This is a Fourth Season story and is a WHN (What Happens Next) for the Edge of Doom.

Double Deception

by Lynn

Lee Crane sat at his desk wearily with his head leaning back against his desk chair. His eyes were closed, but he wasn't asleep. His head lifted up as he registered the knock on the door. He knew by the cadence of the “rap” who was there. He'd been expecting a visit.

“Come,” Lee said sitting forward in his seat.

“Got a few minutes, Lee?” Chip's voice giving away his apparent regret at his participation in the last mission.

“Sure come in.”

Lee wasn't angry. Disappointed, but not angry. He had been in the espionage game long enough to know that sometimes these things happened. He also understood all too well the effect orders could have on others. The Admiral had been informed that an enemy spy was aboard masquerading as an officer. Their prime suspect was Captain Lee Crane and so Admiral Nelson had been ordered to try and break the imposter. He was explicitly ordered not to ask Lee direct questions to ascertain if he was legitimate, and so the option of asking Lee questions only Lee could answer was totally taken out of his hands. The powers-that-be didn't want to alert the spy that their organization had been discovered, so Lee had been “tested” to the point of being harassed and made to look incompetent in front of the crew.

It hadn't helped that Sharkey had been in on the plan to break Lee, since “Sharkey” was actually the enemy spy in question. The result had been two attempts on Lee's life and an all-out blow-up in Harry's office that had finally convinced the Admiral that Lee was not the imposter. Lee had some hurt feelings yet to overcome, but he had been ordered to do uncomfortable things in his day and he knew that Harry and Chip weren't any more happy about the situation than he was. Still, the mission had left Lee bone weary and tired.

Chip entered and closed the door, not entirely sure of the reception he'd get.

“Lee, I came by to say I'm sorry.”

Lee's head dipped down and he sighed. He raised his head and motioned Chip over to the guest chair across the desk.

“Have seat Chip,” his tiredness coming through as he spoke. Chip complied and sat down, still not sure if Lee was ready to forgive him.

“I'm sorry Lee, that things got out of hand. I promise you, the next time I get an order like that...” Lee's head shot up as he interrupted Chip.

“The next time you get an order like that you will obey and follow your orders just like you always do, Chip. That's how we run things around here, that's how we do what we do. If we start questioning every order, then we'll put our entire command structure in jeopardy.”

The fire in Lee's eyes died as he gazed at Chip's eyes and they both deflated back into their chairs.

“I'm not saying it didn't hurt, but I do understand.”

Chip nodded and sighed, as Lee coughed.

“Did Jamie check you out?” Chip asked, aware that the imposter had nearly killed Lee with smoke inhalation in a circuitry room fire.

“Yeah, no diving for the next week, otherwise I'm fine.” Lee gave Chip a little half smile that said everything was going to be fine and Chip responded with a little smile of his own.

“Go on, get home to Monica. I'll see you guys sometime over the weekend.”

Chip got up to leave feeling a lot less heavy than when he had come in. The ride back had been strained with little time to talk. They were cordial, professional and respectful but had not really talked like they should have. At least now, Chip knew that Lee had forgiven him.

“Get some rest Lee, we'll expect you for dinner Sunday night.”

“Sounds good.” Lee's easy smile was natural and Chip left feeling like they were back on track.

Lee resumed his tired stance of his head leaning back on the chair and counted, 5...4...3...2...1 at which point the second knock that he was expecting was heard.

“Come,” Lee answered as he again sat forward in his chair.

The auburn head of Admiral Nelson peered around the door as he spoke, “I was hoping you were still here Lee.”

They had made port back at NIMR and the crew had already departed. Lee had returned to his cabin to pack his reports to work on at home and wasn't really in a hurry to go. Besides, he was waiting for both of these visits.

“No Sir, I'm just packing up some reports to take home,” Lee said politely.

Harry made his way over towards the desk, but didn't sit. Instead he began pacing in front of him.

