A Captain's Duty

been convinced that he’d stumbled on the most broken-down, ramshackle ship in the U.S. Merchant Marine. Nothing on the entire ship seemed to work.
    “There’s nothing there,” I said.
    The three pirates started speaking in Somali. I turned my back and brought my handheld radio up. For some reason, they’d let me keep it. Maybe they thought I needed it to call the crew to the bridge or to run the ship. I intentionally kept it in my hand by my waist constantly so they’d get used to the sight of it. But I used it only when they were distracted or looking away, and then I would key the button and talk without raising the radio to my lips.
    “Four on the bridge,” I said. “No mother ship yet.” I rattled off the Somalis’ positions on the bridge again and their weapons.
    “Cap,” someone said. I looked over. Colin was motioning to me.
    I walked over to him. He was sweating and his face was pasty, from the heat or nerves I couldn’t tell.
    “Cap, just give them the money,” he said.
    I looked around. I hoped the pirates hadn’t heard.
    Every captain carries cash in his safe, for supplies and for emergencies. I had $30,000 stowed in mine, in large and small denominations.
    “Colin, they’re going to want more than thirty grand.”
    “Just give it to ’em,” he said.
    I wanted to keep him calm. After his questions about being taken hostage earlier in the trip, I didn’t want Colin freaking out. We were all scared, but it was crucial we didn’t show it. Fear meant weakness, and weakness meant sloppy thinking. We couldn’t afford that.
    “It’s an option,” I said. “We’ve already given them cigarettes. We’ll hold the money in reserve in case we need it.” I couldn’t care less about the money, but I wanted to slow things down and give myself a chance to strategize.
    “I think you should just hand it over,” he said.
    I walked away.
    The Leader went over to the VHF radio, very high frequency, which basically lets you talk to anyone from horizon to horizon, a range of fifteen to twenty miles. It had originally been set to Channel 16, which is the international hailing and distress frequency. Everyone monitored that channel—it’s how you call other ships and report an accident onboard. But I’d flicked it to Channel 72 when no one was looking. Nobody ever monitored 72. The Leader might as well try calling the moon.
    He rattled off a hailing call in Somali. He had to be trying to raise the mother ship. But he was getting no answer.
    I watched the Leader. I knew I had to monitor his mood very closely. All the other pirates were taking their cues from him: when he got angry, they got angry. When he was cool, they were cool. He was like the detonator wires on a bomb. I’d have to watch him very carefully.
    I was beginning to wonder just how far I could push the Leader. I wanted to get inside his head. What would he want to do next? How could I get there before he did?
    But it’s a fine line between deceiving your captors and getting a bullet in the forehead.

TEN
Day 1, 0900 Hours
    “We are like hungry wolves running after meat.”
    —Somali pirate leader Shamun Indhabur, Newsweek.com, December 18, 2008
    T he bridge was getting steamy. The temperature on the water in the Gulf of Aden can reach 100 and above. I knew we were going to get dehydrated quickly in that glass cage. The pirates had the bridge door, which was usually left open to let in a breeze, shut tight.
    “Where are the crew?” the Leader asked again.
    “I have no idea where they are, I’m here with—”
    “Bring up crew NOW!” he screamed. “You have two minutes. If not, these guys are going to kill you.”
    Suddenly the two pirates at the wings rushed in and raised their AK-47s and pointed them over the console at ATM and Colin cowering on the floor. They jabbed the barrels down toward their faces, screaming.
    “You want to die?!” they shouted. “Two minutes, we kill you.”
    “Calm down, calm down,” I said. “I’m doing my best.”
    “Now minute thirty,” Tall Guy yelled, his eyes bulging. He pointed the gun at my belly.
    “They’re serious,” the Leader said. “I told you this. Bad guys, bad guys.”
    I got back on the PA system. “All crew, all crew,” I called. “Report to bridge immediately. Pirates want you on bridge now .”
    The Leader looked at me, his eyes cold.
    “Can you do something with these guys?” I said. “Before someone gets shot?”
    He just looked at me and