Note:  Here’s a game for you readers.  I have included 15 challenge pictures in this story, see if you can identify them all.  I have limited my selection to those listed on the left side of the Challenge page and haven’t included pictures used in my earlier stories.  The list of challenge pictures is provided at the end so you can check your guesses.   Chris B.

 

The Mother of Invention

By Chris B.

Drawn suddenly awake by a slight noise, Harriman Nelson, founder of the Nelson Marine Institute of Research and designer and builder of the fantastic submarine Seaview, found himself at a distinct disadvantage as several men dressed in black clothing with masks obscuring all but their eyes, surrounded his bed in the middle of the night.  They had managed to bypass the considerable security system on his home, and stealthily make their way to his bedroom.  Each man was large, well-muscled, and appeared to be heavily armed, brooking no opportunity for Harri to attempt an escape.

As he looked at the eight forms in the pale moonlight shining through the balcony doors, one of the men raised a flashlight and flicked it on revealing a red light which he shone on Nelson’s face.  The intruder quickly looked to his companions and shot them a slight nod indicating they had found their target.

“What the hell are you doing here?  What do you want?” Harri stormed.

“Admiral Nelson, sir, you are in no danger, I assure you.  Please keep your voice down. We have been dispatched to collect you and escort you to a highly secret meeting.  I am not at liberty to reveal any other details but ask that you get dressed and accompany us,” the leader replied quietly.

Harri regarded the men momentarily weighing his options.  “Well seeing that I apparently don’t have much say in all this, I will cooperate.  Can we at least turn on some lights?”

“Negative sir.  We need to ensure that our activities go unobserved.  Please sir, get dressed.  All your questions will be answered once you have arrived at the meeting.”

Harri grunted realizing he didn’t have much of a choice, climbed out of bed and made his way to his closet to get dressed.  He pretty much figured that if he balked he would find himself hogtied and dragged out of the house in his pajamas, and didn’t relish being at that much of a disadvantage when he met whoever was behind this.

“Do you mind if I have a bit of privacy?” he asked rhetorically assuming they wouldn’t trust him not to raise the alarm or produce a weapon.

“Of course, sir.  Just don’t try to alert anyone as to your situation.  Again I stress that you are in no danger,” the man in black responded hoping to assuage the admiral’s fears.

Harri nodded and made his way into the closet.  As he walked in he was surprised to find that he was handed a flashlight and the closet door was closed behind him.  He snapped on the light and found it too emitted a red beam.  He quickly doffed his pajamas and pulled on his clothing.  Once dressed he opened the door finding all but two of the men gone.

“Thank you, sir,” the man remarked quietly.  “If you will come with us, we need to be on our way at once.  We will be exiting through the side door and will enter a van parked there.  I must stress to you that it is imperative that you remain quiet and draw no attention to us.”

“What the hell is going on?” Nelson inquired one more time.

“As I said sir, once we arrive at our destination all your questions will be answered.  Please follow me, sir.”

The three men made their way quietly down the main staircase and walked through the house to the side door that opened out to the driveway.  Upon exiting Harri immediately spotted a black work van and was urgently escorted the short distance from the steps to the vehicle.  He climbed in and was then joined by the two men who had ushered him out.  The door was silently pulled shut and the vehicle was then set in motion, to where Harri had no idea.

(olooo<

The interior of the van was completely dark with no windows or access to the driver’s compartment, and Harri was wedged between two of his abductors as they motored through the streets of Santa Barbara.  He mentally tried to keep track of the estimated speed at which they travelled, the number of turns and their direction, and any outside sounds that could prove helpful if he managed an escape.  That was all rendered moot when he felt them pull up a slight incline and come to a stop.  The next thing he heard and felt was the rumble and vibration of airplane engines, and the very familiar sensation of rushing down a runway for takeoff.

Once it was clearly evident that they had left the ground, a light was snapped on in the van momentarily blinding the men inside.  As their eyes adjusted, the six men clad in black sitting around and across from him began pulling off their masks.  Harri stared at them wondering what the hell was going on.

“So are you going to tell me why I’ve been abducted in the middle of the night, and being flown to parts unknown?” Harri asked testily.

“Pardon all the subterfuge sir, but we were under strict orders to ensure that you were spirited away undetected.  I’m Captain Fleming, USMC, SEAL Team Eight, at your service, sir.”

“SEALs?  Are you at liberty to tell me why I’m here or where we’re going?” Nelson inquired.

“I’m not privy to that information, sir.  Our mission was to collect you, and get you aboard this aircraft undetected by anyone.  I have no idea how long we’ll be flying or our destination,” Fleming explained.  He stood up, walked to the back of the van and opened the door, revealing the inside of a cargo plane.

“Sir, you’re welcome to exit the van.  I’m sure you’ll be more comfortable outside.”

Nelson nodded and rose from his seat to follow the captain out of the van.  As he stepped out and walked around the vehicle he found that he was now inside the cargo bay of a C-130.   There were two pallets of conventional airplane seats secured to the floor so at least he wouldn’t have to endure the mesh jump seats for however long they were aloft.  He also noticed a makeshift galley had been set up with coffee urns, and trays of pastries and other breakfast fare along with a small metal picnic table with attached stools. He was also most pleased to see that a porta-potty had been staged in the aircraft so he could forgo the usual bucket used for such activities.

The SEALs had already seated themselves in the seats and were snoozing after what had probably already been a long day. Realizing there was nothing else to do but go along for the ride, Harri made his way to the galley, poured himself a cup of coffee then sat down at the table and tried to put what he’d been through into some kind of sense.

(olooo<

By his best estimate they had been inflight nearly four hours when he detected the engines being throttled back and the gradual drop in elevation as they prepared to land.  Twenty minutes later they were bouncing down what felt like a dirt airstrip.  The plane taxied another 10 minutes once on the ground until finally the pilot indicated that they had stopped and all passengers were free to disembark.

Nelson unbuckled his seatbelt and made his way forward to exit out of the left front door.  As he stepped out he immediately noticed that they had been moved into a large hangar, and the doors had been shut to prevent seeing where they were but also keeping any interested observers from seeing who was on the plane.  He looked about the hangar until his attention was drawn by the sound of a familiar voice.

“Harri, glad you could make it,” Jiggs Starke said as he made his way towards the plane.

“Not that I had much of choice.  What the hell is going on Jiggs?  Why all the smoke and mirrors?  Couldn’t you have just called and asked me to come to wherever the hell we are?” Nelson groused at his old friend and current COMSUBPAC.

“No Harri, we couldn’t just extend you an invitation.  Something’s happened and you and that boat of yours are the ace in hole we need.  Come on, the rest of the group should be assembled now and you can start getting your answers,” Jiggs replied.  He clapped Nelson on the back then turned and walked towards a gray door on the far wall of the hangar.  Harri shrugged and followed after intrigued by the few words Jiggs had shared.

When Starke opened the door he revealed a staircase leading several stories beneath the ground.  Once Harri entered, they began their descent to wherever the steps led.  Jiggs trotted quickly down with Nelson following after.  Harri estimated they were nearly 4 stories beneath ground level as they reached the final landing and another gray door.  This one was secured with an electronic lock and a biometric sensor that read retina patterns.  Jiggs placed his right eye against the soft cup surrounding the lens and after a moment the door silently slid back revealing a long featureless hallway.

“You’re sure not taking any chances on being overheard or discovered,” Harri commented as they made their way down the corridor towards another gray door at the other end.

“Believe me that’s the whole point of this exercise,” Jiggs replied as they reached the next door and he repeated the entry procedures only with his left eye this time.  When the door slid open it revealed a massive office complex comprised of nearly a hundred cubicles and offices filling the room and lining the walls.   The room itself had to be 300 by 300 yards with a ceiling easily 20 feet high. There was a soft hum of voices, machines, and people moving between the offices and cubes conducting whatever business they were assigned.

Jiggs led the way down the wide center aisle towards the far end of the room and an imposing solid oak door.  As they neared the door it was suddenly pulled open and the Chief of Naval Operations stepped out followed closely by the Secretary of Defense.  Harri was more than a little surprised and intrigued at the status of the company, as he and Jiggs neared the door.

“Admiral Nelson, welcome,” Arnold Wainwright, SECDEF, said as he extended his hand.

Nelson took the outstretched hand and shook it.  “Mr. Secretary.  At the moment I can’t say it’s a privilege until I get a few answers to a number of questions I have.”

“Sorry about that Harri, but the situation is critical and we had to get you here undetected by any who might have been watching,” the Chief of Naval Operations, Mark Fitzpatrick said.  “Our old friend Dr. Gamma is back at it again and has threatened the entire world with the release of an extremely virulent and lethal strain of flu. We have seen an unprecedented willingness to cooperate between rival world powers to ensure that doesn’t occur.  Each of the major nations is being held hostage in lieu of payment whether it’s money, precious metals, gem stones, oil or in our case and that of Russia, China, the People’s Republic and other members of the nuclear club, plutonium.”

Harri blanched at the thought of what Gamma and his organization could do with sizeable quantities of fissionable materials.  It was a daunting choice, hold out in hopes that the medical teams could develop a vaccine in sufficient time to save the majority of the population, or cave to his demands, provide the materials, and then wait to be held hostage or eradicated by some other means in the future.

“What’s that got to do with Seaview and NIMR, Mark?” Harri inquired.

“As I said Harri, the major nations of the world have banded together to try and ferret out Gamma and eliminate him and his virus instead of paying the ransom he has demanded.  To that end, each nation is stretching out their tendrils in hopes of finding out where this madman is holed up and taking him out.  We realize that Gamma most likely expects an effort such as this, and is now closely observing the military and espionage assets around the globe; he probably has moles well established within every nation’s organizations.  Harri, we’re hoping that he won’t be watching you or your organization too closely,” Fitzpatrick responded.

“So I take it you want me, and my men and assets to take part in this search?”

“That’s the basic gist of this meeting,” Wainwright answered.

“Well get me briefed so we can get started,” Harri replied, indicating he was willing to commit NIMR to the hunt.

“In a few minutes, we’re waiting for two more people to join us and then we’ll begin.  Why don’t you come in, get something to eat and drink, and as soon as the others arrive we’ll start,” the CNO said.

“Who are we waiting for?” Harri asked.

Before Fitzpatrick could answer, he spotted the other members of their group coming down the corridor towards the conference room.  “Ah, Robert, you’re here earlier than we expected,” Fitzpatrick said as the two men made their way over.

Harri turned around and spotted Admiral Robert Masterson, head of the Office of Naval Intelligence, and Commander Lee Crane, his captain of Seaview and occasional ONI operative.  Lee made immediate eye contact with Nelson and gave him a quick nod of greeting as he followed Masterson down the aisle.  It was quite apparent to Nelson that his captain had been collected much like himself as he was clothed in a pair of cut off denim shorts, a holey t-shirt smudged with stain, a beard, no socks, and a ratty pair of sneakers that had seen better days. 

“Good morning Mr. Secretary, Mark, Jiggs, Harri,” Masterson replied to the hail.  “I believe you all know Commander Crane,” he said by means of introduction.

“Good morning, sirs,” Lee replied feeling sorely underdressed and particularly unkempt given the company around him.

“What the hell were you doing Crane, playing vagrant?” Jiggs asked as he took in Lee’s attire.

“No sir, I was working on refurbishing a sailboat I’ve purchased when my immediate presence was requested.  I didn’t have an opportunity to clean up; my apologies.” Lee replied evenly.  Nelson1 couldn’t control the smug grin along with Masterson as Lee sucked the wind from Starke’s sails.  Starke harrumphed and glowered at the younger man, a bit miffed at not being able to set him on edge. 

Wainwright cleared his throat, quickly defusing the situation.  “All right gentlemen, time is short and we need to set things in motion to hopefully prevent a catastrophe on a global scale.  Let’s all retire to the conference room.”

They all nodded in agreement and followed the Secretary into the conference room; the last man in shutting the door.  They quickly claimed seats and all eyes were focused on the SECDEF for the briefing for the two men that had been so abruptly encouraged to attend.

(olooo<

“As I stated earlier Harri, as best we can tell, Dr. Gamma has contacted ever major military and industrial power in the world informing them he has developed a particularly lethal strain of flu, and unless each nation ponies up the demanded ransom he will release it.  His demands have ranged from money, precious metals, gemstones, oil, and in the case of the nuclear nations plutonium. Based on the folks at the Center for Disease Control, the impacts of such a virulent strain of flu would be devastating with fatality rates similar to a nuclear war but would leave the infrastructure intact,” Wainwright began.

“So the CDC thinks this is a credible threat?” Harri inquired.

“Yes.  The son of a bitch sent a video of some poor souls he had exposed to the virus; men, women, children, the elderly.  Knowing Gamma’s total disregard for innocent lives, we’re certain this is an accurate log of the virus’ progression.   Assuming he didn’t alter the date and time stamps on the recording, the virus is both rapid and exceedingly brutal in how it lays waste to the human body. As expected the children and elderly died first, within 48 hours of exposure, followed by the men and then the women.  The progression of the disease goes from high fever, vomiting, diarrhea, delirium, convulsions, coma, and ending in death.  The longest anyone lasted was 5 days.” Fitzpatrick nearly spat.

“I see, but where do we and Seaview fit into this discussion?” Harri asked.

“We’re hoping that Gamma’s attention is stretched too thin as he has to be monitoring all the nations he’s threatened.  Hopefully with his eyes diverted elsewhere, you and Seaview can come in under his sonar and investigate one of the potential locations we think he’s holed up in right now.  Intelligence agencies across the world have kicked into high gear tracking down every lead they’ve come across, and are drawing the noose tighter.  One of our contacts thinks he’s spotted Gamma on a very small volcanic island in a remote area of the south Pacific.” Masterson added.  “We’re not naïve enough to believe he doesn’t have the virus already positioned across the globe ready for immediate dispersal, but he has to have a central control point from where he runs his organization, and coordinates its release.  All the traffic we’ve observed is pointing to the island of Drambezi.”

“We want you to work your way in close enough to the island to allow Commander Crane here to infiltrate the island and determine if we’ve guessed correctly.  If we have, he’ll then take actions to retrieve what information or vaccine that may be present, neutralize the site, and exit,” Masterson finished.

Nelson stared momentarily at his young captain seated across the table from him, not happy with the task they’d already determined he would complete.  Lee met Nelson’s gaze and gave him a very slight nod indicating that he had already accepted the mission and would ensure it was carried out regardless of the cost to himself.  “What are we looking at in terms of time?” Harri asked.

“Gamma has given everyone until this Friday at 1600 GMT to have their ransom delivered to the appropriate coordinates for collection.  If even one of the nations contacted balks, he will release his virus on all,” Wainwright replied grimly.  “I have a feeling he intends to do that anyway regardless of payment, which will set the nations against one and other trying to figure out who didn’t pay up.  That would eliminate any resistance that escaped the virus.”

“You honestly think he isn’t already watching NIMR and Seaview?” Harri inquired.

“He probably is, but it’s my understanding that you are already positioned to sail on your next mission to the south Pacific on a research project for Woods Hole on Monday.  Which is the reason we have gone to such lengths to bring you here as we have.  You proceed as you normally would and sail as scheduled; make no changes to your pre-mission routine.  Once away you go silent and make haste to Drambezi where you deposit Crane to carry out his portion of the mission,” Starke answered.

“All the while you’re making your way to Drambezi, the rest of the nations will continue their attempts to ferret out Gamma through their intelligence networks, and hopefully find where he has stashed his virus and take control of it,” Masterson finished.

“And you don’t think he’s in league with the PR?” Harri asked pointedly.

“He very well could be, but based on the conversations I’ve been privy to between the President and the Premier of the PR, they’re every bit as concerned as we are.  The President is willing to take the chance that we’re not being played by the PR on this, and I tend to agree with his judgement,” Wainwright answered.  “Based on monitoring of activities in the PR, there’s been no large scale inoculation program implemented by the country to protect their military or their civilian population.  If this thing is as bad as the CDC fears, once it’s loose it will travel quickly becoming a global pandemic like this planet has never seen.”

Harri nodded silently as he visualized the impact of such virus on the peoples of the world.  He looked once again to his captain and read his resolve to support this mission. “Very well then, we’re in,” Harri stated.  “Ship us back home, and we’ll get things moving and underway at once.”

Wainwright and the others smiled, thrilled to have Nelson’s buy in.  “Excellent, Harri.  I was certain we could count on your support.”  He quickly pushed the button on the intercom.  “Grimes, notify Captain Fleming to be ready to fly immediately.  Commander, you will accompany Admiral Nelson back to Santa Barbara and both of you will be deposited at your pick up points as though none of this has taken place.”

“Aye sir,” Lee replied.

“Do you have everything you need from ONI, Commander?” Fitzpatrick asked.

“Yes sir, Admiral Masterson has fully briefed me, and will provide me with all the equipment deemed necessary to carry out the mission,” Lee answered as he sent a confirming nod to the head of ONI.

“Very well, then it sounds as if we are all set.  Gentlemen, thank you for taking on this critical mission to protect the people of this country, and the world.  I want you to know that the only people privy to your assignment are seated in this room, so should this come to light the list of suspects is very short.  Your activities will not be listed amongst our efforts to counter Gamma’s threat and will not be addressed at any time by those here. Those escorting you back have no idea for the reason for this meeting, so you should not discuss the particulars in their presence; it is purely need to know. I must admonish you to trust no one, and don’t reveal your true intent to your crew until you’re well away from shore, if then.  I would also suggest you continuously scan for transmissions to and from your boat.  We all know Gamma’s been able to gain access in the past, so I don’t put it beyond him now,” the Secretary stated as he rose from his chair. The other men in the room immediately stood and Lee made his way over to Nelson’s side in preparation for their departure.

As they prepared to exit, Wainwright walked over to Nelson and Crane and shook hands with each man.  “I wish you all the best of luck, and sincerely hope to see you both again when this is over.”

“Thank you Mr. Secretary,” Harri replied as he shook Wainwright’s hand.

“Jiggs, escort them out to the hangar,” Fitzpatrick ordered as he too shook hands with Nelson and Crane.  “Good luck gentlemen.”

(olooo<

They walked in silence as Starke escorted Nelson and Crane up to the hangar.  As they exited through the last door into the bay, Harri was surprised to find an executive jet waiting for them instead of the C-130 he had been transported on earlier. 

“I take it you want us back a bit faster than it took to get here?” Harri remarked as they headed over to the sleek craft.

“Always keep ‘em guessing,” Jiggs replied with a wink for his old friend.  “Once you land, you’ll be escorted back to where you were picked up just as though you’d been there all along.  Crane your equipment will be delivered to NIMR as normal cargo and marked as parts.  Here is the list of seal numbers on the crate,” Starke said as he handed Lee a sealed envelope.  “If the seals are broken or different, it may mean that the mission has been compromised; you are to contact the number contained inside by secure channel to request guidance.”

Lee accepted the envelope and acknowledged Starke’s information with a nod.  “Understood sir.”

As they reached the plane it became immediately obvious that the windows on the aircraft had been painted over obscuring the view from inside.  Reading the question on his old friend’s face Starke immediately offered an explanation.  “This is a closely guarded secret base Harri, and the number of people that know its location can be counted on two hands.  Even I don’t know where we are.” Jiggs confessed.

Harri and Lee stared momentarily in disbelief.  That added bit of information just confirmed the level of the perceived threat against both the US and the world.  Both men nodded their understanding, a look of grim determination marked their faces.

“Well good luck Harri.  Give me a call when you’re back and we’ll have dinner,” Starke said and shook Nelson’s hand.  “Good luck to you as well Commander,” he added and shook Crane’s hand too.

“Thank you sir,” Lee replied.

“All right gentlemen all aboard,” the pilot said as he stood in the doorway of the jet.

Harri nodded to the pilot.  “I’ll be talking to you soon, Jiggs.  Dinner is your treat,” he said and clapped his friend on the shoulder.  “Come on Lee, let’s get going.”

Both men quickly climbed aboard the jet and found Fleming and three of his men already seated and belted in.  Crane and Nelson claimed their seats in the opulently appointed jet and secured their seatbelts as well.

“Sure beats the plane we arrived in,” Nelson said as he took in the plush leather seats, thick pile carpeting, stylish sofa along one bulkhead and stocked bar at the rear of the plane.  The other men aboard smiled slightly and nodded in agreement.

Once his passengers were aboard, the pilot pulled shut the cabin door and secured it.  He verified everyone was belted in then entered the cockpit and shut and locked the door.  They were quickly set in motion and soon felt the aircraft racing down the runway and lifting off on their way back to Santa Barbara.

