Ghost Net by Pauline

I have had this story on the backburner for some time and am happy to have finally finished it. With thanks to Helen for her help.

“Damn it, Lee, what the hell happened to you?”

“Does it look as bad as it feels?” Lee Crane croaked, his voice hardly above a whisper.

A moment before his executive officer, Chip Morton, had stepped in front of Lee’s car, ready to greet his friend and CO with a smile. Instead, he was staring in horror at the man’s battered face. Lee had two black eyes, a split lip and a large bruise on his right cheek. The bruise was mottled purple, with green and yellow tendrils extending up to his hairline. It was not a pretty sight.

Chip moved immediately to the driver’s side door as Lee pulled his car into his marked spot. The window rolled down and Lee stuck his head outside, a move that brought a grimace to his face followed by his muttered question.

“It looks pretty bad. Nobody called me last night to tell me we had an intruder on the grounds. So no bad guys that I know of. You run into an irate boyfriend or something?”

“Don’t make me laugh, it hurts too much,” Lee answered. “I wish it was something as exciting as all that. Truth be told, I slipped and fell coming out of my kitchen.”

“Whaaat? Here, let me give you a hand.” Chip opened the door and took hold of Lee’s arm, then helped him gingerly step out of the car. “I’ll get your briefcase. How the hell do you fall in your kitchen?”

“I don’t know how it happened, I sure don’t remember spilling anything last night. I had just shut the door of the ‘fridge and turned around, when I stepped in a puddle of water. My bare foot went into it, and whoop, I did a nice swan dive right into the wall. I put up my arms to block my fall, that’s how I got the black eyes, slammed right into my hands. I’m damned lucky I didn’t break both wrists. As it is,” he rotated one wrist and then the other, “they’re sore as hell, too.”

They were walking side by side, Lee taking his time, Chip matching his normally long stride to his boss’s slower motion. Chip couldn’t imagine how Lee had managed to get into his uniform, but he’d done it, even brought his briefcase in, heavy and full of papers as usual.

They had passed a couple of people now, each one trying not to look dismayed as they muttered a quick ‘good morning.’ This would be all over the Institute in a few minutes.

“Why’d you bother to come in? We could have postponed the pre-sail for a day or two.”

“The admiral’s pretty gung ho to test out this new piece of equipment. He’s like a kid in the candy shop when something new comes in, you know that. I didn’t want to disappoint him.”

“Twenty four hours wouldn’t have been a disaster, Lee.”

Lee smiled, and then grimaced again, touching the tear in his lip. “Yeah, I suppose not. I just don’t like being the cause of a delay. Especially since getting this new spectrometer has taken forever. And then there was that little electrical problem….”

“Which I haven’t been able to duplicate.”

The ‘problem’ that Lee referred too had happened a week ago, on a routine sail out of Santa Barbara to San Diego. The return trip had been marred by a complete malfunction of Seaview’s navigational system. Sonar and hydrophones had all gone down at the same time, necessitating an emergency blow and a few tense minutes while they rose to periscope depth and Lee could sweep the horizon for anything in their way. Luckily the sea lanes had been clear. Once on the surface, the systems had spontaneously returned to operation. Chip had spent a week now trying to figure out what had gone wrong, with no result.

“We need to take her out again, same depth, speed and direction, and see if anything happens,” Lee said.

He waited while Chip pushed opened the swinging glass doors of the office reception area, then took a deep breath and entered. With the reception desk blocking the entrance to the private offices, there was no way he’d be able to duck the security guard seeing the condition he was in. He fervently hoped it wouldn’t be one of the female employees working the desk; he could do without the ‘mother hen’ routine today.

Luckily Tom Gallagher was on the desk today; ex-Navy chief with 30 years of service behind him before he’d taken the job at NIMR. He’d seen it, and in some cases probably done it, or at least knew which of his young charges had. So when he saw Seaview’s skipper enter the building looking like somebody had worked him over, his eyes got only moderately large. Another ONI mission gone bad? He was glad that Admiral Nelson hadn’t gotten to his office yet; he knew what the admiral thought about Commander Crane’s ‘alter ego.’ Tom hoped his shift would be over before Nelson made it in.

“Morning, sirs!” Tom boomed. “Might I say that I’d sure hate to see the other guy, Commander Crane?”

Lee laughed, even though it hurt. “Nothing quite that good, Tom,” he said, taking the pen that Gallagher was holding out and signing the check-in sheet. “My kitchen floor’s got it in for me, that’s all. I zigged when I should have zagged.” He held the pen out to Chip, who quickly scribbled his name. “Give me a holler when the admiral shows up, please. I want to see him before he sees me.”

“You got it, sir.”

“One more thing. Where’s Dr. Jamieson today?”

Gallagher stepped back and flipped through a file on his desk. “You’re safe, Commander. The Doc’s doing his rounds at the University clinic, won’t be back until the end of the week.”

Lee blew the air out of his cheeks. “Great, that saves me a truckload of explaining. Not to mention a trip to Sick Call.”

The grin on Tom’s face matched that of the other men. Lee Crane’s aversion to anything medical was legendary. Will Jamieson was chief medical officer for the Nelson Institute of Marine Research. He fought a never-ending battle to ensure that Seaview’s command team and crew came through their missions in one piece. With Lee’s all too often seconding to the Office of Naval Intelligence for missions that were fraught with danger, it was a near thing sometimes for the man to come through in one piece. ‘Jamie’ would have had the young skipper down in Sick Bay as soon as he could get him there, with Lee protesting every step of the way. Luckily that wouldn’t be happening today.

