Goodness Triumphs Over Evil

By JSRobertson

Seaview was on a mission in the Philippine Sea currently stationed between Guam and the Philippines checking out the damage to the coral beds from overfishing. Harry was in the lab examining the samples of coral he removed from one of the beds before they moved on to the next sector. After analyzing the coral, he found these beds weren’t in too bad of shape considering the traffic that traversed this area. He looked at his watch and realized he’d been sitting there for over two hours. No wonder I’m a little stiff, he thought as he stood up from the stool, stretched and then rubbed the back of his neck. As he took his notes from the lab table and brought them over to the desk, there was a knock on the door.

“Come,” Harry replied testily. He had left orders that he wasn’t to be disturb so he was a little upset with the interruption.

“Admiral, Cookie thought you might like some lunch,” one of the mess specialist responded and set the tray down on his desk.

“Thanks,” Harry answered. The soup smelled good and the sandwich was piled high with tuna salad. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was until he saw the food so he sat down to eat while he looked over his notes before entering them into the computer.

()()()()()()()

Lee and Chip were in the control room plotting the course to the next sector Harry wanted to inspect. Janet was in her office working on the duty rosters and inventory so she would have to wait to eat lunch even though she was hungry. It was a couple of hours later when she ventured down to the control room with the duty rosters for Lee and Chip to look over. She saw them studying a map on the plotting table. Both men looked up when she entered the aft hatch.

“Sorry I took so long to get you the duty rosters but my computer froze and I had to redo everything,” she explained as she knew they wanted them an hour ago.

“Everything okay with the computer now?” Chip asked as he was the technology guru on board.

“Yes, just a freak thing,” she reassured him. “Can you break away for lunch, I’m starving.”

Janet handed Chip the clip board with the duty rosters to check out. “This looks fine,” he responded and handed her back the clip board after initialing the rosters.

“I’ll post these now,” Janet replied.

Lee knew Harry wanted the course plotted so they were ready to sail as soon as he was finished so they had to wait to eat.

“Post them after lunch,” Lee replied. “We’re done plotting the course to the next sector, so now is a good time to get some lunch.”

The three of them left for the wardroom but not before Chip’s stomach rumbled.

()()()()()()()

They entered the wardroom and grabbed a sandwich and soup from the counter.

“Cookie, do you know if the admiral has had lunch?” Lee asked.

“Yes sir. I sent a tray up to him about an hour ago.”

“Thanks,” Lee replied and sat down next to Janet.

After enjoying their lunch, they were headed out the door when Sparks came over the intercom.

“Captain Crane.”

Lee picked up the mic by the door, “Yes, Sparks, what is it?”

“Skipper, I have a message for you in your personal code,” he replied.

Sighing deeply, Lee answered, “I’ll be right there.” He shipped the mic and looked at Chip and Janet who just shook their heads.

Before they left, another call came through the intercom, “Lee, what’s the message?” Harry asked.

Lee picked up the mic, “I’m going to check on it now, sir.”

“Let me know as soon as you find out,” he answered.

“Aye sir.” Lee stowed the mic and left for the radio shack.

()()()()()()()

When they entered the control room, Chip continued on to the plotting table and relieved Bobby while Lee and Janet headed for the radio shack.

“Thanks,” Lee responded as Sparks handed him the message. He looked at Janet, “You may as well come with me while I decode it as you’ll eventually find out what it says.”

“Chip, take over the con until I get back,” Lee said as he and Janet headed to the stairs.

“Aye, sir,” Chip replied

Lee let Janet go up the stairs first and when they got to the top Lee was tapping the message on his fingers.

“You know it could just be some information,” Lee stated as they continued on to their cabin.

Janet put her hand on his arm to stop him, “Lee Crane, do you really believe that?” she exclaimed. “When have you ever received a message from ONI with just information?”

“Okay, never,” Lee conceded as they reached their cabin.

He opened the door and Janet walked in. He sat down at his desk while Janet pulled up a chair and sat in front as he took his code book out of the safe. He’d already deciphered some of the code but needed it for the rest of the information. As he decoded the message, Janet started tapping her foot, a habit she had when she was nervous. Lee looked up.

“I’m sorry,” Janet said, “Do you want me to leave.”

“No sweetie, I’m almost done,” he answered and went back to decoding the message.

She sat on her foot to keep from tapping it. A few minutes later, Lee looked up from the message and closed the book.

Janet put her foot on the floor, rested her elbows on the front of Lee’s desk, put her chin on her hands, and looked into his gorgeous amber eyes. “Okay, what’s the WWH?” she asked.

Lee rested his elbows on the desk and looked at her with a confused look on his face, “The WWH, what’s that?”

Janet took a deep breath, “It’s code for…when…where…how long?”

Lee grinned slightly. “In about two hours…People’s Republic…twenty-four hours.”

Janet furrowed her brow. “One day? They only want you for twenty-four hours. Are you sure you didn’t decode it wrong?”

“No, I didn’t,” he replied as he stood up, walked to the wall safe, returned the book and secured the door. He then returned to the desk, helped Janet up from her chair and put an arm around her waist and drew her close. He gently lifted her chin up with his other hand and gave her a long passionate kiss.

“That’s going to have to last you one day,” he teased. “I better inform the admiral of ONI’s message as Seaview will be an intricate part of the operation.”

()()()()()()()

Lee and Janet walked down to the lab. He turned the wheel on the hatch and opened it. Harry had just finished his project and was securing the samples when they walked in. He looked at Lee’s face and knew something was up.

“What’s the message?” Harry asked irritably.

“It was from ONI. They need us to help them out with a mission,” Lee answered.

“Us…as in Seaview besides you?”

“Let me explain the mission,” Lee said. “Joey Caldwell is in the city of Kolenovo. He’s there to pick up some intel on the missile’s the PR’s been launching and when they’re going to be placing missiles on the islands they’ve built up in the South China Sea. He’s run into some trouble with his extraction so they want me to pick him up and since Seaview is in the area, they want Seaview or more specifically FS-1 to drop me off. It’s only for one day as Joey should have the intel by tomorrow. I need to check the map but I believe Kolenovo is a port city actually not too far from where we are now. FS-1 could have me there in a couple of hours. I’ll have to check and see what the area looks like and how we can get me in there without them seeing FS-1. Once I’m there, I’ll meet up with Joey and retrieve the intel. FS-1 will pick us up, return to Seaview for the night and leave first thing in the morning for Hawaii so Joey can drop off the intel.”

“That sounds really easy on paper just as all ONI missions do,” Harry replied sarcastically. “Let’s check out the maps. Maybe we can also get some satellite photos of the area.”

The three of them left the lab and made their way to the control room.

()()()()()()()

Chip looked up from the plotting table as Harry, Lee and Janet entered the control room through the aft hatch. He knew Harry well enough to know he wasn’t happy and it probably had something to do with the message Lee received.

Once at the plotting table, Lee said, “Chip, I’ve been assigned a mission.” After he explained what the mission entailed, he directed Chip to gather any charts and maps they had for the People’s Republic especially on the western coast and bring them to the observation nose.

Chip nodded, and reached under the table, pulled out all the maps, sorted through them, quickly locating the ones Lee was looking for. He then grabbed the chart on the plotting table and followed the others into the nose. He unfurled the charts, placed them on the table and they all secured the corners with coffee cups to hold the papers flat.

“Let’s see what we have,” Lee said. Using his finger, he slowly scanned the coastline until he found Kolenovo, the town he was looking for. “See it’s not too far from where we are stationed right now. Admiral, could we get those satellite photos you suggested of the area. Maybe we could bring in FS-1 submerged and I could swim into the dock if they have one.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Harry replied giving Lee permission to use his code to get the pictures.

Lee went to the radio shack, “Sparks, I need detailed pictures of the town of Kolenovo in the People’s Republic; specifically, any docks or beaches where we could bring in FS-1,” he told him.

“Aye sir,” Sparks replied. “Give me a few minutes to locate a satellite and see where they are.”

Lee returned to the nose where Harry, Chip and Janet stood looking very unhappy.

“It’s only one day,” Lee stressed. “Easy in and out. Joey’s already there, he just needs a way out.”

Harry smirked, Janet rolled her eyes and Chip just stared at Lee after he finished talking.

“You’ve never had an easy in and out mission,” Janet refuted causing Harry and Chip to smile knowing she was right.

“Skipper, I have some of the pictures you wanted,” Sparks said as he walked over to the table and handed Lee a few photographs.

“Thanks, Sparks,” Lee replied as he took the pictures.

Harry, Lee and Chip scrutinized the pictures looking for a place where FS-1 would be able to drop Lee off.

“The marina is fairly large,” Chip remarked, “but Lee, how do you get from the flying sub to the dock without getting wet or being seen?”

Lee picked up a pencil and tapped it on the table. “I need more detailed pictures of that marina. There has to be a way to get in there; sight unseen and dry.”

Lee started towards the radio shack when Sparks met him by the plotting table and handed him some more pictures.

As he returned to the nose, he scanned through the pictures and stopped at one in particular. “This is just what I’m looking for,” he said as he laid a picture of the marina on the table. It showed quite a few large yachts moored there. “Obviously, the channel to the marina is deep enough for those boats to make it so the flying sub will have no problems.”

“Lee, how does that help you get on the dock,” Janet asked curiously as she looked over the picture.

Lee pointed to an extremely large yacht on the picture. “That yacht has an end slip, with a dock on the opposite side. The flying sub can surface right next to the yacht and unless there are people on board, no one will know she’s there. I’ll go out the aft hatch, climb on the back platform of the yacht and then jump on the dock.”

“And if there’re people on board the yacht?” Chip asked realistically. “What’ll you do then?”

“If you look at the pictures of the marina, there’s not one empty slip and most of the large yachts have end slips. If the one I’m aiming for is occupied, I’ll look for another one and do the same thing. Let’s hope no one is looking into the marina and sees the sub.”

Harry studied the other pictures, “That does look like your best option,” he agreed.

“Chip, prepare the flying sub for take-off in an hour. I need to get some more information from Admiral Johnson, fill him in on how I’m getting into the city and where Joey is staying so I can meet up with him.”

“Aye sir,” Chip replied and headed for the control room stopping first at Kowalski’s console and tapped him on the shoulder. “Prepare the flying sub for launch,” he ordered.

“Aye, aye, sir,” Ski replied and handed his headset to Patterson who had just walked in the control room. He picked up the clip board with the flying sub check off list and headed forward.

Chip made his way over to Chief Sharkey who was by the vertical planner. “Chief, help Kowalski prepare the flying sub for launch and I want you and him to take the Skipper into a marina.”

“Aye, aye sir,” Sharkey answered and walked into the observation nose where Kowalski had already opened the hatch and was heading down the ladder. Sharkey joined him in the little sub as they prepared it for take-off.

()()()()()()()

While Lee and Harry continued to look at the pictures, Janet removed the coffee mugs and let the map roll up as she picked up the chart. She put the chart back on the plotting table and put the map in the holder. As she walked back to the nose, she heard Harry and Lee talking.

“Lee, something just doesn’t add up,” Harry said. “ONI must have known we were in the Philippine Sea.”

“Sir, I was wondering about that too, Lee replied. “They might have checked with NIMR and found out where we were. Something must have gone wrong with Joey’s original extraction plan.”

Janet walked up to the two men, “I heard what you were talking about. Would they have left Joey stranded there if we weren’t in the area?” she said seriously as she picked up the pictures that she would place in the mission packet.

“No, I’m sure they would’ve found a way to get him out as they must be desperate for that intel,” Harry responded.

“Come on, help me pack,” Lee answered as he started up the staircase with Janet following behind as Harry returned to the control room.

()()()()()()()

“I need to call Admiral Johnson,” Lee said when they reached their cabin door. Janet knew that Admiral Johnson wouldn’t approve of her listening in on the conversation so she would wait until Lee was finished with him before returning to the cabin.

“I’ll get my computer and see if I can get some information on the town of Kolenovo. Let me know when I can return.”

“Okay,” Lee replied entering the cabin, walked over to his desk and pushed the button down on the intercom. “Sparks, get me Admiral Johnson.”

“Aye, sir,” the communication’s specialist responded.

Janet continued on to her office. She knew Lee would be talking to Admiral Johnson for some time, so she made up the mission packet and slid the pictures in it. She then turned on her computer and searched for the town of Kolenovo. She wanted to see if she could find out any information about the city that would help Lee.

()()()()()()()

Lee sat down at his desk and waited for his call from Admiral Johnson. He picked up the phone as soon as it rang, “What can I do for you Commander,” Johnson asked knowing Lee was on the line and didn’t give him a chance to say anything.

“Admiral, I need a little more information regarding the mission?”

“Such as?” Johnson answered.

“When and where is Joey supposed to pick up the intel? I’m assuming he isn’t using his real name and where is he staying so I know how to contact him.”

“I don’t know what arrangements he’s made regarding the intel…I left that up to him. He’s using the name Ryan Gabriel and he’s staying at The Beseda.”

“Thank you, sir. What happened with Joey’s original extraction plans?”

“The submarine we sent to pick him up was detoured to another boat in trouble near the islands where the PR is building up with missile sites. The airport is also too risky…we got word it’s being watched. Just get him and the intel on Seaview.”

“Yes, sir,” Lee answered and heard Johnson sever the connection.

Lee hung up the phone. I guess Joey’s lucky we were in the area to pick him up. Sighing deeply, he sat back in his chair remembering the first time he worked with Joey. It was on a mission where they needed his expertise in technology. He ended up saving Lee’s life when he had to return to the country of Venenzia.* He’d also heard from other operatives that he was turning into a very good agent.

()()()()()()()

In the meantime, Janet found out that the weather in Kolenovo would be warm and dry. She also found that there was a huge celebration taking place. It was the town’s hundredth-birthday and they were having a huge celebration in the center of the city. I wonder if that’s good or bad, Janet thought. She scrolled through the rest of the information they had but didn’t know if any of it would help Lee. She left the site up, unplugged the computer and went to their cabin. She opened the door and poked her head in to see if Lee was still on the phone. He was still talking but waved her in when he saw her. She put the computer on his desk and quietly sat down as Lee finished talking with Johnson. He didn’t look happy after he hung up the phone.

“Everything okay?” Janet asked cautiously. Even though she hated when he went on missions, she learned to accept them as she didn’t want anything stopping Lee from completing his missions and returning home safely.

“Nothing to worry about,” he assured her. “What did you find out?”

She turned the computer around so he could see the screen. She got up and stood behind him placing her hands on his shoulders as he looked at the information. “The weather there is in the 60’s so you won’t need a jacket,” Janet reported. Lee was always warm anyway so he would only need some long sleeve shirts.

“Will it help or hinder you, that there’s a huge festival going on celebrating the town’s hundredth-birthday?” Janet asked.

“I’m not sure,” he declared as he looked over the rest of the site. He found a street map of the downtown section and a map of the channel. Before he closed the computer, he printed out both maps as they may come in handy.

“I better get ready to leave,” he told Janet as he undid his tie and started to unbutton his shirt. “Would you please bring back the printouts when you return?”

“Sure”, Janet said as she picked up the computer so she could put it in her office because if she stayed while Lee changed, he might never make the mission on time.

Lee smiled as she left the office and changed into his civvies. He took his worn black backpack out of the closet and checked to make sure he had what he would need for the mission. He added a few more items, his toiletries from the head, put them in the backpack and zipped it up. Now that he was finished packing, he had to get his ID. He opened the safe and was thumbing through his ONI ID’s picking out one he hadn’t used in a while when Janet returned to the cabin.

“Who are you this time?” Janet asked wondering how he kept it all straight.

“Marty Warren,” Lee replied as he put an ID card and passport into his pocket.

“All ready?” she asked looking him over in his jeans, black turtleneck and denim shirt. “You look mighty nice,” Janet purred as she ran her hands down his chest. “Maybe Marty Warren would like to stay for some extra-curricular activities?”

Grinning, “It’s sure is tempting but I need to get going,” He gave her a long deep kiss and pushed himself away before he succumbed to his desires.

“All set,” he answered. “Remember, I’ll be back in a day.”

“I know,” she replied, returned his kiss and handed him the printouts. She knew once he was assigned a mission that was all he could concentrate on.

They exited the cabin and made their way to the observation nose where Harry, Chip, Sharkey and Kowalski were waiting. Lee handed his backpack to Kowalski and walked over to the radio shack where he got a transponder from Sparks. If needed, Sparks could also monitor the signal from Lee’s ONI transponder so he linked it up with his equipment.

Kowalski headed down the ladder into the sub followed by Sharkey.

“Good luck,” Harry said as he patted him on the shoulder before Lee started down the ladder.

“Thank you, sir,” Lee answered, winking at Janet and headed into the sub.

Chip closed and dogged the hatch then walked over to the launching panel.

Sharkey took the pilot’s seat with Lee riding as a passenger. Sharkey started the engines and attached the throat mike as he waited for them to warm up.

“FS-1 to Seaview,” he said over the mike. “Ready to launch?”

“All green, launching,” Chip replied over the mic.

They felt the docking bay doors opening, and the sub disengage from the clamps. Harry and Janet watched as the sub went by the front windows as Chip watched from the control room. They would run submerged and surface when they were in the channel.

“I’ll be in the lab if you need me,” Harry told Chip as he ascended the staircase.

“Aye, sir,” Chip replied.

“I’ll be in my office,” Janet responded before Chip could ask and left the control room.

Chip stood at the plotting table and looked over the maps. There was nothing for him to worry about as Seaview was at a dead stop just waiting for Lee’s return. Hopefully, it will be a boring night, Chip thought.

()()()()()()()

While Sharkey piloted FS-1, Lee looked over the map of the downtown area he’d printed out. He wanted to make sure he knew how to get there from the marina. He also needed to locate the hotel where Joey was staying. After studying the map, Lee put it on the floor of the sub.

“Chief, Kowalski, I have few instructions when you return to pick us up. Be back here in twenty-four hours. We’ll know more once we get into the channel and marina on how to retrieve us. If possible, pick up the same way you dropped me off. Kowalski, I want you on the dock pretending to fish. This way Sharkey can hide the sub in case we’re late getting there. If for some reason, I’m not with Joey, you’re to take him back to Seaview.”

“Skipper, what do you mean if you’re not with him?” Sharkey asked.

“Just in case something goes wrong, he’ll have the intel on him and he needs to get it to ONI.”

“Skipper, how about I accompany you, this way you’ll have backup in case there is a problem?” Kowalski volunteered.

“Thanks Ski, but no,” Lee replied firmly. “Joey will have orders he needs to follow so just get him back to the boat.”

“How will we know who Joey is?” Sharkey inquired.

“He’s my height with blond hair. You’ll know it’s him because when he comes on the dock, he’s going to ask you the question, ‘Have you caught any yellow tuna? Your response will be ‘No, only blue gills.’”

“Aye, sir,” both men replied unhappily.

Lee looked at his watch and knew they should be getting close to the channel entrance. “Let me check out the map of the channel before we get there so we know where to go.”

Lee pulled out the map of the channel he got off the website. It wasn’t as detailed as he would like but it did show some of the area. As he perused the printout, he noticed the channel was narrow but deep and it was shaped like a horseshoe. The boats entered from the west and sailed out on the east. The marina was at the top of the horseshoe with several large docking areas for the larger boats and a small area for the smaller ones. He knew FS-1 would have no problems getting in or out of the channel but was worried if his plan of pulling next to the yacht would work.

Sharkey continued to navigate the little sub towards the channel entrance. Kowalski was watching sonar for any large opening.