(olooo<

Ordered not to reveal the purpose of their meeting, Harri and Lee had limited topics of conversation once they had reached cruising altitude.  When the fasten seatbelt sign went out, Lee got up and made his way back to the bar where he found a carafe of hot coffee waiting for them along with some snacks to nibble on.  Lee quickly poured two cups of coffee, grabbed a couple of bagels, then returned to his seat and handed Harri a cup and a snack.  They sipped carefully on the hot brew and noshed on the bagel as both were rather hungry after their unusual summons to the meeting.

“So how goes the work on your boat, Lee?” Harri asked breaking the silence in the cabin.

Lee had purchased a 1938 Herreshoff 51’ Bermuda Cutter in desperate need of some TLC. He’d actually begun using his leave to spend time at the marina refurbishing and repairing the boat whenever they were in port for more than a couple of weeks at a time.

“Not too bad.  I managed to get the sanding done topside and had just started staining the deck when I was collected,” Lee replied.  “I think she’s going to be a looker once I get everything done.”

Harri grinned in quiet amusement as he looked over his captain and surrogate son, seeing the evidence of his activities on his clothing and person.  “Well I like the color of the stain you’ve chosen.  If it looks as good on the boat as it does on you, she should be quite the looker,” Harri answered with a laugh.

Lee looked down at his arms, hands, and legs taking in for the first time the number of smudges and blotches from the dark mahogany stain he had applied to his boat.  He blushed slightly then just shrugged.  “Glad you like it,” he said chuckling taking in the twinkle of amusement in his ‘father’s’ blue eyes.  “You know, this type of work goes much faster with assistance, sir.”

“I’m sure it does,” Harri responded noncommittally, then smiled again and nodded.  “So have you come up with a name for her yet?”

“Well since Seaview is already taken, I’m still considering possibilities.  I’m not settled on whether I want to give her a lady’s name or something else.  Any suggestions would be welcome.”

“Definitely something that requires a great deal of deliberation and consideration of the many aspects of both the vessel and the master,” Harri replied, as he started running names through his mind.

“If I can’t get elbow grease out of you, I suppose I’ll settle for your considerable mental efforts in identifying suitable names for my other girl.”  Lee laughed and took another sip from his coffee.  “I think she’ll be just the ticket for decompressing following some of our more unusual missions, should current trends continue.”

Harri laughed as well and nodded in total agreement.  “That will probably be true lad.”

They continued to chat about everything but NIMR and work as the plane continued on towards her destination.  Both men found the forced diversion from work enjoyable and actually groaned in disappointment as they felt the aircraft begin to descend and the pilot ordered his passengers to fasten their seatbelts for landing.

Once down the plane taxied for what seemed an inordinate amount of time.  When they finally pulled to a stop and the pilot emerged and opened the cabin door, they found themselves once more in an aircraft hangar with two work vans waiting for them.  The SEALs were the first ones out and escorted each man to one of the vans where they were asked to enter the back and take a seat.  They were soon motoring on their way presumably to their points of origin.

(olooo<

As the van pulled to a stop a muffled ‘all clear’ was heard from the driver’s compartment through the wall.  At that point Captain Fleming rose, cautiously opened the rear door and stepped out.  He quickly surveyed the surrounding area then walked to the side door of the house, unlocked it and stepped inside.  After about 5 minutes he returned and indicated that Nelson should exit the van and walk immediately into the house.  As Harri exited the van he noticed that it was still dark but with the slightest hint of dawn on the eastern horizon.

“Everything is all clear sir,” Fleming said once Harri was inside.  “If there’s nothing else you require, we’ll be on our way.  We will maintain surveillance of the house until you depart on your mission, to ensure your continued safety.”

“Thank you Captain,” Nelson replied. “I think I have everything I require, that will be all.”

“Very well sir.  Should you require any assistance, flash the lights three times and we’ll be here instantly.  Good morning, sir,” Fleming responded and then exited the house and reentered the van.

With Fleming departed, Harri locked the door then stretched and yawned.  He made his way to the kitchen, poured himself a glass orange juice and chugged it down finding he was seriously thirsty.  He put the carton back in the fridge, placed his glass in the sink then made his way upstairs and bed for an hour or two of shuteye following his unexpectedly long night.  He figured he better get what rest he could now because odds were that he’d get next to none once everything was set in motion.

(olooo<

In the meantime, Lee was transported back to the marina and his escorts had him climb into a small zodiac then motored silently over to Lee’s vessel using the boat’s small electric motor.  Once tied up to the side and obscured from sight, the SEAL climbed silently aboard and conducted a thorough once over to ensure nothing was a miss.  He returned moments later and indicated that everything was all clear.  Lee acknowledged his report then he too silently boarded his boat.

“Commander, we will be maintaining surveillance on both your boat and home until you depart for your mission.  Should you require any assistance, flash the lights three times and we will be here at once,” the young petty officer said.

“Thank you, Petty Officer,” Lee replied, then headed down into the cabin of his boat and shut the door.  Lee walked wearily over to his bed and flopped down face first.  He was exhausted after laboring all the previous day on his boat and then being rousted out of bed shortly after turning in for the night.  He too knew he needed to grab what little sleep he could before reporting to Seaview in preparation for their perilous mission.

(olooo<

Later that morning Lee arrived at NIMR at 0700 to start preparation for the next voyage.  He usually spent the day before they sailed finishing up odds and ends in the office, going over mission parameters, and checking over manifests or other items of interest.  Reaching his office ahead of his admin assistant, he started a pot of coffee and quickly plowed through his in box after having been off for the last week and a half.

As the coffee maker spit out the last drop of brew he got up from his desk, grabbed his favorite cup and headed for the pot.  Just as he was finishing his pour he heard a quick rap on his door frame and looked up to see Nelson standing there, cup in hand.  Lee smiled and moved towards Harri to pour him a cup.

“Good morning, sir.  Have a good weekend?” Lee asked and shot Harri a quick wink.

“Very relaxing.  How was your time off, lad?”

“Very productive.  I got the sanding on the deck completed and the first coat of stain down.  Once we get back, I’ll add another couple of coats then seal it tight and she should be good for another 70 plus years.  Then I’ll shift inside and put things right in there.”

“Excellent, I can’t wait to see what she looks like when you’re finished.  Settled on a name yet?”  Harri replied.

“Nothing springs to mind; I’m just waiting for the correct inspiration,” Lee responded, then sipped on his coffee.  “So all set for the mission tomorrow, sir?”

“I’m pretty well squared away.  I need to go down and check out the lab to make sure everything I need has been loaded and that all the sensors from Woods Hole have arrived and are in working order.  How about you?  You know, if you don’t get that pile of paper in your in-box completed, the administrative staff is not going to let you go,” Harri kidded.

“Don’t give that a second thought.  I’ll get done what I can then foist the rest on Chip to finish,” Lee joked.  “I need to head down to the boat as well and take a look at the cargo manifests, lading, and general readiness; not that that has ever been an issue.  You going to spend the night on the boat or cherish your last few moments on shore?”

“I staying on board tonight.  I want to work with the sensors a bit before we set sail so if I have any questions I can call Dr. Gold and talk through things.  He called me early this morning to let me know he won’t be able to make it do to a family emergency, and wants me to deploy the sensors for him,” Harri answered.

“That’s unfortunate, I hope it’s nothing too serious.  You have to be disappointed, I know how much you were looking forward to working with him on this project,” Lee replied, realizing Gold had probably been contacted and advised to make his apologies for being unable to go along for the ride.

“His mother is having heart problems, and he didn’t think he needed to be unreachable should her condition deteriorate during the mission.  He said odds are that she would be just fine, but knowing his luck he’d be trapped out on the boat with us and something critical would happen.  I told him I understood completely, and we would still carry out the mission if he provided detailed instructions.  Andy agreed and emailed me everything I need to place and operate the sensors,” Harri elaborated.

“At times like this it’s unfortunate you didn’t build a helideck, that way we could fly him home if something came up.  As long as you’re comfortable with what needs to be done, we’ll get you there and carry out the mission requirements with no problem,” Lee answered as he saw confirmation of his supposition on Harri’s face.

“That is never in doubt, lad.  I just need to make sure I can hold up my end of the mission.  Speaking of which, I best be on my way back to my office so you can get all your homework done, and can come out and play,” Harri said as he tapped the overstuffed in-box on Lee’s desk.  “I’ll see you down on the boat.  Meet me at 1300 and we can go over the mission prep and have lunch.”

“Don’t worry about me sir, one way or the other this box will be empty.  That’s why we have shredders, isn’t it?” Lee answered with a wink.

“Uh huh.  If Tracy even hears you joking about that your hide will be tacked to the side of one of the out-buildings on the grounds.  You know she has that stuff tracked to the last memo slip,” Harri replied, joking about Lee’s rather zealous admin assistant, as he headed for the door.

“Oh I am abundantly aware of that sir.  I’ve been chewed out more than once for losing one of her precious bits of correspondence,” Lee answered laughing.  “I’ll be giving her back exactly the same number of document she’s left me.  She’s more of a task master than Chip ever thought of being.”

“I heard that!” came a feminine voice from the desk outside Crane’s office. 

Lee and Harri cringed and then broke out in laughter realizing the woman in question had arrived and taken up position at her desk.  Lee2 quickly poked his head outside his office and smiled at the petite brunette sporting a smart brown suit, seated at the desk, phone securely pressed to her ear as she checked off a list of figures being provided by someone on the other end.  “Morning, Tracy,” Lee said quietly.  He received a curt nod then was gifted with a bright smile acknowledging her boss.  She held up her index finger indicating she’d be with him in just a minute.

“Well now that Captain Bligh is here I should have this finished up in an hour, and will see you down on the boat shortly,” Lee said just loud enough for Tracy to hear, yet not disturb her call.  She looked up and glowered at Lee then smiled and shook her head.  Harri smiled, nodded as well, then headed out the door and down the hall to his office to face his own AA, and his personal mountain of paperwork.

(olooo<

Although never voiced by the captain or the admiral, the crew picked up on a very definite urgency in their demeanor that all preparations be completed as quickly as possible, and Seaview be ready to sail the minute the tide turned.  Everyone turned to, making sure that the equipment and cargo was stored immediately upon receipt, system diagnostics run on every station to ensure readiness, and mission checklists were checked and double checked. 

Harri and Lee met in the wardroom at precisely 1300 to have lunch and to go over any last minute details.  They quickly loaded their plates, moved over to their table and sat down.  Just as Lee was taking the first bite of his sandwich he was paged over the intercom.

“Captain, this is Morton.”

Lee sighed and put his sandwich back on the plate, then got up and walked to the intercom mic on the wall.  “Crane here, what is it Chip?”

“Just wanted to let you know that all preparations are now complete.  We are ready to sail on a moment’s notice.”

Lee’s eyebrows shot up in surprise as did Nelson’s as he listened to the message.  “Already?!  Did you break out the cat o’ nine tales again, Mr. Morton?”

“Aye, sir, and I’ve been practicing,” Chip replied with a chuckle.  “Actually everyone has just really been on their game today.  There is one crate left that needs to be stowed, but according to the manifest you’re the one who needs to verify condition and sign for it.”

“Excellent,” Lee responded.  “I’ll be there in about 20 minutes.”

“The crate’s on the deck and as soon as you give the okay we’ll have it loaded.  See you in a few, Morton out.”

Lee shipped the mic and turned to return to the table when he spotted one of the cook’s assistants going over an inventory list.  “Jackson,” Lee called.

Jackson looked up from his list and was startled to be addressed by the skipper.  “Ye…yes, sir,” he stammered, afraid that he had done something wrong and was about to have himself ripped a new one.  This was his first voyage on Seaview and was as tense as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

Lee smiled slightly at the man’s discomfort trying to assuage his fears, he knew what it was like being addressed by your CO for the first time when new on a boat. “There’s a sealed envelope in the center desk drawer in my cabin.  Go on down to my cabin, collect it, and bring it to me.”

Jackson nearly sighed in relief that the skipper only needed him to run an errand.  “Yes sir, right away sir,” he replied.  He placed the clipboard he had in his hand on the storage rack, shut the door to the pantry cabinet and hurried out the door.

Lee and the admiral resumed eating their lunch and talking over mission details.  After a couple of minutes Cookie emerged from the kitchen quite obviously looking for someone or something.  “Missing something, Cookie?” Nelson inquired.

“Aye sir.  I’m looking for my new assistant, Jackson.  You haven’t seen him have you, sirs?”

“I sent him down to my cabin to pick something up for me, Cookie.  He should be back shortly,” Lee informed the cook.  “I’ll have him find you once he gets back.”

“Thank you sir.  I need him to help unpack the last of the stores before we leave,” Cookie replied then returned to the kitchen to start his prep for the evening meal.

Just as Cookie left, Jackson returned with the envelope Lee had sent him to get.  “Here sir.  I hope this is the correct one.”

Lee took the envelope and flipped it over looking closely at the seal and signature on the back verifying it hadn’t been opened.  “Yep that’s the one, thank you.  Oh, Cookie is looking for you.”

“You’re welcome sir.  I’ll go see what he needs.  Enjoy your lunch sirs,” Jackson responded and then hurried into the kitchen to find Cookie.  They finished their lunch then Harri returned to his lab as Lee headed up topside to check out his crate and verify its condition.

(olooo<

Having made his way topside, Lee strolled over to the small crate sitting on the deck awaiting his inspection.  He did a quick once over looking for any signs of tampering, and finding none he opened the envelope and extracted a sheet of paper with a single column of numbers on it.  Grabbing the first seal he compared the number to the list and found it a match.  He continued on with his check until all the seal numbers were verified.

“Curly,” Lee called out to the COB, who was overseeing a work detail on deck.  “This crate is good to go and can be loaded on board now.”

“Aye, Skipper I’ll see it gets loaded right away.” Jones responded then called over to the crane operator via radio to hoist the crate off the deck and lower it into the hold.

“Oh Chief, be very careful with that, there are some finely tuned instruments inside that don’t need to be jostled around.  Also see to it that it’s stowed in a secured area,” Lee added as he headed back to the sail hatch.

“Gotcha sir, I’ll make sure it gets a smooth ride all the way into stowage and will put it there myself,” Curly replied.

“Thanks Curly.  Also pass on to everyone, well done on the voyage prep.”

Jones smiled broadly, knowing how hard his crew had worked getting things ready as quickly as they had, and appreciated the skipper acknowledging all the effort.  “Will do sir, and thank you.”

Curly quickly turned his attention back to the crate, now suspended mid-air over the deck and ready to be lowered into the open hold below.  He saw to it personally that it was gently lowered into the hold, then stowed in a locked cargo room per the skipper’s orders.

(olooo<

As 0400 rolled around Lee made his way to the control room and up to the conning tower to find his XO.  He climbed up the ladder and as his head cleared the hatch he spotted Chip’s khaki clad legs.  “Morning, Chip,” Lee said as he finished climbing up on deck.

“Morning, Lee.  Sleep well last night?”

“Yep, I always seem to when I’m aboard my best girl,” Lee replied with a smile.  “How about you?”

“Same as you.  Something about being aboard just rocks me to sleep.”

“So has everyone reported in and are we ready to set sail?” Lee inquired.

“Aye sir.  Apparently everyone slept on board last night so we’re all present and accounted for, and ready to answer all bells,” Chip reported.

“Very well then, Mr. Morton, cast off and let’s be on our way.”

“Aye, aye Skipper.  Officer of the deck, cast off and prepare to get under way.” Chip ordered.

“Aye, sir,” responded Lt. James.  He quickly relayed the orders to the deck crew and Seaview slowly inched her way away from the dock. 

“Engine room, ahead dead slow,” Lee ordered.  The response was immediate and the great gray boat began moving silently forward and was soon past the breakwater and in the open ocean.  “Secure the watch and prepare to dive, Mr. Morton.”

“Aye sir,” Chip answered.  He relayed the orders and soon all men were below decks, hatches sealed and poised to dive.  “All boards are green and ready to dive on your order.”

“Dive the boat.  Take us down to 1,000 feet and on a heading of 2-7-0, all ahead full,” Lee responded. 

Chip shot Lee a quick startled look, surprised at being ordered to descend so deep and to travel at top speed for a routine mission. “Aye, Captain,” Chip picked up the mic and clicked it to life.  “Dive, dive, dive.  Helm take us to 1,000 feet, course 2-7-0 all ahead full.”

The orders were immediately acknowledged as the dive klaxons sounded and the bow pitched slightly downward as Seaview disappeared below the ocean surface.  It would be four days of hard sailing to get to the appointed coordinates.

“We’re at 1,000 feet, course 2-7-0 ahead full, Skipper,” Morton reported.

“Excellent,” Lee said, then picked up the mic.  “Admiral, this is Crane.”

“Nelson, here.”

“Sir we are underway and on-course to our mission coordinates,” Lee reported.

“Very well.  Keep me up to date.” Harri responded.

“Aye sir, will do.  Crane, out.”  Lee shipped the mic then did a quick review of the control room.  “Chip accompany me to my quarters, there are a few mission details I need to discuss with you.  Mr. James, you have the con.”

“Aye, sir,” both men replied.  Chip followed Lee towards the stairs and James took control of the con.

(olooo<

Arriving at Lee’s quarters they entered and Lee indicated Chip should grab a seat.  He picked up the mic and clicked it once.  “Galley, this is Crane.”

“Cookie here sir.”

“Cookie send a pot of coffee for me and Mr. Morton to my cabin,” Lee ordered.

“Sure thing Skipper, it’ll be there in 10 minutes.”

“Thanks, Cookie.  Crane out.”

Chip stared curiously at Lee wanting to know what mission details he hadn’t been privy to prior to their departure.  “What’s up Lee?” he finally asked.

“Chip the mission brief provided to you and the rest of the crew is a complete sham.  The admiral and I were contacted by senior Navy officials requesting us to take on a mission to ferret out Dr. Gamma, and derail his current scheme to hold the world hostage.  We were under strict orders not to reveal the true destination and purpose of our mission to anyone until we were well away from shore,” Lee began.

“So what are our orders?” Chip inquired.

Lee quickly laid out all that they had been told during their emergency meeting and what SECDEF had asked of Seaview and her crew.  Just as Lee finished and asked if Chip had any questions there was a rap at the door and Jackson entered carrying a tray.

“Right on time, Jackson,” Lee commented as the young man entered and began to unload the tray on Lee’s desk.  In addition to the pot of strong black coffee Cookie had generously loaded up a plate of breakfast cookies.  “Wow, looks like Cookie pulled out all of the stops this morning.”

“Is there anything else I can bring you sir?” Jackson inquired.

“God no, this is almost too much for even Mr. Morton to eat,” Lee joked.  “That’s all.”  Jackson quickly departed leaving Lee and Chip alone.  Once Jackson had left Lee poured them both a cup of coffee then walked to his safe, entered the combination, opened it, and pulled out an envelope.

As Chip sipped on his coffee, Lee opened the envelope, pulled out a navigation chart and laid it out on his desk.  “Here is where we’re actually going,” Lee said pointing to a lone dot in the middle of the south Pacific.

Chip stood up and squinted at the map and the period-sized islet in front of Lee’s finger.  “Drambezi?  Is that a real place?”

“Apparently so.  It’s a volcanic island out in the middle of nowhere and quite actually the perfect place for Gamma to run his operations.  Our chore now is to sneak up on said island and get close enough for me to work my way in, determine if this is his place of business, and if so destroy it and all the poisons and contagions inside,” Lee explained.  “Piece of cake, right?”

“Oh yeah, sure, piece of cake,” Chip replied as he rolled his eyes.  “And who else are you taking along to help you out on this mission?”

“Just me, Chip.  That last crate brought aboard has all the items I need to carry out the mission, and I’m not about to endanger anyone else on this one,” Lee answered as he folded up the chart and returned it to his safe.

Chip3 glowered at his old friend then turned his back to him and plopped down on the edge of Lee’s desk and picked up his coffee.  “This is crazy Lee, you can’t get this done yourself.  Let me come along as back up?”

“No Chip, this is the way it has to be done, and the way I want it.  If this really is Gamma’s base there will be too many opportunities to get caught and with the addition of more men, the greater the chance of that occurring,” Lee retorted as he stood behind his XO and ‘big brother’.

“That’s just plain stupid Lee.  What happens if you do get caught right off the bat, then what?” Chip replied rather loudly, irked at Lee once more being offered up as cannon fodder with no backup.

Following that outburst there was a quick rap on the door and Nelson entered, an understanding smile on his face having heard Chip’s rant in the passageway.  “I take it you told Chip what’s coming down the pike?”

“How did you guess, sir?” Lee asked rhetorically.

“You’re really not going to let him do this alone, are you Admiral?” Chip responded.

“As much as I hate to agree with Lee on this, it’s the only logical way to proceed.  If this is Gamma’s base of operations, it’s going to be a fortress and heavily guarded at that.  A single trained covert operative is probably going to be the only chance we have of making it inside undetected.”

