Angel of the Abyss: A Novel of the Great Tribulation (The Days of Elijah Book 3)

by Mark Goodwin

  Once they arrived in the dining area, Lui introduced them by last name and rank to Captain Vasily Petrov, Chief Officer Maria Lopez, Second Mate Nate Williams, and Lars Andersen, the chief engineer.

  “How do you do?” Everett shook hands with everyone and led the way to the table farthest from the captain’s.

  Lui assisted Chief Cook Ana Garcia in serving enchiladas with salad. Though it was simple, Everett couldn’t remember eating a more perfect meal. He so wanted to relax, to take in the luxurious experience of being waited on, of sitting in a chair, at a table, next to his wife. He wanted to take her hand, but he couldn’t. The mission depended on the charade.

  After dinner, they returned to their rooms. Everett visited with the girls and fell asleep, snuggled next to Courtney.

  CHAPTER 9

  And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let no man prevail against thee.

  2 Chronicles 14:11

  Everett and the girls ate breakfast at 5:00 AM with the rest of the crew. Powdered eggs, real bacon, and pancakes were served. Pancakes were a staple for Everett’s team during their time in the cave, but the bacon and eggs were a welcomed addition.

  As they finished eating, Everett turned to Lui who was clearing the table next to his. “Still no other security team?”

  “Not yet, but Captain said they coming. We still got ‘bout 45 minute before ship leaving.”

  “Thanks.” Everett stood up from the table. “Tell Chef Ana that breakfast was excellent.”

  “Yeah, sure. I tell her. See you at lunch.” Lui handed a stack of dishes to another of the galley hands and began wiping down Everett’s table as they left.

  “Thanks, Lui.” Courtney waved.

  “What’s next?” Sarah followed Everett toward the stairwell.

  “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going back to bed. It’s been months since I slept on a mattress.” Everett led the way up the two flights of stairs to Deck D.

  “Sounds like a plan.” Courtney stayed close behind him.

  Sarah followed them to their room. “Maybe I’ll read a little. I wouldn’t have had that third cup of coffee if I knew you guys were going back to sleep.”

  Everett awoke in Courtney’s bed well rested at 10:00 AM. The girls were looking over Everett’s small Bible together. It was the only copy they’d brought, both to conserve space, and because getting caught with a non-GR-authorized version like the King James meant certain death.

  Courtney saw him roll over. “Everett, you’re up.”

  He stretched his arms and legs. “Yeah. I slept like a log.”

  “Good, what do you say we do some exploring?” Courtney walked over to the bed and sat down.

  “What do you want to explore?” He sat up.

  “The rec room. I’d like to see if they have a ping pong table. I wouldn’t mind getting some fresh air also,” Sarah said. “I can’t stay cooped up too long. I start thinking about Kevin.”

  “Sure.” Everett slipped his uniform boots on, then attached his pistol belt. “Side arms and backup guns. We don’t want to let our guard down. We still have to meet the other security team. But even if they decide to run around in flip-flops and Bermuda shorts until we get to Gibraltar, we’ll stay in uniform any time we leave the rooms.”

  Courtney put on her pistol belt as well. “Uniform or no uniform, I can still whip all of you at ping pong.”

  “We’ll see about that.” Sarah tucked her backup gun in her waist.

  Everett led the way out of the room. Lui was entering his cabin. He looked curiously at Everett coming out of the girls’ stateroom, but waved and said nothing.

  Courtney teased Everett as they jogged down the stairwell. “You’re gonna have quite a reputation, Lieutenant Smith.”

  Everett held the door open for the girls when they reached the G Deck. The three of them found the rec room unoccupied. It indeed had a ping pong table as well as a pool table. It also had a thick glass window that looked out onto the open ocean. Everett stared out at the blue water that extended into forever as the girls began playing a game of ping pong. The sea showed no scars from the vicious assault against the planet. It had no scorched surface from the fire, no crimson stains from the raining blood, no tears or rips from the mega-quake, and no pock holes from the meteors. The ocean was smooth and even, unblemished by the first three years of the tribulation. Everett allowed his mind to drift back to a time when the whole planet had looked just the way it was supposed to, just like the Atlantic as he gazed at her beauty.