Lee looked out the viewports, “We should be approaching the entrance shortly. Keep a sharp look-out.”

They hadn’t travelled too much farther when Kowalski spied a huge opening. “Skipper, look, I bet that’s the entrance to the channel.”

“According to the charts, it’s the only entrance around here. Chief, turn in and follow it for a mile or so.”

“Aye sir,’ Sharkey replied and moved the joy stick to the right and entered the channel.

“Close the viewports as we don’t want to be seen until we’re on the surface. Once on the surface, if someone is watching, they could mistake us for a boat looking for a place to dock.”

“Aye, sir,” Kowalski said and hit the switch closing the viewports.

After they had gone about a mile into the channel, “Let’s surface and see where we’re at,” Lee commanded.

Sharkey slowly surfaced the sub. It was very dark along the channel; the banks were steep and lined with quite a few trees so it would be difficult for someone to spot them while on the surface. As they looked out the viewports, they knew they were in the right place as they could see a few lights up ahead.

“Let’s hope that’s the marina,” Lee told them as they continued on. When they reached the docking area, Lee noticed the yacht he was hoping to use as a stepping off point was gone.

“Damn, the yacht isn’t there,” Lee mumbled. “Chief, get as close to the dock as you can without hitting it.”

“Aye sir,” Sharkey responded and maneuvered the little sub close to the dock with no problems.

“Nice job,” Lee said with a smile. “I’ll go out the aft hatch and onto the dock. Submerge as soon as I’m off.”

“Aye, aye, sir,” Sharkey answered.

Lee and Kowalski unstrapped their harnesses, Lee picked up his backpack while Ski un-dogged the hatch.

“Sir, you sure you don’t want me to go with you,” Kowalski asked as Lee got ready to leave the sub.

“I’m sure,” he replied patting the rating on the back. “Just be back here in twenty-four hours.”

“Yes sir,” the men answered.

As Lee jumped from the sub to the dock, he heard Kowalski latch the hatch and watched as FS-1 slowly sank into the murky water.

Lee put his backpack over his right shoulder and headed down the dock towards the town. As he walked down the dock, he didn’t meet or see anyone. When he reached the street, you could hear the music and people celebrating even though the center of town was two miles away.

Well, may as well join the party, Lee thought as he made his way to town.

FS-1 had no problems returning to Seaview. The two men docked the sub and reported to Harry and Chip that Lee was dropped off at the dock instead of the yacht as planned and they were to return in twenty-four hours.

()()()()()()()

Lee walked into town and noticed that the main street was blocked off to motor traffic and was filled with people celebrating the town’s birthday. He knew from the map of the downtown area that the hotel he was looking for was at the far end of the street. Since the weather was so nice, most of the bars and restaurants had outdoor seating. He managed to make his way through the crowds and found the hotel. The two-story hotel wasn’t very large but had a new looking white façade with tan trimmed windows. The entrance was in the center with a bar on his right and a restaurant on his left. He walked into the lobby and noticed it had a mahogany check-in desk and marble floors. He made his way to the registration desk where a gentleman offered to help him.

“Hello, I’m Marko, how can I help you?”

“Could you please ring the room of Mr. Gabriel?” Lee asked knowing they wouldn’t give him his room number.

“Yes, sir,” Marko replied.

He dialed the room number which Lee tried to see but the phone was out of his sight. He let it ring a few times and Joey didn’t answer.

“I’m sorry, sir, but there’s no answer. Can I take a message?”

“No, thank you,” Lee replied. “I’ll check out the bar and wait for him to return.”

“When he does return, would you like me to tell him you were looking for him?”

“No, I’m surprising him,” Lee answered, left the desk and entered the bar.

The bar wasn’t very crowded for all the partying taking place, but he figured as it was at the end of the main street not many people ventured that far down the road. As Lee glanced around the bar looking for Joey, he noticed the bar was nicely decorated. The high tables had red tops, the chairs were covered to match and tiffany styled lights hung above the tables. The bar had dark wooden panels with a dark wood top. The back bar had wooden shelves with a curved top. He turned to leave the bar just as a couple of young women came in. They looked him over and invited him to join them which he declined. He returned to the lobby and sat down in the seating area near the door so he could see when Joey came in. There was a woman at the counter helping another customer but noticed Lee sitting there. She had seen Lee at the desk earlier, so she went over to Marko.

“See that man sitting by the door, I noticed he came to the desk a little while ago. Do you know what he’s doing here?”

“He’s looking for Mr. Gabriel. He didn’t want to leave his name as he wants to surprise him,” Marko told her.

“Thanks,” the woman replied.

Lee caught the woman staring at him, smiled at her and continued to wait for Joey.

()()()()()()()

Lee sat in the lobby observing the people coming and going, he didn’t have to wait very long when he saw Joey walk in the hotel. He quickly met him as soon as he cleared the door.

“Ryan, it’s about time you got here,” Lee said as he patted him on the back. “It’s good to see you.”

Lee caught Joey off guard but played along with him, “Hi buddy, I’m so happy you could make it. Were you waiting long?”

“No, just a few minutes. Why don’t we go into the bar, get a drink and catch up,” Lee suggested as he didn’t want to talk in the lobby.

The two men made their way into the bar and found a table in the back corner near the windows. Lee took the seat facing the door as he always tried to avoid having his back to the door. As soon as they were seated a waitress appeared at their table.

“What can I get for you?” she asked checking out the two good looking men.

“We’ll have a couple of beers,” Lee said.

“I’ll have those for you shortly.”

“Why are you here?” Joey asked as soon as they were alone.

“Marty Warren,” Lee answered knowing Joey would need his name. “I’m your way out of here. Johnson called and told me I was to meet up with you and bring you back with me to Seaview.”

“Seaview’s in this neck of the woods?” Joey asked surprised.

“Well, sort of. We’re in the Philippine Sea,” Lee responded. “I got the information from Johnson, that your extraction plan ran into a problem.”

“You got that right,” Joey said. “I was wondering how the hell I was going to get out of here.”

Lee saw the waitress approaching and nodded his head letting Joey know to change the subject before she brought them their beers.

“How’s Janet?” Joey asked as the waitress set down his beer after serving Lee.

“She’s fine,” Lee answered taking a long swig of his beer. “Still working hard.”

“Any prospects?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Joey replied with a smile.

The waitress left the bill on the table and didn’t look too happy realizing both men were taken and took one last glance at the two good-looking men.

“Let’s go to my room where we can talk,” Joey suggested.

“Sounds good.”

They finished up their beers, Joey picked up the bill and left some money on the table with a nice tip. As they made their way to the elevator, Lee caught the woman at the desk staring at them. Joey’s room was on the second floor and at the back of the hotel. When they reached his room, he checked the door before opening it making sure the thin wire he attached was still intact. Lee smiled as he watched as he would have done the same thing. The wire was still attached, so Joey opened the door and the two men went inside. He closed, locked the door and took out a small black scanning device checking for bugs and cameras. As Lee waited for Joey, he looked around the room. The bathroom was on the left with a small closet on the right. Straight ahead was a decent sized room with two beds, a chest with a television on it and a table with two chairs by the window. He couldn’t tell if it had a balcony as Joey had closed the drapes.

“The room is clean,” Joey said. “Do you have a place to stay?”

“No, I was going to ask for a room here but I overheard the woman at the desk say there were full.”

“You can stay here. I only need one bed.”

“Thanks,” Lee responded and put his backpack on the bed closest to the window. He removed his shirt and hung in on the back of the chair as the room was a little warm. The two men sat down at the table.

“First, who is that woman at the desk in the lobby?” Lee asked. “She kept staring at me while I waited for you and then again when we got on the elevator.”

“Her name is Anna and she’s my connection to the intel,” Joey remarked.

“Okay, how do you know?” Lee asked wanting to make sure she was the correct contact. Lee knew Joey had been working with other agents at ONI but since he was still a rookie, he wanted to make sure they had the right person.

Joey smiled at Lee. He had worked with Lee before and knew he had to know every detail of any mission he was on. “When I left, Johnson gave me this credit card and told me I had to use it when I checked into the hotel. I asked if the contact was a man or woman and he said he didn’t know but whoever it was would recognize the card and get in contact with me.”

Joey took his wallet out of his pocket, removed the credit card and handed it to Lee.

Lee looked it over, “I’ve never seen a card like this,” he admitted and gave it back to Joey. The card was light green and embossed with the name of ‘Wolf Express’, which he assumed was a phony company but what caught his attention was in each of the four corners of the card was a symbol. The upper left corner had a circle filled in red, the upper right a square filled in blue, the bottom left there was a triangle in yellow and the bottom right a pyramid in purple.

“I know,” Joey agreed. “When I checked in at the desk, Anna was there. She had my information in the computer and asked how I wanted to pay, so I handed her the card. She looked at me and then the card. She processed the card and gave it back to me. She then told me that I wouldn’t be able to get into the room for another thirty minutes. I told her I would wait in the restaurant and grab a bite to eat. I left the desk, went to the restaurant and ordered lunch. I was just finishing up when, Anna came over to the table and told me I forgot my receipt and accidently left my credit card with her. She handed me the receipt and a card looking exactly like the one in my wallet. She also had written a note on the receipt telling me to meet her for dinner tomorrow at 6:00 at ‘The Ordina’. I thanked her for the card and agreed to meet her. She told me my room was ready and left. After I paid my bill, I saw she was back at the front counter.”

Lee listened intently to Joey’s story. He’d never met a contact like that before and hoped they weren’t being set up. “So, I guess we meet her for dinner tomorrow.”

“I researched the restaurant and found it is one of the best in the city. After I checked in I also looked around the downtown section as I just wanted to get some of idea of how the city was laid out.”

Lee was impressed with what Joey had done. “Looks like you’ve done your homework.”

“Thanks, Lee,” Joey answered. “I’m like you; I want to know as much as I can about where I am.”

Lee looked at his watch and didn’t realize it was already 2300 hours. “Why don’t we hit the sack before you give me the layout of the city? It’s been a long day,” he said trying to stifle a yawn.

Joey checked his watch and was surprised at how late it was. “No wonder I’m tired,” he told Lee with a grin.

Both men hit the sack about twenty minutes later.

()()()()()()()

Janet awoke at 0500, the normal time Lee would get up and begin his day. She didn’t sleep very well because he was gone. She didn’t feel the thrum of Seaview’s engines so she figured they hadn’t changed positions to the next sector Harry wanted to examine. She laid there for another thirty minutes before deciding to start her day. She took care of her ablutions and was just about to leave for the wardroom when there was a knock on the door. She opened the door to find Chip standing there.

“Good, I see you’re ready to go. Let’s go get some breakfast,” he said knowing she might blow off breakfast since Lee was gone.

“I was just leaving,” Janet replied and closed the door to the cabin as they walked down the ladder to the wardroom.

Once in the wardroom, they picked up trays and made their way through the breakfast line. Chip as usual piled his plate with food while Janet took only a couple pieces of toast, some fruit and coffee. Just as they sat down, Harry and Jamie entered, got their food and joined them at the table.

“Chip, why don’t we move to the next sector so we can check out the coral beds in the South China Sea?”

“Aye, sir. I’ll get us underway as soon as I’m done here,” Chip replied.

“There’s no hurry. We have all day,” Harry answered. “I’ll take out a diving party; let’s say 1300 hours.”

“I’ll assign Patterson and Riley to go with you,” Chip responded.

“That’ll be fine.’’ Harry looked over at Janet who hadn’t said two words since he sat down. “Everything okay?” he asked as she lingered over her coffee.

“Just fine, sir,” she replied. “Do you need me to help you with your notes on the coral?”

“No, but thanks for offering…looking to keep busy?” Harry inquired with a smile.

“Yes, you could say that. I do have work to do but was looking for a back-up job to do when I was finished.”

“I have plenty of filing to do,” Jamie volunteered looking over his coffee cup.

“I’ll be there when I’m done.” Janet stood up, stowed her dishes in the bin and left for her office.

Harry and Jamie finished up their breakfast and left for the lab and sick bay.

()()()()()()()

Lee woke up at 0500, quickly showered and dressed. It would be warmer today than yesterday so he donned only his denim shirt, grabbed the key card Joey left on the table and went looking for some coffee. The restaurant wasn’t open yet but he found an alcove with vending machines. He put some money in the coffee machine and got two cups of coffee. When he returned, Joey was up and dressed for the day.

“This is all I could find,” Lee said as he handed Joey a cup. “The restaurant doesn’t open until 6:00. So, this will have to do until we get breakfast.”

“Thanks,” Joey answered and took a drink of the stuff and made a face. “Boy, this stuff is terrible.”

Lee took a drink, “Well it’s not bad for vending machine coffee.”

Joey laughed. “You always did like your coffee strong.”

Lee nodded with a smile. “How about you give me the layout of the city. I printed a map off the computer before I left. It’s pretty detailed as it was with the information on the big celebration and shows where all the attractions and venues are located.”

Lee put the map on the table and Joey looked it over.

“Yes, most of the attractions are on Karpovo Street which is the main street through town. The street is almost two miles long and packed with hotels, bars, restaurants, a museum, and shops,” Joey said as he pointed to that area on the map. “The back of the hotel faces east and there’s nothing back there but farmland.”

Lee pulled the curtain aside and looked out…there was only a window, no balcony. “I see that,” he replied noticing that the parking lot was there as he closed the curtain.

“To the north of Karpovo St, is Tupik Avenue. “It has quite a few stores, bars and restaurants along with some other shops. It was pretty busy when I scoped it out. Now south of Karpovo St. is Moscuz St.,” Joey said as he pointed it out on the map. “There’s nothing but some small industrial buildings and it was pretty deserted when I checked it out as most of the places were closed due to the celebration. I do believe that it runs all the way to the marina. It seems the whole town is basically shut down. Noveye Way is the only street that runs north and south. It begins at Karpovo, crosses Moscuz and dead ends with a cul-du-sac on the south end. I looked around in there but didn’t see too many stores only a couple of bars and one storefront had shades pulled down on the front windows and door so I couldn’t see what was in there. But I did notice it was only open from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am. The only area I didn’t get to check out was the marina.”

Lee looked over the map at the various streets Joey had pointed out. “Good job and don’t worry about the marina as I’ve scoped that out. Why don’t we get some breakfast and then I’ll go over how we’re going to get out of here once we have the intel.”

“Sounds good to me. I sure hope their coffee is better than this,” Joey laughed as he poured his coffee down the sink. Lee finished his up and tossed the cup into the garbage can.

The two men stood up from the table, Joey took the key card and put it in his pocket. When they left the room, Joey replaced the wire he had from the day before and they headed for the elevator.

()()()()()()()

Chip had already plotted their course to the next sector, so when he returned to the control room, he gave maneuvering and engine room their orders and got Seaview underway. Chip was happy to see the sector they were going to was closer to where they would pick up Lee and Joey but he had to make sure they stayed at least one hundred miles off the coast of the PR or they might be spotted.

It was late morning when Janet ventured into the control room. Her hands were full of folders and the duty rosters for the trip back to NIMR for Chip to look over before signing off on them. When she arrived, Harry and Chip were standing at the plotting table. They were looking at the map of the area where Harry would take out the diving team and get samples of the coral.

“How far off the coast are we?” Harry asked.

Chip looked the map, “Right now we’re one hundred and fifty miles off their coast. I don’t want to take her in any closer so we aren’t spotted,” he replied.

Harry looked at his watch and saw it was 1200 hours. “I’m going to go out now and get the samples of the coral. Why wait another hour. I’ll have more time to analyze them,” Harry told him.

“Aye, aye, sir,” Chip answered and picked up the mic. “Patterson and Riley, report to the missile room for diving detail.”

“Thanks, Chip. I’ll see you in a little while,” Harry said and walked out the aft hatch.

“Chip, when you have time, could you please look over these folders and rosters,” Janet asked setting them down on the plotting table as soon as the admiral left.

“I’ll get to them as soon as the admiral is back aboard,” he responded.

“Thanks,” Janet answered. “If you need anything, I’ll be in Sick Bay helping Jamie with his filing.”

Chip nodded his acknowledgement then moved to the observation nose and watched as the diving party gathered samples of the coral from several different beds. He noticed these beds didn’t look too bad as they were still very colorful. He wouldn’t have minded going out to help Harry but felt he needed to stay on the boat in case there was a problem. The diving party waved a flashlight in front of the windows signaling they were returning to the boat. Chip left Bobby in charge of the con while he went to the missile room to meet Harry.

()()()()()()()

Lee and Joey walked through the lobby heading for the restaurant to have breakfast. As soon as they left the elevator, Lee saw Anna working at the registration desk. She noticed the two men and nodded to Joey.

The restaurant only had a few patrons, so they were able to sit in the back away from the door and the rest of the people. Lee again sat facing the door.

Joey sat down with a smile on his face, “I notice you always take the seat facing the door.”

“I want to see who’s coming in so I’m prepared in case I have to leave in a hurry,” Lee responded. Joey sat down next to him instead of across so he too would be able to see the door.

The same waitress that served them yesterday handed them menus. “Coffee?”

“Yes, please,” Lee responded as the waitress poured the coffee. He took a large gulp as he looked over the menu. He was quite hungry as the last meal he had eaten was lunch on the boat.

“This coffee is definitely better,” Joey said as he grabbed a sip and studied the menu.

The waitress returned to take their orders and refilled their cups. Both men decided on scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. When the waitress left, Lee checked the area around them making sure no one was close enough to hear what they were talking about. There were only a couple of tables with patrons and they were near the entrance to the restaurant.

“The marina is about two miles due west on Karpovo St. It’s fairly large and quite a few large yachts along with smaller boats moored there.” Lee looked at his watch, “I’ve made arrangements for FS-1 to pick us up in approximately fifteen hours at the end of the dock. If for some reason, I’m not with you, one of my men will be posing as a fisherman. His name is Kowalski. You’re to ask him if he’s caught any yellow tuna. He will reply, no, only blue gills.”

“Why wouldn’t you be with me,” Joey asked. “Are you expecting trouble?”

“No but I’ve learned nothing is a sure thing,” Lee replied and stopped talking as the waitress brought over their breakfast and poured more coffee into their empty cups.

As they dug into their food, Lee continued, “Once you’re aboard Seaview you’ll report to Admiral Nelson. Tell him you’re to complete the mission as ordered and implement Plan B.”

“Plan B?” Joey questioned.

“Yes, the admiral knows what Plan B is,” Lee said as he wiped his mouth with the napkin. “Understand the instructions? This breakfast is delicious.”

“Yes, Lee but let’s hope everything goes according to plan and I won’t be returning alone,” Joey countered and finished eating his breakfast.

The waitress removed their plates when they were finished, poured them some more coffee and left the bill which Lee paid. They finished up their rest of the coffee and walked out of the restaurant.

“I know you looked around but if you don’t mind, I’d like to look around so I know where to go just in case there is a problem.”

“Okay, why don’t we start here at the hotel and work our way down Karpovo St. and then over to Tupik and check out what venues and attractions are there.”

By the time the men left the hotel, the sun was shining dispelling the morning chill. They walked down the almost deserted street.

“Looks like most of the people are still sleeping,” Joey laughed as they scoped out the shops. “Probably too much partying.”

Lee stopped at one of the stores, looked in the window and saw bracelet he knew Janet would like.

“Mind if we go in? I know Janet would love that bracelet in the window,” Lee asked.

“No, not at all.”