Considering what both men had said, Chip finally had to agree with their reasoning.  He didn’t like it but if Gamma was holed up on the island it was going to be so heavily monitored and fortified only someone like Lee would have a chance of even getting to shore.  “All right, how can I help?” Chip conceded.

Lee smiled and patted him on the shoulder.  “You already have.  Now you just need to do your normal excellent job of keeping the boat on track and in order so I can concentrate on preparing for my assault on Gamma’s camp.  Right now, you’re the only other person besides the admiral who knows our true intent.  We need to keep a close watch on operations and make sure Gamma hasn’t been able to compromise one of the crew or get a spy amongst us who can give us all away.”

“So is that why we’re travelling so deep, to limit the opportunities for communications on and off the boat?” Chip inquired.

“Exactly.  To that end, Chip, Lee, here’s a radio transmission detector,” Nelson said as he handed each a small device resembling an MP3 player. “Keep this on you at all times.  It will detect any transmission coming into or going off of the boat and log them in memory.  It can also be used as a directional locator for as long as the transmission is active.  If the devices are tripped and a transmission isn’t listed in the communications log, then we know we have a problem.  I’ve also put in place a jamming device to prevent transmissions off of the boat from other than our radio.”

“Lovely,” said Chip as he turned the small object over in his hands.  “I take it you think a spy aboard is a real possibility?”

“I wouldn’t rule it out.  Gamma’s done it before, we’re just taking precautions to make sure he gets nothing for his efforts.  It’s also the main reason we’ve not revealed to the crew our true mission and destination.  As we get further out to sea, we’ll begin enlightening additional crewmembers as we need their particular skills to support the mission,” Lee explained.

“Our goal is to keep the circle of those who know our true purpose as small as possible, so if someone is in Gamma’s control, the group of suspects will be a relatively short list,” Nelson added.  “Tomorrow morning, Lee and I will let Jamieson and Jones know what’s going on.”

Chip nodded his understanding.  “Well then I suppose I best get back to doing my normal excellent job of keeping this house in order,” Chip replied with a shrug and deep sigh of frustration.  Harri and Lee laughed then they all exited Lee’s cabin to return to their duties.

 (olooo<

At 0700 the following day, Nelson summoned Curly and Jamie to the admiral’s porch to meet with him and the captain.  After nearly 2 hours of discussion regarding the true mission details the meeting was finally drawing to an end. As they were finishing up Lee was hailed over the intercom.

“Captain, this is Thompson.”

Lee punched the button on the intercom sitting on the table.  “Crane here.  What is it Cookie?”

“Sir, um, we have a bit of a situation and I was wondering if I could speak with you about it straight away.”

Lee looked at the other men a bit surprised.  They all wondered what kind of issue Cookie could have so soon into the mission.  “Sure thing Cookie.  I’m in the nose, come on up and we can talk,” Lee replied.

“Aye, sir.  I’m on my way.”

“I wonder what’s gone wrong,” Lee said, his normally unflappable head cook sounded somewhat shaken.  Nelson, Jamieson and Jones shrugged, they too picked up on the stress in Cookie’s voice and were all extremely curious.

A few minutes later, Cookie descended the stairs and was more than a little surprised to find the admiral, CMO, and COB there with the captain.  He blanched slightly and swallowed hard.  This was not going to be pretty and braced himself for the coming explosion.  He quickly acknowledged the four men and then stood before them fidgeting for a moment.

“All right Cookie,” Lee finally said breaking the uneasy silence, “you said you had something you needed to speak with me about, out with it.”

“Uh, yes sir.  Sir, I regret to inform you that we have run out of coffee.”  Nelson4, Crane, and Jones stood there immobile, stunned staring in shocked disbelief at the cook’s report.

“What exactly do you mean we’ve run out of coffee?” Lee inquired, almost afraid to have his greatest fear confirmed.

“Just that sir.  Apparently my new assistant got sidetracked the day before we left port and didn’t complete the inventory of stores; he totally missed that the coffee I had ordered had not been brought aboard.  I’ve got one 3 pound can left for the entire cruise, and that’s already been opened, sir,” Cookie blurted out.  “I take full responsibility sir, I should have double checked everything, this being Jackson’s first mission and all.  I’m so sorry sir.”

It was widely accepted that Seaview actually only needed two things to run, plutonium fuel rods and coffee; both equally high powered and both essential for smooth operations of the boat.  Everything else was inconsequential when things came right down to it.  The thought of having to go without Cookie’s stout version of the beverage had three of the men near panic.  Each silently wondered if this was an effort by Gamma to sabotage them.

“Uh sir, I checked with the XO and we’ll be within a few hours of Pearl, couldn’t we just make port long enough to get restocked and then resume course?” Cookie offered.

Harri stood there still somewhat in shock then after a moment he shook his head.  “No, Cookie I’m afraid that just isn’t an option.  We have a very tight schedule we must keep, and any divergence will cause us to be late and most likely unable to make up the lost time.”

“Dang, if we were just a surface ship with a helipad we could radio ahead and have it delivered en route,” Curly replied as he contemplated going almost an entire voyage with none of his favorite drink.

“What would you like me to do, Skipper?”  Cookie finally asked.

“Well ration it out as best you can, Cookie.  Save enough so we have some for when we arrive on location; the crew is going to need to be alert and ready to react.  What else if anything do you have to replace the coffee?” Lee inquired.

“Uh thanks to Doc, we have lots of decaf, sir.”

Lee5 shot Cookie a piercing sideways glare as if he had just suggested that they drink hemlock.  Decaf was just plain cruel, taunting them with weak flavored water at best with no bang for the buck.  The answering expression on Cookie’s face indicated he thought he was going to get a firsthand look at keel hauling submarine style. Nelson nearly laughed taking in the affronted look on Crane’s face and Cookie’s wide-eyed response.

Lee6 turned quickly faced Jamie and pointed an accusatory finger at him. “You! You’re responsible for this aren’t you?!” Jamie had been after nearly everyone on board to cut back on their caffeine consumption, thinking it too high to be healthy.  Jamie quickly raised his hands in mock surrender,  eyes wide, shaking his head vigorously in the negative.  Much as he harped on the others about their caffeine use, he recognized he was equally dependent on the brew.

Cookie jumped immediately to the doctor’s defense, rapidly shaking his head no. “I’d never let the doc do that, sir.”

“What else do we have with caffeine, Cookie?” Harri quickly inquired trying to defuse the tense situation.

 “We’ve got black tea, hot chocolate, and sodas, sir.”

“I think we’re all either going to be speaking with a British accent or weigh 300 pounds by the time we get back,” Nelson quipped as he pondered having to drink that much of any of those selections to satisfy their need for caffeine.

“As I said sir, I’m sorry.  I can guarantee it will never happen again,” Cookie replied.

“These things happen Cookie.  It’s not like we’re going to die from lack of coffee though odds are we’ll most likely be stark raving mad by the time we’re done.  Things are also going to be very touchy until we all come down from our caffeine addiction,” Lee answered with a bit of a grin, leading Cookie to sigh in relief.  “Keep this to yourself Cookie, and I’ll let everyone know what happened.”

“Yes sir.  Well, I best get out of line of sight before you make that announcement Skipper, so you don’t have to break up a lynch mob,” Cookie offered as he headed for the stairs.

They watched Cookie beat a hasty retreat, no doubt heading back to his kitchen to barricade himself in.  This was not going to be a pleasant announcement to make, and the men stared wistfully at the empty coffee carafe sitting on the table.

“I suppose there’s no point in putting it off,” Lee said and let loose a resigned sigh. Lee walked over to the mic on the wall and picked it up.  He clicked the button twice to activate it.  “This is the captain.  We have just been informed that there are only 3 pounds of coffee on board to cover this entire cruise.”  Lee cringed as he heard the gasps of shock and mutterings filtering down the staircase to the observation nose.

“I’ve ordered Cookie to ration out our life’s blood making sure that there is enough available to cover the time we are on station conducting our mission.  Cookie has informed me that we have ample stores of tea, hot chocolate, sodas and …decaf, to cover us until we return.  I appreciate your patience.  Crane out.”

(olooo<

Alone in a cavernous and sparsely decorated office, located deep beneath the surface within a lava tube of a dormant volcano, an almost painfully thin, wraith-like man, immaculately dressed in a black Brioni suit, silk tie, and Gucci shoes, paced the confines of his spacious office.  He would occasionally shoot a searing glare at the wall of video monitors displaying feeds from around the world as he waited impatiently for his plan to come to fruition.  Were his minions to see him now, they would no doubt find it comedic to see him in such an agitated state.  He worked extremely hard to banish all vestiges of emotion when around his people projecting an aura of invulnerability and complete control; immune to the emotional reactions success or failure would elicit in mere mortals.

Having failed so miserably to thwart the United States and Seaview in their mission to counteract the effects of the gigantic tidal wave generated by an Arctic earthquake that would have laid waste to the coastlines of Europe and North America*, his personal control had been seriously tested.  Away from the eyes of his staff, he nearly melted down as his megalomaniacal psyche was dealt a crushing blow of being proved all too human and susceptible to defeat.   He still found it incomprehensible that Nelson and his submarine reduced his plans to rubble so effortlessly.  The mere thought of Nelson and his boy wonder Crane had Gamma nearly spitting on the floor in disgust and disdain.

Having replayed the scenario endlessly in his mind, he ultimately had come to the conclusion that he failed because he had aimed too low.  This time there would be no chance for failure; this time he would take out the entire world, indiscriminately slaughtering hundreds of millions of people thereby eliminating any opposition, then stride forward and seize the reins of power amidst the chaos.  His plan was foolproof; there was no chance for failure this time.  Regardless of whether his petty ransom demands were met, he would release his virus on the world and render the powers that be, impotent so no chance of resistance would exist.  His plans and aspirations danced gloriously in his head as he envisioned himself and his organization emerging as the sole planetary power once the dust settled.  He nearly giggled in anticipation as he completed another lap around the room.

He once more mentally ticked off his list of preparations, ensuring that every avenue of counterattack had been planned for and rendered moot.  He had spies embedded in military and governmental organizations of every major power and they were feeding him vital information regarding his adversaries’ response to his threat.  He’d even gone so far as to get someone aboard Nelson’s submarine in the off chance they were once more enlisted as a weapon against him.  There was no stone left unturned in his planning; there would be no failure this time.

He allowed himself one smile of smug satisfaction and chuckled maliciously knowing that the attempts to locate him and destroy his organization were all going in the wrong direction.  They weren’t even close and that amused him no end.  They would all pay for his ignominious defeat in his last attempt.  As the chuckle died on his lips, he erased the one touch of humanity from his face, opened the door to his office and moved down the hallway to the control center to watch events unfold.

(olooo<

Lee Crane sat in silence in his cabin, pouring over the maps, charts, and other information provided by Masterson to aid in his preparation for his mission.  As he regarded the navigational chart he frowned realizing that given the shallow water surrounding Gamma’s suspected island lair, there was no way Seaview would be able to navigate close enough for him to easily make it to shore.  The closest the boat could approach the island and still remain out of sight underwater was four miles, meaning either a long swim to shore or traveling the same distance sitting exposed in a zodiac.

He sighed dejectedly as unfortunately they had lost the only other means of covert access when on an earlier mission, their mini-sub was destroyed by a madman bent on establishing cities on the bottom of the sea, exploiting the resources there, and eventually taking over the world.** The loss of those two men still gave him nightmares at times. With few options, Lee decided on the swim as the safest way in, with the least chance of being spotted and picked off before he made it on the island, and not endangering any of his crew. 

He then perused the information about the island and the occupants that called that lump of rock home.  There was a reported small population of Polynesian natives, who maintained a primitive existence intentionally eschewing the trappings of the modern world, but the recent satellite surveys showed no evidence of them now.   The small village they had erected looked vacant as the native vegetation was beginning to reclaim the compound, and the only thing that looked to have any activity was a small temple they had built on top of the highest hill on the island.

The fact that the individuals infected with Gamma’s virus shown in the video were of Polynesian descent lent credence to ONI’s supposition that Drambezi was his base of operations.  He had most likely used his bug to eradicate the residents allowing him to take over the island with minimal effort and videoed their demise to demonstrate the veracity of his threat.

Noting the continued activity at the temple, Lee figured that’s where Gamma was located.  He probably had some undersea access given this was a volcanic island and lava tubes weren’t uncommon, but without any intelligence confirming that, that option wasn’t available.  The obvious entry point was the small stone building and it was most likely protected like Fort Knox.

Focusing his sights on the stone temple, he began scrutinizing the satellite photos of the island looking for the best beach access and path to the temple.  Luckily for him the island residents had introduced pigs when they claimed the island, some of which had escaped and become wild.   With no predators other than humans on the island, the pigs were huge and Gamma would have had to adjust his detection network to deal with a large land animal.  That could provide a route of entry or escape.

As he continued to survey the satellite images he spotted a nearly vertical cliff face 100 yards from the temple that appeared to rise about 400 feet above the beach.  This too presented an entry point and odds were it would be the last place Gamma would expect anyone to try and access his island.  Considering his options, he figured his best chance of getting up to the structure would be to scale the cliff face and hopefully go unobserved. 

His exit was another thing, not planning to use ropes, going out the same way he got in was not an option.  He would have to descend the hill on foot and then use the trails created by the missing residents or the pigs; not ideal for a covert exit but most likely monitored less because of the traffic.  The pigs themselves also presented a danger since they tended to become extremely aggressive once going feral; he would have to be on guard on both fronts.

Having made the decision about how to get to the island, and how to close in on the stone structure Lee began mentally organizing and visualizing his trek.  As7 he played through his approach and travel through the brush and other vegetation his eyes lost focus as he stared unseeingly into space.

 (olooo<

Needing to speak with his captain about aspects of their secret mission, Nelson headed towards Lee’s cabin after being informed of the captain’s location.  He knocked on the door but received no response.  He knocked once more thinking Lee may have been in the head and hadn’t heard his knock.  As the seconds passed and still no answer, Harri became somewhat concerned so he eased open the door and peeked in.

He immediately spotted Lee seated at his desk apparently totally lost in deep thought.  “Lee?” Harri said quietly so as not to startle the man.  “Lee, are you there?”

After a moment Lee blinked his eyes and lightly shook his head as the sound of the admiral’s voice broke through his self-induced trance.  He looked up, instantly focusing on the admiral and sent him a small embarrassed grin having been caught daydreaming.  “Admiral.  Sorry sir I didn’t hear you knock,” Lee replied as he rose from his desk.  “Is there something I can do for you sir?”

Harri returned Lee’s smile, stepped into his cabin and shut the door.  “I stopped by to go over the mission, and was wondering if you had come to any decisions on how you want to approach this?”

“Actually that’s just what I was doing when you caught me unawares,” Lee responded.  He quickly laid out the plans he had made, and what support he needed from Seaview.  “Any thoughts, sir?”

“I’m not thrilled with the long swim starting out but I’m at a loss as well to see another way onto the island.  It’s unfortunate that we haven’t replaced the mini-sub yet.  Do you intend to come in using scuba or snorkel?”

“I’m inclined to use a snorkel, given the distance I need to cover I’d have to use two tanks limiting how much equipment I could carry for the mission.  A twilight swim should hopefully hide my approach.”

Harri nodded in agreement, his thoughts once more shot to the need for a smaller, more powerful submersible that would have allowed him to get Lee to shore undercover without him having to expend so much energy up front.  “According to Chip, we should be within range in 20 hours.  That should give us at least 12 hours once we arrive to scout around the island and look for any unfriendlies.” 

“Agreed,” Lee replied.  “That gives me enough time to head down to the storage bay and pull out what I need from my crate and get everything ready to go.”

“So what’s the plan once you make it on the island?”

“I’m still working through the options right now.  I’ve got a couple of locations selected, I just need to weigh the pros and cons of each before I make my final plans.  The hard part of all of this is that I have no idea what I’ll find inside once I get there.  There’s no intelligence on this so I don’t know if this even is his hideout.  If it is then there’s the problem with any surveillance systems he’s employed, where he’s stored his virus or what else may be lurking there.  I’ll be quite honest with you, I’m not at all thrilled about this whole mission, but there’s no other choice,” Lee explained.

“I’m not a fan of this whole thing either, but if this is Gamma’s house then it needs to be taken out of commission.”

“Agreed.”

“So how are you supposed to close this all down?” Harri asked.

“ONI has provided me with an extremely powerful explosive that will generate enough heat to kill any bacterial and viral organisms along with destroying any chemicals that may be present.  It’s a two-part kit that once mixed begins reacting immediately, so there’s no turning it off when A and B meet,” Lee explained. “Once inside, I’m to place it in close proximity to the lab facility, or in their chemical storage area, then beat a hasty retreat.  It could potentially level the entire island depending on what’s stored below.”

Harri’s eyes grew wide as Lee detailed the nature of the materials he was given to destroy Gamma’s facility.  With no way to stop the reaction once started, there would be no escape if Lee somehow became detained or injured in his exit.   The concussive wave from an explosion of that size could also negatively impact Seaview if she was too close.  “How much time do you have once you’ve initiated the reaction?”

“About 20 minutes, give or take.”

“Give or take?  That’s the best you’ve got?” Nelson queried, now really concerned for Lee’s safety.

“It’s new and results have varied.  From what they said speed of the reaction is somewhat dependent on heat and humidity; the hotter and wetter conditions, the faster the reaction.”

“Damn it Lee, there’s no way you’re going to be able to get that planted, out of the complex and at minimum safe distance by the time that goes off.  If the explosion is as big as you say, we can’t even keep Seaview in close enough proximity to get you off!” Harri raged.

“I know,” Lee answered quietly.  “Admiral Masterson basically told me this was a one way trip and I’m okay with that.   If I’m successful, then what we gain is more than worth the sacrifice.”

“Not to me, son,” Harri replied ardently.  “You’ve never been expendable.  There has to be some way to give you more time.  Can you give some of that so I can see if I can develop some sort of delaying agent that gives you a greater chance of getting out?”

Lee stared back at Harri somewhat surprised at his response and privately pleased.  He fought hard to hide the small smile at hearing how much Harri really valued him.  He had long felt that way about Nelson, but he was the admiral, he was a great man.  He was someone he had long looked up to and valued.  It was gratifying to know that the feelings were reciprocated even to a small degree.

“Uh, yes…yes sir, I suppose I can give you some of what they gave me,” Lee stammered at bit.  “Although I don’t know how safe it is to be experimenting with it on Seaview.”

“Let me worry about that.  I intend to give you every advantage I can in getting away from the compound,” Harri answered gruffly, trying desperately to shift the focus away from his outburst. “I can definitely see why you didn’t mention that little detail to Chip.  We’d most likely find you stuffed in a torpedo tube for safe keeping.”

Lee laughed and nodded in agreement. “Thank you sir, I appreciate any edge you can give me.  Shall we head down to the cargo bay and take a look inside the crate?” Lee responded.  Nelson nodded and turned towards the door.  “Just a minute sir, I need to pull my list of seal numbers, just to make sure everything is as it should be.”  

(olooo<

They quickly made their way down to the locked storage room where Lee had the small crate stored.  He unlocked the door and they entered walking directly over to the crate.  Lee knelt down and began inspecting the seals on the box and was alarmed to see that two of them had been broken.  He pulled out his sheet and compared it to the list and found the corresponding numbers.  He then compared the others to the list and as was somewhat relieved to find them on the list.

Lee stood up and walked over to the mic and grabbed it.  “COB this is the captain, meet me in storage room 2.”

“This is Jones, on my way Skipper,” came the immediate response.

“Problems Lee?” Harri asked.

“These seals are broken.  Curly said he was taking care of this crate himself; I want to find out if the seals were broken in the time between when I signed for the crate and when it was placed here in storage.”

While waiting for Curly, Lee and Nelson completed their inspection of the box looking for any other signs it had been tampered with.  Finding the other seals intact and matching the numbers on the list, they felt more at ease about possible tampering or sabotage.  Crane also inspected the lock on the door and spotted no obvious signs the lock had been picked.  As they finished up Curly entered the room.

“I’m here Skipper, what’s up?” Curly inquired.

“Curly, were all the seals on this box intact when you finished stowing this crate?” Lee asked the COB.

“Nothin’ got broke during stowage, I can vouch for that Skipper.  Why, is something wrong with the box?”

“Two of the seals are broken, now.  Who has keys to this room, Chief?” Lee asked.

“Let’s see, there’s you, Mr. Morton, the admiral, me, LT Bishop and Patterson,” Curly rattled off.

“Hmm,” Nelson replied as he pinched his lower lip while he considered the list of suspects.  “Okay Curly, that’s all we need for now.”  Jones nodded and exited the storage room to return to his duties.

“What do you think, sir?” Lee asked, as he too considered the character of the men holding keys to the room.

“I don’t think it’s the four of us who know the true purpose of this mission, which leaves Bishop or Patterson, or someone able to pick locks,” Nelson replied.  “I have a hard time believing it could be either of those men, but if it is they could be brainwashed or under duress.”

