Erica was still in the arms of the same man, the gun still at her neck. She appeared remarkably calm. That was more than could be said for the other children. Rounded up on the floor like sheep, surrounded by the other men, they were whimpering and sobbing.

“I’m Captain Jake Noah. Identify yourself please.” He spoke loudly and clearly, but did not shout.

The man on the other side of the door sneered. “You young. You not captain!”

Jake turned slightly to his side, showing the epaulettes on his shoulders. “I have been the captain for almost two months, since Captain Ibsen and Staff Captain Hollen were both killed following the asteroid. I don’t know any way I can prove that to you, so you’re either going to have to believe me, or we’re all going to stand around here for a very long time.” He kept his voice steady, but inside, beneath the thin veneer of control and confidence, he was ready to crumble into a million pieces. His eyes never left the man who appeared to be in charge. As long as he didn’t look at the children, he could just about hold it together.

The Korean man didn’t speak for a minute. A minute that felt like an hour. From the corner of his eye, Jake could see Max getting twitchy. He, too, was armed. Jake was as worried that his head of security would leap into some misguided heroic action as he was worried about the men on the wrong side of the door.

Finally, the Korean made up his mind. “I speak you. We want ship. Lance.”

“Okay.” Jake nodded slowly. He could see Max nodding too, encouraging him. “If you come out and leave the children there, then yes, of course, you can go back onto the Lance. We only wanted to help the crew, the prisoners—”

“No. The children come.”

Silence.

Nobody dared breathe. Nobody dared move.

“Why…” He couldn’t keep his voice from shaking now. “Why do you want the children? I can’t let you take our children.”

“We take children to Lance. We go. When safe, release children, in raft. Children are security. You try kill me? You try anything? We kill children. Okay?”

Jake swallowed hard. “I understand you need assurances. Of course you do. I have another idea. You leave the children here and you take me with you instead. When you have the Lance a safe distance away, you let me go. How does that sound?”

Max was shaking his head rapidly. Lucya was making a strange whining noise behind him.

“No, Captain. No deal. Children come. No choice. We go to Lance, or we kill. One at a time.” He pulled Erica up towards him until she was standing on tiptoes. Her eyes glinted in the light, filled with water. The gun pressed hard into her neck, making her cough and choke.

“Don’t hurt her! Don’t hurt anyone. I’ll get you to your ship, but I need some time—”

“We go now!”

“No! That’s not possible. The Lance has gone. There was a torpedo, the explosion. You heard it too. She broke free. We have to get her back, but the torpedo damaged our propeller as well. We have to use a life raft to get someone to the Lance, to bring her back here. You understand? You can have the Lance, but we have to get her back first.”

The man looked unsure of himself, and for the first time since Jake’s arrival on the scene, he tore his eyes away from the door and looked at his men. They snapped a few words back and forth. Jake didn’t understand what they said, but he could imagine. They suspected he was lying, playing them for time. On the other hand, they had felt the explosion. It was what had let them escape. His story was plausible. He didn’t dare look away. To do so would be to betray his own lack of confidence.

The leader looked back at last. “One hour, Captain. In one hour, we go to Lance, or we kill child.”

• • •

At first Lucya refused to leave the classroom. She insisted on watching Erica to make sure that her captors remained true to their word and did not harm her. But Jake persuaded her to join himself and Max in a nearby evacuated classroom to discuss strategy.

Before the door was even closed, Max was making his view clear. “We’ve got an hour.” He checked his watch. “Fifty-seven minutes. That’s enough time to set up an ambush. We use my men, and some of the submariners who escorted the captives off the Lance are still aboard. They didn’t get back onto the sub before the torpedo. They can help too; they’re armed.”

Lucya shook her head as if trying to shake off a fly. “What? Ambush? What are you talking about?”

“Simple. We tell them we’re escorting them to the Lance, we lead them through a carefully chosen route and then…boom! Kill the fuckers. Silo them into a suitable location. A narrow passage with only one way in and out. We’ll be waiting for them. Then, we execute them.”

“Are you completely insane?” Lucya stood and leaned over the table. “I mean, have you totally lost your mind?

Max looked taken aback. He turned to Jake, choosing to ignore the chief radio officer’s protestations.

“Of course, we’ll have to accept the possibility of civilian casualties, but the risk is far less than letting them take the children onto the Lance. Let’s face it, if that happens we’ll never see them again. At best, we’ll find them floating headless in a life raft.”

Lucya swore. Jake held up a hand. “No. We’re not ambushing them. Casualties are not acceptable. At the first sign of trouble, they’ll harm the kids. I’m not losing a single child. I’m not losing anyone. There has to be another way.”

Max threw his hands in the air. “They hold all the cards here, Jake. We’re not in a position to negotiate. You got a better suggestion? Let’s hear it!”

“I don’t have a better suggestion. We are not risking the lives of those kids though. They’ve already killed Liz Linders. I don’t doubt they’ll carry out their threat if they think we’re trying anything.”

Max let out a long sigh. “Okay, what about this? We hide a small security team on board the Lance. We let the Koreans on, with the kids, then when the kids are safe, the team takes out the bad guys and brings back the boat and the sprogs. That safe enough for you?”

“No! No, Max, it’s not. Do you not think they’ll be expecting a move like that? Those children are in danger until the bad guys are sure they’ve got away.”

“Right. And then, once they are sure, you think they’ll go to the trouble of sending them back? Come off it. They’ll be fish food. Even you must see that.”

Lucya stepped away from the table and began pacing the room. Jake buried his face in his hands. He couldn’t see a way out.

Max wasn’t giving up. “Alright. How about we cut the power and storm the classroom?”

Jake lifted his head. “Really? You’re really suggesting that? You don’t think the first thing he’ll do is kill Erica? Then start firing indiscriminately?”

“Listen, Jake. The sooner you accept that one way or another some of those kids are going to die, the sooner we can get ready with a plan. Face facts: we can’t save them all. We just can’t. I know you have a soft spot for the girl now she lives in your cabin. If you want her safe, the best bet is an ambush in the corridor.”

Lucya took a step towards Max and raised her hand. With a swift swipe she slapped his face, hard.

He raised his hand to his cheek and rubbed. “Touched a nerve?”

“Erica is like our daughter. She doesn’t just live in our cabin. And Jake is right. None of those children can be hurt in any way.”

“So give me some alternatives. We’re wasting time here. In another” — he flicked his wrist again — “fifty-five minutes, he’s going to start killing kids.”

“You’re the security man, you come up with some ideas!”

“What do you think I’ve been doing?” He slapped the table with the palm of his hand.

“Realistic ideas.” Lucya spun round and began pacing again, staring at the floor.