Sorry, got a little busy with some family stuff, and with some business related stuff.

Anyway, enjoy! Agent 34 was also updated today as well for those of you reading that one.

Crystal's POV

"A neutral party?" I questioned sarcastically. "You really expect me to believe that?"

She just shrugged and walked backward until she was leaning up against the railing of the yacht. And I noticed something interesting.

She was wearing a blue silky-looking tank top tucked into the white slacks, with a pair of white strappy heels, but that wasn't what caught my attention. What caught my attention was the strange-looking black glove she was wearing on her right hand and the white bandages that wrapped up her entire right arm, her shoulder, and her neck. And even though her long blonde hair shielded a good part of her face, I could see some very nasty-looking scars, like burn scars on her cheek.

I pushed to my feet and positioned myself between her and Noah, not that she'd even made a move to go at Noah. Her brown eyes watched me closely as I moved, but her body was relaxed, leaning up against the railing, arms crossed over her chest. I glanced briefly at the ladder leading down to the lower deck, thinking that Noah and I could probably make it there before she could shoot us.

"What the hell happened to you?" I asked her as I took a small step backward. "Husband lose his temper?"

She shook her head. "Don't try it," She said simply.

There was no use trying to pretend I didn't know what she was talking about. She was much more observant, much more dangerous than I had previously thought. Playing dumb wouldn't achieve anything.

"Why not?" I questioned instead.

She locked eyes with me and when she smiled again, this time it was sinister. "It won't end well for you." She kept her eyes on me but nodded her head in Noah's direction. "Or him."

I watched her cautiously. Either we tried to get the hell out of here now, or we would be stuck dealing with her and her men.

"Noah," I said and I felt his eyes move to watch me as I spoke. I relaxed my body for a second before tensing up once again, preparing for a fight. "Don't argue, just listen," I told him and I saw him nod out of the corner of my eye. "Go!" I shouted.

He ran behind me, running toward the ladder. I ran beside him, mostly just shielding him from her because as soon as he moved, so did she and she reacted much faster than I thought she would.

She had seemed so relaxed leaned up against the rail, so calm and I had mistakenly figured she'd assumed we weren't going to try anything and just going to stay put. She hadn't looked at all like she was ready to react and yet the moment Noah moved, she had as well.

I positioned myself in the way and just barely managed to duck under the punch she threw. I wasn't expecting her to then drop to the ground and swing her leg around and knock mine out from under me.

"Crystal!" Noah shouted.

I let out a gasp as my back once again hit the deck and then rolled back to my feet as quickly as possible. I looked over my shoulder at Noah who was a few yards away from the ladder. "Go!" I shouted. He looked at me hesitantly. "Go!" I repeated.

She swung a fist at me and I dodged it, swinging my fist at her, nearly clipping her in the jaw, but she managed to dodge me at the last minute. I swung my fist at her again and this time she caught it, spun out of the way, and pulled me forcefully forward until I nearly crashed into the railing.

I was on my knees in front of the railing when she grabbed hold of my hair, pulled my head back, and slammed my head into the railing. Black spots invaded my vision as I collapsed onto the deck but I pushed them back and pushed back to my feet. Pain shot through my skull and I felt like my head was splitting in two but in using the railing I was able to get back onto my feet.

She stood a short distance away between me and the ladder, calmly standing there, her entire body seemingly relaxed and her eyes watching my every move.

I watched her closely and then made a move like I was going to try and run around her to the ladder. She ran at me and at the last second I stopped myself and she ended up slightly passing me since she had been expecting to crash into me. I swung my arm around so my hand was at the back of her head and then with all my strength I pushed her head forward and down, right into the railing as she had done to me.

I backed up a few steps and watched her closely as she pulled herself to her feet, rubbing at her head, and to my surprise, she laughed.

She looked up from her hands to me, blood running down the side of her face from a cut in her head. There was a smile on her face once more, except I really didn't like that one.

"Not bad, Carver," She said as she straightened up and this time, instead of just standing in a relaxed stance as she had been before, this time she kicked off her heels, fisted her hands into fists, and took up a fighter's stance. "It's been a long time since I've had a good fight."

"Crap," I muttered under my breath. I could see the look in her eyes, and I didn't like it. It was predatory. I held up hands in a defensive stance and watched her closely as she began to circle me.

When she finally struck, I was able to block the first two of her attacks, the third, a punch to the jaw, I was not able to block or dodge in time. I rubbed at my jaw for a moment before dodging another of her strikes and immediately after, I threw my own. She blocked each one of them until I brought my knee up into her stomach and then landed and punch to her face.

She spat blood out of her mouth and looked back at me, a challenge shining in her eyes, and then she attacked again. This time her attacks were much faster and this time, I could not dodge or block them nearly as well.

She brought her leg up and swung her foot out and kicked me backward right in the stomach. I fell forward onto the ground and glared up at her, unable to get right back up right away.