Lee put a shoulder into the inner door and held it open for Chip this time, then followed him into the secondary lobby area. Branching off from this space were doors leading into offices for the Institute’s senior research staff, conference rooms and libraries. They could hear the buzz of conversation as they headed for the elevator that would take them up to the second floor of the compact office building, the floor reserved for Seaview’s command team.

Both men were silent as they entered the open elevator. Chip held his figure over the button, not quite ready to punch it and send the elevator on its way.

“You trying to figure out a way to explain this to Angie?”

Angie was the Office Manager and Admiral Nelson’s secretary. Lee knew he would have to have a good explanation for her.

“I’m just going to tell the truth. That I’m a clumsy oaf.”

“For once, you’ve got that right!”

“Give me a few minutes, then bring in a cup of coffee and we’ll put our heads together. I’d like to go over the maintenance records on the navigation equipment.”

“No problem, Lee. Maybe you’ll see something I haven’t. It’s got me baffled so far.”

“Something simple, Chip, you know it’s gonna be that.”

Chip put his hand on the button and pushed. “That’s what I keep telling myself. It’s just taking longer to figure it out than I’m used to.”

Chip Morton was not about to tell Lee that it wasn’t the only thing on Seaview that had gone haywire over the last few weeks. He’d had trouble with computer programs that were working one minute and refusing to open the next, while several simple, preventative maintenance checks on equipment throughout the boat had revealed issues that hadn’t been present at the last maintenance cycle. Worst of all, there had been a couple of flare-ups among the crew that had had to be dealt with. They had all been working very hard, making everything ready for some new equipment that the admiral had ordered, and sometimes, tempers ran a little raw. He hadn’t brought any of it to Lee’s attention yet, hoping that everything was just some kind of crazy, one-off thing that would sort itself out quickly. But for it to all happen without a space of a couple of weeks, and now, Lee’s ‘accident,’ that was just too weird, Chip thought to himself. He’d keep an eye out for black cats and ladders, and avoid them all.

The elevator door opened, and Chip Morton’s face beamed out his famous smile. “I don’t envy you, Commander Crane.”

“Thanks for nothing, Commander Morton.”

xxxxxx

Nelson stepped out of the elevator and made his way to his office. He was in good spirits and looking forward to a favourable report on the new equipment being installed aboard Seaview when he met with Lee and Chip this morning.

“Morning Admiral,” Angie smiled pleasantly. “Captain Crane is waiting for you in your office.”

“Thank you, Angie.” He returned the smile. He really shouldn’t be surprised that his work-a-holic captain had beaten him in. Entering the office, he found Lee Crane sprawled in a chair, holding an ice pack to his face. “Lee! What happened? Are you all right?” Nelson hurried across for a closer look at his friend.

“Morning, Admiral,” Lee sat up straighter. “I slipped over at home, nothing serious.”

“Uh-huh, have you been to see Jamie?”

“That’s not necessary, Admiral. I’m fine.”

Nelson shook his head in disapproval, but didn’t push Lee on the subject. Lee was stubborn and would only dig his heals in. Moving around the desk, Nelson sat down and regarded his friend across the desk. “You know Lee, contrary to what you seem to think, the institute can survive without you for a day or two.”

Lee’s head went from side to side, mimicking Nelson’s action. “I’m anxious to take Seaview out for a shakedown cruise, to see if we can track down the mysterious malfunction in the navigation system.”

Before Nelson could say anything further, they were interrupted by a knock on the door. “Come in.”

Angie entered. “Commander Morton’s here, sir.”

“Morning, Admiral,” Chip entered, carrying a tray with three coffees, doughnuts -- and a bottle of aspirin.

“Morning, Chip.”

Nelson watched the blonde place the tray down on the desk and pass the meds to Lee.

Lee glared at him, but took the bottle and shook out two, while Chip passed him a cup of coffee to wash them down with.

“Right, gentlemen, let’s get down to business.” Nelson reached for his own cup. “Has the new spectrometer been installed and tested?” The instrument would not only be useful in monitoring the air quality inside the sub, but would also speed up the analysis of any samples they collected.

“Yes, sir,” Chip replied.

“Good. Is there anything else? I know that Captain Crane is keen to take Seaview out for a shakedown cruise.”

Lee grimaced as he took a sip of his coffee and returned the cup to its saucer. “Chip and I have already discussed the pre-sail. I’d like to go over the maintenance logs for the navigation system, but I don’t think there is anything to stop us from sailing.”

Nelson again turned his attention to Lee. “Are you sure you’re up to this?”

Lee nodded. “Yes, Admiral, I’m fine.”

“At least take the day off. Go home and take things easy.”

“Thank you, Admiral, but that isn’t necessary. Besides, I want to do a full inspection of the boat before we sail.”

“Very well,” Nelson conceded. “That’s all gentlemen, thank you.”

It was no use arguing with Lee. Nothing short of a direct order was going to make him back down, and Lee was probably safer aboard Seaview with his watchdogs keeping an eye on him.

xxxxxx

Lee and Chip spent the morning going over the maintenance logs and had drawn a blank.

“There’s just nothing to account for the malfunction,” Chip said.

Lee rested back in his chair and put down his pen. “I wonder if it’s pressure related.”