“Lee, I can't tell you how sorry I am for what happened. I wished I could have figured out a different way to draw out the imposter...”

Lee raised his hand and stopped Harry, “Admiral, I know that your orders had your hands tied. I can't say that I enjoyed this last week, or that I appreciate what you did in front of the crew,” Lee sighed, willing down the emotions as he continued, “but I understand what was at stake, and I accept that.”

Harry nodded and sat down, still not satisfied with the air left between he and Lee. “I don't want anything to change aboard Seaview because of this Lee.”

Lee smiled, “I'm not planning on handing in my resignation if that's what you mean, Sir.” He finished the last with a full Lee Crane smile that flashed reassurance to Harry as he chuckled.

Harry chuckled back and stood up, “Well alright Captain, what are your plans for the next few days?” It was Wednesday afternoon, and other than his Sunday night dinner date with Chip and Monica, he didn't have anything planned until Monday morning when he'd report to the office.

“I think I'll stand down for the next few days, Sir. I'm really tired and I think I just need to decompress.”

Harry nodded approvingly, “Good, you look like you could use the rest. Are you up to Giavani's for dinner sometime this week?”

Lee smiled, he knew that Giavani's was Harry's way of putting this last week away for good, and that was fine with him. “Sure, sounds good, Sir.”

Harry smiled, satisfied that he wasn't going to lose Lee over the events of the last mission and left. He still had to give General Beaker a call and give him a piece of his mind over the faulty intelligence that had caused all this mess, but at least things were getting back to normal.

Lee laid his head back against his desk chair and again sighed wearily. Deciding he wasn't going to feel any better just sitting there he gathered his reports and placed them into his soft leather briefcase, grabbed his jacket and cover and left Seaview. He was tired, but he did feel better that his friends had not left things to just blow over. They had cared enough to come to him, and that meant something. He wasn't willing to throw away his friendships over the incident, and that really wasn't what had him down anyway.

What really had him weary was the constant subterfuge he found himself in, even when he wasn't on an ONI mission. It was the life he had chosen first with the Navy, and then when he signed on to Seaview four years ago. But lately, it just seemed like it was one near disaster after another; aliens, sea creatures, megalomaniacs wanting to rule the world. He was really starting to wonder what sort of world his children would live in someday.

He had been thinking a lot lately about marriage and a family, not that there was a woman in his life right now, but he really didn't intend to live out the rest of his life as a bachelor. It was never his plan, it had just turned out that way. Finding a wife who could handle the unique situation of having a submariner for a husband and was gone as much as Lee was a challenge. And despite the crew's idea that he had a “girl in every port” Lee only dated one at a time. Lately, he found that women seemed more interested in his uniform and the fact that he was Seaview's Captain, but they had little patience for his absence. He knew there was someone special for him and he was willing to wait for her, he had just begun wishing it was sooner rather than later.

He headed home and deposited his briefcase on the living room coffee table and headed straight out to the deck that overlooked the beach below. He stood there looking at the evening sky converging with the ocean waves, allowing the sea breeze to blow away the stress of the last week when the peaceful mood was interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing. He wasn't sure he wanted to answer it but did anyway, not wanting Chip or Harry to be any more concerned than they already were.

“Hello.”

“Crane, this is Johnson.”

Lee sighed inwardly, this is definitely not what he needed right now.

“Yes Sir, what can I do for you Admiral?”

“I've got something for you, but not on this line. How soon can you be in Washington?”

Lee considered his answer, he wasn't sure he was up for more spy games right now, but duty won out as he looked at his watch.

“Depends on if I catch a commercial flight out of LAX or a transport out of San Diego.”

“What about FS1?”

“I'll have to clear it with Admiral Nelson, Sir.”

“Don't bother, I’ll clear it with him myself. Just get here ASAP.”

