by Roger Weston
Jake’s mind raced as he thought of some way to stop the release of the toxic bats. He stole a glance at his watch.
Charles continued: “Today is January 30th. A day of destiny. Did you know that on January 30, 1895, future Nazi leader Wilhelm Gustloff was born? No? How about this? On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. It doesn’t end there. On January 30th, 1934, Kraft durch Freude, the organization that masterminded the building of the grand ship the Wilhelm Gustloff was formed, and on January 30, 1943, the 6th Army was defeated at Stalingrad. On the very same day, January 30th, Admiral Karl Dönitz was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. This was the man who organized the evacuation of Germany therefore, sending the Wilhelm Gustloff to sea. And then on January 30th, 1945, on the 50th birthday of her namesake, The Wilhelm Gustloff was brutally targeted and sunk by a submarine, taking my father with her.
“Now, on January 30th, seven decades later, my father’s plans are finally going to be carried out. In my father’s name I am spearheading the most spectacular act of revenge in history.”
Charles sneered at Jake with contempt then said to his guards, “Take him out on deck to witness the Great Fire. I want him to see it before I kill him.” He looked at Jake and smiled. “The Queen Mary’s foghorn will blow one last time. It will mark the extermination that is about to happen in Long Beach.”
“Sir,” the captain interrupted again.
“What is it!”
“We’ve spotted a boat portside. It appears to be coming alongside. ”
“Who is it?”
“It’s a crab boat, sir.”
“Get rid of them.”
At that moment, Jake grabbed the doctor by the arm and flung him at the gunman behind him, knocking the thug down. The man’s pistol slid across the wood floor.
Richter bolted.
The other thug shoved the muzzle of his pistol into Jake’s back. “Don’t move!”
The attacker had come too close. Jake pivoted to the side and batted the pistol away from him. As follow-through, he applied an outside wristlock and flung the attacker onto his back.
By now, the first guard had gained his feet, and he came at Jake with a long knife. Jake saw the shiny edge where the blade had been sharpened. Fear sprung through his nerves. Jake intentionally made a whimpering sound and backed off, his face a mask of panic. As he had hoped, his wimp response emboldened the attacker. The man executed a direct-thrust knife attack. Jake deflected the knife thrust upwards with his left hand, then joined with his right hand and fixed his attacker with another wristlock. He twisted and spilled the knifeman onto his shoulder. Jake stripped the knife free, spun and flung it at the gunman, who had just risen to a shooter’s stance on one knee. The knife sunk to the hilt in his shoulder, which provided enough shock to make him miss at close range, drop his gun and wrap his hands around the hilt of the knife that protruded from his flesh.
Jake swooped up the pistol and ran down a stairwell. On the Promenade Deck, he ducked down by an overflowing 55-gallon steel drum trash can. Thirty seconds slipped by with all the speed of a funeral. Jake dragged some matches out of his pocket and lit the contents of the trash can on fire. Within a minute, the flames grew into a roaring barrel fire. Smoke billowed and then curled down when it hit the ceiling.
Jake ran down the corridor into the abandoned shopping area, glass crackled under his feet as he ignited two trash barrels on the way. In the darkness, he started three more trash-can blazes. The flames now illuminated the thick black air that filled the main passageway. Fire alarms went off, and moments later, Jake saw a flashlight bouncing through the hazy reaches. When the killer passed a burning barrel, Jake saw his bald head and assault rifle in the pool of eerie orange light.
Buried back in the shade of the vapors, Jake realized he was about to start coughing. If he did, then he was a dead man, so he opened fire on Baldie, who took two or three bullets, then spun around, and opened fire as he fell. A line of bullets hit the wall behind the broken out window frame next to Jake. He crawled away as two more shooters carried out a tactical leapfrogging maneuver to enter the hot zone. As Jake crawled past an overflowing trash can, he checked his watch. In the dim crimson light, he saw that there were nine minutes until the bats were released.
Jake avoided the firelight. He ran into a first class cabin and grabbed a canvas bag. Quickly, he dumped its contents on the bed and slipped the carrying straps over his shoulder. Stepping back into the hallway he saw two red sights cutting the dark haze like daggers. The lasers gave away the position of the shooters in the murky obscurity. Jake gunned them both down with a closely placed pairs of shots. The third assassin rained down a storm of lead on the thick pillar that Jake was hiding behind.
Jake lunged for the exterior deck, shooting a flurry of shots as he crossed the gauntlet.