They entered the thrift store and Lee looked around to see if there was any other bracelets Janet might like but he only found the one in the window. He purchased the bracelet and watched as the shopkeeper put it in a black velvet bag and then into a box. They then finished walking up and down the two main streets. They made their way west on Karpovo St. to the marina. Both Lee and Joey wanted to check it out in daylight. They walked down to the end of the dock where Joey would find Kowalski fishing if Lee wasn’t with him. The large yacht Lee hoped would be there last night was moored there this morning. To kill time, they checked out some of the other yachts and boats at the marina. They walked back down the main street and noticed it was getting more crowded as this was the last day of the celebration. They were stopped a few times by several nice-looking women and asked to join their parties but both men declined. Since they had time before they needed to get ready for dinner, they decided to check out some of the attractions the city had to offer. They stopped at the museum that showed the history of the town, along with some of the famous people that lived there. After the museum, they stopped for a late lunch and then continued checking out the rest of the sites on the map. It was late in the afternoon when they arrived at the hotel and noticed Anna wasn’t working.

Joey walked up to the counter, “Hi Marko,” he said reading his name badge. “Is Anna around…she was going to give me some information on ‘The Odina’ restaurant. Did she leave the information with you?”

“I don’t see anything but she’s gone for the day…do you want me to leave her a note?”

“No, that’s okay,” Joey responded and walked back to where Lee was waiting. “She’s gone for the day,” he reported.

“I hope that’s a good sign,” Lee replied positively.

It was late afternoon when the two men boarded the elevator. They had about an hour before they needed to get ready for dinner. Joey checked the wire and found it undisturbed. They entered the room, where Joey scanned it again and as expected found nothing. Lee put the bracelet he bought for Janet in his backpack for safe keeping.

()()()()()()()

Once the divers returned to the boat, Sharkey helped Harry off with his diving gear, while Chip grabbed the bag of samples and took them to the lab. He knew Harry would be parked in the lab for the rest of the afternoon checking out the samples. He returned to the control room and resumed command. He made a circuit around the room checking in with every man, station and console. Everything was in order as expected. He saw the folders with the reports and duty rosters Janet had left on the plotting table.

“Mr. O’Brien, you have the con,” Chip said. “I’ll be in sick bay and then my office for a while before heading to the wardroom for lunch.

“Aye, sir,” O’Brien replied.

Chip picked up the folders and walked out the aft hatch heading for sick bay. He wanted to check with Janet to let her know he would have the reports for her in a little while. He entered sick bay to find Jamie sitting at his desk.

“Something wrong?” Jamie asked worriedly looking up from his file. Like Lee, Chip never voluntarily came to sick bay unless there was a problem or Lee was in a bunk from another injury.

“Where’s Janet?” he asked looking around.

“She went back to her office when she finished up in here. Said something about needing to finish a report.”

Chip noticed Frank was stocking the medical cabinet. “Stocking up for when the skipper returns,” he deadpanned.

Breaking into a slight grin, Jamie replied, “No, he’s doing our routine inventory on the supplies in sick bay. John and Janet took care of the medical stores room. And let’s hope we don’t need to use any of those supplies.”

“What are the chances that’s not going to happen,” Chip ventured. “Did she say anything about lunch?”

“No but I told her she had an hour to finish her work and report to the wardroom for lunch…that was about fifteen minutes ago.”

“I have some work to finish so I’ll make sure she gets there.”

“I’ll see you later,” Jamie answered and returned to his desk as Chip left sick bay.

()()()()()()()

Chip entered his office, put the folders on his desk, loosened his tie and sat down. He opened one of the folders filled with reports. He read them over and signed off on them before tackling the next two folders and the duty rosters. He made a couple of changes on the duty rosters before he closed that folder and stacked them with the other ones. He checked his watch realizing that it had been almost an hour and he was hungry. When he was in sick bay, whatever Cookie was preparing for lunch sure smelled good. He picked up the folders, redid his tie and left his office. He walked the short distance to Janet’s office and saw she was still there entering data into the computer.

“Here are the reports and duty rosters. I made a couple of changes to the rosters.”

“Thanks, Chip,” Janet replied and handed him another folder. “Forgot to include this one in with the rest of them.”

Chip sat down on the bunk in the office, read over the report and signed off on it. He handed the folder back to Janet. “Lunch time,” he said.

“Okay, I am a little hungry,” Janet replied as she turned off the computer and left with Chip for lunch.

They made their way down to the wardroom where Jamie was already enjoying Cookie’s lunch of beef barley soup and bread. Cookie motioned them to sit down and he brought over their lunch. They just started eating when Harry entered and sat down next to Jamie. One of the mess specialists quickly brought him over some soup and bread.

“When are we picking up Lee?” Harry asked taking a bite of his bread.

“Around 2100 hours. Sharkey and Kowalski will leave at 2000 hours. I don’t think it will take them an hour to get there but I think it wouldn’t hurt to be early just in case Lee and Joey are there waiting.

“Sounds like a plan,” Harry answered.

When they finished lunch, Harry headed back to the lab, Jamie sick bay, Chip to the control room and Janet back to her office to fix the duty rosters before posting them. It was going to be a long afternoon and evening for all of them.

()()()()()()()

When it was time to get ready, Lee trimmed his beard as it was getting a little to scruffy for him. He hated having a beard but the picture on his ID and passport showed him with one and he didn’t want any problems in case his ID was checked, so he was stuck with the beard. After washing up, he put on a black shirt rolling up sleeves part way up his forearm. Joey also donned a black shirt but left his sleeves button.

“I assume we’ll return back to the hotel once we have the intel and pick up our gear,” Joey said to Lee.

“Yes, we should have time between dinner and the extraction time. We don’t want to make it too obvious we’re leaving town,” Lee confirmed. “Our extraction time is around 2100 hours. Even if we’re late, my men will wait until we get there.”

Lee checked his watch, “It’s almost 1750, why don’t we head over to the restaurant and scope it out.”

“Okay,” Joey replied and headed for the door with Lee following behind. Joey redid his wire and they took the stairs down to the lobby. Joey glanced over to the desk checking to see if Anna was there but two new people were at the desk. The men left the hotel and walked the short distance to the restaurant.

()()()()()()()

The two men entered ‘The Odina’ and were surprised at how elegantly it was decorated. Light wood parquet floors and pale green walls with sconces gave the restaurant a very homey feel. The windows were heavily curtained with white valances, pale green drapes and white sheers. There were round tables with green tablecloths and white napkins tucked in the glasses. The wooden chairs had brocade seats.

Joey walked up to the hostess and smiled, “I’m Mr. Gabriel and I have a reservation for 6:00.”

“Yes, for two people,” she replied checking her book for the reservation.

“Would it be a problem if I made it for three…my friend decided to join me.”

Joey watched as the hostess looked over Lee from head to toe, “That’s no problem, Mr. Gabriel. Your table is ready…would you like to be seated?”

“Yes, thank you,” Joey replied and followed the young woman to the back corner of the restaurant. Lee took the seat facing the door and Joey sat next to him so Anna would see him when she entered the restaurant.

Once they were seated, the hostess handed them menus. “Enjoy your meal,” she said.

“Thanks,” Lee replied giving her his special smile.

“Still have a way with women,” Joey chuckled.

Smiling, “I just stood there,” Lee responded.

As they perused the menu, their waitress came over to the table, “Hi, I’m Oleta. Can I get you a drink?”

“I’ll have a vodka tonic,” Lee answered.

“Same for me,” Joey seconded.

“I’ll have those for you shortly. Here’s a list of our specials.”

Joey glanced at the specials and handed the list to Lee who also looked them over.

“Maybe we should ask Anna what she would recommend,” Joey suggested.

“That sounds like an excellent idea as I have no idea what these dishes are.”

Oleta returned putting a small napkin on the table before setting down their drinks. “Would you like to order?” she asked.

“Not right now, we’re waiting for someone,” Joey remarked.

“No problem, I’ll be back in a little while.”

As they waited for Anna, Lee asked, “Joey, do you like doing this type of work or would you rather stay in the IT department?

“I really like doing this but miss the technology part. I don’t know if Johnson thinks I’m good enough to be a full-time operative,” Joey lamented.

“He must think you’re good enough or he wouldn’t have sent you here alone. From what I’ve heard you’re doing a great job…don’t ever second guess yourself.”

“Thanks, Lee,” Joey said. “I’m glad you have confidence in me.”

The two men took a sip of the drinks and looked at the entrance to the restaurant. Lee spotted Anna first.

“Anna just walked in,” Lee remarked.

Both men stood up when she approached their table.

()()()()()()()

As Lee and Joey walked by the bar, a gentleman seated in there saw them pass and broke out in a huge grin.

“Something wrong, Boss?” the man seated with him asked.

“No, something is very right,” the man replied to Andre, his bodyguard. What the hell is Lee Crane doing here, he thought. I thought I would never lay my eyes on him again.

“Andre, go to the men’s room. As you pass by the table with two men sitting at it, take notice of the dark haired one.”

“Yes, sir,” Andre replied and left for the men’s room quickly glancing at Lee.

“Okay, I saw him. What about him?” Andre asked when he returned from the men’s room.

“I want you to bring him to me…I’ll be waiting in the car. I don’t care how you do it, if he’s conscious or unconscious but I want him,” the man ordered. “Just don’t hurt him too much.”

“Yes, sir, but who is he and what do you need him for?”

“That’s none of your business. You’re paid to follow my orders.”

“Yes, sir,” Andre replied. “I’ll follow him when they leave the restaurant.”

The boss man was very happy and ordered another round of drinks for himself and Andre to celebrate finding Lee. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on him.

()()()()()()()

As Anna walked towards them, Lee noticed that she was about Janet’s height and weight. If Lee didn’t know better, she and Joey could be related, she had long blonde hair and blue eyes. She looked very nice in a Navy-blue dress. When Anna arrived at the table, she went over to Joey and gave him a hug.

“Cousin Ryan, I’m so happy you could visit,” Anna exclaimed after she finished hugging Joey.

“Sorry it’s been awhile,” Joey answered going along with her.

“Yes, it’s been far too long,” she replied poking in him the chest with her index finger near the pocket on his shirt. As she poked him, she dropped the flash drive into his pocket.

“Sorry Anna, but I’ve been very busy,” Joey said knowing she had just given him the intel.

“Who’s your friend?” she asked looking at Lee and recognized him from the hotel.

“This is my buddy, Marty Warren. He decided to join me on this trip. I hope you don’t mind I invited him to dine with us?”

“No problem at all,” Anna answered looking Lee over and decided he was an operative too. I might just want to defect if all spies look like these two, she thought.

“Nice to meet you, Anna,” Lee said shaking her hand and waited until she was seated before he sat down.

As soon as they sat down, Oleta came over, “Hi Anna, can I get you something to drink?”

“Yes, a vodka tonic.”

Oleta looked at Lee and Joey, both men opted for another drink knowing they would have dinner soon.

“What brings you to Kolenovo?” Anna asked Lee after Oleta left.

“Just checking out the town. I’m a travel agent and my clients are always looking for new places to visit. Before I make any recommendations, I like to visit the area. This city is very nice and has a lot to offer visitors so I’ll be recommending it to my clients.”

“Thanks for the high marks,” Anna grinned. “We can always use more tourists.”

Oleta returned with their drinks and after taking the suggestions Anna offered they ordered dinner.

“We’ve seen most of the town but there is anything more around here that visitors would like to see?” Lee asked taking a sip of his drink.

“A few miles out of town there’s a small winery along with a nice beach area.”

“We went down to the marina but didn’t see any beaches,” Joey remarked.

“No, it’s a little further south of the marina,” Anna answered.

Oleta brought their meals and Lee and Joey were pleased with the suggestions Anna made. After talking a little longer over coffee and a form of apple pie for dessert, it was time for Lee and Joey to get moving. Oleta brought the check, Joey charged it and the three of them left the restaurant.

“It was nice meeting you, Marty,” Anna said as they stood outside the restaurant. “Maybe you’ll return with some of your clients.”

“You never know,” Lee replied with a grin.

They watched as Anna walked down the busy street talking to people as she went along. Lee and Joey made their way back to the hotel where Joey stopped at the counter and let the clerk know they were checking out. Neither of them noticed the man that followed them out of the restaurant and into the hotel lobby. They returned to their room and grabbed their gear. Before leaving the hotel, Joey took the flash drive out of his pocket.

“Pretty clever way to plant the intel,” Joey commented.

“She’s a pro. She knew what she was going to do the minute she saw your ID at the hotel,” Lee answered. He had excellent instincts when it comes to spotting operatives. It was something he’d acquired over time and knew Joey would get those instincts the more missions he went on.

Joey put the flash drive in his front pants’ pocket and picked up his backpack. Lee picked up his, slung it over his shoulder and walked out the door with Joey following him.

()()()()()()()

The two men in the bar watched the door of the restaurant. They had finished up their meal, paid for it and were just lingering at the bar waiting for the trio to leave. They quickly left the bar following Anna, Lee and Joey out of the restaurant.

“You follow them and don’t let them out of your sight,” the Boss told Andre as he walked back to his car and would wait for Andre to contact him with where to pick up the two men.

“Yes sir,” Andre replied and followed Joey and Lee as they made their way back to the hotel. He followed them into the hotel lingering near the front desk where he heard Joey tell the clerk that they were checking out. Once Andre knew they were leaving, he would wait outside the hotel as it was very crowded in the lobby. Even if they took the back door, they would have to walk by him to get to Karpovo St. He stood at the only empty table the hotel had set up outside for people to eat and drink. He didn’t have to wait too long before he saw Joey and Lee exited the side door and walk right by him.

()()()()()()()

Andre was getting frustrated trying to follow Joey and Lee as Karpovo St. was very congested. He finally got a break when he saw them turn left onto Noveye Way. He also figured since they turned left and not right they were heading to the marina as the airport was to the north of the city. Once on Noveye Way, the two men walked to the short distance to Moscuz St. There weren’t very many people on the street and though it was dimly light, a few people were visible in the distance. The street was lined with houses about a mile down the road and before reaching the marina. Lee and Joey crossed over to the south side of Moscuz St. and continued walking west. Andre looked around; now was his best chance to take down the dark-haired man. He removed his gun from his shoulder holster under his jacket. He dug in his pocket, pulled out the silencer and screwed it to the barrel. As Lee and Joey walked, Andre stopped, using his night laser, drew a bead on Lee’s arm. He fired but hit Joey instead as Lee unexpectedly moved to his left. Damn, he muttered as he watched the men quickly duck into one of the doorways. He was too far away to see which one but he quickly found a place to hide in knowing the men would be looking back to see who was shooting at them. He put his gun in his jacket pocket in case he got the chance to use it again. He waited a few minutes before ducking his head out of the doorway. He caught both men exiting the doorway and running down the street. When he saw them leave, he left his hiding place and continued to follow them. As they ran under a street light, he noticed the light-haired man continue on Moscuz while the dark-haired took a turn down a service alley. He would catch up to the dark-haired man as the only way out from that alley was Noveye Way.

()()()()()()()

Lee and Joey left the hotel and walked down Karpovo St. but it was too crowded to make any decent time. Once they came to Noveye Way, they turned left and continued on to Moscuz St. They had only gone a block when Lee felt a bullet whizz by his shoulder and heard Joey yell out in pain. Lee quickly pulled him into a recessed doorway so they could check out where he was hit. It was dark in the doorway but neither man wanted to risk taking out their flashlight as they didn’t want to give their position away to the person following them.

“Shit,” Joey said under his breath.

“You okay?” Lee asked worriedly.

“Damn, it’s not too bad, just a graze wound,” he replied after checking out his arm and putting a handkerchief on it to stop the bleeding. “I’m sorry Lee. I didn’t hear or see anyone.”

“Don’t feel bad, I didn’t notice we were being followed either,” Lee grumbled.

The two men stood quietly in the doorway for a few minutes. Lee cautiously stuck his head part way out of the door and didn’t see anyone on the dimly light street.

“Come on, Joey,” Lee said. “It’s now or never.”

The two men left the doorway and started for the marina. They hadn’t gone very far when another shot whizzed by them missing both men but forced them into another doorway.

“This intel is too important for us not get back to the States,” Lee stated. “You continue on to the extraction point and I’ll create a diversion for whomever is tailing us.”

“Lee, you take the intel back,” Joey insisted. “You have more at stake than I do.”

“No, you’ll take the intel back,” Lee ordered him. “Remember to use the code words when you get to the dock and tell my men to follow the orders I gave them. Once you’re aboard Seaview, tell Admiral Nelson to continue with the mission and implement Plan B.”

“Lee…,” Joey started to say but was cut-off.

“Joey, that’s an order,” Lee stated adamantly.

“Yes, sir,” Joey responded reluctantly even though this was his mission, Lee being the senior operative, had no choice but to follow his orders.

The men left the safety of the doorway and proceeded down the street. They were almost to the end of the industrial section of the street before it turned into a residential neighborhood. They came across a service alley that led to the cul-du-sac.

“I’ll turn here and double back to Noveye Way and then to Karpovo St. I hope who’s ever following us will trail me and not you.”

“How will you get out of here?” Joey asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get out.”

“Good luck, Lee,” Joey said as Lee turned down the service alley and he kept walking until he reached the marina.

Lee continued down the short alley and into the cul-du-sac. He walked quickly down the street hoping to get to Noveye Way before whoever was tailing them would find him.

()()()()()()()

Andre had hidden in a doorway a several doors down from Joey and Lee. He slowly peeked out of the doorway and saw that the two men were walking quickly down the street. He darted out of his doorway, pulled his gun out of his jacket and took a shot.

“Damn,” he said when he missed hitting either man. This part of the street was dark as there were few street lights but once in the residential area there were more lights so it would be harder to catch them without being spotted. He caught a glimpse of them when they were near the service alley and under a street light. He saw only Lee turn down the alley. He picked up his pace hoping to catch up with Lee before he got to Noveye Way and Karpovo St. He knew he would have no chance to get him if he got to the main street with all the people. He finally reached the alley and made his way to the end but not before he stumbled into a garbage can creating a huge noise. He swore under his breath and looked down the street only to see no one in it. Where the hell did he go?” Andre thought. He couldn’t have gotten to Karpovo already. He knew there was only one place open on Noveye Way and made his way over there.

()()()()()()()

Harry put down his pen and looked over the notes he’d written after analyzing the coral they harvested this morning. He sat back in his chair and closed his eyes for a few seconds. He opened them and took a look at his watch…it was 1900 hours. No wonder I’m tired and hungry, he thought. I’ve been at this for the last six hours. He decided he’d head for the wardroom for dinner before grabbing some reports to read in the observation nose while they waited to pick up Lee and Joey. He stretched as he stood up and left the lab making sure everything was secure for the night. He made his way to the wardroom and was surprised to find Chip and Janet there finishing up dinner. When Cookie saw him enter, he quickly had a mess specialist make him a plate and take it to the table where he sat across from Chip and Janet.

“You’re here late,” Harry said as the mess specialist set his plate down.

“I got hung up in the control room,” Chip replied.

“Problems?” Harry inquired.

“No sir, just making sure FS-1 was ready for the pick-up.”

“Janet, what kept you from eating earlier?”

“I was helping Jamie and had to finish a couple of reports. Do you need me to help you with your notes on the new samples?”

“No, that’s done,” Harry answered twirling some spaghetti on his fork. “What time are Sharkey and Kowalski leaving to retrieve Lee and Joey?”

“They should be leaving in an hour,” Chip responded after looking at his watch. “They’re going to get there a little earlier in case they’re there waiting.”

“Sounds good. Do you have course plotted for home?” Harry asked knowing Chip would more than likely have one done but he wanted to make sure so they could get out of the area as soon as Lee and Joey were aboard.

