Claire’s Heartache

By Seaview Siren with Agent Catfish

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I boarded the Seaview for our mission and was, as usual, carrying heaps of folders and files. As Admiral Nelson’s PA, I always had plenty of work.

“Miss Young,” Sparks called out, “you’re wanted in the admiral’s cabin right away.”

My stomach sank with misgiving. What had I done wrong now?

I knocked on the cabin door, my heart pounding. Chief Sharkey opened the door for me, visibly upset.

“Miss Young,” Mr. Morton began to say, but had to stop. His eyes were moist and the admiral took my arm.

“I’m sorry, my dear,” he barely managed, his voice breaking, “there’s been an accident…Los Angeles…Lee…”he gulped and shook his head, tears falling.

It was then I knew. I think I screamed, I almost fainted. But the men held on to me and led me to one of the chairs.

“Captain Crane’s Cobra was found at the bottom of a cliff,” Chief Sharkey said. “It and….and the skipper…were all messed up and…burnt.”

“Oh God!” I sobbed.

“The Highway Patrol gave us this,” Nelson said, reluctantly handing me Lee’s ring as if it were a sacred relic. He was saying something else, but I couldn’t really hear him. I wanted to die. I think I had died. I didn’t even notice Morton and Sharkey supporting me, leading me out of the cabin and forward to the Observation Nose. A tumbler of brandy was put into my hands as soon as I was seated, but they were lifeless and it smashed to the deck.

Morton had one of the crewmen clean the mess up, but he didn’t care about the damn drink. He was as inconsolable as I was. Only he managed to keep back the tears. I was the one who sobbed. Broken. Torn to pieces. I would never be held in Lee’s arms again, Lee Crane, dead, it just

couldn't be.

“Should we sedate her?” Chief Sharkey whispered, his eyes as red and bloodshot as most of the arriving crew were. Riley was openly crying as he sat down at his station. Kowalski was in his own inner turmoil. Why hadn’t Angie simply told the men to go home? Then I remembered. Seaview was needed on another damn mission. A top secret mission that even Nelson couldn’t get out of, as much as his own heart was breaking.

The admiral walked down the spiral ladder, followed by Doc, and put his hand on my shoulder.

“Chip? Get us underway. We need to deliver the top secret device to Dr. Douglas Donner at the sea lab as soon as possible.”

“Aye sir.”

“Will?” Nelson asked, nodding to him. Apparently he’d already arranged for Doc to take me aft. To my cabin or to Sick Bay, I didn’t know. I didn’t care. At least I’d be able to cry, scream, kick, and melt into nothingness in privacy.

As Doc led me aft, I sensed and saw the crew’s empathy and tears. But they, no one, not even Nelson, could feel how I felt. Shattered. Broken. Dead.

Doc put me on one of the Sick Bay bunks before giving me a shot of something. But first he took the ring in my hand and put it on my finger.

“He’ll always be with you, Claire,” he said, choking back his own tears and dimmed the lights.

I felt weird. I’d never been sedated before. A floating feeling, dream like, but it was not of puffy marshmallow clouds or pretty beaches like the ones Lee and I used to enjoy together. In this dream Lee lay unconscious, bound, his head bleeding. Bundled into a mud splattered lorry, he was driven through the night, then loaded onto a rusty ship, and lowered via a diving bell down into the sea.

Then suddenly the dream changed and my Lee was kissing me in the institute parking lot, in his apartment, and on a private beach where we’d dreamed of making love. Then I was yanked back to the sea lab where Lee was regaining consciousness.

“Donner?” he asked, lightheaded.

“Donner? Not unless you talk to ghosts,” the man laughed. “Come now, Captain. Don’t you recognize me? But then, I suppose my team did manhandle you more than I told them to. I, Sir, am Maurice Murphy…I see you have no idea who I am. Well, that’s not important. What is, is that I’ve gotten rid of Donner. Yes. The government I’ve been assisting killed him, put him in your imported car and ran it off a cliff. The explosion killed him instantly. Of course, your associates, and let’s not forget your girlfriend, think it’s you, thanks to your bone structure and of course, your famous ring.”

“What…what do you want?” Lee asked him, his head hurt, he couldn't think straight.

