by Nhys Glover
Chapter Twenty-Five
Eilish
Sunday, 14 April 1912, TITANIC
They all sat huddled on the bunks in K 107, the air electric with tension. After days of preparation, D-Day was upon them, and they were all overwhelmed with the monumental task ahead. Eilish looked at Cara, who was sitting with her knees drawn up and her back resting on the bulkhead. Her elbows were leaning on her knees and her hands were running through her white-blonde hair distractedly.
Eilish knew how she felt. However, instead of the exhaustion that seemed to be everyone else's burden down here, she was fresh and invigorated, having spent the night again with Max in his luxurious bed. Guilty that she had been given this bonus, she thought to make up for it by doing more today.
‘Right then, let’s do a recap on our Targets,’ Jac finally said when the silence became oppressive. ‘Eilish?’
‘The young couple in first is on board, reluctantly. Like some of them, they are playing along, expecting it to be a hoax that they can just forget about later. That is okay, as long as they follow through and get to the extraction point. The others are all a go up there. Carter will bring them down with Hughes, the steward, once we know where the extraction point is.
‘The families I have been working with are all a go, as is the young Irish couple. I have not changed my assessment of the parents. We will not take babies under one year old unless the mother is coming.’
‘Yes, unfortunately, that is the general consensus. Getting the younger children away for the ‘treat,’ will be hard enough, but mothers will not part with babes at the breast so easily. How are the children taking it, Bart?’
‘Great. They’re all really excited that they're having a party for their very own life boat. Keeping it secret has been the hard bit. The little’uns are talkative, but as they don’t know where the party will be held yet, the vagueness of it all has put the eavesdroppers off – mostly. Those boyos...’ Eilish noted that Bart’s accent and lexicon had become decidedly Irish in the last few days. He was a born chameleon, blending in wherever he was. ‘...the ones that beat me up. They're hangin ‘round a bit too much, like they’re just lookin’ for a chance to throw a spanner in the works. But with Jac or Julio around they don’t get a chance to get close enough.’
‘Good, those boys are trouble; you can see it a mile away,' Jac said. 'Freddy, the steward, was saying that they had been caught pilfering beer from the bar in the forward General Area. Their parents have been forced to pay for what they took. The stewards have all been alerted to keep their eyes on them. Pia?’
‘Families are all set. They know there will be someone sent for the children just after eleven and that the children will be taken to safety in the unlikely event that the ship should sink. No one seems concerned about the unusualness of the secret party.
'Marco had a problem yesterday when he fell asleep in our cabin. Paulo came looking for him when he was late for his shift. Freddy saw him come out of the cabin, but I told him he was with us so he didn’t report him. I am concerned that Marco may not come if Paulo is not permitted to join us. The boy is very important to him.’
‘Does he know D-Day is today?’
‘Yes. I told him yesterday and he is still cautious. He is a loose cannon, unfortunately.’
Jac frowned down at the girl who sat perched on the edge of the bottom bunk beside Jane. ‘This boy is only seventeen?’
‘Yes. A really lovely boy, and devoted to Marco, if yesterday’s wake-up call was any indication. Loyal, courageous…’
‘We have already increased our numbers substantially with the pregnant couples, the women in second and the stewards. I am loath to allow other random individuals to be Retrieved just because they are a friend of a friend, as it were,’ Jac said slowly.
‘We have all found people that we would like to save,’ Luke put in, ‘but we can’t. The numbers are becoming unwieldy already. Every extra person puts the whole mission at risk.’
‘So few of them survived from the À la Carte Restaurant, surely for equity we should include the boy,’ Cara said, shifting out from beneath the bunk so she could see and be seen by the men above. ‘The female cashiers and the chef’s assistant are the only ones who survive. That is the worst loss statistically of all the groups outside the engine room.’
‘We are not here to be fair, Cara. We are here to rescue children, pregnant women and a few Targeted adults the system identified.’ Jac’s voice was strained now.
‘We cannot risk the mission,’ Julio said, ‘even though it burns me that these English pricks kept those men below decks until the boats were all gone. Jac is right. We cannot risk the mission by including extra people.’
‘You’re the first one to go against Protocol when it suits you,’ Jane piped up, scowling at her husband.
The energy in the room was becoming negative and charged with anger. They were close to flashpoint.
Eilish raised her voice and brought order. ‘Let us leave the lad on the side for the moment. We need to conclude this meeting and get back to our places. Luke, why not tell the others about the extraction point.’ She had got the details herself from him the night before so she could share them with Max. It had been her excuse for going back there to be with him.
Much to her surprise, the energy in the room changed at her words and calmed significantly. Luke immediately stepped up with his report.
‘Yes. The second class Dining Saloon. We talked to Lucy and the other steward in second who will be joining us, Australian on this deck called Jacko. He helped Marco get the message to Karl. We can get the children up the victualling crew’s stairs from Scotland Road right up into the first and second galley kitchens. The kitchens and pantries for both classes sit between the first and second class Dining Saloons; the first is forward of the kitchens; second is aft of the kitchens. So, once in the kitchens, the children will head aft into second dining.