“So do we chance opening the crate?  According to my orders I’m supposed to contact ONI if the seals are tampered with, but with just two broken there’s no way to get at what’s inside.”

“I think we can take our chances opening it as long as we proceed slowly and look for any booby traps.  I don’t want to slow us down by surfacing to send and receive a message or give our spy an opportunity to try and alert Gamma.”

Lee nodded his agreement with Harri’s logic.  “I concur.”  He turned and walked to the storage room door and shut and locked it.  “We don’t need any company at the moment,” he said responding to Nelson’s unvoiced question.

They then turned their attention to the crate, carefully examining every millimeter of the outer surface area looking for any indications that something had been forced between the lid and box, or applied to the exterior.  Finding nothing, Lee gently snapped off each of the remaining seals so they could open the box.  He pulled out his pocket knife, unfolded one of the blades then slid the tip between the lid and the box and eased it around the entire circumference then slowly pried the lid loose.  Cautiously he lifted the lid off and let go a relieved sigh when nothing popped out or went ‘boom’ in their faces.

Harri shot Lee a wry smile as he let out the breath he’d been holding while Lee worked on the box.  “Well that’s done.  Let’s see what all they’ve given you, son.”

Lee began pulling items out of the box.  There were a number of small electronic detection and jamming devices, a small biohazard storage case to contain what if any viruses or vaccines he found, two bricks of what looked like C-4 explosive, a tube of gel labeled Part B, and a page of instructions for using the explosive.  He handed the instructions to Nelson, then he examined the electronic devices familiarizing himself with their operation.

Taking the sheet from Lee, Harri quickly scanned through the instructions.  In its current state the explosive and chemical detonator were both stable and very safe to handle.  When in position, the operative would need to make essentially an explosive and jelly sandwich.  He needed to place one brick against the target, apply the gel to the top of the brick then put the second brick on top and smash it together.  Once the Part B gel came in contact with the putty-like explosive, the chemical reaction was initiated and there was no way of stopping it. 

Lee regarded Harri as he read through the instructions a number of times.  “Any ideas on an agent, sir?”

“I’ve got a couple of ideas, Lee.  I just need a minute amount of each substance to get an idea of their chemical properties. Come on, grab your gear and let’s head down to the lab.”  Harri smiled and picked up the tube of gel and both bricks.  Lee returned the electronics to the bag they were in along with the sample case and followed the admiral out the door.  Once outside he quickly locked it and then headed after Harri. 

(olooo<

Reaching the lab, Nelson placed his items on the table and moved to the cabinet on the wall to get two sample bottles and a scalpel.  He returned to the table then made a small slit in the wrapper containing the putty, cut off a minute amount, placed it in the tube and immediately sealed it.  Next he picked up the gel tube, removed the cap and squeezed a small gob of the bluish gel into the second container and then sealed both.

“There, that should do it.  Once I have a better understanding of their properties, I think I can create a slow dissolving skin we can place around the putty that should give you an extra 10 to 15 minutes for your escape,” Harri explained.

“Well any extra time will be appreciated, I assure you, sir,” Lee replied.  “But there also needs to be a way to initiate the reaction immediately if the situation won’t allow for that delay.”

“Understood, lad.  I think applying the coating to just one side of the brick would give you the option to proceed as needed.”

“Then go for it, sir.  I won’t turn down a jumpstart on escape once it hits the fan,” Lee replied with a slight smile.  He walked over to the counter and pulled off a piece of tape from the dispenser and applied it to the slit in the putty wrapper.  He next grabbed a paper bag from another cabinet and placed all his items inside so he could carry them back to his cabin without anyone being wise to what was inside.  “I’m going to place this all in my safe, then relieve Chip.”

“Very well, son.  I’ll let you know how things progress.”

(olooo<

Lee made his way to the control room and as he was receiving the turn over brief from Chip, the radio detection device they both had in their pockets began to beep.  Each quickly reached into his pocket and pulled the device out.  “Sparks, are we receiving any radio traffic?” Lee asked.

“Negative, Skipper,” Sparks replied.

“Are you sending anything?” Chip inquired.

“No, sir.  All’s quiet,” Sparks responded as he looked at his COs quizzically.

They both lifted their devices and turned slowly around trying to get a fix on the source of the signal.  “It’s aft,” Lee said after a moment.  “Come on, let’s see if we can track this thing down.  Mr. O’Brien, you have the con.”

“Aye, Skipper,” Bobby replied, as he watched Crane and Morton bolt out of the control room heading aft fast.  Lee and Chip continued aft and dropped down one deck as the indicator signal grew stronger.  As they walked, Lee relayed what he and the admiral had found in the storage room and their concerns that someone had tried to tamper with his crate.

“Want to bet he’s in the missile room or one of the storage rooms near there?” Chip offered as they continued to follow the signal.

“That’s probably a pretty safe bet,” Lee replied.  They continued down the passageway, and just as they neared the missile room the transmission stopped and the indicator went dark.  “Damn!” swore Lee.

“Come on, Lee.  Whoever it was has to be in the missile room, we can still get him,” Chip replied as they closed in on the missile room hatch.  They reached the hatch and yanked it open to find a whole host of crewman busily working on preparations for the equipment deployment when they reached their destination.

Lee and Chip scanned the room and immediately spotted Patterson as he worked on a probe.  They both found it hard to believe it was Pat, but he was the only in the room that had access to the storage room.  That was until they saw Bishop come out from behind one of the missile silos, he too was working with one of the sensors.  Lee and Chip exchanged looks less than thrilled to have their two prime suspects in the same room.

“Bishop, Patterson, a moment please,” Lee ordered.  Both men nodded and moved immediately over to their CO.

“Is there something I can help you with, sir?” Bishop inquired; his tone conveying a hint of irritation at being called away from is task.

Neither Chip nor Lee missed the subtle message, but chose to ignore it for the moment. “Yes, I’d like to take a look at the sensors you and Pat have.  There have been some signal anomalies recorded in the radio shack and you two are the only ones that look to have been working with transponders recently.  Are you the only two working with them?” Lee responded, trying not to alert the two men as to his suspicions that one may be in Gamma’s pocket.

“Yes, sir.  I and Patterson are ensuring each sensor is operational,” Bishop replied.

“Here Skipper,” Patterson said as he passed his transponder over to Lee.  Lee accepted the device then flipped it on, manipulated a couple of the dials then walked over to the mic and hailed the admiral.

“Admiral, this is Crane.  We’re at the source of the transmission, are you picking up any discharge now?”

Nelson, still working in his lab, had also been alerted to the transmission by his own device.  He quickly realized that Lee had noticed the alert and had moved to try and track down the source.  After a moment, he replied.  “Nelson here.  No, Lee the scope is clear.  Are there any other devices there?”

“Yes sir, LT Bishop has one that he was working with and I’m going to check it out next.  Please stand by,” Lee answered and handed the first unit back to Patterson and accepted the second box from Bishop.  He quickly repeated the actions he had taken on the first box then called the admiral.

“Admiral, the second unit is now on.  Any readings?”

“No, that one is not emitting any odd transmissions either.  It must have been just a strange anomaly.  I’ll have Sparks continue monitoring in case it happens again.”

“That sounds like a good plan, sir.  We’ll finish up here and the head back to the control room.  Crane out.”  Lee handed the box back to Bishop.  “Thank you gentlemen.  Continue with your work.  If any of the units seem to be operating oddly, let me or Mr. Morton know at once.”

“Will do Skipper,” Patterson replied.  “Yes, sir,” Bishop seconded.

Lee and Chip conducted a casual inspection of the entire missile room looking for anything out of the ordinary.  Finding nothing obvious, they headed out the hatch and back up to the control room.

“Well what do you think?” Chip asked as they walked down the passageway.

“I’m not sure.  It really could have been anybody in that space, but our two prime candidates were the only ones working with the transponders, which could potentially cover the transmission off the boat.  I hate to think it could be either of those men,” Lee answered.

Chip looked quickly up and down the passageway making sure no one was in sight.  “In all honesty I wouldn’t be upset if it were Bishop, so we could ship his ass off this boat.  I’m getting more than a little tired of his tone and impatience with everyone; like having to answer to anyone is such a huge imposition on him regardless of rank.”

Lee nodded in agreement with Chip’s assessment.  “I’m really surprised he made the cut and was hired.  He must have had one hell of an interview if both the admiral and Phillips signed off on him. If he was a standout at his job I could maybe grant him some of the arrogance he shows, but he’s run of the mill at best.  I’m giving serious thought to talking with the admiral and having him returned to active duty Navy.”

“Can’t happen soon enough for me,” Chip replied.  “Fitreps are coming up and he’s just not making the grade.  I think it’s time to cut him loose.”

“Well that’s something we need to discuss at a later time.  Come on, let’s get back up to the control room and check on our position.  We should be getting close to our turn to take us to Drambezi.”

“You still intent on doing this all by yourself?” Chip inquired, still upset that Lee wouldn’t allow himself a partner to watch his back.

“It’s gotta be that way Chip; I can’t see any other way to scope out the facility without tipping off whomever might be inside.”

(olooo<

“Mr. O’Brien, I have the con,” Lee announced as he entered the control room.

“Aye sir, you have the con,” Bobby answered.

Lee made his way to the chart table and quickly reviewed their current position.  “Mr. Morton, take us to course one – eight – five,” Lee ordered.  Chip quickly relayed the orders and the helmsmen made the turn to the new heading.

Lee reached beneath the chart table and pulled up a new chart that provided them with a more detailed view of the Drambezi area.  He walked over to the table in the nose and as he spread it out, Chip assisted and then focused his gaze on their target.  He quickly realized how shallow the waters were around the island and how far out from the island they were going to have to station themselves just to stay submerged.  He shot a critical glance at Lee, silently asking, “Are you nuts?”

Lee shot him a quick grin and returned his focus to the chart.  As they both reviewed the chart looking for the best location to deposit Lee, they both looked up as they heard footsteps descending the staircase.  Nelson continued down the stairs and joined his officers at the table.  He too looked down at the chart and after a moment frowned.

“So this is our destination?” Nelson asked.

“Yes sir.  We should be there in 12 hours.  I was going to show Chip my selected entry point now,” Lee answered quietly.

Nelson placed his finger on the island then pulled it back to where the water depths were sufficient for Seaview to access and still remain submerged and out of sight.  All of the most promising locations were nearly 5 miles from shore. Nelson8 started to turn away from the chart table when Lee pointed to a particular point on the north side of the island, and tapped it twice drawing his attention back to the map.  Nelson looked back down, regarded the point then looked up at his captain and scowled. “I think we need to retire to my cabin to discuss this,” Nelson stated, flatly.

“Aye sir,” Lee replied.  “Mr. O’Brien, the con is yours.” He quickly rolled the map back up then he and Chip followed the admiral up the stairs to his cabin.

(olooo<

Harri damn near slammed the door open as he entered his cabin, not happy in the least with the staging point Lee had indicated.  Lee and Chip followed quietly behind the OOM as he stormed about his cabin.

“Problem, Admiral?” Lee asked, baiting the older man.

“You’re damn right there’s a problem.  Damn it Lee, the site you’ve identified is the furthest point from the beach possible.  That’s nearly six miles from the shoreline.”

“Yes, and the safest position for Seaview,” Lee responded quietly.  “Admiral, it’s also the best location from which to launch my entry.  If this is indeed Gamma’s stronghold, then the last place he’ll look is the furthest point from his shoreline with the most difficult access point to his island.  Sir, I told you I will not subject this sub or this crew to any more hazards than necessary to carry out this mission.”

“So you’re going to swim six miles to the island, arrive spent, and expect to free climb up a sheer cliff face to the top of that hill and enter Gamma’s fortress running on empty?” Nelson fumed.

“I don’t see any other option sir.”

“Take a zodiac Lee. We have electric motors so you can go in without making a sound,” Chip offered. 

“I can’t take the chance of being spotted on the surface, Chip.  That negates the entire point of coming in from that direction.  Even dressed in black, my silhouette could still be easily spotted.  I won’t risk it.  We have no idea if Gamma has anything positioned around the island that could take out a submarine,” Lee reasoned.  “Believe me, if we had a mini-sub that I could pilot nearer to the shore I would take it, and even using that I would have a significant swim because it shallows out so quickly; I see no other way on the island.” 

“Hey what about a sea scooter?” Chip suggested.  “I think there’s still one aboard from our last mission.  That would make your trip in less taxing and you can tow your gear as well.”

“Now that’s an option that I think could work.  What do you think Admiral?”

“Definitely, if it’s still aboard.  Once we get done here, check and see if it’s still in the store room Chip,” Nelson replied.

“I’m still going to have to ditch it about a quarter mile out because it’s just too shallow to use it.” Lee answered.

“That’s fine, if it speeds up your trip to the island and saves the work of paddling the additional 4 plus miles to the beach then it’s worth losing it.  Although I would still feel better if we could move you closer to shore from the start,” Nelson commented.

“Admiral, Chip, you know how vulnerable a sub is in shallow water.  If Gamma has a defense system in the area or even another sub, you’re going to need every inch of maneuvering room to get away.  You have to see the logic in my argument,” Lee countered.

Harri sighed in both frustration and resignation.  Lee had made an excellent argument that he couldn’t rebut.  “Enough.  All right Lee we’ll do it your way.  I don’t agree with it, but if you feel this is your best option, then we’ll see to it you’re released exactly where you want to be.  Now, what about extraction?”

“I’ll get off the island in the opposite direction.  Since I’m not using ropes, scaling back down the cliff face isn’t an option, plus water depth increases more rapidly on the southern side.  There are what appear to be a number of game trails that lead back down to the water and I think that would be the most advantageous route.  I’m hoping that if there are monitoring systems on the island, he’s had to back off the sensitivity given the large pigs running around.  That also allows you to move Seaview further offshore while I’m working my way in and navigate around to the pickup point so you’re not a sitting duck.”

Chip and Harri just glared at Lee, still not thrilled with his plan, but seeing no other way to attack the situation they conceded the point.  “All right Lee, we’ll go with your plan.  Tell me what you and Chip found in the missile room?” Nelson replied, shifting gears to the next issue of concern.

“Both Patterson and Bishop were there and handling transponders, so both prime suspects are still under suspicion.  Bishop was his usual pleasant self.  If I had to pick one of the two, my top choice would be Bishop.  It’s more than obvious he’s disgruntled and thinks he should be higher up in the command structure.  I honestly think we should have released him after that disaster with the sea mines***; he’s not Seaview material. I think he bears closer scrutiny and probably both men should be kept out of the con until after we’ve completed our mission,” Lee offered.  Chip nodded his head in agreement with his CO’s assessment.

“Could be he’s just cranky from the lack of caffeine,” Nelson offered.

“Yeah, right.  Then how do you explain his attitude the rest of the time?” Chip countered.

Nelson just shrugged, privately disappointed that Bishop had failed to live up to his expectations.  The man’s continued presence on the boat was not likely given his command crew’s disdain for him.

“I’ll adjust the duty roster to keep them in the missile room until we’re done with activities around here.  I can also have Curly keep an eye on them while they’re there,” Chip added.

That taken care of, Lee steered the conversation to the next topic. “The jamming frequency you’ve employed really needs to be bolstered once we go shallow so whoever is trying to transmit can’t get a message off.  Is that possible, sir?”

“Yes, I’ll amp up the signal once we get nearer to our target.  And I agree that we need to keep both our prime suspects away from the con so they have no idea where in the world we are and swear the crews to secrecy.  We don’t need any rude surprises at the last minute.  I think we can trust Sparks, so I’m going to bring him in on the mission so he can keep closer tabs on any attempts to transmit off this boat,” Harri answered.

“I think that’s a good step sir,” interjected Chip.  “The more trusted eyes we have on this the better.”

“So any progress on the explosive front sir?” Lee inquired.

Harri nodded in the affirmative.  “I’ve got a coating I can paint on one surface of the Part A of the explosive that the Part B gel will eat through in about 10 minutes and initiate the reaction.  That should give you a total of 30 minutes to extricate yourself and get down to the beach.  If you need to set the explosive immediately then just use the unpainted side and everything will proceed as designed.”

“What…wait, you’ve only got 30 minutes to get out of Gamma’s lair and back to the beach once you’ve set your explosives?” Chip inquired.  “This is crazy Lee, there’s no way you’re going to be able to make it out and back to the boat in that time.”

Lee fixed Chip with a hard stare.  “That’s the way is has to be Chip, there’s no point arguing about this.  Case closed.”

(olooo<

Having sufficiently prowled the control center and made his presence and scrutiny apparent, Gamma stalked back to his office.  Once there he sat at his desk, activated his computer and pulled up his tracking program with reports from his operatives around the globe.  Thus far all but one had made contact, providing updates on efforts by the various nations to locate his base or where his contagion might be located.  The one glaring omission was the SSRN Seaview.

The lack of report could be due to one of two things.  The first reason could be that the boat was not engaged in the hunt for him and was carrying out whatever mission had been planned, but he mole still should have reported that.  The second, and probably most likely reason was that they were engaged in the hunt but had taken measures to prevent communications from the vessel.  He honestly couldn’t envision the US military not pressing this asset into service.

He quickly pulled up another scanning program looking for any communications with the vessel reporting position or activities.  He drew yet another blank, which only served to confirm his supposition that Seaview had joined the hunt; a private vessel on a routine mission would have reported their position to their base by now.  He needed to know where that boat was to ensure they didn’t pop up and derail what he had planned as they had in the Arctic.  He was tempted to fire off an inquiry to his man aboard but that presented the potential of being intercepted by Seaview’s radio man.  Deciding to approach his problem from another angle Gamma opened his email program and sent off a coded message to his contact inside the Pentagon to see if she could provide anything on Seaview’s location.

(olooo<

He was growing impatient and somewhat alarmed at the fact he had no idea where they were or what else was going on.  By now he usually had at least one turn through the control room which would have given him the information Gamma was paying him to acquire.  He had tried to signal him to at least let him triangulate on their location but wasn’t sure if his signal had made it through since they were traveling so deep.  There was also the concern that the Captain and XO showed up in the missile room shortly after he sent his message looking for some sort of odd transmission.  He was definitely concerned that they may be on to him.

There had been no indication that their mission was anything but what was briefed, and they were on their way to some obscure location in the south Pacific to layout a string of sensors to measure changes in ocean conditions.  He needed to get to the con and verify where they were, but at present had no reason for being there.  As it was he was stuck in the missile room deaf and blind to what was going on around him. 

The only bit of information he had was supposition at best.  That last container loaded aboard had multiple seals on it and had to be signed in by the captain.  As he had tried to gain access to the box contents, he had broken two of the seals no doubt alerting the captain that someone had been interested in the box.  He had no course but to leave it without getting it open and finding what was hidden inside.

He had assured Gamma that he could provide the information he wanted, but if he didn’t get a hold of something soon there would be nowhere he could hide if Gamma believed he’d been double crossed.  As he contemplated the repercussions of that, he broke out in a cold sweat.  He definitely could use a stiff drink to steady his nerves or even a cup of Cookies paint stripper he called coffee.  Needing something he headed to the galley to get a Coke.

(olooo<

As they drew closer to the island Lee was back in the control room directing Seaview to his selected coordinates.  If this was Gamma’s base of operations he had chosen well, the shallow waters surrounding the island prevented anything larger than small boat from gaining access to the beach.  The water depth at his selected jump off site was less than 120 feet which gave them precious little space in which to maneuver.

Once he had notified the admiral that they were moving into position Harri joined his captain in the control room to get a firsthand look at the conditions.  As Lee expertly directed the boat to the desired coordinates, they surprised a large manta ray that looked to be nearly 20 feet in width.  Startled by the large intruder, the animal surged forward heading rapidly to the surface then launched itself into the air flying several feet before splashing down and heading to the bottom.  Watching the extraordinary display, Harri was suddenly struck with an idea and quickly grabbed a piece of paper and began sketching furiously.

Lee immediately noticed Nelson’s atypical behavior.  “Something wrong, Admiral?” he asked.

Lost in his epiphany, Harri was deaf to Lee’s question and he continued drawing ellipses in various shapes and sizes on the paper.  Lee stared at Harri suddenly worried.  He repeated his question but was ignored again. 

Lee’s repeated question had drawn Chip’s attention and he looked over at the admiral and his frantic scribbling on the paper.  He9 then made eye contact with Lee and received a worried look from his skipper as he stood at Nelson’s side.  After a moment still finding himself ignored, Lee reached forward and gently placed his hand on Nelson’s shoulder, eliciting a startled jump.

“Admiral are you all right?” Lee inquired softly.

Harri looked at his captain for a second then blinked and rubbed his eyes.  He looked back down at his paper then smiled and chuckled.  “Sorry Lee, I was just struck by an idea and I guess I got carried away trying to get it down before it swam away.”

Lee smiled and blew out a quick sigh of relief.  “You had me worried there for a minute, you seemed to have drifted off into some other world. I guess I’ve never been around you when inspiration has struck,” he said with a chuckle and looked down at the paper.  “What is it you’ve hit on sir?”

“Oh just a wild idea, I’ve got to sit down and play with it some more before I want to share it with you.  Some of these little bits of lightening turn out to be more than a tad crazy and I don’t want you padding the walls in my cabin and taking away sharp objects worried about my sanity; at least not right now.”

Lee smiled and nodded.  “Aye sir.”  He glanced quickly out the window and then down at his chart.  “Helm all stop, we’re here,” he ordered.

“All stop, aye,” the helmsman confirmed.

“Kowalski, anything in the neighborhood of interest?” Lee inquired as he moved next to the sonar man.

“The scope is clear Skipper, there’s nothing out there above or below the water,” Ski10 replied looking over at his CO as he pushed the headset harder over his ears straining for even the hint of a sound.

“Good to hear.  If that changes, sing out immediately.  I guess it’s time to get ready,” Lee said looking at both Harri and Chip.  “It’s about 6 hours until sundown that should be more than enough time to make ready and make my entrance.  Mr. Morton you have the con.”

“Aye sir, I have the con.  You need anything from us right now?” Chip inquired.

“No, not at the moment but I’ll let you know when I do,” Lee replied then started making his way to the stairs.

“I’ll come with you lad and go over the modifications I’ve made to that one ‘sensor’,” Harri added as he fell in behind Lee.

“Thank you sir, I appreciate that.”  Both men headed up the stairs to Lee’s cabin.

“I’m going down to the lab to collect your gear, lad.  I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Harri said as he continued down the passageway past Lee’s quarters.

“Fine, sir.  I’ll be double checking my gear and packing it for transit.”

  (olooo<

Once in his cabin, Lee quickly peeled off his clothes and pulled on his swimming trunks and sweats.  He next pulled out his water tight backpack and began placing his equipment inside.  He stuffed in his boots, a pair of black jeans, a black turtle neck, his gun and several clips of ammunition, the sample case for the virus or vaccine, and the detection gear for once he was on the island.  He had just enough room left for the explosive once the admiral had treated it with his special compound.

He moved to his desk and pulled out the map and satellite photos of the island and familiarized himself with the terrain and his entry and exits points once again.  The only thing in his favor was that the island was relatively small and he would be able to move quickly from one location to the next barring any injuries he might pick up.  He pictured in his mind how he would make his way to shore and the perilous climb up the rough cliff face of volcanic rock.  He wouldn’t lack for hand holds but by the same token the rock would be sharp and unforgiving and could easily rip him up if he wasn’t careful.

As he continued his mental exercise he was drawn out of his reverie by a knock at the door.  “Come.”  The door quickly swung open and Nelson entered carrying a flask of his compound along with a pot of coffee.  The aroma from the pot wafted seductively across the cabin and Lee nearly began salivating at the very hint of his favorite brew.

“Thought you might appreciate a little coffee to aid in your preparation,” Nelson said as he raised the pot towards Lee.  Lee’s broad smile and look of anticipation was all he needed to start laughing.  “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Oh god, YES!” Lee replied as he quickly pulled open a desk drawer, took out two coffee mugs and placed them on the desk top.  Harri moved to the desk and poured the brew into each cup.  Lee immediately snatched one up and deeply inhaled the alluring aroma, then took a hearty swig of the piping hot brew.  “Pure ambrosia,” he purred as the coffee settled in his stomach and began infusing its restorative properties throughout his system. He took another deep draught.  “I have so missed you,” he whispered to the cup.

Harri chuckled again.  “Should I leave you and the pot alone for a few moments?”

Lee looked back at the admiral and smiled sheepishly at his reaction.  “Maybe Jamie’s right, I am too addicted to this stuff.  But you know what, I don’t care,” he replied as he polished off the rest of the cup.

Harri laughed as he picked up his cup and took a deep drink.  “I heartily concur, lad.  I’ve missed my dark friend just as much.”  He refilled Lee’s cup then placed the pot on the desk and walked over to the captain’s bunk and picked up the two bricks of explosive resting there.  He moved back to the desk and placed them on the far corner.

Next he pulled out a small brush from his pocket, uncorked the flask he had brought and dipped the brush inside loading it with the fluorescent green liquid.  He then proceeded to paint the tops of the bricks until they were completely covered with the compound and nearly glowed.  He blew gently across the painted surface of each hurrying along the drying process.

“There, you’ve now got an extra 10 minutes to get yourself out of Gamma’s complex and across the island.  If you can’t afford that luxury, just apply the gel to the other side of the bricks and you’re back to the designed reaction rate,” Harri stated as he placed the bricks back on the desk.

“Thank you sir, I appreciate every advantage you can give me.  How long for the compound to dry?”

“It should be dry now,” Harri answered.

Lee tapped the tops of the bricks and found them dry to the touch.  He picked them up and carefully nestled them down into his pack making very sure the gel was kept safely separate to avoid any accidental contact should the tube get smashed.  He then forced the air out of the sack and sealed it, ready for his swim.

“All packed I see,” Harri commented.

“Yes sir.  As soon as it’s almost dark I’ll be on my way.  I just need to go down to the missile room and check out the sea scooter to ensure its operating properly.”

“Chip’s already taken care of that.  I ran into Kowalski on my way back from the lab, he had been dispatched to make ready for you departure.  Chip’s cleared the missile room so that there won’t be any unwanted eyes watching your preparation.  I’ve also increased power to the radio jamming device to make sure nothing makes it off this boat.”

Lee smiled, greatly appreciating the steps his friends had taken to ensure his mission at least started without any problems.  “It should be dusk in an hour, so what say we have another cup of coffee and actually savor it this time?”

Harri chuckled and nodded his agreement.  He poured them each another cup of the dark and dangerous brew then they both sat down and relaxed enjoying the last few minutes of quiet time before things shifted into motion.  Conversation focused on Lee’s restoration project as they each deliberately stayed away from what was about to happen.

  (olooo<

Reaching the galley he was immediately met by the aroma of fresh brewed coffee.  He made his way quickly over to the coffee urn and poured himself a piping hot cup of Joe.  He inhaled the delightful scent then tentatively took a sip careful not to burn his tongue.  A satisfied ‘ahhhh’ escaped as his body reacted to the dose of the long missed caffeine.  As he looked around the room he found more men there than usual for that time of day, all of whom were likewise enjoying the coffee.

He claimed a seat by himself across the room and continued sipping on his drink.  As he consumed the beverage the captain’s announcement at the start of the mission finally sprang to mind.  The coffee would only be made available while they were on-station carrying out their mission.  He cursed himself for not remembering that and reacting when he noticed the drop in speed and the shallowing of the boat.  A wave of panic surged over him as he realized he needed to find out where they were and report to Gamma immediately.

It had been made abundantly clear to all on board that unless they were assigned to control room duty they were not welcome in the con or the nose.  As he headed out he had noticed Curly clearing men out of the missile room ensuring that nobody but select individuals would know what was going on inside.  He ground his teeth in frustration and anger at the slight.  He normally would have been included in that select group but had yet to identify why he was being excluded from these activities.  They couldn’t suspect him of anything, he was sure of that.

Fearing Gamma far more than even discovery on Seaview, he gulped down the rest of his coffee, made a quick exit from the galley and headed for one of the larger storage bays.  He would be able to get into an air vent and make his way to the missile room to monitor what was going on, then report back to Gamma.

  (olooo<

Entering the missile room, Lee and Harri found Chip, Curly and Ski waiting for them, ready to help the captain on his way.  Ski had already loaded the sea scooter into the escape chamber and quickly collected the skipper’s bag and attached it to the scooter while Lee began donning a black wet suit.

Chip stood at Lee’s side helping him put on the jacket and zipping in shut.  He then picked up the mask and snorkel, and his fins and passed them to him as he rose from the dive bench.  “Ya know Lee it’s still not too late to add a dive buddy,” Chip offered.

Lee just smiled and patted him heartily on the shoulder appreciating the sincere offer of assistance and back up.  “Once I’m out, make your way out to deeper water.  There’s no knowing what if anything Gamma has staged around this location.  Keep Seaview safe at all costs,” he ordered.  “Once I’ve completed my tasks and I’m on my way out I’ll give you a call to bring the boat around.”

“We’ll have our ears open Skipper, and will be there when you’re ready,” Chip answered.

Lee pulled the hood over his head then placed the mask on his face and entered the escape chamber.  He gave them a thumbs up indicating he was ready to go and began hyperventilating so he’d have sufficient air to make to the surface.

“Good luck son,” Harri said then pushed the chamber door shut and sealed it.  He nodded to Curly to begin flooding the chamber and watched the indicator light switch from green to red.

As the dive chamber flooded Lee grabbed a deep breath as the water covered him and the hatch at the top slid open giving him access to the ocean.  He pushed off hard from the deck and quickly began his ascent to the surface and a breath of fresh air.  Once clear of the boat, he pulled the sea scooter up in front of him, flicked the switch and the small device kicked on and propelled him even faster to the top.

Once on the surface Lee quickly established his bearings and conducted a 360 degree scan of the area making sure there was nothing around.  The air and water was warm, and he almost wished he hadn’t bothered with the wet suit, but knew it would protect him as he brushed past the coral and volcanic rock outcrops that lay between him and the beach.  Satisfied that he was safe for the moment, he placed the snorkel in him mouth, cleared it and then began the long swim to shore. 

(olooo<

Having watched the activities in the missile room he was certain that Crane was making an attempt to access some island target as part of his ONI duties.  He still had no idea of their exact location but he could guess and would fire off his message now that they were near the surface, and hope that Gamma would be able to triangulate on them.

As he finished keying in his message, he hit transmit and was shocked to see both Morton and Nelson react to something in their pockets.  They both rapidly pulled out small devices and scrutinized them closely.  After a moment they began turning slowly in a circle seemingly trying to home in on something.  It suddenly dawned on him what those devices were and what they were looking for.  He quickly shut off his transmitter and watched in horror as they began closing in on the vent shaft.

He immediately turned around and began crawling quietly back to the store room to avoid detection and capture.  Quickly making his way to the open grate, he dropped down into the room, shut the grate and scanned the room for an appropriate place to hide his transmitter.  He spotted an opened drum of solvent in one corner.  He quickly unscrewed the plug and shoved the small device through the bung hole into the drum and resealed it.

He walked over to the door, cracked it open and scanned the passageway for anyone in the area.  Finding no one, he exited the store room and made his way quickly back to his quarters, hopefully avoiding the admiral and exec on the way.  Opening the door to his cabin he was thrilled to see that none of his cabin mates were there.  He grabbed a manual from his locker then flopped down on his bunk so it would appear as though he’d been there for some time.

Moments later there was a knock at his door and before he could beckon anyone in, the door was opened and Morton and Nelson stepped in.  He sprung immediately to his feet as the difference in position and rank dictated.  “Admiral, sir.  Is there something I can help you with?”

Nelson and Morton scrutinized him closely.  “How long have you been here?” Morton asked.

“Uh, about a half hour or so, why?”

“Can anyone vouch for that?” Nelson inquired.

“No sir, it’s been just me and my book.  May I ask why, sir?” he said somewhat snidely.

“There have been some unauthorized transmissions from this boat and we are investigating everyone,” Nelson replied evenly.

“You can’t think it was me sir?” he replied in feigned innocence.

“As the admiral said, we are checking out everyone,” Morton replied, a tinge of disbelief in his story was evident in his voice.

“As I said sir, I’ve been here the last half hour.  You’re more than welcome to search the cabin.”

“No that won’t be necessary,” Nelson said.  “Come along Chip, let’s continue our search.”

Nelson and Morton exited the cabin and as the door clicked shut he let loose a relieved sigh and collapsed on his bunk.  He could feel the sweat running down his neck and the sides of his face and he quickly wiped it off as he brought his breathing and heartrate back to normal.  He’d dodged that bullet.

(olooo<

Harri and Chip continued down the passageway to the admiral’s cabin.  They entered and Nelson indicated that Chip should take a seat.  “Do you believe him, sir?” Chip asked as he sat down.

“No, do you?”

“No.  There’s no doubt in my mind he’s our mole.  Did you see the sweat rolling down his left temple?”

“Yes, I noticed that as well, not something you’d expect from a man reading his manual for the last 30 minutes.  At least we know nothing was transmitted off the boat so Lee’s presence, unless detected by some other means, should still be a surprise,” Harri replied as he pushed a hand through his hair.

“So what do you want to do now, sir?”

“Without the transmitter we have no proof, and I can’t believe he’d be dumb enough to keep it in his cabin.  He knows we suspect him so there won’t be any further transmissions.  I think we need to keep an eye on him and keep him away from critical areas until we can remove him from the boat, permanently.”

“Can’t we do that now?” Chip responded, a devious glint in his eye.

Harri gave a quick snort of laughter in response to the exec’s question.  “Much as I’d love to, no, not without proof.  I wish we had the means to get him off the boat immediately but since the tubes are out and stranding is also frowned upon, we’re stuck with him. Once we get back we’ll release him to the Navy along with our suspicions and see how things go from there.  With those kind of questions regarding his loyalties and character he won’t be long for the service.”

Chip nodded in agreement.  “Once we get back to port, I’ll have the boat checked from top to bottom for the transmitter.  I’m certain he’s stashed it somewhere.”

(olooo<

As Lee neared the beach he was once again grateful for the sea scooter.  Even with calm seas and the little engine pulling him to shore he was feeling the six mile transit.  His arms were tiring and his hands had started to cramp from holding on to the handles for so long.  Getting closer to shore, the water shallowed rapidly leaving him a good quarter mile offshore that he would have to cover on his belly without the aid of his scooter.

Once it was too shallow to use the scooter, he flipped open the service port and let the sea water rush in sending the scooter to the bottom.  He then began paddling and pulling himself through the shallow water until it was no longer possible to do that.  He removed his fins, attached them to his backpack then cautiously stood up and scoped out the beach, cliff, and headlands ahead of him.  Not seeing any obvious signs of monitoring he made a mad dash across the open expanse to the beach and the cliff face ahead.

Finding a large boulder that provided sufficient cover, he pulled off his pack and immediately began stripping off his wetsuit.  He then opened his pack and pulled out his clothing and quickly donned them and shoved his fins, mask and suit back in the bag for use on his trip out.  He removed the gun from his pack and placed it into the small holster attached to the back of his belt.  He then collected the loaded ammo clips and tucked them into his pockets for easy access.  He next rooted through the bag and pulled out what looked like a pair of sunglasses which he placed on his face and flipped the small switch in the bow activating the night vision feature.

He did a quick police of the area around him ensuring that everything he needed to carry out his mission was either on him or in his pack.  He then glanced up the cliff face selecting the best route to get him to the top and began the long and dangerous climb.  Ninety minutes later he found himself at the cliff edge drenched in sweat and fighting hard to control his breathing.  He cautiously poked his head above the edge and scanned the area around him.

As he panned the flat plateau on top of the cliff he immediately spotted the stone temple.  He found it interesting that there didn’t appear to be any guards around the structure.  He next flipped the switch on the bow of the glasses in the opposite direction and the view through the lenses shifted to infrared allowing him to see heat signatures of anything moving around and invisible light beams for any alarms.

Again he was surprised at not finding anything laid out across the ground, but as he was prepared to climb up onto the cliff top he was momentarily startled when a large pig ambled across.  It was immediately obvious why there were no grids covering the ground; they would constantly be responding to and resetting their alarms as the other denizens of the island traipsed through.  As he looked higher he noticed a crisscross of beams about 4 feet above the ground.  Lee smiled to himself as he now had confirmation their intel was correct. Once the pig had trotted across the clearing, Lee pulled himself up and made a dash for the temple keeping low to avoid setting anything off.

As he neared the structure he rapidly scanned the steps and the floor inside for signs of trip lights.  He spotted nothing obvious and figured they kept the same pattern used on the plateau as pigs were curious creatures and no doubt checked out the structure from time to time.  He quickly mounted the steps and began his inspection of the temple in earnest.

The outer structure was made of bricks hewn from native stone.  The entire temple was maybe 30 feet square with lighted lanterns positioned at each corner.  Inside there were no adornments or other remarkable features one might find in a religious temple aside from a square shaped 10 foot by 10 foot pillar located in the center of the room.  He made a quick circuit around it looking for any signs of an entryway.  The four faces of the structure were smooth with no obvious doors.  As he increased his scrutiny he noticed that one side did not seem to be flush with the other.  He placed his hand tentatively on the corner seam and felt the slight gap.  Going on a hunch he pressed it lightly and the mechanism holding the panel in place released allowing it to jut out even further.

Lee gently eased the panel open and was rewarded with the sight of an elevator door.  The controls summoning the car were electronic so no hope in just pushing the button.  He scanned the door and didn’t spot anything in the way of electronic detection equipment, but that didn’t rule out anything on the doors themselves. 

He mulled over the situation momentarily and considered what intel he’d gained in his journey thus far.  Like during their mad dash to the Arctic, he got the distinct impression that Gamma was once again letting his arrogance and ego make critical security decisions and was woefully underestimating the adversaries he had chosen. Taking a chance on being right, Lee placed his hands on the elevator door and easily pried it open to find a shaft descending deep into the island. 

He quickly scanned the inside of the shaft looking for sensors and infrared beams that would signal passage of the elevator or movement of intruders and once again found nothing.  Lee gave a quick grin then reached in, grabbed the elevator cables and jumped on.  As he waited for the sound of alarms or movement of the car, the door slid quietly shut leaving him in absolute darkness.  He once again flipped the switch on his glasses returning to night vision mode which allowed him a limited view of things below.  Best he could tell there were no other doors to the shaft but he couldn’t see all the way to the bottom so there could be access points much lower.  He returned the glasses to infrared again then slowly began sliding down the cables to find the car and hopefully a way in.

The shaft seemed to drop away forever.  He periodically stopped and shifted the view from his glasses to assess his position.  After nearly twenty minutes he finally spotted the first door in his descent.  He regarded the door and debated whether to try and gain access there or continue down until he found the car.  The decision was made for him when he felt the cables move as someone entered the car below him and began ascending.  He cautiously waited for the car to rise and as it reached his position it slowed and stopped.  He carefully eased his way down the cable and stepped silently onto the roof.

He listened intently to the muffled conversation he heard going on inside.  Apparently this level of the complex housed the living quarters so odds of the contagion being stored there were small.  He noted that the occupants of the car made no mention of any alerts being sounded or security searches for intruders.  He sighed quietly at thus far having made it in unobserved.  After a few minutes the occupants returned to the car and headed back down the shaft.

As the car descended he saw no more doors before the car came to a halt and the occupants once more disembarked.  Lee waited several minutes making sure no one else would be using the elevator.  Feeling it was safe, he pulled open the trap door and peeked in sizing up the inside and looking for any cameras or other monitoring equipment.  The car was immense and no doubt designed as a freight elevator. He immediately regarded the control panel and noted that he was now on lowest floor serviced by this car.  Seeing no obvious signs of monitoring, he gently eased his way into the car and dropped lightly to the floor again waiting for alarms to sound, which did not come.

Taking a huge breath and pulling his gun from the holster, he pushed the button signaling the door to open.  As11 the door slid to the side, he stepped out into a long tunnel.  The walls and ceiling had been completely encased in concrete with single overhead lights positioned at 25 foot intervals along the length of the tunnel.  The floor had about an 8 foot wide path made of what looked like asphalt with a 3 inch wide stripe on each edge and a shoulder on each side of the path consisting of crushed volcanic rock.  This had to be a major conduit for moving equipment about in Gamma’s complex.

No longer needing night vision, he took one last scan with the infrared and found no light beams to be tripped.  He removed the glasses and tucked them into his pack then cautiously began making his way down the tunnel.  The tunnel ran at least 300 yards but had no additional doors aside from the elevator and the one at the other end.  He quickened his pace and was soon standing in front of a large polished stainless steel door.  Now things would get really interesting.

(olooo<

Lee eased the door open and took a quick look inside.  The door hid a large room with several smaller doors along the wall on the left.  He scanned the space looking for any cameras and finally spotted one that panned slowly across the room.  He timed the sweep of the lens and then entered keeping out of the camera’s range. 

Now in a better position he could readily read the labels on the doors.  From left to right the door plaques read: Lab, Storage, Control Room and most disturbingly, Missile Room.  Sent to obtain the contagion and/or the vaccine, his first choice was obvious.  Lee moved quickly to the Lab door, turned the knob and eased the door open.  He was greeted by the sight of a locker room outfitted with small lockers, benches, and a rack holding fully encapsulating work suits for lab operations.

He spied no one inside and entered.  He walked across the room and selected the largest work suit there. It was so big he was able to wear his backpack inside it with him.  As he zipped up the suit and was pulling the hood into position the outer door opened and another man stepped in.  He barely regarded Lee and just nodded his acknowledgement.  Lee returned the gesture and pretended to fiddle with his suit until the other man was ready and made his way to the door marked Clean Room. 

Lee quickly followed after and the man held the door open waiting for Lee.  “You’re new here, aren’t you?” he inquired.

“Yes,” Lee replied choosing not to offer any more information than necessary.

“Thought so, though I usually work the day shift and rarely get a glimpse of you guys on the graveyard shift.”

“Yeah, now that you mention it, that’s true.” Lee offered.

As they reached the center of the room there were a number of footprints painted on the floor.  The man walked over to a set, stepped on them and raised his hands over his head.  Following his lead, Lee copied his actions and assumed the same position.  Seconds later a bright white light flared to life and bathed them from all angles, killing any stray bacteria or other organisms before they could contaminate the lab.

Once the process was complete, the door at the opposite end of the room slid open revealing a state of the art lab.  There were only a couple of people inside, both totally engrossed in what they were doing and they paid no attention to the new additions.  Watching the man he had entered with walk to one of the stations, Lee moved in the opposite direction to a station furthest from the rest of the room’s occupants.  He surreptitiously scoped out the room and spotted another door across the lab labeled as Cold Room.

Lee marveled at the fact that no one was the least bit interested in anyone else.  There were no conversations, no interaction what so ever.  Gamma had probably created a work environment that dissuaded collaboration and kept his minions focused on their unique piece of the puzzle.  Taking a chance that no one would challenge him if he chose to enter the Cold Room, Lee strode purposely across the room and pulled open the door.  As expected no one even appeared to look up.

He entered the room and pulled the door shut behind him.  He was amazed at what he found.  As advertised the room was cold, probably around 38 degrees.  Along either side were niches dug into the rock and each one contained small vials stacked in racks. ‘Bingo’, Lee thought to himself.  He quickly unzipped his suit, removed his backpack and pulled out the sample case.  He selected vials from 4 different niches and then noticed the sealed niche at the far end of the room that was labelled Vaccine.

This one was different and warranted much closer scrutiny before he made a move to grab anything.  He reached back into his pack and pulled out another device and flipped it on.  It immediately began to hum softly as it scanned the area where Lee aimed it.  Indicator lights illuminated at once indicating that there were security fields in place protecting this particular niche.

Lee frowned a bit then returned the device to his pack and pulled out yet another one.  This one was designed to momentarily disrupt a large number of electronic security systems allowing an agent to quickly access whatever was behind the protection.  He pulled out the two probes from the unit and gently affixed them to the front of the glass.  The device immediately lit up and cycled through a series of lights until finally all indicators turned green indicating the fields were temporarily disarmed.

Lee wasted no time prying open the small glass door and removing two of the vials inside.  He quickly secured the door, placed the vials in his case then shut and locked it.  Just as he was finished the lights on the device flashed yellow, then red indicating the security systems were once again active.  He snipped the wires from the probe so as not to jostle the glass any more than he already had.  He replaced the probe and his case of vaccine and contagion in his pack, then pulled out a brick of explosive and the initiator. 

He had a bad feeling about the room labeled Missile Room and decided to save the rest of his explosives to make sure whatever was in there went up with the rest of the complex.  He took out his knife and cut the brick in half then squirted out enough of the gel to cover the painted half, slapped them together and hid the brick behind one of the vial racks in a niche furthest from the door.  He then pulled the pack back onto his back and zipped his suit shut.  The clock was now running and he had to finish up quickly.

He made his way back to the door into the lab and casually pulled it open.  The two workers present when he first arrived were now gone and the man he had entered with was still busily working at his station.  Lee nodded to him as he looked up and made his way back to the Clean Room.  He went through the cleansing process and moved into the locker room and gratefully found it empty.  He quickly ditched his suit and exited the lab to go check on the Missile Room.

(olooo<

Lee entered the main room and walked over to the door marked Missile Room and carefully pulled it open.  He was greeted with another tunnel similar to the one he’d found leading from the elevator but this one was much shorter.  In addition to a large door at the opposite end of the tunnel, there were two others, one on each side of the tunnel.  He moved rapidly down the hallway to the main door and cracked it open to garner a look at what it concealed.

What he saw made his heart nearly stop.  So this was how Gamma intended to infect the world.  In the center of a cavernous room were at least 20 intercontinental ballistic missiles staged and ready for launch.  At the top of the room was a retractable door to hide his activities from prying eyes but would allow a ready launch pad when he was ready.   Gamma had to be an aficionado of the works of Ian Fleming; what he lacked in originality he made up for with pure wealth and ravenous aspirations.

As Lee regarded the view below he noticed that the payload capsules on a couple of the missiles were still open and he saw hundreds of vials like the type he’d collected in the lab lining the inside of the cones.  It was quite obvious Gamma intended to launch those missiles at his various targets and when they arrived eject the contents to fall to the ground and disperse amongst the populace.

He gently shut the door, closed his eyes and quietly cursed.  “Bastard!”  Given the number of people on the missile room floor and those working on the capsules, there was no way he could directly sabotage those weapons of death.  Trying hard to think of another means of preventing their launch, he moved to the door to his right and peeked in.  He was rewarded beyond his wildest dreams.  Inside was yet another large room, but this one contained huge storage tanks containing the liquid oxygen and propellant used to fuel those birds for launch.

Lee smiled evilly and pulled the pack off his back once more.  He removed the second brick of explosive and cut it in half.  Next he made his way cautiously down the stairs from the platform his was on, to the base of one of the large tanks several stories below.  He uncapped the gel, but this time applied it to the untreated side.  He couldn’t risk even one of those rockets making it out of Gamma’s facility.  He slapped the two halves together, stuck them to the base of the LOX tank, then beat a hasty retreat up the stairs.

He once again cracked the door and peeked out into the hallway.  Spying no one in the hall he eased his way back out and began retracing his steps to the elevator and freedom.  He had little time to spare so he moved without worrying about who might see him slinking about.  He ran back through the large room off the main tunnel then out the door.  He entered the main tunnel and walked quickly down the path.  About halfway to the elevator his luck ran out.  He heard “Hey! Halt!” yelled at him from behind.  Lee broke into a dead run aiming for the elevator at the other end of the hall.

Whatever deities look after submarine captains and ONI agents smiled on him that moment because as he reached the elevator door, it slowly slid open and two workers stepped out.  Lee bolted in behind them and repeatedly pushed the close door button and the top floor button.  He quickly tucked into one corner of the car as bullets pinged off the walls and the slowly closing door.  The elevator rose rapidly up to the top.  He just hoped that there would be enough time to reach the top and the outside door before someone stopped its ascent and recalled the car to the lower level.

As the car ascended, Lee jumped up and knocked open the trap door in the roof.  If this thing suddenly stopped, he wanted a ready escape route.  His luck seemed to hold as the car pulled to a gentle halt and the door slid open revealing the concealing panel in the temple.  He quickly pushed against the panel and is swung open.  He stepped out just as the elevator doors began to close, sending the car back down to Gamma’s troops below. 

Lee pulled his weapon out of his holster and cautiously eased forward to the front of the temple.  Working12 his way to the entrance, he was greeted by the first rays of morning light as the sun began its journey across the sky. The lanterns on the corners of the building were still lit as if reluctant to cede to the dawning day.  If he weren’t in need of an immediate departure he would have loved to stay and appreciate the play of color and light across the water, land and sky as the dawn unfolded.  At least he’d be able to see where he was going.

Spying no one in the vicinity, Lee jumped down from the temple and sprinted across the open area around the temple to the brush and jungle surrounding the plain.  He now had to make it across the island and hopefully to the water before his explosives detonated.  As he ran he pulled the small radio from his back pocket and made his call.

“Owl, this is pussycat.  Repeat Owl this is pussycat,” Lee signaled as he ran down the slope.

The response to his hail was immediate.  “Pussycat this is Owl, go ahead.”

“Satisfied curiosity, delivered my gift, and heading home.  Need to sail out to sea, reaction to gift will be much larger than expected, in approximately 10 minutes.  Boat in danger.  Will call when everything settles down.”

“Negative Pussycat, will be waiting with a candle in the window for you,” replied Nelson.

“Negative Owl, boat in danger.  Go far, go deep.  Pussycat, out!” Lee responded and severed the connection before Harri could try and talk him into a compromise.  Once the explosives detonated on those tanks of liquid oxygen and rocket propellant this whole island would most likely be consumed.  He was not about to risk his gray lady or his crew just to save his sorry hide.

(olooo<

“What the hell do you mean there’s an intruder in the complex?!” raged Gamma.

“A man was spotted running through the entrance gallery and down the tunnel to the elevator, sir.  I’ve already dispatched men to hunt him down,” the security chief replied as he cringed in fear of his life.

“How did he get in here?  Why was he not detected?” Gamma demanded.

“Unknown sir.  I’ve got people scanning all our security systems to determine that.”

“Get teams into every room of this complex.  I want all critical areas checked first for anything out of the ordinary.”

“Yes sir,” the chief replied then executed a quick about face and ran out of the room to carry out his orders thrilled to still be alive.

Gamma snatched up his phone and dialed the control room.  “Germaine, here,” said the voice at the other end.

“Germaine, accelerate all systems.  Be prepared to launch all missiles immediately.”

“Immediately, sir?  Aren’t we at least 20 hours from when the ransom is due to be paid?” Germaine inquired.

“There has been a breach in security.  I’m taking no chances that whoever got in hasn’t already managed to sabotage this undertaking.  How long until you can launch?”  Gamma asked.

Germaine quickly perused his status boards and documentation on the state of readiness.  “We can initiate countdown sequence in 15 minutes.  There are still a few payload capsules that have yet to be secured, before we can begin the startup and launch sequences.”

“Do it.  Shave as much time as possible off those sequences.  I want those missiles in flight in 10 minutes!”  Gamma ordered and slammed down the receiver.  He moved to his desk, activated his computer and pulled up the video footage showing the intruder.  As he focused in on the man dressed in black, he finally got a clear shot of his face.  He felt the blood in his veins run cold as he instantly recognized Nelson’s wonder boy Lee Crane.

He next pulled up his radio log looking for any communications from his man aboard Seaview.  There was a conspicuous lack of activity that he should have been more concerned about earlier.  His man either had second thoughts or been discovered; neither option was acceptable.  Either way he would have revenge for this betrayal, Bishop would rue the day he double crossed him.

He then accessed his email looking for a report on Seaview’s status from his contact in the Pentagon.  She had reported back insisting that the private submarine was not engaged in activities to locate his base.  Quite obviously they had assumed Gamma had moles in their organizations and had taken steps to limit who knew of Seaview’s whereabouts and activities. 

Gamma slammed his fist hard onto the desktop and cursed.  If Crane was already on his way out, then he had achieved his mission and had most likely planted a bomb of some sort to destroy his facility.  Gamma picked up the phone and ordered his helicopter made ready for immediate departure.  He was informed the chopper would be ready to fly in 15 minutes.

He moved to the safe, keyed in the combination and swung the door open.  He began grabbing critical documents and other items he deemed necessary.  Gamma shoved everything into his briefcase then made a hasty exit from his office heading for the elevator and the helipad.

(olooo<

“Damn him,” Nelson stormed as he heard Lee’s transmission cut off.  He knew Lee must have found something he hadn’t expected to direct them further offshore and deep.

“Admiral, request permission to take a zodiac to the pickup point to collect a stray cat,” Chip offered. 

Harri smiled at Chip’s request.  “As much as I would love to Chip, we’re going to follow Lee’s instructions.  Helm, hard a stern, emergency flank, full speed ahead, course 090.”  The helmsman quickly repeated the ordered course and speed then engaged all systems in moving Seaview as far away as possible.   He snatched up the mic.  “Chip sound general quarters.  Attention all hands rig for severe turbulence, repeat rig for severe turbulence.”  The klaxon sounded and the men immediately took actions to prepare for a good shake.  Again Nelson regretted not having a means of getting to shore and back again in short order as he left his captain and son to face what was to come with no hope of rescue.

Now at top speed, the water depth was increasing quickly and Nelson ordered the boat deeper as they increased their distance from the island.  As they reached 800 feet, the first explosion ripped through the island sending a turbulent flow of water in all directions.  Seaview pitched and rolled momentarily then returned to an even keel.  On the verge of ordering the boat to throttle back and decrease depth, the second explosion tore through the tanks in Gamma’s keep producing an earth shattering jolt that generated a monstrous concussive wave that radiated out in all directions. Seaview even at almost 1000 feet below the surface and nearly 10 miles offshore was immediately caught up in the wave and tossed mercilessly about like a child’s toy in a bath tub.

Although they were braced against the turbulence, they were soon shaken loose and slammed into the bulkheads and down onto the deck.  Alarms sounded as pipes broke, steam and water flooded various parts of the boat, and bulkheads threatened to buckle.  The maelstrom seemed to go forever as they were hit by successive waves.  As the last of the waves passed them, a collective groan sounded from both the men and Seaview as she settled heavily on the bottom.

(olooo<

Lee continued to run headlong through the dense jungle and brush that covered the small island.  Reaching the base of the hill, he was suddenly joined by a number of Gamma’s troops as they spilled out of a tunnel located near the base.  He immediately came under fire as the guards spotted him through the trees.  He began running evasively, zigging and zagging through the trees noting the bullets imbedding in the trees around him.

Spotting a large dead fall of trees before him, Lee dove over the barrier thankful for the moment of cover it provided.  He peered out around it and was able to pick off three of Gamma’s men.  He glanced down at his watch and knew he needed to get further from that complex as time was drawing short.  Having backed his pursuers off for the moment he climbed to his feet and headed down the trail.

His rapid departure was greeted by a hail of bullets and this time one found its mark sending him tumbling head over heels into the abandoned center of the village.  Lee gasped in pain as he reached down and grasped his calf feeling a deluge of blood flowing through his fingers.  Gritting his teeth, he pushed back to his feet and limped as quickly as he could towards an outcrop of rock running along one side of the village.  Given his leg could still bear weight, the bullet had missed both bones and with luck the major blood vessels. 

As he hobbled towards the outcrop, he realized it was the remains of a lava tube and ducked into the natural tunnel thankful for the cover it provided.  The13 tube had breached in a number of places over time and the villagers had used the structure to store food and other items of value in niches they had expanded in the natural voids created as the lava cooled.  Working his way down the covered stretch, Lee heard a scuffle in the sand ahead of him and saw the tip of a rifle barrel extend across the opening in the tube. 

Not giving the owner of the gun time to look inside, Lee moved as quickly as he could down the passageway then firmly grabbed the barrel and yanked the surprised possessor off his feet and into the tunnel.  He administered a couple of quick punches leaving the man unconscious.  He then picked up the rifle and crept down the next segment of tunnel and hopefully to his way out of the village.

Before bolting across the open space between the last segment of tube and the foliage ahead, Lee rapidly scanned the clearing and spotted one more guard poking around the abandoned huts.  As he entered one, Lee scampered across the open ground and continued his flight to the sea.  Running down the overgrown trail, the ground began to slope down drastically as it dropped towards the ocean.  Lee slowed, leaning heavily on the rifle and snagged a look at his watch at which point the first of his charges exploded, shaking the ground violently and sending him tumbling down the slope.

He pinged and caromed off the rocks and trees lining the trail adding layers of bruises and cuts to go with his gunshot wound.  Finally able to gain control, Lee pulled to a stop and painfully pushed up to a seated position.  His arms, legs and ribs complained loudly about the recent treatment they had endured.  Not wanting to be any closer to Gamma’s complex for the next explosion, he forced himself back up to his feet and began hobbling as fast as he could down the slope to the beach ahead.

Reaching the water’s edge the second of his explosions let go resulting in an even more violent shaking of the ground.  Lee was flung back into the ocean as a huge column of fire erupted from the missile room, shooting a mushroom shaped cloud thousands of feet up into the air.  Lee screamed in pain as the salt water invaded his wounds and he curled into a ball clutching his left calf.  As the pain subsided somewhat, Lee’s attention was drawn back to the complex as the island once again began to shake and lava and ash began to spew out of the crater his explosives had created.

Knowing he needed to get off the island if he wanted any chance at survival, Lee sat up and pulled the pack off of his back.  He fished through the contents throwing unneeded equipment off to the side as he dug down to his mask and fins.  Having no time to don a wet suit he pulled it out and added it to the discard pile.

He quickly unlaced his boots and kicked them off.  Removing the left proved to be a particularly painful exercise as his leg cramped and throbbed as he worked the boot off.  He then pulled on his fins and placed the mask on the top of his head.  He sealed up the waterproof bag now only containing his sample case, gun, and a hefty amount of air to keep him afloat once he made it beyond the shallow lagoon.

Summoning up the last of his energy he pulled the mask over his face, stuck the snorkel in his mouth, rolled over on his belly, pushed up to his knees and began crawling back out to sea.  The bottom was made up of a painful mix of sand, broken coral and lava rock which tore through his jeans and ripped up his hands and knees.   Thankfully the bottom sloped away fairly rapidly and he was soon in water deep enough to float and began trying to make his way past the barrier reef out to open water and hopefully rescue. 

After making it out a couple hundred yards he hazarded a glance back over his shoulder at what he had caused.  The island he had first landed on no longer existed.  The trees had all been flattened from the multiple explosions and quakes, the dark green canopy was gone, replaced by a dull gray landscape created from the smoke and ash and the ash, lava and debris rained down upon the surrounding area.  The only color remaining was the red magma that spewed into the atmosphere and oozed out of the hill top and old lava tubes consuming everything in its path.  There was zero chance anything had survived including Gamma’s virus and hopefully Gamma.

Completely exhausted, Lee rolled back over and half-heartedly paddled with one leg out into the ocean.  Clearing the last barrier, he lost his battle to remain conscious and floated limply on the surface of the ocean like the rest of the detritus and debris from what was Drambezi.

(olooo<

Gamma tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the elevator to reach the residential level so he could exit and climb aboard his helicopter.  As the car rose everything suddenly began to shake violently as an explosion tore through the complex.  The elevator lurched to a halt throwing him roughly to the floor and knocking the wind out of him.  The lights in the car winked out and he was cast into complete darkness.

He struggled hard to tamp down the fear that was consuming him.  He felt as though he had been buried alive and was on the verge of total panic.  Gamma rose unsteadily to his feet then struck out his hands trying to find the elevator control panel.  Finally locating it, he began to pound on the button hoping to stir the car back into motion.  More than a little surprised, the backup power supply kicked in and the car began to slowly inch its way upwards and after five minutes the door began to open on the desired floor.

Gamma immediately jammed his hands into the gap between the door and the car wall and yanked violently trying to pull the door open wide enough to escape.  Finally getting the gap he needed, he recovered his briefcase then bolted down the hallway to the helipad and escape.

As he exited the complex he spotted the helicopter and felt a sudden rush of relief as he realized the rotors were turning and the pilot was rapidly working through the switches preparing for lift off.  He scampered across the open ground to the aircraft and quickly climbed inside.  “GO! GO! GO!” he screamed at the pilot.  The man nodded his head and increased the rotor speed in preparation for lift off.  Just as the skids lifted above the ground, a second explosion ripped through the complex sending a cascade of rock and other debris falling to the ground.  As one of the larger rocks made contact with the rotor, the blades shattered and the aircraft suddenly dropped and cartwheeled across the ground adding yet another fireball to the scene.

(olooo<

It was a beehive of activity as the crew of Seaview sprang into action controlling and repairing the damage the boat suffered in the aftermath of the explosions on Drambezi.  Damage control parties swarmed all over the boat shoring up weakened bulkheads, sealing leaks and returning air and power.  Given the violent shaking they had sustained, surprisingly few men had been injured beyond cuts, sprains and minor burns.  They had gotten off extremely lucky thanks to their captain’s warning.

After nearly 6 hours of constant effort, Chip finally gave the order to blow all tanks and begin the rise to the surface.  Seaview grudgingly lifted off from the bottom and slowly made her way up.  As the bow broke the surface Harri and Chip rushed to the nose to see what remained of Drambezi.  They were both shocked to see the plume of smoke rising up from the newly awakened volcano and the near constant rain of ash and debris that settled on the water.

“Oh my god,” Harri remarked quietly as he sagged into the chair beside the table.  “Lee.”

Chip closed his eyes fighting hard to contain the tears that threatened to come.  He placed a hand over his mouth and just stared at the disaster before them.  If it hadn’t been for Lee’s orders to move the boat away and deep, they too would have been consumed in the violent explosions and rebirth of the volcano.

“Do you think he has a chance of surviving that?” Chip asked in a hushed voice.

