S.E.A.R.Ch

by Harrison Davies

  The gymnasium was quite large, and dozens of implements of sports torture were laid about. An exercise horse sat at the bottom of the hall, and long ropes hung from the ceiling. In one corner a huge collection of dumbbells and weight lifting equipment waited ready to be used. The hall itself was painted in a yellowing off white, and along one wall a row of cabinets displayed the ship’s awards for team sports. Apart from the neon strip lights, the only other source of illumination would come from two portholes high up on the left-hand wall. Six billets had been laid in a neat row, side by side in the middle of the room. The men moved to these and dropped their bags at the cot they had chosen.

  Watts examined his bruised leg while sitting on the end of his bed, while Curly left the hall to find the galley, on a quest to locate some provisions. He wound his way around the small dark metallic corridors, intersected by the occasional waterproof door, now and then having to sidestep crew coming in the opposite direction. As he walked, he listened to the sound of sirens and orders being given out over the tannoy system. How anyone could sleep with that lot going on all day seemed improbable to him. Finally, he arrived at his destination, an unimpressive wooden door with a simple nameplate indicating that this was the galley, barred his way. He knocked and waited, and when no response was forthcoming, he opened the door and peered into the small yet efficient looking kitchen. He stepped inside and turned to see a chef wiping his hands with a dirty cloth. He noted the chef was wearing headphones, apparently listening to music.

  Curly did the only thing he could; he walked up to the guy and tapped his shoulder. The chef dropped the plate he was carrying and turned quickly, his eyes wide with panic.

  ‘Jeez … you almost gave me a heart attack.’ The chef breathed heavily with his palm clutched to his breast over his heart. He removed his headphones to hear better.

  ‘Sorry about that, but I did knock.’

  The chef looked down at the broken plate laying shattered on the wooden deck flooring.

  ‘Oh, great! The Captain’s favorite fish plate.’ The man sighed. ‘What do you want?’

  ‘I’m part of the team that’s just come aboard. We need some provisions.’

  ‘Typical. As if I didn’t have enough to do. You’ll find your stuff in the refrigerator to your left; close it when you leave.’ The chef muttered to himself as he bent to pick up pieces of the broken plate.

  Curly turned on his heel and strode to the refrigerator. Releasing a small catch, he opened the thick steel door to reveal the biggest cold room he’d ever seen. It was more a walk in closet, only twice the standard size and much colder. He shivered slightly as he stepped inside, the light from the galley casting his shadow over meat that hung from the ceiling on hooks. He saw packaged to his right on a small, low metal counter, several large, foil-covered plates. Cold food. Great, he thought. Picking the plates up one by one, and balancing them in each hand, he left the cooler and swung the door closed with a deft flick of his heel. It shut tight with a snap.

  He set the plates onto a low metal table and peeled the foil back from one of them, revealing a meal consisting of vegetables with some kind of meat covered in gravy and mashed potato.

  ‘Hey, chef. Any chance of heating this lot up?’ he called across the room.

  ‘Yeah, nuke ‘em for a few minutes. And take off the foil; I don’t want you blowing up my microwave.’

  ‘Yeah, yeah,’ Curly muttered to himself. ‘Like I’m that stupid.’

  Removing the foil from the remainder of the plates he moved to an overly large microwave oven, opened it, and placed each plate onto shelves. He set the time and waited for the ping. Looking through the protective screen at the front he could see the gravy already beginning to bubble. That’s gonna taste like concrete by the time it’s done, he thought to himself.

  Finally, the microwave signaled its completion. He replaced the foil, loaded the plates onto a tray, and humming The Village People – In the Navy, he left the galley, mentally flipping the bird to the chef who was ranting to himself.

  Arriving back at the gym, the plates were immediately snapped up and emptied within seconds. Foster walked in as they finished.

  ‘Glad to see you don’t waste time,’ he grinned. ‘Okay, the plan of action is this. Let’s get this place in order; this will be the briefing room. We will be running through everything we can, and by the time we finish, we should know the layout of the ship backwards. We only have a few hours, so make it count. Curly, you are second in command of this troop. I’ll sort the others out when they arrive.’