Chip’s stomach growled and he looked at his watch. “Let’s go grab some lunch. We can continue this later.”

Lee laughed and then grimaced, tentatively touching a finger to his split lip. “Okay. I wouldn’t want you to starve to death on my account. I still want to do a personal inspection this afternoon, maybe that will turn something up.”

Chip grinned. Lee could never resist getting ‘hands on’ and wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, especially when there was a mystery to be solved.

Lee pushed to his feet. “Let’s use the cafeteria, that way we won’t have to leave the grounds.”

“Fine with me,” Chip grabbed his jacket and preceded Lee to the door, holding it open for his CO. “You feeling okay?” Chip asked while they waited for the elevator to arrive. He’d had noticed Lee flexing his fingers a couple of times and guessed that his wrist was probably paining him.

Lee nodded. “I’m fine.”

“Where do you want to start your inspection?” Chip asked, changing the subject. The more he pushed Lee on the subject of his health, the more he would dig his heels in.

The elevator arrived and Lee stepped inside. “Let’s start with the battery connections to the receiver/amplifier in the conning tower.”

Okay.” Chip followed Lee into the car and pressed the button, resolving to not let his accident prone friend out of his sight for the rest of the day. He didn’t add that he had already checked and double checked. Maybe Lee would find something they had missed.

xxxxxx

Lee sat at the sonar station with the top open, using a voltmeter to test the circuits. He’d sent Chip down to the circuitry room to check things out down there. He knew that the technicians had already inspected all the wiring, but just maybe he could find something that they had missed. It was no secret that he had an almost telepathic connection with the Seaview.

Come on girl, tell me what’s wrong.

He suddenly had the feeling that he was being watched. He turned, expecting to find Chip, but there was no-one there. Coming to his feet, he did a quick walk-around the control room, checked the radio shack and conning ladder, but there was no sign of anyone. Jumping at shadows. He shook his head and was on his way back to the sonar station when Kowalski stepped through the rear hatch.

“Kowalski, what are you doing here?”

“Mr Morton sent me up here to give you a hand, skipper.”

Lee knew that Chip hadn’t been happy with the idea of leaving Lee alone in the control room, especially when he was into the wiring. However, on the boat, Lee was his CO and you didn’t question orders. But that didn’t stop him sending someone else to keep an eye on him. Lee closed the sonar panel. “All right, there’s nothing here. Let’s check out the hydrophones.”

“Yes, sir.”

xxxxxx

Feeling a little weary, Lee made his way to his cabin. He was spending the night on the boat, something he often did when they were due to sail. They had been over every inch of Seaview and found nothing. Lee had finally sent Chip off to have dinner with Lindsay; the two of them did not get much time together. No formal meal for Seaview’s skipper; he’d gotten a sandwich sent down from the cafeteria, along with a bag of chips. He hadn’t felt up to doing anything else.

Unbuttoning his shirt, Lee made his way to the head to prepare for bed. In the two years since he’d taken command, Seaview had become his second home. He spent nearly as much time aboard as he did ashore. Unlike the navy, he didn’t have to share her with another captain. Lee smiled to himself; Chip might dispute that, the amount of time he spent as acting captain while Lee was off the boat. But at the end of the day, Seaview was his command.

Sometime later, Lee woke, unsure of what had disturbed his sleep. It took him a moment to register that the videophone screen was lit up, although there was no-one there. Throwing back the covers, he swung his legs to the floor and padded across the short distance to the desk. Frowning, he stood scrutinising the screen and pondered what had caused this latest apparent anomaly. Finally he reached out and turned it off before grabbing his robe and pulled it on while he slipped his feet into his slippers and headed out.

“Captain Crane, is something wrong, sir?” the guard in the control room asked as Lee entered.

“I don’t know,” Lee moved aft to the radio shack. There was no-one manning the radio and the equipment was turned off. There were just too many unexplained things happening for his liking. Sighing, Lee turned and headed back to the spiral staircase. Hopefully he could get a few hours sleep, without any further disturbances.

Returning to his cabin, Lee couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling he had. Going to the desk, he pulled open the drawer and reached in for his service revolver. Checking the clip, he placed the gun under his pillow before shrugging out of his robe and sliding beneath the covers.

xxxxxx

“We’ve cleared the breakwater. Proceeding at standard,” Chip reported from below in the control room.

“Very well, Chip – standby to dive,” Lee turned and headed below as Chip gave the order to clear the bridge. The lookouts followed him below and secured the deck hatch.

“Bridge clear, hatch secure.”

“Take her down, make depth 200 feet,” Lee ordered.

“Aye, sir – 200 feet.”

As Seaview’s ballast tanks flooded she sank below the pacific. Lee watched the water close over the observation nose and artificial lighting replace the sunlight in the control room. Thanks to her air revitalisation plant, Seaview could stay submerged for long periods for time, but that wouldn’t be necessary this trip. It should only take them five hours to reach the area, with any luck they would be home in time for supper.

“200 feet, trim satisfactory,” Chip confirmed, joining Lee at the plot table.

“Right, Chip, set course for the area where we experienced the malfunctions.”

“Aye, sir.”

While Chip moved to helm control, Lee glanced around the control room. All instrumentation seemed to be functioning normally; he hoped they would remain that way. He decided to do a walk through the boat while they headed for the co-ordinates. “Chip, you have the con. I’m going walk about.”