Throwing himself against the rail, he got a glimpse of the ocean below. A boat was coming alongside. His boat. The Wolverine. That meant Wan-Si was at the wheel and Ashley was somewhere inside. What where they doing here?
Movement at the corner of his eye. He turned, but too late. An assailant stepped out from behind a big upright beam and grabbed him from behind, around his neck, pulling him backwards. Jake heaved himself forward, dragging the assailant off balance, and then shoulder threw him over the railing.
As the man dropped to the sea he screamed with shock of a man who wanted to live.
Jake dashed to the stern and up four flights of stairs to the Sports Deck. Once there, he raced for the thermostats on the refrigerated containers. All he could do now was pray that there was enough time for the bats to return to hibernation. When he came to the tray that the scientist had left on the deck, he gasped for a breath. The bats were still there, and they were all starting to thrash around vigorously, getting ready to take flight.
Jake stripped the canvas straps off his shoulder and stuffed one bat after another into the heavy-duty cloth bag he’d gotten out of the cabin. As he tossed the last few bats in, the entire bag pulsated and moved. As he pulled the cords taut, he checked the time.
The hundreds of napalm incendiaries in the bag would ignite in just one minute—releasing the deadly toxin at the same time.
“Sands.” It was Richter’s voice. His face was beat red and his eyes wide with fury. He had his gun aimed at Jake’s head. “Give me my little creatures.”
“You’re a sick man.”
Richter laughed in a disturbing tone as he sidestepped to the rail. Seeing Jake’s fishing boat down below he said, “I see you’ve invited your friends for the great send off.” He took a step towards Jake. “Give them to me.” His face contorted into an ugly grimace. “Now!”
Jake dropped the bag of bats and backed away from Richter.
Keeping his gun on Jake, Richter kneeled down, lifted the bag, and returned to the rail.
Jake knew what he was going to do. With five seconds before the fire and poison would be released, Jake lunged for the rail and yelled, “Wan-Si, Ashley—get out of there!”
“Too late, my friend. Your latest bet was another loser.”
“No!”
As Richter started to heave the bag over the rail, Jake threw himself at the billionaire. The gun in his hand fired, but Jake held his wrist and the shot missed. They struggled for control of the bag. When Jake got him against the rail, Richter, in desperation, fired off several shots and then tried with all his might to twist free. As he struggled to free himself from Jake’s hold, he lost his balance and fell back over the railing. Still clutching the bag tightly, he fell a hundred feet down and landed on the weather deck of Jake’s fishing boat.
The entire boat erupted in flames.
“Wan-Si! Ashley!”
Jake ran aft as the burning wreckage of his boat was now falling behind the Queen Mary. When he came to the stern, he screamed in agony. “No, no!” Jake watched as the easterly winds swept the toxic gas out to sea and the Wolverine began to sink beneath the waves.
&
nbsp; Jake knew that no human being could have survived the napalm fireball. “Ashley!” He sunk to the deck and pounded it with his fist almost hard enough to break bones in his hand. “No no, no!”
Jake lay against the rail, muttering like a madman. When he saw movement, he jumped up. Someone was climbing up over the rail. He grinned.
First Wan-Si appeared then Ashley.
“Hey, I thought I told you two to get a berth in Astoria,” he said.
“We thought you could use some help,” Ashley responded with a glimmer in her sapphire eyes.
Heads Up: Thank you for reading this far! The next book in the series, RELIC, is now available on Amazon. Grab a copy today. Now back to GHOST SHIP.
CHAPTER 49
Standing at the big brass helm in the Queen Mary’s vintage wheelhouse, Jake pushed down a couple of spokes on the wheel as the City of Long Beach slowly grew on the horizon. The ship’s radio officer, one of the hundred-plus innocent crewmen walked up to him.
“Sir, the crew has found the last of Richter’s henchmen. They are all in custody now.”
“Good work.”
“There’s something else, sir.”
“What is that?”
“You can’t take the ship ashore, sir.”
“Why not?”
“The harbor patrol is on the radio. He needs to talk to you.”
Jake handed the wheel over to the first mate because the captain was in custody along with the other criminals.
“Stepping up to the radio,” Jake said. “I’m here. What is it?”
“Roger that. Aren’t you the one that broke onto the Queen Mary and then hijacked my patrol boat?”
“You must have me confused with someone else.”
“You left me adrift. In addition to piracy, I should charge you with reckless endangerment.”
“Like I said, wrong guy.”
“Sure, well if you see the right guy, tell him he has my gratitude for saving the Queen Mary. Tell him that all of Long Beach is thankful for him bringing the old dame back home.”