'The stairs are near the engineer’s mess, but at that time of the night there won't be a lot of people in that area. With Freddy and the Australian on point we should be okay. Jacko is getting keys from the storage room for the door at the top of the stairs.
‘The chief first class steward’s office is in the kitchen area and he sometimes works late. If that’s the case, we’ll deal with him before he raises the alarm. Lucy will get the keys and bring the seconds through the main doors into their dining room. They can meet outside without causing any undue attention.
'Hughes, Max Ingham’s steward, will get the key into the first class Dining Saloon and bring their group through into the kitchens and across into second dining. All those interconnecting doors will be unlocked.’
‘When you say “deal with” the chief steward, what do you mean?’ Cara asked tersely.
‘I’ll knock him out. Don’t worry yourself, doll, I won’t kill him.’ Luke gave a humorous grunt.
‘But you may condemn him to death if he stays unconscious too long. Has anyone checked the records for this head steward?’ Cara continued.
There was silence as Julio used his modified Tablet to access the information required. They had been careful about the amount of future technology they'd brought with them. If any of it fell into the wrong hands there would be a temporal anomaly created. So Julio carried a palm-size Tablet, as did Karl and Carter. Finn and Karl both had PAs, Portal Activators, which had taken them to their Targets initially. Eilish also had a PA because of her work with Max. Jac had the PA that had brought the bulk of the team through on the morning of the tenth.
‘Doesn’t survive,’ Julio announced, ‘and no mention of him in survivor’s records.’
‘That doesn’t mean I caused his death because I knocked him out,’ Luke announced fiercely. Eilish knew that Luke’s warrior background was often at odds with the peace-loving ethos of New Atlantis.
‘Let’s check him out,’ Jac said. ‘If he is suitable and he does turn out to be in his office at the time; we will knock him out and bring him along. Otherwise, Luke will
disable him only sufficiently for our needs. Am I clear?’
‘Crystal. I don’t wanna be the cause of anybody’s death,’ Luke announced brusquely. He glared down at Cara who glared right back.
‘Good. Then we have a plan, people. We will start moving the children to the stairs at the bottom of the galley in stages from eleven fifteen onwards. Jacko, the second class steward will stand sentry at the bottom of the stairs after unlocking the upper door and checking for crew in the galley kitchen and pantry areas with Luke and Julio.’ Jac gave the two men on the opposite bunk a nod.
‘Bart, you will be with the first group of children in and will be in charge of keeping them quiet. We’ll get the firsts and seconds in at the same time so they can help you supervise. The rest of us will be shuttling children with the help of Freddy along Scotland Road to Jacko in stages. As we deposit each group, we go back for the next until our individual quotas are met. At which time we go up into second dining and assist with the children.’
‘What if there is a problem with the children at any point?’ Cara asked Jac.
‘Luke and Julio will be moving through the relevant Decks – F and G aft – checking for problems. I will check E Deck aft. Luckily, the families and couples are all located in the aft end of the lower decks. It makes muster easier. If we encounter stewards, we say we’re taking the children to the toilets on D Deck. If we’re caught on Scotland Road or anywhere not directly on the path to the toilets, then we say we’re lost. However, we do not allow a steward to redirect us. Luke, Julio or I will deal with any stewards who become difficult.’
‘There sounds like there'll be a good deal of “dealing with” obstructers,’ Cara commented acidly.
‘What do you expect? That we will go totally unnoticed? There will be problems. We must be prepared for them and act accordingly. All we can hope for is that any we have to “deal with” will be on their feet and able to escape if that is their destiny. There will be no “Come with me if you want to live…,” Cara.’ Jac used the Terminator quote to ease the tension.
It worked. Cara grinned and nodded at her mate and Luke burst into loud guffaws of laughter.
‘What?’ Julio asked the laughing man at his side.
‘Famous quote from an Arnie Schwarzenegger movie. I love that guy!’ Luke answered between gales of laughter.
The others not up on twentieth century pop culture nodded absently but it was enough to get the group dynamic back in line.
‘I will get the details up to the other classes and until eleven, we’ll go about our day as usual. Pia, what time does Marco finish on B Deck?’ Jac asked.
‘Eleven.’
‘You will get him to meet with Carter outside the restaurant entrance. They’ll escort him from there at just after eleven. Do you think that will work?’
Pia frowned for a moment, thinking. ‘I will let him know when he comes to see me at his break. We are not risking him being seen in the cabin so we will meet on aft Well Deck outside the third class entrance. What do I tell him about Paulo?’
The tension was immediately back in the room. ‘He cannot bring the boy, Pia; I’m sorry.’
‘What if he will not come without him?’ she cried desperately.
‘It won’t come to that,’ Jac assured her. ‘He wants to be with you.’
‘The boy is important to him.’
‘I know. It will work out.’
Eilish watched Pia’s face lose all animation and close up. It was like she had been given a wonderful gift and just when she had finally accepted that it was hers, someone had taken it away from her again. Her resolute acceptance was heartbreaking.
