction point along the shoreline where she had taken Luiza, some distance away from the now-ruined villa.

Most of the men in the water had made it to the boats or were well on their way when I grabbed Carmichael by the ankle to keep him from surfacing. He was injured, including a nasty head wound, but I couldn’t see or smell any other bodies below the surface. He seemed conscious though, and well enough to struggle. ~ There are a couple of people having trouble staying afloat, ~ I warned the others.

~ We’ll get them to the boats and make the situation clear, my love, ~ Kara promised. ~ Jenny will heal the injured, if they don’t decide to attack us, that is. ~

~ If they attack us, we will kill them, ~ Kieshala stated simply. ~ I will not allow harm to come to my clanmates. ~

~Hopefully, they’ll be smart enough to realize you’re not going to hurt them and will repay the favor once you rescue those having trouble, ~ Natalie contributed. ~ I’ll stay here with Luiza. It’ll be better if people only see the four of you who were already on that livestream. If people don’t know about me and Maddie, we can act as reinforcements or mount a rescue in case this turns bad. ~

By this time, I had dragged the struggling general a good distance away from the boats underwater with Maddie by my side. I pulled him back to the surface and released him to let him scurry up to the open air, where he sputtered and gasped for air and thrashed in the water, his eyes darting around in fear. It was a good thing that there didn’t seem to be any sharks nearby at the moment because his struggles and blood would have summoned them to us.

I lazily surfaced, just my eyes above the water for a moment before Maddie surfaced beside me and we both allowed our entire heads to surface with our newly altered features. His eyes locked on us, and the tangy stench of fear was now coming off him in waves as he looked at us in panic and horror as he tried to back away. Maddie hadn’t changed much besides her hair color, so that it matched her original red and allowed her to look like herself when she was still human. I, on the other hand, had shifted my features to those I wore that night on Frost’s yacht, when Carmichael and I had first met. We wanted him to know exactly who he was dealing with before we allowed our features to revert to normal and smiled wide to show our fangs.

“Your men damn near killed me when they botched that first job, Carmichael,” Maddie spat as he continued to try to backpaddle in the water. “If it hadn’t been for my sister here turning me, I would be dead.”

“I warned you to back off, Warren,” I said as I shot toward him and coiled my tail around his thrashing legs to keep him in place while my fins and shalkai worked hard to keep us afloat. Honestly, I was a little surprised that he was still conscious after that blow to the head, let alone trying to fight me off. “You didn’t listen, you just had to keep trying to capture us, and you were told what that would cost. You have hounded us, almost killed my sister, and killed someone whom I was starting to consider a friend. My real name is Naiya Soulsinger and you will die knowing just who it was who killed you.”

~ We got the two who were struggling to swim on board the still intact fishing boat, my love, ~ Kara’s voice said in my mind. ~ Nobody has tried to attack us yet, not after the warning that Kieshala just gave them. That other fishing boat is going down, but there’s a chopper overhead and they’re lowering a rope ladder. ~

~ I’m offering to heal anyone who was injured, but they’re looking a little shocked and confused right now, ~ Jenny added.

I squeezed with my tail, constricting until Carmichael grimaced and gasped out what air he had managed to get into his lungs. He didn’t beg for his life, he just struggled in my grip and glared at me in impotent fury as Maddie asked conversationally, “How should we do this, Sis? A quick kill like Kieshala did with Pierce or a little nick and let him die a slow and painful death under the influence of our poison?”

“You… can’t…” Warren managed to gasp out, fear in his eyes and permeating his scent even as he continued to glare at me. “They’ll know… never stop hunting you…”

I thought about that, and the rescue that the others were helping with, before giving Warren a savage smile. “Our fellow Naethari are rescuing your people and offering to heal your injured as we speak, Warren. As long as people don’t attack us, we have no reason to harm them, we have made that clear. Unfortunately, you went under before any of us could get to you and drowned. You probably weren’t even conscious after that blow to your head, it looks like you have some shrapnel in there, that must hurt. It’s a shame that Jenny can’t heal ‘dead’, though she’ll try to save even you, in front of your own men, no less.”

“Yeah, that’ll work,” Maddie agreed. “I think after the news agencies start airing the information that we provided them, that this is a resolution that the U.S. military will be fine with. It’ll be a bitter pill for them to swallow, but they’ll have other things to worry about. A drowned corpse with shrapnel-induced injuries from the explosion and no hint of our poison in his system will be less trouble for them than leaving Captain Ahab here alive for the inquiries and media circus that are bound to happen.”

We quickly checked with the others, and they all agreed with the plan, though this would require some convincing acting from both me and Jenny, and she was a little worried about that. Maddie headed off to join her girlfriend and Luiza at the extraction point to wait for the rest of us while I did the deed myself. He struggled, but against the strength of a Naethari, there wasn’t much he could do. I waited for a moment after he went still, and his heart stopped beating before returning to the scene of the crime with Carmichael’s corpse in tow.

I surfaced with the body and headed straight for the only fully intact fishing boat. The scene was still hectic, but Jenny had convinced the men on the boat to let her heal their injuries and were looking at her and the other Naethari with mixed expressions, some awed and some with a mix of fear and suspicion. “Jenny! He’s not breathing!” I called out in feigned concern as I surfaced and dragged Carmichael’s corpse to the side of the boat.

Despite her worries, Jenny put on a good act as she ‘tried to save him’. It probably helped that she was already feeling stressed and anxious by having so many people looking at her so soon after our very emotional interview with Nat’s ex. She ‘tried’ until somebody thought to try CPR instead, but by then there wasn’t anything that could be done, not that I wasn’t holding my breath in near panic while I watched the attempt.

That had been a close call, but with Carmichael dead and Jenny having done what she could for the injured, we no longer had a reason to be there. We dove back into the water before any of them could try to continue the work of their late commanding officer and headed toward the extraction point to meet the others. I was a little worried about that hit Dad took during the big fight, but fortunately, he hadn’t been downplaying things when he said it was just a graze.

Jenny still insisted on healing it when he, Mom, and Aunt Carmen arrived at the extraction point an hour after we did. Luiza and Natalie had already set up camp with the supplies that we had stored there a couple of days earlier and now all that we had to do was wait for Uncle Jack to show up with our new transportation, though that wouldn’t likely happen until late in the day. It was almost oh five hundred hours when they joined us though and we were all tired, so Mom, Dad, Luiza, and Aunt Carmen tried to make themselves comfortable enough to sleep on the beach, and get some sleep, though they would be taking shifts keeping watch just in case.

The Naethari amongst us retreated into the water for a well-deserved rest of our own, save for Kieshala, who had offered to keep Luiza company while she took the first watch. Nat and Maddie found nice spot to snuggle in together while Jenny ended up sticking close to her sister and me. She was a little anxious still, and I couldn’t really blame her. Still, I fell asleep in Kara’s arms feeling truly free for the first time since we had made our escape from Pierce’s bunker of horrors and gone into hiding.