Last Spy Standing – part 2

A note to readers: continuing the afternoon spent in “Last Spy Standing Part One,” Lee is reflecting on a day spent with friends.

Thankyou to Helen for her guidance and Gail for her beta.

oOo

While walking on the beach that evening, Lee’s thoughts turn back to the afternoon he’d spent in the company of his friends. Filled with California sunshine, chargrilled steaks and foil-baked potatoes cooked on Admiral Nelson’s BBQ, along with a cooler filled with a sixpack or two of beer. It felt good to have friends to share it with, Lee Crane thought, including a new one in the form of Jason Wyatt. Agent Wyatt of the federal Narcotics Bureau. Their meeting might not have started off promising, but it had ended with the takedown of some bad guys. Always good to have friends in high places, especially when it came to the kind of work that Lee did.

They’d been swopping stories, with Lee doing most of the telling. There had been some details that had not been talked about, with regard to Seaview’s mission, that followed Lee’s return – all be it to light duty due to a badly sprained wrist.

As acting captain, Chip had played a big role in thwarting the attempts to steal new sonar equipment and obtain Seaview’s secrets.

It had all started with Chip’s arrival at Lee’s lighthouse home.

oOo

Lee stretched, enjoying the luxury of his king-sized bed, with its comfortable mattress and soft pillows. It felt good to be home. Lee glanced at his bedside clock, shocked to find out how much he had slept past his normal wake up time; it was almost 0800. Good thing he wasn’t some lowly ensign, being dressed down for being late to morning muster.

“Being captain does have its benefits,” he muttered, grinning to himself, stretching and enjoying the sunlight shining through the open drapes.

Although he was perfectly capable of functioning with a bad sprain, both Jamie and Admiral Nelson had insisted that he take time to recover. With no planned missions, Seaview was going nowhere fast at the moment, due to the NRC stand-down, he was currently on medical leave while his wrist mended. Of course, while he was on medical leave, ONI couldn’t call on him for any further involvement in their operations; Lee suspected Nelson had played up his ‘medically unfit’ status.

Sitting up, he threw the covers aside (,) (and) remove) swung his long legs over the side of the bed. Getting to his feet, he padded barefoot across the landing to the bathroom, heading for the shower.

Lee was sitting on the bed, pulling on his black socks when there was a knock on the front door. Frowning, he wondered who it could be. There hadn’t been a call from the Institute. Reaching for his favourite black jeans, he quickly pulled them on before making his way down stairs. He’d better be decent, just in case it wasn’t Chip. He wouldn’t put it past Admiral Johnson to turn up on his doorstep.

Long years of undercover activity had him checking the peephole in his door before opening it. His guess was correct. Chip stood outside.

“Morning.” Chip’s gaze ran over him. “Ready for a trip to work? I’m playing chauffeur. And anything spoilable in the fridge? We’re going to be away for a few days.”

“Morning, Chip.” Lee stood back to allow Chip to enter. “Why didn’t you use your key?” Crane inquired?”

“Didn’t want to intrude in case you had company.”

“Good grief, didn’t know I had that kind of reputation.” He made an exaggerated look around the room. “Nope, just me. Does this mean we’re heading out? And I can go back to work? And do I have time to make myself a cup of coffee?” Upon receiving a nod, Lee led Chip into the kitchen. Chip nodded with a large grin as he followed Lee. “Good, didn’t look forward to doing nothing for who knows how long.”

“Yeah, I know how crazy you get with nothing to do. The admiral got the okay from the NRC to start up operations again. So, we’ve got a new job. Just a quick trip to and from Hawaii, but it’ll get you out of the house,” Chip said, grinning his beautiful big grin. “Since I wasn’t sure if you could drive the Cobra with that wrist, I thought I’d drive us both in.”

Lee filled the jug with water and started the coffee percolating. “What’s on the agenda?”

Chip shrugged. “Don’t know, just that it’s something that the Admiral received got the go-ahead for in the last 24 hours.”

“Okay, give me five minutes to finish getting dressed and get the rest of my stuff. I’ll change into my uniform on the boat. Get out one of my travel mugs and fill it up, will you?”

“You in a hurry or something?”

“You bet. I don’t want to give the Admiral time to change his mind. A couple days of sitting on the beach with nothing to do is enough for me. And remember, just one sugar and no milk.” He patted his stomach. “Gotta watch my youthful figure.”