“Yes, sir. We’re ready to head for home as soon as you give the word. I know there’s another sector you wanted to check out from our original area. We can stop there as we head for home; it’s on the way,” Chip replied looking over the rim of his mug.

“No need. After checking out this batch of coral and the previous ones, I think we’re good to head home. The coral beds are in better shape than I thought they would be with all the traffic through the area. So, no need to stop. We’ll head for home while Lee and Joey take FS-1 to Hawaii. They can drop off the intel, do their debriefing and catch up with us.”

Chip finished his coffee and stood up, “I’ll make sure we’re in position to leave as soon as FS-1 returns.”

Janet stayed with Harry while he finished his dinner so he wouldn’t be alone. When he was finished, they left the wardroom.

“I’ll meet you in the observation nose,” Harry told her noticing she had her reader with her and knew she liked to read in the nose.

“Yes sir,” she replied and walked to the nose while Harry took the ladder to Officer’s Country.

()()()()()()()

Chip stood at the plotting table, going over the course for home with Bobby. Janet sat down at the table in the nose. As she looked out into the black water, she hoped Lee and Joey would both be alright. She started reading her book. She really preferred holding a book but they took up a lot of space and with the reader she could take more books with her. Before long she heard Sharkey and Kowalski talking to Chip.

“Sir, I think we should leave to get the Skipper,” Sharkey said. “He might get to the dock earlier than scheduled.”

“I agree. Get ready to head out,” Chip replied as Ski handed over his headset to Ron.

As they made their way to the nose, they heard the clicking of heels on the steps of the staircase and saw that Harry was on the steps.

“Good, I’m glad I caught you before you left,” Harry said to his men. “I want you to stay there until they show up. Keep in contact with the boat.”

“Aye, aye, sir,” Sharkey replied as Kowalski opened the hatch and climbed down the ladder. Sharkey followed him down and they donned their leather jackets. While Sharkey warmed up the engines, Ski secured the ladder and sat down. Sharkey put on the throat mike and flipped the radio switch.

“FS-1 ready to launch.”

“All green,” Chip answered and gave the order to launch the small sub

Harry, Chip and Janet watched as they cleared the front of the sub. Chip returned to the plotting table while Harry sat in one of the loungers perusing a report while Janet sat at the table reading her book.

()()()()()()()

Janet looked at her watch and saw the FS-1 had been gone only an hour. She started drumming her fingers on the table while Chip was in the control room, tapping his pencil on the plotting table.

Harry looked up from his reports, “You two would be a nice addition to a percussion band,” he said as Chip stopped tapping his pencil and looked sheepishly at Harry.

“Sorry sir,” Janet replied apologetically. “I’m just nervous. I can’t concentrate on reading. I think I’ve read the same page at least twice.”

Harry gently patted her hand, “I know what you mean, I think I’ve read the same sentence that many times,” he stated and returned to reading his reports.

Seaview’s spotlight had been left on when FS-1 was launched so Janet looked out the viewports. There weren’t too many fish swimming by but just looking at the sea was calming. Chip made a circuit around the control room checking in with the crew making sure that everything was running smoothly.

Cookie entered the nose through the aft hatch, “I thought you might need some fresh coffee,” he said as he replaced the old carafe with fresh pot of hot coffee and a plate of cookies.

“Thanks, Cookie,” Janet replied. She poured Harry a mug of coffee and set it down next to him. He nodded thanks for the coffee but shook his head on the cookies when Janet offered him a couple.

After briefing Scott Taper on the orders for the night and noting the changes in the log book, Chip wandered into the nose when he smelled the coffee. Janet poured him a mug and passed him a couple of cookies.

“Thanks, I think we’re going to need a lot of coffee as I have hunch it’s going to be a long night,” Chip stated taking a sip of coffee and then ate one of the cookies.

Janet looked at Chip uneasily as she knew his hunches were always right on the money. She didn’t normally have coffee this late but poured herself a mug and took a couple of cookies.

()()()()()()()

Joey walked down Moscuz St. until he reached the marina. The lights on the docks were far and few between but he could still find the one Lee had pointed out to him. He noticed several of the yachts had their lights on as he made his way down the pier. The end of the dock was illuminated and when he reached it, there was a man in a red jumpsuit standing there fishing.

Kowalski heard someone coming down the dock but didn’t turn around and waited for whomever it was to approach him.

“How’s the fishing?” Joey asked as he stood next to Kowalski. “Have you caught any yellow tuna?”

“No, only blue gills,” Kowalski replied unhappily and turned to look at Joey. Damn, he’s alone.

“Hi, Kowalski, Joey Caldwell,” Joey responded and reached out the shake his hand. “Commander Crane said you’d be waiting here.”

“Where is Commander Crane…how come he’s not with you?”

“We ran into unexpected trouble and he ordered me to continue on and to tell you you’re to follow the orders he left with you. Commander Crane took another route so I wouldn’t be followed.”

“Yes, sir,” Ski said reluctantly and pulled a radio out of his jacket. “Sharkey, bring her up.”

“Okay, Ski.”

Before long Joey saw bubbles on top of the water and a bright yellow sub surface not too far from the dock. Sharkey maneuvered the little sub close to the edge of the dock where Kowalski unlatched the rear hatch and helped Joey aboard grabbing his arm before he fell into the water. Joey let out a yelp of pain.

“Sorry, sir,” Ski said. “How’d you hurt your arm?”

“Someone took a shot at us while we were returning to the dock.”

“Is the skipper okay?” Ski asked quickly.

“Yes, he was fine when I left him.”

“Once you’re aboard Seaview, Doctor Jamieson will check you out,” Kowalski assured him.

“Thanks, Kowalski,” Joey answered as Ski closed and dogged the hatch and showed Joey were to sit.

Sharkey saw Joey board alone. “What happened to the skipper…we better go get him.” Sharkey said starting to remove his harness.

“No, he ordered me to tell you that you’re to take me directly to Seaview,” Joey reminded Lee’s men but could see they were extremely annoyed that they had to leave without him.

Sharkey looked at Kowalski and nodded his head. “We have to follow the Skipper’s orders.”

“Yeah, I know,” Sharkey responded unwillingly as he slowly submerged the sub under the water and returned to the boat.

()()()()()()()

Harry glanced at his watch and noticed that FS-1 had been gone almost three hours. They all knew Sharkey and Kowalski should have made contact with Lee and Joey and be on their way back to the boat. The only noise they heard was the beeping and pinging of the equipment needed to keep the boat running. Everyone jumped with they heard Sharkey’s voice on the radio.

“FS-1 to Seaview,” Sharkey called. “Come in Seaview.”

“This is Seaview,” the duty Sparks replied as Harry, Chip and Janet ran into the radio shack.

Harry took the extra mic from the holder. “Chief, are you on your way back….do you have Captain Crane and Mr. Caldwell?”

Hesitating slightly, “Negative, sir. Returning with only Mr. Caldwell.”

“Damn,” Janet mumbled under her breath causing Harry and Chip to stare at her.

“Mr. Caldwell will explain when we return. We should be docking in forty-five minutes.”

“Very well, Chief,” Harry replied and stowed the mic.

“I guess you were right, Chip,” Harry said rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. “It’s going to be a long night.”

He headed for the nose followed by Chip and Janet. Chip poured them each another mug of coffee and called the galley for another pot.

()()()()()()()

“FS-1 to Seaview,” Sharkey called forty minutes later, “Ready to dock.”

“Okay Chief,” Chip replied and motioned to Ron to open the docking bay doors.

Once they heard the clamps engage, securing the sub in place, he shut the doors. Chip made his way into the observation nose and to the hatch.

While Sharkey was completing the shut-down procedures, Kowalski unlatch the ladder and set it in place. He climbed up the ladder while Chip un-dogged the hatch and stared down at him. Chip could tell Kowalski was not to happy they had to leave without Lee. He stepped onto the deck and reached down to help up Joey careful not to grab his bad arm. When he cleared the hatch, Sharkey quickly followed him out.

“Hi Joey,” Harry said once all the men were aboard. “What happened…where’s Lee?”

“Hello, Admiral, Mr. Morton, Mrs. Crane,” Joey replied. “I tried to get Lee to take the intel but he ordered me to bring it back. He told me you’re supposed to finish the mission and implement plan B.” Joey removed the flash drive from his pants’ pocket and handed it to Harry.

Harry, Chip and Janet looked at Joey with confused looks on their faces. Joey immediately recognized the look.

Sighing deeply, “I assume there is no plan B,” Joey said unhappily.

Harry shook his head, “You’re right, there is no plan B.”

“I’m sorry sir, but…” Joey tried to say but Harry cut him off.

“I know, Lee can be very persuasive when he needs to be.”

“Joey are you okay?” Janet asked noticing the sleeve on his shirt looked wet.

“No, we were shot at, they just winged me but Lee was fine when I left him. Let me tell you what happened.”

Harry piped up, “Sick bay first so Doctor Jamieson can check out your arm and then you can tell us.”

“Yes, sir,” Joey answered as Chip and Janet escorted him to sick bay.

()()()()()()()

When they arrived in sick bay, Jamie looked at Joey, Chip and Janet. “Where’s Lee?”

“He’s still there but uninjured so far,” Janet told him. “Seems Joey got hurt.”

“Let me look at it,” Jamie said as he helped Joey remove his shirt.

“Not too bad, just a graze. I’ll have you patched up in few minutes.”

“Thank you, Doctor Jamieson,” Joey replied and sat down on the gurney while John grabbed the items Jamie would need.

Jamie cleansed and bandaged the wound and gave him a shot of antibiotics. Chip being the same size as Joey, returned to his cabin and brought him a shirt to wear until his could be laundered.

()()()()()()()

The three of them returned to the nose where Harry was standing in the observation nose looking out the viewports.

“You better tell us what went wrong and why Lee is still there,” Harry said as they sat down at the table. Janet poured coffee for all of them and sat next Joey while Harry and Chip sat across from him.

“We had dinner with the woman who had the intel. She gave it to me and we left the restaurant, checked out of the hotel and were walking to the marina. The town was having a huge celebration on the main street, so we made our way to a less crowded street so we would make the rendezvous on time. As we were walking, someone took a shot at us. We didn’t know which one of us they were shooting at but it caught my arm. We ducked into a doorway and waited a few minutes before continuing on. We were fired on again so Lee decided that we needed to split up with me taking the intel and him acting as the diversion for whoever was shooting at us. He ran into a service alley that would take him back to the main street. He said not to worry that he’d get out.”

“He did have a transponder,” Harry reminded them. “So, hopefully he’ll be able to signal us when he’s ready. Chip why don’t you show Joey to a cabin where he can rest.”

“If it’s okay with you, I rather stay here and wait.”

Harry smiled at Joey, “No problem.”

Joey had never been on Seaview before and looked around the control room and the view out the windows. No wonder Lee doesn’t want to be a full-time agent, Joey thought. This boat is magnificent.”

Chip poured more coffee and sat down with the rest of them to wait for Lee’s signal.

()()()()()()()

Lee quickly ran down the service alley and turned right onto Noveye Way. He heard the crash of the trash cans and knew whoever was following him wasn’t too far behind him. He turned around and made out the silhouette of a man that had just entered the cul-du-sac from the alley. Damn, he thought as he ran down the street. He needed to find a place to hide very quickly when a bullet whizzed past him. The only light he saw was a shop about eight doors down from the alley. He was too far away from Karpovo St. where he could blend into the crowd so he ran down the street and entered the store. He noticed there was a beautiful woman with brown hair and green eyes at a tall counter.

“Can you help me?” Lee asked as he walked over to her.

“Yes sir. That’s what we’re here for. I’m Suzy,” the woman purred. She looked Lee over from head to toe and liked what she saw. A strikingly handsome man in tight black jeans and black shirt. Maybe I’ll take care of him myself, she thought.

“Someone’s chasing me, is there a place I can hid?” Lee asked giving her his special smile.

“Sure,” Suzy answered without hesitation. She was a good judge of men and felt Lee wouldn’t hurt her. “Come behind the counter, there’s an empty space, you can hide in there.”

Lee went behind the counter and squeezed into the empty space where he had a view of Suzy’s very nice-looking legs. He had just gotten in place when he heard to the door open.

“Andre, what do you want?” Suzy said curtly.

“Did a man come in here?” Andre asked looking around.

Rolling her eyes, she replied, “Of course, a man came in here, a lot of men come in here…it’s a brothel.”

Lee groaned silently as he hid beneath the counter. Of all places to hide, he thought.

Andre walked over to the counter, grabbed Suzy by the wrist and twisted it causing her to yell in pain.

“Don’t be a smart ass, I mean just now.”

“You better let go of me,” Suzy hissed. “You don’t want me to tell the Boss you damaged the goods.”

Andre released her wrist. Lee looked up and could see her rubbing it. He had to stop himself from coming out of the hiding place and decking Andre for hurting Suzy. He couldn’t stand it when a man used his strength against a woman.

“If I find out you’re holding out on me, you’ll be sorry,” Andre threatened.

“Get out of here,” Suzy snapped.

Andre left the brothel not very pleased. He crossed the street and walked down a few doors before he squeezed himself into a small gap between two buildings. He could see the entrance to the brothel and would wait for the dark-haired man to leave as that was the only place he could have hidden.

()()()()()()()

Lee crawled out from his hiding place. “Thank you very much for your help,” he said to Suzy as she stood a few feet from him.

“I know how you can thank me,” Suzy replied as she put her arms around Lee’s neck.

“Sorry but I’m a happily married man,” Lee answered as he gently removed her arms.

“Somehow, I knew that,” she frowned. “Be careful, Andre is no one to mess with.”

“Thanks again.” Lee walked to the front door, opened it up and looked outside. He noticed that there were no recessed doorways so there was no place for someone to hide. He didn’t see anyone and walked down Noveye Way to Karpovo St. before heading for the pier. He knew Joey would have been picked up by now but he would find a place to hid knowing Harry would come looking for him once he activated his tracer.

As Lee walked down the street, Andre saw him and recognized him as he crossed the street. He would have to walk right by him to get to Karpovo St. He stayed hidden in the gap and pulled out his gun. As Lee walked by, he clubbed him on the back of the head with the gun.

Lee groaned and fell to the ground never seeing who clobbered him.

Andre pulled out his phone and dialed the Boss. “I’ve got him. Meet me on Noveye Way.”

“I’ll be right there,” the Boss answered. He was parked at the far eastern end of Moscuz St. He started the car and sped to Noveye Way.

Andre put his arms around Lee’s waist and threw Lee’s arm over his shoulder to make it look like Lee was drunk and he was holding him up.

“Need help?” Several people asked as they walked by Andre and Lee.

“No thanks. He just partied a little too much,” Andre replied. “My friend is coming with his car to take him home.” The Boss pulled up next to Andre. He shoved Lee in the car, sat down next to him and quickly closed the door as the Boss took off heading west on Moscuz St. all the way to the marina where he turned down a secluded street and into a private driveway. He activated the garage door and parked the car.

()()()()()()()

The Boss turned off the car and helped Andre get Lee out of the car. They carried him into a small room with nothing but a chair and table. Andre propped Lee up in the chair as the Boss left the room. He wasn’t gone to long but Lee was starting to come to by the time he returned. He had two syringes in his hand. He quickly rolled up the right sleeve on Lee’s shirt and injected a quick-acting mild sedative into his arm. He didn’t want him coming to before he injected his left arm. Lee tried to lift his head but he was so tired, he just let it fall onto his chest. The Boss rolled up this other sleeve and injected another shot into that arm. Andre watched his boss and wondered what the dark-haired man had done to deserve the harsh treatment. He knew better than to ask afraid of what he would do to him. He’d found out the hard way the Boss was no one to mess with. When the Boss was done, he rolled down his sleeve.

“Take him back to where you found him. Make it look like he was the victim of a robbery,” the Boss ordered. “Return back here as soon as you’re finished.”

“Yes sir,” Andre replied and picked up Lee dragging him by his armpits back to the car.

The Boss picked up Lee’s backpack from the floor of the garage and rifled through it. He found the bracelet Lee had bought for Janet. Good taste, the Boss thought, I’ll keep this as it might come in handy. When Andre finished shoving Lee into the front seat, the Boss handed him the backpack. He turned around and went up the stairs to his den where he poured himself a cognac. He stood there savoring his drink and looked over his secluded and private marina. You’ll never know what hit you, the Boss sneered with an evil look on his face.

()()()()()()()

Andre brought Lee back to the service alley on Noveye Way. He looked around and saw that there was no one nearby. He left the car running, went to the passenger side and dragged Lee out of the car. Before he propped Lee up against the building, he punched him in the face splitting his lip. As he fell to the ground, he knocked his head on the building. Andre pushed him against the building kicking him in the ribs before he left. That’ll teach you to hide from me, Andre muttered. He returned to the car and drove back to the Boss’s house.

“I put him in the cul-du-sac on Noveye Way out of sight so it’ll be awhile before someone spots him,” Andre reported.

“Good job,” The Boss said. “I don’t need you anymore this evening. You’re free to do what you want.”

“Thank you, sir,” Andre responded and left the house.

()()()()()()()

Lee gradually regained consciousness and was temporarily confused as to where he was. After getting his bearings, he realized he was near the service alley on Noveye Way. How did I get here, he wondered as he touched his lip when he tasted the saltiness of his blood and knew his lip was split. His head was throbbing and his ribs were killing him. He rubbed his hand over his head and felt a bump on his forehead and another one on the back of his head. He also felt blood on his hand and figured he had a few scrapes. The last thing I remember was walking to Karpovo St., he thought. The street was dimly lit so he pushed the button on his watch lighting the dial and couldn’t believe he’d left Joey a little more than an hour ago. What the hell happened to me? He saw his backpack sitting next to him and noticed it was open. He reached around inside and discovered the only item missing was the bracelet he bought for Janet. “Damn, how am I going to explain this, Lee Crane, super spy was mugged,” he muttered out loud.

He slowly stood up using the building for support. Whew, that hurts, he thought as his ribs protested his movement. He eased away from the building and gingerly walked past several doors on Noveye Way. Just as he rounded the corner on Karpovo St., someone ran into him. He winced in pain as he grabbed the person’s arm to keep both of them from falling to the ground.

“I’m so sorry,” the voice of a woman said as they stood under the street light on the corner.

“It’s my fault; I wasn’t looking where I was going,” Lee replied recognizing the woman as Suzy from the brothel.

Suzy looked up at Lee, “Oh my, are you okay?” she asked realizing he was the man from earlier this evening.

“I’m fine. Sorry about your drink,” he responded noticing the cup she was carrying had fallen to the ground and broke open. “Let me buy you another.”

“Don’t worry about the drink…you need help…come with me,” Suzy insisted and gently put her arm around Lee’s waist causing him to grimace in pain. She picked up Lee’s backpack and hoisted it over her shoulder.

They slowly walked down the few doors to the brothel where Suzy led Lee into the back and her room. She helped him sit down in a chair while she gathered up the supplies she would need to treat his injuries. Lee looked around the room noticing it was tastefully decorated…not what he’d expected in a brothel. It didn’t take Suzy too long to return with a basin of water, towels and bandages.

“I can do it,” Lee said trying to take the towel from Suzy.

“No, let me do it…,” she replied dunking the towel in the basin and gently wiping Lee’s lip and the scrapes on his face.

“Marty,” Lee answered.

“Okay, Marty…can you tell me what happened?”

“I have no idea. I walked out the door when I left here heading for Karpovo when everything went black. I guess I was mugged.”