“Aye, sir,” Chip grinned.

xxxxxx

Exiting the control room via the aft hatch, Lee made his way down the corridor, past sick bay and the crew’s quarters. Coming to the mid-ship storage locker, he opened the hatch and checked inside, everything was secure. Closing the hatch, he continued aft. He stopped at the circuitry room and had a few words with the men on watch there. The crew were used to seeing him walking the boat.

Stepping back into the corridor, he felt his skin prickle. The corridor suddenly seemed to be full of shadows and he again felt that someone was watching him. He paused and looked around, but apart from the sound of a hatch closing close by, there was nothing or no-one else in sight. Get a grip, Crane. Shaking his head at his discomfort, he straightened and continued with his tour of the boat.

Turning his thoughts to other things, he realised that he’d hardly seen Nelson since they sailed. The admiral was ensconced in the lab, playing with his new toy. Lee made a note to stop by and visit on his way back to the conn.

xxxxxx

Chip looked up from the charts as Lee approached.

“We’re in the area where we experienced the malfunctions,” Chip reported.

“Very well, Chip. Let’s try some manoeuvres. Twenty degrees right rudder.”

“Aye, sir. Twenty degrees right rudder.”

Lee waited while Seaview turned onto the new heading, alert for any malfunctions. When after several minutes, nothing happened, Lee ordered another course change. “Twenty degrees left rudder, bring us back on course.” As his order was carried out, Lee walked over to stand behind Kowalski at the sonar station. “Anything, Kowalski?”

“No, sir.”

“Hydrophones?”

“Functioning normally, sir.”

Lee stifled a sigh. He knew he should be pleased that everything was functioning and he shouldn’t wish for trouble, but he didn’t like mysteries; better that any malfunctions happen now, than when they were on an important mission. “How much water below us?”

“Four thousand, two hundred feet.”

“Take us down another five hundred feet. Slow and steady.”

“Aye, sir.”

Lee kept an eye on the sonar screen as Seaview descended through the depths. There wasn’t much to see beyond the observation windows. It was dark, cold and inhospitable with pressure at 303.46 psi at their final depth of seven hundred feet. However, this was no-where near Seaview’s crush depth.

“Excuse me, sir.” The duty electrician approached him with a clipboard. “I’ve checked out the videophone in your cabin, it seems to work fine. I couldn’t find any reason for it turning itself on,” he reported apologetically.

Lee accepted the clipboard. “Very well, carry on.” He felt the deck level as Chip approached. “Seven hundred feet, trim satisfactory.”

Lee nodded. “We’ll hold this course for thirty minutes and then take her back up to ninety feet.”

xxxxxx

In Seaview’s observation nose, Lee Crane stood watching the pattern of light refraction outside the large windows. The attempt to duplicate the earlier problems had taken many hours, but at last they were headed home, everything had gone smoothly and there had been no reoccurrence of the navigational problems. Lee planned on taking advantage of Seaview being in port to get in a game of golf or tennis with Chip. Jamie, Seaview’s CMO, was always telling him he should take more leave and relax. And for once, there were not piles of paperwork waiting for him on his desk at NIMR, although there had probably been a few materialize while they had been out today.

Chip called to Lee from where he stood next to the radar operator. “Captain, blip on radar. Something on the surface, fifteen degrees off to port.”

Lee pulled his gaze away from the view and walked over to join Chip at the radar station. Taking the headset he listened for a moment. “It’s a small boat of some kind.”

“Seems to be drifting,” Chip observed, watching the radar screen.

“Riley, what are you getting on the hydrophones?” Lee asked.

“Nothing, sir – no sound at all.”

Lee reached out and unclipped a mic from the periscope mount. “All Stop.”

“All Stop, Aye.”

“Chip, take us up to periscope depth,” Lee ordered as he handed the headset back to the crewman.

“Aye, sir,” Chip turned. “Ten degrees up bubble. Make depth ninety feet.”

“Aye, sir – ninety feet.”

Lee stepped up to the periscope and pressed the button. It rose smoothly up in front of him. Turning the scope he searched the surface until he spotted a sea going cruiser about two hundred yards away. He ran the periscope from side to side, observing the craft with a practised eye. She was about forty feet long, with the trim, streamlined appearance of the modern, personal sport fishing boat. There were no rusty streaks on the side, no derelict bumpers torn from hitting the dock in port. The after cabin was covered by a brightly stripped awning, and also looked practically unused, with no sign of unsightly, faded patches from the sun. It could be that whoever had taken the boat out for a spin was taking a nap on the deck, but somehow, Lee didn’t have a feeling that that was the case. They were miles and miles away from the California coast, far outside normal shipping lanes, certainly further than this, albeit good-sized, pleasure craft should be, especially one with no one at the wheel. This didn’t feel right. “Sparks, there a cruiser our port side, try and raise here.”

“Yes, sir.”

Lee headed for the radio shack. “Anything, Sparks?”

“No, sir. No answer to my hail on any channel.”

“Keep trying.” Turning away, Lee walked back to join Chip at the conn. “Take us up, Chip. Have a boarding party stand by.”

“Aye, sir. Surface, surface! Deck detail, stand by to crack the hatch,” Chip ordered.

“Lee, what’s going on?” Nelson asked, arriving in the control room down the spiral stairs from officer’s country.

“There’s a small pleasure cruiser drifting on the surface. We haven’t been able to raise her. I’m going to take a boarding party to investigate.”

“All right, Lee. But be careful and you’d better take a corpsman with you. There may be injured onboard.”

