Z-Boat

by Suzanne Robb

  "What the hell happened?" Iain tried to regain his balance.

  A nasty cut on Ally's forehead caused blood to burn her eyes and blur her vision. Emergency lights came on for communications, electrical, and engineering.

  "No idea, but whatever it was, we don't seem to be taking on water, which is a good thing. Unfortunately several systems are offline, which is a bad thing."

  Iain struggled to get to his feet and back in his chair.

  "See what you can do about getting them back online. This situation isn't going to get any better until we get outta here."

  "You still want to go through with the job? Have you lost your mind?" Ally tried to turn in her seat, the harness keeping her in place.

  "Did you forget there's a bomb on board? The job must be done, or we die, Ally," Iain yelled.

  "Did you stop to wonder if the damn thing that just went boom was the damn bomb?"

  "Can't think like that. Now get to work."

  Iain sat in his chair and stared at the display panel next to him. Ally glared angrily at him, then started to work on the basic systems to get them back online. She checked ballast tank levels and carefully watched the pressure readings coming in. They dove too deep with an old sub, but there was nothing to do about it now except put a lot of Band-Aids on the problems until they could leave.

  ***

  Marcus searched around the engine room. He didn't know where Dutch was, but he knew he needed to check on the bilge pumps. If they were harmed or not working and the Betty Loo was taking on water, they were sunk, literally. He grabbed his tool kit and ran down the walkway.

  He reached the section near the chicken switch and pulled up a portion of the floor. It was full of water. When he jumped in, it was up to his knees. He waded over to the bilge pump and checked it. It was barely working.

  Marcus grabbed his toolkit, pulled out the scanner, and did a once-over, finding a fractured coupling. He rummaged in his kit but didn't see a spare. Marcus swore and hopped out of the bilge pump area.

  He ran down to where they kept the extra parts and rifled through them until he found a coupling. Marcus ran back to the bilge section, jumped down into the area, flipped the off switch, and began to work on the pump. The water would rise faster, but he had no choice.

  ***

  Ivan got up off the floor and headed out of his room. The lights were still on in the aisle way, but flickered on occasion. He made his way to the control room to see if he could get some sort of status report.

  As he entered the hallway, he heard the sound of someone moaning near the diving area. He changed directions and headed there to see if someone needed help.

  Nina lay sprawled out on the ground. Ivan walked over and helped her to a sitting position.

  "Are you all right?"

  "I'm fine. Go talk to the captain and find out what happened."

  "Are you sure?" Ivan did not like the pallor of her skin; she looked ill.

  "Go on. I'll be fine."

  Ivan stood and headed back towards the control room. He needed to get a handle on the situation. He knew who the spies were. What he didn't know was why Dutch had sabotaged the dive equipment and the med lab.

  When he saw it on the camera, he was confused, but as he listened, he realized Dutch had found something on board the sub that made him think they planned to destroy Betty Loo. Dutch had worked to ruin the operation so they would turn back. It was time for him to share his findings with the captain- the problem being how to do so without revealing how he knew.

  ***

  Marcus worked as fast as he could to repair the bilge pump. The communication panel was knocked out, so he couldn't give Ally the heads-up about the pumps being offline. He had the fractured coupling off within minutes, and he as he put the new one in place, a jolt caused him to drop it.

  "Damn it, you have to be kidding me."

  Marcus got down in the water and started to feel around for it. The water level was rising fast. His lungs burned, and he was about to go up for air when he found it. He shot his head up to the surface and gasped for air.

  Marcus made his way over to the pump, replaced the coupling, and hit the start switch. Nothing happened. He turned the switch off and turned it back on. This time there was a bit of a churn. He kicked it in frustration, and the bilge pump started to work.

  Marcus knew that with amount of water they were taking on, they couldn't stay here much longer. He hopped out of the area, replaced the floor panel, and headed up to the control room to fill in Ally and the captain.

