Yacht Disaster

The blood still settles fresh atop the hardwood flooring.

Bodies lay from a small party of ten. Nine of em caught clean shots through the temple. Done fast with a silencer. These were just business, mere casualties of circumstance. The tenth and final body though...this had personal all over it. Even though part of a job there was indeed some satisfaction granted with this particular individual. An icing on the cake feeling.

The final body belongs to the owner of the yacht. An older gentleman in casual attire. Appearing from the look of the other victims this may have been a private business outing opposed to leisure. Or a bit of both. His murder more gruesome with the bashing of his head with skull fragments left lying in the pool of blood beside him.

An Unknown Man draped in a black suit, gloves, shoes, and a customized ski-mask stands near the yacht owner's body. He wipes the blood clean from a shiny hammer. Taking pride in this obvious favorite weapon of choice the way he observes it.

Entering the inside of a private suite on the top level.....

cruiserweight champion JAMAL LINCOLN.

Standing at six foot one and approximately two hundred pounds, late thirties, Jamal has been seeking challenge after challenge. Starting out as a middleweight to then shoot up three weight divisions to obtain a belt in each class. The purpose of this trip was to talk the potential of crossing over to MMA fighting. As an old-school fighter though Jamal not too keen on it but open to the challenge and opportunities that could follow with a business move of this stature.

Jamal reaches for his phone. He dials his wife Angela.

The caller id reads "Angie" as he phones her. "Wassup babe?" her refreshing voice answers.

"Just got up from a nap. All that business talk made me wanna take a shot and lay down. Gotta mingle now. How you though, everything good?" Jamal replied.

"I'm good, getting ready for this flight in the morning." Angela responded.

"How bout you meet me in Aspen when you done with them tech geeks." Jamal said.

Angela chuckled "You wanna go to Aspen at the end of spring?"

"Yep. No amateurs there." Jamal answered.

Angela laughed and replied " I can't with you."

"Yes you can." Jamal stated with a grin.

Angela continues laughing and responded "Send me the flight info and I'll be there."

"No doubt. See you later. Love you mama." Jamal said.

"Love you too champ." Angela replied.

They hang up at the same time.

Jamal sits up and listens clearly for a moment.

An eerie stillness occupies the energy. He steps out his suite and enters the deck area. Gazing around it registers to him he's the lone passenger. His facial expressions reveal the weirdness of the situation.

Jamal moves down to the main level

He carefully paces through the area of the deck where the bodies where laid out.

They're no longer there.

Jamal hears a small splash near the tip of the boat. He glances toward the sound but doesn't completely allow himself to be visible. He hides behind a wall and peeks out to get a look at what's going on.

He spots the Unknown Man dumping the bodies one by one with weights attached to their ankles. Jamal with a crazy "WTF" gaze on his face as he watches on in the shadows.

The Unknown Man turns around as he senses something behind him. He doesn't notice anything as Jamal remains behind the wall. He stares hard at the space. Takes a break from dumping the bodies and slowly paces that way.

Jamal hears those footsteps of dress boots clapping against the hardwood. He stays calm allowing the Unknown Man to take those steps. The Unknown Man comes close as he can while leaving some space between him and where Jamal stands.

Exactly four feet.

The Unknown Man breathes heavily in frustration as his chest moves up and down. Fists clinched with his shoulders poked out. He reaches behind his back inside his blazer and withdraws that shiny hammer. He grips the hammer mad tight and takes two steps forward.

Jamal inhales quietly and prepares himself.

He DUCKS!

SMASH!

the Unknown Man strikes the hammer where Jamal's head was.

Jamal gives him a two piece in both kidneys and finishes with a stiff jab to the face. The Unknown Man wields his hammer swiftly as Jamal avoids every swing. He kicks Jamal in the gut knocking him down on his back.

His cell phone falls out his pocket as he falls.

The Unknown Man closes in on Jamal and slams the hammer down near his head a few times. Jamal bobs and weaves even on the ground but he catches a blow to the shoulder.

Jamal winces. He lands a powerful left hook to the Unknown Man's jaw. Slows him down for a minute. They both lie on the floor attempting to regain their strength.

The Unknown Man catches his first as he stands. He moves in towards Jamal with his hammer raised high like a judge would a gavel.

Jamal holds his wounded shoulder and braces himself.

The Unknown Man goes in for the kill and all of a sudden...Jamal's cell phone rings.

ANGIE appears on the caller id

Distracts the Unknown Man enough for Jamal to take the ball of his heel and deliver a swift bang to the Unknown Man's ankle applying a clean break!

CRACK!!!

The echo travels crisp as day this time of night, this far off the water. The Unknown Man releases an agonizing scream. The cell phone continues to ring. Jamal rises and with all his vigor and lines up the Unknown Man. Executing a roundhouse kick to the head.

Knocks him overboard.

Jamal catches his breath while the phone still rings. He struggles to answer and finally does.

"Yeah babe?" Jamal asks.

"Oh word?! You taking your time? Jamal you know I can find my way out to that damn yacht!"

Jamal laughs. "I'm hip. Can you do that and bring the coast guard with you?" he replied.

"Coast Guard?! Jamal are you good?!" Angela asks. Her mood shifts into worry.

"I'm cool baby just take care of that for me, I'll tell you about it when you get here." Jamal states.

"On my way!" Angela says and hangs up.

Jamal glances around the boat deck. A look to be certain no one else is around.

He falls to the floor and lays down in relief.

THE END.