Page 155 of The Session

“Sorry,” Tru shouted over the renewed roar of the engines. “I want to head toward Long Cay.”

“What’s there?” Mark asked.

“Kevin and I used to go kayaking there. There’s a lot of sandbars, small islands, and spots where you can run aground,” Tru told him.

“That sounds like the last place we need to be right now,” Mark said.

“They may know how to drive a boat, but they don’t know their way through there. I do,” she said.

“At night?”

“What’s your plan?”

“They’ll catch up with us on the open ocean. We can last longer, but it won’t be enough. They’re faster,” Lightman answered for Mark.

“All right, it makes sense. But we need more than that. What weapons do you have on board?” Mark asked his father.

“Flares and a liquor cabinet.”

“Can you and Marnie improvise something?”

Lightman nodded, a crafty look in his eyes. “I think we might.”

“Remember, the higher the proof, the better,” Mark advised.

Lightman smiled. “We’re definitely related.” He left for the cabin.

Mark donned the night-vision goggles. “I’m going to try to help you navigate.”

Tru made another wild turn, then put them back on course.

Mark looked back and saw the pursuit boat flying through the waves like a dolphin with a vengeance, its blue lights strobing.

“Why are their lights still on?” Mark asked.

“Maybe they didn’t get word about the marina yet and still think they can convince us they’re Bahamians,” Tru said.

A moment later, the blue light stopped flashing and all the lights went off.

“Goddamn, they went dark,” Mark muttered.

He tried to spot them with the night-vision binoculars, but they were going too fast and hitting the waves too hard for him to keep them steady without giving himself a black eye.

“Damn it, our lights!” Mark realized they still had their running lights on.

Tru flipped a switch, and they went dark too.

“Change course,” Mark ordered.

“Got it.” She immediately understood what he meant. Since they had gone dark, they also needed to change direction so their pursuers wouldn’t be able to predict their path as easily.

Tru knew what she was doing, but Mark felt helpless. He began looking around the deck for something—anything. He spotted a life preserver wedged under the transom, grabbed it, found the emergency light, yanked the trigger, and tossed it overboard.

“What are you doing?”

“Maybe buying us some time. If they see the light, they might head toward it.”

Tru jerked the wheel again, this time taking them on another tangent away from the lighted life preserver.