“Oh, good grief.” Chip shook his head. “Maybe I should have forgotten my way here.”

“And miss the pleasure of my company? Not a chance.” Lee laughed all the way upstairs.

oOo

Lee had expected Chip to head to the administration building once they arrived at the institute, figuring that Admiral Nelson would be in his office waiting for them. Seated in the passenger seat, Lee gave Chip a sideways look when he realized that he was headed directly for Seaview’s dock, rather than the administration building. “We’re not meeting the Admiral in his office?”

“No, I have instructions to bring you to the boat.”

“What’s going on?” Lee asked, his suspicion growing. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“I’m just following orders.”

Captaining Seaview was a once in a lifetime opportunity that he’d never imagined would be possible when he’d first seen her, as she was leaving Groton on her shakedown cruise. He’d envied Chip being XO of the fantastic submarine. He’d never dreamed that they would one day serve together aboard her.

“Okay. Whenever somebody tells me to get my butt aboard, I go. Bad wrist or no.” He spread his hands wide to emphasize his next point.

“The Admiral’s in the wardroom,” Chip said, leading the way.

oOo

Nelson was drinking a cup of coffee and examining some papers while Lee and Chip ate their breakfast. “We’ll be having two civilians come aboard. Dr. Carl Raymond is head of R&D at Ocean Marine. They have supposedly developed a new, high-resolution sonar, and have offered it for testing. He’s bringing along his senior technician.”

“I’ll have two guest cabins prepared,” Chip said between bites of pancake.

“Why us?” Lee asked.

“Washington wants to test it for possible military application. It could be useful as a support for deep water divers and ship wreck analysis. Along with undersea archaeological usage. I offered to have it installed aboard Seaview. No better platform, if it proves to be as good as they claim.”

“When do we shove off?” Chip asked.

“They’ll be arriving first thing tomorrow and they’re bringing everything with them. Apparently, the gear is quite compact. So, we can sail as soon as they’re safely aboard. Any problems with that, Chip?”

“No, sir. Have you determined a time frame for the mission, Admiral?

“I’d estimate we’d need provisions for ten days, and chart a general course for Hawaii. Dr. Raymond will give us the exact coordinates when he’s aboard.” Nelson waved his coffee cup. “Lee, when we finish here, report to med bay, Doc wants to check your wrist,” Nelson ordered.

“Yes, sir. First, I’ll fortify myself with all this food.” It would be a short detour before settling into his cabin. “I’m sure I’ve got plenty of paperwork to keep me occupied after that.”

“What would we do without paperwork, eh?” Chip smiled.

“A lot better, in my opinion,” Lee intoned, taking a sip of coffee. “But the Navy can’t survive without it, God forbid, and neither can NIMR.”

“Records, my boy, records,” Nelson said. “Can’t function without documentation.”

“I could function without documentation just fine. But Lieutenant Commander Morton would be lost without it, I know, so we do have to keep the man happy.” Everyone laughed while Chip shook his head in silent resignation.

As efficient as ever, Chip got the boat provisioned, and everybody showed up for duty. Seaview was ready to sail. Little did we (he) know of the fun that was coming. Their guests arrived on time the next morning and were welcomed aboard…

oOo

Chip was in command as Lee joined Nelson and their guests in the observation nose to watch the giant submarine (crossed the break water as they headed) head out into the Pacific. The submarine slipping her moorings and departure Santa Barbara, headed for Hawaiian waters.

Doctor Carl Raymond, dressed in a charcoal grey suit, white shirt with a grey tie, looked more like a business man than a research scientist. His dark head of hair matched the dark brown eyes. He looked healthy enough, although his face was rather florid. His assistant, Neil Guy, was much younger; blue eyes, blond hair that touched the top of his dark blue jumpsuit with the company name and logo on the breast pocket. His Tanned skin, no doubt courtesy of the California sun. Admiral Nelson had greeted them earlier, standing by on the dock while their equipment had been brought aboard and stowed in one of the foreword storage compartments prior to being set up in the pressure well. It was compact, not much larger than the sonar equipment they already had in place.

The atmosphere in the control room was relaxed. The crew had done this hundreds of times. Dr. Raymond had handed over the necessary coordinates, and Lee had gone over the charts with Chip prior to sailing, planning their course to the Hawaiian Islands.

“Thank you, Admiral, for agreeing to this,” Raymond said. His too bright smile was expansive as he pumped the Admiral’s hand up and down. “It’s a great support platform for our testing and analysis.”

“We’re looking forward to seeing the equipment in operation,” Nelson replied.

“I hope you will be impressed by what you see.”

“I’m looking forward to it. Captain Morton will get us there as quickly as possible,” Nelson said, smiling.

Raymond turned to Lee, the smile dimming a bit. “Oh, I thought that you were Seaview’s Captain?”

“I am. However, because of my injury, I’m on restricted duty.” Lee held up the arm with the cast. “Commander Morton is acting Captain on this trip,” Lee explained. “I’m just along for the ride.”

“I see. Well, I hope that your arm heals quickly.”

“Thank you, Dr. Raymond.” Lee’s arm had been x-rayed and re-splinted prior to Seaview’s departure. No doubt Dr. Jamieson, Seaview’s CMO would be keeping a check on him. He had agreed to allow Lee to come along, on the condition that he not do his usual wandering of the boat when not on the bridge. While they were not planning to visit any dangerous areas, the Pacific could be unpredictable and with only one good arm, he did not want Lee taking any chances of a fall if they hit turbulence. He’d prefer it if Lee would stay in his cabin, but he knew that was impossible.

“How soon will we submerge?” Dr. Raymond asked.

“Not long now. As soon as we are in open water, Captain Morton will give the order,” Nelson replied.

“How deep will we go?”

“Not very. But to maintain optimum speed we’ll be well under the normal sea lanes, since these are very busy waters. However, we will not be going anywhere near Seaview’s limit,” Nelson assured him.

Lee’s attention was taken by Chip giving the order to submerge. He wondered how Dr. Raymond and his assistant would handle being underwater. Seaview’s interior was spacious compared to normal submarines, but not everyone could handle being submerged for any length of time.

Nelson took a seat in his customary spot in the nose. “I know what I’ve been told, Doctor, but why don’t you enlighten Captain Crane and Captain Morton as to our mission.”

The man clapped his hands together and grinned. “It’s something that’s occupied the historical research world since the war. As you may know, the Japanese Navy constructed several of the largest submarines ever built -- not as big as Seaview, but larger than anything conceived of up to that time. One particular submarine, I-400, was captured by American forces at the end of the war, brought to the Hawaiian Islands and scuttled in waters off Oahu. Well, we want to find her again -- using our equipment. We don’t think we’ll have a problem at all.”

Chip and Lee looked at each other. Chip was the first to speak. “That certainly sounds like it should serve as a suitable test of your equipment, Dr. Raymond….”

oOo

Lee shook his head. Little did they know at the time that “suitable test of the equipment, and it’s not often that “sonar equipment” really meant “spying for a foreign government” equipment.

They knew it would take at least 72 hours to reach the coordinates they’d been given. No need to push it. Our two “scientists” said they wanted to check their equipment, so Chip sent them along with an escort, to the storage compartment forward of the missile room. Of course, no-one had any inkling of their real reason for being aboard. After mentioned that lunch would be served in the wardroom around noon, and their two guests went their merry way, while Lee went to his cabin. Where quarterly reports waited for him to check for accuracy. The pile of paper work would assuredly keep him occupied until lunch. He hoped that he’d have the opportunity to observe the test. After all, as Seaview’s C.O, he’d be involved in any refit should Nelson decide to have the equipment installed aboard Seaview.

oOo

“Is your equipment ready to test this afternoon, doctor?” Nelson asked when everyone had settled around the wardroom table for lunch.

“Yes, Admiral, we are ready to set the equipment up in your pressure well this afternoon. Of course, we will need a power source.”

“Nothing we can’t handle.” Chip commented.

“Why don’t you fill us in on the details of the sonar.” Nelson suggested between bites of his roast beef sandwich.

“Certainly.” Raymond smiled. “The real beauty of the equipment is the display- it can show side scans, between 50 and 200ft, or a bottom profile, as well as 360 degree scans, similar to regular sonar. It also keeps a record, so we can look back on (previous scans.) anything we want to check on.”

“Sounds impressive, if the quality of the image is a good as you say.” Nelson said.

“You’ll get a chance to see first-hand.” Raymond replied, exchanging a look with his technician. “At what depth do you intend to carry out the first test?”

“That’s up to you. What is the optimum depth that the sonar operates?” Nelson replied.

“Well, the unit was originally designed for surface use, so between 300 and 500 feet from the bottom. If it operates as anticipated, we can try extending the it’s range.

“I’ll look for a ledge or something that does not require us to go too deep.”

Nelson nodded. “Good idea.”

“I’ll arrange for two electricians to be at your disposal.” Chip told them.

“And maybe Kowalski. He’s the best sonar man we have.” Lee suggested.

“I don’t think that will be necessary. Once we have a power supply, we can set the equipment up. It is not that complicated.”

“Captain, please report to the control room.” O’Brien called over in intercom.

“Excuse me.” Chip got to his feet and moved to the nearest mic. “On my way.”

oOo

“Problem, Mr O’Brien?” Chip asked upon entering the control room.

O’Brien turned from watching over Kowalski’s shoulder. “Kowalski had a flash contact. It only lasted a few seconds.”

Chip joined O’Brien to look over the sonar operator’s other shoulder. “Could you identify it?”

“No, sir. It didn’t last long enough.”

“Could it have been a sub?”

“I’m not sure.”

“All stop.” Chip ordered.

“All stop, aye.”

“Hydrophone’s, are you picking up anything?” Chip asked Riley.

“No, sir,” Riley shook his head.

“Kowalski?”

“The board is clear now, sir.” Kowalski replied.

“All right, keep a close watch and let me know if you get anything.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Mr O’Brien, resume course and speed.”

“Aye, sir.” O’Brien moved to the plot table to relay the order.

oOo

After lunch Admiral Nelson and Lee moved to the observation nose to join Chip, curious as to what the course and speed changes had been about.

“We had a flash contact. Kowalski couldn’t identify it. I wondered if there could be another sub out there.” Chip explained. “Something’s been rankling me about the two from Ocean Marine”.

Chip’s thoughts kept going back to what they had talked about at lunch, but he was having trouble putting his finger on just what was bothering him. “Although probably innocent enough, their apparent reluctance to use any of Seaview’s crew to help set up the equipment – they were probably just protecting the company’s interests.”

“Well. The company checked out. Maybe I need to do some digging into our guests.” Nelson commented.

“In the meantime, I want to discuss the requirements for the new equipment. What changes would need to be made if he decided it was something we could use. It would mean a refit of the control room to accommodate the new display screen and he already had an idea about that. The sonar unit used for the test, is a small torpedo shaped module. It would be towed below Seaview, using the pressure well. The boat would have no problem accommodating the unit. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to see the real Ocean Marine equipment soon, once all the hoopla around this business has settled down. Obviously, their security systems (that’s employed) in place leave a little to be desired. By the time all of this is done…”

oOo

The rest of the afternoon passed without incident and Chip decided to do a walk about. Usually, this was Lee’s “job,” but Lee was resting in his cabin, his arm aching a little more than Jamie wanted to see, so Jamie had ordered him to rest. Lee had a special rapport with the crew, with his hands-on approach and relaxed command style. Being on restricted duty was not easy for such an active person as Lee Crane, but Jamie had put his foot down this time. It was no secret that Lee enjoyed keeping up with what was happening on the boat, but he’d just have to hear it from Chip, this time.

Morton had almost reached the missile room when the technician from Ocean Pacific came around the corner. The man attempted to do an about face. But Chip was having none of that, reaching out and grabbing his arm.

“Mr. Guy! What are you doing here? This is a restricted area.”

“Uh, I’m sorry, Captain Morton. I was just stretching my legs and I seem to have gotten lost.”

Chip opened the hatch and stepped inside. “Murphy.”

“Yes, sir.” A blond-haired crewman wearing a blue jumpsuit approached.

“Escort this man to his cabin.”

“Aye, sir. This way, sir.” As the rating guided their wondering guest out of the restricted areas of the boat, Chip waited until the two men had walked away before cutting his walk short and heading for Lee’s cabin.

oOo

“How’s it going, Captain Morton?” Lee asked as Chip knocked and entered.

“No problems, except we’ve got a civilian in places where he shouldn’t be.” He told Crane about finding the Ocean Pacific tech outside the missile room. “There’s something about these guys, Lee. I don’t like it.”

Lee threw his pen down. “Should we -- you -- have guards posted at all restricted areas?”

“I’m thinking about it.”

“You’re slipping, Mr Morton,” Lee teased.

“I’m not the one with a big ol’ cast on my wrist,” Chip retaliated.

“Okay, I’ll give you that one.” Lee raised his wrist and rotated it a half turn, wincing slightly. It was bothering him again.

