That was the plan but of course it underwent a slight change when Richard caught sight of An Ning and charged out the door, walking rapidly towards her. Taey was clearly not a slow poke either because he instinctively grabbed An Ning and lifted her fireman style on his back while running to the car. An Ning, who was taken completely by surprise with his action, was frightened. She gave a genuine screech of surprise and just froze when he shoved her inside and started the car.

The last thing An Ning saw was Richard running desperately towards her, his expression completely broken and anguished. An Ning watched his disappearing figure in the front view mirror. She fastened her seatbelt without a word.

Taey switched cars when they reached an intersection. They got inside a 2014 Kia and drove off, hearing the commotion of police cars behind them. They drove straight to the docks where a huge empty container s.h.i.+p was waiting for them.

Taey told her to stay put as he walked towards several men waiting for him beside a huge container truck. A short while later, the men hauled a dozen or so wooden barrels out the truck, transferred them to a huge container load which was then lifted onto the s.h.i.+p.

An Ning watched all this without a word. Taey signaled her over and they both walked the plank and entered the s.h.i.+p. The captain of the Minstrel, as the s.h.i.+p was called, was a big-chested man with a loud voice. He greeted An Ning with a big smile and almost engulfed her small hand in his with a handshake.

The whole operation ran smoothly as clockwork. The Minstrel was one of several s.h.i.+ps the owner, a Fin who lived in America, operate to ran cargo to and from the East China Sea. The company was not really big. Just a family-owned ent.i.ty ran by the Fin's eldest son, who took over from his father two years ago.

Taey knocked on her cabin door an hour later to bring her some hot soup. An Ning was looking out the window but turned when he entered the room. He put the bowl on the table and sat beside her on the couch.

"We'll be there in about two hours. Better get ready," he said.

"Who's going to be the victim of the drowning?"

"Somebody you don't know and don't need to know. Don't worry, somebody will be waiting for him below waters. We won't let anything happen to him."

"Did you detect anything following us?"

"Not us but the island is heavily guarded. The satellite picked up several drones hidden in in several places."

"How about people? Did the satellite picked up any heat thermostat to indicate human habitation?"

"Yes."

"How many?"

"Difficult to tell but I would guess over 10,000."

An Ning nodded quietly.

Taey hesitated.

"Who are those people, Sims?"

"You don't need to know. It's best for you not to," An Ning explained.

"That island has been abandoned since the 70s. I don't even know how they survived living there."

"I don't know either."

"The sub has been following us since we pa.s.sed Shanghai. It'll be waiting underwater when the drowning spectacle begins."

"Okay, I'd better change then."

"That's not really a foam, is it?" Taey asked, pointing to her stomach.

"No."

"And you're putting yourself in danger like this? You lied to me, lady. I should halt this whole operation right now and haul you back to land."

"I won't be in danger, I promise. When we get to the island, no killing, okay? No vicious fighting or killing. Understood?"

Taey was looking at her like she was crazy but sighed in agreement.

"You're the one paying for this expedition so you're the boss. What about a stun gun though? Is that okay, boss lady?"

"Stop being sarcastic. I'm not saying don't fight them just don't hurt them too much or kill them, that's all. But I think it won't come to that. I have a plan." An Ning smiled.

Taey groaned in defeat.

At the appointed time, the s.h.i.+p sounded the alarm. A deckhand reported having seen a man climbed over the ledge and jumping down. The captain was furious and immediately ordered the s.h.i.+p to halt until the jumper or his dead body was found. Divers on rafts were lowered over to the side and unto the cold waters. There was quite a cacophony as the search became more frantic and noisy.

On the other side of the s.h.i.+p, An Ning waited for Taey's signal. The sun was going down and the wind was picking up. She pulled the zipper of her wetsuit up her neck as the wind teased her naked collarbones. Taey looked at her, admiring the calmness of her profile as her gaze settled over the horizon and beyond.

"They're here," he said, touching her shoulder.

She nodded and followed behind him. He helped her climbed over the ledge unto a rope that dangled over a manned underwater vehicle the size of a bus. The driver held her steady until her feet found the opening and she slid inside. Taey gave her the okay sign and helped her to her seat. The driver reached up to close the hatch and they were under water a few minutes later.

"How about your men?" she asked. "Are they following us?"

"They're already waiting at the agreed point. As soon as we land, they'll follow us."

The water looked dark beyond the lights of the submersible. It was as if they were floating inside a dark world. They could see their shadow but beyond that was the nothingness of s.p.a.ce that was both lonely and desolate. The submersible chugged along for several hours until the radar sounded an insistent beep.

"We're here," Taey said.

An Ning nodded and tightened the belt around her waist. The short sword she carried b.u.mped against the metal chair, making a tiny ding. It caught Taey's attention. He glanced at it and frowned.

"What are you doing with that sword?" he asked.

"Because I need another weapon besides my gun."

"I thought you said there's not going to be any fighting."

"I said don't fight viciously or kill. I never said anything about not fighting."

Taey shook his head despairingly. "Women," he muttered under his breath.