Lee nodded. “Yes, Admiral.”

xxxxxx

Lee climbed out of the Zodiac onto the deck of the cruiser. “Patterson, Jackson, check below. Kowalski, come with me. Grey, you stay with the Zodiac.”

There was a chorus of “Aye, sir,” in response to his orders. Taking his gun from its holster, Lee headed for the cockpit. There was no sign of anyone; the wheelhouse was as deserted as the rest of the vessel appeared to be. What had happened to the crew? Lee returned the weapon to its holster and walked over to the chart table.

“Kowalski, check the instruments, see if the radio is working. Patterson, anything?”

Patterson stuck his head out from the hatch.

“No, sir, she’s got one forward cabin, and there’s an aft bunk area. The beds are all made and the galley looks like nobody’s done any cooking for a while.”

“Any sign of anybody, then?”

“Not really, sir.”

Lee studied the course plotted on the charts. The cruiser had been headed for Marina del Rey. Yet here they were, a hundred miles and more off course, heading practically in the opposite direction. What had happened to her crew? Everything appeared to be in order. Lee searched around, looking for anything that would give them some clue as to what had befallen those aboard.

“The radio seems to be okay, Skipper,” Kowalski reported.

Lee shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense. We’ve had no reports of bad weather along the coast. Where is everybody?” Lee walked over to the radio and tuned it to Seaview’s frequency.

“Grey, you’re back there, what’s the name of this boat?”

The crewman, Grey had stayed with the inflatable, tethered to the aft of the cabin cruiser, where her nameplate was affixed.

“Bounty Hunter, sir.”

“Bounty Hunter to Seaview, come in Seaview, over.”

“Receiving you, go ahead, Skipper,” Sparks answered.

“Everything appears to be in order, but there is no sign of the crew,” Lee reported.

“All right, Lee. Return to Seaview, we’ll discuss this,” Nelson replied.

“Yes, sir.” Lee turned the radio off.

xxxxxx

Lee climbed down the conning ladder and turned to Nelson, waiting in the control room. “I don’t understand it. What could have happened to them?”

Nelson shrugged. “Could have been any number of things.”

Lee walked with Nelson to where Chip stood at the plot table. “But the whole crew? And there is a lot of equipment aboard, why would they leave everything?”

“Maybe there was something more valuable aboard. We’ll radio the Coast Guard and see if anyone has reported them missing. In the meantime, put a prize crew aboard. If you can get the engines going, they can sail her back to port and we’ll start a search for any survivors in the water.”

“Yes, sir.” Lee turned to Chip. “Chip, you head up the prize crew, take Riley and Lt. Michaels with you. Kowalski and Patterson are still aboard. They’ll be taking a look at the engines by now, hopefully you’ll be able to get her underway.”

“You want me to command the prize crew?” Chip asked.

Lee smiled. “Why not? You’ve commanded Seaview enough; I think you can handle it. You’d better take someone from engineering as well.”

“Yes, Sir,” Chip smiled “Uh, Michaels? Chip hesitated. “Can’t I have O’Brien?”

“Don’t push it, Mr Morton. With you off the boat I’ll need O’Brien,” Lee answered jokingly.

“But you’ve got the admiral.”

Lee unclipped a mic and held it out to Chip. “Carry on, Mr Morton.” The smile undermined the command tone.

“Aye, sir,” Grinning, Chip reached for the mic. “Lt Michaels, report to the control room.”

xxxxxx

The Bounty Hunter was silent except for the sound of the waves lapping against the hull. Patterson and Kowalski stood on the aft deck watching the Zodiac from Seaview approach. It had only taken a few minutes to find out there was nothing wrong with the engines; a quick reset of the circuit breakers and she’d turned over immediately.

“So, what do you think happened to the crew, ‘Ski?”

Kowalski shrugged. “Dun’no. Maybe they thought there was more wrong with the engines than they thought, so hitched a ride on somebody’s else’s boat to go and get help.”

Pat looked sceptical. “You really think that’s possible? To me, it’s just plain creepy.”

“Creepy?”

“Yeah, you know, it’s like one of those ghost ships.”

Kowalski looked at his friend. “Come on, Pat – a ghost ship?” he laughed. “You don’t really believe all that nonsense, do you?”

“Sure I do, don’t you?” How could Ski deny the existence of such things after all they had experienced?

As the Zodiac closed on the Bounty Hunter, the two crewmen moved to secure it and help the occupants out. Patterson was a little surprised to see the Exec, he’d expected Crane to command the prize crew; the skipper was the one that usually liked to take chances and put himself in the middle of the action. No time to speculate on that, though. The two were soon busy unloading the supplies sent across from Seaview. Patterson put it out of his mind.

“All right, men, let’s get this show on the road,” Morton ordered as the Zodiac headed back to Seaview. “Riley, get those supplies below, you’re in charge of the galley. Kowalski, you take first watch with me. The rest of you get some sleep, you’re on watch in 6 hours.”

“Me, the galley, sir?” Riley asked.

“You’re all we have, try not to poison everyone,” Morton told him.

xxxxxx

As darkness fell, a fog drifted over the sea, moving furtively around the Bounty Hunter, shrouding the boat in a damp, cold cloak. In the wheelhouse Kowalski glanced up from the radar screen. “Mr Morton that fog is getting awful thick, sir. Looks like we’re going to have to slow this boat down even more.”