“I work for the People’s Republic. What do you think we want?” the man laughed. “You, for your secrets. And Nelson, who’s on his way here with the device, for his, along with it. Once we have obtained what we want, we’ll blow up the flying sub, and the sea lab with no one the wiser.”

“I won’t tell you anything,” Lee said rubbing his head, his face anxious, Murphy laughed,

“Not willingly, but whoever said you’d be willing?” he chortled and pulled out a syringe.

I think I moaned. But instead of witnessing Lee being injected, I was moaning in response to his lovemaking, his soft fingers caressing my naked body, His mouth taking mine over and over as he gave his all to me, filling me, making me groan, making me cry out and gasp, as he moved against me. He kissed my neck, my chest and bent his head to kiss my breasts, his eyes gazed into mine with a look of pure desire. I gasped, and clung to him as my body gave way to a climax. He kissed my mouth again and held me to him as he joined me, he kissed my mouth again, tangled his fingers in my soft hair, told me over and over that he loved me.

“Claire, I love you” his voice became an echo in my mind “Claire, I love you. Claire, I love you”

Then I saw his little car career over the cliff and burst into flames, seeing the dead man inside burn. I saw the ring on his hand, and writhed to wakefulness, crying out, sick to my stomach, “Wrong hand! Right hand!”

“Claire, wake up,” Doc ordered, at my sided. “Just a nightmare.”

I threw up.

“Frank?” Doc called the corpsman over to clean things up.

“No,” I shouted. “Not a nightmare…Lee…Lee’s alive…not dead…plot…the device…they…no, Admiral! Admiral!” I screamed as Doc was about to inject me with another sedative. “For God’s sake! Before Lee really is dead! Get the Admiral!”

“Very well,” Doc said, shaking his head, and paged Nelson. “But you’re still getting the sedative after.”

In about two minutes the admiral had arrived, frowning at the sight of me, still in the bunk, being held down by the corpsman.

“At last! Admiral! Lee’s not dead! He was taken prisoner!”

“Will?” Nelson asked Doc.

“The sedative can cause hallucinations. It was just a dream,”

“I wasn’t dreaming!” I screamed. I knew I wasn’t. At least…hell, I didn’t for sure, but I couldn’t risk Lee’s life! “Let me go! If you won’t save Lee, I will!”

Nelson bowed his head, then sadly told Doc to go get a straight-jacket.

“You have to believe me!” I screamed. “You have to! Don’t you love Lee anymore?”

“Claire,” he said, coming nearer as the corpsman held me down. “I love Lee more than you can imagine. But you were only dreaming.”

I snapped and managed to wriggle free of Frank’s hands, jumping to the deck. Both men were fast behind me, but I remembered where Doc kept his gun. A safety precaution he’d said for when ‘the boy’s as he called them, were possessed by monster vegetation, aliens and the like. Preposterous tales, but they gave him an excuse to fondle the antique Colt ’45. I reached up to the shelf where it lay next to his beloved ‘Boots and Saddles’ first edition.

I aimed it at the men.

“And just what do you plan to do?” Nelson gasped

I fired the gun at the deck.

“Claire, you put that gun down, and that’s an order,”

“Not until you stop Murphy from killing Lee! He took over Donner’s sea lab! The body in the car is Donners not Lee's! Murphy only wants the device and Lee’s brain. Yours too! Then he’ll kill you

both, don't you understand!” I gasped.

“That’s absurd on the face of it. I just spoke to Donner this morning. He’s quite alive and well. I know Murphy as well. He hasn’t an evil bone in his body.”

“No, you’re wrong” I said, shaking my head. It was hurting. I knew my dream was a true dream. I knew it! “I don’t know how Murphy changed his voice!”

As the three men approached I fired again, making them get out of my way.

“Sorry, Admiral. But I’m right,” I shouted and ran from Sick Bay.

“Attention all hands,” Nelson’s voice came over the airwaves, “Claire Young is suffering from a drug induced delusion. She’s armed and dangerous. She may try to destroy the device. Protect it with your lives, even…even if you have to shoot to kill. Morton, acknowledge.”

“Aye sir,” Chip said reluctantly.