“Yes Sir.” With that Lee heard a dial tone on the other end. He let an audible sigh escape and depressed the receiver button to hang up the line. He stood there for just a moment and then went up to his bedroom to pull out the backpack that was always ready for his ONI work. He took a quick shower and changed into his black jeans and dark button up shirt that he favored for missions. He packed a quick overnight bag and a fresh uniform and was out the door within thirty minutes.

* * * * *

Lee descended down the hatch in the control room to the flying sub and found Harry already sitting in the pilot's chair going through the pre-flight check.

“Hello Sir,” Lee said stowing his uniform and backpack, not really surprised that Harry had opted himself into the flight. Lee might have considered the flying sub “his baby” but Harry still owned the pink slip.

“Hello Lee, we're just about ready to launch.”

Lee settled into the co-pilot's chair, which was not unusual when the Admiral was on-board and began the procedure to remotely launch since Seaview was in port.

Harry looked over noting that Lee was ready and gave the order to launch. Lee deactivated the magnetic arms and FS1 slipped from her berth inside the belly of Seaview and moved forward once they cleared the bay doors.

Three hours later, Lee and Admiral Nelson were walking up the steps of the nondescript business building that held the inner workings of the Office of Naval Intelligence.

“Admiral Nelson and Commander Crane are here to see you, Sir.”

“Nelson? Never mind. Send them both in.”

Lee shot Harry a sideways glance and pulled back the smile that was threatening to make itself known as they entered Admiral Johnson's office.

“Come in gentlemen. Is this a two for one deal Harriman?”

“Could be Gerald, I just wanted to see what you were getting my Captain into this time.”

The two Admirals were old friends but that didn't keep them from arguing, loudly sometimes, over the best use of one Lee Crane's time.

They had barely finished the pleasantries when the aide buzzed Johnson again.

“General Beaker has arrived, Sir.”

“Good, send him in.” Johnson looked up to see a decidedly irritated look on Harry's face but ignored it.

General Beaker came in nodding as he addressed the officers, “Harriman, Commander Crane.” Lee responded with all the military courtesy the General deserved without any hint of the uncomfortable position he had found himself in on the last mission.

Johnson handed Lee a manila folder with the briefing details as he summarized the contents.

“Commander, we're all well aware of your last mission and Admiral Nelson has fully briefed us on the unfortunate events aboard your submarine.” The last said was a very diplomatic way of saying that they had received an earful from Harry about the matter.

Lee kept his face completely schooled and without emotion. His years of Naval training and the fact that he and Harry had managed a rather pleasant flight over had refreshed him as his broody mood had been replaced with the professionalism that Lee always approached his missions. A distracted operative was a dead operative, and Lee had learned a long time ago to focus on the mission at hand.

Harry on the other hand, was livid barely keeping his emotions contained. Lee smiled inwardly, he guessed that was one of the perks that came with the stars.

“Commander Crane, there was a reason why we suspected that you were the enemy spy,” General Beaker offered as he motioned Lee to open the folder in his hands. Lee looked down to see a picture of himself in an unfamiliar place, with people he had never met. Instantly, he knew; another double. He looked through the other documents and pictures and then brought his eyes back up to Admiral Johnson as he handed the folder over to Harry.

“We caught a break Lee,” Johnson continued, “We have the double in custody. We've managed to extract enough information through truth serum to know that they're up to something big. Your double reports directly to the organization's high commander. We need to bring down the entire organization, not just take out the look alikes. We need you to infiltrate the organization as the double. Your double operates out of a local cell, we have reason to believe that their Leader will be coming to Washington within the next few days. We need him to take down the entire organization.”

Harry's deep breath could be heard as he reined in his need to keep Lee safe but nonetheless, succumbed to his duty as a retired Admiral of the United States Navy.

“What kind of intelligence did the double offer Sir, will I have enough to go on to effectively pull off the switch?”