  ‘We miss any action then?’ A voice called out from the open doorway. It was the leader of the new eight-man team, newly arrived.

  ‘Yeah, you’re always late; you’d miss your own funeral. Now that you’ve finally arrived, I’ll quickly run through what we have so far, while Curly’s guys sort this crud hole out.’ Foster smiled at the eight backup troops crammed around the open doorway of the gym.

  The next couple of hours saw the highly trained men running through scenarios for just about every possibility they could think of, from gaining access quickly and quietly to every area of Scorpio’s ship, to emergency evacuation procedures in the eventuality of being compromised. Curly issued his final orders and the men prepared to set off for their beach rendezvous.

  *

  Jack was very suddenly woken from his sleep as the cell door was swung open, clanging the wall behind it. A rough pair of hands pushed his father into the room, who slipped and stumbled to the floor, banging his knees as he fell. A cry of pain rang out as the owner of the hands cackled and slammed the door shut. Jack, unable to move, bit his lip, anxious to see how his father was. After a few seconds, he heaved himself up off the floor, staggered to the bunk and sat down. For a good few moments he didn’t say anything, and when he did, his voice was croaked.

  ‘Jack we have to get out of here ... find Natalie and Allie and just get the hell out.’

  ‘Natalie?’

  His father closed his eyes. ‘They have her too, Jack.’

  ‘You’ve seen her? Have they hurt her?’

  ‘She’s fine. But we have to leave. We can’t waste any time.’

  ‘But that’s impossible, Dad. There are too many guards. We’d have to find them, and it’s too risky,’ Jack said defeated.

  ‘I know it’s frightening and difficult, but we just have to. They are going to transport us elsewhere and expect me to complete my work for them. Well, I just can’t. If my work falls into the hands of a foreign power the consequences would be horrendous. We set the first hurdle by hiding that chip, but I’m sure it won’t take long for them to replicate a new one. These people are very highly organized and dangerous.’

  ‘We need a plan then.’ Jack announced.

  ‘Well, as I see it, the guard is a big guy, so we have to get him off his feet and overpower him, subdue him in some way.’ Joe looked about him for something to use.

  ‘Dad? How about this?’ Jack said, pointing to the bedpost next to him.

  ‘Yes, great. If we can wrench it away without alerting the guard, it’ll subdue him for sure.’

  Joe stood up, twisting his head out of the way of the top bunk of the bed, and reached across Jack. He gripped his hands tightly around the bar holding Jack in his cuffs and tugged. For a moment nothing happened, so he placed his foot on the lower bunk and pulled with all his might. Jack, envisioning what might happen, grabbed his father with his spare hand and steadied him. Then, with a snap, the bar released, almost sending Joe sprawling to the floor.

  Jack flexed his wrists, glad to be free and gave his father a hug of delight. All that was left to do was attract the guard and give him the good news.

  After a few moments spent deciding their next course of action, Jack grabbed the sheets from his bunk and placed them under the sheets on the other bed, creating what would appear to be a body in what little light there was. He knelt by the bed and Joe hid behind the door with the bar raised. When his father gave the nod, J
ack called out.

  ‘Help me someone, my dad’s ill!’

  For a while, nothing happened, so Jack called again, and this time a response came from the other side of the door.

  ‘Shut up kid; I got better things to do than play games.’

  ‘But he’s really ill. Your boss won’t be happy if he dies,’ Jack pleaded, his heart thumping.

  ‘There had better not be any trouble from you,’ the guard grumbled.

  They heard a rattle of keys. Joe looked at Jack and gave a weak smile, he’d never struck anyone before, and it worried him. What if he hit him too hard and killed the man? What if he didn’t hit him hard enough? The repercussions could be terrible if it didn’t work. He held his breath as the door opened.

  The guard, weapon in hand, stepped into the room. He knew immediately that something was wrong and swung round to see Joe standing there with his arm raised, but it was too late. Joe swung like a man possessed and struck the guard across the face. Blood, tooth fragments and saliva exploded from the guard’s mouth as his eyes registered pain, and he fell to the floor.