  “Earth calling Everett,” Courtney quipped. “You look like you’re in a trance. Sarah beat me, are you going to take winner?”

  “Huh?” He was instantly brought back to the rec room, the ship, and the broader mission at hand. “Oh, sure. I’ll play.”

  “Prepare to be smoked!” Sarah volleyed the ball with her paddle.

  Everett picked up the other paddle. “Give me a little time to warm up. I haven’t played since college.”

  “Sorry. No mercy.” Sarah served the ball hard and fast.

  Everett reflexively countered her shot.

  Sarah returned the ball with a firm strike. The two of them soon had the ball bouncing back and forth. Finally, Sarah missed a shot that Everett had sent to the far corner of the table.

  She turned to pick up the ball. “I thought you hadn’t played since college.”

  “I may have neglected to mention that I was really good in college.” He resumed his stance as she served the ball again.

  Minutes later, the rec room door opened. Everett looked up for a second to see who it was, and the ping pong ball went flying past him.

  Even though the four men were wearing the same uniform, Everett’s heart jumped at seeing peacekeepers walk in unexpectedly.

  “Ah, the other security squad,” One of the men said in a distinctly South African accent. He was slender with thin black hair and a sharp nose. He inspected the ranks of Everett, Courtney, and Sarah. “Although, you’re really not a squad. Three peacekeepers would hardly qualify as a fire team, much less a squad. My squad is twelve. So, we are fifteen altogether.

  “Being that I’m a First Lieutenant, I suppose I’ll take the liberty of issuing the watch schedule when we approach the Moroccan coast.”

  Two of the men eyed Courtney and Sarah as they walked to the pool table. One asked, “Do you girls want to play doubles?”

  “No, thanks.” Courtney was polite but firm.

  Everett looked at the man’s name patch. “Our squad works together, Lieutenant Baard.”

  Baard’s eyes slowly traveled from Courtney’s feet up to her face. He tilted his head and smiled at her. “I’ll decide who works with who. But seeing that we’re all countrymen, I can assure you it will be amicable for everyone.”

  Everett clinched his teeth and took a deep breath through his nose. He was unhappy about the way Baard was looking at his wife. To make matters worse, the man was sure to sniff out their fake accents.

  “What part of South Africa are you from, Corporal Bekker?” Baard stepped closer to Courtney.

  “Cape Town,” she replied. “Yourself?”

  “Pretoria.” Baard then said, “Jy is baie mooi. Maar ek is seker jy reeds weet dat.”

  Courtney smiled. “I don’t speak Afrikaans.”

  “No?” Baard furrowed the thin white skin on his elongated brow. “That’s very odd. Bekker is a classic Afrikaans name. And most everyone in Cape Town speaks Afrikaans.”

  “My father was from Cape Town; he met my mother in England and we only moved back when I was in high school.”

  Everett knew Courtney’s excuse wouldn’t do more than buy them another minute or two. He sized up the man next to Baard who was listening intently to Courtney’s explanation. Everett eyed the other two who were engrossed in th
eir pool game except for the occasional glances at Sarah and Courtney’s back sides.

  Baard turned to Sarah. “Perhaps your friend can translate for you then.”

  With one fluid motion, Everett drew his pistol and pulled the trigger. The bullet caught Baard from the rear side, under the cheek. The exit wound from the hollow point shell excavated a tennis-ball-sized crater in the front of Baard’s face, relieving him of his upper lip, nose, and left eye. The Lieutenant’s body went limp, and he collapsed forward onto the floor.

  Everett turned the gun to the other man and shot him between the eyes. At such close range, head shots were the most economical solution.

  The two pool players dropped their cue sticks and ducked behind the table. By now, Courtney and Sarah had each drawn their weapons and were assisting Everett in gunning down the peacekeepers behind the pool table. The two remaining troops got off two shots each before they slumped onto the linoleum floor and into growing pools of their own blood.

