THREE OF THEM, initially, then three more spilling in behind them, dressed in blue, combat helmets with face shields, black masks covering everything from their necks to their noses, bulletproof jackets, weapons galore on their belts, thick gloves, and heavy combat boots.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUbTo0jEQXj
"Allongez-vous face contre terre! Face contre terre! Down!" Their assault rifles swept across the room. One of them motioned to the floor, lest the two women misunderstand, while others fanned out over the yacht.
"Face contre terre!" One of the soldiers moved toward Mischa and she crouched down. He pushed her flat to the floor and she lay still. Rihanna had done the same thing.
Shouting, from other wings of the yacht. Bursting through a door---the bedroom door. Nicole Richie's inquisitive voice. More shouting. Mischa caught Rihanna's eye. She was staring forward intently, perfectly still, perfectly terrified.
There was chaos all around them. Nicole Richie and Lindsay, pushed into the room at gunpoint and forced to the floor beside Mischa and Rihanna, Nicole Richie in a T-shirt and panties, Lindsay stark naked.
"What the fuck are you sons-a-bitches doing to us?" Nicole Richie shouted. The soldier behind her put his foot down hard on her back.
"Tais-toi!" (Shut up!) he ordered.
Mischa said, "Just do what they say...."
"Tais-toi!"
That soldier stood sentry over them, training his rifle on their backs, while the others stormed the various rooms of the yacht.
"Qui est-ce qui est dans le yacht? Combien?"
Combien? How many? Was he asking how many people were on the yacht? Mischa didn't know, other than the four women, Diego, Renaud, Gilbert, and Benito were gone. The fat American?
"Quatre ou cinq," Mischa answered. Four or five.
The soldiers called out to each other, announcing each room clear, Mischa assumed, but what the hell did she know? She didn't know much of anything except that she was in a foreign country where an armed militia was overtaking their yacht. What the fuck had just happened?731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRXOp23T56n
The fat American, in a T-shirt and boxers, his hair standing on end, was hustled into the main cabin and forced to the carpet as well. The soldiers gathered and seemed satisfied that they'd rounded everybody up. They went to each of them and grabbed their hands and fastened them behind their backs with some kind of hard rubber restraint. Handcuffs, obviously, but nothing like everyday policemen used. At least not in America. But this wasn't America.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjBAPsATcc
Mischa was lifted off her feet and pushed forward. Each of them was forced up the stairs and onto the dock. Outside, the air was clammy and the sun was low in the east. What would ordinarily be a drowsy dawn was a frenetic scramble of people and vehicles.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLegVCGH2ge
Had France declared war on tiny Monaco? Gray choppers hovered low overhead. Two planes that looked like fighter jets circled the sky. Official-looking cars swamped the harbor. The same military group, wearing combat gear and brandishing assault rifles, was pulling people out of all the other yachts moored in the harbor. The whole dock, in fact, was lined with people lying flat on their stomachs in handcuffs.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA5BH7JIR79
The four actresses soon joined them. This time they didn't need an order. They fell to their knees and then lay facedown. Soldiers moved them with their feet until they had arranged them on the diagonal, clearing a lane on the dock for foot traffic.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtWIAs5w40v
"What the fuck is going on here?" Mischa said, her head turned toward Rihanna, each of them lying prone on the cold, dirty dock.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVoYu2diRTM
"Oh, Lord," Rihanna said. "Oh, Good Lord, no!"731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ60ESVvUsxu
"What?" Mischa asked.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX48MZDiDr2
"Tais-toi!" one of them shouted at Mischa.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNey9vJjR93
Rihanna closed her eyes, and the chaos escalated around them. The black singer complied with the orders of the French soldier, not speaking but just mouthing the words:731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKoKU3zTLms
Oh, no!731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUPcxefdXLQ
