This story is an epilogue to “Double
Vengeance”. The reader may want to
read that story first to fully enjoy this story.
Reparation-Something that is
done or given as a way of correcting a mistake that you have made or a bad
situation that you may have caused.
Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Dedicated to the memory
of Angela who loved Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and her Captain, Lee
Crane.
Her support and passion
for Voyage will be greatly missed by her Voyage friends.
Reparation
By JSRobertson
Seaview had just returned from a three week exercise of fox
and hound with the Navy’s newest destroyer and submarine. The Navy had
contacted Admiral Harriman Nelson, owner of Seaview, asking him if he was
interested in helping them with their sea trials. The admiral was more than happy to aid the
Navy knowing that Lee Crane, Seaview’s captain, would love to show off his boat and crew’s skills. When Seaview was the hound they were
able to find the Navy’s submarine four out of the five exercises. Seaview was only found once by the
destroyer and once by the submarine out of the six exercises when she was the
fox.
As Seaview headed home
Lee went to the radio shack to make a boat wide announcement, “Attention men,
this is the captain. The Navy just sent
us a Bravo Zulu on the completion of the exercises. You proved to me that you can compete with
the Navy’s newest boats. Congratulations
on a job well done.”
Lee stowed the mic back in
its holder and returned to the observation nose where the admiral, Chip Morton,
Seaview’s XO and Janet, Lee’s wife and Seaview’s secretary were
waiting.
Barely containing a smile, “Lee,”
Chip said when he returned, “you failed to tell them there was one slight
mishap on the last exercise.”
“Yes, I know,” Lee replied frowning,
“you won the bet and I’m sure the whole crew knows I scraped the paint on the
left bow fin.”
When Lee directed Seaview
out of the last cavern where they were hiding, she drifted a little further to
the left than Lee anticipated and her paint was scraped. Lee and Chip had a bet on who would scrape
her paint first. If Chip scraped the
paint, he wouldn’t be able to have dessert or coffee for a week. If Lee scraped her paint Chip would get to
drive Lee’s other baby, a Shelby AC Cobra for a week. Seaview was Lee’s first love, not even
Janet could get past her.
The admiral and Janet also
had a hard time containing their smiles as it had been sometime since one of
them scraped her paint. Seaview
would be dry docked in the underground facility while she got a new paint job.
((()))
It was late Sunday evening
when Lee expertly brought Seaview
into the underground sub pen and dismissed the crew once she was tied
down. They had no missions scheduled for
the next month so there was time to paint her and take care of the routine
maintenance.
The admiral, Chip, Lee and
Janet left the sub pen and walked to their cars. Chip had ridden with Lee and Janet to the
dock and would ride home with them and pick up the Cobra. When they got to the parking lot, Julie,
Chip’s girlfriend, was waiting for them.
“Welcome home,” she said to
them giving Chip a quick kiss on the cheek not wanting to embarrass him in
front of the admiral with a more passionate one as he would get that and much
more when they got back to her house.
“Good night, see you in the
morning,” the admiral said as he walked to his car leaving the four of them on
the dock and drove away with a smile on his face. He knew Lee was upset that he scraped the
paint and lost the bet but knew he would keep his word. He was happy that his officers got along as
well as they did.
“I’ll take Chip home,” she
volunteered as she grabbed his hand and they walked to their cars.
“I’ll pick up the Cobra
tomorrow after work,” Chip said to Lee wanting to cash in on the bet right away
before Lee changed his mind.
“No problem,” Lee replied as
he opened the car door for Janet who slid in and looked at Chip while Lee
walked around the car. She gave him a
wry grin as she knew Lee was more upset about scraping the paint than losing
the bet.
“See you tomorrow,” Janet
said to Chip.
When Lee got in the car,
Janet grabbed his tie and pulled him over to her giving him a very passionate
kiss which he gladly returned.
“Honey, you’re a good
sport. I promise to make it up to you
when we get home,” Janet teased.
“I’ll hold you to that
promise,” he replied with a grin as he put the car in gear and drove home.
((()))
They parked the car in the
garage and went into the house. “Are you
hungry?” Janet asked as she put down her gear.
“No, not really,” Lee replied
as he dropped his gear. “How about we
forget about dinner and go upstairs. I’m
really tired. These last three weeks
have been very challenging.”
“That’s fine with me,” Janet
answered noting he did look a little tired. She realized it was more than a competition
for Lee as he wanted to prove to the Navy that Seaview was just as good
as their new vessels. He hadn’t been
sleeping well since they left on this mission and would find him at his
desk going over maps at all hours of the night.
They walked upstairs and as
they got ready for bed Janet asked, “Are you too tired for....”
Before she could finish, Lee
gave her a deep lingering kiss and led her over to the bed where they quickly
slid under the covers. I guess he’s
not that tired, Janet thought as she caught the twinkle in his amber eyes
as he pressed his body against hers. She
missed their intimacy but now that the mission was over and Seaview had
performed very well, she knew Lee would be able to perform just as well if not
better. Tired, sated and happy, they
finally fell asleep wrapped in each other’s arms.
((()))
Lee woke up at 0500 hours,
yawned, turned over and fell back to sleep.
Janet finally woke up and saw it was almost 0700. She quickly shook Lee awake, “Honey, we’ve
overslept. We’re going to be late,” she
said as she jumped out of bed. “Are you
okay...you never over sleep,” Janet asked in a panic.
Stretching, “I’m fine,” Lee
replied as he stayed in bed. “I woke up
at 0500 and decided we needed some more sleep.
So we’re a little late. Why don’t you come back to bed and we’ll
continue on with what we started last night?” he suggested eagerly pulling back
the covers so she could climb back in.
Janet looked at her husband,
who was never late, “Who are you and what have you done with my husband?” she
laughed and jumped back into bed. He
kissed her passionately as she ran her hands down his chest to his lower body
where he let out a soft moan enjoying what she was doing. They joined in love and laid next to each
other breathing heavily for several minutes before getting up.
Janet turned on the shower
and climbed in while Lee shaved. She got
out and he jumped in while she finished getting ready. They wouldn’t have time for coffee or
breakfast this morning as it was almost 0800 hours and they should have been at
work already. They quickly got in the
car and drove the short distance to the institute.
“What are you going to tell
the admiral as to why we’re late,” Janet asked as they pulled into their
parking space.
“I don’t think that’s going
to be a problem, as he isn’t here yet,” Lee said noticing the admiral’s car
wasn’t there.
“You got lucky this time,”
Janet laughed and saw Chip pull in after them.
“Maybe we should find out why Chip is late?”
“You know why he’s late,” Lee
chuckled as they got out of the car and met Chip as he was walking to the door.
“You’re late too,” Chip said
looking embarrassed at getting caught being late.
Grinning “Overslept,” Lee
replied as he held the door for Janet and Chip.
“Yah, me too,” Chip answered
as he entered the lobby and went over to the counter and signed the three of
them after wishing Howard a good morning.
They took the elevator to the
second floor where Wanda was waiting for them and not looking very happy.
((()))
“Where have you
been...Admiral Johnson has called three times looking for you,” she told
Lee. “I didn’t know what to tell
him. That man has no patience,” she
continued.
“Sorry Wanda,” Lee
apologized. “We got in late last night
and we slept in a little later. I’m
sorry he took his frustrations out on you.”
“It’s okay,” she told Lee as
the phone started to ring. “For some
reason he scares me.” Janet looked at
the number and knew the call was for Lee.
“Looks like he might be
calling again,” Janet said as she answered the phone. “Good Morning, Commander Crane’s office,
Janet Crane speaking, how may I help you?”
“It’s about time you got
there,” he said gruffly. “Don’t you
people have to be at work on time? I
need to talk to Lee.”
Sighing, Janet looked at Lee,
“Admiral Johnson would like to talk to you.”
“Give me a minute to hang up
my coat and I’ll take his call,” Lee responded as he and Chip walked to their
offices.
“Just minute, Admiral” Janet
told him not happy that he was calling as it meant Lee would have to go on an
ONI mission.
Janet put the call through to
Lee’s office and said to Wanda contritely, “I’m sorry we’re late too. We should have called and let you know we
wouldn’t be here on time.”
“Angie and I were worried
something happened when you weren’t here as you’re never late. We didn’t know if something went wrong with
the mission or if you had a problem.”
“I promise we’ll call the
next time we’re going to be late,” Janet told her.
“Thanks,” Wanda replied with
a grin letting Janet know she wasn’t mad at her.
Janet walked to her office,
turned on the light and stood there looking at all the mail, reports, and proposals
that sat on her desk. She also had a box
of work from Seaview she had to finish up. She would have to work late to get it all
completed. She put her purse in the
drawer and sat down when her phone rang.
“Janet, can you please come
to my office?” Lee asked.
“I’ll be right there,” she
replied noticing he was still on the phone with Admiral Johnson.
She walked down the hall to
Lee’s office and opened the door.
((()))
Lee hung up his coat and
turned on his computer before telling Janet to put through the call from
Admiral Johnson. He really wasn’t in the
mood to deal with him right now.
“Hello, Admiral,” Lee said as
he sat down in his chair.
“Good morning, Lee,” Johnson
said pleasantly. “Congratulations on
your recent exercises with the Navy’s new vessels, seems you outsmarted both of
them.”
“Thank you sir,” Lee replied. “Both those ships will be hard to outsmart
once their officers and crew spend more time working together. They did give Seaview a good workout
though.” Lee continued smiling with pride that his boat and crew did get the
best of those newer vessels.
“The reason for my call is I
need you and Janet to pick up a flash drive with the plans for the PR’s new ADC
chip (analog-to digital converter).* They’ve been using it to jam our drones,
radios, radar, and other electronics hindering our operations. We’re a little behind on this project and
would like to see how they’ve made it so we can speed up our manufacturing.”
“Why does Janet need to go?”
Lee questioned knowing Johnson had an ulterior motive.
“Lee, do you remember Leon
Kelly?” Johnson asked.
“Recall the name but not sure
where I met him. Admiral, please just
get to the point,” Lee snapped.
“Commander, watch the tone,”
Johnson warned. “He was the PR operative in Las Vegas Janet had a run in with
over some maps.”**
“Yes, I do recall the
incident where you coerced my wife into picking up some maps without my
knowledge or permission,” Lee answered just barely keeping his anger in check.
“Well, he’ll turn the plans
over to her and only her. He feels she’s
the only person he could trust with them plus she’s not an operative and has
nothing to gain by getting them.”
“I’ll go alone,” Lee
said. “I only saw him briefly but I’ll
remember him.”
“Lee, I tried to send another
agent or even you alone and he won’t budge.
Please ask her if she’ll help us out.
You will go along of course.”
Sighing deeply Lee responded,
“Let me call her into my office. I’ll
let her decide. And Admiral, if she says
no I won’t let you beg her to go,” Lee added.
“Fair enough,” Johnson
replied as Lee put him on hold and called Janet into his office.
((()))
Janet entered Lee’s office sat
down in the chair in front of his desk a little worried as to why Lee wanted to
see her.
“Janet, Admiral Johnson would like to talk to
you as he needs your help. I’ll let him
tell you why,” Lee explained.
“Okay Lee,” she answered
softly.
Pressing the button on the
phone, Lee said, “Admiral, Janet is in the office and I’m going to put you on
speaker phone.”
“Good morning, Janet,”
Johnson responded politely.
“Good morning, sir,” Janet
replied anxiously.
“I’ll get right to the
point. Janet do you remember Leon
Kelly?”
“Yes sir. He was the PR operative in
“Yes,” Johnson answered
clearing his throat. “As I explained to
Lee he has a flash drive with some plans for an electronic chip we desperately
want,” Johnson stressed.
Rolling her eyes, Janet
asked, “What does that have to do with me?
I don’t know anything about electronics.”
Lee and Janet could hear
Johnson take a deep breath, “He will only give the plans to you, no one else. So I need you to pick them up. I’m hoping you’ll help us out. You and Lee will need to go to the country of
Gromenten.*** Lee, I sending you via
e-mail the form to sign letting us use Janet for this mission.”
“What a minute,” Lee blurted
out. “I haven’t agreed to take on this
mission let alone you use my wife.”
“Lee, time is of the
essence. You need to be in Gromenten no
later than Friday which means you’ll be leaving late Wednesday night as it’s a
fourteen hour flight and they’re nine hours ahead of you.”
“That’s not giving us much
time,” Lee said heatedly. “Why such
short notice?”
“If you don’t pick up those
plans by Saturday, Kelly is going to sell them to a country we in no way want
to have those plans,” Johnson replied curtly.
“Gromenten is opening a new aquarium in Podgorca, the capital, on Friday
evening with a dinner for selected guests and you two are on the list. There will be a formal reception hosted by
the president on Saturday night. Admiral
Nelson received an invitation to the opening but is unable to attend so you and
Janet are going in his place. The
exchange will take place at the reception.”
“Admiral, can Lee and I have
a minute to talk privately,” Janet asked quickly seeing that Lee was getting
agitated and would get into trouble if she didn’t stop him.
“Yes,” Johnson answered
impatiently.
Lee put Johnson on hold so
they could talk. “Lee, I’m not thrilled
about going but I’ll do it as long as you’re with me. As far as his form he
wants you to sign, you can stuff his form. Since we’re talking about this and
you’re going along, you don’t need to sign any forms. If Johnson doesn’t like it, I won’t go.” Lee was surprised at her attitude regarding
the form but understood since she was his wife and not an underage
daughter. He laughed to himself “You’ve come a long way, baby,” and truth
be told he liked her that way.
Lee looked at Janet and ran
his hand through his hair. “Okay, we’ll
go and no more forms.” He took Johnson
off hold.
“Admiral,” Janet said, “I’ll
agree to go on the mission.”
“Thank you,” Johnson said
sighing deeply. “I’ll make your travel
arrangements and e-mail them to you. Lee,
did you receive the document giving Janet permission to go on this mission?”
Lee looked at his computer
and saw the e-mail message. “Admiral, no
more forms. Janet is not a piece of
property I can sign over, she’s her own woman,” he told Johnson as Janet sat
there smiling.
Hesitating for a second
Johnson replied, “I understand. Also,
you’ll need to wear a white dinner jacket and Janet a black dress for the
reception. Seems the aquarium is
decorated in black and white hence the dress code. Look for your travel information, itinerary
and how you’re getting out of the country in the next couple of hours. Thanks, Lee. You’ll drop off the flash drive with me on
your return trip home and give me a complete debriefing. Good luck.”
“Thank you sir,” Janet
replied.
“Good bye,” Lee said as he
hung up the phone. “I guess we could be
sent to a worse place. Gromenten isn’t a
bad place to go. The capital city of
“I guess you’ll have to find
your white dinner jacket...black dress no problem,” Janet replied as she stood
up went around to Lee and gave him a kiss.
“See you later.”
“Oh no, sweetie, we
have to tell the Admiral about our new adventure,” Lee said as he got up from
his chair, opened the door and waited for Janet so they could go to the admiral’s
office.
Chip was just coming out of
his office for another cup of coffee, “What...where... and when do you leave?”
Chip asked with a smirk on his face.
“Come with us while we tell
the admiral,” Lee said as the three of them walked into Angie’s office.
((()))
“Is he here?” Lee asked Angie
as they stood in front of her desk.
“He is now,” the admiral
replied as he came up behind them. “What
can I do for you?”
“Lee just got a call from
Admiral Johnson,” Chip chimed up before Lee could which got him a disgusted
look from Lee.
“Janet, you better bring in a
whole pot of coffee,” the admiral said as he opened the door to his office and
went in followed by Lee and Chip while she got the pot of coffee and some mugs.
Before the admiral sat down
on the couch, Janet poured them all a mug of coffee. Chip sat next to the admiral on the couch
across from Lee and Janet. “Let’s have
it,” the admiral told Lee taking a sip of coffee.
“Janet and I have to leave
for a mission to Gromenten to pick up plans on an ADC chip,” Lee reported.
“An ADC chip...what is that?”
the admiral asked curiously.
“It’s a high-speed
analog-to-digital converter,” Lee told him.
“They’re used to jam drones, radios, radar, and other electronics.”
Chip piped up, “I’ve been
reading up on them. It seems the PR has
a head start on the chip and is already using it. I’m waiting for us to develop one. It’s something we’re definitely going to need
on Seaview.”
“Hmm,” the admiral
mused. “But what does that have to do
with the two of you?”
Lee explained what Johnson
had told him about Leon Kelly and the reception.
Smiling when Lee told him
about the reception at the aquarium, the admiral replied, “Funny I did get an
invitation to the opening and was thinking of going but I guess ONI just
changed my mind.”
“Sorry sir,” Janet answered
knowing he would have loved to gone.
“When are you leaving?” Chip
asked unhappily.
“We need to leave on
Wednesday night and will spend most of Thursday traveling. On Friday there’s a tour of the aquarium with
the official opening and then a dinner.
Saturday we’re on our own until the reception hosted by the
president. The exchange will take place
at the reception. Once we have the
plans, we’ll head back to
Sighing deeply the admiral
replied, “Just be careful. I know this
seems like an easy mission but you know nothing is ever easy when the two of
you are involved.”
“Yes sir,” Lee replied as the
three of them stood up and left his office.
“I’ll take you to the
airport,” Chip said as he returned to his office already worried about his
friends.
((()))
Lee and Janet returned to
their offices. Lee got all the travel
information by late afternoon. He
printed the itinerary and left it on his desk.
There was no return travel information.
It was 1800 hours by the time
Chip, Lee and Janet were ready to leave for the day. Chip followed the Crane’s home and picked up
the Cobra. He and Julie had a date for
dinner and he wanted to drive it to the restaurant.
“I promise I’ll be careful,” Chip
told Lee as he started the car.
“I know you will Chip,” Lee
said with a smile. “Have a good time.”
Lee watched Chip drive away
and suggested, “How about we go out for dinner?”
“Sure, Giovanni’s for some
eggplant,” Janet replied giving Lee a kiss.
“Just let me get my coat.”
They hopped in Janet’s SUV
and headed for the restaurant.
((()))
After enjoying their meal,
Lee and Janet were almost home when a car crashed into them head on. Lee tried to swerve out of the way but the
other car caught the front of the Crane’s car and spun it around where it then
smashed into a light pole on Lee’s side caving in the side of the car. Janet’s SUV being an older model had no side
airbags. She heard the window shatter as the car came to an abrupt stop. Janet sat in the seat stunned for a moment as
her air bag deflated leaving her covered with a white powder. She looked over at Lee. He was covered in glass from the window and
the white powder from the deployed air bag.
The door of the car was crushed inside the car as it rested against the
light pole. She quickly undid her seat
belt and leaned over the console to check on him. She saw blood running down his face. She wiped away the blood looking to see where
he was injured. He had a large gaping wound on the side of his head from where
the door caved in. The armrest and
controls were also smashed up against his side.
She looked down at his legs and thought one of them looked broken. She took out her cell phone and called
911. She heard Lee moan and leaned over
to him again.
He opened his eyes, “Hurts,”
he said painfully. “You okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” Janet
replied wiping away some more blood from his face. “Help is on the way. Please don’t move.”
“Don’t think I could if I
tried. Trouble breathing, chest, head
hurts, leg broken,” Lee mumbled in pain.
“I know honey,” Janet told
him as she took his hand.
Janet looked out her window
and saw a man looking in. He opened the door. “You okay, ma’am,” he asked with concern.
“Yes but my husband’s very
badly injured,” Janet said softly trying hard not to cry.
“Help’s here now...don’t move
they’ll get you out,” he told her as he moved away to let a paramedic by the
door.
“Hi, I’m Steve. Are you hurt...can you move?” he asked
quickly.
“Yes, I can move but my
husband can’t. Please take care of him,
I’m okay,” Janet pleaded.
“Don’t worry we’re working on
getting him out right now. Why don’t you
step out of the car and let me in so I can check him out.”
Steve helped Janet out of the
car and into the arms of another paramedic.
He wasted no time jumping in the car to take a look at Lee. The firemen were already trying to move the
car away from the pole so they could get Lee out.
“I’m Adam, come with me,” the
paramedic said to Janet and tried to lead her to the ambulance so he could
check her out.
“No I’m fine...I want to wait
until they get Lee out of the car,” she told him and shook off his arm.
He let her stay but stood
nearby just in case she had a problem. A
policeman came over to her and asked what their names were and some questions
before leaving her with the paramedic.
Janet could hear Lee moan in pain as they worked on freeing him from the
car bringing her to tears.
((()))
Chip didn’t want to keep
Lee’s Cobra overnight at Julie’s house so they were driving to the Crane’s
house when they came upon an accident.
As they drove past, Chip recognized the car and saw Janet standing next
to it. He quickly pulled off the side of
the road.
“Chip...what’s wrong,” Julie
asked as he got out of the car.
“That’s Janet’s car,” he said
as he ran over to her with Julie following close behind.
“Janet,” Chip yelled as he
got close to her.
“Chip,” she said bursting
into tears when he got to her. “Lee’s pinned
in the car and badly hurt.”
“What happened?” he asked as
he looked at the car trying to see Lee.
She told him that the car
came at them head on and Lee tried to swerve out of the way. “Julie, stay with Janet, I’m going to call
Jamie and have him meet the ambulance at the hospital,” Chip said urgently as
Julie put her arms around Janet.
Chip walked away and called
the institute. Jamie was still in
Thirty minutes later they
finally had Lee freed from the car and in the ambulance where the paramedics
were working on stabilizing him before they left for the hospital. They wouldn’t let Janet in the back until
they were ready to leave. Chip had his
arm wrapped around her while Julie conferred with the officers who were
handling the case. She asked them to
make sure that everything was taken care of with the car.
She walked back to Janet and
Chip. “The man in the other car is hurt but not as bad as Lee. He’s on the way
to the hospital. He’s drunk, they found open beer cans in his
car,” Julie told them.
The paramedics finally opened
the doors and Adam helped Janet into the ambulance where she saw Lee’s head was
wrapped in bandages, he was on oxygen, had an IV line and his leg had a
temporary splint on it.
“We’re ready to leave,” Steve
said to Janet as she sat down next to Lee and gently took his hand in hers. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
“I forgot to tell you he’s
allergic to morphine,” Janet said frantically.
Steve patted her hand, “He
told us. We wouldn’t give him anything
anyway in case he has a concussion.”
“We’ll meet you at the hospital,”
Chip said to Lee and Janet. “Hang in
there bro.”
“Thanks Chip, Julie for
staying with Janet,” Lee answered quietly.
Adam closed the back door and
hopped into the front seat and pulled away from the scene heading for
((()))
Once inside the emergency
room they quickly took Lee to a cubicle where Jamie and the emergency room
doctor were already waiting for him to arrive. Both doctors talked to the paramedics so they
could get a rundown on the treatment they’d provided.
“Jamie, I want to stay with
him,” Janet insisted.
“Janet, let us check him out
and take care of him and then I’ll let you in.
You should be checked out too.”
“No, I’m fine, just scared,”
Janet replied shakily.
There were two nurses in the
cubicle with them, “April, take Mrs. Crane to a cubicle and have her checked
out,” Jamie instructed her.
“Yes, Dr. Jamieson,” she
replied and led Janet to the cubicle next to Lee’s where another doctor checked
her out. They didn’t find anything wrong
with her but she did tell them she had a headache. She insisted she didn’t hit her head but they
sent her for a CT scan anyway. When she
came back, Chip, Julie and the admiral were waiting for her.
“Is Lee okay....where is he?”
Janet asked hysterically seeing his cubicle was empty.
“They just took him for a CT
scan and x-rays,” Chip said calmly as Jamie walked into her cubicle.
He had the results of Janet’s
CT scan. “Everything looks fine,” he told
her. “I’ll see that you get some
acetaminophen for your headache.”
“Jamie, what’s wrong with
Lee?”
“He more than likely has a
concussion and a scalp laceration that’s going to need a few stitches. He also has a couple of broken ribs but I
don’t think they punctured his lung and a broken leg. You were both very lucky your car had
airbags.”
“He’s going to be in the
emergency room for quite awhile so why don’t the rest of you go home. I’ll stay here until Lee is settled in a room
and take Janet home,” Jamie firmly suggested.
Chip said to Julie, “I’ll
take you home, then come back and wait with Janet.”
“No, if it’s okay with Janet,
I’ll wait too,” Julie replied sitting down in a chair. Janet whispered, “Thanks.”
The admiral spoke up, “I’m
not leaving until he’s settled.”
Jamie looked at the three of
them and knew they would never leave him. So much for trying, he thought
as he returned to the nurse’s station where he ordered the acetaminophen for
Janet’s headache.
((()))
It was over an hour before
Lee returned from his CT scan and x-rays.
After taking out some glass from the laceration in Lee’s scalp, Jamie
put in ten stitches. The orthopedic
doctor didn’t want to cast his leg until the swelling went down which would
probably be tomorrow. The scans showed
he had a mild concussion and x-rays showed he had two broken ribs but no
punctured lung.
By the time Lee was finally
settled in a room, it was 0100 hours.
All of them were very tired especially Janet. She wanted to stay overnight with Lee but
Jamie wouldn’t let her.
“Please let me stay with
him,” Janet insisted. “I’ll sleep in
the chair...someone has to wake him up because he has a concussion.”
Lee looked at Janet and saw
she was exhausted, “Sweetie, you’re exhausted so go home and get some
sleep. I’m not going anywhere and there
are nurses that will wake me up.”
“Okay Lee,” Janet replied as
she could tell he was tired and in pain.
Since Chip had the Cobra, he
would take Julie home and return the Cobra to the Crane’s house while the
admiral would take Janet home. The only
problem Janet had she had no car to drive.
She didn’t want to take the Cobra and Chip needed his car so the admiral
asked Chip to arrange to have a car brought to her house from the motor pool
for her to drive and to contact Trish in Communications so they could replace
Lee’s broken phone as it was smashed in the crash.
“Thank you Admiral,” Janet
said when he dropped her off and walked her to the door. She was emotionally spent, tired and burst
into tears when they got to the door.
The admiral took the keys from her, opened the door and let her cry on
his shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” she told him
after she finished crying. “I was so
afraid after that car hit us...Lee was in such pain...I didn’t know if he would
be all right.”
“It’s okay,” the admiral
replied as held her close. “Would you
like me to stay here with you tonight?”
“No sir. I’ll be fine,” Janet said as she gave him a
hug. “I’m so tired, I’ll fall right to
sleep.”
“If you need me, just call,”
the admiral told her as he left and walked to his car.
Janet laid down on the couch,
pulled the afghan over her and fell asleep.
((()))
Janet woke up at 0700,
quickly showered and got dressed. There
was a car in the driveway that the motor pool had dropped off earlier. She found the keys on the seat and drove to
the hospital. She knew the only door
open would be the emergency entrance so she parked her car near that door and
went to Lee’s room.
When she entered his room, he
was still asleep even though there was a nurse checking his vitals.
“You’re here pretty early,”
the nurse said to her. “Visiting hours
don’t begin until
“Yes and please let me stay,”
Janet asked softly. “I promise not to
disturb him.”
Seeing how worried Janet was
the nurse replied, “Okay, but just let him sleep.”
“How is he...did he get any
sleep?”
“His vitals are good. Not too much sleep as we did wake him up a
few times. He’s probably in pain but
never complained.”
“No, he would never complain,”
Janet responded as she sat down in the chair next to his bed.
The nurse finished up and
left the room closing the door. As soon
as the door was closed, Janet pulled her chair closer to Lee’s bed and gently
picked up his hand and held it. She had
been sitting there for an hour when Lee woke up.
“Hi sweetie, how long have
you been here?” Lee asked sleepily.
“How do you feel...did you get any sleep?”
“I’ve been here about an
hour”´ Janet replied. She got up, gave
him a kiss and gently rubbed his cheek already having a large amount of stubble
on it. “I’m a little sore but nothing I
can’t handle. And yes, I did sleep after
crying on the admiral’s shoulder but I was so worried,”
“I sure he didn’t mind,” Lee
replied with a yawn. “He loves you like
a daughter.”
“I know and why don’t you go back to sleep,
you still look very tired.”
“Sounds like a good idea,”
Lee grimaced in pain and closed his eyes.
Janet sat back down and took
his hand in hers. She closed her eyes
and nodded off sitting in the chair. She
woke up when she heard Chip’s voice. “Hi Janet,” he said quietly as he walked in
the room with two cups of coffee.
“Hi Chip,” Janet replied as
she stood up and gratefully took the cup of coffee from him. “He was awake about an hour ago and went
back to sleep. The nurse said his vitals
are good...thanks for getting the car...and thanks for stopping last night,”
Janet rambled. “I don’t know....”
“I was in the right place at
the right time and glad I was there for both of you,” Chip responded patting
Janet’s hand and sat down in the other chair on the side of Lee’s bed.
Jamie and Dr. Rick Zambler, Lee’s
orthopedic doctor, entered the room a few minutes later. Jamie saw Janet and Chip sitting there.
“I see you two are here early. Has he woken up this morning?” Jamie asked as
he looked over his chart.
“He woke up about an hour
ago. He’s in a lot of pain but you know
he won’t say anything,” Janet answered.
“I’m not surprised he’s in
pain,” Jamie replied rubbing his forehead as Dr. Zambler looked over his leg.
“It’s safe to cast it,” the
doctor said, “I’ll make arrangements to have a cast put on it and I’ll order
some pain medication before we do it.”
“Thanks, Rick,” Jamie
responded as Lee woke up.
Jamie explained to Lee that they
were going to give him some pain medication before they cast his leg. He
nodded his head knowing the routine.
“Janet, Chip, why don’t you
get some breakfast while we take care of this,” Jamie told them firmly and held
open the door.
“I take it you don’t want us
around,” Janet remarked as got up from the chair, gave Lee a kiss and walked to
the door followed by Chip who patted Lee’s shoulder.
“I’ll come and get you when
you can return to his room.”
“Thanks, Jamie,” Chip
replied. They walked down the hall to
the elevator and to the cafeteria where Chip piled on the food and Janet
grabbed some toast and coffee. Chip
looked at what she had on her plate.
“You eat like a bird.”
“Sorry Chip, just not hungry
but you’ll tell Jamie if I don’t have something so I’m having toast,” Janet
smirked.
They found a table and sat
down to eat. They were just finishing up
when Jamie entered the cafeteria, got a cup of coffee and sat down with them.
“Dr. Zambler put his leg in a
cast. He won’t be able to walk on it for
a few days but I’m going to keep him here anyway. He can hardly move with the broken ribs plus
the concussion so I’ll feel better if he stays.
Judging by the way he looks, I don’t think he’s going to fight me at
least for a day or two,” he told them as he looked over at Janet. “How are you feeling today...sore?”
“Yes, I’m a little sore I
think from the seat belt but I’ll manage.
Thank you Jamie for taking care of Lee, at least this time is wasn’t his
fault,” Janet said with a weak grin.
Jamie patted her hand and smiled back.
“Dr. Zambler gave him some
pain medication so I don’t know if he’s awake or not but I know you both want
to get back to his room so let’s go,” Jamie said as he stood up.
Chip and Janet refilled their
coffee cups and the three of them were just about to enter Lee’s room when
Chief Sharkey, Kowalski, Patterson and Riley came walking down the hall towards
them.
“Mr. Morton, Doc, Mrs. C,”
Sharkey called out softly, “We just heard about the skipper...is he okay...can
we see him?”
Chip looked at Sharkey and
the other three men. “How did you find
out the skipper was here?” he inquired.
Sharkey spoke up, “After Tommy
dropped off the car this morning, he went to the security gate and asked why
the skipper needed a car. Billy told him
that the skipper and Mrs. Crane left the grounds last night and the skipper
never came back in his car but the admiral had Mrs. C. in the car when he
returned to the institute. Mr. Morton
had brought back the Cobra and was alone.
He also said the no one was brought to
“I suppose by now the whole
institute knows that skipper is in the hospital,” Chip asked seriously.
“Yes, sir,” Sharkey answered
sheepishly. “You know the men would want
to know....”
“We were in a car accident
last night,” Janet told them. “The
skipper got the worst of it.”
Jamie looked at the four men
and knew they wouldn’t be happy unless they could check on their skipper. “Please just look in on him. He’s probably sleeping and will be okay but
does need to rest. Tell the rest of the
crew he’s fine and they can visit him when he gets home.”
“Okay Doc,” Kowalski answered
as the four men opened the door and looked in.
Lee was sleeping so they didn’t go in but were surprised at how badly
injured he was. “Are you okay Mrs. C.? Kowalski asked with concern.
“I’m fine and thanks for
coming, I’ll tell the skipper you checked in on him,” Janet responded as she
looked at the worried faces of Lee’s men.
All four men told Janet that
if she needed them for anything to let them know and left the hospital.
Chip sat down next to Lee’s
bed, “I’m surprised the Admiral isn’t here.”
“I’m sure he’ll be here
shortly,” Jamie replied. “I’m going to
check Lee’s chart once more before I leave for
“Anything serious,” Chip
asked not knowing about any injured personnel.
“No, just a fall from a
ladder while changing a light bulb just kept him as a precaution.”
“You’ll know where to find
us,” Janet said with a wry grin as Jamie grinned back and left the room.
Chip and Janet watched TV
while Lee slept. They turned down the
sound and were watching the close captioning pointing out all the spelling
errors as Janet held Lee’s hand and rubbed the top of it. He finally woke up an hour later.
((()))
Admiral Nelson had a hard
time sleeping when he returned home after dropping Janet off. He wasn’t surprised she broke down and was
happy he was there for her as he thought of her as the daughter he’d never had.
He was relieved Lee would be alright but
yet very worried about his ‘son’. He
finally got up after tossing and turning for what was left of the night. He showered and left early for the institute
to tell Angie and Wanda what happened last night as he didn’t want them to hear
it from someone else.
He arrived at the institute
at 0630 and knew Angie and Wanda wouldn’t get there until 0800. He started the coffee pot which was all set
to go, all he had to do was turn it on.
While he waited for the coffee to brew, he went into Lee’s office to see
if Communications had left a phone for him.
On his desk was a brand new phone. I wonder how many phones he has
destroyed, the admiral thought shaking his head. As he took it off of Lee’s desk, he saw the
itinerary for the mission to Gromenten.
“Damn,” he said out loud as he walked out of Lee’s office and poured a
cup of coffee. He sat down at his desk,
took a sip of the coffee and dialed Admiral Johnson’s phone number.
“Admiral Johnson’s office,”
“Good morning, Sandy, this is
Admiral Nelson. Can I please talk to
Admiral Johnson, it’s very important?” the admiral asked.
“Yes sir. Please hold while I get him on the line,”
“Harry, what can I do for
you? It’s pretty early out there.”
“Gerald, Lee and Janet Crane
were involved in a head-on collision last night. Janet’s okay but Lee is badly injured. There is no way they’ll be able take on the
mission to Gromenten,” Nelson said as he told Johnson about Lee’s injuries.
“Harry, Janet has to go on
that mission. There was an incident last night…I don’t have all the details yet…because
we don’t have the damn ADC converter. We
desperately need those plans.”
“Gerald, Janet will not
go alone. I know Lee will not let her go
and I’m not going to let her even though Lee knows she’s going. Find someone else.”
“Harry, I don’t have
anyone else and Kelly will not give the plans to anyone but her and Lee,”
Johnson stressed emphatically.
“Use Jason Weldon, he can
pass for Lee as Kelly didn’t get a real good look at him running out the door
like he did,” Harry said sharply.
“Jason’s buried so deep on a
mission I couldn’t even find him if I tried.”
“Sorry Gerald you’re out of
luck,” Nelson re-iterated.
“I do have an idea,” Johnson
responded. “Can you be in
“Yes, I suppose I could, care
to tell me why?”
“No, not just yet. Be in Jiggs Starke’s office by 1100
hours. Please Harry.”
“Okay, I’ll be there,” Nelson
replied and hung up the phone. He had no
clue as to why Johnson wanted him in SD.
((()))
The admiral went out to get
another cup of coffee and was walking back to his office when he heard Angie
and Wanda talking as they got off the elevator. He sat down at his desk and waited for Angie
to come into the office. Wanda stopped
at her desk while Angie continued on to her office. When she opened the door she was surprised to
see the door to the admiral’s office open and him sitting at his desk.
Before she took off her
jacket she went into the office. “You’re
here early today, sir. Is everything
alright?”
“No Angie, there’s been an
accident. Why don’t you get Wanda and
I’ll tell you what happened,” the admiral told her wearily.
“Yes sir,” Angie replied and
left to get Wanda. Wanda was already
getting a cup of coffee when Angie came out of the office. “Wanda, the admiral wants to see us right
now. There’s been some sort of
accident.”
The two women quickly went
into the admiral’s office and sat down on the edge of the chairs in front of
his desk. They could tell by the worried
look etched on his face that something was very wrong.
“Last night while Lee and
Janet were driving home from dinner, they were involved in a head-on
collision.”
Both women gasped as the
admiral continued, “Janet’s okay but Lee was badly injured. He’s has a head laceration, a concussion, two
broken ribs and a broken leg. He’s at
the hospital in
“Yes sir,” the women replied
worriedly.
The two women left the office
almost in tears. “Those two can never
catch a break,” Wanda uttered, “Lee and Janet do seem to have a lot of bad
luck.” Wanda returned to her desk as the
phones had already started to ring.
((()))
The admiral looked at his
watch. He wanted to go and see Lee
before he left for
“Hello Admiral,” Sharkey
answered noting the number was his boss’s.
“Chief, I need to be in
“Yes, sir,” Sharkey replied
quickly. “Patterson and Kowalski will be
on duty so I’ll get them to help.”
“Thanks Chief. The skipper was in a car accident last
night.”
“Yes sir we know and we’re
just leaving the hospital. We’ll head
right over to the sub pen and get the flying sub ready.”
The admiral wondered how they
found out about the accident and would quiz the Chief on the way to SD. He grabbed his jacket and cover and went to
Angie’s desk. Wanda was there giving her
a couple of messages she took while the admiral and Angie were on the
telephone.
“I have to go to
“Yes sir,” she replied. “If Janet needs anything tell her to give us
a call and we’ll take care of it,” Angie told him.
“Please give them our love,”
Wanda asked.
“Of course,” the admiral replied
and walked to the elevators.
Howard had heard about the accident,
“Give Commander and Mrs. Crane my best,” he told the admiral as he walked out
of the building.
The admiral nodded his head, got
into his car and drove to the hospital.
((()))
The admiral arrived at the
hospital and went to Lee’s room. Janet
and Chip were talking quietly as Lee was still asleep. He noticed that Lee’s leg had already been
put in a cast. He handed Janet Lee’s new
phone. “Thank you Admiral.”
“How is he this morning?” he
asked concerned.
“He was awake but went back
to sleep after they casted his leg. It
wiped him out.”
The admiral replied, “I’m
sure it did. How are you this morning?”
“A little sore but I’ll be
fine,” Janet answered. “I’m just worried
about Lee.”
As they were talking, Lee
woke up and greeted the Admiral, “Good morning sir.”
“How are you feeling, son?”
the admiral asked seeing that Lee was having a hard time getting
comfortable.
“Fine,” Lee replied with a
chuckle. “When is Jamie getting here…I
want to know when I can get out of here.”
Janet, the admiral and Chip looked
at Lee. “Honey, I don’t think Jamie is
going to let you out for a few days. You
can hardly move without being in pain so how are you going to function at home? Please don’t argue with Jamie if he wants you
to stay,” Janet pleaded.
“We’ll see,” Lee frowned.
The admiral had looked at his
watch several times while he was with them.
“I’m sorry I have to leave,” he said.
“I have a meeting with Admiral Starke this morning. Sharkey and I are taking the flying sub to
Janet quickly stood up, “Lee,
I totally forgot about the mission for Admiral Johnson. The admiral reminded me when he said he had a
meeting with Admiral Starke. I’ll have
to call him and tell him we can’t go,” she said anxiously.
Sighing, Lee replied, “I’ll
make the call so don’t worry about it.”
He could see that Janet was worried about talking to him.
“I’ll call Admiral Johnson
for you and explain the situation,” the admiral volunteered not letting them
know he had already talked to him.
“Thank you sir,” Janet
replied breathing a sigh of relief.
“I’ll stop by when I return,”
the admiral told them. “Take care and
don’t give Jamie any trouble.”
“Yes sir,” Lee responded
wondering what the admiral’s meeting was about with Admiral Starke. Since the admiral didn’t offer any
explanation Lee wasn’t going to ask.
When the admiral left the
room Lee asked, “Chip, did you see the look on the admiral’s face when he told
us about the meeting. He almost seemed a
little nervous about it.”
“Yes, I noticed it. I’m surprised he didn’t say anything about
it...must be top secret,” Chip answered.
“I’m going to get some coffee.
Janet would you like some...Lee how about some breakfast?”
“I would love some more coffee,”
Janet replied gratefully.
“Nothing for me,” Lee
said. “I’m still a little nauseated and
have a slight headache.”
Chip left the room leaving
Lee and Janet alone. Janet leaned over
the rail on the bed and gave Lee a gentle kiss.
“I’ll call the nurse and
maybe she can bring something for your headache,” Janet suggested as Jamie
walked in the room.
“You still have a headache?”
Jamie asked. “I’ll get you something for
it. I ran into the admiral and he told
me he’s going to
“Did he tell you what it was
about,” Lee asked as he rubbed the side of his head with the stitches.
“No and leave those stitches
alone.”
“When can I get out of
here...I can rest at home,” Lee insisted.
“You know how I hate hospitals.”
“Not for a few more days,”
Jamie replied. “Lee, you’ve had
concussions, broken ribs and a broken leg before, you know how hard it is to
move. And I know you well enough that
you’re in pain and trying hard not to show it.
Did you eat something?”
Lee conceded, “You’re right,
I just can’t get comfortable and I’m not hungry...still a little
nauseated...and tired.”
Chip returned with coffee for
Janet and offered to get some for Jamie, who declined. He was going to get some pain medication for
Lee and head back to
((()))
The admiral arrived at the
sub pen and boarded Seaview where he found Sharkey, Kowalski and
Patterson just finishing up the pre-launch check of FS-1.
“All set to go Admiral,”
Sharkey told him as he handed him the list for him to sign. He quickly signed it and put on his leather
flight jacket Sharkey had put on the table in the observation nose. Sharkey donned his jacket and went down the
ladder into the sub. The admiral
followed him down while Kowalski secured the hatch and walked over to the
launch control panel. He picked up the
earphones and waited for the admiral to tell him to open the docking doors.
The admiral and Sharkey
strapped in and turned on the engines.
The admiral put on the throat mike and called to Kowalski.
“Ready to launch, Kowalski?”
“Yes sir...all
green...docking doors opening...FS-1 released from docking clamps,” Kowalski
replied.
“Thanks Kowalski, Patterson,”
the admiral answered and slowly lowered her down and headed for the
surface. Once Kowalski saw her clear the
nose of the sub, he closed the doors. He
and Patterson went topside and returned to their security watch.
((()))
The admiral surfaced FS-1 and
took off for
“Chief, how did you find out
about Captain Crane as I didn’t think it was in the newspaper or on the news?”
“We learned about it from
Billy in security,” Sharkey said and told the admiral how they found out.
“I guess nothing gets by
security,” the admiral added with a smile as he prepared to land at Naval Base
Point Loma in
The admiral and Sharkey
exited the little sub and found the car Admiral Starke had sent to pick them
up. After a short ride to Starke’s
office, they entered the office and were greeted by Admiral Starke’s secretary,
Roberta.
“Hello, Admiral and Chief,”
she said noticing Sharkey’s rank. “The
admiral will be with you shortly.”
“Chief, wait here for
me. I don’t think I’ll be too long,”
Nelson told him.
“Yes sir,” Sharkey replied as
helped himself to the coffee on the counter, a magazine and sat down to wait.
Before long the door to the
Starke’s office opened and he stood at the door while Nelson entered the
office.
“Harry, I hear
congratulations are in order. Seems Seaview outfoxed our newest vessels,”
Jiggs said as the admiral entered the office.
“Jiggs’ what’s going on?”
Nelson asked irritated as he would rather be with Lee. “I’m sure Johnson didn’t ask me down here so
you could offer your congratulations.”
“Johnson told me about the
mission the Crane’s were supposed to go on, about the accident, and that Janet
needed to complete the mission even if Lee couldn’t go. Sorry to hear about it, are they okay?”
“Lee’s pretty banged up but
Janet’s okay. Why did Johnson want me
to come here?”
“I don’t know but we’ll find
out shortly as we’re going to have a web cam meeting with him. Care for some coffee?”
“Thanks, I could use
some.”
Starke went over to his
credenza and poured them both a cup.
They had just sat down when Jiggs’ computer dinged letting them know
Johnson was there waiting.
“Good morning, Jiggs” Johnson
said. “Is Harry there?”
“Yes, Gerald, he’s here. What’s this all about?”
Johnson continued, “Harry, I
know you said Janet won’t go on the mission without Lee and that he wouldn’t
let her go anyway but something very serious has happened. I told you about an incident that took place earlier
today well its worse than we thought.
Five men were killed when their boat strayed off course because their
guidance system was jammed by the PR’s ADC. The boat was from the destroyer you
just did the exercises with. Right now we’re nowhere close to even having a
chip ready to challenge them.”
“Damn,” Nelson said
sadly. “Gerald, I’ll try and convince
Lee to let her go only I’ll go with her...or Chip Morton.” Nelson suggested.
“Harry, that won’t work. Kelly is insistent that the Crane’s are the
only ones he’ll turn over the flash drive too.
He’s holding all the cards right now and I have no way of contacting him
to try and change his mind. I do have an
idea and I know you’re not going to like it and neither will the Crane’s but we
have to have that chip before any more men are killed.”
“Okay Gerald, what’s the
idea.”
Johnson took a deep breath
and replied, “I want to send Paul Gallagher in Lee’s place. He looks like him...I know he took his place
on Seaview and no one knew even you...he can be Lee.”
“Gerald, have you lost your
mind? Lee would never let him
impersonate him again and as far as Janet going with him...you’re asking for
trouble,” the admiral shouted.
“Harry, you don’t really have
choice. You know as well as I do Lee
will not want any more men killed because he can’t go,” Johnson replied
angrily.
“Can I ask them before I
commit to this...has Gallagher agreed to do this?” Nelson asked seriously.
Hesitating before he replied,
“No, he doesn’t even know about it and I’d rather you didn’t ask them.”
“You want me to just show up
with him in
“I know I’m taking a chance
but Harry I need you to convince them.
I’m sure Janet wouldn’t want any more families to lose their loved ones
because she didn’t go.”
“Gerald, you’re not playing
fair. You know she’ll go because they don’t
want anymore families to suffer.”
“I’m sorry Harry but as I
said we’re desperate.”
Harry ran his hand through
his hair. “Okay Gerald, I’ll try and
convince them but you still don’t know if Gallagher will do it.”
“Jiggs, could you please have
him brought to your office right now,” Johnson asked knowing he was being held
in the detention center on the base.
“I’ll contact the detention
facility and have him brought over,” Jiggs replied and asked Roberta to get
them on the phone.
Harry sat there stewing as he
knew Lee may not like it but would agree to it because of the men that were
killed or how many more could be killed.
“It’s going to take about
fifteen minutes to bring him here,” Jiggs said to Johnson. “I’ll call you back when he gets here.”
“Okay,” Johnson replied and
disconnected the call.
“Sorry Harry. I had no idea what he was up to. I’m glad I’m not in your shoes.”
Damn, Nelson thought trying to think of a way to tell Lee
and Janet.
((()))
Nelson got another cup of
coffee from the credenza as they waited for Gallagher to arrive. It was twenty minutes later when he was
brought to Jiggs’ office. Sharkey looked
up from his magazine and couldn’t believe he was looking at Paul
Gallagher.
What the hell is going on, Sharkey thought as the door opened and Gallagher
entered Admiral Starke’s office.
Gallagher was surprised to
see Admiral Nelson sitting there. “Why
was I brought here...why is he here?” he said sharply as he stared at Nelson.
“Sit down and we’ll explain,”
Jiggs told him as he called Admiral Johnson.
“Admiral, Mr. Gallagher is in the office.”
Jiggs turned the computer
screen around so Gallagher could see who he was talking to.
“Good afternoon, Mr.
Gallagher. I’m Admiral Johnson head of
ONI.” He looked at him and could not believe
how much he looked like Lee Crane.****
“Yeah, so what?” he said
curtly.
Johnson let out a breath,
“Mr. Gallagher we need your help.”
“You need my help,” he
snapped. “ONI needs help from an
operative of the People’s Republic. You
must be in a hell of a lot of trouble to ask me but I’m curious as to what you
need me to do for you. Spill it.”
“We need you to impersonate
Lee Crane. He and Janet were scheduled to
leave on a mission on Wednesday. They
were in a car accident and Lee can’t go.
You will go with Janet as her husband.”
“You want me to
impersonate him?” Paul laughed wickedly.
“What’s to stop me from agreeing to do it, kidnapping Janet, not finish
the mission and holding her for ransom?
Crane will pay anything to get her back including his life,” Paul said
smugly.
Nelson bristled at his
attitude and spoke up, “First of all, do you really want to tangle with Janet
Crane again. You know she will not go
peacefully. She took a shot at you once
and missed. I guarantee she will not
miss again and she did manage to clobber you with a paperweight knocking you
out and spoiling your plans. Secondly,
Lee Crane would move heaven and earth to find her along with one hundred and
twenty five other men.”
Johnson spoke next.
“Commander Crane along with ONI and all the other intelligence agencies would
be hunting for you so you’d be a wanted man on all continents.”
“I’ll go back to the PR. They’ll hide me until the heat is off.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure of
that,” Johnson replied with a smug look.
“Word out there is you’re a wanted man by them too. They think you’ve been talking and I have it
on good authority that there’s a nice price on your head.”
Paul looked at Johnson,
Nelson and Starke the wind taken out of his sails by Johnson’s last
comment. “If I do agree what’s to stop
you from turning me over to them...and what do I get out of this?”
Johnson answered, “After you
complete the mission, we’re willing to put you in the witness protection
program, change your name and looks. You
can take on any look you want but will not be allowed to stay looking like Lee
Crane. Go back to your original looks.”
Paul sat there for a few
minutes. He was caught totally off guard
that his own country had a price on his head.
I really don’t want to stay as Lee Crane the rest of my life anyway,
he thought. “I’ll do it. Do the Crane’s know about this plan?”
Nelson replied, “No, as of
now they don’t. We have to convince them
that you’ll keep your word.”
“I’ll do my best. What’s the mission?”
“You and Janet need to pick
up a flash drive with some information on it from the PR,” Johnson told him.
“I’m working for the
“You need to go to the
country of Gromenten where you’ll attend a reception celebrating the opening of
a new aquarium. That’s where Janet will
get the information from another PR agent, Leon Kelly.”
“Whew,” Paul said blowing out
a breath. “Looks like the PR is on the
losing end on this mission. I didn’t know
Janet Crane was an ONI agent.”
“She’s not officially. Kelly will only give the information to her
and Lee,” Nelson responded. “She has
been on other missions so you don’t have to worry about her.”
Nodding his head Paul said,
“What else?”
“You’ll need a white dinner
jacket and some clothes. We’ll get you
something to wear,” Johnson said with relief.
“No need to. I assume we’ll be returning to
“A townhouse on the waterfront,”
Nelson said. “I saw you go enter it with
a brunette. I thought it was Lee at the
time.”
“You got it Admiral. I’ll stay there until we leave for the
mission.”
“No Paul, you will stay on
NIMR grounds just in case you’re being watched.
Admiral Nelson, does Lee have the itinerary for the mission?”
“I have it and will go over
it with Paul and Janet,” Nelson sighed. “I’ll
find someplace for Paul to stay so security can keep an eye on him.”
“That’s all I have,” Johnson
said. “Admiral Nelson, you’ll get back
to me after you talk to the Crane’s. Any
questions?”
No one answered so Johnson
clicked off the computer. Admiral Starke
looked at Nelson and was glad he didn’t have to tell the Crane’s. Nelson stood up and grabbed his cover.
“Take care, Harry and good
luck,” Starke said to his friend as he stood up and shook his hand.
“Thanks, Jiggs. I have a feeling I’m going to need it,”
Nelson sighed.
“Good luck to you too, Mr.
Gallagher,” Starke said still staring at how much he looked like Lee Crane.
“Thank you sir,” Paul replied
politely.
Starke walked the two men to
the door to his office, opened it up and showed them out.
Chief Sharkey stood up when
the three men walked into the waiting area.
“Ready to leave Chief?” Nelson asked.
“Yes sir,” Sharkey replied glaring
at Paul.
“Chief, Mr. Gallagher will be
returning with us to the institute. No
questions, I’ll fill you in later.”
“Yes sir,” Sharkey responded frowning
and held the door for the two men.
There was a car waiting for them
when they left the building. As they were driven to the dock, the admiral
explained to Sharkey why he was bringing back Paul. The admiral could tell Sharkey didn’t like it
but wouldn’t say anything. They pulled
up to the dock where FS-1 was bobbing in the channel.
“I can’t wait to fly in
that,” Paul said excitedly.
The three men climbed down
the ladder. Sharkey made sure that Paul
was strapped in and they took off for NIMR.
((()))
It was late afternoon by the
time they reached the institute. Before
they’d submerge into the channel to dock with Seaview, the admiral
called Angie and asked her to call down to the dock and alert Kowalski and
Patterson that they were returning and would like them to help dock FS-1.
Paul was enjoying his ride
aboard the small sub. “Admiral, I have
to admit this is one cool machine.”
“Thanks Paul,” the admiral
replied as he called Seaview.
“FS-1 to Seaview, come in Seaview.”
“Seaview,” Kowalski
replied.
“We’re approaching the
channel now, Kowalski, please open the docking doors.”
“Yes sir,” he replied and
pressed the button opening the doors. He
could feel Seaview shudder as the doors opened and felt FS-1 docking. Once he heard the engines turn off, he shut
the doors. He and Patterson went to the
hatch and opened it up.
The admiral was the first
out, followed by Sharkey. They were
closing the hatch when the admiral stopped them. “We brought back a passenger.”
Kowalski reached his hand
down to help Paul out of the hatch. When
he saw who it was he stopped and stared at him and then the admiral. “I’ll explain later. I would like you and Patterson to keep an eye
on him,” the admiral told the two men.
“Yes sir,” they replied
tensely.
“Now I need to get to the
hospital to see Captain Crane. You two
will come with me and Paul. Chief, get
your car and meet us at the hospital.”
“Yes sir,” Sharkey answered.
The four men went up the
ladder and down the gangplank to the admiral’s car where Gallagher sat in the
back with Patterson while Kowalski sat in front with the Admiral. As they were driving to the hospital, the
admiral explained to his men why Gallagher had accompanied them back from
The admiral, Gallagher,
Kowalski and Patterson arrived at the hospital and waited for Chief Sharkey
before they went to the floor where Lee’s room was located. There was a small waiting area at the end of
the hall. “Men, could you please stay
here with Mr. Gallagher until I need you.”
“Yes, sir,” Sharkey replied
and sat on the couch across from Gallagher and his men.
The admiral returned to Lee’s
room and stood outside for a moment. He
took a deep breath and entered the room.
Lee was awake and talking to Janet and Chip. He stopped when the admiral entered the
room. “Good afternoon, sir,” he
said. “I hope everything went okay in
“Everything went just fine
but I do need to talk to you about the meeting,” the admiral said to them. “It’s about the mission to Gromenten.”
Chip stood up and was walking
to the door when the admiral stopped him.
“You can hear what I have to say.”
The admiral stood at the foot
of the bed along with Chip. All three of
them looked at the admiral’s face and knew something was up.
Rubbing his hand on his
forehead, the admiral said, “There’s no easy way to say this. I had talked to Admiral Johnson before I came
here earlier this morning and I told him what happened. He was the one who scheduled the meeting in
Before he could finish Janet
stopped him with tears in her eyes, “I’ll do whatever needs to be done to get
that information so no more families will have to suffer a loss.”
Lee looked at her, “Sweetie,
you can’t go alone...Admiral is someone going to go with her...you...Jason
Weldon,” he asked nervously. He didn’t
want her to go but he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if more men died
because of him.
Chip quickly spoke up, “I’ll
go with her if that will help.”
The admiral responded, “Jason
Weldon isn’t available. I volunteered to
go and I figured Chip would volunteer also but Johnson won’t budge because
Kelly is in control and he has no way of reaching him to inform him of the
current situation.”
Janet looked at the admiral
and asked, “Who’s going to go then?”
Lee replied softly, “Paul
Gallagher.”
“Yes,” the admiral answered
letting out his breath. “I brought him
back with us. He’s agreed to help us
out.”
Lee, the admiral and Chip saw
the horrified look on Janet’s face. “I
can’t...please let me talk to Johnson,” Janet pleaded.
“What’s to stop him from
taking Janet, the flash drive and selling it to other countries? What’s he going to get out of this?” Lee
snapped.
The admiral explained to them
the conditions which Gallagher agreed to abide by. “He’s a wanted man so he has nothing to lose
and a lot to gain by helping us out.”
Lee took Janet’s hand. “I know you don’t like him but...”
“It’s okay Lee. I’ve got no
choice as I don’t want any more families to be hurt so I’ll work with him. But I will set up some rules.”
“I’m sure you will,” Le
replied with a wry grin. “Is he here?”
“Yes, he’s out there with
Sharkey, Kowalski and Patterson. I need
to find a place for him to stay on institute grounds. Johnson wants to make sure nobody finds him.”
“He can stay at our house,”
Janet said quietly. “I might as well set
down the ground rules before we leave.”
The admiral left the room to
get Gallagher. Lee looked at Janet,
“Thank you.” Chip stood there not
looking very happy at what was going to take place but knew Janet and Lee had
no other options.
The admiral returned with Gallagher
who stood at the foot of the bed. “I
promise I’ll keep her safe,” Gallagher told Lee.
“You better,” Lee answered
sharply. “I have the travel information
and itinerary but Johnson didn’t tell me how we were going to get out of
there. Admiral will you contact him and
have him send that information to you and what they’re going to do about
phones. They’ll need to be in contact with me or she won’t go. After we get
that information, we’ll go over the plans and details tomorrow.”
“I’ll take care of that,” the
admiral replied, “I have to let Admiral Johnson know Janet’s going.”
Jamie walked into the room
and saw Gallagher there. “What the hell
is he doing on here?”
The admiral explained to him
why he was there and what he and Janet were going to do. Jamie looked at Lee, “And you’re okay with
this?”
“Jamie, I don’t like it at
all but we don’t want any more families to suffer a loss,” Lee replied wearily
as he rubbed his forehead.
Jamie looked at him and could
see he was tired. “Everyone out, he
needs to rest,” Jamie ordered.
“I’ll be back shortly,” Janet
whispered in Lee’s ear as she left with the rest of them.
“Chief, take Mr. Gallagher to
his townhouse so he can get the clothes and items he needs for the trip and
bring him to the skipper’s house and stay there until Mrs. Crane returns. Kowalski and Patterson will go with you.”
“Aye, aye sir,” Sharkey
answered surprised that Gallagher was staying at the skipper’s house. He would make sure someone was on duty all
night at his house.
They left the hospital while
the admiral, Chip, Jamie and Janet returned to Lee’s room.
“Chip, you don’t have to sit
her all night. Go get Julie, have some
dinner and go home,” Janet insisted.
Rubbing the back of his neck,
“Okay but I’ll be back tomorrow to help with the plans.”
The admiral told them, “I’m
going to call Admiral Johnson and advise him that you’re going and get the rest
of the information. I’ll see you
tomorrow morning.”
“Yes sir,” Janet responded as
she sat down in the chair and picked up Lee’s hand realizing the next few days
were going to be very difficult.
“Lee, how are you feeling...did
you eat lunch?” Jamie asked as he took his vitals.
“Still have a headache but
they should be bringing me some medication soon,” he replied. “Yes, Angie and Wanda stopped by on their way
home and brought some food from the diner as they know the hospital food isn’t
that good. I did manage to eat some but
still not feeling that hungry.”
Jamie patted Lee’s shoulder,
“You know concussions take time to get over so you still need to rest.”
Jamie and Janet sat talking
to Lee for awhile when he started to yawn.
“Go home and get some rest,” he told Janet. “We have a lot to do tomorrow. Jamie you can go too as there are plenty of
doctors and nurses to take care of me.
Would you do me a favor and walk Janet to her car?”
”Lee, I can walk to my car,” Janet insisted.
“I’m leaving anyway so it’s
no trouble,” Jamie replied as he left the room leaving them alone for a few
minutes so he could put some information on Lee’s chart.
Janet gave Lee a kiss and
rubbed his cheek. “I’ll bring your
shaving kit tomorrow. You’re looking a little too scruffy for me,” she said
with a smile.
Smiling back, “Thanks,” he
answered and returned her kiss. He
watched her walk out of the room and saw her meet Jamie in the corridor before
the door closed. What have I gotten
her into this time? he
thought as he closed his eyes.
As Jamie and Janet walked to
her car in the parking lot, Jamie asked, “Are you sure about this
mission...working with Paul Gallagher...can he be trusted?”
“No Jamie, I’m not sure of
anything and I’m scared as hell but I have to do it.” Jamie nodded his head understanding why she needed
to undertake the mission as she’s developed a sense of duty just like Lee.
They reached Janet’s car and
Jamie waited until she pulled out of the parking lot before returning to his
car. Janet, I hope you know what
you’re doing, he thought as he drove home.
((()))
Janet pulled into her
driveway and saw that Kowalski’s and Sharkey’s car were still there. Sighing deeply, she sat there for a few
minutes before going in. Just as she got
out of the car, Patterson opened the door to the house and walked over to the
car to greet her. “Hi Mrs. C, is the
skipper okay?”
“Yes, he’s okay just tired so
he sent me home,” she replied as she walked into the house. Gallagher was sitting in a chair while
Kowalski and Sharkey sat on the couch watching him. “You can all go home. Mr. Gallagher won’t try anything or leave the
house, will you?” Janet said tersely.
“Where am I going to go?” Gallagher
replied sarcastically. “This place is
worse than
“Mrs. C, I told the skipper I
would have somebody stay here,” Sharkey protested as Janet opened the door for
the men.
“Chief, please it’s been a
long day and I’ll clear it with the skipper. I’ll be fine.”
“Yes ma’am,” he replied. “Okay, you heard Mrs. C. out now.”
Quickly standing up, the
other three men said goodnight as they walked out the door. Janet said goodnight, shut the door and
locked it.
“Mr. Gallagher, you know
where the guest room is, help yourself to whatever is in the refrigerator and
I’ll see you in the morning. Just a few
ground rules for this mission; no touching, hopefully there will be two beds,
if not you’ll sleep on the couch, chair or floor. I really don’t care where
just not next to me. You will not be in
the bathroom area when I’m in there and clothes on at all times. And you will
be ready to leave by 0800 tomorrow morning.”
“Yes, Mrs. Crane, I’ll be
ready and I accept your rules.”
Janet went upstairs to her
bedroom where she shut and locked the door.
She got ready for bed, climbed in and sat there for a few minutes. What have I gotten myself into? she
thought as she scooted under the covers and fell asleep.
((()))
By the time the admiral
returned to the institute, Angie and Wanda had left for the day. He sat down at his desk and placed a call to
Admiral Johnson even though it was already 2100 hours in
“Gerald, I explained to Lee
and Janet about the turn of events that took place regarding the men that were
killed and she’s agreed to go with Gallagher.”
The admiral could hear him
let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks
Harry, I’m sure that wasn’t a pleasant task.
I still can’t believe how much he looks like Commander Crane.”
The admiral let out a small
chuckle. “Gerald, he fooled everyone but
Janet. She said his eyes had no warmth
and after seeing him again I know what she means.”
“Any problems or concerns I
should know about,” Johnson asked.
“Lee has a couple of items
that need to be addressed. First we need
to know what arrangements have been made to get them out of there and secondly,
phones. He will not let her go unless
she has a phone.”
“No problem with the phone. Is there anyway you can get one as there
isn’t enough time to send one to you?”
“I’ll have Commander Morton
take care of that. How are they getting
out of there?” the admiral repeated tersely.
“I’ve e-mailed you that
information. I don’t think there’ll be
any problems,” Johnson said hesitantly.
“Lee is going to review the
itinerary and escape plans with Janet and Gallagher tomorrow. You know he’s going to scrutinize those plans
so there better not be any problems. If
something happens to Janet on this mission, I can guarantee that you will never
see or hear from Lee Crane again,” the admiral said curtly.
“Harry, you’re forgetting
that Gallagher is a highly qualified operative on the same caliber as Crane,”
Johnson replied sharply.
“Sorry Gerald but the last
twenty-four hours have been very difficult.
I guess it’s catching up to me.
If there are any problems, we’ll contact you tomorrow. Goodnight.”
“No problem, Harry. I appreciate your help getting Janet to
go. Talk to you later.”
The admiral hung up the phone
and sat back in his chair for a few minutes.
Leaning forward he opened the bottom drawer of his desk and took out a
glass and a bottle of his favorite scotch.
He poured himself a healthy amount and sat back in his chair as he
sipped the amber liquid. I sure hope
I didn’t make a mistake convincing Janet to take on this mission, he
thought as he finished up his drink leaving the glass on his desk. He got up, turned off the lights and went
home where he found a light supper waiting for him. He was hungry as he hadn’t eaten anything all
day so he finished up the supper, cleaned up and went to bed.
((()))
Chip went to Julie’s house
after he left the hospital. Even though he was exhausted he needed to see
her. She opened the door when he knocked
and could tell he was wiped out.
He walked into the living
room and gave her a kiss, “I really needed that,” he told her kissing her
again.
“That bad,” she asked as she
walked into the kitchen and took a bottle of beer out of the refrigerator and
handed it to him.
“I sure need this too,” he
grinned taking a large swig.
“Let’s eat and you can tell
me what happened,” Julie said as they sat down at the table.
“Honey, I would love to tell
you about it but I can’t,” Chip replied.
“I’m sorry.”
Julie patted his hand, “I
understand. I can’t always tell you
about my day either. Can you stay
tonight?”
“Yes, I have to be back at
the hospital tomorrow morning but I can get up early and go home and change.”
Julie grabbed his hand and
led him to the bedroom. They undressed
and climbed into bed where they lost themselves into each other. Tired but happy, Chip wrapped his arms around
Julie while she slept. Even though he
was exhausted, he had a hard time falling asleep. I hope Lee won’t regret letting Janet go
on this mission, he thought as he finally fell asleep.
((()))
Janet woke up early and got
ready to leave for the hospital. She grabbed Lee’s shaving kit before she went
downstairs. When she unlocked the door
and opened it, she could smell the coffee all ready brewing. She found Gallagher toasting a couple of
bagels.
“I thought you might be
hungry as you didn’t have dinner last night,” Gallagher told her has he poured
her some coffee.
“Thanks,” Janet replied, took
a drink and a bite of the bagel.
They quickly finished
breakfast, cleaned up and left for the hospital. They arrived at the hospital at 0830. Janet
gave Lee a kiss and then helped him shave.
He looked and felt so much better that he got another kiss. He had already eaten breakfast but was
savoring his only cup of coffee for the day as Jamie would only let him have
one. His headache was gone and it still
hurt to move around but he was determined to get out of bed. The nurse had brought him some crutches so he
was finally able to go to the bathroom on his own and sit in a chair with his
leg propped up on another chair.
It was 0900 by the time
everyone got to the hospital to go over the itinerary and information. Lee was anxious to see how Janet and Gallagher
were going to get out of Gromenten. The
admiral gave Lee the information Johnson had sent him last night via his
personal code.
As Lee looked over the
information the admiral asked, “Chip, could you get a phone? Admiral Johnson doesn’t have enough time to
get them a phone before they leave so I said you would take care of getting
one.”
“Sure, no problem. I’ll get a burner phone and program in the
numbers she’ll need.”
“Thanks Chip,” Lee said
relieved that at least she’ll have a phone.
“Admiral, did Admiral Johnson give you any more details than what is on
this paper? I would like to know the
name of the operative who’s going to get them out of the reception hall and the
person who is meeting them at the lake.”
“Sorry Lee, that’s all I
have. I’ll check with Angie to see if
there’re any more e-mails,” the admiral replied and left the room to call
her. He returned to the room a few
minutes later. “No e-mails from
Johnson.”
“Damn,” Lee responded not
happy with the lack of information or the escape plan. Sighing deeply, he looked at Janet and Gallagher,
“Here’s what’s going down. This is the
itinerary for the time you’re in Gromenten.
After landing there, you can take a cab to the hotel. I looked at the map and the airport isn’t too
far from the capital so it shouldn’t take you too long to get to the hotel and
check in. Hopefully the room has two
beds,” Lee said looking directly at Gallagher.
“If not...”
“Lee, don’t worry that issue
has been taken care off,” Janet reassured him.
“Please continue.”
Lee looked at Janet and then Gallagher;
Janet must have set down the ground rules already, he thought and
continued, “The dedication and grand opening of the aquarium will take place on
Friday afternoon followed by a dinner sponsored by the aquarium. Since we’re taking the admiral’s place on
this trip, you’re invited to the dinner because he was one of the honored
guests.”
“When do we need to wear the
white dinner jacket?” Gallagher asked frowning.
Chuckling Lee answered, “Not
a fan of a white I take it. You’ll need
to wear that on Saturday for the formal reception hosted by the President of
Gromenten. You’ll meet Leon Kelly at the
reception. I don’t have any idea how
he’s going to get the flash drive to Janet.
Sweetie, you’re going to have to play that by ear.”
“No problem,” Janet
responded. “I’ll figure something out.”
“Once you have the flash
drive, there will be a server who is one of our operatives, sorry don’t know
his name, and he will escort you out of the ballroom through the kitchen where
he’ll have a car waiting for you. Gallagher,
it’s about an hour’s drive to
“No problem,” the admiral
responded. “Janet as soon as you leave
“Thank you,” Janet replied
feeling better that FS-1 would be bringing them back home as she’s was already
worried about all the flying they would be doing.
“How long is the flight?” Gallagher
wondered.
“It’s a fourteen hour flight
if you don’t have any issues and Gromenten is nine hours ahead of us so
Thursday’s going to be a long and tiring day.
You’ll have some of Friday to try and get over the jet lag. Chip will drop you off at LAX. I suggest you leave here no later than 1800
hours so you’ll have enough time to make the 2200 flight.
“Anything else I need to know
about you and this mission?” Gallagher inquired.
“No, nothing special. You’re pretty good a being me so I trust
you’ll do what needs to be done,” Lee answered unhappily.
Chip looked at the clock and
they had been meeting for over two hours and he was hungry.
“How about I get us a couple
of pizzas for lunch,” Chip said. “Sorry
Lee no beer with the pizzas this time.”
“Pizza sounds great,” Lee
replied. “Admiral, Janet, Gallagher,
okay with you?”
“Works for me,” Gallagher
answered. “I haven’t had pizza in quite
a few months.”
“Sorry Lee, I need to return
to the office. Angie and Wanda are there
by themselves and I know Angie needed to talk to me about some budget
issues. I’ll check back with you later
on.”
“I understand. Since Jamie isn’t going to let me out of
here for a couple more days, maybe Chip could bring me my computer, proposals,
mail anything to keep me busy.”
“If Jamie says its okay, I’m
fine with it,” the admiral replied as he left to return to NIMR while Chip also
left to go get the pizzas.
((()))
Chip returned with the pizzas
which they finished up not saving any for Lee for later so he would be stuck
with hospital food for dinner.
“Janet, Chip, I want to talk
to Gallagher alone,” Lee told them.
“Could you please wait outside?”
Janet looked at Lee, “Sure,
we’ll take the pizza boxes and cans and dispose of them.” She and Chip picked up the trash and left the
room. Gallagher stayed in the room and
sat down in the chair next to Lee.
“Gallagher, I’m trusting you
with the most important person in my life,” Lee said seriously. “You better
make sure you bring her back safely or the world won’t be big enough for you to
hide in,” he threatened.
“Lee, we’ll be careful, get
the flash drive and be back here in one piece.
I know what I’m doing,” Gallagher stated. “I have money and no one to share it with so
I’m hoping my family will take me back when I return. I made a big mistake by going to work for the
PR but as they say the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.”
Lee shook his hand and handed
him the itinerary papers and invitations.
Lee would keep the information on the escape plan. He was hoping to call Admiral Johnson and get
some more information on the identities of the people helping Gallagher and
Janet.
“Could you please ask Janet
to come back? I want to talk to her,” Lee asked Paul.
“Sure Lee,” Gallagher replied
and held the door as Janet walked in.
((()))
After Chip and Janet disposed
of the garbage, they were standing by the door to Lee’s room.
“We’re going to have to leave
soon so you can get your things. I want
to leave no later than 1800 hours as traffic could be a real pain at that
time.”
“We’ll leave as soon as I say
goodbye to Lee. I haven’t packed
anything but have it ready I just need to get the suitcase out of the garage.”
“Janet, you’re not sure about
this mission are you?” Chip asked sensing she was very nervous as she didn’t
stop tapping her foot the whole time they’ve been standing there.
“I’m just nervous and
worried. I don’t like leaving Lee in his
condition. Oh I know he’ll be alright
it’s just that going that far without him.”
“You’ve been on missions
without him before. The one with Jason
Weldon***** and
“And look how they turned
out,” Janet answered with a wry grin.
“I’m sure everything will be fine.
I only have one other small issue.”
Chip raised his eyebrows wondering
what that could be. “What issue?”
“There’s a hell of a lot of
flying involved and you know how I like to fly,” she giggled nervously.
Chip broke out in a smile and
patted her hand, “You’ll be fine, just don’t look down.”
They saw the door to Lee’s
room open and Gallagher stepped out.
“Janet, Lee wants to see you.”
She went into the room
leaving Chip and Gallagher in the hallway.
Chip gave Gallagher one of his well known icy stares.
“I know I better bring her
back safely,” Gallagher sighed deeply.
((()))
Janet sat down on the chair
with Lee’s leg on it so she could face him.
He noticed the worried look in her eyes.
He took her hands in his,
“What’s wrong?”
“I just hate the fact that
Paul has to be you again...he’s so nonchalant about it.”
“Sweetie, you’re going to
have to make the best of it. I’m not
exactly thrilled that my wife is going to be sixty-five hundred miles away with
a criminal but look at the outcome when we get that flash drive with the plans
on it; you will be saving a
lot of lives.
“I know it needs to be done
and I agreed to do it but it still bothers me,” Janet replied as Lee struggled
to his feet and leaned on one of his crutches as he gently gathered Janet in
his arms.
“I’m scared,” Janet said
softly as she gently rested her head on his chest.
“I’d be worried if you
weren’t scared,” Lee replied as he rubbed her back. “I get nervous too when I have to go on a
mission…everything will be fine…just trust Gallagher, he’s a good operative.”
“I will,” Janet answered as
Lee gave her a deep passionate kiss which she eagerly returned.
“That’s going to have to hold
you for a few days,” Lee smirked.
“Yes and you too,” Janet
responded hugging him tenderly so she wouldn’t hurt his ribs.
Janet went to the door and
let Chip and Gallagher back in. “We
better be going,” Janet told Gallagher.
“I need to finish packing.” She
gave Lee one more kiss before they left the room.
Chip was watching Lee as he
watched Janet and Gallagher walk out the door.
“She’ll be okay,” Chip said softly before he left.
“I sure hope so,” Lee replied
worriedly as he ran his hand through his hair and sat back down in the chair.
((()))
Traffic was light through
She had just finished packing
when Chip knocked on the door. He took
Janet’s suitcase and loaded it in the car leaving Gallagher to put his own bag
in the car. Janet climbed into the front
seat so Gallagher had to sit in the back.
Traffic wasn’t as bad as Chip expected so they made it to LAX in plenty
of time to catch their flight. Chip took
Janet’s bag out of the car while Gallagher grabbed his suitcase and the garment
bag.
“Be safe,” Chip said as he
gave Janet a hug and kiss on the cheek before he had to leave the drop off
lane.
“We will,” Janet replied
quickly returning the hug and kiss. She
took her bag and brought it the skycap for tagging.
Gallagher waited at the door
to the terminal for Janet before they walked in together.
((()))
They checked in as Lee and
Janet Crane and made their way to the gate.
The flight was on time but they had about an hour to kill before the
flight took off.
“Do you need something to
read?” Gallagher asked as they walked by a magazine stand.
“No thanks, I have a
book. I’m actually glad this flight is
at night. I hope I can sleep most of it
away.”
Gallagher grinned, “Don’t
like to fly?”
“No, I hate flying except on
FS-1. I love flying in that little sub.”
Before long they were
boarding their flight. Both of them were
dressed in blue jeans, shirts and comfortable shoes. Gallagher’s jeans were a little tight and
Janet had to admit he looked just like Lee.
As they boarded Janet noticed the flight attendants giving Gallagher the
once over. Glad it’s him and not Lee,
Janet thought as they made their way to their seats in business class so they
would have a little more room.
As they took off, Janet was
gripping the arm rest so tightly her knuckles were turning white. Gallagher noticed and gently patted her hand
which she quickly pushed away. This
is going to be a long mission if she keeps this up, Gallagher thought as he
looked out the window.
Janet fell asleep about four
hours into the flight. Gallagher lasted
a couple more hours before he too fell asleep.
When they awoke, the flight had only two more hours before it
landed.
((()))
They went through customs and
were walking through the terminal when Janet stumbled and Gallagher grabbed her
arm. She glared at him as he prevented
her from falling.
“Janet, I know you despise me
for what I did to you and Lee but you’re going to have to act like were married
if this mission is going to succeed,” Gallagher said exasperated with her
attitude. “I know what I’m doing so please
trust me...I’ll get us back home safely...I promise.”
Janet looked at Gallagher,
“Thank you and I’m sorry,” she said contritely.
“You’re right I need to forget about the past and work on getting this
mission completed. I forgot you are a
trained agent even if you worked for the other side. I’ll trust you.” She took his hand gave it a gentle squeeze
as they continued to walk through the terminal and outside to get a taxi.
((()))
Gallagher hailed a taxi and
dropped them off in the front of a new hotel.
The bell hop removed their luggage and brought it into the lobby and
waited for them as they checked in.
“Good evening Mr. and Mrs.
Crane. You’re on the fourth floor,” the
young desk clerk told them as she handed Gallagher the two key cards and gave
him the once over.
“Thank you,” Gallagher
replied and took Janet’s hand as they walked to the elevators. She didn’t remove his hand from hers just in
case someone was watching.
Janet snickered as they
walked away, “Same thing happens to the real Lee,” she whispered.
“That might be one advantage
of looking like him,” Paul teased as they got into the elevator with the bell
hop.
Paul found their room, opened
the door and let the bell hop go in first with their luggage. He put it on the stands and hung up the
garment bag. Paul gave him a tip and
locked the door when he left. He put a
finger to his lips not wanting Janet to say anything. He went over to his suitcase and pulled out a
small black device. He slowly scanned
the room for listening devices and then checked for cameras.
“The room is clean,” he said
to Janet after he didn’t find anything.
Grinning, Janet replied, “Lee
does the same thing every time we stay at a hotel. It must be the spy in you.”
“You can’t be too careful,”
Paul answered. “Are you hungry...we
could get something to eat.”
“I’m not hungry just tired,”
Janet replied smiling as she noticed there were two beds in the room.
Paul saw her grin. “Well that takes care of one ground rule but
I’m taking the bed by the door to the balcony.
You take the one by the wall. If
something goes wrong, I want you to roll off the bed onto the floor and stay
down next to the bed and the wall.”
“Okay,” Janet said. “We always sleep in the bed by the wall. Don’t you get tired of being a spy?”
“No and I’m sure Lee has
explained to you that you never know who or what will happen and I’m not taking
any chances.”
“Yes, he has,” Janet sighed
as she opened her suitcase and took out her pajamas. She went into the bathroom, changed and
climbed into bed. Goodnight Paul,” she
said quietly.
“Goodnight Janet,” he replied
as he walked to the bathroom and got ready for bed. He climbed in the bed and fell asleep.
((()))
When Janet woke up the next
morning she noticed that Paul’s bed was empty and made. She didn’t hear anyone in the bathroom and
started to panic. Damn, she thought.
She quickly pulled on her
robe and was going to double check the bathroom when she heard the key card in
the door.
Paul walked in with a couple
of coffees and saw Janet standing there.
“Did you think I left you?”
he asked seeing the worried look on her face.
Slightly embarrassed she
replied, “Well, you weren’t here and there wasn’t note so it did cross my
mind.”
“I won’t leave you here
alone…I will complete the mission,” Paul reassured her and handed her a
coffee. “Cream and sugar right?”
“Thanks,” Janet replied and
took a swig. “Not to strong just the way
I like it.”
“I’m not a big fan of
coffee. One cup will last me all
day. I know Lee drinks it by the gallon
so I had to get use to that,” Paul admitted.
“Yes, he does like his
coffee,” Janet answered. “What’s on the
agenda for today before we need to go to the opening of the aquarium?” She took another sip of her coffee.
“I don’t know about you but I’m
starving so as soon as we’re ready and have had breakfast, I would like to look
around the outside of the aquarium and then go over to the hotel where the
reception is being held. I just want to
check out the exits and find the road that we’re supposed to take to the lake. I found a map of the city when I got the
coffee and studied it. It looks like we
can walk to where we need to go. You
okay walking around?”
“No problem. I like walking plus we’ll get to see more of
the city. Just let me take a quick
shower and I’ll be ready to leave in twenty minutes.”
“Twenty minutes?” Paul
questioned. “I never met a woman who
could get ready in that short of time.”
“Watch me,” Janet responded
and was ready to go twenty minutes much to Paul’s surprise.
They walked out of the hotel
room to find a place to eat.
((()))
They left the hotel and
walked a short way down the street to a small restaurant that wasn’t too crowded. They were seated immediately and ordered
breakfast. While they waited for their
food Paul had some questions for Janet.
“I know it’s none of my
business but I would like to know a little more about you in case someone asks
me at the reception. I know enough about
Lee to get by but nothing about you. How
did you meet...did you always live in
“I understand that someone
might ask those questions in conversation so I’ll give you the answers,” Janet
said as she explained to Paul how she came to
“That’s quite an interesting
story. I’m glad it worked out for you and
thanks for answering my questions,”
“Now how about answering some
of my questions,” Janet asked as she finished her breakfast. “How come you became an operative for the
PR?”
“The PR gave me an offer I
couldn’t pass up and I’d rather not say how they found me,” Paul told her. “As I told Lee it’s a move I regret taking as
I’ve alienated my family and friends.
When this is over I’m going to contact my family and see if they’ll
forgive and let me back into the fold.”
“I understand,” Janet replied
honestly. “I have just one more
question. How did you manage to capture
Lee?”
“A good operative never
reveals his plans,” Paul laughed but continued, “I got lucky as someone else
set him up and I was in the right place at the right time but once I had him,
he was very difficult to contain. He
seemed to be one step ahead of me at all times.
I was very embarrassed that he managed to escape even with all the extra
precautions I implemented.”
“Thanks for telling me,”
Janet said as Paul paid their breakfast tab.
Janet smiled at what Paul told her as Lee was always one step ahead of
everyone.
It was a beautiful day and
she was looking forward to their walk. I
guess he’s not that bad, Janet thought as they walked to the aquarium.
((()))
They reached the aquarium and
went up the steps. Paul opened the door
for Janet and they went inside. They
didn’t get very far when a guard stopped them.
“Sorry the aquarium isn’t open to the public until tomorrow. The grand opening will take place later
today.”
“No problem,” Janet replied
as Paul scoped out what they could see.
After they left the building
and walked back down the steps, Janet dropped a tissue on the ground and bent
over to pick it up looking behind her. Janet
whispered to Paul when she stood back up, “Did you notice the man in the grey
sweater and black pants? He’s been
following us for awhile.”
Surprised that she noticed
him, Paul replied, “You’re pretty observant.
Yes, I saw him. He’s been
following us since we left the restaurant.
Stay close...I’m not sure what he’s after. Can we continue on to the reception hall or
would you rather return to our hotel?”
“I have no problem continuing
on,” Janet replied as they made their way to the hotel.
The hotel where the reception
was being held was one of the older ones in the city. Paul and Janet could tell it had been
remodeled but still kept the old world charm.
“I really want to check out the back exit of the hotel and where we’ll
pick up the car. I want you to go into
the lobby and wait for me there as it looked pretty busy. If the man follows you in there, stay in
plain sight. I don’t think he’ll try
anything with all those people around.
I’ll come in and get you when I’m done checking out the back.”
“Okay, I’ll be right by the
door,” Janet answered worriedly as she went into the lobby and waited by the
door watching for the man to go by. The
man continued on down the street. Janet
noticed he didn’t even follow Paul when he went around the side of the hotel.
Paul walked to the back of the
hotel looking behind him to see if the man had followed him down the
alley. He saw the man walk by the
alley. The alley was actually very wide
as cars were parked on the opposite side of the back of the hotel. Paul located the door outside the kitchen and
walked by it looking to see if the alley would take them to the street. He walked a short distance past the hotel and
found a road that looked like it led out of town. Paul made his way back to the front door of
the hotel and went inside to find Janet.
Janet saw Paul enter the
hotel. “Did everything check out?”
“Yes, the alley’s wide enough
for a car to be parked and the road is right past the end of the hotel. I don’t think we’ll have any problems.” Paul looked at his watch. “How about we get some lunch? By the time we eat and walk back to our
hotel, we should start getting ready for the grand opening of the aquarium.”
“Sounds good,” Janet
responded. “Do you think I could call
Lee when we get back just to let him know we’re okay and find out how he is?
“I don’t think that will be a
problem,” Paul replied with a grin.
They found a restaurant
enjoyed a nice lunch and walked back to the hotel. Both of them had they’re eye out for the man
who followed them before but neither one of them saw him or anyone else
following them.
((()))
The man continued walking
past the hotel and saw that Paul had gone down the alley. He wasn’t sure why but would let his
superiors know. He walked a couple more
blocks before he pulled out his phone and made a call. “I followed them for most of the
morning. They went to the aquarium and
then to the hotel where the reception is being held. I guess he was checking them out. Yes, I’m sure it was Lee Crane and his
wife. We’ll be ready for them tomorrow
night. I’ll check in with you tomorrow
after we have them.”
((()))
Paul and Janet made it back
to the hotel with plenty of time to get ready.
Before Janet made her phone call, Paul scanned the room again for
bugs. He wasn’t going to take any
chances that someone had entered their room after they left. He was a little worried about the man that
followed them.
The phone rang only once when
Lee picked it up, “Hello,” he said quickly.
“Hi grandpa, how are you
doing?” Janet asked as Paul shook his head.
Lee sure has trained her well, he thought.
Chip was with Lee and saw a
puzzled look come over his face before he broke out into a smile. “I’m fine, sweetie. How are you...enjoying your vacation?”
“Yes, everything is fine here
too. Miss you and can’t wait to tell you
all about it,” Janet answered. “I’ll
call you tomorrow. Bye grandpa.”
“Bye sweetie, love you,” Lee
replied and disconnected the call.
“Grandpa, is that the best she could do.”
Chip looked at Lee and
grinned, “Grandpa? Is that Janet’s code
word for you...actually that’s not too bad as you’re moving like one,” Chip
teased as Lee swatted his shoulder and then grimaced in pain forgetting about
his ribs.
Breathing a sigh of relief, “So
far everything is okay,” Lee told Chip.
When Janet hung up the phone,
Paul burst out laughing. “Grandpa.”
“I wasn’t sure if anyone
would be able to trace or listen on my call, so I didn’t want to use Lee’s real
name so that’s all I could come up with,” Janet replied with a chuckle.
“Well that will work. Do you want to get ready first?”
“No, why don’t you get
ready. I’ll need a little more than
twenty minutes this time.”
Paul quickly took a shower
and dressed in a black suit with a white shirt. He went out on the balcony and put on a
purple tie while Janet got ready. She
showered, did her hair and make up and put on a dark purple dress unaware that
Paul had put on a purple tie.
“Well I guess great minds
think alike,” Janet laughed when she saw his tie. She grabbed her purse and put any
identifying documents they had with them in it as they didn’t want to leave
that information in the room. Paul
opened the door and as they left the room, he tied a thin piece of wire around
the door handle and latch. There were a
few people in the hallway so Janet linked her arm in Paul’s as they walked to
the elevator. When they got to the lobby,
Paul hailed a cab for the ride to the aquarium.
((()))
When they arrived at the
aquarium, it was all lit up and there was a line of people waiting to get
in. You had to show your invitation to
the guards at the door before you could enter.
Paul took the invitation out of his suit coat pocket and showed it to
the guard who checked their name off the guest list. They walked down a short hall where the
president of the aquarium was greeting guests.
“Good evening, I’m Goran Zaklon,
president of the aquarium,” he said to Paul and Janet as he shook Janet’s hand.
“Hello, I’m Lee Crane and
this is my wife Janet. We’re very sorry
Admiral Nelson couldn’t attend your opening.
He was called to
“Oh yes, it’s nice to meet
you. I was sorry to hear he wasn’t
attending but I’m glad he sent you Captain Crane. I hope you’ll report back to Admiral Nelson how
nice our exhibits are and hopefully he’ll be able to join us one day.”
“From what I’ve seen your
exhibits are wonderful and I’m sure the admiral will make a point of coming to
see your aquarium,” Janet told Mr. Zaklon.
“Thank you Mrs. Crane. I hope you’ll both enjoy looking around at
the rest of the aquarium and the dinner.”
Paul and Janet walked away
from the president as he greeted the next guests in line. There were waiters serving champagne and hors
d’oeuvres. Paul removed two glasses of
champagne and gave one to Janet. They
each took a couple of shrimp hors d’oeuvres and walked around the aquarium
sipping their champagne.
“The admiral would really
love this place. It has everything from
penguins to octopuses along with quite a large assortment of fish. We would have to give him a time limit though
as he would never leave,” Janet said smiling.
This place reminds me of the windows on Seaview and Lee would like
this place too, she thought as they stopped at an exhibit where the sea
otters and seals were playing in the water.
Before long they were asked
to be seated so they could serve dinner.
“I hope they don’t have fish on the menu,” Paul whispered jokingly as he
found their table and held the chair out for Janet. She laughed as the waiter put down a plate of
chicken and rice. They sat at a table
with some representatives from
Since it was still early and
it was a beautiful evening, they decided to walk back to the hotel. As they walked Janet remarked, “One evening
down and one to go.”
“Let’s hope tomorrow’s
evening goes as smoothly as this one,” Paul replied as they entered the hotel
and went up to the room where Paul didn’t check to see if someone had entered
the room as the wire he had place on the door was undisturbed. Tired from the fresh air, walking and champagne,
Paul waited on the balcony while Janet got ready for bed. She was sitting with her back up against the
headboard. She was going to ask Paul
what he had planned for tomorrow when he came out of the bathroom in his pajama
bottoms hung low on his hips. The room
was warm so he wasn’t wearing a top. He
reminded her of Lee so she quickly turned off the light on her side of the bed
and slid under the covers with her back facing Paul.
Paul was smiling as he
climbed into bed, turned off his light and said goodnight to Janet.
((()))
Paul was already up when
Janet woke up. He was dressed and out on
the balcony when she got out of bed. She
quickly got ready and joined him on the balcony.
“What’s on the agenda for
today?” she asked looking over the city.
“I thought since we don’t
have to start getting ready until
“Okay, sounds like fun,”
Janet replied as she walked back into the room and grabbed her purse and
jacket.
Paul didn’t set his trap as
they wanted the maid to take care of the room.
He would check it when they returned.
They had breakfast, found the
bus for the tour and had a nice tour of the palace and sampling some of the
wines. They were back at the hotel by
“I hope you don’t mind but
I’m going to take a nap,” Janet told Paul yawning. “The fresh air and wine have made me sleepy
and I still can’t get over the jet lag.
Will you wake me up by
“Sure. I could use a nap too as it’s going to be a
long night,” he replied as he stretched out on his bed.
Before long both of them were
asleep. Paul had set the alarm on his
watch for
((()))
Janet woke up to the alarm
going off on Paul’s watch which was on the vanity in the bathroom. She figured out how to shut it off but
noticed Paul was still sleeping. He had
sampled a few more glasses of wine than Janet on their tour. She stood there wondering how to wake him up
and not get hurt. The first time she
tried to wake Lee up, he grabbed her by the wrist and almost broke it. The second time she landed on her back on the
deck of Seaview. Lee told her to
put her hand on his knee so she would try that.
She walked over to his bed
and applied a little pressure to his knee.
He kicked her hand off but didn’t try to grab her as he sat up in the
bed.
“Sorry, but you slept through
the alarm and I wasn’t sure how to wake you,” Janet told him. “Lee said I should wake him up that way so I
thought it might work on you too. I
didn’t mean to scare you.”
“No problem. That was a good way to wake me up or you
might have been laying on the floor.”
“Why don’t you get ready
first?” Janet said watching Paul run his hand through his hair just like
Lee. “While you’re getting ready I’ll
give ‘grandpa’ a call.”
“Sounds good as I don’t need
that much time,” Paul said as he got up from the bed and went into the dressing
area. He shaved again, turned on the
shower and took the white dinner jacket out of the bag. He
took the pants from the bag and hung them on the rod along with the
jacket. He took a leisurely shower, put
on some after shave lotion and dressed. He had brought a tie but hoped he
wouldn’t need it but just in case he put it in his jacket pocket. He went into the room where Janet was on the
phone talking to Lee.
((()))
Jamie released Lee from the
hospital on Friday night after he had talked to Janet. The only way he let him go was that Chip
promised to stay with him and make sure he didn’t overdo it. Lee was hoping Janet would call as he had
gotten the names of the contacts from Admiral Johnson. He and Chip were sitting at the table looking
over some proposals when Lee’s phone rang.
“Damn,” he said, “I left it by the couch.” He started to get up but Chip had already
gone over and picked up the phone and handed it to Lee.
Janet was worried when it
rang quite a few times before he finally answered it.
“Hi gramps,” Janet said
happily. “How are you?”
“Hi sweetie, I’m just fine. Jamie let me go home yesterday,” Lee told
her.
“You’re not by yourself,”
Janet asked worriedly.
“No, Cousin Chip is staying
with me until you get back.”
“I bet he likes that,” Janet
laughed.
“Julie’s on assignment out of
town so Chip’s not a happy camper anyway so he doesn’t mind watching me,” Lee
replied.
”How’s everything going?”
“So far, so good,” Janet said
not telling him about the man that followed them as she didn’t want him to
worry. “The aquarium was very nice. Uncle Harry could spend a whole week in there. The president and some people from
“Is Paul behaving?” Lee
wondered.
“Yes, he’s being a perfect
gentleman. Grandpa, I really miss you
and wish you were here.”
“Me too.” Lee replied
sadly. “Is Paul around I would like to
give him some more information I found out from Uncle Johnson?”
“He just finished taking a
shower, let me see if he can come to the phone.”
“Make sure he’s dressed
before you get him,” Lee said jealously.
“Calm down, Gramps. We have a system worked out,” Janet
answered. She put the phone on the bed
and walked over to the dressing area just as Paul was putting on his pants and
was shirtless. “Gramps would like to
talk to you.”
Paul walked over to the bed
and picked up the phone. Janet stood
there staring at him. She almost forgot
it was Paul she was talking too not Lee.
“Hi Paul, Cousin Anton is
real anxious to see you so you’ll go to his place later tonight. He’ll be waiting for you. After you visit him, Uncle Josif is
expecting you. Anton will tell you how
to get there. I know it’s a lot to do
but you do need to see family while you’re there.”
“I understand Gramps,” Paul
replied barely able to keep from laughing.
“I’ll make sure we visit both of them.
Here’s Janet.”
“Okay we’ll see you soon. Grandpa, I miss you,” Janet told Lee lovingly
and whispered, “I love you.”
“I’m looking forward to
having you back...miss and love you too,” Lee replied nervously. He heard Janet disconnect the call.
Chip looked at Lee and could
tell he was worried. “They’ll be leaving
for the reception in an hour. I have
feeling something isn’t going to go as planned.”
“Lee, you’re going to have to
trust Paul’s judgment and Janet’s instincts to complete this mission. Before you say it, I know easier said than
done. Let’s get back to work. It’ll take your mind off of them.”
Rubbing his forehead, a sure
sign he was worried, Lee replied, “You’re right nothing we can do but wait. I
hope you don’t mind me tapping my pencil since I can’t pace,” he teased. Chip just shook his head and gave him another
proposal to look at.
((()))
Janet
stood by the bed with the phone in her hand.
Paul could see she was a little nervous.
“Don’t worry we’ll be back home shortly.
‘Grandpa’ will be okay until then.”
“You’re
right,” Janet replied. “Are you
done...so I can get ready?”
“Yes,
all finished but I’ll have to stay in the room as it’s started to rain. Sorry I promise not to look,” Paul kidded.
“I
know,” she answered as she went into the dressing area and took her dress out
of the garment bag. It was a short off the shoulder black dress. She quickly took a shower, dried her hair and
put on her makeup. She stepped into her
dress but was having trouble zipping it up.
Lee always had to help her when she wore this dress. She put on her pumps and went into the room
where Paul was watching the local news.
“Looks like storms are coming in later tonight so that might slow things
down,” he commented.
“Just
great,” Janet responded unhappily realizing the helicopter might not arrive on
time. “Could you please help me zip up
my dress?”
“Sure,
no problem,” Paul answered as Janet walked up to him and turned around. He zipped up her dress and didn’t try
anything.
“Thanks. Just let me put the rest of my things in the
suitcase. I know we aren’t going to be
able to take this with us so is there anything you want me to put in my purse
besides your papers?”
“No
as long as you don’t mind holding on to those, I’m good.”
Janet
put everything in her suitcase except her lipstick and comb which she put in
her purse. Paul put the garment bag in
his suitcase. He left one of the key
cards on the desk. He took the other
with him to give to Anton so he could get into the room and remove their
luggage. Paul took one last look around.
“Ready
to go?” he asked Janet looking at his watch noticing it was almost
Taking
a deep breath, “All ready,” she replied as Paul opened the door. She took his hand and gave it a gentle
squeeze as they walked to the elevators.
((()))
By
the time they got downstairs it had stopped raining and there was a cab waiting
for them as Paul had called ahead and arranged for one to pick them up. The cab driver had to wait in line before he
could drop them off. He finally pulled up
the entrance of the hotel and the doorman opened the door of the cab, Paul got
out and helped Janet out of the cab.
Paul paid the driver and they walked into the lobby. The prime minister
and his wife were greeting their guests outside the entrance to the ballroom. The
guard asked Paul for their invitation before he would introduce them to the
Prime Minister. Paul took the invitation out of his pocket and presented it to
the guard who led them over to Prime Minster.
“Sir,
Commander and Mrs. Lee Crane,” he told him as the prime minister looked at
Lee.
“Good
evening Commander, Mrs. Crane. Thank you
for coming. I was sorry to hear that
Admiral Nelson was unable to make it but he sent a very capable
replacement. It a pleasure to meet you
Mrs. Crane.”
“The
pleasure is all mine,” Janet replied as she shook his hand as he introduced his
wife to Janet and Paul.
“I
hope you enjoy your visit here and this evening’s festivities,” the prime
minister’s wife said to them as she looked Paul over from head to toe.
“I’m
sure we will,” Paul responded slightly embarrassed as they walked away so they
could greet their next guests.
As
they walked away, Janet looked back and watched as the prime minister’s wife
checked Paul out from behind. She turned
around, chuckled softly and linked her arm into Paul’s. “I guess she liked what she saw,” she told
Paul.
They
walked into the ballroom which was decorated with white drapes interspersed
with black ones. The tables had black
tablecloths with white napkins and chair covers. The only other color in the room were the
centerpieces of white roses with purple iris’ and ferns. The band was setting
up their equipment in the front of the room which had groupings of trees with
white and purple flowers.
“Would
you care for a drink?” Paul asked when they entered the ballroom.
“Yes,
a gin and tonic would be good,” Janet replied as they walked over to the bar
and Paul ordered drinks for both of them.
As
he handed Janet her drink he asked, “Do you see Kelly?”
“No,
I haven’t seen him. I wonder where he is.” Janet replied with a frown.
They
continued to walk around the room greeting people they had met yesterday at the
aquarium and looking for Kelly. Everyone
was asked to be seated so dinner could be served. Paul and Janet found their table and were
happy to be seated with some of the people they met yesterday. A few of the men brought their wives to this
dinner whom they introduced to Janet and Paul.
After
everyone was seated, Anton, the operative that would help them leave was their
server, poured them all a glass of wine from the prime minister’s winery. As
they were eating, the women talked about food while the men talked about world
politics. After dinner Janet decided to use the restroom while Paul went to get
them something to drink. Paul was
standing by the table waiting for her when she returned to the ballroom. She
spotted Kelly by the bar.
“He’s
over by the bar,” Janet whispered to Paul as they sat down. “He’s the gentleman with the blond hair and
purple flower in his lapel. Paul turned
around and saw who Janet described. “I
don’t want to go over there as that would be too obvious, so let’s wait and see
if he makes contact with me,” Janet suggested.
“Good
plan,” Paul responded as the band started to play. “Do you dance?”
“Yes,
I love to dance,” Janet replied as Paul took her hand and led her out to the
dance floor.
As
they danced Janet remarked, “You sure are a great dancer.”
“Thank
you,” Paul answered. “It was my mother’s
idea. She said every man should know how
to dance so she made my brothers and I take dancing lessons. Lee doesn’t dance?”
“Let’s
just say dancing is not one of Lee’s favorite things to do. He’ll dance only if I ask him but I don’t
care how he dances, I just like being in his arms,” Janet sighed.
“Well,
dancer or no dancer, Lee Crane is one lucky guy to be married to you,” Paul
said softly.
Blushing
slightly, Janet replied, “Thank you and I’m very lucky to be married to him.”
They
stayed on the dance floor for another song and as they danced Kelly tapped Paul
on the shoulder. “May I cut in?” he
asked.
“Sure,
but just one dance,” Paul teased turning Janet over to Kelly.
Paul
stood along the side of the room by the trees.
He looked like all the other men dressed in their white dinner jackets,
white shirts and no tie. He stared
intently and frowned as Kelly pulled Janet closer to him as they danced. He was a bit jealous at how close she was to
him even though he had no claim on her either.
“When
we finish this dance, go back to your table and accidentally knock your purse
to the floor. I’ll help you pick up the
contents and give you the flash drive,” Kelly explained to Janet.
“Yes,
how nice,” Janet answered as another couple danced close to them.
The
band finished the song, everyone clapped and Kelly walked Janet back to the
table. Paul started to join them when he
saw Janet knock her purse to the floor.
Both Janet and Kelly bent down to pick up the contents that had fallen
out and handed her the flash drive. Paul
stopped realizing that was how Kelly was going to give Janet the flash
drive. As soon as they stood up, Paul
returned to the table.
“Sweetie,
is everything okay?” he asked as Janet was zipping close her purse.
“Yes,
I accidentally knocked my purse off the chair and Mr. Kelly was kind enough to
help me pick up the stuff that fell out,” Janet replied looking around the
floor to see if there was anything else lying around.
“Thanks
for helping, Mr. Kelly,” Paul said to him as Paul took Janet back out on the
dance floor when the band started playing again.
“Did
you get it?” he asked softly.
“Yes,
it’s in my purse which I will take with me where ever I go. When are we supposed to leave?”
Paul
looked at his watch. It’s only
“I’ll
be ready,” Janet replied as they finished up the dance. “I’m going to go to the ladies’ room as who
knows the next time I’ll get there.”
‘Paul
and Janet walked out of the ballroom.
While Janet was in the ladies’ room, Paul looked outside and saw it was
pouring rain, lightening and thundering.
“Damn,” he muttered under his breath and walked back into the reception
area just as Janet was coming out of the ladies’ room.
“Weather’s
not cooperating. It’s pretty bad out
there. I think we should leave now,”
Paul told Janet as they walked back into the ballroom.
“Fine
with me,” Janet replied going back to the table where Anton was cleaning off the
glasses and napkins.
“Can
we leave now?” Paul whispered to him.
“Weather’s going to slow us down.”
“No
problem. I’m going to take you out through the kitchen. Once I take my tray
into the kitchen, follow me in there. Don’t worry about the staff as I told
them I was helping my friend sneak out of the party with his girlfriend.
There’s a small brown car parked across from the door to the kitchen. The keys are in it. Just follow the alley out, make a left, stay
on the road until you get to
“Thanks
for your help,” Janet said as they waited until Anton had cleared the
table. He walked to the kitchen door,
went in and Paul and Janet followed him.
As they entered the kitchen, Kelly also followed them in.
“What
the hell are you doing here?” Paul asked sharply.
“I’m
defecting to the
Anton
was getting nervous waiting for them to come out the door. He saw a man giving them a hard time and
figured it must be Kelly. He motioned to
them to hurry up.
“All
right come on,” Paul said quickly as the three of them went out the kitchen
door to the car.
Before
Anton returned to the kitchen, Paul gave him the key card to the hotel so he
could remove their luggage and ship it back to the States. Anton was glad this part of the operation was
over. He would go to the hotel after the reception and pick up their luggage.
((()))
Paul
headed for the driver’s seat while Janet and Kelly went to the passenger side
of the car. Kelly looked at Janet as he
held back the seat so she could climb in the back as there was no way he would
fit back there. He was as tall as Paul.
Paul
hopped in the car as Janet was getting into the back seat. “Shit,” he said loudly.
“What’s
wrong,” Janet asked worriedly as she noticed some people entering the alley.
“This
damn car is a stick shift. I can’t drive
stick. Kelly can you drive a manual
trans?”
“Hell
no,” Kelly replied.
Sighing
deeply, Janet said, “Kelly get in the back, Paul scoot over, I can drive a
stick shift.” She removed her purse from her shoulder and put it on the seat
beside her.
Both
men did as they were told. Once in the
car they both stared at Janet amazed that she could drive a manual transmission. Janet started the car and put it first gear
since Anton had backed the car into the parking spot. She pulled into the alley and made the left
onto the road.
“It’s sure crowded back here. I can hardly move,” Kelly complained.
“Do
you want to walk to the
They
had been driving for thirty minutes in the pouring rain. Janet was driving as fast as she could but
the lightening would blind her as she drove down the dark road. They could see flashing lights up ahead and a
car across the road.
“I
wonder if there’s an accident,” Janet said as she slowed down before she got to
the car.
“Possibly
or maybe a road block,” Paul told her.
“Pretend
you’re sleeping and just play along with me.
I’ll get us through,” Janet told the two men. Before she started to drive, she pulled down
the sleeves of her dress exposing a little more cleavage. Sorry Lee, she thought and continued
to the car and flashing lights.
A
man with a flare raised his hands stopping them when they got to the car. Two men in uniforms with high powered
flashlights walked over to the sides of the car.
Janet
rolled down the window, “Is there something wrong?” she asked as she pulled her
skirt a little higher exposing more of her thighs.
“Who’s
in the car with you?” the man asked as he waved his flashlight at the passenger
seat and the back seat.
“My
husband’s in the passenger seat and my brother’s in the back. We’re coming from a family wedding, they had
too much to drink and I had to drive.
We’re going to my uncle’s house a little way up the road.”
Paul
let out a groan. “Are we home
yet...sweetie you promised me if I didn’t throw up in the car I would get
‘lucky’ tonight,” Paul said as his hand grabbed Janet’s breast.
“Can
we please go?” Janet asked sweetly hiking her skirt up a little higher. “You wouldn’t want to deprive a man of
getting ‘lucky’ now would you?”
The
men looked at each other over the roof of the car and nodded agreeing to let
them go.
“No,
I wouldn’t want to do that,” the man on Janet’s side of the car replied smiling
as the other man moved the vehicle blocking the road out of the way.
“Thank
you,” Janet said as she quickly put the car in gear and drove down the road
letting out her breath.
She
drove a couple of miles down the road before she stopped and put herself back
to together.
“Nice
work, Janet,”
“Thanks
“I
understand,” Janet said as she put the car in gear and continued down the road
puzzled as to why there would be a road block unless they were looking for
someone.
As
they were driving,
They
hadn’t driven much further when Janet asked, “Paul, why a road block...were
they looking for us...but why...no one knows why the real reason we’re here?”
“I
was wondering the same thing. I’m a bit
worried about it as who would’ve known we would be on this road as it’s pretty
deserted. We haven’t seen another car
since we left the city.”
Janet
drove for another forty-five minutes before Paul saw the sign for
“Yes
and it’s about time you got here,” he said grumpily. “Don’t like being out in the storm. Follow me.”
((()))
After
letting Janet drive away, one of the men’s cell phone rang. “Hello,” he said quickly.
“Has
anyone come down the road?” a voice asked hurriedly.
“Just
one car, a couple and a brother coming home from a wedding, we checked them out
and let them go.”
“Were
the men dressed in white jackets...the women in a black dress?”
“Yes
sir, they were,” the man answered starting to sweat.
“You
fools those were the people we’re looking for.
Did they say where they were going?”
The
man on the phone looked over at the driver trying to remember what Janet had
said. “Yes, they were going to her
uncle’s house down the road.”
“There
aren’t too many houses down that road so they’re probably heading for the
beach. Take the road you’re on now to
“Yes
sir,” the man replied and disconnected his call. “We need to get to the beach and hurry.” He explained to the driver what their
instructions were as he grabbed their automatic weapons from the back seat of
the car.
((()))
Paul,
Janet and Leon followed Josif down a short gravel path before they got to the
beach. The beach was all rocks and no
sand. Janet was having a hard time
keeping up with the men in her high heel pumps so she took them off. The stones were cutting into the bottoms of
her feet but at least she was able to stay with the men.
“Here’s
where I leave you. I only had to make
sure you got to the beach. Good luck,”
Josif said and turned around and went back down the path as a flash of
lightening lit up the sky and a loud clap of thunder followed.
Paul
had an uneasy feeling they were being watched and even with the flashes of
lightening he couldn’t see anything. There
was some tall grass on the edge of the beach so they would hide in there until
the chopper showed up.
“How
much longer until that chopper gets here,”
“The
weather is probably holding them up,” Paul said impatiently. “You’re starting to irritate me so I suggest
you sit there and be quiet.”
Janet
watched Paul as he continued to look around.
She also had a feeling they were being watched but couldn’t see anything
either. After waiting for thirty minutes
they finally heard the chopper coming and watched as it landed on the
beach. The three of them came out of the
grass and started towards the helicopter when gunshots erupted.
((()))
The
two men found the road they were looking for and followed it to the tree lined
area near the beach. They were waiting
in the car when they saw a set of headlights coming at them from the opposite
direction. They left their car and
watched while two men got out of the other car.
Whispering
one of the men asked, “Are they here...have you seen them?”
“We
haven’t seen anyone but then we just got here too.”
“I’m
sure they’re waiting for a chopper to get them out of here. We’ll stay hidden in the tree line until the
chopper lands and when they try to board the chopper we’ll start shooting. Maybe they’ll give up and we can bring them
back alive.”
The
four men walked down to the tree line and waited for the helicopter to
land. They looked around but didn’t see
anyone and wondered where they were hiding.
((()))
As
soon as the chopper landed, the door opened and an air crewman in fatigues
stood guard at the door with his gun drawn as Leon, Janet and Paul ran towards the
chopper. Before they got to the door,
they were fired upon from the tree line.
The air crewman returned fire as another one helped
“Don’t
leave him there,” Janet yelled trying to jump out of the chopper to grab Paul’s
arm and help them bring him aboard.
“Stay
in the chopper,” Paul ordered sharply as the crewman helped him aboard.
Once
they were aboard, the pilot quickly took off and headed towards the open sea as
the co-pilot radioed the carrier. He had
only gotten part of his message off when the radio died. One of the bullets had destroyed the radio as
they took off.
Paul
lay gasping for breath on the floor of the helicopter. He was bleeding profusely from several
gunshots to his back.
“Please
help him,” Janet begged the crewmen as he wrapped a blanket
around her.
“Ma’am,
I’m not a medic and we weren’t expecting to be fired upon. I’ll do the best I can to help him,” the
crewman who helped them aboard replied.
Paul
was very pale and shaking. Janet held
his hand while the two crewmen tried to stop the bleeding by applying some
bandages they found in a first kit to his back.
Once they finished, Janet wrapped a blanket around him.
“I’m
sorry ma’am but that’s the best we can do for him. We should be landing on the carrier in thirty
minutes,” the crewman reported.
“Thanks
for all you have done for us,” Janet answered shakily. “Can you radio the carrier and have a
corpsman standing by?”
“I’ll
inform the co-pilot and let him know he is critical.” The crewman called the co-pilot who told him
the radio was broken. The crewman relayed that information to Janet and Paul.
Having
a hard time talking, Paul whispered softly, “Janet, don’t worry about it. I need to tell you something that’s very
important to me. I wanted to tell both
you and Lee when we returned to
Janet
stopped him before he could continue, “Paul, please hang on,” Janet implored. “We’ll be on the carrier shortly.”
“Janet,
please listen,” Paul said urgently, “I’m sorry for all the pain and
trouble I put you and Lee through when I posed as Lee. I should have just left
it alone but I wanted revenge...I regret I ever did that to you and
Lee...please forgive me.”
“Paul
we’ll talk about this when we’re all together,” Janet said holding back her
tears.
“No,
I need your forgiveness right now,” Paul asked weakly. “Please.”
“We
forgive you, please stay with me,” Janet pleaded squeezing his hand tightly.
“Thank
you,” Paul replied with one last gasping breath and closed his eyes.
The
crewman checked him out and shook his head.
“Ma’am, I’m sorry, he’s gone.” He
took another blanket and covered him.
Janet
started crying as she let go of his hand and pulled the blanket around her
tighter.
“I’m
sorry about your husband,”
Janet
sat next to Paul’s body until they reached the aircraft carrier.
((()))
On
an aircraft carrier in the
The
captain pressed the button on the mic, “Chopper 895 come in...come in 895. Shit,” the captain said as he threw the mic down. “Keep trying,” he instructed the
communication specialists as he returned to the bridge.
“Captain,”
the communication specialist called the bridge a few minutes later. “No response from the chopper. Do you want me to continue trying?”
“No,”
he sighed deeply. “Get me Admiral
Johnson at ONI.”
“Aye,
aye sir,” he answered as he made the call to ONI. “Captain, I have Admiral Johnson.”
“Captain,
do you have them...are they okay?” Johnson asked impatiently.
“Admiral,
right now I don’t know if I even have a helicopter. Their radio isn’t working.
The co-pilot reported they were under fire but did get them on board but one
was wounded. Don’t know which one or how
bad. It will be another thirty minutes
before we’ll get them on radar if they’re returning to the ship.”
“Under
fire?” Johnson questioned.
“That’s
what the co-pilot reported. As soon as I
find out any more information I will pass it on to you.”
“Thank
you Captain. I would appreciate it,”
Johnson said unhappily as he hung up the phone. “Damn,” he muttered as he rubbed his
forehead. He didn’t want to have to make
his next call...to Lee Crane.
((()))
Lee,
Chip, the admiral and Jamie were at the Crane’s house waiting for word from
Admiral Johnson that Janet and Paul had been picked up by the chopper and were
on their way back to the carrier. Lee
looked at his watch again as he tapped his pencil on the table.
“Why
hasn’t he called?” Lee asked worriedly.
“They should have been picked up thirty minutes ago...something’s gone
wrong.”
Chip
patted him on the shoulder, “Tell us about not being picked up on time or not
even being there to be picked up, do I need to go on,” he smirked.
“Point
taken,” Lee remarked realizing how many times they had to wait for him to be
dropped off. Just as Lee checked his
watch again, his phone rang. “Are they
on the way home...are they okay?” Lee rapidly asked Johnson before he could
even say hello.
Taking
a deep breath Johnson told him, “All I know that the chopper was under
fire. It picked up three people and one
of them was wounded. They lost radio contact
with the chopper. It’ll be another
thirty minutes before the chopper will show up on their radar if at all.”
“Three
people...who’s the third person...who knew they would be there? Someone found out why they were there,” Lee
shouted. “Johnson you better hope
nothing has happened to her.”
“Lee,
I don’t know all the details. As soon as
I find out more, I’ll call you back,” Johnson said wearily. He wasn’t even upset that Lee was
insubordinate as he was mad too.
Lee
threw the phone down on the table and ran his hand through his hair. “I shouldn’t have let her go,” he
lamented. “It’s my fault.”
“Lee,
what did Johnson tell you?” the admiral asked cautiously seeing how upset Lee
was.
“The
helicopter was under fire. They got them
on board but one of them is wounded then they lost radio contact with the chopper,”
Lee explained miserably. “They won’t
know if the chopper is returning for another thirty minutes.”
“Who’s
the third person?” Chip wondered.
“My
guess it’s Leon Kelly. He probably
decided to leave with Janet and Paul,” Lee said. “Who knew why they were there...only Paul,
The
four men sat at the table waiting for more information hoping for the best.
((()))
The
radar operator was closely watching his screen for the chopper. They received the call from them over
forty-five minutes ago and should have been on the radar by now. Finally, a blip appeared on the screen. The operator shouted to the captain as he sat
on the bridge, “Sir, I have the chopper on radar.”
Breathing
a sigh of relief, he picked up the mic, “Flight-deck crew prepare to receive
helicopter.”
The
crew went about their normal duties preparing for the landing of the
chopper. The captain was anxious to meet
the helicopter and find out why they lost their radio. He knew that someone was wounded on board so
he had a medical team on stand by.
Admiral Johnson told him that Commander Crane and his wife were coming
on board so he asked Ensign Sara Baker to accompany him to the flight deck in
case they needed anything. They made
their way down from the bridge and were waiting on the flight deck when the
chopper landed. After the pilot had shut
down the engines, the rear cabin door opened and the two air crewman jumped out. The captain and Ensign Baker walked over to them
as they helped out Leon and then Janet. The
captain would talk to the pilot and co-pilot after they completed the shut-down
check list. He also wanted to speak with
Lee regarding the events that took place on the beach. He was not aware that they would run into
resistance on the pickup. He went over
to
“Sir,
I’m not Lee Crane. My name’s Leon Kelly.”
The
captain looked in the cabin area of the chopper and saw a body covered up. He walked over to Janet and was surprised at
the way she looked. She was muddy, wet,
her knees were scrapped raw and had no shoes on. “Ensign Baker, please take Mrs. Crane and Mr.
Kelly to the guest quarters where they can get cleaned up. See that Mrs. Crane is given some clothes and
shoes and then take her to
“Aye,
aye sir,” Baker replied and went over to Janet and Leon. “I’m Ensign Baker and I’ll take you to the
guest quarters where you can get cleaned up.”
“No,
not yet, I want to wait until they remove him,” she told Baker as the crewman
prepared to take the body out of the cabin.
“Mrs.
Crane,” the captain said quietly. “I’m sorry that your husband was killed but I
will need to talk to you later regarding the events that took place on the
beach.”
“Thank
you, sir. May I please use your
radio? I have to place an important
call.”
“Yes,
you can use the radio as soon as you get cleaned up. I need to check with my crew about what
exactly took place on that beach and report back to Admiral Johnson.”
Sighing
deeply, Janet watched as they removed Paul’s body from the helicopter and took
it away.
“Mrs.
Crane, Mr. Kelly,” Ensign Baker said softly, “please come with me.” She took Janet’s arm and led them down to the
gallery deck and the guest quarters.
((()))
Ensign
Baker showed
“I’ll
be back in a few minutes,” Baker said to Janet.
“My name is Sara.”
“Thank
you, I’m Janet.” Janet replied as she removed her purse from her shoulder and
put it on the bed. She took off the rest
of her clothing and left them on the floor while she took a shower. She was putting on what clothing she could
wear again when there was a knock on the door.
Janet
opened the door, “You sure took a quick shower,” Baker said as she handed Janet
the scrubs, slippers and a plastic bag.
“I’m
used to a Navy two-minute shower...I work on a submarine,” Janet replied as she
quickly donned the clothes and slippers, picked up her dress off the floor and
put it in the bag. She took her purse
and put in on her shoulder. “Could I
please make my call now?”
“I’m
supposed to take you to
“I
promise I’ll go after I make my call and I’ll tell you about the submarine.”
“Yes,
ma’am,” Baker answered as they stopped by
((()))
It
was well over two hours since Admiral Johnson had contacted Lee regarding Janet
and Paul. He was getting more worried
and frustrated that he hadn’t call with more information. They had already gone through two pots of
coffee and were working on a third one when Lee’s phone rang.
“Hello
Admiral, do you have any more information?” Lee asked assuming it was Johnson
on the phone.
“Lee,”
Janet said softly.
“Janet,”
Lee replied relieved to hear her voice.
“Are you okay...what happened...who was wounded?”
“I’m
fine, just a few scrapes and bruises,” she answered her voice quivering. “Paul’s dead.
We were ambushed when we were boarding the helicopter. He protected me. The radio was knocked out so we couldn’t
communicate with the carrier. Leon Kelly
came back with us too.”
Rubbing
his forehead, he could hear in Janet’s voice that she was barely keeping it
together so he didn’t want to ask her too many more questions. “Sweetie, do you know when you’ll be leaving
the carrier?”
“I’m
not sure. I don’t know if our ride back
is on the ship. Let me check with Ensign
Baker. Hold on.”
“Ensign
Baker, do you know when we’ll be leaving for
“The
COB has been delayed due to weather. It
should be here within the hour but it will have to be unloaded and reloaded
before you can leave. I’m guessing
another two hours.”
“Thanks,”
Janet responded. “Lee, not for another
two hours.”
“Okay,
call when you get to
“I
know,” she answered tiredly. “Lee, there’s a small suitcase in the hall closet,
could you please give it to the admiral or Chip to bring with. It has some clothes and toiletries. I knew I wouldn’t be able to bring my
suitcase back so I packed that one. I’ll
see you soon.”
“I’ll
be waiting for you and I’ll make sure they take the suitcase. Love you,” Lee said tenderly.
“Love
you too,” Janet replied and hung up the phone.
Lee
put down his phone and sat there for a few moments before he told the rest of
them what Janet had just told him.
Looking
at the admiral and Chip, “I don’t know which one of you is flying FS-1 to
“I have no problem with that as long as you’re
not the pilot or co-pilot. I understand
you need to be there for Janet,” Jamie agreed.
“Would you like me to go with too?”
“Thanks,
Jamie but there’s not enough room for all of us. I’ll make sure she sees you when we return,”
Lee said.
Chip, you can fly us there and I’ll fly us
back home,” the admiral stated as he stood up.
“I’m going to call Angie and let her know Janet is okay and that we’ll
be leaving for DC sometime tomorrow. I’ll call down to Seaview and see
who’s there. Hopefully Sharkey or
Kowalski are there and they can bring FS-1 to her hangar. It will be easier for Lee to board her on the
ground rather berthed in Seaview.”
He went outside to the patio to make his call and returned a few minutes
later.
Lee looked at the coffee in his cup, “I need
something a little stronger. Chip how
about getting us some beers.”
“No
problem,” he replied and grabbed four beers from the refrigerator.
As
the four men sat around the table, Chip looked at his watch, “I’m beat and
since I’m flying us to DC, I’m going to hit the sack. Once Janet calls from
“Chip,
you go ahead and get some rest. I’ll
wait for Janet’s call and then hit the sack.
Admiral, I’ll call you when we’re ready to leave for DC,” Lee said. “Jamie, I’ll call and let you know when were
leaving DC.”
Both
the admiral and Jamie agreed with that and said goodnight to Lee and Chip. Chip cleaned up their mess and went upstairs
to the guest room. Lee laid down on the
couch and waited for Janet’s call.
((()))
After
Janet completed her call, Baker gently took her arm. “I need to get you to sick bay, captain’s
orders.”
“Yes,
I promised I would go. Lead the way,”
Janet replied feeling better now that she talked to Lee. “I’ll tell you about my submarine and you can
tell me about this huge ship. I thought Seaview
was big but this ship is enormous.”
The
two women left the bridge just as the captain was returning after talking to
crew of the chopper. “Did you make your
call?”
“Yes
sir,” Janet answered. “Thank you for letting me call him. We’re on our way to sick bay as ordered.”
“While
you’re gone, I’m going to talk to Mr. Kelly and then I’ll need to talk to you
and I’ll report to Admiral Johnson what has transpired.”
“Yes
sir. I’m scheduled to meet with him before I return to
Baker
and Janet went down to the gallery deck where sick bay was located. As they walked to sick bay Janet told her
about Seaview and that she worked at the Nelson Institute. Baker was quite impressed and had heard of Seaview
and the institute. She told Janet about
the aircraft carrier and how many people it took to run a ship that size. They made it to sick bay where PO Kevin
Nettles, the corpsman, was waiting for them.
He made Janet sit on a gurney and looked at her knees. She told him how
she scraped them. He re-cleaned them and put on some antibiotic cream and
bandages.
“Kevin,
could you check out the bottoms of her feet.
She came aboard without any shoes and I noticed she’s been limping.”
“No
problem, Ma’am. Why didn’t you have any
shoes on?” Kevin asked as he made a note on the chart he had in his hand.
“I
had high heeled shoes on but had to ditch them so I could walk on the rocky beach
to the helicopter. I’m fine,” Janet told
them.
Kevin
examined her feet and saw that they were cut and bruised. He cleaned them up, bandaged them and gave
her a pair of socks to put on with the slippers. When you return home have your
physician take a look at them so they don’t get infected. He went over to a cabinet and took out a
couple of pills and gave them to Janet.
Janet
looked at him and the pills. “They’re just an antibiotic,” he told her. He handed her a cup of water. She swallowed the pills and slid off the
gurney.
“Thank
you,” Janet said as she and Sara left sick bay and went back to the bridge so
she could talk to the captain.
When
they entered the captain’s cabin, the door to his office was closed.
“He
must still be talking with Mr. Kelly,” Baker said. “Why don’t you have a seat and get off you
feet. I’m sure they must hurt to walk
on.”
“Yes,
they’re a little sore but I’ll be okay,” Janet replied as the door opened and
“Please
have a seat Mr. Kelly. There’s coffee in
the pot over there, please help yourself.
If you want something else to drink Ensign Baker can get if for
you. Mrs. Crane, I would like to talk to
you now.”
“Thank
you sir,” Kelly responded as the captain waited by the door for Janet to enter
his office.
Once
in his office, Janet sat down in the chair in front of his desk. “What would you like to know, sir?” Janet
asked.
The
captain sat behind his desk, hands folded in front of him, “Just give me your
version of what took place on the beach.”
“First
of all the body that was taken off the helicopter is not Lee Crane. His name is Paul Gallagher and he was posing
as my husband. Lee was unable to go on
this mission because he was injured in a car accident a couple of days before
we were scheduled to leave. If you need
any more information regarding the mission, you’ll have to ask Admiral Johnson
as I’m not sure what I can tell you.”
“No
problem, I’ll talk to Admiral Johnson.
Please tell me what happened on the beach.”
Janet
explained to him what took place on the beach adding, “Sir, we were not
expecting anyone to be on that beach let alone have them shoot at your men and
us.”
“Thank
you for talking to me. I know your COB
ride should be landing shortly. Once
it’s unloaded, we’ll quickly reload it so you can head for home.”
“Thank
you sir,” Janet replied wearily.
“Is
there anything else I can do for you?” the captain asked as he stood up and
headed for the door.
“Yes
sir, just one thing,” Janet said as she stood up. “Can Paul’s body be put on the COB and sent
home with me?”
He
noticed how upset Janet was and responded, “I’ll see to it that his body will
be transported back with you.”
“Thank
you sir,” Janet answered and followed the captain to the door and went into the
cabin area of his quarters where
“If
you’ll excuse me, I’ll take care of your request and call Admiral Johnson. Ensign Baker will stay with you until you
leave. Just let her know if you need
anything,” the captain said to Leon and Janet as he returned to his office where
he made a phone call regarding Paul’s body and then to Admiral Johnson.
“The
COB just landed,” Baker told them.
“You’ll be leaving in an hour. Is
there anything I can get you?”
“Just
the head please?” Janet asked. Sara led
her to a small room on the opposite side of the captain’s quarters and opened
the door for her. She noticed that Janet
never let go of her purse the entire time she was on board the ship. Trying hard not to cry, Janet used the
facilities and wiped off her face with a cool wet paper towel before leaving
the head. She returned to the cabin where Sara was waiting for her.
((()))
The
captain took care of Janet’s request and then called Admiral Johnson who was
glad that the helicopter had returned safely.
He wasn’t very happy when the captain told him that Paul was killed
during the extraction. He had no idea
that there would be any problems with the extraction as no one knew the real
reason why they were there. He was also
surprised when the captain reported that Leon Kelly was with them. He would make sure that Kelly was brought to
his office with Janet when they landed. He
had one more call to make before he called it a night and went home. He dialed Lee’s number.
Lee
noticed the phone number was Johnson’s, “Hello, Admiral.”
“Hi
Lee, I just heard from the captain of the carrier and the helicopter returned
safely to the ship. Janet is okay but Gallagher
was killed during the extraction.
Someone must have found out why they were there. Leon Kelly decided to defect to the
“Thanks
for calling but I’ve already talked to Janet.
Seems you had a leak somewhere,” Lee replied sarcastically. “We’re flying out tomorrow to DC to meet
Janet’s plane. I’ll see that they both
get to your office.”
“Lee,
you can accompany them but I’ll have someone meet them when they
land. Do I make myself clear,” Johnson
answered sharply.
“Yes
sir,” Lee responded. “I’ll see you
tomorrow.” He hung up the phone
disgustedly and laid back down on the couch.
Johnson
hung up his phone, leaned back in his chair and sighed deeply as he knew
tomorrow was going to be a long day. He
sat for a few more minutes before getting up, putting on his jacket and
cover. He turned out the lights in his
office and left for the day.
((()))
The
COB was unloaded and quickly reloaded with the mail and Paul’s body. Ensign Baker received word that they wouldn’t
be able to leave for a while as a storm they had been tracking was approaching
and prevented the COB from taking off. They
were hoping to get it loaded and off before the storm but there was a problem
with one of the containers that needed to be unloaded and it took longer than
expected. Ensign Baker relayed the
information to Janet and Paul who were not pleased but understood the
situation.
As
they sat there, they could hear the thunder and rain hitting the sides of ‘the
island’ where the captain’s cabin was located.
After waiting for an hour, they were finally given clearance to take-off
so Sara walked them down to the flight deck.
Janet
saw the COB and had one question, “How do we take off from the deck?”
Sara
smiled and replied, “You’re catapulted off the deck. You need to wear a helmet, goggles, life
jackets and here are some ear plugs as the plane is very loud.”
“Catapulted,”
Janet said softly. “If I wasn’t so tired
and anxious to get home I would be panicking right now.”
Sara
nodded her head. “Come on they’re
waiting for you to get aboard,” she told them as they walked over to the COB.
The
captain was there waiting for them. As
Janet shook his hand she said, “Thank you very much for your hospitality. I sorry there were problems with this
extraction.”
“It
wasn’t your fault, Mrs. Crane; have a safe trip back,” he replied as he shook
her hand and then Kelly’s.
Janet
turned to Sara, “Thank you for all you help.
If you’re ever in
“You’re
on,” Sara answered with a grin.
When
Leon and Janet boarded the COB, Janet saw a case that looked like a coffin and
assumed it contained Paul’s body. She
sighed as she put in the earplugs before putting on the helmet, goggles and
life jackets. The pilot and co-pilot
helped them into their seats which were facing backwards and tighten their seat
belts. Once Janet and Paul were secured,
they returned to the cockpit, prepared to take-off and were catapulted off the
deck. As they were catapulted off, Janet
and
((()))
The
COB landed at a military airport in
“Problem,
Mrs. Crane?” he asked as they watched the lightening and rain. Leon and the co-pilot were standing on the
other side of the room.
“I’m
supposed to call my husband and tell him when we’re leaving here but my phone
is dead and I don’t see one I could use.”
The
pilot dug in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. “Here use mine,” he told her with a
smile. “I know you must be anxious to
get back to the States. I don’t have all
the details of what took place but we have orders from a higher up to make sure
you get back with no problems. We’ll be
leaving within the hour as the storm is letting up.”
“Thank
you very much, I really appreciate your help,” Janet replied as she called
Lee.
((()))
Lee
had fallen asleep on the couch but woke up the instant he heard his phone
ring.
“Hello,
Janet?” he asked not recognizing the number.
“Hi
Lee,” Janet replied. “We’re in
“Okay
sweetie, you all right?” he asked with concern as she didn’t sound right.
“Very
tired and drained,” she answered. “But
you could have warned me about how we get off the deck of the carrier,” she
said with a slight chuckle.
“Sorry,
I forgot about that. I hope you didn’t
panic too much,” he winced realizing that she wouldn’t like that at all.
“I
was pretty scared there for awhile but guess I was just too tired to panic.”
“It’s
still going to be a long and tiring flight, so sleep on the plane if you can,”
he suggested.
“I’ll
try. One of the Ensign’s on the ship
gave me some earplugs so it’s not so loud.
Lee, I got to go, they’re telling the pilot to load up. See you soon.
Love you,” she said distantly.
“We’ll
be there to meet you in DC,” Lee told her as he heard her disconnect the call.
Lee
checked his watch and knew that they would have to leave in a couple of hours
to make it to
((()))
Janet
handed the cell phone back to the pilot, “Thank you very much.”
“No
problem,” he replied as they headed to the plane.
He
boarded the plane after completing his walk around and preformed the pre-flight
check list as the co-pilot, Janet and
Janet
woke up when she felt
“Thanks,”
Janet said as she tried to stretch out a little.
Before
long they were landing on the runway.
Janet could feel them touch down but was unhappy she couldn’t see if
FS-1 was there as the COB had no windows.
They taxied to a section of the airport reserved for the military planes
that fly into the airport. She hoped
that Chip or the admiral were there to meet her. Once the pilot and co-pilot finished the
shut-down procedure, they returned to the cargo section of the plane and opened
the door. Janet and Leon had undone
their seatbelts, removed the helmets, life jackets and goggles and left them on
the seat. The co-pilot helped Janet and
Leon off the plane as the ground crew chocked the wheels and prepared to unload
the mail and freight they had brought back.
“Thanks
for the ride,”
“Thank
you,” Janet also said shaking their hands.
“May I ask you a question?”
“Sure,”
the pilot responded.
“Could
you please find out what and where they are going to do with the body?”
Before
the pilot could answer, a man dressed in a uniform walked over to
“Hello,
I’m Lt. Commander Samuelson,” he told them.
He looked at the pilot and said, “Thanks for bringing them back and I’ll
take over from here.” The pilot nodded
and walked away from them.
“Mrs.
Crane, they’ll take the body to a hangar and ONI will contact his family.”
“Thanks
for the information. I’ve got his papers
with me, would you like them...can I watch as they unload his body?”
“Yes,
I’ll take them and see that his family gets them,” he answered and hesitated at
her request but saw the look on her face and replied, “Yes, they should be
removing it shortly.”
The
three of them stood there and watched as they removed Paul’s body from the
plane and carried it to the hangar.
Janet wiped away the tears that were falling down her cheeks.
“If
you’ll follow me, there’s a car waiting to take you to Admiral Johnson’s
office.”
The
three of them turned around and began walking to the terminal building.
((()))
Lee
had a hard time falling back to sleep after Janet’s call so after laying there
for an hour, he got up and made some coffee. He had been sleeping on the couch
so he wouldn’t have to go upstairs. His
office had a bathroom so he had Chip bring down all the items he would need to
get ready. He looked out the window as
the coffee was brewing and filed their flight plan with the communications
center and checked the weather. He
poured a cup of coffee and slowly drank it still looking out the window
noticing it was an overcast day. He
grabbed his crutches and walked to his office where he shaved and then wrapped
his leg in a big garbage bag before he showered. He put on his blue service uniform and was
returning to the kitchen when he ran into Chip coming down the stairs dressed
and ready to go.
“You’re
up early,” Lee said to Chip as he slowly walked to the kitchen. “You didn’t have to get up for another hour.”
“I
heard your phone ring earlier and laid for awhile and figured I might as well
get up and make some coffee but I see you beat me to it. Janet okay...did they leave?”
“They
were delayed again by weather but were just leaving when she called. I’m worried about her. She sounded tired and distant. You don’t think anything went on with her and
Gallagher,” Lee asked worriedly.
“Lee,
you can’t really believe that. Look at
what she’s been through in the last four days...a man she despised had to pose
as you...she had to pick up some important information that lives are depending
on...she’s only been shot at once before and never had someone die in front of
her...plus you know she hates to fly and look at all that she’s had to do in
the last few days. Also, she probably hasn’t had much sleep for the last
twenty-four hours.”
Running
his hand through his hair, he replied, “I guess you’re right. She has been through quite a bit and I did
forget to tell her how they we’re going to get off the carrier. She wasn’t too happy with that adventure.”
Smiling,
Chip said, “You didn’t tell her about being catapulted off the
carrier. I have to admit I was scared
shitless the first time I had to do it so no wonder she’s a little distant. I’m sure she’ll be fine once she’s back home.”
“Thanks
bro, for setting me straight,” Lee told Chip as he poured him a cup of
coffee. “We better call the admiral so
we can get going to DC. I’ve called in
our flight plan to the communications center and checked the weather; it’s
clear flying all the way.” Lee called
the admiral while Chip ate a bagel he found and drank his coffee. He tossed Lee a bagel which he ate and
finished up his coffee. Lee hobbled out
to Chip’s SUV and crawled in. Chip put
Janet’s suitcase next to Lee.
They
were met at the hangar by Sharkey and the admiral. Sharkey had already completed the pre-flight
check list so FS-1 was ready to go when they were. Lee went into the small sub through the back
hatch and sat in the back seat while the admiral climbed into the co-pilot’s
chair and Chip into the pilot’s after handing Lee the suitcase. They prepared for take-off and were airborne
ten minutes later.
((()))
FS-1
arrived at the airport in DC and was given clearance to land in the military
side of the airport. Chip taxied her to
a spot near the terminal so Lee wouldn’t have walk too far. Chip got out of FS-1 first so he could help
Lee out. Lee handed him Janet’s suitcase
before he left the sub. They walked into
the terminal building and spotted some chairs so Lee could sit down. He was too nervous to sit and wanted to find
out how soon Janet’s plane was scheduled to land so he walked over to the
counter where an older woman was working.
Giving
her that special smile he asked, “Could you tell me how soon the COB from
The
woman looked him over, noticed his rank and replied, “Commander, do you have
any paperwork authorizing you to have information on that flight?”
“No
ma’am,” Lee answered, “But...”
“Sorry
sir, no paperwork, no information and you should know better than to ask me to
give you information without authorization.”
“Yes,
ma’am,” Lee said and walked back to Chip who had sat down in one of the
chairs.
“When’s
it due to land?”
“I
don’t know she wouldn’t give me the information because I have no paperwork.”
Chip
chuckled, “That’s what happens when you get old, you lose your charm with the
older women.”
“Who’s
losing their charm,” the admiral asked as he didn’t come into the building with
Lee and Chip as he was talking with the security men. “When’s Janet’s flight landing?”
“I
don’t know sir,” Lee replied, “The woman at the counter wouldn’t give me the
information because I have no authorization.”
Patting
Lee on the shoulder the admiral said, “Let’s see if I can get us that
information.” He walked over to the
counter and the woman looked up at him and smiled.
“Yes
admiral, how can I help you?”
“I’m
looking for information on a COB due in from
Looking
at her clipboard with the planes due to land and be parked in her area she
answered, “In an hour sir. Would you
like me to let you know when it’s on the ground?”
“Yes
ma’am that would be very nice. Thanks
for you help.” The admiral walked back
to Lee and Chip and sat down. “In an
hour. I guess rank does have its
privileges and Lee you know she was only doing her job.”
“Yes
sir,” Lee answered with a smile.
The
three men sat there waiting for the plane when Lt. Commander Samuelson walked
into the office. He showed the woman his
ID and paperwork. She looked at her
clipboard and gave him some information.
Lee
recognized him and got up to talk to him.
“Hi Pat,” Lee said. “Are you here
to bring Janet Crane and Leon Kelly to Admiral Johnson’s office?”
“Hi
Lee, yes, I am. Admiral Johnson told me
you would be here and to let you ride back with us to the office. But you’re
not to talk to Mrs. Crane or Mr. Kelly about the mission.” He left Lee standing there and walked out
onto the tarmac to wait for the plane.
“No
problem,” Lee replied as Samuelson walked away.
He walked back to the admiral and Chip.
“I can ride back with Janet and Kelly so if you want to come to ONI
you’ll have to take a taxi.”
“How
about we find restaurant for lunch and we’ll wait there for you and Janet,”
Chip suggested.
“It
might be awhile,” Lee advised, “So go ahead and eat we’ll catch up with you
later.”
“Sounds
good but we won’t leave until we see Janet,” the admiral replied as the woman
at the desk waved him over.
“That
plane has just landed and should be here in ten minutes.”
“Thanks.” He walked over to Lee and Chip. “The plane’s on the ground. Let’s start walking as its going to take Lee
a little while with his crutches.”
Chip
held the door while Lee made his way out.
Chip had Janet’s suitcase in his hand as they walked onto the tarmac
where the plane had just taxied over to the hangar. It was quite a distance to
the plane from where the terminal building was located. Lt. Commander Samuelson was almost to the
plane by the time the pilot had turned off the engines and the ground crew chocked
the wheels. The door opened and the one
of the pilot’s helped Leon out and then Janet.
She had her back to the three men as they made their way over to them.
Lee
saw her talk to Samuelson, who then talked to one of the ground crew. He watched her as they unloaded a coffin from
the plane and carried it to the hangar.
He noticed Janet wiping her face.
She took some papers out of her purse and handed them to Samuelson.
((()))
After
Janet handed Paul’s papers to Samuelson, they turned around and started walking
to the terminal building. Lee noticed
what Janet was wearing and was shocked at how she looked. She had on green scrubs, a pair of slippers
that were to big, she was limping and looked exhausted.
Janet
saw Lee, Chip and the admiral walking towards her. She was surprised to see Lee so she ran as
fast as she could so he wouldn’t have to walk to meet her. Lee stopped to wait for her hoping she
wouldn’t knock him over. When she
reached him she gently put her arms around his waist and buried her face in his
chest. He handed Chip his crutches so he
could embrace his wife who was now sobbing. Not knowing what to say he stood there rubbing
her back as she sobbed. Samuelson and Kelly reached where they were standing
but didn’t approach the couple. Kelly
stood there in shock as he stared at Lee.
He’s suppose to be dead, Kelly thought.
Janet
gathered herself together and asked, “What are you doing here...you didn’t tell
me you were coming...Jamie let you fly?”
“Sweetheart,
I wouldn’t leave you alone to handle this situation and yes Jamie let me go as
long as I didn’t fly FS-1. You okay...love your outfit.”
“I’m
tired even though I did manage to sleep most of the way home but the last
twenty-four hours have been very trying. I’m fine just two scraped knees and
bruised and cut feet. A short black
dress and high heels are not meant for a beach with rocks instead of sand. Hi admiral, Chip, thanks for coming to get
me,” she said giving them both a hug.
“Ahem,”
Samuelson said breaking up the conversation.
“I have orders to bring Mrs. Crane and Mr. Kelly back to ONI right
away.
Kelly
finally spoke up, “What the hell is going on here? If you’re Lee Crane, who’s the man in the
coffin?”
Lee
replied curtly, “Yes, I’m the real Lee Crane.
The man in the coffin was Paul Gallagher and was posing as me because I
couldn’t go. He was a PR operative.”
“PR
operative...but he looked just like you...how can that be?”
“You
don’t need to know that information,” Lee snapped.
“We
need to leave now,” Samuelson stated sharply.
“Can
I please change my clothes before we leave?” Janet asked politely.
“Ma’am,
you can change when you get to ONI.
There’re restrooms there.”
Lee
was about to say something when Janet put her hand on his arm, “Fine, let’s go
and get this over with so I can go home,” she said tiredly.
Lee
took his crutches from Chip and they walked back to the terminal building where
there was a car waiting to take Samuelson, Janet, Lee, and Kelly to ONI. Lee, Janet and Kelly climbed in the back
while Samuelson hopped in the front. Janet
held Lee’s hand as they drove to ONI. The admiral and Chip hailed a taxi and told
him to take them to a restaurant located not to far from ONI.
((()))
Admiral
Johnson was impatiently waiting for Janet and Kelly to arrive at his
office. He was anxious to get the flash
drive from Janet but very curious as to why Kelly left with them and how the PR
found out about the mission, extraction and where it was located. He would talk to Kelly first as he hoped to
get that information so he could decide what to do with him. He was sitting in his office when he heard
Samuelson talking to his secretary, Sandy.
He opened the door and saw Janet, Lee and Kelly standing there with
Samuelson. He was surprised at how Janet
looked and knew Lee was probably pissed at the way this mission turned out
knowing he might have been killed if he had gone instead of Paul.
“Commander
Samuelson, please show Mr. Kelly into my office,” Johnson said. “I’ll be in there shortly.”
“Yes
sir,” he replied and led Kelly into the office, where he sat down in the chair
in front of his desk while Samuelson stood next to him.
“Lee,
Janet, I’ll be with you as soon as I’m finished with Mr. Kelly.”
“Yes
sir,” Lee replied tensely as he sat down and put his crutches up against the
wall.
“
“Sure,
follow me,”
Janet
followed
“Thanks,
“Feel
better,” Lee said softly as he looked her over and handed her back her purse.
“Much
better,” Janet replied. “I need to talk
to you privately when we’re done here.
It’s very important.”
“No
problem,” Lee answered hesitantly wondering what she had to tell him.
((()))
Johnson
returned to his office, sat down at his desk and looked Kelly in the eye. “Why did you defect to the
“It’s
my fault he was killed. I had no idea that the man posing as Lee Crane was a PR
operative and if I didn’t leave with them I would have been killed. Let me tell
you what happened,” Kelly said as he explained to Johnson why the PR knew they
would be leaving from that location.
Lee
and Janet had been sitting there for an hour when
“Can
you talk to me now?” Lee asked softly after
“No,
not here, I think the place is bugged,” Janet said with a smile. “We’ll find some place outside.”
Lee
grinned and took her hand gently into his.
“I’m sorry you got tangled up in this mess.”
“Lee,
remember I volunteered to go. None of us
realized how different the outcome would be.
If you had gone, I might be taking you home in a coffin,” Janet answered
with tears in her eyes. “No one should
have died.”
“Thanks,”
Janet replied. “I haven’t anything to
eat since dinner at the reception. I
don’t even know how many hours ago that was.”
She ate her muffin and Lee’s but he drank his coffee.
Janet
put her head on Lee’s shoulder while they waited. She was so tired she could barely keep her
eyes open. Lee had removed his coat and
put it around her shoulders because she said she was cold. They waited another thirty minutes before
Janet
looked at Lee with a confused look on her face.
“Where’s he going?” she whispered.
“I’m
not sure but they’ll take him somewhere and ask him a lot of questions,” Lee
replied softly.
Johnson
returned to his office for a few minutes, closed the door and made a phone
call. He opened the door to his outer
office and looked at Janet. “You can
come in now.”
As
Johnson waited in the doorway, Janet stood up and asked, “Can Lee come with
me?”
“I’ll
let him sit in on the debriefing since he was originally scheduled to go on the
mission but with one condition that he doesn’t say anything. Not one word or I’ll send you back here to
wait. Understood, Commander,” Johnson
said tersely.
“Yes
sir,” Lee replied as Janet handed him his crutches and they made their way into
Johnson office where they sat down in the chairs facing his desk.
((()))
Janet
opened her purse and removed the flash drive and handed it to Johnson. “I hope it’s what you wanted as the cost to
get it was pretty high.”
After
what Kelly had told him, Johnson quickly put the flash drive into his computer
and booted it up. He looked it over and
breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes, this is
what we needed. Thank you for getting it
and I’m sorry that Paul was killed. The
mission wasn’t supposed to end that way.
Please tell me what happened and start at the beginning so I can figure
out where things went wrong.”
Janet
took a deep breath, “After breakfast on Friday morning, Paul wanted to check
out the aquarium and hotel. We walked to
the aquarium first but they wouldn’t let us in until the grand opening but Paul
was satisfied with what he saw and we left to look around the hotel. He wanted to see where the exits were, the
kitchen and alley where the car was to be parked. As we walked to the hotel, I noticed a man
was following us ever since we left the aquarium. Paul noticed him too and said he’d been
following us since we left our hotel after breakfast.”
“You
never mentioned someone was following you, when you called,” Lee said irritated.
“Commander,”
Johnson warned. “One more outburst and I
will send you out.”
Sighing,
“Sorry sir,” Lee replied.
“We
walked to the hotel anyway and Paul made me wait for him in the hotel lobby
while he walked down the alley. I stood
by the door and watched as the man walked by the entrance of the hotel but he
didn’t follow Paul down the alley. We
never saw him again.”
He did exactly what I would’ve have done, Lee thought as he sat there listening to Janet.
“After
he checked out the back of the hotel, he returned to the lobby to get me and we
walked back to our hotel. We went to the
grand opening of the aquarium and I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary
and Paul didn’t mention anything either so we enjoyed the aquarium and returned
to the hotel when it was over. Since the
reception wasn’t until the evening, we spent the day at a castle with a
winery. Again I didn’t see anyone
following us and Paul didn’t seem worried about anything so I assumed nothing
was wrong.”
He
took her to a winery. What else they did they do during their
free time?
Janet
took a drink of water from the glass on Johnson’s desk and continued, “We
arrived at the reception, met the Prime Minister and his wife. I didn’t see
Lee
shifted in his chair, dancing, he thought as he tried to get
comfortable.
“The
weather was pretty bad so we decided to leave early from the reception since we
weren’t sure where we were going and what the road was like. Anton had us follow him to the kitchen and
would lead us out the back door. He told
the people in the kitchen that his friend wanted to get away with his
girlfriend and not be seen. As we were
going through the kitchen
I
wonder how she talked her way past the two men. I’ll have to ask her.