  Everett looked Courtney over. “Are you hit?”

  “No. I don’t think so.” She turned to her friend. “Sarah, are you okay?”

  “I’m a little shaken up, but otherwise, I guess I’m fine.” She looked up at Everett. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

  “Yeah.” Everett quickly put a fresh magazine in his pistol. “None of us were.”

  Courtney looked at the four dead men strewn about the rec room floor. “Good job, Everett. You did the right thing. Baard was about five seconds away from getting the drop on us.”

  “Let’s not celebrate just yet. We’ve still got eight more to deal with.” Everett bent down and retrieved Baard’s side arm. “And let’s get these pistols. The last thing we need is for the crew to get a hold of their weapons. We’ll have a whole new crop of combatants.”

  Sarah and Courtney bent down, stripping the weapons and ammunition from the other peacekeepers. Courtney tucked the peacekeeper’s pistol in her back waistband and the mags in her side cargo pockets. “Now what?”

  “I don’t know. I’m kind of making this up as I go along.”

  “I hope no one heard the shots.” Sarah looked out the window of the rec room door. “But either way, we need to find the other peacekeepers before they find us.”

  “Yeah, and I’d rather have a rifle than a pistol for that mission. Let’s get back to the room first.” Everett cautiously walked out of the rec room, then led the team up the stairs to Deck D.

  Everett had the girls stand guard while he retrieved his Vektor, magazines, and his load bearing vest from his stateroom, then the three of them crossed the hall to the girls’ cabin.

  Courtney put on her load carrying vest and placed the rifle sling over her shoulder. “Lui. He knows what rooms the other peacekeepers are in.”

  “Good thinking. We’ll take a stroll down to Lui’s room. Courtney, you ask nicely to see him. I don’t want to have to shoot our way into his cabin.”

  “How nice?” She puckered her lips.

  “Not too nice.” Everett pressed his lips together. “Sarah and I will stay on either side of the door so he can’t see us through the peephole. Stand close so he sees your face rather than your tactical vest.”

  The three of them proceeded quietly down the hall to the Lui’s cabin. Courtney stood inches away from the peephole and tapped lightly on the door. She whispered as if she had a secret to tell him. “Lui, are you there? Sorry, to disturb you, but I need to talk to you.”

  “Corporal Bekker, come in.” Lui’s door flew open. The chief steward lost his smile as Sarah and Everett stormed in from each side of the doorway, pushing Lui into the room.

  “Sorry about this, Lui.” Courtney closed the door behind them.

  “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” Lui raised his hands and turned away from the weapons which were trained on him.

  “Nobody wants to hurt you, Lui. Just calm down.” Everett spoke in a soft tone.

  “Why you come in room with rifle? What Lui do wrong?”

  “Nothing yet.” Everett patted the frightened man on the back. “We had a little issue with Lieutenant Baard. I need to know where his men are staying, and I need the keys to all of their rooms.”

  “All room keys hanging inside door of cabinet.”

  Sarah quickly opened the cabinet. “Looks like a ring of master keys for the whole ship.”

  “Yes, all keys for ship. You take! Lui don’t say nothing.” He covered his head with his hands.

  “Where’s the other security team sleeping?” Everett inquired.

  “E Deck. Lieutenant took all room on E Deck for his men.”

  Everett counted off the doors on his floor. “So, eight rooms? They have eight rooms for twelve people?”

  “Yes, Lieutenant have own room. His squad leader have room next to his. E1 and E3. Other ten men share remaining six room. I don’t know who go where.”

  “Do you have any zip ties or duct tape?” Courtney asked gently.

  “All in Engineering Department.”

  Everett took out his knife and began cutting strips of cloth from Lui’s bed sheets. “You can secure him with these.”

  Courtney explained, “This is to keep you safe, so you won’t do anything that I’d have to kill you for. I don’t want to kill you, Lui.”

  “No, I don’t want you kill me either.” Lui frantically shook his head.

  Sarah and Courtney bound Lui’s hands and feet.

  Everett questioned Lui while the girls finished tying him up. “Does the captain or anyone else have a gun on the ship?”