  ***

  Ally ran systems check upon systems check to try to determine what had happened. Communications were down, power was minimal, and fires were breaking out all over the place. She hit the automatic extinguishers and watched the screen as the fires were put out one by one.

  With the low oxygen content on subs, fires were infrequent and rarely severe, but you still didn't want to have eleven at one time. Ally sighed in relief as they all went out.

  Her next task was to get the air generators back up so they didn't suffocate. As she began, another program she had run earlier finally kicked in and got communications working minimally, which was better than none. She immediately made an announcement.

  "Please report to control room. If you need help, call out. This is an order. All hands report to control room immediately."

  Standard protocol was to see who was conscious and who wasn't. She hoped to God Marcus showed up, because if he got himself hurt or worse, she was going to kick his ass.

  Ivan entered the room. "I am fine, and Nina is in the diving room. She is also fine."

  "Why isn't Nina here?"

  "She seemed a bit disoriented. Told me to go." Ally would have to take his word for it.

  Looking over at Ally, Iain knew she needed to concentrate on getting Betty Loo operational again. He took charge of finding out about the crew.

  "Ivan, I want you to head down to the engine room and find Marcus and Dutch. I'm going to the med lab to check on Maxine, then I'll go across to the research lab to see about Tom and Kramer."

  "No need, Captain. I'm fine. So is Tom." Kramer sounded out of breath, but otherwise seemed unhurt.

  "Kramer, go check on Maxine. Ivan, engine room."

  Ally heard the whole exchange and was getting more and more worried by the fact that Marcus had yet to show up. She tried to get the cameras up and running to see if she could find him, but she getting life-support systems working took priority.

  Ally noted that Kramer exited the room fast, but Ivan remained, a look of indecision on his face.

  "Ivan, what are you doing? Go check the engine room." Ally could hear the annoyance in Iain's voice.

  "I need to tell you something, and you must take my word on it."

  Iain snorted. "That's a lot to ask right now."

  "Yet I am asking." Ivan stared straight ahead. Ally wondered why he didn't make eye contact with either one of them.

  "Fine, what is it?"

  "You have a spy on board, as well as someone who is working against that spy, and your own crewmember Dutch is sabotaging things. He hid the spare parts for the diving suits. I know where they are. He is the one who entered the med lab and went through the supplies. I think he also had something to do with whatever it was we just experienced."

  "Dutch? No way. He loves Betty Loo." Iain sounded incredulous at the accusation.

  Ally kept working on the panels but angled her seat so she had a good line of sight on Ivan.

  "Exactly, and no one listens to him, and he feels you are taking the Betty Loo to her death. Not to mention he found something on board which has led him to think you intend to destroy Betty Loo no matter what happens."

  "He found the bomb." Iain said it in a low voice, but Ivan heard him.

  "There is a bomb on board? Why did you not tell me this?"

  "Why didn't you tell me you were spying on us?"

  "We must get to the bomb and dismantle it." Ivan wore a worried expres
sion for the first time since he boarded the sub.

  "No kidding, Ivan, but we need to find Dutch, then convince him we aren't the bad guys. You need to go and get the suit parts. Make sure you have everything for you and Nina just in case of emergency." Iain got up out of his chair.

  "Captain, about Marcus..." Ally couldn't wait any longer.

  "Present." Marcus, soaked from head to toe, had never looked better to her.

  She wanted to jump out of her seat, run to him, hug him, and never let go. Of course, she knew she couldn't, so she sent him a smile, hoping it conveyed her relief.

  "Marcus, how's the engine room and electrical?"

  "I had to fix the bilge pump. Coupling cracked."

  Iain pointed to Ivan as he spoke. "Ivan says Dutch sabotaged the sub, hiding the suit parts and whatnot. What do you think?"

  Marcus stood silent for a moment. "He has been acting kind of strange, more talkative than usual."

  Iain got a grim look on his face. "So it is possible. Damn."

