Cargo Ship Encounters Pirates – But What the Ship's Cook Does Next Stuns Them All!

Up in the galley, the adobo had begun to stick to the bottom of the pot. Thirty years of kitchen  habit made Manny reach automatically for the wooden spoon. Dahir's hand instantly dropped to his belt. "Slowly." "It's burning," Manny said softly. "Lunch for twenty-one people. Now lunch for nobody." He stirred the pot, releasing a dense, fragrant cloud of garlic, vinegar, and soy sauce into the air.

The pirate guarding the doorway swallowed noticeably. Dahir's eyes drifted to the bubbling pot as well. They had clearly been tossed around in open wooden skiffs since long before dawn. Manny caught the look. Every cook on earth knows that exact look of hunger. "You hungry?" Manny asked, gesturing to the stove. "Thirty years at sea, nobody ever left my galley hungry."

Dahir didn't smile. "You eat first." Manny blew on a spoon of chicken and dark sauce, chewing slowly right in front of him. Satisfied, he heaped four large plates with white rice and adobo, setting them on the steel counter.