General Beaker pulled out a folder from his briefcase and handed it over to Lee as he spoke, “We believe that he has completely immersed himself in your persona Commander. We have transcripts of the interrogation, and security cameras of the meeting of the photos you saw earlier. He was ready to impersonate you, but they failed to take you out of the picture and had to resort to Plan B with your COB.”*

Lee looked down scanning the information in front of him. He was relieved that his double was in custody and couldn't do any damage impersonating him, but he knew what Johnson was asking him to do. It was dangerous.

“What about the look alike's makeup Sir, how can we be sure that he never appeared as himself within the organization?”

“Unlike your COB's double who used a mask and makeup, your double has had plastic surgery. He's very convincing although he lacks certain scars from your profile. We have his clothes and if we make the switch now, they won't be suspicious. I'm afraid he's a ladies’ man and hasn't done your reputation much good Commander.”

Lee nodded, disgusted with the thought of someone wearing his face and acting inappropriately.

“Okay Sir, when do we begin?” Lee laid the folder on the edge of Admiral Johnson's desk and registered the satisfied smile that Johnson displayed, his eyes speaking something to General Beaker that said, See I told you he'd do it.

“We'll get you to the Ready Room and you can study the security tapes and the transcripts. On the way out, you can look in on the double through the two-way mirror.” Johnson stood to escort Lee out, but they were stopped by Harry's next question.

“What about back-up Gerald? How are you going to protect Commander Crane if things go wrong?” Harry's question was both paternal and professional at the same time.

“We'll implant a transmitter just under Lee's skin. It's sophisticated and has its own jamming device, the bug-finders won't detect it,” Johnson stated matter of factly.

Harry rose and nodded his head as Johnson gave instructions to his aide. Both he and Lee walked side by side following the aide to the Ready Room speaking in low tones.

“I don't like this Lee. I'm going to stay in Washington until this is done, if something goes wrong I'll be there with the extraction team.”

Lee allowed a small smile to break his face and took a sideways glance at Harry. “Thank you Sir.” It was reassuring. Lee knew that Harry wouldn't leave him hanging out to dry and took comfort in knowing that he had solid backup on this one.

* * * * *

Two hours later, Lee left through the underground tunnel that put him several buildings down the street and exiting out an all-night cafe instead of the office building at 0200. He was wearing the clothes of the imposter, right down to the shoes. He took a cab and headed straight to the hideout where the imposter and the other members of the organization hung out waiting for orders. He had splashed a little bourbon on his clothes to simulate the late night out that would explain his absence and headed in.

The information that had been secured by the imposter through the truth serum revealed that his double was ruthless and was apparently feared by the other men. This would help him keep control over certain situations. The interrogation had also revealed that his double had a weakness for women and apparently was enjoying the new face he was now sporting. They knew that the Organization's Leader was expected in the next few days and all Lee had to do was keep it together until the Leader made his appearance, then he would activate a transponder hidden in the heel of his shoe to notify ONI.

He entered the warehouse and headed to the large offices that had been converted into a secreted hideout for the men. He knew to expect five other men, and hopefully without female companions. He walked in feigning a slight sway to his walk as if the alcohol was having some effect on him. As he approached the door he could hear the sounds of a distressed female voice and steeled his emotions to take on the imposter's character.

The men were laughing and it was apparent that they had been drinking heavily. They were tossing a young woman in her early twenties around amongst them, and although she was obviously frightened, it didn't appear that she had been harmed. Lee knew that undercover or not, he couldn't allow her to be hurt by these men, so he flew into action hoping that his acting job was good enough to keep him alive.

He walked straight over to the man holding the girl trying to force a kiss, and pulled her away at the same time delivering a solid blow to his chin. He fell down in a heap yelling as he went down.

“What you go and do that for Dexter?”

“Crane! I told you, call me Crane.” Lee stared down the rest of the men as he held the girl harshly by her arm.

“Anyone else want to take me on?” The imposter had apparently bested the men before because they immediately backed off as Lee dragged the girl towards a room that he had spotted when he walked in. As he pulled her away he heard the sounds of the men complaining loudly but making no attempt to stop him. For affect, he threw her forward on the bed and slammed the door, locking it and then pulled a chair over to jam under the handle.