  “Not supposed to, but captain keep shotgun locked up in cabinet in his quarters.”

  “No one else?”

  “Not that I know ‘bout.”

  “What’s the total number of crew on the Madison, including yourself?”

  “Ten. It’s skeleton crew.”

  “Does everyone show up for lunch?”

  “Everyone except officer of the watch. One person stay on bridge. For lunch, probably First Mate Lopez.”

  Everett nodded. “If you’re honest with me, I’ll make sure you’re not hurt. But, if you lie to me, you become a problem. We’re only three people; we can’t afford problems. Problems have to go overboard, Lui. Do you understand.”

  Lui nodded his head as it was the only part of him not bound with strips of the sheet. “I don’t lie to you. Lui will not be problem. I assure you.”

  “We’ll be back, and we’ll let you loose,” Sarah said as they made their way to the door.

  Everett looked at his watch before leaving Lui’s cabin. “11:15. We need to get to E Deck and eliminate all the other hostiles before the rest of the crew makes their way to the galley for lunch.”

  He glanced at the carpet beneath his feet. “The noise from the rifles will travel through the stairwell louder than from floor to floor. If we can get rid of them before people start moving between decks, it’ll greatly reduce our odds of being heard. I’m estimating that we have about a half an hour.”

  “So, what do we do? Go from room to room, saying housekeeping, then slay everyone in the cabin?” Courtney huffed.

  “That’ll work on the first room. I’d imagine the occupants of the others will come out to see what all the fuss is about.” Everett turned the knob of the door.

  “I was joking!” Courtney’s brows pulled close together.

  Everett looked at the girls before walking out the door. “If Lui is being honest with us, we don’t have to worry about E1 and E3. But, we’ll have to clear those rooms to be sure. Then, we’ll clear E2, E4, and work our way up. I don’t want shooters coming out in the hall from both directions.”

  Sarah closed Lui’s door softly as they exited to the stairwell. Everett opened the door from the stairs to the hall of E Deck. He nodded toward Cabin E1.

  Courtney gently placed the master key into the door and turned it. “Housekeeping,” she said softly and pushed the door open. Everett rushed in, followed by Sarah.

  Everett looked past his r
ifle sights but saw no one in the cabin.

  Sarah checked the bathroom. “Clear.”

  Courtney checked beneath the bed. “Clear.”

  “Let’s hope God will bless us, and they’ll all be sleeping in the last room at the end of the hall.” Everett looked down the hall before leaving the room.

  They quietly made their way to E3.

  “Housekeeping.” Courtney pushed the door open. Everett and Sarah rushed into another empty room.

  The team repeated the process for cabins E2 and E4.

  Everett waited for the girls to stack up behind him before proceeding to the next room. “Four to go.”

  “Housekeeping.” She gently slid the key into the lock of E-6.

  “We just got here today. We’re fine.” A voice called out from the other side.

  “Someone called for fresh towels.” She pushed the door open.

  “It wasn’t . . .” The man turned and looked curiously at the flash of light emanating from the barrel of Everett’s Vektor. POW! He was dead before he knew what was happening.

  Sarah rushed in behind Everett, killing two more peacekeepers before they knew what was going on.

  Courtney closed the door and secured the bathroom while Everett and Sarah dealt with the cabin.

  A fourth peacekeeper dropped behind the bed, but Everett sent a steady stream of green-tipped 5.56 rounds through the mattress, which offered the man only visual concealment. Everett walked around the side of the bed and put two more rounds in his head.

  “Travis! Who is shooting over there? Are you guys crazy?” A man rattled the door knob, then pounded on the door.

  Everett tried to envision where the man’s center of mass would be on the other side of the entry door, then opened fire, forming a pattern of perforation in the wood. Dead or alive, the man on the other side no longer seemed concerned with Travis nor the gunfire.

  Everett changed his magazine, then worked his way up to the door. He could see the cabin across the hall through the bullet holes.

  A man came running out with his rifle drawn. “Coetzee. What’s the situation?”