“Want to talk about it?” Chip asked.

“There’s nothing much to talk about. It was kind of a busted assignment. Luckily at least I didn’t get a busted arm, just a bad sprain. Did meet a good guy, an agent from the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. Good contact, might come in handy someday.”

“Yeah, especially with your record for finding trouble.” Chip teased with a grin, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief.

This was a side of Chip that few were privileged to. Chip maintained his XO face in front of the crew. Even Lee sometimes had trouble reading him. That was part of what made him such a good XO.

Chip dropped into the chair in front of Lee’s desk. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but how much longer are you going to put your career and life at risk for ONI. You’re a damn good sub captain, one of the best, and my friend. Don’t let ONI jeopardize that.” Chip continued.

Chip had a valid point, and Lee had to admit he’d thought about it on occasion. He wasn’t sure what it was that kept him accepting ONI assignments. He certainly had enough to keep him occupied here at NIMR.

“Earth to Lee.”

Lee gave him a sheepish smile. “Sorry. Come on, let’s go see what is for dinner.” He hoped that the thought of food would distract Chip.

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Chip pushed to his feet.

oOo

Two days out from Pearl, with a little help from the L.A.P.D and ONI, they discovered that their guests where not who they said they were. Although Chip had his doubts before that.

oOo

Admiral Nelson was enjoying breakfast with Lee, Chip and along with their guests. Chip had been updating them on their overnight progress and Seaview’s current position. “Looks like you have everything under control.”

“Yes, sir. We’re right on schedule. We should arrive at the co-ordinates tomorrow.”

“Admiral Nelson, sir, there’s a call for you. It’s Admiral Johnson, he says it’s urgent.” Sparks called over the intercom.

Nelson scowled. Getting up he moved to the nearest mic. “All right, Sparks. Give me a minute, then put it through to my cabin.”

“Aye, sir.”

Lee started to get up, but Nelson waved him off. “No, Lee. I’ll handle this.”

“Yes, sir.”

oOo

“This had better be an emergency.” Nelson growled down the phone. Johnson had a nerve after what had happened to Lee.

“Where are you?” Johnson asked.

“The Pacific, one day out of Santa Barbara, and no, Lee is not available. He’s injured in case you’d forgotten.”

“It’s regarding your guests. LAPD did a routine traffic stop, thought something was fishy. The officer just had a “bad feeling.” Still, the driver pulled a gun and paid a price for it. Turns out they were involved in a kidnapping of a Doctor Raymond. You have an imposter aboard, Harry. The real Doctor Raymond is safe and here in LA, and It looks though you have possibly two spies aboard. The Feds will meet you at Pearl Harbour.”

“You’re sure about this?”

“One hundred percent.”

“Damn. Thanks for the heads up. We’ll handle it.”

“Good luck.”

Nelson hung up the phone and pushed to his feet.

oOo

By the time Nelson descended the stairs to the control room, Lee and Chip were waiting for him.

“What’s going on, Admiral?” Chip asked.

“Where are our guests?”

“In the pressure well. Why?”

“At least one of them is an imposter.” Nelson told them as he pulled his keys from his pocket and moved swiftly to open the small arms locker in the nose. “LAPD stumbled on onto a kidnapping during a traffic stop.”

“I knew there was something about that Raymond guy.” Chip said. “I’ll have their cabin searched.”

“Better extend the search to the rest of the sub.” Nelson suggested, as he handed out side arms “Don’t use the intercom, we don’t want to alert them.”

Chip nodded and strapping on his gun belt, he headed up the spiral stairs to find the MAA.

However, before anyone could do anything further, Seaview dipped and the lights went out, replaced by the emergency red lights. Causing everyone to grab the nearest support.

“Circuitry room.” Crane announced. All three officers headed towards the rear hatch at a run.

oOo

Arriving at the circuitry room door, inside the compartment they found one of the damage control team kneeling beside Guy, who was lying on the deck. Beside him a cabinet was open. Another member of the damage control team was spraying it with an extinguisher. The smell of scorched wiring hung in the air.

“What happened?” Nelson asked.

“We don’t know, sir. We just found this guy unconscious.”

Chip moved to a mic. “Sick bay, get a stretcher down to the circuity room on the double.” Chip returned the mic to its clip and as he joined the others standing over the technician.

The damage control officer stood up to address the officers. “He’s dead, Admiral. Looks like electrical shock.”