Then I remembered that there was one man aboard who would listen to me, in spite of any orders. I was about to check my watch until I realized that it had been removed when I was put into the Sick Bay gown. Well, maybe Ski was still on watch. But that meant the Control Room. And Morton. Well, the order was only to shoot me if I had the device. Damn, I didn’t even know where Nelson was keeping it. But the Control Room had a radio. If I could contact the sea lab, I could prove that Murphy was there. If he answered.

The deck was cold on my bare feet as I sneaked down the spiral ladder and tried to get Ski’s attention. But Morton caught it first.

“Claire, please,” he said as he grabbed me.

“It was a true dream! I’ve had them before!”

“Sparks? Get Angie.”

In seconds she was on the Control Room’s videophone, looking at me, aghast.

“What the devil’s going on?” she asked, “Claire, are you all right?”

“No. They won’t believe me. Lee’s alive and….”

“Angie,” Morton said. “Does Claire have any kind of ESP?”

“Well, I know she had some as a child.”

“Anything since then?”

“Not to my knowledge…Claire?”

“Not until now. For God’s sake, call the lab! See if I’m right.”

“Sparks?” he called out, “Contact the sea lab.”

But there was no response.

“Use the cam,” Nelson said, entering the fray. “I’m only doing this to humour you, Claire. To prove that you really need to get back to Sick Bay. Understood?”

“Understood.”

“No answer to our signal,” Sparks said.

“No signal? That’s impossible. Try again.”

“Oh, God,” I moaned. “Lee, Lee, Lee…”

“How far are we from the sea lab?” Nelson asked.

“About a half hour,” Morton said.

“Flank speed, plus whatever extra you can get out of her. Claire, with me,” Nelson added, taking me to the Observation Nose. “All right, are you ‘seeing’ anything now?”

“No…but he was hurt, bound, bleeding and….”

“Highway Patrol calling for you, Admiral,” Sparks called out and turned on the Observation Nose monitor.

“The DNA results confirm the body in the car wasn’t Captain Crane.”

“Whose?”

“Dr. Donner. Was murdered instantly. Bullet to the brain. Small blessing that he didn’t have to suffer the explosion.”

“Lee,” I groaned, my head in a fog, “Lee’s calling me…he’s hurting…Oh, Lee, darling, we’re coming, we’re coming….”

“Prepare the flying sub for immediate launch,” Nelson ordered. “Chip, I need an armed team.”

“I want to go with you,” I said.

“I’m sorry, Claire. It’s too dangerous. You go get dressed.”

“I can tell you still don’t believe me.”

“Right now it’s all we have to go on.”

“Wait,” I said as I studied my hands. “I remember now. The body. Lee’s ring. It was on the wrong hand of the body.”

“O’Brien, you have the conn,” Morton said. “Maintain flank speed. I’m going with you Admiral.”

“And I’ve changed my mind about Claire not going with us,” Nelson said, “she may have seen parts of the sea lab that will save us time and trouble. Well, go get dressed!” he ordered.

The flight wasn’t very long, and we docked atop the sea lab’s hatch.

“I’ll go first,” Nelson said, turning the safety off his gun and opening the round hatch, climbing down the sea lab’s ladder.

It reminded me of ants, the way we followed one another, with me in the rear. As the lower hatch opened, we looked in upon three men armed with machine guns.

“Welcome to my lair, Admiral Nelson,” Murphy said, squeezing between them as they took our weapons. “Lock them up! But leave her.”

“Wha…what do you want with me?” I asked.

“Why, my dear, it appears as though your boyfriend’s been calling for you. Wouldn’t want to disappoint him before I dispose of him. I won’t kill you though. You have potential. A man’s weakness, you know.”

“You bastard!” Nelson yelled from the doorway the men were being dragged to. Kowalski

tried a defensive move but got a good hiding for his efforts.

I was dragged off and taken to a lab, where Lee was bound to a gurney with heavy leather straps.

He had electrodes attached to his bloodied forehead and bare chest. He was breathing heavily, blood running out of his nose, and from the deep cuts on his chest and back, pooling beneath him.

“Claire?” he gasped, trying to reach out, but unable to.

“Lee? Lee?” I cried, held fast by my captors.

“Continue the treatment,” Murphy ordered.

I lurched toward Murphy causing him to bump into the man with the syringe and getting it stuck

into his back. He gasped, swayed, and fell to the ground.

