Z-Boat

by Suzanne Robb

  "I know, Dutch, that's why you have to work with us, not against us. Help with the diving suits, make sure engines and electrical stay operational, find out how much damage happened, and please buy us some time to finish the operation."

  Dutch nodded and stood up slowly.

  "I'll see what I can do, Captain."

  "Great, I need to go and talk to someone who might know a thing or two about bombs."

  ***

  Marcus had never paid such close attention to what he was doing in his life. He scanned every tank, wire, pipe, and bolt. If something was wrong, he would find it. He couldn't miss anything, because if he did, it meant Ally would die, and that was not allowed.

  So far he'd checked all the air tanks and the bilge pump, and now he worked on the air purifiers to make sure basic life support stayed online. A beeping alerted him to an incoming message.

  He walked over to the communications panel and saw the message from Ally.

  Backup life support source of explosion Ð A.

  Marcus wasn't about to tell her that her primary life support hung by a thread; her systems check had told her already. Marcus acknowledged the message and sent one back: He would head over and see if it could be repaired.

  Walking down the dark walkway, he felt as if he were being watched. Moments later, he arrived at the removable wall panel that accessed the backup life-support systems.

  "Dammit!"

  A shuffling noise behind him made him stand up and turn, ready to kill something. Dutch stood there looking haggard and tired, but otherwise okay. If what he heard was true, then he knew what he'd just seen could only be Dutch's doing. Maybe he should hit him.

  "Dutch, did you do this?"

  Dutch looked at the panel welded into place with all the bolts removed, ensuring that no one could access the area. Guiltily, he looked at Marcus and nodded.

  "You know primary life support is on its last legs, and now we have no backup. Happy now? We're all going to die."

  "Marcus, I didn't want..."

  "I don't give a damn what you want, Dutch. You either help me with fixing the systems right now, or I'll kill you. When I leave in an hour, I want to know Ally will be okay. I don't like the idea of leaving her here with no means of escape."

  "I'll get my kit." Dutch walked off, shoulders slumped.

  Marcus didn't feel bad. He kicked the panel in anger. He had to go and send a message to Ally: more bad news.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Ally heard the beep of an incoming message while in the middle of a check on the ballast system. She split her priorities between the directional control systems check and finding ways to redirect any extra power to primary life support.

  Room temperatures would be lowered, air filter cycles reduced, and nonessential rooms would have power cut.

  She finished shutting those things down when Iain entered the room. She didn't bother to turn around, figuring he would find something to do in order to help. When she felt him standing behind her not talking, she knew she wasn't going to like what he had to say.

  "Captain, Marcus sent me a message. Backup life support is shot, and he can't access it. Dutch did a number on the panel. It would take hours to torch through. I'm doing what I can for the primary systems, but if you're here to ask me to pull a miracle out of my ass, or put my energies somewhere else, I just can't do it this time.

  Iain nodded, leaned against the console and stared at his feet before looking directly at Ally.

  "We've known each other a long time, right?"

  Ally nodded her head, unsure as to where this was going.

  "We have a sort of understanding of one another. One thing, never ask about your past and how you can do some of the things you do."

  Yep, Ally wasn't going to like where this headed at all. She braced herself for whatever came out of Iain's mouth next.

  "I know you've had military training of some sort. I'd say military militia offshoot by some of the moves I've seen and skills you've displayed."

  "Uh huh." She kept her face expressionless.

  "I need to know if your training involved explosives, bomb making, anything of that nature."

  Ally nodded, not trusting her voice. She didn't want to talk about that. She didn't want to remember. Betty Loo was her refuge, her place to forget about that time.

  "We have a bomb in air tank fifteen. Dutch says he's never seen anything like it before, most likely military grade. They planted it while we were in dry dock, so it's unlikely any of our new crewmembers know about it. Asking them if they knew how to defuse it would only cause more chaos and distrust."

  "And you want me to take a look at it, see if I can take care of it?"

  "I'm not asking you to do anything. We've got a lot to get done before we go over on the submersible. When we come back, I'd like to know everything was done to ensure that we can leave safely."

  Ally sighed. "Iain, nothing about this is safe. Betty Loo is cracking up, we got spies on board and a bomb waiting to go off at any time, not to mention the fact that whatever it is we are going to rescue happens to scare the crap out of me."

  "Agreed. All I'm saying, air tank fifteen. I'm going to go and see how preparations are coming with the suits. We leave in under an hour."

  "I understand."

  Ally listened as Iain left the room. She respected the fact that he didn't ask for any specifics, just told her what she needed to know. Thinking back, she'd planted some bombs in her time, but it was years ago.

  The technology was different, and she didn't know what country had provided the parts. There were so many things to take into consideration. Most important of all, if she made one mistake, she would sink the Betty Loo, though the explosion would kill them first.

  She sighed, resigning herself to her fate. Ally would try to do something about the bomb if she could. Setting the computers and automated systems to run diagnostics and do self-repairs automatically was risky at a time like this. Without her there to approve each one, something might get done unnecessarily or make things worse.