The girl was sobbing and Lee dropped his head in disgust. He raised his head as the harsh ruthless face that he had sported earlier was replaced by his utmost concern for her.

“I'm sorry about that. I'm not going to hurt you,” he said softly. He held his hands up in front of him and made only a small advance toward her. When she seemed to startle he stopped, and looked toward his left to a window. He stopped to check out where the window led and saw that it emptied into an alley toward the street. He turned his attention back to the girl, who had obviously been dressed to go out on the town, and most definitely dressed to impress. She had happened into the wrong establishment and had gotten into more than she could handle.

“Look Miss, I'm going to get you out of this, Okay?” He took a few more steps toward her and sat on the edge of the bed as she studied his eyes through her own tears. Something registered and she threw her arms around his neck and sobbed. He let her cry it out for a moment and then gently guided her toward the window showing her the way to her freedom.

“Once you get out, you run straight home, and Miss...you need to find something better to do with your time. This could have ended very badly for you.” He looked into her eyes hoping to impart something that she would take with her. She nodded her agreement and he opened the window.

“One more thing Miss,”

“It's Jennifer,” she interrupted in a small weak voice.

Lee smiled gently, “Okay Jennifer, one more thing. I need you to yell and slap me as hard as you can and then leave and don't look back. And very important for my safety, you need to forget about this night and don't lead anyone back here. Can you do that?”

She nodded and sniffed back her tears and then let loose in a scream that was very convincing for the illusion he was trying to evoke for the men outside the door. Then she let loose with a slap that was just as convincing and climbed out the window as Lee turned toward the bed yelling uncharacteristic remarks that he would never himself say to a woman. As she ran, she heard furniture and sounds simulating a struggle as Jennifer ran as fast as she could back to the safety of her home.

* * * * *

The next morning Lee emerged from the room to find the men bunked out in the other room, sleeping off their night of drinking. He would need to find a way to keep a lid on things here without blowing his cover. He thought he'd keep the men from carousing by insisting that they stay in the warehouse and wait for the Leader. They didn't have a face for the Leader, but the imposter had called him Mr. Foster and had described him as fifty-ish with bleached white hair that he wore short and spike. Dexter had revealed his respect and fear for Foster under the influence of the drugs and Lee knew that Foster was definitely bad news.

They had also determined that “Sharkey” and “Crane” were the only imposters that the cell had and that they had planned to lay low for awhile while they worked out another scheme to use the Crane double. Lee had to smile inside over that thought. Here he was pulling off a double deception by impersonating the imposter. His inside smile faded and was replaced with an inward sigh.

It's going to be a long few days, he thought as he looked around the quiet room for any signs of when Foster was due. There was a radio set up on the desk and Lee noted the frequency for future use. He spotted a note pad sitting beside the microphone and sat down as he lightly scribbled over the depression to view the revealed message.

Thurs 3:00p

He tore off the scribbled pad and flushed it down the toilet and continued his search as he thought about the possibilities of the message. Hopefully, it meant that Foster would be here today. Maybe he could wrap this thing up and get back to his life in Santa Barbara instead of hanging out with this bunch of low-life creeps. The creeps began to stir and Lee stopped his snooping and went to the kitchen to make himself some coffee. The guy he belted the night before was the first to emerge, rubbing his jaw as he entered the kitchen.

Nothing was said about the night before and that was fine with Lee.

“Did Johnny tell you that Mr. Foster's coming in today?”

“Not yet, what time?” Lee assuming that the message came in after Dexter had left since it didn't come out in the interrogation.

“Three o'clock.” Lee nodded, as Mick eyed his cup of coffee. “You're really taken this Crane crap seriously aren't you? You never drank coffee before?”

Oops, thought Lee. “He drinks it like it’s going out of style, I better be able to do the same.”

Mick nodded, accepting his answer.