  Joe moved quickly, checking that the guard was out cold, while Jack searched for keys, finding them strapped to the guard’s belt. When he’d found the right one, he unlocked his cuffs. Joe dragged the guard further into the room and handcuffed him to the bunk, while Jack wound bed sheets into a makeshift rope and bound the guard’s legs. They then wrapped some sheeting around his mouth. Satisfied, they rested a moment.

  ‘Come on; we can't stand around here doing anything; let’s go.’ Joe grabbed the unconscious guard’s handgun and carefully stuck his head around the cell door. When he saw that all was clear, he motioned for Jack to follow him.

  Silently, they both crept along a gloomy corridor, the half-light shifting eerily across the walls and creating patterns of light reflected from the sea through the portholes.

  Every so often, Joe reached up and unscrewed a light bulb, burning his fingers as he did so. Jack looked at him quizzically as his father placed each one on the floor.

  ‘Early warning,’ Joe smiled in the half-light. ‘If anyone sneaks up on us, we’ll hear them.’

  Further down the corridor, a loud groan emanated from a room to their right, and they froze. Jack looked to his father, and Joe crept to the door where he quickly peered inside through the grill. Inside was dark, and it took a moment for his eyes to adjust, but he could just make out the unmistakable shape of Allie.

  ‘Psst, Allie.’

  She spun around warily. ‘Who’s that?’

  ‘It’s Jack and me.’

  Allie stepped up to the door grill, her eyes beaming almost as large as her smile.

  ‘But how did you -’ she began.

  ‘No time,’ Joe interrupted. ‘Hold on; I’m going to open the door.’ He slipped the key in the lock, and the door swung open a little. He pushed it further. ‘Jack, get inside quickly.’

  Jack darted inside, only to be grabbed by Allie and hugged so tightly he could hardly breathe.

  Joe closed the door and smiled at the couple. ‘You’ll have plenty of time for that when we get out of here.’

  He looked around and noticed an odd shape lying on the bed. Suddenly it gave a loud groan which made them jump.

  ‘Who’s that?’ Joe asked.

  ‘Some man,’ Allie said. I’m not sure.’

  Joe’s eyebrows furrowed, as Jack untangled himself from Allie’s grip and stepped over to the bed. He turned the groaning police officer over. Jack turned to his father ‘It’s Detective Evans.’

  ‘Who?’ Joe asked puzzled.

  ‘He’s the policeman who was at our home the day you disappeared. He was in charge of finding you.’

  ‘I thought I knew him; I just wasn’t sure.’ Allie said.

  Jack lightly shook the injured man. ‘Mr. Evans, can you hear me?’

  Martin opened his glazed eyes. ‘Y ... yes,’ he said croakily.

  ‘What happened? How come you are here?’

  Martin just shook his head and closed his eyes.

  ‘This complicates things a bit,’ Joe said. ‘Do we take him or leave him?’

  ‘We can’t leave him,’ Allie warned.

  ‘Yes, but he will slow us down,’ Joe argued.

  Martin turned and groaned. ‘Go, I’ll be okay,’ he muttered before turning over once more, cradling his sides.

  ‘Then that’s settled. Okay, the plan is to find Natalie, and get off this ship.’

  ‘Natalie?’

  ‘No time, Allie,’ Joe said. He motioned for them to follow him in silence and opened the door, then stuck his head out a little, looked left and right and stepped out.

  ‘If I remember rightly, I came from that direction after seeing Natalie,’ Joe said, pointing to his left.

  They crept down the hallway, Joe stopping now and then to assess his bearings. He led them upwards, once or twice stopping as patrolling guards walked across their path. The tension was high; none of the group dared to breathe. Jack felt sure his heart would give away their presence, it was pumping so hard.

  ‘It’s around here somewhere,’ Joe whispered.

  ‘What is?’ a voice behind them asked.

  The group slowly turned at the unmistakable sound of a weapon being cocked.

  Karl stood there in the shadows. He stepped forward, a sly smile on his face.

  ‘When will you people learn not to escape?’ he said.

  All three turned to run in the opposite direction but saw to their horror that a shape of a woman stood barring their way.

  ‘They never learn, Karl, never!’