“Doubtful,” Harri replied, as he rubbed a hand across the back of his neck.  Between the toxic fumes, lahar, and earthquakes anything would be hard pressed to survive.

“Should we risk a bit of recon on the off chance that he did?”

“I think we owe him that at the very least,” Harri replied his voice breaking slightly. 

Chip regarded the admiral, he looked suddenly old and very much defeated by the thought of losing his captain and ‘son’.  He was tempted to place a comforting hand on his shoulder but knew that would undo them both.  He turned and moved back to the conn.  “Mr. O’Brien, ahead slow.  Also get a crew on deck with lookouts scanning for any survivors.”

“Aye, sir,” Bobby replied and quickly passed the order to the helm and made the call over the intercom to get lookouts on deck.

“Come on Chip, let’s go topside for a look,” Nelson said quietly as he moved slowly towards the conning tower ladder.

“Right behind you, sir.”

(olooo<

Harri, Chip, and the five men of the deck crew scanned the surface of the ocean as Seaview crept closer to the island of Drambezi.  Their attention was drawn occasionally back to the island as salvos of lava and fire were shot high into the sky above the island followed immediately by waves of ash laden clouds that washed over the surface of the island and out to sea.

The ocean surface was littered with the remnants of what had called the island home.  There were trees, leaves, driftwood, and dead and dying animals that had been carried out to sea courtesy of the tsunami that had assaulted the shores following the earthquakes and eruption of the long dormant volcano.  As they moved forward, the debris and detritus parted on Seaview’s bow wave clearing a path as they scoured the surface for their captain.

Ski’s attention was suddenly drawn to port as he spotted three triangular dorsal fins circling about a large black shape.  He immediately recognized the signs of sharks moving in for an attack.  “Admiral, Mr. Morton, shark fins at 3 o’clock,” he called out drawing the other men’s attention. He focused in closer with his binoculars just in time to see the water begin to churn and turn red before the object was yanked roughly beneath the water.  His heart sank fearing the fish had just attacked the skipper, until parts of what had been attacked surface and turned out to be pig.

All who had observed the feeding frenzy let loose a sigh of relief.  They quickly returned to scanning the water for any sign of the captain.  There were more and more fins popping up all the time as the dinner bell had most definitely been rung.  As the number of sharks increased, their hopes of finding and getting Crane aboard before he could be torn apart plummeted.

After nearly an hour of scanning the ocean surface, Patterson called out.  “11 o’clock, one hundred yards!  I see the Skipper!”  All eyes turned in the direction indicated and there was no doubt the figure floating face down on the surface was Lee.

“Kowalski, Anderson, get out there but be careful of those sharks,” Morton ordered.  Hopes of finding the man alive had just been dashed, but at least they could bring him back to his boat one last time.

The two men moved immediately to the zodiac that had been stationed on the deck and shoved off, rowing for all they were worth.  They quickly made it to their skipper just as a large dorsal fin began bearing down on them, drawn by the activity.  Ski reached down and snagged the captain’s arm and wrestled him into the tiny boat as Anderson kept a wary eye on the huge shark that arrived on scene and was now circling their craft.  He reached out with his oar and popped it hard on the back, startling the large fish and sending it off in the opposite direction.

With the skipper now safely on board, Ski rolled him on his side.  He was deathly pale, and cold to the touch but still had the mask on his face and snorkel in his mouth.  Ski unsnapped the buckles on his backpack and removed it so he could place him on his back.  “Oh Skipper,” Ski said quietly as he took in the battered condition of his commanding officer.

He next slid the mask up onto Lee’s forehead and gently pulled the snorkel out of his mouth.  As the snorkel came free, Ski nearly jumped out of the boat as Lee suddenly sucked in a huge breath and began to cough.  “He’s alive!” Ski screamed across the water to Seaview.  “Get the doc topside now!”

Anderson, also initially stunned by the captain’s reaction, sprang into action and began rowing as though chased by the devil himself.  When the boat neared Seaview, Ski tossed Patterson a line and the little craft was pulled on deck where the entire deck crew along Jamieson and his corpsmen were standing by to bring the captain back aboard.

As Lee was gently lifted out of the boat and placed on a stretcher, Jamie jumped into action conducting his initial examination.  After gaging the captain’s vitals he placed an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth, and directed his corpsmen to get him strapped down and back to sick bay stat.

“Jamie?” Harri asked, a concerned yet hopeful look on his face.

“All I can tell you right now is that he’s alive, however that’s possible.  He’s been shot in the leg, has more cuts and bruises than I can count, and from the sound of it has aspirated quite a bit of water.  I’ll know more once I get him on the table.  I’ll give you a report after I’ve had time to fully evaluate him,” Jamieson replied then turned to follow his corpsmen.

Nelson and Morton let loose a relieved sigh as, for the moment, Lee had yet again dodged the reaper.  They all just shook their heads in amazement at the man’s ability to survive where no others could.

“Admiral, this was strapped to the skipper’s back.  Since he had it on him, I’m assuming it’s pretty important,” Ski interjected as he handed over the backpack.

Harri accepted the pack, and examined it closely.  It was still inflated with air and had served as a flotation device keeping Lee from sinking to the bottom, so it was airtight containing whatever contagion might be inside.  Not thrilled at the idea of that not totally being the case, he wanted to take precautions before bringing the pack aboard and potentially exposing them all to the virus Gamma threatened to let loose on the world.

“Patterson, head down to my lab and get me a containment bag,” Nelson ordered.

“Aye, sir,” Patterson replied and headed off to collect the requested item.

“So do you think he got what he was sent to collect?” Chip asked quietly.

“I hope so,” Harri replied, as he gently shook the bag trying to gage what might be inside.  They heard the items inside clink against each other.  “He’s got something more than air in there.”

Patterson returned shortly with the bag and Chip took it from him and opened it wide so Nelson could slip Lee’s backpack inside.  Once it rested inside, Chip pulled shut the zipper sealing the contents and handed it to Nelson.  “All right, let’s get this stowed safely away and then we can go check on Lee,” Harri said as he turned and walked towards the sail hatch.

(olooo<

Having given Jamieson nearly two hours in which to evaluate and treat Lee, Harri finally gave into his concern and made his way to sick bay.  As he entered he didn’t see Jamie, but heard running water in the head.  He noticed Lee had already been placed in a bunk and was attached to an IV and an oxygen mask.  He walked across the room and looked down at the unconscious man.  He looked better than when they’d fished him out of the ocean and the fact he was in a bunk already meant his injuries didn’t require extensive surgery to repair. 

As he continued to regard his captain, Jamie exited the head and walked up behind Nelson.  “I’m surprised it took you so long to get down here,” Jamie joked.

Harri turned around and gave him a sheepish grin.  “Well, I had to take care of Lee’s package, plus I wanted to give you a little time to take care of Captain Chaos.  How is he?”

Jamie laughed.  “Surprisingly his injuries are relatively minor.  He took a bullet to the left calf which amazingly missed the bones and major blood vessels; the leg wound was already showing signs of infection so I’ve got him on antibiotics for that.  He’s also got a couple of cracked ribs, deep bruising to his lower back and thighs, more cuts and scrapes than I cared to count, and he aspirated quite a bit of water during his time afloat.  For the most part he got off lucky.”

Harri nodded as he listened to Lee’s litany of injuries.  “I’m sensing there’s a ‘but’ in there somewhere.”

“You’re correct.  His temperature is climbing rapidly, more so than just an infected leg would account for.  I have a sinking feeling he came in contact with Gamma’s virus.  He’s displaying all the early signs of influenza.”

Harri turned his head and gave the doctor a hard look.  “Damn,” Harri swore quietly, under his breath.  “Are we at risk of exposure?”

“To some extent, yes.  I’ve had an oxygen mask on his face since he was brought aboard so hopefully that’s contained any opportunity for the virus to spread.  I’ve already contacted engineering and had sick bay isolated from the general air recirculation system to eliminate the opportunity for the virus to become airborne.  My corpsmen and I will limit our interactions with the crew and wear masks to prevent spreading the bug when we’re outside sick bay on the chance that we are infected.” Nelson nodded his concurrence with Jamie’s precautions.  “Was Lee successful in getting a hold of Gamma’s virus or even better, a vaccine?”

“He had a backpack on when they found him and there are at least a couple of items inside.  I’ve already sequestered that on the assumption that he was able to gain access to Gamma’s lab.  I was hoping to talk with him to find out what is actually in the bag before I go digging through it,” Nelson replied.  “How long will he be out?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Jamie replied with a snort.  “I gave him a hefty dose of sedative that would keep any normal human being down for at least 12 hours.  He has a way, especially if he thinks there’s something he needs to report, of pushing that off and clawing his way back to consciousness.”

As if on cue, Lee moaned quietly and rolled his head gently back and forth as if trying to shake off whatever was keeping him down.  Jamie14 pursed his lips in a tight line, his brow shot up and he sighed in exasperation as he watched his patient fight to wake; the look left Nelson chuckling despite the seriousness of the situation.  “What did I tell you?”

“Well let’s see if we can get him back long enough to get a report on the contents of the bag,” Harri replied, an amused grin across his face.  “Lee?  Lee, can you hear me son?”  Harri gently shook his shoulder.

Lee moaned again and began trying to force open his eyes.  They fluttered open and closed a number of times as he fought with his body’s desire to sleep and recover.  The call from the familiar voice off in the distance allowed him to latch on and pull himself back.  As he finally was able to keep his eyes open and focus he was greeted by the worried faces of Nelson and Jamieson.

“Welcome back son,” Harri said.  “How are you feeling?”

It took a minute to completely register what was going on but Lee was finally able to put all the pieces together.  He gave them a weak smile and then became aware of the mask over his face.  As he reached up to remove it, Jamie placed a hand over his stopping the action.

“Don’t, leave it there.  You sucked in quite a bit of water and your lungs need all the help they can get in providing your body with oxygen.  So how are you feeling, Captain?” Jamie asked as he picked up Lee’s wrist and began taking his pulse.

“Tired…sore…kind of hot.” Lee replied in a rough whisper.  “Seaview? The crew?  Is everyone all right?”

“We’re a bit battered and bruised much like you, but we’ll survive.  We wouldn’t have if it hadn’t been for your warning and order to move further out to sea.  Why was that second explosion so large, Lee?  I didn’t think your explosive was that powerful.” Nelson inquired.

“It wasn’t,” Lee answered, then coughed hard as his lungs fought to clear out the water.  “When I got in there I found a huge missile complex with at least 20 ICBMs staged and ready for flight.  They had special payload capsules that were going to be used to disperse the virus around the globe.  Next to the launch bay they had another huge room where their LOX and rocket propellant was stored in a series of large tanks.  I planted half my explosives there.  That’s why I told you to get away from the island.”

Nelson blew out a whistle as he now understood why the island went up in flames.  “Well you definitely got a big bang for your buck,” Harri remarked, eliciting groans from both Jamie and Lee.  “Lee were you able to get any of Gamma’s virus?”

Lee sighed heavily and blinked several times as he fought off the siren call of Jamie’s sedative.  “Yes, sir.  I accessed the lab facility first.  I managed to grab four vials labelled as contagion from the shelves in the Cold Room.  I also picked up a couple of vials marked as vaccine.”

Harri and Jamie let a relieved sigh escape as both smiled.  “Lee are the vials marked to indicate which is which?” Jamie asked urgently.

“Yeah, the virus has black caps and the vaccine has green ones.  They’re contained in the sample case inside my pack.”  As he said that Lee suddenly tried to sit up.  “You did find my pack didn’t you?!”

Both Jamie and Harri moved to push the younger man back down on the bunk.  “Yes Lee, we have your pack,” Harri answered.  “Lee, Jamie thinks you’ve contracted Gamma’s flu.  We’re going to head down to the lab and see if what you brought back is the cure.” Lee nodded wearily as he fought to keep his eyes open. 

“Lee, I need you to just relax and get some rest.  If you have got Gamma’s flu, you’re going to need all the strength you can muster.  Don’t fight the sedative, the admiral and Mr. Morton have your boat well taken care of, so you needn’t worry about that.  Will you do that for me?” Jamie said as he introduced a sleep booster to the captain’s IV.  Lee nodded again and then closed his eyes and was asleep.

As Jamie exited the bunk room to get a culture kit to take a sample, Harri moved forward and gently touched Lee’s shoulder.  “Hang in there, son.  We’ll have you back on your feet in no time,” he whispered.  He gently chased a couple of sweat-dampened curls up off his forehead then stepped back.

Returning to the room, Jamie moved to Lee’s bunk and set about collecting his sample.  “I’ll meet you in the lab in 20 minutes.  I need to go fill Chip in on what’s happening,” Harri said as he walked toward the door.

(olooo<

By the time Will arrived at Nelson’s lab, the admiral had already moved Lee’s pack into an isolation glove box and was preparing to open up the pack.  Chip was seated on a stool off to the side watching with interest as Nelson worked.

“Hey Jamie,” Chip said.  “How’s Lee doing?”

“Not good, his condition is starting to degrade rapidly.  I’ve never seen a virus progress so quickly.  Unfortunately, this just adds credence to the video Gamma had sent along with his ransom demands.  Given Lee’s depleted condition due to his injuries, that’s going to make it that much easier for the disease to claim him,” Jamie answered.  His comments garnered worried looks from both Chip and Harri.

“Do you need to be with him, instead of here?” Harri inquired.

“Not at the moment.  Frank and John are seeing to his needs, if something unexpected crops up they’ll call,” Jamie replied.  “How long before we reach Pearl?”

“In our current condition, about 6 days,” Chip responded.

Jamie shook his head dejectedly.  “I wish we were closer to a hospital.  Lee’s going to need every edge we can give him.”

That said, Chip rose to his feet.  “I’m going down to engineering and see if we can shave a day or more off that time.  At least that’s one thing I can do that makes me feel less useless.”

“Excellent idea, Chip.  You see to that and hopefully Jamie and I can verify what Lee was able to collect is the answer to our prayers.”  Harri then turned his attention back to his work and began opening the pack.  He cautiously reached inside and began pulling the contents out.  The first thing removed was Lee’s .45 automatic, which was quickly followed by the sealed sample case.

Harri carefully manipulated the locks on the sample case and eased it open.  As Lee had described, there were six vials inside; four with black caps and two with green ones.  Harri gently pried open one of the vials with a black cap, picked up a pipette, and extracted a sample of the fluid inside.  He then placed a drop of the liquid on a glass slide and placed a small plastic chip on top.  He sealed up the vial and then repeated the sequence with one of the vials with a green cap and then resealed the case.

The slides complete he transferred them to a small slide case and then set the case inside the transfer chamber to be sterilized so he could move them to his electron microscope for analysis.  As Nelson was working with that, Jamieson smeared the sample he had collected from Lee’s throat across a Petri dish so they could incubate the culture. 

Placing the slide box in another isolation glove box around the electron microscope slide tray, he opened the box and loaded up the first slide with Gamma’s virus.  He quickly manipulated the controls and the organism was displayed on the attached monitor.  “Innocuous looking thing, isn’t it?” Nelson said as he regarded the orb like shape on the screen that reminded him of a dandelion that had gone to seed.

“Innocuous looking, but insidious,” replied Jamie. 

“How long until the culture is ready?”

“I’m running a rapid cell culture which should give us something to work with, in 24 to 72 hours.”

“Three days?!  Isn’t there anyway to expedite that?  Lee could be dead in three days,” Harri replied, his concern readily transparent.

“If we were in a hospital with a state of the art lab, we could get a reading back in less than an hour.  I have to work with what I’ve got here.  That’s the best we can do Harri.” Jamie answered.

“Damn,” he swore.  “That’s just not acceptable.  Well let’s take a look at what was inside the vaccine vial.”  He quickly placed the second slide in the tray, turned the microscope on and a new image was displayed on the monitor.

Jamie moved closer to the screen and observed the new image.  “It’s similar but definitely different than the first, hopefully that means it’s the mutated strain.  I can’t see them working with this stuff without developing a vaccine for any lab accidents.”

“Knowing Gamma, he probably wouldn’t have cared.  His regard for his personnel is less than protective, though if he was in residence at the complex he might have had one developed in case of said lab accident just to protect himself.  I’m going to hold out hope that the latter case is true,” Nelson responded.  “So what now?”

“Now I go back to sick bay and help take care of Lee; he’s in for one bumpy ride.  I’ll come back down and check the culture every few hours so we’re ready to move as soon as something develops.”

“Fine, I’ll check in with Chip and see how his efforts to speed up our return are coming along.  I’ll also be in contact with SECNAV to provide an update and see if they have any guidance from CDC.  Take good care of him, Will.” Nelson added.

“You never have to worry about that Harri.” Jamie replied then exited the lab.

(olooo<

As the next 24 hours passed, Lee’s condition deteriorated rapidly as fever generated from both the flu virus and the infection his body was trying to fight off consumed him.  His temperature was holding at 105 degrees and his internal systems were beginning to shut down.  He began having difficulty breathing as pneumonia took over his compromised lungs and he had been placed on a ventilator to relieve his body of that fight.  He had all but been packed on ice as Jamie and his corpsmen fought to keep the captain alive and drive off any long term damage to his body and brain from the extreme heat his body was generating.

Nothing Jamie tried was working on of the virus or bacteria attacking the man’s body and he was at the point of considering minute doses of penicillin in hopes it would make a dent in the fever without overtaxing his system.  The last thing Lee needed was a case of anaphylaxis to add to his woes, but it may just be worth the try if the culture results took much longer.

Praying for a miracle, Jamie headed back to Harri’s lab to check his culture.  He entered the room and made a beeline for the incubator.  He quickly pulled it open, removed the Petri dish and examined it closely.  Much to his relief the culture had bloomed leaving the entire growth medium covered in live virus.

He moved to the mic on the wall and snapped it up.  “Admiral, this is Jamieson.”

“Nelson here, what is it Will?”

“Admiral, the culture dish is nearly overflowing; we’re finally finding a bit of luck.  We’re ready to compare viruses now sir.” Jamie reported.

“That’s excellent news,” Nelson replied.  “I’ll be down there in a couple of minutes.  Go ahead and start preparing the slides.”

“Will do, Jamieson, out.”

Just as Will placed the cover slip over the prepared slide, Nelson entered the lab slightly out of breath.  Jamieson looked up and smiled, knowing the man had most likely run all the way to the lab.  He handed the slide off and Harri slipped it under the microscope and turned it on.  As the image on the slide appeared on the screen both men smiled.

“We’ve got a match,” Harri said as he split the image on the monitor and pulled up the picture of the virus recovered from Gamma’s lab.

“So, do we take the chance that the content of the other vial is the cure and not something even worse?” Jamie asked.

“Do we have any options?  We’re still nearly 3 days out from Pearl.  Chip and crew have done a great job of cutting that time down but that’s the best we’re going to be able to do.” Nelson reported.

“I don’t see Lee making it more than another day at most.  His body is beginning to shut down and he’s been flirting with convulsions because of his high temperature.  I’ve talked to the CDC and sent them the images of the virus and they’re of the opinion that it probably is a legitimate vaccine.  I’m inclined to take the chance, Harri.  Lee can’t take much more of this and still be the same man,” Jamie replied.

Nelson looked almost stricken at the dire diagnosis that Jamie had delivered.  He couldn’t imagine letting Lee succumb to anything that Gamma had devised.  “I think we need to pull Chip in on this.  He deserves to know what’s going on as well.”

Jamieson nodded in agreement.  “I concur; they’re as close as brothers and all his next of kin should be part of this decision,” he said, acknowledging Harri’s role in the young man’s life as well.

“Don’t count yourself out of that group, Will,” Harri replied with a slight smile.  He walked over to the mic and pulled it out of its cradle.  “Mr. Morton this is Nelson.”

“Morton here, sir.”

“Chip report to my lab immediately,” Nelson ordered.

“Aye sir on my way, Morton out.” Chip said then quickly transferred command to O’Brien and nearly ran down the passageway to the lab.

Once Chip arrived Will updated him on Lee’s current condition and presented their findings.  He indicated that he wanted to take a chance on the vaccine Lee had liberated from Gamma’s lab and asked if he had concerns one way or the other.

“I say take the chance,” Chip replied, once everything had been laid out.  “If he won’t make it to port then I don’t see us having anything to lose.”  Harri and Jamie nodded in agreement then began the process of preparing the fluid in the vial for injection.

(olooo<

Twenty minutes later they all returned to sick bay, hopefully with cure in hand.  Lee had been moved to the gurney in the center of the exam room the day before, to facilitate better access.  There were now multiple IVs providing fluids, antibiotics and other medications, along with a heart monitor, ventilator and strategically placed ice packs on his body.