  Leaving the control room, she headed down the stairway towards the engine room. Ally needed to ask Marcus to help her if he had the time. She just hoped he didn't ask too many questions about why she knew about explosive devices. She didn't know if he would like her answers.

  She entered the air tank area of the engine room and checked the numbers until she found fifteen. She squatted down to see how she could gain access to it. All the tanks were attached to one another, and the opening to get behind them was large enough for a pregnant mouse.

  Ally sighed, starting at the first tank. Belly crawling her way down would be the only way to gain access to the back of tank fifteen- a waste of precious time she didn't have. She went to the lockers and searched around for a toolkit. She had no idea what kind of bomb it was, what it was attached to, what would trigger it, or what it was composed of.

  "Hey, what are you doing down here?" Marcus came up behind her.

  "Captain came in to talk to me. Apparently, he got the location of the bomb from Dutch and wants me to take a look at it."

  "What can I do to help?"

  God, she loved this man. No questions, unconditional support, and an offer to help.

  "I need a scanner and a toolkit, and is there an easier way to get to the back of air tank fifteen you might know of?"

  Marcus walked over to the tank in question and took a look around. To Ally, he seemed to be examining the floor. He lifted up a panel and hopped below deck. A moment later, he stuck his head out and motioned her over.

  "We can get some access from below deck, but I can't guarantee you full access. You might have to shimmy under them to get to it if you need better access."

  "You won't shimmy with me?"

  "I'd never fit; it's going to be tight for you as it is."

  Ally nodded. "Okay. Well, grab the toolkit and we'll take a look at it from down there."

  Marcus hopped up and jogged towards the lockers. He
returned in seconds with two toolkits, a flashlight, and two scanners. Ally lowered herself down to the below deck section and took items as Marcus handed them to her. A moment later, he stood next to her.

  After walking a few feet, Marcus stopped and pointed out air tank fifteen. Ally nodded and got in closer. Using her flashlight, she looked around, trying to find the bomb Dutch had seen. She had to manoeuvre at an odd angle, but she finally set eyes on it.

  Iain was right. It was government issue, very complex, and would be highly difficult to defuse. Ally realized that whoever planted it had done it from where she currently stood, which ruled out the need to shimmy.

  She leaned in for a closer examination when a thought occurred to her. If she were the one who had set this, as she had done in the past, there would be a sensor so anyone who tried to defuse it would trigger it. She would also make sure to create a link between the air tanks for maximum effect when it blew.

  "Marcus, I need you to look for a wire that doesn't belong, something connecting this tank to the ones around it."

  Marcus went to work without a word. Ally used the scanner to see if there was a sensor of any kind. None showed up, but she didn't trust it. Her gut danced around; she knew she needed to be careful.

  "Got something. This wire here isn't one of ours; it's not plated."

  "Good, I need you to find where it starts and how far it goes on both sides."

  This left her time to think about a way to determine if there was a sensor. She dug through the toolkit and found an oil-based spray used for greasing wires or gears in a pinch.

  Taking the can, she sprayed some and saw a laser grid. She smiled grimly, exactly what she would have done as well. In fact, the whole setup resembled how she would have done it. She suspected that whoever did this had been trained by the same people who trained her.

  She shivered at how close she'd come to being discovered. In fact, she realized she might have been if they got digital images of the crewmates. If they found her, they would kill her. If they knew she was on this sub, they would kill her. Either way, she died in the end.

  Pushing those thoughts away, she decided to deal with the bomb. She knew what the likely failsafes, triggers, and components were. She actually felt like she could do this without killing them all.

  She grabbed a screwdriver from the toolkit and began removing the bottom panel of the wall behind the air tank. It would give her room to work and also allow her access to where the explosives were most likely hidden.

  "I found the wire in three tanks each way. Starting point is a box right up there in the corner."

  "Thanks. I can do it from here."

  "You sure? I can stay."

  "Marcus, you can't stay. You need to get the engine and electrical systems working at their best, because if something goes wrong when you're over on the other sub, I'm sunk."

  "If you need anything, just yell and I'll be here in a second."

  "Will do." Ally tried to look and sound calm, though her emotions roiled around inside of her.

  Ally listened as Marcus hefted himself out of the below deck area, then let out a sigh of relief. She sounded a lot more confident than she felt. With the panel off, she faced at least twenty pounds of G-Tex. She didn't want Marcus to see it; he would panic.

  To be honest, she was trying not to panic. There were enough explosives to blow a hole the size of a small city in the side of the Betty Loo. Why use so much? Unless what they were bringing back was determined to be too much of a risk. Which meant someone was going to be sending a message about how the rescue operation went, not realizing that if the news was bad, they would be blown to hell.

  The bomb needed to be defused before the rescue team returned. Great, no pressure. She had to go back up to the control room, disengage the submersible, come down here and defuse a bomb, then get back up to the control room before the rescue team returned. She shook her head. It was one of those days.