  "I'm not sure, Captain. There were a few things I thought a bit odd, but nothing made me think he would try to kill us."

  "Go down and check the engine room and electrical. I want a complete update on all systems. We have two hours at most before we need to send the submersible over to the other sub."

  "I'm on it."

  Marcus walked over to Ally and wiped away some of the dried blood on her forehead. He leaned down and kissed her.

  "Love you." He turned and was out of the room before Ally had a chance to answer.

  "Ally, you need to work on the air system and life support."

  "Iain, I need to make sure we maintain directional control. I don't know what Dutch did, but if he did something with the diving planes, stern planes, or rutters, we're screwed."

  Iain let out a grumble. "Great. I'm going to go and tell Nina she needs to look over the submersible. He spent the most time guarding it; who knows if he did something? Then I'll go deal with Dutch."

  As Iain left the room, Ally heard a beep and noticed the backup generator had exploded. At least now she knew what happened. If they lost main power now, they were literally sunk. Someone wanted them dead.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Kramer entered the medical lab and saw Maxine lying on the ground. The dead body of Johnny Ventura was spread out on the floor. In just a few days, he'd turned an ugly shade of green, and dark spots covered the visible parts of his body. He walked over to examine it, and some sort of scaly residue caught his eye. After a moment, Kramer blinked, sure his eyes were playing tricks. Things couldn't be moving underneath Johnny's skin.

  Wary, he stepped over the body to check on Maxine. Her bag lay open on the counter, and he crept over and took a look inside. It held a gun, collection vials, small explosives, and some syringes with something inside that glowed.

  Interesting. Doesn't look like you plan on tending to any survivors, Doc.

  A small moan came from Maxine. Kramer made his way to her as fast as he could. He knelt by her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

  "Maxine, time to get up. Things are getting crazy."

  ***

  Maxine regained consciousness when Kramer started poking into her bag. Her best bet now was to play dumb and hope his own sense of self-preservation prevented him from saying anything to the others.

  "What happened?" Maxine slowly sat up.

  "Not sure. Something might have ruptured. We have to prepare to go to the other sub as soon as possible; we don't have much time." Kramer removed his hand.

  Maxine stood up and saw the body of Johnny lying on the floor. The green spots and movement weren't normal; she just didn't know what caused them. She examined samples every spare moment she had, but it still didn't make sense to her. Maxine didn't like it when she couldn't find the answer to something. Kramer must have noticed where she focused her attention and misinterpreted her expression for disgust.

  "Let me cover that up."

  "No, leave it for now. Let's get ready for the operation." Her tone was sharper than she imagined.

  "Whatever. I've got to get my bag. See you later."

  Kramer left the room. Maxine watched him go, then went to her bag. She checked it over, relieved Kramer hadn't taken anything. Zipping it up, she went over to the closet where another bag was stored.

  She knelt down and opened it, pulling out a neoprene suit made specifically for her. She squeezed into it quickly. Maxine smiled as she pulled out body armour, then put on a thick pair of pants and a sweater.

  ***

  Ivan went down the stairway at the far end of the sub. He found Dutch unconscious. He checked the old man for a pulse and found one, though it was weak. He debated what to do- take him to Maxine who would not know what to do, or go to the spot in which the needed parts for the suits were.

  The operation took priority. Ivan headed towards the room in which Dutch slept. In the corner was an old steam trunk, from which Ivan pulled out all the parts he thought were needed to repair the suits.

  With arms full of gear, he made his way back to the diving room. Navigating the stairs was tricky, because he had to walk past Dutch's body. As soon as he did, he moved freely.

  As Ivan entered, he saw Nina sitting in the corner, talking to the captain. She still appeared to be ill.

  "Ivan, come over here." Ivan walked over to where they were standing.

  Iain pointed. "I see you found the missing items to repair the diving suits."

  "Yes, they were where Dutch put them. He is unconscious in the stairway if you are curious."