Chip raised the infra-red binoculars and tried sweeping through the murky ‘soup.’ After a moment, he lowered the binoculars and turned to where Kowalski was watching the plotter.

“It’s impossible to see anything. At this rate we’re never going to make the Coast Guard dock in Marina del Rey. Are you picking up anything, Kowalski?”

“No, sir,” Kowalski, said, shaking shook his head.

“I’ll relieve you now, sir,” Lt Michaels announced as he appeared from below, followed by Patterson. “Riley has dinner waiting for you – it’s not half bad.”

Chip nodded. “Maintain course and keep a sharp lookout, the fog is pretty thick. And keep that foghorn going. We don’t want any surprises.”

“Aye, sir,” Michaels acknowledged.

“Come on, Kowalski – let’s get below.” Whatever Riley had managed to cook up, it wouldn’t come close to the food aboard Seaview, but Chip hoped that it would at least be edible.

Leaving Michaels on watch, Morton headed below to the small galley and mess. Maybe if they reached port ahead of Seaview, they could have some extra leave. There were some great restaurants, serving everything from succulent seafood and steak, to pizzas and pasta. Chip smiled to himself, his thoughts going to Lee. If he were here, he’d make some comment about Chip always thinking about his stomach.

Dinner turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Cookie had sent across beef stew with chunky vegetables and boiled potatoes, all Riley had to do was heat it up. He’d also found ice cream for dessert in the Bounty Hunter’s freezer. After dinner was finished, Kowalski helped Riley clear up while Chip went topside to check in with Michaels before he turned in. He wondered how the search was going aboard Seaview, so far they had reported no luck in finding any survivors.

xxxxxx

Standing in Seaview’s observation nose, Lee Crane glanced at his watch before turned to Nelson. The light was fading rapidly; they were unlikely to find survivors now. They’d checked in with the Coast Guard, obtaining permission to continue a search for survivors. The OIC had confirmed that no distress call had been received, nor had anyone reported the Bounty Hunter missing.

“How much longer do we keep looking? Do you really think we will find anyone?”

Nelson shook his head. “We had to try, Lee.”

“Should I give the order to abandon the search?”

“Yes, let’s see if we can beat the Bounty Hunter into port and pick up our men.”

“Yes, Sir,” Lee smiled, only too happy to give the order. The crew had been looking forward to shore leave before all this blew up. He’d already plotted the course change. “Manoeuvring, come to course 118. Engine room, all ahead full.” As his orders were acknowledged, Lee returned to the chart table and entered the course change in the log. It bothered him what had happened to the crew of the Bounty Hunter and he would feel better when Chip and the rest of the prize crew were safely back aboard. On a gut feeling, he headed aft to the radio shack. “Sparks, when did you last hear from Mr Morton?”

“Lt Michaels checked in about an hour ago, sir. He reported the fog as getting thicker, and they were barely making headway.”

Lee nodded. “We should be able to catch up with them, then. Okay, let me know if you hear anything else from them.”

“Aye, sir.”

Lee walked back to join Lt Williams at the con. “Mr Williams, you have the con. I’ll be in the wardroom and then my cabin.”

“Aye, sir – I have the con.”

xxxxxx

Lee picked at his dinner, trying to convince himself that he was hungry. For some unknown reason he felt uneasy. All his instincts were telling him that something was wrong.

“Something bothering you, Lee? Nelson asked.

Lee put down his folk and blew out a breath. “No, Admiral --- I will just feel better when that boat is tied up to a dock and our crew is back aboard Seaview.”

Nelson smiled sympathetically, “I’m sure they will be fine, Lee.”

Lee nodded. “I wish we knew what happened to the Bounty Hunter’s crew.”

“You think the prize crew could be in danger?”

“I don’t know, Admiral,” Lee shrugged. “Something simply doesn’t feel right.”

“Well, we’re making good time; we should catch up to them by morning.”

Lee hoped so. Unable to sit any longer, he picked up his plate. “If you’ll excuse me, Admiral.”

“Of course, Lee.”

xxxxxx

Lt Michaels sat at the helm of the Bounty Hunter, peering out at the fog shrouded ocean. The boat two diesel engines gave her a top speed of 18 knots and she was fitted with sonar, but to be safe, they had slowed down to barely a crawl. Luckily there had been no contacts close enough to worry about. However, that was likely to change once they neared their destination. Glancing at the instruments, he checked their course.

Michaels had been both surprised and pleased that he’d been chosen to join the prize crew. He’d only been with the boat for just over a year and would have expected the more senior and experienced O’Brien to be chosen over him. Suddenly the engines spluttered and died, interrupting his thoughts.

What the?

Getting to his feet, Michaels tried to restart them, without success.

“Patterson, go and check on the engines.”

“Yes, sir.”

He thought about reporting to the XO, but decided to wait until he had more information. After making an entry in the log, he raised the binoculars and did a sweep of the surrounding ocean. They were dead in the water and did not need a collision to add to the problems. Hearing a sound behind him, Michaels started to lower the binoculars, but before he could turn around his head exploded and everything turned black.

xxxxxx

Chip was woken by a loud crashing sound and at the same time realised that the engine had stopped. Throwing back the covers, he dragged himself out of the bunk and headed out to investigate. As he headed aft through the galley/dinette the others were emerging from their bunk area as well, disturbed by the noise.

“What happened Mr Morton? Did we hit something?” Riley asked, rubbing his eyes.