Suzy frowned as she looked at the bump on the back of Lee’s head and forehead. “You might have a concussion,” she said as she left the room.

Lee could hear her grabbing some ice from the freezer. When she returned, she had two new towels filled with ice. “Here, put one on the back of your head and one your forehead. I’ll be right back.”

Suzy left the room before Lee could answer leaving the door open. He could hear her talking to someone at the counter. She returned a few minutes later shutting the door.

“Let me check out your ribs,” she said as she started to unbutton Lee’s shirt.

‘I’m really fine,” Lee replied removing the towels and tried to stand up. Suzy saw a look of pain cross Lee’s face.

“I promise I’m not going to try anything. I just want to help you,” she responded softly.

“Thank you,” Lee answered as she stooped down and let her undo the buttons.

“You have some really nasty looking bruises. Let me take you to the hospital.”

“No, I can call some friends to come and get me. They’ll make sure I get taken care of.”

Suzy looked at Lee’s battered face and knew he wasn’t going to go to the hospital. “All right.”

“Can you get me some water?” Lee asked so he could find his transponder and activate it while she was gone.

“Yes, of course,” she said as she left the room.

Lee groaned in pain as he picked up the backpack that was on the floor next to the chair. He put his hand into the side pocket and retrieved the small black transponder. If I was mugged, they sure did a poor job of searching my pack, Lee thought surprised the transponder was still there. He pushed the button and watched as it flashed green letting the boat know where he was located.

Suzy returned with a large glass of water and some Tylenol. “I thought this might help as I’m sure you must have a whopping headache.”

“Thanks,” Lee replied popping the Tylenol in his mouth and took a large gulp of water.

“Did you get in touch with your friends?”

“Yes, they should be here shortly. I’ll get out of your way,” Lee said as he eased himself up from the chair.

“Just stay here until your friends arrive.”

“I don’t want to take advantage of your hospitality. I’m sure you have a lot of work to take care of.”

Grinning Suzy looked at her watch, “Not for at least another hour.”

Lee knew it would take an hour for the men from Seaview to arrive. “Okay, I’ll stay only for an hour. I told my friends I’d meet them on Noveye Way and Muscuz St.”

“I have to see how things are out front but I’ll be back shortly to check on you,” Suzy told him as she opened the door.

She stopped at the door and noticed Lee had already closed his eyes. He’s a mighty fine-looking man. Too bad he’s married, Suzy thought as she returned to the front counter.

()()()()()()()

Jamie had finished his last report and was concerned when he hadn’t received word that they had heard from Lee. After filing his report, he wandered down to the control room. When he entered through the aft hatch, he saw Harry, Chip and Joey sitting in the nose staring out the viewports while Janet paced back and forth. He made his way over to them.

“Mind if I join you?” he asked standing behind the table. “I assume we haven’t heard anything?”

“Not yet,” Harry replied worriedly.

Jamie noticed the coffee pot on the table, picked it up and found it was empty. “How many pots have you gone through?”

“Too many,” Chip admitted.

Jamie took a seat next to Joey and looked out the viewports as several schools of fish swam by.

He hadn’t been sitting there too long when Travis, the duty sparks, yelled, “Mr. Morton, I’ve got a signal.”

Chip, Harry, Janet, Jamie and Joey all ran to the radio shack. “Where’s it coming from?” Chip asked quickly.

“Looks like from where he was with Mr. Caldwell.”

Harry spoke up, “Chip, I want you and …,” he stopped and looked around the control room. It was manned by the delta watch and none of them had ever been off the boat on a rescue mission.

“Admiral,” Chip said seeing the expression on his face. “Chief Sharkey and Kowalski volunteered to retrieve the skipper when the time came.”

“Thanks Chip. Round them up and head out. Dress in civvies so you’ll blend in.”

“Sir,” Joey said, “Let me come too…I know the area and we’ll find Captain Crane that much faster.”

“Thanks, Joey,” Harry answered without hesitation.

Chip walked over to the plotting table. “Mr. Taper, have the flying sub ready to launch in ten minutes.”

“Aye, aye, sir,” he responded and took the clipboard from the charting table, gave it to Simpson and Daniels and ordered them to ready the little sub for launch.

()()()()()()()

Chip hustled out of the control room and headed for the crew’s mess looking for Chief Sharkey and Kowalski. He opened the door to the mess and saw Sharkey and Kowalski sitting there along with Patterson and Riley.

They all stood up when Chip entered. “Chief, Kowalski, we received a signal from the skipper. We’re leaving in ten minutes. Put on your civvies and meet in the observation nose in seven minutes.”

“Aye, aye sir,” the two men responded and quickly left the mess for their quarters.

“Do you need any more men?” Riley asked.

“No, thanks Riley, we should be fine,” Chip answered and left the mess and headed up the ladder to his quarters undoing his tie as he walked.

He changed into a black pair of jeans and black shirt, grabbed his leather jacket and headed to the observation nose. He descended the spiral staircase and saw that Sharkey and Kowalski had just arrived. Mr. Taper stood by the table and handed Chip the checklist from the sub to initial. Chip quickly signed the form and handed it back to Scott.

“Be careful and call us when you’ve have Lee and are returning to the boat,” Harry commanded.

“Yes, sir,” Chip replied as he waited for the other men to board FS-1. Once he went down the ladder, Scott closed and dogged the hatch and returned to the launching panel over the sonar station.

“Chief, since you know the way to the marina, you’ll take us there,” Chip told the men as he settled into the co-pilot’s seat. “Once we’re in position, Kowalski, you’ll stay with the sub,” he ordered.

Kowalski wasn’t happy as he would’ve liked to accompany them to find Lee but he knew someone had to stay with FS-1 and bring it up when they had Lee.

Everyone strapped on their harnesses, Sharkey connected the throat mike and radioed the boat to launch FS-1. He slowly lowered down the sub from the bottom of the boat, made his way to the front of Seaview and headed for the marina. Harry, Jamie and Janet watched as she sailed by nose. Janet looked at her watch and noted it was 2400 hours. She knew it would take the flying sub at least forty-five minutes to get to the marina and who knows how long to locate Lee. We’re in for a long night, she thought as she sat down next to Harry. She gave him a weak smile when he patted her hand.

()()()()()()()

Sharkey had no trouble finding the entrance to the marina. He stayed submerged until they were a mile from the dock and then he surfaced the flying sub. When they got to the dock, the yacht was moored at the end slip but they noticed it was dark so they would be able to bring the sub to the end of the pier. Since the yacht was parked there it made it harder to bring the sub close to the dock so the men could get out without falling in the water. Sharkey maneuvered the sub into position. Once he had the sub where he wanted her, he switched positions with Kowalski.

“Submerge as soon as we’re off,” Chip instructed Ski. “I’ll radio you to surface when we’re back. I don’t want anyone to see us.”

“Aye, sir,” Ski replied disappointed he couldn’t go on the rescue but he didn’t let Chip see it.

Sharkey un-dogged the rear hatch and slowly made his way out. He looked around to see if anyone was on the dock. Chip and Joey quietly exited the sub and waited while Sharkey dogged the hatch. They stayed until FS-1 submerged before leaving the dock.

Chip turned on the transponder and honed in on Lee’s signal. “Looks like it’s coming from that direction,” he said pointing to the east of the marina.

“Follow me,” Joey whispered to Chip and Sharkey as they headed down the pier unto Moscuz St. “We only have to walk a couple of miles to reach the center of town. Hopefully, Lee is near the service alley where I left him as it would be extremely difficult to find him if he’s somewhere on Karpovo as I’m sure it’s packed with people. The first mile is a residential section and there’s really no place to hide around there. When we get closer to town there’re more places where he could hide.”

After walking through the residential area and not seeing anyone, they came upon the service alley.

“This is where I left Lee,” he whispered and turned into the alley and headed to Noveye Way.

The transponder was still picking up Lee’s signal but it still wasn’t showing exactly where he was located. “Is there any other way out of here,” Chip asked frustrated that they couldn’t pinpoint his exact location.

“No, the cul-du-sac is the end of the street. The only way out is Noveye Way to Muscuz St. or Karpovo St. He has to be here somewhere.”

“There aren’t too many places open around here,” Sharkey mentioned.

“Most of the businesses were closed when we checked out the area. Only one place was open and that was from 9:00 PM until 6:00 AM,” Joey told Chip and Sharkey.

“Those are some weird hours,” Sharkey stated.

“Since most of the businesses are closed, that might be an advantageous a place to hide,” Chip mused.

“Let’s head down Noveye Way and see what reaction we get from the transponder. If the signal doesn’t get any stronger, we’ll head over to Karpovo,” Joey suggested.

The three men continued down Noveye Way heading for Karpovo. They had only walked past a few businesses when Chip noticed the light was flashing faster.

“We’re on the right track,” Chip told the men as they continued down the dimly light street.

When they approached the only place with lights on, the light on the transponder stopped flashing.

“I think Lee’s in there,” Chip said excitedly.

The three men stood off to the side of the storefront observing who was entering and leaving. They only saw a couple of men come out and one go in.

“Mr. Morton, what store only has hours from 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM, and only men going in and out? I’d say that place is a brothel,” Sharkey surmised.

“And you know that how?” Chip questioned.

“Well…” Sharkey stammered.

“Never mind,” Chip replied. “Let’s go check it out.”

The men walked up to the storefront and looked in the side window and were surprised at what they saw.

()()()()()()()

Lee slowly opened his eyes. His head didn’t hurt as much thanks to the Tylenol but his lips and ribs were still sore and his eye was swollen closed. He looked at his watch and couldn’t believe he’d been sleeping for over an hour. He still felt like he could sleep for a few more hours. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear I was drugged,” Lee thought as he rubbed his temples. He eased himself up from the chair grimacing as he stood up. He leaned over and retrieved his backpack from the floor. He started to walk to the door when Suzy entered the room.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“I have to meet my friends…they’ll be looking for me,” Lee said. “I don’t want them to find me here.”

“Afraid they might get the wrong idea.”

“You could say that.”

“Come on I’ll show you the way out,” Suzy answered and took the backpack from his hand.

They walked slowly to the front of the building. When they reached the front, Suzy put her arms around Lee’s waist, gently hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.

“Thanks for all your help,” Lee said lightly kissing her on the cheek and hugging her back.

“You’re welcome,” she replied and handed him his backpack.

Lee turned around and headed for the door.

()()()()()()()

“Mr. Morton, why is the skipper letting the woman hug and kiss him?” Sharkey asked. “What about Mrs. C.”

“Chief, I’m sure there’s an explanation as to why,” Chip replied as he was wondering the same thing.

Joey stood there just as surprised as the other two men.

Just as they were going to enter the building, Lee turned around and the three men were shocked at Lee’s battered face. He walked slowly towards the door carrying his backpack by the hook on the top rather than over his shoulder.

Chip stopped them from entering the building and motioned them to wait by the building next store.

“Wow,” Joey stated. “What the hell happened to him?”

“I don’t know but I’m sure he’ll tell us,” Chip replied. “Stay here, I’ll go get him.”

Chip waited until Lee was out of the building before he sidled over to him. “Lee, over here,” he said quietly.

“Chip, I’m glad to see you,” Lee answered recognizing his voice. “Did you just get here?”

“No,” Chip answered honestly. “We saw you and the woman.”

Lee ran his hand through his hair, “It’s not what you think. Let’s get the hell out of here…you’re not alone are you?”

“No Sharkey and Joey are with me. They’re waiting at the next store. Of all places to hole up in…a brothel… care you tell us why you chose that place.”

Lee and Chip made their way over to where Sharkey and Joey were standing. Sharkey took the backpack from Lee’s hand.

Before they started to walk to the marina, Lee needed to clear the air as to what they saw in the brothel. “I know what you saw, but I swear nothing happened…the brothel was the only place to hide.”

“Never a doubt, Skipper,” Sharkey responded confidently.

“Joey, you made it back okay?” Lee asked as they walked down Noveye Way to the service alley.

“No problems at all and your men were waiting.”

()()()()()()()

The four men walked slowly back to the marina. Lee had to stop a few times to catch his breath as his ribs were starting to bother him. When they arrived at the dock, there were quite a few people milling around so Chip couldn’t radio Kowalski to surface the sub. Lee leaned up against the light pole at the end of the dock.

“Damn,” Chip muttered as he stood next to Lee. He could see he was fading fast and needed to get to the boat and Jamie’s care. A group of men were walking back from the end of the dock and noticed Lee resting against the pole.

“Your friend okay?” one of the men asked.

“Yeah, he’s fine,” Sharkey answered. “Just overdid it a bit.”

“I’ll say,” another man responded.

They walked over to another pier and boarded a yacht close to shore.

Chip quickly took out his radio, “Morton to FS-1, come in FS-1.”

“FS-1,” Kowalski replied immediately.

“Surface and be prepared to dive as soon as we’re aboard. There’s a lot of foot traffic around.”

“Aye, aye sir,” Ski responded and slowly surface the small sub.

By the time FS-1 was on the surface, the men had walked to the end of the pier. Sharkey un-dogged the rear hatch and swiftly helped Lee board putting him in the bunk. Joey and Chip followed with Chip dogging the hatch. Once the other two men were on board, Kowalski submerged the sub leaving it on the bottom until everyone was buckled in.

“Sharkey, get us out of here. Kowalski, check over the skipper and report to Jamie so he knows what he’s facing when we get to the boat.”

Sharkey and Kowalski switched positions. Joey put on his harness while Chip and Kowalski took care of Lee.

“Hi Skipper,” Kowalski said looking over Lee. “I sure hope the other guy looks worse than you.”

“Ski, the other guy got away scot free as I never saw who clobbered me.”

Kowalski unbuttoned Lee’s shirt and saw the bruises by his ribs, he felt the back of his head and found a small bump. He could see a bump on his forehead, his split lip and bruised jaw along with some scrapes and abrasions. He also noticed that most of them had been attended to but didn’t say anything. He helped Lee lie down on the bunk, strapped him in and went over to Chip who was waiting by the rear hatch.

“Mr. Morton, what happened he’s beat up pretty badly?”

“He hasn’t told us how he got this way. Report to Doctor Jamieson over the radio while we get underway.”

“Yes, sir,” Kowalski responded as he headed for the co-pilot’s seat, buckled his harness and put on the throat mic. He relayed his assessment to Jamie who asked him a few questions which Kowalski answered and assured them that they’d be ready for Lee when they arrived.

Sharkey fired up the engines and lifted the sub off the bottom and headed for Seaview.

Lee was lying on his side facing away from Chip but he could tell by Lee’s breathing that he had fallen asleep. He’d seen Lee beaten up a lot worse but for some reason this one seemed to take a toll on him so he was glad it was a short trip to the boat.

Harry, Jamie and Janet breathed a sigh of relief that they had found Lee and had him aboard the sub but were still worried about his injuries. Harry returned to the control room where he watched FS-1 on sonar while Jamie and Janet remained in the observation nose.

()()()()()()()

“FS-1 to Seaview,” Sharkey called over the mic forty-five minutes later. “Come in, Seaview.”

“This is Seaview,” Travis replied.

“We should be docking in five minutes,” Sharkey reported.

“We’ve got you on sonar,” Harry replied. “Docking bay doors are opening now.” Harry motioned to the man on sonar to open the doors.

Sharkey skillfully maneuvered the sub into position and waited for the clamps to secure her in place before he shut off the engines. Once the engines were shut down, they heard to docking bay doors close.

While Sharkey and Kowalski completed the shut-down procedures, Chip and Joey unbuckled their harnesses and went over to the bunk where Lee was still sleeping. Chip gently patted his leg as he didn’t want to startle him causing him to move unnecessarily.

“That was a smooth ride…I didn’t wake up once.” Lee quipped. “And I feel a little better. I swear who ever attacked me must have given me something.”

Chip and Joey helped Lee out of the bunk as Kowalski unhinged the ladder and headed up to un-dog the hatch. Kowalski climbed out of FS-1 and was waiting to help Lee up.

“Where’s Lee?” Jamie asked impatiently as Chip and Joey headed up the ladder before Lee.

“Sharkey’s helping him up,” Chip responded.

()()()()()()()

The men heard the hatch open and Kowalski left the flying sub and waited at the top so he could help Lee out. He was surprised to see Joey and Chip come up first. Sharkey grabbed Lee’s backpack and waited while he slowly made his way up the ladder. When Lee reached the top, Kowalski took Lee by the arm and eased him out of the sub. He was blocking Harry’s, Jamie’s and Janet’s view so they couldn’t see him until he was on the deck and Ski moved out of the way. They were shocked at his appearance.

“Oh Lee,” Janet murmured under her breath when she saw him, grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. He gently squeezed back.

“I’m fine,” Lee said as Jamie looked him over. “I just want to go to my cabin, take a shower and hit my bunk.”

“Skipper, you know the rules,” Jamie replied. “Sick bay now.”

Before Lee left the observation nose, he looked at Sharkey and Kowalski. “You’re off duty as of now. Go hit the rack as I believe you’re both on duty this morning. Thanks,” Lee added and walked slowly through the control room and out the aft hatch with Janet and Jamie behind him. Sharkey and Kowalski followed them out and headed for their quarters as both were dog tired.

“We’ll be there shortly,” Harry said as he and Chip entered the control room.

“He’s pretty beat up. Did he tell you what happened?”

“No sir,” Chip replied.

“Chip, get us underway…head for home,” Harry ordered.

“Aye, aye, sir,” he replied and walked over to the charting table where he’d already plotted the course. He gave the order to the engine room and maneuvering. Chip heard the engines engage and Seaview slowly pick up speed as she started for home.

“If you need me, I’ll be in sick bay and then my quarters,” Chip told Scott.

“Yes, sir,” he replied as Harry and Chip left the control room and headed for sick bay.

()()()()()()()

Frank was waiting for them when Lee arrived with Jamie and Janet. He had a tray of bandages, antiseptic cream, a syringe loaded with antibiotics and ice packs ready for Jamie. Lee slowly climbed on the gurney. Jamie gave him a quick once over before he started asking questions noting most of his injuries had been taken care off.

“Care to tell us what happened?” Jamie asked just as Harry and Chip entered sick bay and joined the rest of them by the gurney.

“After I left Joey, I ran down a service alley hoping I could make it back to the main street where I could blend into the crowd. This guy was fast and I knew he was still following me when a bullet whizzed by my head. I ran into the only place that had lights on it turned out to be a brothel. There was a woman standing at the counter and I asked if there was somewhere I could hide so she showed me a place behind the counter.”

As Janet sat there listening to Lee explain where he hid, she couldn’t help thinking, first of all only Lee would find a brothel to hide in and secondly, he probably turned on his charm and gave her his special smile so she would let a strange man hide behind her counter. She knew that look and smile as she had fallen victim to it many times.

Lee looked at Janet and noticed a far way look on her face. “Sweetie, you okay?”

Janet looked back at Lee, “Yes, just letting my mind wander.”

Lee continued, “While I was hiding, a man called Andre came in asked if I had come in and that’s how I found out it was a brothel when she told him of course men came in as it was a brothel. He wasn’t happy with her smart remark and told her she’d be sorry if he found out I was hiding there. I don’t think she felt threatened as she told him the Boss wouldn’t like it if he hurt her. When he left, I climbed out from behind the counter, thanked her for her help and left. I looked around and didn’t see anyone but the area was quite dark. I walked passed a building and the next thing I knew I’m waking up over an hour later propped up in front of a store near the service alley. I never saw the person who clobbered me. I think whoever hit me injected me with a sedative or something. Jamie, I feel the same way I do after you give me one of your ‘special coffee’s’.”