"Crystal!" I heard Noah shout and I turned to look as two men pulled him forcefully onto the deck.

I pressed my forehead against the floor of the deck and gritted my teeth together through the pain, pushing myself slowly back up to my feet just as two more men walked out of the lounge and began making their way toward me.

She held up her hand, causing them to stop, and shook her head.

I looked from Noah to her. "Tell them to let him go."

She smiled. "I will," She said as she once again took up a fighter's stance. "If you win."

I was breathing heavily and let out a huff when she said that. There was absolutely no way I was going to win. She was . . . something else. Still, I got in a fighting stance across from her all the same, because it was true, there was no way I'd win against her in a fair fight, but she never said it had to be fair.

So when she came at me, I let her, focused only on blocking and dodging her attacks until I could get an opening.

I couldn't tell you how many hits I took, but it was way less than the number of them I was able to dish out. Still, I waited for my opening, and then I saw it. She came at me, and I ducked under the punch she had thrown, I brought my arm out around her and pulled the gun from her waistband at the small of her back.

She swung around quickly, her hand grabbing the barrel of the gun, her leg coming up and slamming into my back.

I kept my grip on the gun as I fell forward and I felt her grasp slip away. I landed on the deck once more, but this time I quickly rolled onto my back and aimed the gun up at her just as she was about to strike again.

"I win," I muttered as I aimed the gun shakily at her, my whole body feeling like I'd just been used as a crash test dummy.

She didn't seem at all bothered to have a gun aimed at her, as a matter of fact, she seemed amused. "You haven't won," She said as she knelt down in front of me. "I'm still breathing."

I fired the gun. Except, nothing came out. It made a clicking noise and that was all.

She held up the magazine of bullets in front of me. "Like I said Carver," She said I lowered the gun dejectedly. "You're not bad, but you're not good enough."

I let out a shout of pain as she swung her foot into the side of my head.

"Stop it!" I heard Noah shout. "Leave her alone!"

I groaned and my vision was beginning to grow blurry. I felt hands grabbing hold of my arms and pulling me so I was on my knees.

I watched as she reloaded the gun and then once again tucked it into her waistband. "Remind me again," I hissed. "how you're a neutral party."

She walked over and knelt down in front of me once again. "Well, I was a neutral party," She told me before leaning in closer to me so we were face to face. "but you pissed me off."

She stood back to her full height and walked over to Noah. "Unlucky that you decided to bring your friend here with you," She told him as she gestured to me. "I only wanted to sink the yacht with you on it. But now . . ." She trailed off with a shrug.

"How did you even know about the yacht?" Noah asked.

"I followed you," She replied. "Several times. I would have left you alone, I don't particularly see you as a threat, but Carver and Storm would just not back off. I needed to send a message."

"You know who we are?" I questioned. "Who we all are?"

She nodded. "I must say, I wasn't expecting Jackson Storm of all people, and I didn't know it was him until," She gestured around at the yacht. "I mean Storm, really? Don't worry though," She knelt down in front of me once more. "I've kept your true identities to myself thus far. So tell me, what does Jackson Storm want with Kurt Branson?"

I shrugged as I glared at her. "I can proudly and confidently say that I don't fucking know."

She studied my face for a long time. "You really don't, do you?" She said and then shrugged.

"Why are you working for Branson?" I questioned.

"I already told you," She replied as she pushed to her feet. "He's getting something for me, but he needs more time to do it, and time is not something you're giving him. I warned you that getting in my way would have unpleasant consequences."

She turned to the men holding us. "Lock up them in a couple of the rooms. I don't care how you do it, just make sure the doors won't open. Tie them up while you're at it too."

"What?!" Noah shouted as they began to drag him away.

She shrugged. "I'm still sinking the yacht. Only now there'll be two bodies instead of one.

"No!" Noah shouted and then looked at me in panic. "Crystal!"

The men holding me began to drag me away even as I put up a fight-or at least as much of a fight as I could.

"Don't worry," I could hear her voice behind me as they dragged me back into the yacht. "There's only enough explosives to punch a hole in the yacht. You won't blow up . . . you'll just drown."

I could hear Noah shouting for help as I was dragged away. I kicked out and swung my fists at the men holding me trying unsuccessfully to get free.

I was tied with my arms behind my back, to the leg of the bed, in the master bedroom of the yacht, minus the guy I had knocked out. I kicked and fought the whole time but it made no difference, I was too tired and they were much stronger than I was. They walked out, shutting the door behind me and I could hear noises that I couldn't identify but I figured they were finding a way to lock the door from the outside rather than the inside. Or if they couldn't lock it, then they'd probably just barricade it.

I struggled with the ropes cutting into my wrists, twisting and turning in an effort to loosen them. When that didn't work I began to rub them against the metal of the bed. It felt like an eternity before finally, the ropes fell away from my wrists. I pulled the remainder of them off and jumped to my feet, immediately moving to the door. I pulled at the handle, but it didn't move at all.