“Pass the word. Nobody leaves the warehouse until after Mr. Foster arrives,” Lee said matter of factly.

“Why? We've never been restricted before?”

Lee stood to meet Mick's challenge, “Because I said so,” he said darkly and then continued, “and because we've got a loose end out there,” nodding his head toward the street.

“You mean Wayne?” he said referring to the Sharkey double, “He'll never talk,” Mick finished.

“It doesn't matter, that's the way it’s going to be.”

“You know Dexter, you're not really the captain of the Seaview and you're no better than the rest of us.”

Lee stepped closer to Mick staring as darkly as he could muster, “Whether I'm Dexter or Crane, I can still take you down.”

Mick re-thought his position and backed down, “Alright, alright Dexter. I'll pass the word, no one leaves until after Mr. Foster arrives.”

Mick left and Lee let out a silent sigh. He didn't even know the name of the guy he was talking to, there were two blondes and he could either be Mick or Kenny. So he played it safe and avoided his name. He'd have to get it figured out soon before the limited intel he had got him killed. It was only 1000 (ten hundred) hours and Lee still had five hours left to keep the deception up, then he'd activate the transponder and ONI would descend on the warehouse taking this bunch into custody. In the meanwhile, he had to keep suspicion off him. They needed Foster to show up, or all of this would be for nothing.

Lee thought the best thing to do was to keep a low profile. He really didn't know how Dexter interacted when he was here, so the danger of mis-stepping was great. He walked around the room and spotted a box of books. Bingo! It was Dexter's homework on Lee. Newspaper clippings, facts about him, and an outdated Seaview manual that was usually given to new ratings. The manual was definitely contraband, and should have never made it into the hands of these people, but right now Lee was grateful because it would give him an excuse to sit and read with the cover that Dexter was immersing himself into the Crane persona.

He read the manual, steaming inside that someone had been so careless to lose it, but this version was an orientation manual and didn't contain any top secret information. It did however, have a map of Seaview and was obviously how Sharkey's double had managed to work through the boat so easily.

The men filtered in the room and towards the kitchen, seeing Lee but not disturbing him when he ignored them. He was glad that Dexter was so feared, since he was able to dictate the interaction in the room. Time crawled by and Lee had a chance to go through the entire box. There was a book on naval decorum and various candid photos taken of him in public. The deeper he got inside the box, the more apparent it was that Dexter was preparing for maybe a little more than a single mission. The intelligence they had gathered had included dossiers on Harry and Chip and it seemed to him that there had to be someone close to Seaview that could provide some of the intel on the personal relationships between the command crew.

He wasn't so immersed in the reading that he didn't notice the time, 1445. He packed the box back up, grateful that he had a good cover for his lack of interaction among the men. The men began to stir from their various places as Lee followed them out into the warehouse and stood leaning against the side of the wall with his knee bent and his heel pressed against the wall. When he was sure Foster was here he would reach down and activate the transponder. He didn't have long to wait.

* * * * *

Lee watched as Foster entered the warehouse, he walked in front of two heavily built men and all three wore dark sunglasses. Lee stealthily activated the transponder then moved forward cautiously taking his cues from the men around him.

Foster seemed to hone in on Lee and so he stepped forward to meet Foster. “Dexter, you missed your radio call.”

As he spoke Foster's two gorillas flanked Lee and grabbed hold of his arms. One of the bodyguards pulled out a device that Lee recognized as a bug detector and waved it up and down Lee's body.

“He's clean,” the gorilla announced, but still held on firmly to Lee's arm.

“One of the problems in dealing with impersonators is knowing who is impersonating who,” Foster said calmly. “To protect ourselves we developed certain protocols, one of which was a radio check one hour before my arrival. You missed that call Dexter.”

“I was immersed in my study and time got away from me,” Lee said just as calmly. He knew that his cover was blown, but ONI should be here any second, all he had to do was stay alive a few minutes more.