“I’ll do that.”
“A helicopter is dropping off a harbor pilot as we speak. He’ll bring her in.”
“Roger that.”
Jake walked to the side window and took a long look at the glistening shoreline of Southern California. He felt a peace he hadn’t known since he was a little boy.
“Looks like you won your race.”
“What?” Jake turned around as Edgar and the harbor pilot strolled in. Edgar was hunched forward. The pilot started chatting with the first mate, and Edgar limped over to Jake.
“You not only saved the crew and the ship, but also Los Angeles,” Edgar said. “With a track record like that, I may be able to get you a free pass to watch me race at Santa Anita.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Somehow word got out about my recent win in Chile. My agent is begging me to make a comeback tour in America.”
“Your what?”
“It’s your horse, so I guess I’ll need your permission.”
“No, my friend. That horse is yours now.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m giving him to you.”
Edgar was quiet for a moment. “Thank you,” he said.
“You’ll take good care of him. Now, why don’t you sit down and enjoy the ride. I’ve got some business to take care of.”
“What’s that?”
“See if I can find me some old log books.” Jake glanced up. He smiled as he saw Ashley walk in with Wan-Si at her side.
“Oh, no you don’t,” she said walking up to him and giving him a soft hug. “I want to go on that vacation first.”
The End
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Some of the elements in this story are based on historical facts.
The Wilhelm Gustloff was a real ship. Around nine thousand people died, most of them German women and children. It is the worst shipwreck in history with a death count six times worse than the Titanic, yet amazingly few people have heard of the Wilhelm Gustloff. Today she rests on the bottom of the Baltic Sea.
When Charles Richter says, “January 30th is destiny”, that is based on fact. On January 30th, 1895, future Nazi leader Wilhelm Gustloff was born. On Jan 30th, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. On January 30th, 1934, Kraft durch Freude was launched. This is the organization that masterminded the ship Wilhelm Gustloff. On Jan 30th, 1943, the 6th Army was defeated at Stalingrad. On the very same day, January 30th, Admiral Karl Dönitz was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. He was the man who organized the evacuation of Germany and therefore the man who sent the Wilhelm Gustloff to sea on January 30th, 1945, the day she was sunk. January 30th, 1945 was Mr. Wilhelm Gustloff’s fiftieth birthday.
The bat bomb is also based on fact. It is a real weapon; however, it was the Americans, not the Germans, who created it during WWII. The Americans were planning to unleash bats on Japan to end World War Two; however, with the creation of the atomic bomb, the bat bomb was scrapped.
The historical details about the Queen Mary are also accurate. She is considered the most haunted ship in the world. The movie Poseidon Adventure was filmed onboard. She is currently docked in Long Beach, California, and is used for a hotel as well as for other events. The Russian submarine the Scorpion is docked alongside her.
Description of Book 2, RELIC, sequel to GHOST SHIP (Book 1)
Available now!
RELIC: A Jake Sands Thriller (Book 2)
Book 2 in The SANDS Series
Shipwreck expert and archaeologist Jake Sands is attacked on his fishing boat after he rescues a young woman in a storm in the Puget Sound.
As he begins to investigate the fate of the now missing girl, Jake receives disturbing threats. In an action-packed thriller of events full of twists and turns, he realizes that something was left on his boat by the young woman, an ancient relic that could upset the world’s power structure and change two thousand years of history. He should never have kept the relic and tried to get answers about the girl. But he did—and uncovered an ancient conspiracy tied to a seventeenth century shipwreck. Now he’s on a dangerous mission, in a deadly game, playing against masters.
Grab a copy.
RELIC: A Jake Sands Thriller (Book 2)
***
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Books by Roger Weston
The Sands Series
GHOST SHIP: A Jake Sands Thriller (Book 1)
RELIC: A Jake Sands Thriller (Book 2)
THE TARGET: A Jake Sands Thriller (Book 3)
The Brandt Series
VENGEANCE: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 0)
The Recruiter: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 1)
The Handler: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 2)
Rogue Op: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 3)
Rogue Op II: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 4)
American Op: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 5)
Global Tilt: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 6)
Vulcan Eye: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 7)
Shadow Lawyer: A Chuck B
randt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 8)
Shadow Court: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 9)
NonFiction by Roger Weston
SHIPWRECK: True Stories of Disaster at Sea
More Action-Filled Adventures by Roger Weston:
The Golden Catch: A Frank Murdock Action-Adventure
The Assassin's Wife: A Meg Coles Thriller