Then the other man tried to press a button to restart the brain washing but I kicked out at him

With some moves Lee had taught me. He fell backwards, crashing against a panel, unconscious.

“Lee, can you hear me?” I gasped and I tried to bathe his cuts with bits of my blouse. But he could only gasp.

I needed help and had to get the others out. I ran toward a wall with buttons and keys on it. Grabbing all of the keys, I ran out of the lab to the door where they’d been taken and tried all the keys to unlock the door. Finally the last one worked.

“We heard Lee’s screams,” Nelson said urgently.

“Murphy and one of his men are out cold. Lee's laid out in there, electrodes attached to

him. He’s bleeding, incoherent! “I gasped. “We haven't got much time. What if those other three men find us?” I gasped. “What are you doing?” I demanded as the men were removing things from the soles of their shoes.

“We can’t save Lee yet,” Morton said, “but we can escape with him. Gas cylinders, rebreathers, and paralysing blow darts. Here,” he added, handing me his rebreather. “Don’t worry, I’ll be okay with a handkerchief. The gas isn’t lethal and only lasts a few minutes. But it will give us some time.”

“As soon as they come for us” Nelson said, “you run up to the flying sub and contact Seaview to prepare the brig for some guests and to rig a torpedo for firing. We’ll take care of the bad guys and rescue Lee.”

True to his word, when the three guards raced in, they were assaulted by the smoke bombs and paralytic darts. I didn’t want to flee past Lee during the melee’. I wanted to see Lee. To know that he hadn’t been murdered outright by the guard’s machine guns before they succumbed to unconsciousness. I needed to know Lee was all right. That if he was alive that he hadn’t been robbed of his mind. But even I knew a military like operation doesn’t need a fly in the ointment. There was no time to waste.

I was shaking by the time O’Brien confirmed via my call that Seaview was almost here and the torpedo was ready.

Then there was silence below.

O’Brien was right about Seaview being close by. By the time the team, with only one gunshot wound among them (the admiral was winged), the sub was hovering.

In minutes, the flying sub had docked, and Doc rushed down the ladder to Lee’s side, where Ski was already checking Lee’s vitals. I just sat on the floor by Lee’s side, shivering with fear.

Before the flying sub’s aft hatch was opened for the stretcher, we were informed that the bell had docked with the sea lab’s access hatch and the handcuffed prisoners were being dragged to the brig, regaining consciousness.

“Well,” Nelson asked in Sick Bay, as his arm was treated and the bullet removed.

“You’ll live,” Doc said.

“That’s not what I was asking.”

“Lee will recover from both the drug and the electroshock. In fact, having gone through both previously thanks to his friends in the People’s Republic, he has a little bit of trauma immunity. Oh, he’ll hurt. He may even have tremors, and nightmares, but he’ll recover.”

“But his memory,” I asked.

“Cl…Cla…Claire?” Lee’s voice murmured from his bunk.

“Sweetheart, oh sweetheart,” I said from my position kneeling next to him. “You’re awake. Can you say my name again?” I was so scared that Doc had got it wrong. That Lee had brain damage.

“I’m fine.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“Well, that depends.”

“Depends? Oh, Lee, is it hard to remember?”

“I remember fine,” he said as he took my hand. “The only thing is, do I call you Claire, or…Mrs. Crane?”

“Oh sweetie, I’m not your mother.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“But…oh…oh! You…you’re asking me to marry you?”

“Um hm…”he said with a nod and took my hand. “Seems you already have the engagement ring.”

“One that wants to fall off…”

“We’ll get a better one…so…is that a yes?”

“You know it is,” I said, and we kissed. Oh how we kissed, until Chip, just arriving, cleared his throat.

“Claire honey you need to rest up!” he told me,

“Our guests are requesting asylum. Apparently they fear the People’s Republic’s justice system more than the United States.”

“I think we’d better let the president handle this one,” Nelson said. “Blow the sea lab out of the water and take us home.”

“Aye, sir.”

“Congratulations, Lee, Claire,” Nelson said and smiled at us, just like a proud father would his children. I suppose we were, in a manner of speaking.

Lee needed time to heal from his physical wounds. As for any mental problems, I’d help with those, no doubt about that.