“I don't think so Captain Crane,” and with that Foster pulled out a very large knife and thrust it into Lee's side. Lee let out a scream as Foster pulled the knife out and Lee hung bent over as far as his captors would allow breathing heavily.

“Now Captain Crane, where is Dexter?” Foster demanded, as the henchmen pulled Lee up to look directly into his eyes. Lee said nothing breathing raggedly, and watched as Foster slowly waved the bloody knife before his line of sight. Lee didn't know how much damage had been done, all he knew was that he was in incredible pain. Foster was about ready to plunge the knife again when the sound of windows breaking and multiple pop sounds filled the air, as tear gas began to flow through the room.

Foster started back toward the men's quarters yelling as he coughed, “Bring Crane, we'll need him as a hostage.”

The guards pulled Lee along but they never made it into the separate living quarters as commandos entered from the back windows and stormed the warehouse wearing gas masks. Sporadic gun fire took place before Foster and his men began to succumb to the overpowering gas. Lee went down as well coughing with uncontrollable tears rolling down his face as the gas seared his eyes.

When the guards dropped Lee, his hand went instantly to his side and he curled up into a ball. A few minutes later, Lee felt someone lift his head and apply a full face oxygen mask. He looked through the tears to see Harry holding the mask to his face and applying pressure to his side. The gas dissipated and soon Harry pulled his mask off, but kept Lee's to his face.

“Someone get a corpsman in here!” Lee heard Harry call, but the last week of stress and intrigue took its toll as Lee's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he passed out.

* * * * *

The sound of soft repeated “beeps” was the first thing Lee heard as his awareness began to return. He felt warm and comfortable and opened his eyes slowly, recognizing the effects of anesthesia. His hand instinctively reached for his side, but he felt it restrained.

“Easy Lee. You just came out of surgery. You're going to be fine.”

Lee turned his head toward the sound of Harry's voice and let loose a small smile. His voice was hoarse from both the anesthetics and the tear gas, and his first attempt to speak was met by Harry reaching for and retrieving a glass with a straw. Lee took a couple of sips of water and then began to talk again.

“Hello Admiral. Did they shut Foster down?”

Harry smiled back, it was just like Lee to think of the mission first, “We've got Foster and back tracked him to his base of operation. Admiral Johnson and General Beaker are going through mounds of evidence right now.”

“That's good... How long till I can get back home? Supposed to go to Chip's on Sunday...”

“A couple days, Lee. But right now all you need to concern yourself with is rest.” Lee nodded, and Harry watched as he slipped back to sleep.

* * * * *

Lee sat down carefully on Chip's deck chair holding his side as he lowered himself down, while Chip pretended not to notice as he fired up the grill. Lee wore comfortable clothes, sporting walking shorts and his favorite blue “Go Navy” t-shirt with slide on deck shoes. He could hear Monica in the kitchen humming a song and then stopped as the doorbell rang. A few minutes later Admiral Nelson appeared on the back porch depositing his french bread on the table and looking quite refreshed in his tan slacks and short sleeve pull over polo shirt.

Chip turned around and leaned back comfortably on the deck rail facing Lee and Harry. Lee smiled, Chip hadn't been too happy to find out where Lee had spent the last few days but in the end, he too was relieved that Foster and Lee's double were put out of business. The strain of the week prior had faded and the three friends began to talk comfortably about boat business and the next cruise. They moved to more casual conversation as Monica brought out the iced tea and Lee sat back relaxed and satisfied.

He was more than satisfied as he watched the sun settle down over the Pacific Ocean splashing spectacular hues of orange across the dancing waves. Harry caught Lee in his gaze across the horizon and Lee flashed a smile that said that their friendship was just as strong as ever. Harry returned the sentiment and sat back enjoying the sunset with Lee, grateful that Seaview's Captain had survived both deceptions.

The End

Double Deception

COB – Chief of the Boat

Copyright 2013, All Rights Reserved

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and her main characters belong to Irwin Allen