“I don’t think so. Kowalski check out the engine. Riley, you’re with me.”

“Aye, sir.” Kowalski headed towards the engine compartment.

When Chip arrived in the wheelhouse, there was no sign of Lt. Michaels or Patterson.

“What happened to Lt Michaels and Patterson, sir?” Riley asked.

Chip shook his head. “I don’t know.” Maybe they had developed engine trouble and Michaels had gone down to help Patterson. “Check with Kowalski, find out what’s happened to the engines. I’ll check around up here.”

“Aye, sir.” Riley headed back down the steps.

“Mr Morton, you’d better get down here, sir,” Kowalski called from below.

xxxxxx

When Chip arrived in the engine room, he found Kowalski kneeling beside Patterson, who was lying face down on the deck. “What happened?” Chip asked.

“It looks like someone slugged him from behind,” Kowalski told him.

“How is he?”

“Probably concussion, I’ll know more when he comes round.”

Chip nodded. “Take him to the cabin and do what you can for him, Kowalski. Riley, come with me. We’re going to search any compartments big enough for someone to hide in,” Chip said grimly, pulling his gun from his holster. I think we have a stowaway on board.”

“A stowaway, sir? But where, we’ve searched everywhere,” Riley asked.

Chip shrugged. “I think he was over the side, waiting for us to search the boat and then leave. When we didn’t, he had to make any plans. Now he’s got nowhere to go. And this fog isn’t going to help us.”

“Do you… think that’s what happened to Lt Michaels, Mr. Morton?” Riley asked.

Chip looked away with a curt nod. “I’m afraid so, Riley. I think he plans on taking us out, one at a time.”

He opened the door and checked the corridor. “Kowalski, keep this door locked,” he ordered before moving out and down the passageway. He moved cautiously down the corridor to the end, where steps led up to the galley kitchen.

As they started pulling open storage compartments and looking under bench cushions they were interrupted by the sound of the engines starting. Chip bolted for the steps, with Riley close on his heels. They found the wheel house empty and the engines on auto-pilot – and a smashed radio. It had been torn from the housing and looked like someone had taken a hammer to it. There was no way they were going to be able to repair it. No way to contact Seaview, then. They still had their small personal radios, but they had a limited range. Chip disengaged the auto-pilot and gripped the wheel.

Who or what the hell were they dealing with? Whoever it was seemed to be one step ahead of them all the time.

Knowing it would be hopeless, but knowing that it had to be done, Chip manoeuvred the boat in a slow circle, while Riley used the boat’s searchlight to scan the water. The fog making it almost impossible to see, he reluctantly called an end to the search.

If they were going to make a run for port, they would need coffee and something to eat, to keep them all going on only a couple of hours sleep.

Chip unclipped the radio from his belt. “Kowalski?”

“Kowalski here, sir.”

“How’s Patterson?”

“He’s come around, sir. Apart from a headache, he seems to be okay.”

“Can you move him to the galley? I need you to make enough coffee and sandwiches to keep us going. I’m going to make a run for port and I don’t want to leave the bridge unattended.”

“Aye, sir.”

Kowalski and Patterson arrived with flasks of coffee, soup and sandwiches. Chip brought the Bounty Hunter up to full speed and engaged the auto-pilot. He calculated that at top speed they should reach Marina del Rey in just less than five hours. Turning the chair around, he accepted a cup of coffee and ate a sandwich.

There wasn’t a lot of room on the bridge, but they made themselves as comfortable as possible, with Kowalski and Patterson sitting on the deck.

xxxxxx

A cool breeze ruffled Lee’s dark hair as he stood in the sail using binoculars to search for any sign of the Bounty Hunter. The fog had lifted and the sun was breaking through the scattering clouds, sparkling off the water. They had had no contact with the prize crew and Lee was growing more anxious with every passing minute. He wished now that he had commanded the prize crew; not that Chip wasn’t capable, but... With a frustrated sigh, Lee lowered the glasses. He could hear the muted sound of Seaview’s powerful engines and the waves against the hull as she moved across the surface. Seaview was not designed for running on the surface, but the sea was calm and the sub rolled gently beneath his feet.

Unclipping a mike, he called the control room. “Mr O’Brien, anything on radar?”

“No, Sir, both radar and sonar are clear.”

“Very well, carry on.” Lee returned the mic to its clip. It just didn’t make any sense. First the crew of the Bounty Hunter apparently disappeared and now the boat had also disappeared, along with everyone on board. Lee turned at the sound of someone exiting the deck hatch.

“Excuse me, sir – Sparks has a reply to your enquiry.” Sharkey handed Lee a sheet of paper.

“Thank you, Chief.” He looked up and saw the chief’s expression. “What’s the matter, Chief?”

“You’ll see the message, sir. The Coast Guard says the boat is registered to a Larry and Carissa Marston. Apparently the Marstons made some kind of cryptic phone call to their son, something about finding someone on board who wasn’t supposed to be there. The call was cut off before he could ask what was going on. I guess it took a while for the Coast Guard to be notified, the guy called the local cops first.”

Lee’s brow furrowed. “Chief, get Sparks to raise Chip, I need to---“

“Already done, sir. They’re not answering their radio.”

