Dinner doesn't taste right without Harry there, looking slightly nervous in his seat. The empty seat gets me down, so I stand up and excuse myself from the table. Lilli questions me on where I'm going. I say that I'm not hungry and need some fresh air.
In the hall, I wander along, reading and rereading the note which I've kept in my pocket.
Why does it have to be an hour after sundown?
Why can't it be –
"Tasmin!"
– now…?
"Harry, you're here." I peer around him. "How long have you been here, waiting?"
"I-I… don't know."
I smile. I look down. He's also holding his note. I feel his eyes on me.
I look him straight in the eye and say: "Rules are made to be broken."
Captain
Everything is in order. As it always has been, as it always will be.
I'm due back in the cockpit in an hour and twenty minutes so I make my way to the Diner to have an early dinner. On the way, I stopped for photos with at least three families. I met a little boy called Sebastien who loves my captain's hat. So I signed it and gave it to him. It was too big for his head and flopped to the side. I almost collapsed, it was so wholesome.
I ask for a private booth. I'd rather not have my dinner interrupted. There are days when I like to meet my passengers, converse with them, snap a few photos, but the view of the ocean never gets old, and not acknowledging that would be like rejecting part of myself.
The food comes quickly. I take a few bites, savouring the taste, staring at the sea. The beautiful sea.
"Captain." I peek my head out from behind the booth's wall.
"Skip," I say, standing up. "What do I owe the pleasure of seeing you an hour early?"
Skip, my apprentice, tenses up a little, but he gives me a weary smile. That's the way.
"So sorry to interrupt you, captain. But, uh… we need you back in the cockpit."
I frown. "Let's go," I mutter, reaching behind me to pick up my cream-coloured blazer. Skipper leads the way, taking three steps every one step I take. I feel his hand on my shoulder so I stop and turn to him.
"Sir," he starts, "It's not that serious. You don't have to hurry. I was just told to come get you."
I give him a smile. It's never serious. Everything is in order.
"I'm sure it's not, son, but let's get there and figure it out, hey?"
Tasmin
"You're beautiful, Tasmin."
I flick my hair, glancing down at my navy blue outfit. "You weren't supposed to see all this for another hour, you know," I tell Harry.
He shrugs, giving me a grin. "So what? I'm lucky to see you earlier then."
He's been weird the whole day. He was nervous this morning, then thoughtful at the island, then emotional, then stoic, then flaky, then… handsome. So handsome.
He must've washed his hair because it's still shiny-wet in some patches. His cheeks and ears are flushed like he's been drinking, and his tired-ish, droopy-teenager look matches perfectly. And then there's his watery eyes, like someone's spilled their cup of wash-away-the-paintbrush-paint water into them, and they're lighter than usual.
"We're ahead of schedule," I announce. "Where're we off to?"
He takes my hand. So easy, so casual… like we've been doing this for years and years. He tugs on me and now we're face-to-face. He stares into my soul with his watery brown eyes.
"The jazz band downstairs plays nice music. Let's go dance."
"In front of people?"
"It'll just be us two."
I think for a moment. "Okay, let's go."
Captain
Everything's no longer in order. Unlike it should be, unlike it always has been.
Ally
This is it.
Harry couldn't complete this mission. I knew it from the start that he'd lose it, he'd disregard the reason he came, the reason I came, his story, his future. He begged The Reprisal to help him, and then they did, and then he pushed it away.
He failed to fulfil his mission; killing the Kelly.
That was the plan all along and the only reason I came. Because he told me it would make him happy; because he told me that it would complete him and it would let his mother rest in peace.
Now, Scarlett Evans died for nothing.
And now, Tasmin Kelly lives on. And he's taken by her; the girl who should be his sworn enemy.
Unbelievable.
I don't know what Boss will think of all of this. In all honesty, he'll probably never see Harry again; he's still leaving for England after this, but after all that our team did for him…
I remember: there's still more we can do for him. That I can do for him.
I can finish the mission.
Harry knows it. I do, too.
But that's the last step to take. The last choice to make when all choices have been made. The final decision that will determine who lives and who doesn't, who prospers and who suffers.
There's something stopping me from facing the final, most important decision. But until I have to decide…
I race up to an old couple, shoulders trembling, tears brimming my eyes. "I heard something," I whisper, eyes wide. "You have to help me."
The woman places a frail hand on my shaking shoulder.
"What's wrong, dear?" she asks, looking slightly terrified herself.
"I h-heard that the ship… there's something wrong… help."
I start to run off again, mumbling to myself. I hear them yell after me, voices loud with worry, but I keep running.