Jamie walked over picked up Lee’s wrist and measured his pulse even though the heart monitor clearly displayed the cadence and count on the monitor screen.  He’d always felt a need to confirm things hands on than to rely solely on machines.  He noted the increase in heart rate as his body fought to keep pace with the disease that was tearing it down.  He looked up at Chip and Harri and shook his head indicating that there had been no positive change during their time in the lab.

He pulled the syringe from his pocket and removed the protective cap from the needle.  He looked back at both Chip and Harri.  “You’re sure?”  Both men nodded knowing Lee wouldn’t survive if they didn’t take a chance.  Jamie nodded back and inserted the needle in the IV line and pushed the contents of the syringe into the drip to do its work one way or the other.

“So what now Jamie?” Chip inquired.

“More of what we’ve been doing; we watch and wait.”

(olooo<

If they expected an instantaneous response to the injection they were sadly disappointed.  Nothing changed for the first few hours as Nelson and Morton took turns keeping vigil over their friend.  As Harri sat across from the gurney refining the sketches he had started in the control room, his attention was drawn to Lee as the steady beat from the heart rate monitor suddenly became erratic eliciting a loud alarm.  Harri threw down his papers and was immediately at Lee’s side.  Jamie and Frank were through the office door equally as fast and began evaluating the change in the captain’s condition.

“Damn, he’s developing an irregular heartbeat,” Jamie reported as he listened to Lee’s chest and regarded the monitor’s read out.  He sent Frank to collect a dose of drugs to hopefully help  regulate his heartbeat.  As he injected the compound into his IV, Frank reviewed the rest of the captain’s vitals.

“Doctor his temperature has crept up another half degree,” Frank reported as he read the readout from the thermometer.

“Double damn,” Jamie swore again.  “That’s the last thing he needs.”  He gave orders to alter the dosages of the drugs feeding into the captain’s system in hopes of halting this negative turn.

“Have we made things worse?” Harri asked in a hushed voice as he watched the CMO and corpsman diligently work on his friend and surrogate son.

“Not necessarily, Harri.  This may just be the natural progression of the virus or it could be the vaccine kicking in causing his body to fight back but taxing his reserves in the process.  It’s impossible to tell right now,” Jamieson replied as he continued evaluating the readings from the monitors, then blew out a relieved sigh.  “There, I’ve stabilized things for the moment, but I’ve about reached the limits of my abilities here to counteract any more deterioration in his condition.”

Jamieson turned from his patient and patted Nelson gently on the shoulder letting him know not to give up hope, then returned to his office to annotate his recent efforts to save the captain’s life on his chart.  Harri stepped back up to the gurney and placed his hand on Lee’s shoulder and leaned over closer to his ear.  “Come on son, you can beat this.  You just need to fight a little longer, everything is going to be fine,” Harri whispered in his ear hopefully sounding more certain than he felt.

(olooo<

Lee’s condition re-stabilized following Jamieson’s ministrations and held constant for the next several hours.  It was nearly 0300 when John entered to collect his hourly readings on the captain’s condition.  Commander Morton was drowsing in the chair having relieved the admiral a couple of hours earlier.  John sighed knowing both men were going to need so serious down time to recover from the stress and limited sleep, especially if the skipper didn’t make it.

John moved to the gurney and began recording the numbers the various machines provided.  He had to do a double take as he looked at the heart monitor as his heartrate had dropped considerably in the last hour and was approaching the captain’s normal 60 beats per minute.  He next picked up the insta-read thermometer and gently inserted it into his patient’s ear.  As he pulled the instrument back and read the report he couldn’t hold in his excited “Yes!”

Chip was immediately awake and alert at the sound and he bounded to his feet.  “What?! What’s going on, has something changed?” He looked expectantly at John’s face and was greeted with a broad smile.

Having heard Chip’s question, Jamie too was immediately awakened and rapidly got up from the cot in his office to join the men in the next room.  He too saw the smile on John’s face.  “Well, what’s going on John?” he asked.

“The skipper’s temp is 100 degrees and his heartrate is nearly back to normal, sir.” John reported as the smile on his face grew even wider.

Jamie moved immediately to Lee’s side and began verifying for himself the positive swing in the captain’s condition.  Each reading he collected increased the growing smile on his face.  “We’ve done it gentlemen; he’s made the turn.” Jamie reported and clapped John on the shoulder.  Each man issued a relieved sigh.  “Even his lungs have begun to clear and I think I can remove the ventilator in due course.”

“That’s fantastic news,” Chip replied as he plopped down in his chair as relief sucked the strength out of his knees.  “Should we let the admiral know, or let him sleep?”

“I’m tempted to let him sleep, if he’s actually doing that, but I value my hide and promised to alert him to any significant change,” Will replied with a wink.  “Why don’t you head to your bunk now that the crisis has passed and get some sleep, you’re almost out on your feet Chip.  I’ll head down to the admiral’s cabin and deliver the news personally.”

Chip smiled and grudgingly agreed.  He stood up and moved to Lee’s side and stared down at his friend and ‘little brother’ for a moment.  He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer thanking whatever deities saw to it that he would make it back.  He patted him gently on the shoulder.  “Sleep easy now, bro.  It’s time to recover and come back to us.”  He looked up and smiled at Jamie and John then turned and headed for his cabin and bunk.

“John, get the captain cleaned up a bit.  I’ll be back shortly with the admiral,” Jamie ordered.

(olooo<

Will walked rapidly down the passageway to Nelson’s cabin, the click of his oxfords on the deck the only sound aside from the thrum of Seaview’s powerful engines.  Reaching the admiral’s door, he knocked softly, so as not to startle the man too much.  A sleepy sounding ‘Come’ beckoned him to enter.

The light over the admiral’s bunk had been turned on and Harri was still trying to adjust to the light as Jamie walked in.  His expression became immediately worried as he regarded the doctor and tried to discern the nature of the news the doctor felt he had to deliver personally.  “What is it Will?”

Jamie smiled broadly, sending an immediate jolt of relief through the admiral. “I am happy to report that Captain Crane’s condition has improved dramatically.  At last reading his temperature was 100 and falling, heartrate nearly back to normal and his lungs are clearing nicely.  He’s made the turn and on the road to recovery.”

Nelson bounced up out of bed, elated at the news.  “That’s wonderful!  So is he going to be all right?”

“He should be but it will take some time for him to recover his strength.  He’s going to be out of commission for several weeks and at least one of them will be in the hospital in Pearl,” Jamie replied.  “I just hope I’m up for the fight.”

Harri began laughing and reached out to shake Jamie’s hand.  “Well done, Will and thank you.  I’ll see to it that you have an entire box of earplugs at your disposal once you break that bit of news to him.”  Jamie shook Harri’s hand and gave him a quick nod acknowledging the recognition.  “Can I come down and see him for a bit?”

“Sure, but just a few minutes.  John should have him cleaned up by now and he’s still unconscious.”

“That’s all I need.  I just need to see it for myself,” Nelson replied then quickly grabbed his robe pulled it on and followed the doctor out the door.

(olooo<

As Seaview steamed her way to port, Gamma’s time for making payment came and went with no ransom paid by any of those threatened, and none of the nation’s being held hostage reported any outbreaks of flu within their borders. The leaders of those nations let loose a collective sigh of relief at Gamma’s apparent defeat.  Seaview arrived in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii two days later to drop her captain off at the hospital and to make repairs following their rude shake off the coast of Drambezi.

Lee had made consistent improvement under the hawk-like scrutiny and direction of his CMO.  Jamie was more than gratified when Lee began his campaign for release from the hospital several days later.  As promised, Harri had provided him with a brand new box of earplugs which he proudly displayed to the captain letting him know is pleas for release were currently falling on deaf ears.

For his part Lee was engaging in the campaign more for show than actually wanting to be liberated.  As predicted by the CMO, he was incredibly weak after his life and death battle with Gamma’s virus plus he was still extremely sore from his wound and other injuries picked up while thrown around the island.  He found himself also becoming winded quickly after only minimal activity thanks to the pneumonia.  Once they were ready to sail for home he would escalate his attempts to at least gain Jamie’s concession to let him stay in his cabin for the transit back.

Deemed recovered enough to participate in a debriefing on the events of his mission, Lee was visited by Admiral’s Fitzpatrick, Masterson, Starke and Nelson.  They all had questions regarding what went on and any insight as to whether Gamma had been caught in the captain’s explosions. 

Lee was seated in a high backed chair for the interview and attempted to rise as his superior officers entered his room.  “At ease Commander,” Fitzpatrick ordered.  Lee sat back gratefully as even that little exertion left him winded.

“Hell of a job, Crane,” Masterson said as he walked over to his agent and extended his hand.  Lee grasped it firmly and shook it. The other admirals in the room nodded in agreement with Robert’s comment. “There’s absolutely no doubt you took his complex out of commission,” he added with a chuckle.

“Thank you, sir,” he replied.

“You know how all this goes down, start at the beginning and leave nothing out,” Fitzpatrick ordered as he settled himself in one of the chairs brought in for the debrief. 

Lee began relating his activities getting to the island and all that he saw and did once he’d gained access.  Once he was finished he made eye contact with each man in the room.  “Are there any questions, sirs?” he asked.

“Very complete briefing, Commander,” Masterson began.  “Do you have any idea whether Gamma was present on the island while you were there?”

“No sir.  I never laid eyes on him and the few conversations I had overheard made no mention of his presence,” Lee replied honestly.  “If I were a betting man, sir, I would hazard a guess that he was there.  It was quite obvious to me, given my ease of entry, he thought his center of operations was undetectable and therefore didn’t provide a more robust security system thinking it unnecessary.  If he was on the island, I think it highly unlikely he made it off alive.”

“I have to concur with Lee,” Nelson replied. “He underestimated the forces against him, just like he did in our race to the Arctic.  His ego wouldn’t allow for the possibility that mere mortals could out think him and he paid for it in the end.”

“So we hope,” Fitzpatrick responded.  “Jiggs, Robert, have there been any attempts by Gamma’s operatives to make contact?”

“We’ve tracked a couple of attempts from within the Pentagon and have been able to identify the culprits.  We’ve taken over their stations and have continued to send out occasional messages requesting instructions but everything has been silent.” Masterson reported.

“We’ve done the same here in Pearl.  I’ve got two men in the brig up on charges of treason and have had my intelligence team sending out similar calls for direction.  All’s quiet thus far,” Starke added.

“What about you Harri?  You said you had a couple of transmissions coming from your boat, have you identified the source?” Fitzpatrick inquired.  Just as Nelson was about to answer there was a soft knock at the door.  “Come.”

The door swung open and Chip Morton entered.  “Begging your pardon’s sirs but I need to speak with Admiral Nelson for a moment.  It’s urgent and I believe this relates to the discussion at hand.”

“Then come in by all means, Commander,” Fitzpatrick replied.

Nelson rose from his seat and met Chip halfway.  Chip spoke quietly to him a few moments then handed him a small bag.  Harri took it and examined the contents closely.  “Excellent work Chip.  Thank you for bringing this by.”  With that Chip excused himself from the room.

“Well what have you got Harri?” Starke asked.

“In the course of our repairs, the work crew found this transmitter at the bottom of a solvent drum in one of the store rooms.  Unfortunately, the solvent did its job and ate away any fingerprints but it confirms we do have a spy aboard.”

“Have any idea who that might be?” Masterson asked.

“We have our suspicions,” Lee responded.  “After we departed Santa Barbara, we discovered that my crate from ONI had been disturbed and two of the seals had been broken after it had been inspected and stowed.  The container had been stored in a secured store room with limited personnel having access.  We narrowed the list of suspects down to two, and based on gut feelings and very circumstantial evidence we believe it to be LT Bishop.”

“Really?  And why do you think it was him?” Fitzpatrick inquired.

“He had a key to the store room and he has quite obviously become disgruntled following the incident with the subsea mines that sent Seaview to the bottom.  He was the catalyst for that incident and he believes to this day he did nothing wrong.  The captain and XO have been pushing to release him back to the Navy, but I had hoped to give him a second chance to change how he interacts with the crew, unfortunately that hasn’t occurred.  He is the most logical choice.” Harri added.

“It’s good to know you at least have a suspect.  I’ll get my people on investigating his activities to see if we can make the connection back to Gamma,” Masterson replied.

“I’ll have him reassigned to active status and keep him on a tight leash until these questions have been resolved,” Jiggs added.

“Good plan, Jiggs.  Robert, keep us all apprised on what you find out,” Fitzpatrick responded.  “Well gentlemen, I think we’re done here.  Commander Crane, once again outstanding job.  Secretary Wainwright sends his congratulations as well.  The same to you and your crew on Seaview, Harri.  I think we best clear out now and let the commander get some well-earned rest.” 

With that Fitzpatrick stood, quickly followed by the rest of the admirals with him.  Lee likewise forced himself to his feet even though the CNO waved him down.  “Thank you, sir.” Lee replied as he came to attention.  All but Harri exited the room to begin carrying out their assignments. 

“Excellent debrief, son.  How are you holding up?”

“Thank you, Admiral.  I’m hanging in there.  I’ll deny it if you repeat this but I’m spent and have to actually agree with Jamie’s diagnosis.” Lee replied with a smile.

Harri laughed and patted his son lightly on the back.  “Well then let me help you back to bed so you can start recouping your strength and Jamie will hopefully let you come with us on the trip back home.”

“He’d better or you’re going to have to buy him another box of earplugs,” Lee joked as he slowly limped his way back to bed.

(olooo<

Repairs to Seaview were made quickly as everyone was anxious to get back home.  It had taken just over a week for all the repair parts to arrive and be installed to the satisfaction of the admiral and the XO.  Informed that they would set sail for home in the morning, Jamie steeled himself for Lee’s final assault.  He rapidly agreed to Lee sailing back with them and would allow him to stay in his cabin, but only to rest and to recover; limited duty wasn’t even going to be considered.  He knew it was the only way he’d be able to keep tabs on the younger man.  If left in the hospital in Pearl, he would all too easily beat the staff down and gain his unchecked freedom once Seaview shoved off.

Lee also quickly agreed to Jamie’s terms not wanting to be left behind.  He really didn’t have the strength to be anything but a model patient and couldn’t wait to get back to the privacy and comfort of his own cabin.  Once onboard, Jamie quickly tucked Lee into his bunk and left him with very graphic threats about sedating him and parading him through the boat on a stretcher before tying him to a bunk in sick bay if he even thought of busting his medical orders.  Not willing to chance the doctor’s ire, Lee reluctantly agreed.

He slept the better portion of their first day at sea, as he finally found it possible to relax.  When he finally awoke he found it was already 1800 hours and he was actually hungry.  The one bit of freedom Jamie had granted him was to make limited trips to the wardroom and the nose to get a bit of exercise.  Deciding15 he’d been holed up long enough, he pulled on his blue robe and slippers, and headed out the door to see if he could find the admiral and convince him to have dinner with him.

He walked the short distance down the passageway to Harri’s cabin and knocked quietly.  He was greeted with a distracted sounding ‘Come’.  Lee eased open the door and found the admiral perched over a drafting table working diligently on some sort of drawing.  He looked up as the door opened and immediately smiled when he saw Lee.

“Evening, Lee.  How are you feeling, lad?”

“All things considered, I’m fine,” Lee replied with a chuckle.  “I was wondering if you might be interested in some dinner, sir?”

“I’d love some.  Grab a seat, I’ll be through with this in a minute,” Harri replied as he put the finishing touches on his work.

Lee moved over to the admiral’s bunk and gently sat down, dangling his feet off the side.  “What are you working on sir, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Having added the last line to the page for the moment, Nelson looked up and smiled once more.  “Remember that moment in the control room when you thought I’d strayed off into the land of distraction?”  Lee nodded, knowing exactly which moment he was referring to.  “Well I’m progressing nicely on that idea.  During the course of this mission, it has become painfully apparent that we need a means of rapidly coming and going from Seaview once we’re deployed.  I got the idea when we startled that manta ray.  I’m designing a smaller sub that will allow us to access areas underwater where Seaview can’t go, yet also possess the ability to fly at supersonic speed giving us access to any point on the globe at a moment’s notice.”

Lee sat there stunned by the admiral’s description of his new ‘toy’.  “Is that even possible? Can I take a look?”

“I think it will be quite possible.  I’m still not ready to share since you still could try and have me committed. I’ve got quite a bit more design work to do, then once that’s done you and I are going to make it a reality.  That is once you’re fully recovered,” Harri responded thrilled to see the excitement at the challenge in Lee’s expression.

“I can’t wait, sir.  When do we start?”

Harri laughed aloud.  “You’ve got to earn your Jamieson seal of approval that your fully fit for duty before I start wearing you down on this project.  It’s going to take a lot of work, and if I tire you out too soon Jamie will have my head on a platter.”

Lee laughed in response.  “Well if that’s the case then I think we best be on our way to the wardroom so I can start building up my strength.”

Nelson laid down his drafting tools, stretched out his back and stood up.  “Lead the way, son.  I’m starved myself.”

(olooo<

It had been nearly three weeks since their return from Hawaii and Harri ambled slowly down the dock, a rolled up set of blueprints in one hand, as he made his way towards Lee’s boat.  He spied the young man leaning over a brass fitting on deck, polishing cloth in hand, rubbing hard to remove a spot.  He stood up after a moment and limped carefully forward to the next fitting and repeated his actions.  It had been a long haul for him recovering from the injuries sustained on Gamma’s island and the virus, but he had made final the turn and was almost back to health.

“That doesn’t look much like relaxation,” Harri called out as he reached the boat.

Lee turned his head spotting Harri, then slowly stood upright and made his way aft smiling at his friend. “My definition and Jamie’s always differs, but it’s mine that counts,” he replied, with a wink.

“I’m sure Jamie would take great exception to that,” Harri answered as he chuckled.

“Yeah, well, what he don’t know, won’t hurt me.”

Harri laughed out loud and rolled his eyes.  “She’s looking good son, and you’re right she is quite a looker.  Permission to come aboard?”

“Thanks, I thought you’d be impressed. Permission granted, sir,” Lee responded as he extended his hand to help Harri aboard.  “I’m almost finished.  I’ve got a little trim work left to do in the cabin, then a couple of sea trials and she’ll be ready for adventure on the high seas.  Come on I’ll give you the Cook’s tour.”

Lee slowly lead Harri all over the craft showing him what all he had done restoring the boat to her glory days.  Harri was quite impressed and looked forward to heading out with his son for a sail once the boat was ready.  The tour done, Lee led Harri back into the cabin, retrieved a couple of cold beers from the refrigerator and passed one over as Harri claimed a seat in the galley.

“What have you got there, sir?” Lee inquired looking at the long roll of papers.

“I got the final blueprints back from the drafting department this morning and I just had to share them with you,” Harri replied.  He then cleared off the table in front of him and unfurled the paper spreading it across the surface.

Lee poured over the design on the paper and let out a long whistle.  “So this is what you came up with watching a manta ray?  This is incredible sir.”  He continued to trace his finger over the lines and read the annotations indicating function of the various components.  When he reached the bottom of the page, he regarded the title box.  “Flying Sub – One?  Not the most original name,” Lee joked.

“FS-1 for short,” Harri replied.  “I think that will fit her well.”

Lee nodded in agreement as he continued to look at the plans.  “So when do we start?”

Harri laughed knowing how ready Lee was to get back to work and get back to his gray lady.  “I’m just waiting for Jamieson to declare you fit for duty.  By the time we get done I’m sure you’ll be regretting your willingness to help me on this.”

“I don’t see that ever happening,” Lee answered with his own laugh.  He then rolled the plans back up and handed them over to Harri.  They sat quietly for a moment just enjoying the company sipping on their beers.

“So now that you’re almost done, have you decided on a name yet?” Harri inquired.  Lee nodded his head in the affirmative.  “Well, what did you settle on?”

Lee smiled and brushed a stray strand of hair off his forehead.  “I’ve just decided, thanks to your visit.  Welcome aboard the ‘Necessity’.”

“Necessity?  That’s an interesting choice.  I thought you were going to go with a lady’s name,” replied Harri as he rolled the name around in his head.

“I did.”

Harri stared at Lee for a moment somewhat perplexed by his answer.  “And how do you figure that?”

“Well sir, we all know that Necessity is the mother of invention.  Without her, there wouldn’t be any of the wonders that you’ve created, I’d have never made it out of Gamma’s lair without your coating, and I can’t wait to see her new baby, FS-1.”

Nelson looked at his captain for a moment surprised at his response then burst into laughter as he had to agree with Lee’s reasoning.  “That she is lad that she is.”

 

The End.

 

 

 

* Eleven Days to Zero

** City Beneath the Sea

*** Submarine Sunk Here

1 – The Grin

2 – All in a Day’s Work

3 – Coffee Break #2

4 – Stunned

5 – Askance

6 – Reaction

7 – Captain

8 – After

9 – Wired

10 – Command Decision

11 – Tunnel #2

12 – Shadows

13 – Escape

14 – Doc

15 – Bedtime Story