Janet
paused from a few minutes to gather herself as tears started to run down her
cheeks. Lee took her hand and gave it a
gentle squeeze. “Its okay sweetie, just
take your time,” he told her as Johnson looked at him but didn’t say anything.
Wiping
away the tears she started talking again, “We went to the house and Josif led
us down to the beach. The chopper wasn’t there when we arrived but we were a
little early so we hid in some tall grass.
It had stopped raining but it was still lightening. I had a feeling we were being watched and I
think Paul did too as I could see him looking around especially by a tree line
that was near the one side of the beach.
The chopper landed not too far from where we were hiding. Once the chopper landed and they opened the
door we started toward the chopper.
Janet
stopped unable to finish her sentence. Lee stood up and took his wife in his arms and
comforted her not caring what Johnson said or did to him at this point as he
had learned what took place on the beach.
Janet
eased herself away from Lee, “I’m okay,” she told them and sat down again. “I’m sorry Admiral but I guess the lack of
sleep is catching up with me.”
“I
understand. Did Gallagher say anything to you?” Johnson inquired.
Janet
hesitated slightly before answering, “No, he didn’t.”
Lee
looked at her and knew she was holding something back but didn’t say anything.
Johnson
put down his pen after he finished taking notes on what Janet had told
him. He looked at Janet, “Thank you for
taking on this mission. I know the
circumstances weren’t what you expected as was the outcome. Also, Mr. Kelly paid you a compliment as he
told me how you got by the roadblock. He
also remarked that you handled yourself like a professional operative.”
“Thank
you sir,” Janet replied. “May I ask you
some questions?”
“Depending
on the questions,” Johnson answered surprised at her request.
“I
would like to know how the PR found out our extraction point.”
“I’m
not at liberty to tell you that information,” Johnson replied and stood up from
his desk.
“What
does that mean…I was almost killed…one man lost his life and you’re not at
liberty to say. I want to know how they
found out,” Janet demanded angrily.
Lee
sat there saying nothing but was proud of his wife wanting to know why as he
would have asked the same questions.
“Admiral,
I think you owe me an explanation. I put
my life on the line for you. If Paul
hadn’t gone in Lee’s place, I would have brought him home in that coffin,” Janet insisted.
Johnson
looked at Lee and saw he wasn’t going to get any help from him. “Admiral, I would like to know that
information also,” Lee said calmly.
Rubbing
his hand on his forehead he replied, “I do owe you an explanation about that
and the rest of the mission.” Johnson
sat back down at his desk.
“This
is what Mr. Kelly reported to me,” Johnson explained. “The PR knew we didn’t have
that ADC chip because every time they jammed our equipment, we couldn’t respond
back. They realized we would be
desperate to get the plans for this chip after the men were killed when they
strayed into PR waters. Kelly already
had dealings with Janet so they used him to lure the both of you to
Gromenten. The reception was the perfect
setting for the setup as they got access to the guest list and saw your names
on it.”
Lee
interrupted Johnson. “How did they
manage to get access to the guest list?”
“Kelly
didn’t know as he wasn’t involved in that part of the setup. He was instructed to call ONI and tell them
he had a flash drive with the plans for the ADC chip and that Janet was the
only one he would give it to. They knew
Lee wouldn’t let her come alone so they would kidnap the both of you as payback
for catching Paul Gallagher, their top agent.”
“I
thought the PR put a price on his head if he managed to escape?” Lee asked.
“Well...I
made that up so he would help us,” Johnson told them. “I’m not proud of that move but I needed his
help.”
Janet
rolled her eyes when Johnson admitted to lying to Paul.
“Kelly
had a change of heart when he heard that the PR had killed the five service men
for straying into their waters and he had enough of the cloak and dagger life
so he decided he would defect to the
“Why
would someone risk his life to help Kelly get into the computer system?” Lee
wondered. “Once the PR discovered they
helped him, their life wouldn’t be worth anything.”
“Lee,
Kelly didn’t elaborate on that part of the scheme. Whoever it was knew what they were getting
into.”
“Obviously,
they found out before we left but when?” Janet asked.
“According
to Kelly, they didn’t find out until the day of the reception. The man that followed you the day of the
aquarium opening was sent to make sure it was you and Lee in Gromenten. Once they realized Kelly had double crossed
them they sent more men to kill him.
They were hoping to take you and Lee alive before you got on the
helicopter.”
Lee
sat up a little straight in his chair, “How did they know where the chopper
would pick them up?”
“Kelly
said someone was going to put a tracker on the car. Before he decided to defect he went to
Gromenten and checked out the area looking for the fastest and easiest way out
of the country. He knew it would be
chopper near the water as most of the country is pretty mountainous and not
many places to land near the capital unnoticed.
He told them the best route to drive to the beach.”
“How
would they know what car to put the tracker on,” Janet inquired.
“Kelly
believes the man that followed you, watched all the cars that were driven
behind the reception hall that night. He
probably checked them out and saw the keys laying on the seat and took a chance
that was the car. They were tracking you
and saw you were going in the opposite direction Kelly had given them so they
hastily set up the road block you ran into. The only problem was the two men at
the road block didn’t know who they were looking for so they let you go. Once they realized where you were heading
they sent them and another pair of assassins to the beach. Kelly hoped the chopper would get there
before the killers did but when the weather didn’t cooperate he knew there
could be trouble.”
“Admiral,
he never once said anything about the PR looking for him...how could he not
tell us that there was a possibility of trouble? Maybe we could have done
something different,” Janet said unhappily.
“He
regrets that now and is pretty upset at what took place,” Johnson told
them. “He had no idea that Gallagher was
posing as Lee. Does that answer all your
questions?”
“I
just have one more,” Janet said softly.
“What will happen to Paul’s body?”
“We’ll
contact his family and make arrangements to send his body to them.”
“Will
you please let us know where you send him so I can tell his family what
happened?”
“You
can’t tell them anything. I’ll make sure
they know how he died.”
“But
sir...” Janet protested.
“This
mission was vital to national security; they can’t and won’t know all the
details. I expect you to keep this
information private just like any other operative is expected to do. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes,
sir and thank you for answering my questions,” Janet said as she stood up and
shook hands with him. Lee saluted him
and they left his office.
“We
better call Chip and the admiral,” Janet told Lee as they walked out of the ONI
building. “I still need to talk to you
before we leave.”
“I’ll
call and tell them to meet us at the airport.
Will an hour be enough time?”
“Yes,
that should be fine. Can we go to the
reflecting pool near the
Lee
dialed Chip’s phone and told them they would meet them at the airport in an
hour. He then hailed a taxi for the ride
to the monument.
((()))
Once
at the monument, they found a place to sit not too far from where they cab
dropped them off so Lee didn’t have walk too far. It was a beautiful cool day and Janet forgot
to pack a sweater so Lee took off his jacket and put it around her shoulders. Before they sat down Lee leaned his crutches
up against the bench and took Janet into his arms giving her a hug and a long
deep kiss not caring who was watching.
“I’ve
wanted to do that since you got off the plane.
I’m so glad you’re back safe and sound.”
“I’m
so happy to be back. I haven’t even had
a chance to find out how you’re doing. I
see you still have the stitches...how are your ribs...you’re walking pretty
well with the crutches,” Janet remarked as they sat down on the bench.
“I’m
fine,” Lee replied with a grin. “Jamie’s
going to remove the stitches tomorrow.
Ribs are still a little sore but not too sore to take you to bed when we
get home,” he teased. “What did you need
to talk to me about...was there a problem with Paul?”
“No
not at all. He was a perfect
gentleman. There were a couple of times
when I was talking to him that I forgot he wasn’t you but his eyes always gave
him away.”
“I’m
glad you didn’t have any problems and that he kept his promise to bring you
home safely which I wish I could thank him for,” Lee said sadly. “Is that what you needed to talk to me
about?”
“No,”
Janet sighed deeply. “Before Paul died,
he asked me to forgive him for all the pain and trouble he caused us when he
posed as you. He regrets seeking revenge
on us. I told him we would forgive him. It was so hard to watch him die.”
“I’m
glad you forgave him. I think he wishes
he never hooked up with the PR. He alluded
to that when we talked before you left.
He was hoping his family would forgive him and take him back.”
“Lee,
that was the worst situation I’ve ever had to deal with and I hope I never have
to deal with it again. I keep thinking
what would’ve happened if you had gone instead of Paul, it makes me sick to my
stomach. But I now have a new understanding of what you go through when you
return from a mission that has gone bad.”
“It’s
never easy to get over and it’ll just take some time,” he told her wrapping his
arm around her, pulled her close and kissed her temple. “I have a couple of questions I need to ask.”
“Ask
away,” Janet told Lee as she held his hand.
“You
went to a winery...dancing?”
“We
had a lot of time to kill on Saturday.
Paul found a tour of a castle that had a winery so we went and the wine
was pretty good. We danced at the
reception and I’m going to tell you Lee, he was a great dancer. He said his mom made him take dancing lessons,”
Janet grinned.
“Just
one more question...how did you get the men on the roadblock to let you go by?”
“Well,
I told Paul and Leon to pretend they were sleeping. When the men stopped us I told them that we
were on our way home from a wedding and they were both drunk so I had to drive. Paul woke up and told them that because he
didn’t throw up in the car he would get ‘lucky’ and put his hand on my breast.
Sorry Lee but we needed to convince them to let us by,’ Janet said honestly.
“So
he did get ‘lucky’,” Lee said with a smile.
“Good thinking under stress.
You’re getting good at this spy stuff but don’t get any ideas of doing
this permanently.”
“No
way would I want to do this permanently.
One spy in the family is more than enough and do you think the admiral and
Chip would let me do it. You cause them
enough problems. And Lee you had nothing to worry about as you’re the only one
I will ever want,” Janet answered as her stomach growled.
“Are
you hungry?”
“Yes,
how about we stop at a drive thru and get some burgers, fries and drinks. We can pick it up on the way back to the
airport,” Janet replied and looked at her watch. “We better pick some up for Chip and the
admiral as I’m sure they’re hungry again as it’s been a few hours.”
“Sounds
good,” Lee responded as he grabbed his crutches and they walked to the street
where they found a cab and asked him to stop at a fast food restaurant where
they ordered enough food to feed a small army.
He dropped them off at the terminal where FS-1 was parked. The admiral and Chip were waiting
inside. Chip was happy to see the
food. They found a lounge for officers
in the terminal where they could eat.
When they were finished, they walked to the flying sub and prepared to
take-off for home. Chip helped Lee
board, then Janet. The admiral decided
to let Chip fly them home so he would get some more hours at the controls. They
would reach
((()))
Janet
sat next to Lee and was dozing while they flew home. Lee was telling the admiral and Chip what
Janet told Johnson about the mission and how and why
“Lee,”
the admiral said somberly, “I hate to think how different our ride home would
have been if you had gone instead of Gallagher.”
I
don’t even want to think about that ever again, Janet thought as she listened to the men talk. She dozed off again and woke up when she
heard Chip calling the institute letting them know they would be landing in
thirty minutes. Chip had no problems
landing FS-1 and taxied her over to her hangar where they would take her back
to Seaview at a later time.
The
admiral unbuckled his harness and went over to the rear hatch and unlocked it
while Chip completed the shut-down process.
Janet
undid her harness and the admiral helped her out. “I’m so glad you’re back,” the admiral told
her and gave her a hug.
“Thank
you sir. I’m glad to be back.” Janet replied and took Lee’s crutches out of the
sub so she could give them to him when he exited FS-1.
Chip
finished up and was waiting for Lee to undo his harness so he could help him
out.
“Nice
flying,” Lee quipped, “Almost as good as me.”
“Watch
out bro, I might just take your crutches and leave you here,” Chip joked as he
helped Lee out.
They
didn’t even get out of the hangar when Jamie showed up and saw Janet limping.
“What
happened...are you okay?” he asked her.
“I’m
okay just a few scrapes, cuts and bruises,” she told him. “I’ll stop and see you tomorrow.”
“No,
you know the rules. You’ll be checked
out now...let’s go.”
Smirking
Lee said, “You have to follow the rules just like I do.”
Janet
gave Lee a dirty look as they climbed in Jamie’s car and went to
Helping
her get on the gurney Jamie checked out her knees and feet and asked, “How did
you do this?”
“High
heels on a rocky beach aren’t a good idea so I had to remove them. Jamie a lot more took place on this mission
than was expected.” Janet explained to
Jamie what happened to her and Paul. She
told him she saw the corpsman on the carrier and that he gave her an
antibiotic.
“Everything
looks good. They did a good job on the
carrier. I won’t give you any more
antibiotics unless they start to look infected.
You know the routine, keep them clean and covered. I’m sorry to hear what happened to him. If
you need to talk just let me know,” Jamie said sympathetically.
“Thanks
Jamie but right now I just want to go home, take a long hot shower and go to
bed. I need to go to work tomorrow and
think about something else.”
“I’ll
clear you to go to work. While you’re
both here I’ll take out Lee’s stitches and check him out so he can go to work
tomorrow too.”
Janet
slid off the gurney and went to get Lee while Jamie cleaned up and prepared to
remove Lee’s stitches. Janet hated
watching him take out stitches so she would stay in the waiting room until
Jamie was finished.
When
Janet went to get Lee from the waiting room, the admiral and Chip showed
up.
“Everything
okay,” the admiral asked as Lee went into the exam room.
“Just
fine,” Janet replied, “Jamie’s removing Lee’s stitches and I don’t like to
watch him do that. I’m cleared to return
to work.”
“Don’t
worry about going to work tomorrow,” the admiral told Janet.
“Thanks,
but I need to work,” Janet told him quietly.
“I
understand. Since everything is under
control here, I’ll see you tomorrow,” the admiral replied and left
Chip
stayed with Janet while Jamie took care of Lee. “You okay?” he asked as she seemed a little
quiet.
“Yes,
just wish things had turned out differently and we all made it home
safely. Paul asked me to forgive him for
what he did to Lee and me before he died.”
“Did
you?”
“Yes,
I did. He actually turned out to be a nice guy.
I feel guilty.”
“You
can’t let it get to you; just let it go.
I’ve seen what guilt can do to a person,” Chip reminded her.
“You’re
right but it’s going to take awhile to forget about it.” Janet replied as the
door opened to the exam room and Lee hobbled out.
“Thanks
Jamie,” Lee said as he rubbed the area getting him a dirty look from Jamie.
“Is
he cleared for duty?” Chip asked with a smile.
“Yes,
as long as he doesn’t go aboard Seaview until his cast is removed.”
“Jamie,
good luck with trying to keep him off of Seaview,” Janet grinned.
The
three of them left
((()))
When
they arrived at the Crane’s house, Chip packed up his things as he would return
to his house now that Janet was home to look after Lee. He had quite a few items to carry so Janet
helped him take his things to the car.
Before
he left he told Lee, “I’ll pick you up tomorrow for work. Good night Lee.”
Janet
walked Chip out the door and put his things in the car.
“Thanks
Chip for taking care of Lee while I was gone and coming to get me. When is Julie returning?”
“Tomorrow,
I really missed her,” Chip replied with a huge smile.
“I
guess that means we won’t be seeing too much of you,” Janet teased.
Turning
slightly red and embarrassed, “No, just at work I’m afraid. Janet, I’m glad you got back safely,” Chip
said as he gave her a hug.
“Thanks
Chip. Say hi to Julie for us,” Janet
answered returning his hug and watched as he drove back to his house.
((()))
Janet
returned to the house and sat down on the couch next to Lee. “Everything okay, you were gone for
awhile. Yes, just fine. We won’t be seeing too much of Chip as Julie
is returning tomorrow,” she told Lee with a big smile.
Smiling
back Lee said, “Sweetie, we do have one problem if Chip isn’t around...we’re
going to have to buy a car. Do you want
anything in particular?”
“No
but I did like my SUV. Could we get
another one of those?”
“No
problem. How about you take your shower
and I’ll meet you in bed,” Lee replied as Janet helped him up the stairs.
Janet
turned on the shower and waited for the water to get warm. Once the water was warm, she stood under it
just letting it run down her body. She was
surprised when she heard the shower door open and Lee stood there with a
garbage bag wrapped around his leg.
Breaking out in a huge smile, she wrapped her arms around his waist and
gave him a long kiss.
Pushing
herself away Janet told Lee, “Jamie’s going to be mad if you get that cast
wet.”
Grinning,
“I’ll take my chances,” Lee replied as he pulled her closer to him.
They
finished their shower and Janet climbed into bed while Lee removed the garbage
bag from his leg. “Dry as a bone,” he
reported.
“Hey
‘grandpa’,” Janet snickered as she propped herself up on one elbow and watched
Lee. “Are you ready for a challenge?”
“’Grandpa’
was that the best you could do... and of course I’m up for a challenge,” Lee
snorted as he walked over to the bed.
“Lee,
honey, you’re always up,” Janet smirked as her eyes wandered over Lee’s body
stopping at the lower half as she pulled back the covers and he slid beneath
them.
He
proved that ‘grandpa’ was indeed up for the challenge several times that night.
((()))
Chip
picked up Lee and Janet and drove them to the institute. After Janet said good
morning to Angie and Wanda who were happy she was back unharmed, she went to
her office and was grateful that her desk was piled up with work as it would
take her mind off the mission.
Several
days had gone by and she was finally catching up. She was just going to get some lunch for her
and Lee when the phone rang.
“Janet
Crane, how may I help you?”
“Hi
Janet, its Jenny Crosby, Paul’s cousin.”
“Hi
Jenny, how are you?’ Janet asked softly.
“We’re
fine; we just wanted to let you know that Paul’s body arrived the other
day. We’re going to have memorial
service for him here in
“Thank
you for letting me know, and yes, Lee and I would like to attend the service,”
Janet responded. Jenny told Janet that
the service would take place on Friday and where it would be held.
“We’ll
see you soon,” Jenny said quietly.
Janet
hung up the phone and sat there for a few minutes before going to Lee’s office
to tell him about the service. Lee got
up from his desk and walked to the front of it where Janet was standing. He could see something was wrong. “Sweetie, is everything okay?”
“I
just got a call from Jenny Crosby.
They’re having a memorial service for Paul on Friday and she wanted to
know if we wanted to attend the service.
I told her we would be there.”
“Of
course. I’m sure the admiral will let us take FS-1,” he told her as he gave
hug. “I’ll ask if he would like to go as
well as Chip.”
“Okay
Lee,” Janet answered. She went back to
her office before heading to the cafeteria so she could wipe away her tears.
((()))
The
four of them left on Friday morning for the short trip to
“Thank
you for coming,” Jenny said to them. “I
know it must be hard for you to be here after what he did to you. Admiral Johnson said he was helping the
government with a project when he was killed and that he saved Janet’s
life. I’m sure there’s more to it than
he told us but I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Yes,
he did save my life and we’ve forgiven him for what he did to us. He was going to change his life and hoped you
would let him back into the family,” Janet told her softly.
“We
would have taken him back in a heart beat,” Jenny replied with tears in her
eyes.
Jenny
took Janet’s hand, gave it a squeeze and they walked over to where the service
would take place. Janet stood between
Lee and Chip and wiped tears away from her eyes when the service ended. Lee wrapped his arm around her waist and gave
her a gentle hug.
Thank
you for saving my life. I’ll never forgot the ultimate sacrifice you made for
me, Janet thought as she stood there
for a moment longer before they walked away and returned to the car for the
ride back to the naval base.
The
group boarded FS-1 and returned to the institute where Lee and Janet decided
not to go back into the institute office for the rest of the day. They would go home as soon as Lee checked out
the paint job on the right bow fin where he scraped the paint. It was a little cool out so Janet grabbed her
jacket out of her new black SUV. Lee
couldn’t understand why she wanted black but had to admit it looked pretty
sharp. They walked down the path to the
above ground sub pen where Seaview had been brought the day before by
Chip, O’Brien and some of the crew on duty.
Janet sat down on the bench and waited for Lee as he checked out the
paint job. He walked back to the bench
and sat down next to her.
“They
did a good job fixing the scrape,” Lee told her.
Smiling,
“Did you have any doubts they would,” Janet replied.
“Never
a doubt,” Lee responded as he wrapped his arm around her. ‘You were pretty quiet on the way back from
“Yes,
I was just thinking about Paul and how differently this mission could have
ended if he hadn’t gone in your place.”
“I
know what you mean,” Lee said honestly, “that thought has crossed my mind a few
times.”
“I
guess someone was watching out for us again. I’m afraid we’re going to run out
of ‘get of out of trouble’ tickets,” Janet remarked as she snuggled next to
Lee.
They
sat there for a few more minutes watching Seaview
bob in her pen before Lee said, “Let’s go home.”
She
helped Lee up from the bench and they walked back to the SUV. Janet took Lee’s crutches, put them in the
back seat and walked around to the driver’s side of the car and drove home.
The
End.
Author’s credits:
*For story purposes only,
I’ve stated that the
Author’s notes:
I realize this story is very
similar to “A New ONI Agent” written and posted in July 2013. I did have a problem with what to do with
Paul Gallagher and him looking like Lee Crane.
I didn’t want him to linger in the detention center for too long so I
figured he and Janet would do a mission for ONI with him posing as Lee. Even though the initial background of the
story is similar; the mission, circumstances and outcome is very
different. I hope you enjoyed the story.
**See my story, “Trouble
in Vegas”
***Fictional country on the
**** See my story, “Double
Vengeance”
***** See my story, “A New
ONI Agent?”
Thank you Christy for all
your help and suggestions.