  The woman stepped forward, sporting a wicked smile.

  ‘Natalie? What? I don’t understand -’ Joe began, shocked at what he saw.

  ‘You never did, you fool. For two years I have played the dutiful wife. Did you never once find it strange the way we met, how convenient it was? First, your wife dies in tragic, but suspicious circumstances, and then I happen to turn up weeks later at your wife’s grave while you tended it.’

  ‘But I don’t understand, what do you mean?’

  ‘I married you to gain access to your data, you fool. Two years it has taken. For the last six months I have attempted to obtain the device, and yes, you were smart and kept it well hidden. However, you made one fatal mistake. You trusted me and told me that only you could operate the device by means of a retinal scan. I wanted to cut out your eye and take the machine once I had found it, but Scorpio overruled me. He told me we might need your cooperation further down the line. He ordered your abduction so we could begin to build a new device from scratch. Of course, we tried to persuade you to tell us where it was but you refused. When I saw Jack had trashed your office after your kidnap, I knew he was up to something.’

  Joe sank to his knees, his hands covering his face.

  ‘You did all this for my research? But why?’

  ‘Scorpio has promised me wealth beyond my wildest dreams. Once you complete the device, he will have control of the world’s military and communication satellites. With your little device, he can crack any encryption and empty the world’s banks with the press of a button. Anyone who threatens him will be met with deadly force.’

  ‘You’re deluded; he’s deluded. Why did it take you two years? Why not sooner?’

  ‘Scorpio needed time to prepare, and I needed you to trust me. I will admit it has been the worst two years of my life, but I will be well compensated.’

  ‘Natalie, please tell me this isn’t true,’ begged Joe.

  Natalie merely laughed. ‘Get off your knees. Scorpio wants a word with you.’

  Three turns of a corridor later, they were ushered into a large room resembling a boardroom.

  Sat looking out of a window with his back to them was Scorpio. Natalie approached and whispered into his ear. He reached up and stroked her face.

  ‘Well done, my dear. Welcome my friends. Please, sit down, we have much to discuss.’

  Large hands thrust Joe,
Jack and Allie into soft leather chairs.

  Scorpio continued to face away from them as he spoke.

  ‘It seems you were caught trying to escape, yet again. I think some punishment is in order, considering I no longer have an advantage over you with our fair Natalie here. I will need time to think of something suitable. Did you not think the walls have eyes and ears Professor?’

  Scorpio grasped a remote control device and pushed a button. A large wall covering slid out of view to reveal a TV screen showing an image of the cell in which Jack and Joe had been held captive. The guard, back on his feet, was having his injuries tended to.

  ‘I like my fun, Professor. We’ve been following you since you left. But the time for fun is over. Tomorrow we shall leave this place and set sail for a new location, where you will repair the device and bring it online.’

  ‘But I can’t, it’s not finished. There are many months of programming still to do,’ Joe told him.

  Scorpio leapt from his chair and bore down on Joe. For the first time they saw his face; it was hideously scarred. Joe recoiled.

  ‘Do not lie to me, Professor!’ Scorpio yelled, seemingly unaware of the impact his face had on people. ‘I know more than you could possibly imagine.’

  ‘Th … there is a vital component missing that I cannot replace,’ Joe stammered.

  ‘Ah, yes the chip.’

  Jack glanced at his father, his eyes wide open.

  ‘How did you -?’

  ‘How did I know about that one component you removed?’ Scorpio said smiling once again. ‘Simple. Natalie here bugged Jack’s phone. We were able to monitor him from here. We were watching her house and simply picked up Allie. She proved a handful, so using the same team to pick up Jack was not an option. Unfortunately, Allie escaped with you, professor. However, we did have Jack followed. Sure, we could have taken him there and then, but my men were held up. Thankfully the incompetent fool Schism managed to track him. I wasn’t going to risk losing him with no backup. Jack, the poor boy, got lost and had to hide in a barn. After your phone call in the morning when you arranged to meet, we decided to intercept you all at once. You supplied the location and time. We did the rest.’ Scorpio paused for a moment and then reached into his breast pocket and produced a small box and slid it across the table towards Joe. ‘Open it!’