Nelson nodded and bent to study the open cabinet. “Looks like he was trying to connect some type of device when it shorted out, caused a small fire.”

“Let’s go round up our imposter, and see what he has to say about all this...” Chip said.

“I’ll stay here, and see what I can find out about this device.” Nelson told him.

Chip unclipped a mic. “Master at arms, meet us at the pressure well.”

“Master at Arms, aye.”

oOo

By the time Chip and Lee with the MAA in tow, arrived at the pressure well, the bogus Dr Raymond was in scuba gear, intending to make his escape via the pressure well.

Crane stepped forward with a warning. “Not a good idea, whoever you are. At this depth you won’t last five minutes.” Lee told him. “And yes, we know you’re not the real Dr. Raymond. He safely in LA.

Chip stepped forward with the MAA. “Put him in the brig.”

It turned out, that the importer’s his real name was Yates. Neil Guy had been the real thing; he’d been forced to co-operate under the threat that his boss would be killed if he didn’t comply. What Lee did not understand was why Guy hadn’t come to them and told them what was going on. He’d had the perfect opportunity when he bumped into Chip near the missile room.

But whatever the reason, it was a shame that he had paid with his life.

The damage in the circuitry room had not been as bad as it had first appeared, and the Admiral, along with Patterson and the boat’s electrician, had soon had it repaired. The devise was similar to an aircraft flight recorder. It would have recorded a lot of operational parameters, along with voice recordings, which would have been transmitted to a nearby vessel. Probably the contact they had had earlier.

oOo

On arrival at Pearl, they were met by a joint team from NIS and the FBI. Guy’s body was loaded into the medical examiner’s vehicle. Nelson and Chip accompanied the NIS agent to give statements. While all this was going on, Lee took over command of the sub and gave the crew a well-deserved shore leave. Jamieson reasoned that Lee could not get into too much trouble while Seaview was in port, especially Pearl, where security was tight. After handing the con over to O’Brien, Lee had spent some time doing a walk through the boat, to catch up with his boat and crew. Returning to the control room some time later, Lee sat in the observation nose, watching the activity dockside, through Seaview’s big windows.

The day was uneventful and Lee made his way topside to greet Chip on his return. Admiral Nelson had stayed ashore to visit with his old friend Admiral Stark. Lee just hoped that Nelson wouldn’t bring Stark back to the boat.

oOo

The sun was going down, painting the sky with shades of purple, pink and midnight blue. Lee decided that it was time he headed back. He’d accepted Nelson’s offer of a bed for the night in one of the NIMR guest bungalows. Maybe he’d see if Chip and the Admiral wanted to join him for a night cap.

As Lee retraced his steps, his thoughts turned to Seaview, instinctively he headed in the direction of the pen where she was berthed. He wondered what their next mission would be. He’d enjoyed his time ashore, but now that his wrist was fully healed, the sea was calling. Lee smiled to himself; his friends often called him a work-a-holic. Whatever the Admiral had planned, Lee hoped it would be an un-eventful cruise.

The institute grounds were extensive, and Lee hitched a ride with one of the security patrols, who were a little surprised to see him. Arriving dockside, Lee stood for a moment letting his gaze move over the huge vessel that was Seaview, before crossing the gangplank and stepping onto the deck. He was a little surprised to see the sail hatch open, but after returning the salute of the guard on deck, he proceeded inside.

Arriving in the nose, he was even more surprised to see Chip and the Admiral seated at the table in the nose.

“We thought that you would end up here eventually.” Chip smiled. “Can’t keep away.” He teased.

“Come and have a seat, Lad.” Nelson smiled.

Lee regarded them with suspicion; what were they up to?

Nelson chuckled. “We won’t bite. We thought we’d join you for a nightcap.” Nelson picked up the coffee pot and poured a mug of steaming liquid into a third mug.

Lee approached and sat down, accepting the mug, he took a sip. Cookies ‘special’ hot chocolate.

“Are you all right, Lee?” Nelson asked.

“Yes, sir – I’m fine. Ready for whatever you have planned for Seaview’s next cruise.”

“What’s the hurry?” Chip asked. “All work and no play…”

“I was just curious.” Lee defended. Plus, I’ve had enough of paperwork, I need some action.”

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow. 0800 hrs, in my office.” Nelson hastily interrupted before Chip could retaliate further.

“Yes, sir.” Both men answered.

oo End oo