Lee picked up the mic. “Engineering, give me flank speed!” While the helm answered his command, he was already starting down through the hatch.

xxxxxx

Chip had never been happier to see the sunrise. A breeze had picked up, helping to lift the fog. The Bounty Hunter’s engines thrummed, driving her through the slight swell at a steady rate of knots. Chip sat in the pilot’s seat, wishing that there was some way to contact Seaview; he knew that Lee would be worried. Beside him, Kowalski was standing lookout. He said that he preferred to have something to do to help pass the time. Patterson was stilling sitting on the deck, dozing, while Riley had been keeping watch over the stern. So far, their mystery stowaway had not made an appearance.

Chip’s optimism was soon shattered when the boat was rocked by an explosion amidships, probably in the galley. Chip cut the engine.

“Abandon ship!”

By the time they had got into lifejackets, flames were beginning to spread out from the broken windows below, and black, oily smoke filled the air, threatening to fill their lungs with the deadly mixture.

“Once we’re in the water, get as far away as you can, but stay together.” Chip instructed, fighting to get the words out. They quickly jumped overboard, swimming to get away from the boat before the fuel tanks blew.

xxxxxx

“Contact, bearing 145 degrees, two thousand yards.”

“Five degrees right rudder, ahead flank,” Lee ordered, moving to stand behind the sonar operator.

“Ahead flank, aye.”

Lee waited for Seaview to close the distance before grabbing binoculars and headed up to the conning tower, Nelson a step or two behind. They both gasped as the sight of the furiously burning cruiser became clearer.

“All stop.” Lee clicked the mic to clear it. “Missile room, get a rescue party ready, I’ll lead it myself.”

“Aye, sir,” Sharkey acknowledged.

Lee climbed down onto the deck as a team, led by Sharkey emerged with an inflatable raft. As Lee approached, the chief handed him a life jacket.

“Thanks, Chief.”

Lee slipped on the life jacket as he watched the men launch the raft and climb in. He was about to follow when there was a loud explosion and the Bounty Hunter erupted in a ball of flame as the fuel tanks exploded, blowing what was left of the boat apart. Lee stood staring at the burning boat, frozen in shock.

“Chip!”

The burning wreckage soon began to sink. Recovering, Lee quickly scrambled into the Zodiac. “All right, let’s go.” He hoped that his men had somehow escaped, but he knew inside that they would be lucky if they could recover the bodies.

“Skipper, over there!” Sharkey pointed as the Zodiac rapidly closed the gap between Seaview and the wreckage.

Lee followed his directions and could just make out people in the water. Relief washed over him, they were alive. Lee waited anxiously while the raft changed course towards the men in the water.

“Am... I glad...to see you,” Chip greeted as he was hauled into the Zodiac.

xxxxxx

Wearing pyjamas and his blue robe, Chip Morton sat on his bunk with his hands wrapped around a mug of Cookie’s special coffee.

“I’m sorry about Lt. Michaels.”

Perched on the corner of Chip’s desk, Lee shook his head. “Don’t go blaming yourself, it wasn’t your fault.”

“Then who’s fault was it?”

“If the Coast Guard had gotten the message sooner… it was just an unfortunate series of events, Chip. Somebody didn’t want that boat making it back to port.”

“Well, whoever it was, he didn’t make it, either.”

Chip couldn’t quite stifle a yawn, the lack of sleep and time in the water was catching up with him. It was fortuitous that Seaview had show up when she did; he didn’t want to contemplate what might have happened.

“You should get some sleep.” Lee changed the subject. He didn’t want to think about what else it could have been besides a stowaway.

“How are the others?”

Kowalski and Riley should be in their racks. Frank is keeping Patterson under observation for twenty-four hours as a precaution.”

Chip shivered and took another sip of his coffee. He wasn’t sure that he could sleep, as tired as he was.

Lee came to his feet. “You’re suffering from shock. Get under the covers, you need to keep warm.”

“Yes, Doctor Crane.”

Smiling at the irony of having the tables turned on him, Chip surrendered the mug to Lee and got into bed. Once he was settled, Lee gave him back the mug.

“Finish your coffee and then you are going to sleep.”

Chip bit back the urge to tell Lee to stop fussing. “Aye, sir.” He understood how Lee felt, having been in the same position himself enough times.

e understoodH

Lee turned the chair around and sat down.

“What are you doing? You don’t need to hang around.”

“Chip, after all the times you have been there for me, I think I owe you one. I’m staying, no arguments.”

xxxxxx

Lee took the empty mug from Chip’s loose fingers and put it down on the desk. Frank’s secret ingredient was taking effect, pulling Chip down into much needed sleep.

Sorry, Chip.

Lee knew only too well what Chip was going through; the guilt and anger he was feeling over the death of Michaels. Behind Chip’s cool, calm exterior, there lay an aggressive streak to the blonde’s nature that he didn’t show very often. He had a tendency to shoot first and ask questions later, especially where the safety of Lee or the Seaview was concerned.

Lee suddenly realised what was bothering Chip; the stowaway or whatever, had gone down with the Bounty Hunter and Chip did not have a target for his anger. Lee could empathize; he was dealing with his own demons. The memory of the moment that he’d thought the prize crew had perished with the Bounty Hunter was still fresh in his mind. Don’t go there, it’s over, he told himself sternly. Chip was the one who needed his support. Besides which, Lee wasn’t ready to let him out of his sight yet.

Exhaling a deep sigh, Lee rested back in the chair and stretched out his long legs. After all the times that Chip had been there for him when he’d been injured, it was the least he could do for his friend. He’d be here if he needed him, although Frank’s sedative should keep him down for a while.

End