Joey piped up, “Andre must have been watching and saw you leave the brothel. I don’t remember seeing anywhere to hide when we walked in there but we may have missed it as we weren’t looking for places to hide.”

“I guess so,” Lee said. “After I woke propped in front of a building, I had no idea how I was injured. I got up and made my way down Noveye Way but ran into the Suzy again.”

“Suzy?” Janet asked. “Who’s Suzy?”

“She’s the woman at the brothel,” Lee explained and went on with his story. “I went around the corner and I almost knocked her down. She saw I was injured and walked me back to the brothel and took care of my injuries. Someone did rifle through my backpack but all they took was a bracelet I bought for Janet.” He looked at Janet, “Sorry sweetie,” Lee said unhappily.

“It’s okay, Lee…as long as I got you back that’s all I care about,” she answered and took his hand into hers.

“When I tried to leave, Suzy insisted I stay until you rescued me. When she left to check things out front, I fell asleep and when I woke up I knew someone would be arriving to get me so I left the brothel and ran into Chip who was outside the door.”

“Suzy did a nice job of cleaning up your scrapes and abrasions. I’m going to do my examination, so all of you can wait outside until I’m finished. Better yet, why don’t the rest of you hit the rack,” Jamie suggested. “He’s more than likely going to be staying in sick bay tonight.”

“Jamie, I’m fine. I just want to take a shower, change and I promise I’ll go right to bed,” Lee stated.

“We’ll see what the blood test and x-rays show,” Jamie replied as the group left the exam room and moved into his office to await the results of Jamie’s exam.

“I’ll be right back,” Janet told them. “I’m going to get Lee some pajamas.”

She left sick bay and returned to their cabin. She quickly used the head, then grabbed a clean pair of pajamas and headed back out the door. By the time she returned to sick bay, Jamie had opened the pleated curtain separating the exam room from his office.

“It looks like his ribs are only bruised but we’ll know more when Frank develops the x-rays and checks his blood for a sedative or anything else unusual,” Jamie reported.

“Can I see him?” I’m sure he’ll want these,” Janet asked holding the pajamas.

“Yes, you can all see him and say goodnight. He’s still very tired.”

The group walked back into the exam room where Janet handed Frank the pajamas.

“Jamie will Lee be able to fly to Hawaii tomorrow?” Harry asked. “He and Joey are to report to Admiral Pickerson with the intel and be debriefed.”

“He should be able to go but I won’t clear him to fly so he’ll have to go as the co-pilot.”

Harry looked at Chip. “How about another excursion off the boat? You can take Lee and Joey to Hawaii.”

“Yes, sir,” Chip replied eagerly as it had been some time since he flew FS-1.

“I’ll be ready to leave a 0800,” Lee said easing off the gurney.

Jamie looked at him with grin, “No, you’ll leave at 1100 hours. You need to sleep off the rest of that sedative and if there’s still too much in your blood stream you may not go at all,” he said emphatically.

“But that’s too late but the time we get there and back most of the day will be over,” Lee replied yawning.

Jamie looked at his watch. “It’s already 0200 hours, all of us need a good night’s rest. No earlier than 1000 hours and I don’t want to see the rest of you in the control room or wardroom before 0800. I’m sure who’s ever on duty can take care of running the boat.”

Just as Jamie finished, Frank returned with the results of the x-rays and blood work and handed them to Jamie who looked them over.

“Your ribs aren’t cracked or broken, just bruised. You do have a small amount of sedative in your blood. I’m sure not what type but enough that you’ll stay here so we can monitor you.”

“At least I feel better that I was drugged and not mugged,” Lee replied with a grin. “It would be a little embarrassing trying to explain to Admiral Pickerson that one of ONI’s top agents was mugged.”

They all broke out into smiles.

“Now that we know Lee’s going to be fine, you can all leave,” Jamie stated.

“Yes sir,” they all responded and bid goodnight to Lee.

“Jamie, I need to talk to Janet before she leaves.”

“She can stay for a few minutes after you shower and change,” Jamie answered and left Frank to help Lee as he was still a little unsteady on his feet.

Frank helped Lee to the head just outside the exam room while Janet helped Jamie clean up.

“You sure he’s going to be okay?” Janet asked. “Nothing else in his blood?”

“Yes, he should be fine by tomorrow. It usually takes a good twenty-four hours for the body to get rid of the sedative. He wasn’t given a large amount, just enough to incapacitate for him for a while.”

Frowning, “Thanks, Jamie.” Janet replied as Lee and Frank returned to the exam room and Frank helped Lee into a bunk. Why would someone need to drug Lee? They knocked him out so they could’ve looked in his backpack or search him for the intel and why move him. Something doesn’t seem right, she thought.

Once Lee was settled, Frank and Jamie left them alone so Jamie could give Frank the instructions for the night. Janet sat on the edge of the bar that surrounded the bunk and pulled the blanket up over his chest.

“Comfortable?” she asked.

“Yes, thanks sweetie,” Lee replied, “but I do need to tell you something that happened at the brothel.”

Lee removed his hand from under the blanket and took Janet’s into his. “Before I left, Suzy gave me a hug and kiss…I returned the hug and kiss. Chip, Sharkey and Joey were staring in the window and saw what took place. Nothing else happened while I was there. I fell asleep and woke up in the same place and position I was in when I fell asleep. I just wanted you know everything.”

“I know you wouldn’t do anything,” Janet answered. She knew Lee would never cheat on her…only if his life depended on it. When Janet found out Lee worked for ONI and he told her about some of the situations he got himself into, she understood he might have to do something drastic. She didn’t like the fact he might have to sleep with someone to stay alive but she’d rather have that then have him dead.

He rubbed his thumb over her hand but he could tell she was upset. “What’s wrong?”

“Lee, it doesn’t make sense that someone would go through all the trouble of drugging you to get the intel when they clobbered you over the head and knocked you out… it just doesn’t add up.”

“I know and I agree with you but that’s the only thing anyone could have wanted was the intel. Maybe they weren’t pros and were afraid I’d come too and get away before they got the intel. Please don’t worry about it. I’ll report my suspicions to Admiral Pickerson.”

“Okay…I better go or Jamie will be in here to shoo me out. She kissed his forehead just as Jamie entered the room.

“I’m leaving now,” she said and walked out as Jamie turned down the lights.

“I’ll walk with you,” Jamie offered as they both left sick bay.

They walked in silence until they arrived in officer’s country and Jamie’s cabin.

“You okay?” Jamie asked noticing how quiet Janet was. “He’s going to be all right…he got off lightly this time.”

“I’m fine,” Janet laughed using Lee’s favorite line. “I’m extremely thankful he got off lightly and will be okay. I’ll see you in the morning…but not before 0800.”

Jamie grinned and entered his cabin as Janet continued the short distance down the passageway to her cabin.

()()()()()()()

Janet entered her cabin and sat down on the bunk. Even though it was awfully early in the morning and she needed to sleep, she was wide awake from all the coffee she drank while waiting for Lee. She was relieved Lee’s injuries weren’t too severe but pissed that as usual this wasn’t an easy in and out mission.

She knew Lee would want to change into his uniform when he woke up so she took a shirt and pair of pants from the closet, gathered up the rest of the items he would need including his razor. She put them in a bag and would bring them to sick bay when she went to see him. She would return for his service jacket and cover before he left on the flying sub for Hawaii. She changed into her pajamas and climbed in the bunk. She tossed and turned for another hour. Since Lee and Chip would be gone most of the day, maybe I can sneak in a nap before they return from Hawaii, she thought before she finally fell asleep.

()()()()()()()

Jamie returned to sick bay a little after 0800 hours the next morning. He wasn’t surprised to see John sitting at the desk instead of Frank since they changed watches at 0700.

“Morning, John,” Jamie said when he stood by his desk where John was sitting. “How’s the Skipper this morning?”

“Good morning, Doc. I just checked on him and he’s still asleep. I was reading over Frank’s notes and it looks like he had a peaceful night.”

“Nice to know,” Jamie replied and picked up the file and scanned it over before he quietly opened the pleated curtain between his office and the bunk area. Even though Lee was sleeping, Jamie did a quick assessment of his bumps, bruises and scrapes. Janet walked in carrying a hanger and bag with Lee’s uniform and other essentials he would need to get dressed just as Jamie finished making some notations in his chart.

“Hi Jamie…how’s Lee this morning…can I see him?” she asked urgently.

“He’s still sleeping but you can sit with him until he wakes up,” Jamie replied.

Janet walked into the bunk area, hung Lee’s uniform on one of the other upper bunks, put the bag on the floor and pulled up a chair so she could sit by his bunk. She could tell by his breathing that he was in a deep sleep.

As Janet sat there she heard the familiar voice of Chip asking Jamie how Lee was. Before long, she heard Harry’s voice and then Joey’s. Jamie let them take a peek at Lee.

Janet quietly stood up and returned to the office area. “Good morning,” she whispered.

After they answered back, Harry asked, “Jamie, will Lee be able to fly today to Hawaii?”

“I’ll steal some more blood and test it to see if there’s any trace of the sedative. He might be a little sore but after a quick look at him, the bump on his forehead is gone, there is only a bruise. His lip is still a little swollen but not nearly as bad as last night. His scrapes will have to heal. The only area I didn’t check were his ribs which I’ll do after he wakes up. If his blood work checks out and he feels up to it, I don’t see why he can’t go but he won’t be able to fly the sub.”

“That’s good news,” Harry replied taking a quick glance back at Lee.

“Why don’t the three of you go to breakfast,” Jamie suggested. “As soon as he wakes up, I’ll take the sample, he can shower, get dressed and join you for breakfast. I want to make sure he eats something before he leaves so Janet and I will come down with him.”

“I need to check in with the control room,” Chip answered, “so I’ll be there in a little while.

“Okay, Joey, that leaves you and me to get breakfast,” Harry grinned.

“Yes, sir,” Joey replied and walked out with Harry and Chip.

Janet went back to Lee’s bunk and sat down. Why did they drug you?” Janet wondered as it was still bothering her. Something else is going on, she thought.

Jamie sat down at his desk as John inventoried the supplies they would need to replace the ones they used to treat Lee. He made the list and went to the medical stores while Jamie waited for Lee to wake up.

()()()()()()()

It was 0900 when Lee finally started to stir. He opened his eyes, looked around and saw Janet sitting by his bunk.

“Good morning, sweetie,” he said sitting up on his elbow.

“Hi Lee,” Janet replied kneeling down next the bunk. As much as she wanted to kiss him on the lips, she didn’t want to hurt him so she kissed his forehead. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better. A little sore but nothing I can’t handle,” he answered then looked at his watch. “I can’t believe I slept that long.”

“You obviously needed the rest.”

Lee put his legs over the rail that surrounded the bunk and gingerly eased himself up. Since he was so tall, he always had a hard time getting out of the bunks. He saw his uniform hanging on the other bunk. “Thanks.”

Jamie heard them talking and walked over to Lee just as he finishing climbing out of the bunk. “Good morning, Skipper.”

“Hi Jamie,” Lee replied. “When can I get out of here?”

“Just as soon as I check out your ribs and take another blood sample. I want to make sure all the sedative is out of your bloodstream. You know the routine.”

Lee laid down and Jamie unbuttoned his pajama top. He pressed around the area making sure there was no other damage to any of his internal organs. Lee winced when Jamie pressed lightly on his left side. “There’s quite a bit of bruising on your left side where someone kicked you but everything else seems to be okay. When you finish showering, get dressed and come back here so I can draw some blood.”

While Lee showered, John set up the items Jamie would need to draw the blood. Jamie waited by the door of the small head and dressing area making sure Lee had no problems.

Before he showered, he shaved the best he could and was not happy he had to leave a small amount of stubble on his face but he didn’t want to remove the scabs that had formed on his scrapes. He took a Navy two-minute shower, put on his uniform and sat down on the bench to tie his shoes. He slowly got up and walked back to the exam room where Jamie was waiting along with John.

“Where’s Janet?” Lee asked not seeing her.

“In my office, she hates when I have to draw blood, so she’s waiting in there until we’re done. I told the admiral, Chip and Joey we’d meet them for breakfast. If your blood test doesn’t show any sign of the sedative and you feel up to it, I told them I would clear you to fly to Hawaii but you’re not to do the flying.”

“I’ll agree to that and I feel fine,” Lee replied with a grin. “And hurry up, I’m hungry.”

Jamie broke out in a smile. He was happy to see that Lee was hungry as he didn’t usually feel like eating after spending the night in sick bay. He quickly drew a couple vials of blood and handed them to John for processing. He put a bandage on his arm and Lee rolled down his sleeve and buttoned it up. He eased himself off the gurney and walked into the office area where Janet was waiting.

“All set…let’s go eat,” Lee said taking Janet’s hand.

Jamie gave John instructions on what he wanted Lee’s blood tested for and left with them for the wardroom.

“How’s my boat and what’s our status,” Lee asked when they met Chip on the way to the wardroom.

“Nice to see you up, Lee,” he remarked as they walked into the wardroom. “Your boat is fine and we’re at standard speed heading for home. We should be there in three days.”

“Thanks, Chip,” Lee responded patting him on the shoulder. “Home sounds pretty good right now.”

Harry and Joey were still there waiting for the rest of them. Harry broke out in a huge grin when he saw Lee.

“It’s great to see you, Lee…how are you feeling?” he said as Lee sat down at the end of the table instead of his usual place as it would be easier for him to get in and out.

“It nice to see you too, Admiral, and I’m feeling good,” Lee answered. “Sorry if I kept you waiting for breakfast.”

“No worries,” Harry replied. “I’m sure Cookie will have plenty of food for us.”

On cue, Cookie and a mess specialist arrived at the table with plates of pancakes, sausages and fruit. He poured coffee for everyone but Janet. She didn’t want any coffee so Cookie brought her over some tea.

As they ate breakfast, Harry asked, “Jamie, will Lee be able to go?”

“I’m pretty sure, he’ll be able to go, I’m just waiting for the results of his blood test. If it’s clear, he can go. I’ll know by the time we’re finished with breakfast.”

The group finished eating and they all returned to sick bay where John had the results they were waiting for.

Jamie looked over the paper and smiled. “There’s no trace of the sedative or anything else unusual in your blood so you’re clear to go but as I stated earlier…no flying just a passenger.”

“Thanks, Jamie,” Lee answered and looked at Chip. “How soon can we leave?”

“I had Sharkey and Kowalski check her out while we were eating so she should be ready to go as soon as we are.”

“Let’s go,” Lee said. “Joey, you ready to leave?”

“Yes, Lee, I’m packed, the intel is in my pocket so I’m ready whenever you are.”

“Let me get my coat and cover and I’ll meet you in the observation nose,” Lee told them as he headed for the ladder up to officer’s country. Janet followed behind while the rest of them headed forward to the observation nose.

()()()()()()()

As soon as Lee and Janet entered the cabin, Lee took Janet in his arms and gently kissed her on the lips. “We should be back by early evening. You look tired, so you better take a nap as I have plans for you tonight,” Lee said mischievously.

“I am tired and as long as the Admiral doesn’t have any work for me, I’ll make sure to sneak one in,” Janet laughed as she ran her fingers down the side of his scruffy cheek. “I can’t wait to see what you have planned.”

Lee gave her another kiss before easing into his leather flying jacket as Janet picked up his service coat threw it over her arm and grabbed his cover. He opened the door and they headed for the observation nose. Chip and Joey were waiting for him in their leather jackets.

“All checked out Mr. Morton,” Sharkey said as he handed Chip the check-off list to initial.

“Thanks, Chief,” Chip replied and handed it back to him.

Kowalski took Lee’s service coat and cover from Janet and put them on the bunk in FS-1 next to Chip’s.

Lee headed down the ladder followed by Joey and then Chip.

“Joey, since I can’t fly her, why don’t you sit in the co-pilot’s seat so you can enjoy the view,” Lee suggested as he strapped into the rear seat.

“Okay, I’ll take you up on that,” Joey replied eagerly as he put on the harness.

Chip strapped on his harness, attached the throat mic and turned on the engines. When he was ready to launch, he slowly dropped her out of the bottom of Seaview. He sailed past the viewports as they headed for the surface. It would take them about four hours to get to Hawaii.

()()()()()()()

Once they were over a hundred miles from any land, Chip turned around and looked at Lee who nodded his head. Chip brought the little sub up to Mach 1. Even though Lee would’ve liked to be flying his ‘baby’, he got a new perspective on how she was handling. She was having no problems with the speed and floated through the air. After they’d been flying for a couple of hours, Lee had been observing Joey who was watching out the viewports and what Chip was doing.

“Joey, would you like to try flying her?” Lee asked.

“Could I,” Joey responded enthusiastically.

“You have a pilot’s license, don’t you?”

“Yes, I can fly almost any kind of aircraft.”

“Chip, show him how she works,” Lee said with a smile.

“Okay, Lee,” he replied and explained to Joey how the joy sticks worked.

Joey was very excited and after a small problem with the joy sticks, he caught on right away. Lee and Chip grinned as he was handling her like a pro. Chip let him fly her for thirty minutes before he took over the controls as he had to reduce their speed since they were approaching an area with more air traffic.

“Thanks,” Joey exclaimed. “That was so much fun.”

“No problem,” Lee replied. “What are you going to do after we’re finished with Admiral Pickerson? Are you heading back to the mainland?”

“No, I made arrangements with Admiral Johnson for some time off. I’m meeting a friend and we’re going to stay in Honolulu for a couple of days before checking out the other islands. I haven’t been here in ages and she’s never been here.”

“How about you two?” Joey asked.

“When we get home, we have shore leave for a couple of days before we need to prepare for another mission to Antarctica to check on some moss,” Chip replied. “I don’t know about Lee and Janet but I’m looking forward to just vegging out with Julie who also has a few days off.”

“We’ll probably do the same,” Lee remarked noting they hadn’t made any plans for their shore leave.

The men talked about the Academy the rest of the way to Hawaii before Chip was given clearance to land at Hickam field. When FS-1 was on the ground, the men removed their leather jackets. Chip and Lee donned their service coats and picked up their covers. After exiting the sub, Chip secured her with his numeric fob. A white sedan was waiting for them to take them to the Admiral’s office. The driver opened the doors for the men; Lee and Chip climbed in the back while Joey sat in the front.

“Good morning sirs,” the ensign said to the men. “Admiral Pickerson is waiting for you.” He put the car in gear and drove them to the Admiral’s office.

When he opened the doors he said, “I’ll be waiting to take you back to your vehicle when you’re ready to leave.”

“Thank you,” Chip replied as he and Lee tucked their covers under their arms and entered the building where they took the elevator to the third floor.

()()()()()()()

They left the elevator and entered the office of the Admiral. His administrative assistant sat at her desk typing on the computer but stopped when the three men came in.

“Good afternoon,” she said. “I’ll let the Admiral know you’re here. Please have a seat.”

She stood up, walked over to the door, knocked and then went in as Chip and Joey sat down. Lee was a little stiff from sitting so long so he decided to stay standing. He looked out the window at the airstrip watching the Air Force jets take off along with the commercial planes as they shared the runways.

The door to the admiral’s door opened and the assistant returned to her office. “Admiral Pickerson will be with you shortly. Can I get you something to drink?” she offered.

“No, thank you,” Lee replied as he leaned up against the wall.

A few minutes later, Admiral Pickerson came out to the office, only Lee and Chip saluted the admiral when he approached them as Joey was dressed in civvies. He saluted back and said, “Oh, my assistant said there were three men here so I assumed one of them was Admiral Nelson. I haven’t seen him in a long time.”