  Nina got an incredulous look on her face. "Are you sure it was Dutch? He loves Betty Loo. He'd never hurt her."

  "I am certain. From what I saw, he entered the submersible one time."

  Iain shook his head. "Damn, that's what I was afraid of. Nina, you have less than two hours to go over the suits with a fine tooth comb and make sure they're safe."

  "I'm on it, captain." Nina went to stand and swayed a bit.

  "You okay?"

  "Yeah, I'm fine, just been fighting this cold thing."

  "You sure? You got a big bump on your head."

  Nina laughed.

  "You could always take me to the doctor."

  "Look, Nina, any trouble, you let us know okay? If you feel the least bit off, I need to know. Lives are at stake. Do you understand?"

  "Yes, captain." Nina walked over to the pathway to the submersible and crawled in.

  Iain watched her go, a concerned look on his face.

  "Ivan, keep an eye on her."

  "Yes, Captain."

  "Can you make the repairs the suits need?"

  "I can, but would Marcus look them over after I am done?"

  "I'll ask him, but he's pretty busy. Dutch is on the staircase?'

  "Yes."

  Iain walked out of the room and headed for Dutch. Placing the items on the floor, Ivan sat down and worked silently on repairing them to the best of his ability.

  ***

  Kramer knew Maxine had been working against him; he just didn't know who she was working for. He didn't care, except for the fact that whoever her employers were would determine the lengths to which she was willing to go. He had the feeling the pastel-loving, polite Maxine was a fraud.

  He needed to get to the samples first, which meant as soon as they boarded the other sub, he would go straight for his objective. If Maxine had similar plans, the result would be a nasty altercation in which she died.

  Grabbing his bag, he made sure his gun was within easy reach. He took one last look at Tom, still unconscious and tied to the wall. The luckiest guy on board, he got to sleep through the worst of it.

  He left the research lab and headed for the diving room. He wanted to make sure the suits were fixed and safe to use, just in case. He also wanted to get there before Maxine.

  ***

  Iain found Dutch right where Ivan said he would be. Pushing him over so he rested on his back, he felt around for any serious
injuries. Not seeing any, he determined it safe to shake him. He didn't have time to play nice.

  "Hey, old man, wake up." Iain jostled Dutch. "Dutch, I don't have time for this, so you need to wake your ass up right now."

  "What is it?" Dutch opened one eye hesitantly.

  "You're a moron. You thought I would intentionally do something to Betty Loo? Why didn't you talk to me?"

  "You never listen to anything I say."

  "Okay, right now I'm listening to everything, starting with where the bomb is and whether or not we can disarm it."

  Dutch sat up and lowered his head into his hands.

  "Air tank fifteen, but I've never seen anything like it. We would need a pro to disarm it."

  "Okay, that's a start. When did you find it?"

  "It was on board before any of the new crew. That's why I thought it was something you'd rigged up."

  "Because I'm a professional?"

  Dutch looked up, a chagrined expression on his face. "I didn't look at it like that."

  "Whatever. Whoever planted it did it while we were in dry dock, meaning no one on board knows how to defuse it."

  "I can try." The tremor in his voice gave away his fear at the idea.

  "No, I'll deal with it later. Now what did you do to the submersible?"

  "Nothing. I didn't have the heart to let Ally die in the end. She's always been so nice and respectful to me."

  Iain snorted. "But it was okay to let the rest of us die?"

  Dutch shrugged as if agreeing that water was wet. Iain took a calming breath and tried to figure out his next move.

  "Dutch, I took this contract not knowing the full details until it was far too late. When I wanted to turn around, they told me about the bomb. The only reason I went forward with this was to try to save the Betty Loo. I love her too. She's the only thing I have to call home."

  Dutch looked up with sad eyes. This sub was his whole life. People didn't understand. On a superficial level, they got it. He was the eccentric old man who loved Betty Loo. But this had been his home for the last fifty years.

  "Captain, I wouldn't know what to do without her."