  ***

  Iain entered the diving room and found Ivan sitting on the floor, checking something out on one of the suits. Kramer settled into a corner, looking as if he were up to something.

  "Ivan, how are things coming? We going to be ready soon?"

  "Yes, Captain, we will be ready."

  "Good."

  Iain left the room and went to his quarters. He wasn't sure he was coming back from this operation, and he wanted to make a recording for his kids just in case. He needed them to understand that the things of which he was most proud in this world were them. Might not mean much in the end, but he had to let them know. Hell, they might not even get the message, but he hoped.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Marcus watched as Ally came out from below deck with a solemn look on her face. Whatever she'd found wasn't good. He followed her with his eyes as she made her way to the stairs and trudged up them.

  The fact that she couldn't even look at him scared him more than anything she might have said. He turned back to what he was working on and tried to concentrate. It wasn't a difficult task. All he had to do was rewire a relay so additional power could be sent to the primary life-support systems.

  He spent fifteen minutes doing something that should have taken three. He needed to hurry up and do more; it would only be minutes before the captain made the announcement that they were heading over to the other sub. He wondered what the name of the other sub was. Somehow, it had never been mentioned. Unusual, as they needed to know so that they could download the proper schematics to perform the operations safely.

  A sinking feeling again. Tingles all over his skin warned him something bad was going to happen. He went over to the communications panel and sent a quick message to Ally about the other sub, asking if she knew what its name was.

  Turning around to see if there were any other relays he could rewire, he ran into Dutch.

  "What do you want?"

  "Look, I know you're mad at me, and I get it, but pull your head out of your ass and focus, Marcus. We all want to get out of this, and I know you want Ally to be okay. I just did every check I could think of and even made some up. For the time being, the sub's safe. If anything happens while you're gone, I'll take care of it. Nothing'll happen to Ally."

  Marcus let out a breath and nodded. He didn't trust his voice; he still felt too much anger towards the old man.

  ***

  Kramer sat in the dive room, watching Ivan make repairs to the two suits. He didn't bother to ask where the parts were hidden. he didn't care. Every now and then, Ivan would look at him and then look back to the suit.

  The tall Russian unnerved him, but Kramer had a gun and would use it on anyone who got in his way. He had a job to do and money to make, and no one would prevent that.

  Nina came out of the submersible entrance and watched the two of them. She raised an eyebrow at the frustrated Russian.

  "How are the suits coming along?"

  "They are in acceptable shape. How is the submersible?"

  "She's fine. I did a total rundown on all the systems, and Dutch told the truth; he didn't do anything. I programmed the coordinates to get there and back just in case something happens to me or you and someone else needs to pilot it."

  Ivan looked up, his face evincing respect and admiration. "That was smart."

  "I'm no idiot, Ivan. I know where we're going isn't normal. I'm just trying to help the others."

  "I understand."

  Kramer listened with interest. The submersible was pre-set. He could get what he needed and take off; they would never know until it was too late, since they would be in other areas of the sub. Finally, things were starting to go his way. He felt eyes on him and noticed Ivan staring.

  Nina plopped herself down on the floor next to Ivan and began examining the suits. She nodded at something he said. For some reason, they spoke in low voices. Kramer didn't like it. Nina nodded one more time and went back inside the submersible. A minute later, she emerged.

  "I'm going to get something to eat before we leave."


  Kramer trailed Nina with his eyes as she left the room. The two of them were up to something, he knew it. As he was about to strike up a conversation with Ivan, Maxine walked in.

  Great, he thought.

  Maxine walked into the room and felt a chill. At first, she planned on winning over the crew, but when she realized most of them were idiots or possible spies for other firms working against her, she decided to steer clear of them.

  Ivan worked on a suit. She was glad to see he was actually doing something productive. Looking over at Kramer, she was unsurprised to see him sitting there, useless as ever. The way he held his bag close to him let her know that more than collection jars were inside.

  Sitting in the chair Dutch usually occupied, she determined that if Kramer became a problem for her, she would simply take him out. On a sub as damaged as the one they were boarding, she could find a way to kill him that would look like a convincing enough accident.

  ***

  Ally nervously sat in the control room, setting everything up so that if an emergency arose while she was below deck, she could handle it from the communications panel in the engine room. She wouldn't have full access, and if something major happened- if they started sinking- she would have to go up.

  While she worked, a message came in from Marcus. She read it and shared his concern. Not knowing the name of the sub meant they were going in blind. She'd assumed Ivan had told Nina; it was never something Ally needed to know. She was typing out a message to Iain when a green light popped on.

  Looking at primary life support, she noted that Marcus had rerouted enough energy to make sure they were able to surface and send out an S.O.S., should they survive. She also made sure all connections with the submersible were intact.

  A beep alerted her to another incoming message from the submersible, this time from Nina. Apparently, she had programmed the submersible to run on its own in case something happened to her and Ivan. Kramer overheard this, and Ivan didn't trust him not to take off without them. They decided to have a code word installed, without which the submersible would not move. They sent it to Ally, and she was to give it out only if she felt right doing it.