“Sorry sir,” Lee answered. “We left him in charge of Seaview. This is Lt. Commander Morton.”

“Nice to meet you, Commander. We’ll only be a little while so have a seat. If you need anything, just let Haley know.”

“Yes sir,” Chip responded and sat back down in his chair. Haley smiled at him and returned to her computer.

The Admiral, Lee and Joey proceeded into the office where Lee and Joey took the chairs in front of the admiral’s desk.

Joey removed the disk from his pocket and handed it to the admiral. “I hope this has all the information you’re looking for,” Joey said.

“Me too,” Pickerson replied. “Since you’ve been gone, things have escalated in the area with the People’s Republic launching several more missiles. Luckily none of them have reached their targets.

“Commander Crane, you look like a little worse for wear, was there a problem getting the information?”

“Getting the information was no problem,” Lee reported. “Anna, the woman used for the exchange was very discreet in passing us the intel but we ran into trouble on the way to the extraction point. I don’t know how anyone would have known we had the information unless Anna was caught and gave it up. We were shot at as we were returning to the extraction point, so I sent Lt. Commander Caldwell on and used myself as a decoy. I managed to get away from the shooter but needed a place to hide so I ran into the only building open on the street and it turned out to be a brothel. The man entered the brothel and Suzy, the woman who hid me knew him by name. She said his name, Andre. She told him to leave and I assumed he must be the one who knocked me out. I was also drugged which was confirmed by Doctor Jamieson on Seaview. Sir, I lost over an hour from the time I left Joey and woke up. As I tried to get back to the main street, I ran into the woman from the brothel who brought me back there and took care of my injuries until I was able to activate my transponder. Lt. Commander’s Morton and Caldwell along with members of the Seaview brought me out.”

“I see,” Pickerson responded thoughtfully. “You ran into the same woman twice…quite a coincidence…any chance she was part of the set-up?”

“No sir, I don’t think so…I got the impression she didn’t like this man, Andre and I don’t think she was acting. He grabbed her wrist and twisted it. She told him the Boss wouldn’t like him damaging the goods. So, there’s somebody else involved called the Boss, but I have no idea who he is or this man, Andre. I didn’t see Andre’s face when I was in the brothel. If he is the one who knocked me out and drugged me, the only item he removed from my backpack was a bracelet I bought for my wife.”

“There were no reports of a breach in security. As far as the woman at the brothel, our intel said nothing of a brothel involved or a man named Andre,” Pickerson replied. “I’ll have Admiral Johnson check out your story and see if the woman at the brothel has any connections to the PR.”

“Lt. Commander Caldwell, what is your report on the events that took place?”

“Sir, as Commander Crane stated, we were walking to the extraction point and I was hit by a bullet in the arm. Commander Crane ordered me to the extraction point where his men were waiting to take me to the Seaview. Once on board, I gave the intel to Admiral Nelson. I offered my assistance to retrieve Commander Crane as I was familiar with the area. We located him and return him to the boat.”

The Admiral sat there for a few minutes before he continued. “I’ll forward the intel to Admiral Johnson and send him a report explaining what you’ve told me but he’ll want a written report from both of you so send him one as soon as possible.”

“Yes, sir,” both men replied.

When the admiral stood up, Lee and Joey followed suit and shook hands. “Thank you for retrieving the information and I’m sorry you both were injured in the process. Commander Crane, please give my best to Admiral Nelson.”

“Aye, aye, sir,” Lee answered as he placed his cover beneath his arm.

They waited for him to open the door before exiting. Chip stood up when the admiral left his office with Lee and Joey behind.

“Have a safe trip back to the mainland,” Pickerson told the men and returned to his office.

“Thank you,” Joey said to Haley as Chip opened the door and they walked out to the elevators.

“That didn’t take too long,” Chip remarked. “How about we go to the Officer’s Club for lunch before we leave. I’m starving.”

“Sounds good,” Joey replied. “I’m kind of hungry.”

“I could eat too,” Lee said as they made their way out of the building to the waiting car.

“Take us to the Officer’s Club,” Lee said politely.

“Yes, sir,” the ensign replied as he opened the doors for the men, shut them when they were seated and drove them to the club. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

The three men entered the club and were seated immediately as it was a little late for the lunch crowd. Lee was anxious to get back to Seaview as he wanted to do to his walk around the boat as soon as they returned.

()()()()()()()

Once the men were finished with lunch, they went outside and the ensign was there waiting for them.

“Do you want a ride, Joey?” Lee asked.

“No thanks, Lee, it’s a beautiful day and the terminal building isn’t that far away so I think I’ll walk over to meet Sally. She brought me a suitcase so I didn’t have to wear jeans and denim shirts while we’re here. I hope we can work together again.”

“Me too, Joey,” Lee responded shaking his hand. “Have a nice vacation.”

“You too,” he answered and headed towards the terminal building where he would wait in the baggage pickup area for his friend.

“Where too?” the ensign asked once Lee and Chip were seated in the car.

“I believe we’re done here, so back to the Air Force terminal,” Chip said looking at Lee for confirmation.

“Yes, let’s go home.”

The ensign put the car in drive and had them back at the terminal where FS-1 was parked.

“Thanks,” Lee said.

“Yes, sirs. Have a safe trip back,” he replied and drove off.

Lee and Chip headed into the terminal and back to the tarmac where they had left FS-1. Chip unsecured hatch with his code and they entered the little sub through the aft hatch. Lee secured the hatch as Chip removed his service jacket, laid it on the bunk and put on the leather one. He sat down in the pilot’s seat, put on his harness, attached the throat mic and started the engines while Lee slowly took off his jacket, laid it next to Chip’s, donned his leather jacket and sat in the co-pilot’s seat and buckled in. They had to wait in line to take-off as the airport was quite busy that afternoon. Once he was cleared for take-off, Chip quickly got her up and out of the traffic pattern and headed out over the ocean.

()()()()()()()

An hour into their four-hour flight back to Seaview, Lee remarked, “How about we test out the upgrades we did to FS-1. We were going to do them on our way back home after the mission so why not do them now, there’s nothing better to do.”

“Sounds good,” Chip replied.

Lee had put a list of items he wanted to test in one of the sub’s storage lockers before they left Santa Barbara.
When they decided to test out the upgrades, Lee retrieved the clipboard from the locker. Lee gave Chip the items he wanted him to do at Mach speed so Chip brought the little sub up to speed and did the various maneuvers checking out the new steering system. As he completed each item Lee checked it off the list. He watched Chip intently taking notes if he noticed any problems. He was hoping to do the tests but he trusted Chip to give him an honest answer on how she was handling. After an hour at Mach 1, they brought her down to a normal cruising speed and performed the same tests plus a few more.

“She handled like a dream,” Chip said as they finished up the tests. “We better stop we don’t want to get on Seaview’s radar and make them think we’re having a problem.”

Lee checked his watch and noticed they were about ninety minutes away from docking. “We might have waited too long to stop testing. I’m sure they’ve got us on radar,” Lee cringed. “I better check in with them and let them know we’re okay and to send us a homing signal.”

“We better be good all the way back or the admiral might ban us from flying,” Chip smirked.

()()()()()()()

Patterson was just finishing up his watch on radar when he picked up the flying sub on his screen. “Mr. O’Brien, I have something on radar. I’m almost positive it’s the flying sub. She looks to be in trouble.”

O’Brien quickly ran over to the radar console and looked at the screen. “That sure does look like the flying sub. We better check in and make sure she’s okay.”

O’Brien left the console going over to the radio shack when Harry entered the aft hatch and heard the conversation.

“It’s okay, men,” he said knowingly. “They’re testing out the upgrades we installed but they should’ve have let us know before they started the tests. I’ll check in with them just to be sure.”

Harry headed for the radio shack but before he could make his call, Lee’s voice came over the radio.

“FS-1 to Seaview, come in Seaview.”

Sparks flipped the switch to receive Lee’s call but before he could reply, Harry took the mic.

“This is Seaview,” Harry answered. “Are you boys done playing? You had the men in the control room worried there was something wrong with the flying sub.”

“Sorry sir, we should have stopped the testing sooner before we appeared on radar,” Lee replied contritely.

As Lee was talking to the admiral, Janet came down the staircase and quickly walked over to the radio shack. She looked worriedly at Harry. He patted her hand assuring her that everything was okay.

“How did the testing go?”

“Everything was great. We’ll give you a detailed report when we’re back on board which should be in approximately ninety minutes. Have Sparks send us a homing signal.”

“Will do, Lee, see you soon. Seaview out.” Harry responded and handed the mic to Sparks who’d already sent out the signal.

Harry checked his watch. “They should be back around 2000 hours.” He returned to the charting table where Bobby was standing with Jenkins. “Bobby, I’ll be in my cabin if you need me. Radio me when FS-1 is ready to dock.”

“Aye, sir,” Bobby replied and made a note in the log book. He would stay on duty until FS-1 returned and then he would turn over command to Scott Taper and David Morgan.

David Morgan was an up and coming junior officer. Lee and Chip both thought he was ready to assume command in the control room on the delta watch. Jenkins was taking a leave of absence to care for his ailing mother so this was his last mission. They were sad to see him leave but understood that family comes first and made sure he knew he could return when he was able. David Morgan had been in the control room a few times with Taper or Jenkins when they found out about Jenkins. Chip felt he needed a couple more missions under his belt before they would leave him alone.

()()()()()()()

Janet returned to the observation nose after leaving the radio shack. She’d completed all of her reports, logged in the inventory and documented what had been written in the log book. She would log in the rest of the information once they were docked. She even managed to sneak in a nap. She sat down and looked out the windows watching as Seaview plowed through the water…it still amazed her how the windows didn’t crack under the pressure. Janet looked back into the control room as the men changed watches. They still had another couple of days at sea before they returned to NIMR. Even though the mission hadn’t been too long, they were quite a distance from home and she knew the men would be happy once they docked. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t get too much time off as they had to prepare for another mission. This one too was a good distance from Santa Barbara. They were taking some scientists to Antarctica to check on some moss. Since they were returning on Wednesday, Lee, Chip and Janet would finish out the work week before taking off a couple of days off the following week before leaving on the next mission. I wonder if Lee has made any plans for our time off, Janet thought before she took out her reader and continued reading her mystery story.

()()()()()()()

Janet jumped at the sound of Chip’s voice. She hadn’t realized that ninety minutes had passed and FS-1 would be docking soon.

“FS-1 to Seaview,” Chip called.

“This is Seaview,” Jones replied.

“We’ll be docking in ten minutes,” Chip said. “Open the docking bay doors.”

“Yes, sir,” Jones answered noting that O’Brien had heard the message.

He picked up the mic. “Engine room, all stop.”

“All stop,” they responded.

Bobby doubled clicked the mic, “Admiral, the flying sub will be docking in ten minutes.” He then told Carlson on sonar to open the doors before shipping the mic. Scott and David had reported for their duty and watched as Bobby directed the boat and men.

“I’ll be right there,” Harry said and put down the report he was reading and made his way to the observation nose.

Janet looked away from the windows when she heard the click of his heels on the staircase. He walked over to her. “Right on time.”

“Would you expect anything else from your Captain,” Janet quipped.

Breaking out in a smile, “No, I guess not.”

They watched as FS-1 approached them head on before ducking underneath the sub. Chip slowly raised her up and in place. As soon as she was secured, the docking bay doors were closed. Bobby went over to the hatch and waited for Lee and Chip to come out of the sub.

While Chip completed the shut-down procedures, Lee unsecured the ladder and locked it in place. He grabbed both their jackets and covers. He handed Chip his while he went up the ladder. He un-dogged the hatch and waited while one of crew lifted the hatch up. He saw Bobby at the top.

“Welcome back, Skipper,” Bobby said as he took Lee’s jacket and cover and handed them to Janet who had reached out for them.

“Thanks. Good evening, Admiral, Janet,” Lee replied with a smile. “How’s my boat?”

“Your boat is fine…we’re on course and should be docking on schedule,” Bobby answered and took Chip’s gear from him as he climbed out of the hatch and handed it to Janet. Bobby secured the hatch after answering Lee’s question while a crew-man relieved Janet of the men’s gear and would take it to their cabins.

“Glad to hear,” Lee said taking Janet’s hand and gave it a squeeze.

“How did everything go in Hawaii?” Harry asked.

“Why don’t we tell you about it over dinner,” Lee suggested. “I’m hungry and I knew Chip is as I heard his stomach growl a few times on the way home.”

“Works for me,” Harry replied. “I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

The four of them left the control room and headed aft to the wardroom. Bobby ordered the engine room to standard speed so they could resume their course for home. He signed off the change of command over to Scott and David. He was beat as it had been a long day and was looking forward to hitting his bunk.

()()()()()()()

When the group arrived in the wardroom, Cookie motioned them to sit and brought them their dinners. The mess specialist poured coffee for all of them.

Harry spoke up as they ate dinner. “How did the meeting go with Admiral Pickerson?”

“We reported what had taken place and he hadn’t heard of any breach in security. He was going to talk to Admiral Johnson about it. Admiral Pickerson was a little disappointed you didn’t come with.”

Harry smiled, “It’s been awhile since I’ve talked to or seen him. Maybe next time we’re out this way I’ll stop in and see him. Just one other item, I know you said the upgrades to FS-1 were good but what else can you report?”

Chip replied, “She had more maneuverability and a tighter turn range at both Mach 1 and normal speeds. It was definitely worth the cost of the upgrades.”

“Lee, I know you would like to take her out but I’m glad we made the tests anyway,” Harry responded knowing he was looking forward to testing his ‘baby’.

“It’s okay, Admiral. I trust Chip’s judgement and I was able to make some mental notes on how she handled,” Lee said. “I’ll get my turn soon enough,” he said with smile.

When they finished eating, Cookie and a mess specialist removed their plates.

“Great meal,” Lee told Cookie as they stood up to leave.

“Thanks, Skipper,” he replied.

The four of them left the wardroom and headed out to the passageway.

“I don’t know about the rest of you but I’m beat,” Harry replied barely stifling a yawn. “It’s been a long day.”

“Same here,” Chip answered and Janet nodded her head in agreement.

“I’m going to do a quick walk-around,” Lee told them giving Janet a wink.

“See you in the morning,” Harry answered and headed up the ladder to his cabin.

Chip and Janet stood with Lee in the passageway.

“I’m going to do a quick check in the control room,” Chip said. “I’m want to see how David is doing.” He turned and headed down the corridor leaving Lee and Janet in the passageway.

“I won’t be long,” Lee told Janet giving her a quick kiss.

“You better not as I’m going to hold you to your promised plans,” she whispered.

Grinning, Lee watched her go up the ladder and then headed for the missile room where he would start his walk-around.

()()()()()()()

Janet entered their cabin, turned on the light on Lee’s desk and sat down on the chair where she removed her shoes and tucked them under the chair. Even with a nap she was tired but would try and stay awake until Lee returned from his walk. As she got ready for bed she thought about the comment Lee made regarding no breach of security regarding the mission. Then why would someone knock him out, prop him up in front of a building and leave him there. “It just doesn’t make sense,” she said out loud. “Something else is going on.”

She climbed in the bunk, turned on the light over the bunk and took out her reader. Maybe I can finish this before Lee returns. She had only read a few pages before she dozed off.

()()()()()()()

Lee entered the missile room and greeted the men who were on duty. He talked to them for a few minutes before moving onto the engine room, reactor room and a few other departments before he made his last stop in the control room. He knew Chip had stopped in to check on the men but wanted to find out how Morgan was doing. He entered the aft hatch and saw Taper at the charting table watching Morgan make the rounds checking on each of the consoles and stations.

“How’s he doing?” Lee asked as he walked over to Scott.

“He’s doing a good job,” Scott replied. “A little nervous at first but he’s settling down.”

“Good to hear,” Lee responded as David finished his rounds and returned to the charting table.

“Evening Skipper,” Morgan said to Lee.

“Evening Mr. Morgan. I hear you’re doing a good job. Keep up the good work,” Lee told him.

“Thank you, sir,” David answered. “I really appreciate you giving me the chance to work up here.”

Lee nodded his head. “If you need anything, just let me know.”

“Aye, aye, sir,” the men replied.

()()()()()()()

Lee took a quick look out the windows and trotted up the spiral staircase. He loosened his tie as he headed for his cabin. I wonder if Janet’s still awake, he chuckled as he’d been gone for over an hour and he noticed she did look tired. He opened the door to the cabin and saw the desk light was still lit as was the bunk light but Janet was sleeping. He removed the reader from her hand and turned off the bunk light. He went to the head and turned on that light so he could turn off the desk light. He was very familiar with his cabin but in total darkness that was another story. He sat down on the chair, removed his shoes and put them next to Janet’s. He stripped off the rest of his clothing and took care of his business in the head. When he went to turn off the light in the head, he kicked the doorway with his foot.

“Damn,” he said a little too loudly and woke up Janet.

She saw the silhouette of her naked husband just as he turned off the light. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, sorry I woke you,” Lee apologized.

“I’m glad you did,” Janet replied sitting up on her elbow.

Lee made his way over to the bunk and gave her a deep long kiss. “I sure missed that,” Lee murmured.

“Me too,” Janet answered as she scooted down into the bunk and pulled the covers back so Lee could slip in.

Once Lee was in the bunk, he pulled her close. “You don’t need this,” he said as he removed her pajama top and tossed it on the deck. He gave her another lingering kiss, rolled her on her back and put his body on hers and they made passionate love. Both were exhausted as Janet nestled in the crook of Lee’s arm and placed her hand on his chest. “Love you,” she said softly before she fell asleep.

“Love you too,” Lee replied kissing the top of her head and dozed off.

()()()()()()()

Across the Pacific Ocean, in the town of Kolenovo, the Boss was in his study sitting at the mahogany desk looking out over the ocean. He looked down at the date on his calendar while fingering the bracelet he removed from Lee’s backpack. He broke out in a grin, “It’s time,” he said out loud. He placed the bracelet back in the black velvet bag and puts that into another box. He made sure the box lid is secure before placing it in a FedEx shipping container. He looked at the label already affixed to the front. Admiral Harriman Nelson, C/O Nelson Institute of Marine Research. He rechecked the rest of address and sealed up the box. He’d take it to Lutsino for mailing as it’s a bigger town and has a FedEx store.

“Andre,” he called loudly.

“Yes sir,” Andre replied as he entered the study.

“Bring the car around. I’m going to Lutsino today.”

“Do you want me to drive you?” Andre asked hoping he’d say no.

“No, I want to enjoy the beautiful day. I’m going to have lunch there so I’ll be back later this afternoon.”

Yes, sir,” Andre responded and left the study to bring the car to the front of the house.

The Boss picked up the box and walked out of the study through foyer and out the front door. It’s going to be a glorious day, he thought as he walked to the driver’s side of the car where Andre had the door open for him.

“Have a good afternoon,” Andre told him as he shut the door.

The Boss drove down the winding driveway to the street and headed for Lutsino.

()()()()()()()

It was only a thirty-minute drive to Lutsino. His first stop was the FedEx store where he dropped off the package. The man at counter looked over the information and collected the fee. It was expensive but he knew it was worth every penny.

“You’re sure it will be there by Thursday?” the Boss asked.

“Yes, sir, it will arrive Thursday afternoon,” the man assured him. “You’ll get a confirmation via email when it arrives.”

“Perfect, thank you very much,” the Boss said and left the store. He made his way over to his favorite restaurant where a tall blond was waiting for him at his table. He ordered a bottle of wine and celebrated.