Panic was beginning to set in and I began pushing and pulling at the handle desperately, trying to get the door to open. The windows were not an option, since I would probably only be able to fit my head through.

A shrill ringing cut through my panic and I began looking all around the room for the source of the sound.

The sat phone!

I dropped to my stomach and reached my hand under the bed, nearly letting out a shout of joy when my hands closed around the phone. I answered it and held it up to my ear.

"I do actually," Jackson's voice reached my ear.

I frowned. "You do, what?"

"Have a way of tracking the yacht. You're welcome."

"I'm not thanking you for anything!" I shouted as I set the phone between my shoulder and my ear while I once again tried to pry open the door. "Son of a bitch," I muttered when the door still wouldn't budge.

"That's not very nice," Jackson said.

"How far away are you?" I questioned him as I began looking around the room for something to try and pry open the door.

"Not too far."

"Get here faster," I muttered as I looked under the bed. "And you wouldn't happen to keep a crowbar in the master bedroom, would you?"

"Why on earth would I keep a crowbar in the master bedroom? That's kept in the guest bathroom."

"That's not funny, Jacks-"

I cut off as there was a deafening explosion and the whole yacht rocked. I fell backward into the cabinets behind me, dropping the phone. I swore as I rubbed at my head. I picked up the phone once more and held it back up to my ear.

"What the hell was that?" Jackson questioned.

I looked back to the door and felt the blood drain from my face as water slowly began seeping through the door.

"Hello?" I heard Jackson say when I didn't answer.

"That would be the yacht, sinking," I said and I was surprised at just how calmly and clearly my voice came out, cause I was freaking the hell out on the inside.

"Well, you know how to swim right?"

"Swimming won't do me much good," I said as I began kicking at the door handle as hard as could. "Considering I've been locked in the master bedroom and the door is jammed."

There was a silence from Jackson that lasted way too long as I continued to kick at the door. "What?" He spoke, only this time his voice was much softer, almost breathless.

"The water is up to my ankles and only beginning to flow faster," I told him. "If you're not going to be of any help by giving me suggestions on how to get this damn door open, then give the phone to Damien!"

I pulled at the handle, jiggling it every which way, and then kicked at the door once more when that didn't work. I set the phone down on the bed and then ran at the door, throwing my shoulder and all my weight into it. Pain shot through my shoulder and I bit back a groan and did it again.

The water was rising much faster now, and it was already up to my knees. I moved through the water back to the bed and picked up the phone before it became soaked. "Any suggestions?" I questioned.

Jackson started to say something to me, but I was no longer listening because the yacht suddenly began to tilt to its side and backward. I tried to keep my footing.

"No, no, no, no," I said.

"What is happening?" I heard Jackson ask.

"Help," I whispered softly as I watched the water rush to the side.

I slipped as the water began to flow in the direction the yacht was tilting, causing it to tilt faster and me to lose my balance. I let out a scream as I slid down the now slippery and extremely steep slope that was the floor and landed in a pool of water on what should have been the wall of the yacht. Furniture that wasn't bolted down or secured fell along with me, leaving me struggling to get on my feet and push through the chairs, nightstands, and whatever else.

"No!" I shouted as I tried to look through the water and mess that was now the master bedroom for the phone I had dropped, though by now, it was no good anyway. I moved through the water and tried to crawl back up the floor to pull at the door, but it was too steep.

The water was flowing in too fast from the cracks in the door, and the only choice I had was to wait for the water to lift me up enough to reach the door. So I waited and as soon as I could reach the door handle I began pulling on it once again. I kicked at the handle but it still would budge.

I clawed at the door, trying to pry it open. I put my feet on the wall on one side of the door and pulled at the handle with all my might, using the wall and my legs as leverage, and finally, finally, I felt the handle move ever so slightly, felt the door begin to give way just a little.

Except, I still couldn't get it to open all the way. The door was now completely underwater and I had to let go to swim up to get air before the entire room filled with water. I gasped in a breath and dove back down, once again pulling at the door.

I did this three times, and the fourth time I came back up for air, there was hardly any left. I stayed there, treading water, trying to catch my breath and get as much air as I could until the water flowed over my head, and the entire room was filled.

I swam back down to the door and pulled at it once again, desperate to get the door open. There was a new burst of energy that flowed through me, a burst of adrenaline, and I was finally able to get the door open, but only enough for my fingers to fit through the cracks. There was something tied to the handle, that was then tied somewhere else, keeping the door from opening any wider.

My energy left me and the deeper the yacht sank, the darker it was becoming. There was nowhere left to go and I had failed. I continued to pull at the door, panic flooding my veins, but it was no use. My head felt like it was going to burst and my lungs were begging me to take a breath of air. And I couldn't hold out any longer. I held my breath until I couldn't any longer and saltwater flooded my mouth and lungs, my vision going black.

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