The submersible slowly bobbed to the surface. An Ning pressed her face against the gla.s.s and stared as the tall shattered buildings and the huge concrete sea wall that enclosed it like a battles.h.i.+p came into view. The sea wall seemed formidable but in the fading light it looked somewhat desolate, the tall buildings staring with sightless eyes on the sea and beyond.

The island's first known history was connected to coal. People built houses and buildings and stayed to mine the coal but when it ran out and the company that ran it left, so did the workers and their families. The island was now a sh.e.l.l of whatever glory it used to have. It was abandoned and haunted, the perfect prison to hide away and forcibly restrict Hippolyta's once formidable army of women.

The submersible drew closer to the walls. In the fading light, An Ning saw a boat hail them as it drew nearer. Taey spoke into his transciever, the cackling noise lost in the wind. An Ning watched as a dozen men dressed in dark wetsuits fire their grappling hooks on top of the wall and started to climb. They watched as the men reached the top. One of the men hoisted over a ladder, which Taey caught with his hand. He a.s.sisted An Ning on the steps and she started to climb. The wind whipped at her ponytail and almost burned whiplash on her cheeks.

The island lay in total darkness as they finally stepped on firm ground. The men scattered in every direction, wearing night vision goggles to find and disable the drones. An Aning s.h.i.+vered at the utter bleakness of the sight before her. It was beyond desolate. It was the embodiment of everyone's nightmarish dream of h.e.l.l.

The radio again crackled. Taey answered it and spoke to it for a few minutes.

"They took out the drones on the west side," he told An Ning. "They're going to the southside this time. It's going to be a while so better gear up."

It took an hour before the second call came. The drones were destroyed but the men were still cautious. They just came upon a tent with a few snoring men inside. They seemed to be from the mainland, perhaps fishermen whose boat wafted to the island during a storm. But they could also be pirates, part of a crew that came to the island to prey on its inhabitants.

The latter explanation froze An Ning's blood cold. She made a small sound that Taey heard. He immediately cut off the connection and called the rest of the team still waiting below the sea wall.

Another dozen climbers came over the wall and started setting up tents and communication signals around the perimeter. A huge generator was hoisted over the wall and in a short while lamp posts were erected and light streamed onto the dusty gravel road for perhaps the first time in a long while.

The receiver again cackled and Taey turned to An Ning with a grave look.

"We might have a problem. The men they found seem to be part of a large pirate crew. They found a boat moored on the other side of the island. These pirates might take the women hostage or even kill them if we attacked. What do you want them to do?"

"Kill the pirates," An ning said cooly. "Let's go find the women."

"It might be dangerous out there for you, Sims. You need to just stay here and wait for the next word."

"Don't argue," An Ning told him. "I'm the boss, remember?"

"Not when it concerns your safety," Taey was firm.

"You have the entire island surrounded. What do you think will happen if I go out there?"

"Stubbon as a mule," Taey glared at her. "At least wear your goggles."

An Ning fastened the goggles and followed behind Taey as the men moved forward. They trudged through years of dirt and filth, their footsteps echoing in the silence like an army of mice scratching against sand paper.

They entered one of the buildings, falling down and abandoned and ghostly. Taey raised his arm to signal a halt. They stood listening to the incruciating silence. There was nothing. Just the howl of the wind, the waves against the rocks, the sound of their breathing. Suddenly, a shriek and a cry.

An Ning found herself racing through the darkness as fast as the wind could carry her. Her feet flew over boulders, over rocks. There seemed to be a singing in her blood, the rush of fear and excitement straightening her spine.

Her mad onrush brought her to a clearing. A huge fire was burning inside a pit. Ringed around this fire were ten men in a state of inebriation. Some distance away, a pole stood and tied to this pole was an emaciated woman whimpering and struggling to break free. Three large men surrounded her, their hands groping her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, her crotch, and her a.n.u.s. They were laughing at her pathetic whimpers, her tears.

The men around the fire turned drunkenly around at the sound of laughter, cackling uproariously at the sight of the woman trying to shrink fearfully away from her attackers. One of the men stood up and started unzipping his fly. He pushed aside the man tormenting the woman in front and forcibly took the woman's legs in his tattooed arms so that she dangled in the air like a damaged b.u.t.terfly.

The man's p.e.n.i.s was small and pale, glistening with moisture as he rammed it in and out the woman's v.a.g.i.n.a in rapid strokes. He then leaned forward and viciousy bit the woman's nipple, his teeth cutting the soft skin so that blood started trickling down her chest and stomach.

The sight of the red blood seemed to inflame the man playing with her a.n.u.s. He pulled down his pants and positioned himself behind the woman, ramming his p.e.n.i.s brutally inside the woman's back entrance as she screamed and twisted to try and get away. The men leered and laughed while others started to play with themselves as they watched the woman cry and rage at the men raping her.

An Ning gripped the sword on her waist and in one rage-fuelled leap beheaded the man hideously raping the woman in front of her. There was a sickly sound like a knife cutting through meat and the head rolled like a hairy bowling ball towards the men sitting and laughing around the pit. The head slowed down then plonked ungracefully in the middle, its eyes were open, caught in death in the middle of an o.r.g.a.s.m.