()()()()()()()

It was 0500 on Wednesday morning when Janet awoke. When she sat up, she heard Lee snoring softly and knew he was sound asleep. She was glad they would be docking later that afternoon as she’d found him awake the previous two nights. The first night she found him typing his AAR to Admiral Johnson. The second night she discovered he was awake when she tried to snuggle up to him because she was cold and found him sitting at his desk reading a report. When she asked him to come back to bed, he said he would but it was a couple of hours later. She knew when he did return to bed, he would just lay there not sleeping afraid to move so he wouldn’t wake her. He had dark circles under eyes and was starting to look a little haggard. Janet was worried about him, so she decided to let him sleep for a couple more hours. She laid down and fell back to asleep also.

“Shit,” Lee said loudly waking up Janet.

“Lee, what’s wrong?” she asked still groggy. “Is something wrong with the boat…I didn’t hear any klaxons.”

“No, I overslept. I’m going to be late,” he said as he quickly got out of the bunk and headed for the head. “I can’t believe I overslept.”

“I let you oversleep,” Janet confessed. “I was awake at 0500, you were sound asleep so I didn’t wake you.”

“YOU let me oversleep,” Lee shouted angrily. “What the hell were you thinking…you know better…I always report early when I’ve been gone.”

“Lee, calm down,” Janet shouted back before she realized she was shouting and softened her tone. “I’m worried about you. You look tired and have dark circles under your eyes. You haven’t slept through the night since you got back from Hawaii. Besides, Chip will take over, it’s not like there’s no one else to run the boat.”

Lee glared at her as he ducked into the head, took a quick shower, dressed and left the cabin slamming the door.

“Damn, that went well,” Janet sighed. She showered, dressed and headed for the wardroom.

()()()()()()()

Harry and Jamie were in the wardroom when Janet arrived and had just gotten their breakfast. She took some toast, eggs and coffee and sat down to join them.

“Where’s Lee?” Harry asked before he took a gulp of coffee.

“In the control room. I let him sleep in because he’s been up the last few nights. He hasn’t slept well since he returned from Hawaii. He wasn’t very happy with me but I’m worried about him. I was hoping I could talk him into seeing you, Jamie, but he was so angry with me, I let it pass.”

“He knows Chip or Bobby will be in the control room to relieve the men on duty,” Harry said. “I’ll have to remind him he’s not the only officer on board.”

“Thank you, sir but you know he feels responsible for everyone and everything,” Janet replied after taking a nibble of her toast.

“Let me talk to him,” Jamie said. “I’ll try and convince him that I need to do a recheck on his blood work.”

“Jamie, I’d appreciate that but I’m not going to hold my breath he’s going to let you.”

The three of them finished their breakfast in silence. When they were done, Harry and Janet headed to the control room and Jamie to sick bay. He decided he would talk to Lee later.

()()()()()()(

Lee ran down the spiral staircase and entered the control room. He noticed Chip was not there and Bobby was just entering through the aft hatch as he made his way over to the chart table.

“You’re relieved of duty,” Lee told Taper and Morgan.

“Aye sir,” they replied and headed for the aft hatch. Lee picked up the log book and noticed that there were a few entries missing.

“Taper, Morgan, get back here on the double,” Lee ordered.

Both men turned around and headed for the chart table just as Chip was coming into the control room.

Lee held up the log book, “Aren’t you forgetting something,” he snapped. “You didn’t note the change in command. Looks like a few other entries are missing too. Mr. Taper you should know better,” Lee ranted. “I just might to rethink your new position Mr. Morgan. Dismissed.” The two men quickly high tailed it out of the control room.

Chip hurried over to the charting table. He had a contrite look on his face…his blue eyes wide open. “Captain,” he said urgently. “It’s not their fault about the entry in the log book. I relieved them and told them I would log it in but none of the pens worked, so I ran to get a couple.”

“Why didn’t they say something?” Lee asked calmly.

“You didn’t give them a chance to say anything before you took their heads off,” Chip replied confused at the change in Lee’s demeanor.

Lee rubbed his hand over his head, “I better go talk to them,” he responded and took off out the aft hatch and almost ran over Harry and Janet.

Lee knew Scott liked to get breakfast before he hit the sack so he made his way to the wardroom hoping to catch the two men before they retired to their quarters.

“What the heck is going on?” Harry asked Chip when he walked over to the charting table. “Lee ran out of here like a bat out of hell.”

“Mr. O’Brien, you have the con,” Chip said motioning Harry and Janet to the observation nose.

“Aye, sir,” O’Brien replied and was going to note the change in the log book.

“I’ll take care of it,” Chip told him and joined Harry and Janet.

He explained to them what had taken place in the control room.

“Lee, would never dress down a crew member in front of the men,” Harry said perplexed.

Janet sighed deeply. “It’s my fault. I let him sleep in since he hasn’t been sleeping and he took my head off because I did,” she told Chip. “I never thought he would take it out on the crew. I’ll apologize to the men. I just thought you or O’Brien would be here.”

“I was here, he just didn’t know it but what worries me is he was pissed one minute and back to himself the next.”

“I’ll make sure Jamie checks him out,” Harry replied worriedly. “I’m assuming he went in search of Taper and Morgan?”

“I guess so,” Chip responded and looked around the control room and could see the men were shaken at what had taken place. “Okay men, back to work, we still have a boat to run.”

“What’s gotten into the Skipper?” Kowalski whispered to Patterson. “I’ve never seen him do that before.”

“I don’t know but he’s sure in a bad mood.”

The men returned to monitoring their stations and consoles wondering what had gotten into their skipper.

()()()()()()()

Lee ran into the wardroom pleased to see Scott and David sitting at a table eating breakfast. Both men immediately stood at attention when Lee entered.

“At ease men,” Lee told them and sat down. He motioned to Cookie to bring him a cup of coffee.

Cookie knew Lee hadn’t eaten breakfast so he brought him over a plate. He set the plate down in front of Lee who nodded thanks.

“Go ahead and eat,” Lee said to the men. He took a forkful of eggs before he continued. “I need to apologize to you for the way I acted earlier. Mr. Morton explained the situation to me. I should have asked why the log entry was missing before I dressed you down in front of the crew. It’ll never happen again.”

“Yes, sir,” both men replied.

“You’re both doing a good job and I appreciate the hard work you put in,” Lee said. “I’ll let you finish eating so you can hit the rack.” Lee took a large gulp of coffee, left his plate of food and walked out of the wardroom.

Scott and David looked at each other not knowing what to say. They finished their breakfast and made their way to their quarters as they were tired and confused at the way the captain was acting but both knew strange things took place on Seaview.

()()()()()()()

Harry, Chip and Janet were still in the observation nose when Lee returned to the control room. He hesitated slightly at the aft hatch before he made his way to them.

“Chip, sorry I lost my head,” Lee said rubbing his hand on his forehead. “I was late and just snapped.”

“No problem, Lee,” he answered. “It was just a misunderstanding but you do look tired.”

“I’m fine,” Lee responded and looked at Janet. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you either. I know you were just trying to help.”

“It’s okay,” Janet replied giving his hand a squeeze. He quickly pulled his hand away from hers. Janet was caught off guard as Lee never pulled his hand away.

“Lee, before we dock, I want Jamie to take a look at you,” Harry stated. “I’ll make it an order if I have too.”

“Yes, sir,” Lee conceded. “I’ll go in a little while.”

“Good,” Harry said and patted Lee on the shoulder. Janet noticed Lee flinched when Harry touched him. “If you need me, I’ll be in the lab packing up the samples and gathering my notes.”

“Do you need help?” Janet asked.

“No, thanks,” Harry replied and started up the staircase.

Lee, Chip and Janet walked over to the chart table where Chip pulled out the log book and made the entries while Lee looked on.

“I’ll be in my office after I stop in the crew’s quarters to get the inventory tickets,” Janet volunteered.

“Lunch at 1300 hours?” Lee asked before she left.

“Aye, aye, sir,” she replied with a smile and made her way out the aft hatch. She stopped briefly after exiting the control room to turn around and look at Lee. Something is definitely wrong…hopefully Jamie will have some answers, Janet thought and continued down the passageway.

()()()()()()()

Janet had no intentions of stopping in the crew’s quarters, she just used that as an excuse. She was going to stop and talk to Jamie. When she arrived at sick bay, Jamie was sitting at his desk reading a report.

“What brings you to Sick Bay…are you sick?” Jamie asked. He could see by the look on Janet’s face that something was bothering her. He’d already heard the scuttlebutt of what took place in the control room.

“No, I’m not sick just worried,” she replied and sat down in the chair in the front of Jamie’s desk. “I suppose you heard what happened in the control room.”

“Yes, you know not too much is kept secret on the boat,” Jamie answered.

“Jamie, there’s something wrong with him,” Janet said vehemently. “He bit my head off this morning because I let him sleep in. He hasn’t slept the entire night for the past three nights. I know he doesn’t need a lot of sleep but I can see its starting to take a toll on him.”

“I’ll make sure he stops and sees me before we dock,” Jamie assured her.

“You don’t have to worry about that as the admiral ordered him to see you before we dock,” Janet responded. “One minute he’s like Dr. Jekyll and the next Mr. Hyde. He also grabbed his hand away from mine when I went to squeeze and he flinched when the admiral patted him on the arm.”

“I’ll check out his blood again but run more in-depth tests when I get back to Med Bay. Maybe I missed something,” Jamie answered. “Try not to worry we’ll get to the bottom of the problem.”

“Thanks, but please don’t tell him I was here,” Janet asked.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let on,” Jamie said and patted her hand.

Janet stood up and left sick bay. Jamie sat at his desk wondering what was going on but would have to wait for Lee to come to him. He returned to reading his report.

()()()()()()()

At 1300 hours Lee and Chip turned over the control room to Bobby and went to the wardroom for lunch. Janet and Harry came in shortly after they had sat down with their plates.

“When will we be docking?” Harry asked. “I want to let Angie know so she makes sure the docking crew and maintenance know when to arrive.”

“Around 1700 hours,” Lee answered before taking a bite of his sandwich. “I’m waiting for the latest weather report from Sparks. When I checked earlier it wasn’t looking too good.”

“Let me know if there’s a problem,” Harry said. “Have you seen Jamie yet?”

Lee looked up from his plate, “No, not yet,” he replied impatiently. “I’ll do it right after lunch.”

When they finished their lunch, Janet and Lee headed to Sick Bay, Chip back to the control room, and Harry went to his cabin to call Angie.

()()()()()()()

Jamie and Frank were doing inventory when Lee and Janet entered. Jamie put down his clipboard and walked over to them.

“How are you feeling?” he asked innocently.

“Fine, just following orders…seems my not sleeping and wanting rules followed is a problem,” Lee replied testily as he sat down on the gurney and rolled up his sleeve.

Surprised that he was cooperating Jamie wasted no time drawing a few vials of blood but noticed Lee flinch when he touched his arm and put the needle in for the blood…it never had bothered him before.

“I’m going to run some quick tests to see if there’s something I missed the first time,” Jamie said as he noted Lee did look tired and haggard. “I’ll run more complex tests at Med Bay just in case I don’t find anything here.”

Rolling down his sleeve, “Am I done, I have a boat to get into port?” Lee asked curtly.

“Yes, sir, you can go,” Jamie answered. “I’ll have the results in an hour or so.”

Lee was already out the door and didn’t hear Jamie’s response. Janet looked at Jamie. "Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Jamie said seriously. “But I do agree something is wrong. Let’s hope these tests will help us find out.”

Janet left sick bay and returned to her office where she packed up what she needed to take back to the institute. Once that was completed, she went to the cabin and packed up their duffle bags.

()()()()()()()

When Lee returned to the control room, he headed over to the charting table. Lee resumed command of the boat so Bobby could get some lunch. He filled out the log book and headed over to the radio shack.

Leaning on the radio, he asked, “What’s the latest weather report?”

“Not too good Skipper. The winds are gusting at fifty miles per hour and there are eight-foot waves. There’s a storm heading in,” Sparks replied handing Lee the weather report.

Lee returned to the charting table, picked up a pencil and tapped it on the table. “Weather’s not looking good,” he told Chip. “We’re going to have to stay submerged almost to her berth. It sure would be nice if we could take her to the underground pen.”

“That would be a lot easier but the last I heard they were still working on the new dock,” Chip replied.

Lee looked at Chip with a huge smile. “Maybe I should let you take her in. I might be able to collect on our bet. It’s been awhile.”

Chip looked at Lee and returned his grin, “No problem, Skipper,” he joked surprised at the good mood Lee was in.

()()()()()()()

As soon as Lee left, Jamie took a couple of the vials of blood he took from Lee and began to run some tests. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for but hoped something would turn up. He also kept a couple in reserve to run more extensive tests at Med Bay than he could on the boat. He and Frank finished up the inventory making notes on what they would need to restock before the next cruise.

()()()()()()()

At 1600 hours, Seaview had reached the channel and was still submerged. Normally Lee would surface the boat and bring her into the berth but after he checked the weather report again, it was still too choppy. Submarines weren’t made to be on the surface in choppy seas and Seaview was no exception. Lee didn’t want the crew to get seasick before they docked and with winds still gusting at over forty miles and waves at ten to twelve feet he would have to surface just before they reached her berth.

“Chip, make sure the deck detail is ready to tie her down as soon as we dock. The weather is still too bad so, we’ll surface right before I’m ready to dock her.”

“Aye, aye, sir,” Chip responded glad he wasn’t going to have to do it.

“Engine room, all ahead dead slow,” Lee ordered.

“Engine room, aye,” they replied as Seaview slowed down.

When they were two hundred yards from her berth, Lee ordered her to surface.

Sharkey handed Lee and Chip their raincoats as they headed up the ladder. The boat was already rocking by the time they reached the bridge. Lee slowly and skillfully maneuvered her into the berth. The dock crew was standing by with the lines ready to tie her down as soon as the deck crew emerged on the deck. The deck crew was having a hard time standing but managed to tie her down. They placed bumpers along the side so that she wouldn’t crash into the dock.

Even though it was chilly out, Lee was sweating by the time he returned to the control room where the men were shutting down their consoles and stations.

“That sure wasn’t easy,” Lee said to Chip as Harry and Janet descended down the staircase.

Even though the boat was tied down, she was still rocking. Harry looked out the viewports and saw how bad the weather was.

“Nice job, Captain,” he remarked.

“Thank you, sir. Chip, crack the hatch so the men can leave.”

“Yes, sir,” he responded and gave the order.

The hatch was opened and the men started going up the ladder and out the sail door. After all the men had left, Jamie and Frank walked into the control room. Frank was carrying the container that held the extra vials of Lee’s blood.

“Well, did you find anything?” Lee asked irritably.

“No, nothing but I’ll run some more tests,” Jamie answered surprised at Lee’s tone. “I’ll let you know sometime tomorrow.”

“There’s nothing wrong with me. I just need a little sleep and I’ll be fine.”

“Good bye,” Jamie said and headed up the ladder right after Frank.

()()()()()()()

Jamie and Frank walked down the gangplank and to the parking lot.

“Frank, I’ll take the container to Med Bay. I’m going to start running the tests of the Skipper’s blood as some of them take twenty-four hours to get the results. I think we’re going to need the information as soon as possible. The skipper’s mood isn’t very good and maybe the results can shed some light on why.”

“I’ll go with and help you set it up. My wife’s out of town until tomorrow so there’s no one at home,” Frank told Jamie as they got into their cars and headed for Med Bay.

When they arrived, Hazel was on duty and surprised to see Jamie and Frank.

“Is everything okay…are we getting a patient?” she asked urgently.

“No, I just want to run some blood tests on Captain Crane’s blood and I want the results as soon as possible,” Jamie said.

“I’ll help as there are no patients. It’s been very quiet since you’ve been gone.”

“That’s good to know,” Jamie acknowledged as they walked to the lab.

Jamie instructed them on which tests he wanted to run as these were different than the ones he did on the boat. They looked at him strangely as some of these tests are not normally included in routine blood tests.

“I know what you’re thinking but I don’t want to leave a chance of missing something. I can’t prove it but I suspect there’s something in the Captain’s blood and I want to know what it is. We have five vials of blood so that should be enough.”

“Yes, sir,” they replied and set up the tests.

It only took an hour for them to set up the tests. When they were finished, they walked out of the lab and Jamie turned off the lights. The three of them stood in the hallway, “Thanks for your help. It would’ve taken me a couple of hours to do all that set-up. Hazel, I’ll be in around noon tomorrow as I’m working at the free clinic in the morning. Just leave everything as is, I’ll check it when I come in. Since we have no patients, you can go home,” Jamie said to Hazel.

“Thank you, sir,” she responded and went to turn off the lights at the nurse’s station. She grabbed her jacket and umbrella.

As they made their way out of Med Bay, Frank noticed the wind had increased. “We’re going to be in for a bad storm so be careful going home.”

“You too,” Jamie and Hazel answered as they reached their cars and headed home.

()()()()()()()

Harry, Lee, Chip and Janet were still on the boat as Jamie and Frank headed for Med Bay. They were waiting for stewards to take their bags up the ladder and place them in their cars. One went up the ladder as the other ones handed him the duffle bags and briefcases. Once everything was on deck, the other two headed up after securing the keys to the cars.

“The wind must have picked up as she’s rocking more than before, so let’s leave before we all get seasick,” Harry suggested.

He went up the ladder, followed by Chip, Janet and then Lee. They carefully walked on the quarterdeck and down the gangplank happy to be on solid ground.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Harry said. “I want to talk to you about the next mission. Angie told me she received the list of items the scientists were bringing on board. Lee, I had her put a copy on your desk.”

“Yes, sir,” Lee and Chip responded.

As they stood on the dock, Lee looked around for the maintenance crew.

“Where the hell is maintenance?” Lee snapped. “Chip, get on the phone and find out where they are.”

“Yes sir,” Chip replied as he took out his phone and dialed Jeremy Higgins, the man in charge of the maintenance crew.

“They’re on the way,” Chip answered cautiously.

“They’re supposed to be here when we dock. I don’t want to have to wait for them,” Lee said angrily.

The maintenance crew pulled on the dock a few minutes after Chip called.

“Sorry sirs,” Jeremy said. “You came in an hour earlier than we were told.”

“That’s no excuse. Next time be here on time,” Lee fumed. “I want the whole boat scrubbed down. She’s looking a little dirty. And it needs to be done by Monday.”

Jeremy looked at Lee then Chip. “Yes, sir,” he replied nervously as a total scrubbing was normally done when the boat was in port for a couple of weeks.

Chip felt sorry for Jeremy as Lee was in no mood for him to say something. He looked at Jeremy and discreetly pointed to his phone. Jeremy nodded knowing the Chip would call him later.

“Let’s get out of here,” Lee snarled and started walking down the dock.

As the three of them walked towards the parking lot, they ran into Julie who’d come to pick up Chip as he’d driven with Lee and Janet.

“Hi guys,” she said cheerfully walking over to Chip and giving him a quick kiss.

“Hi,” Lee grunted and kept on walking.

Julie looked at Janet, “Sorry. He’s in a bad mood. I’ll talk to you later. Bye Chip.”

“Bye,” Chip replied worriedly.

“Was the mission that bad?” Julie asked with concern.

“No, I’ll tell you about it later. Thanks for coming to get me,” Chip said happily. “I really missed you.”

“Me too and I’ll show you how much when we get home,” she replied linking her arm in his.

Lee and Janet walked up to the SUV and found it unlocked and the keys on the front seat where the steward had left them after he took Lee’s briefcase and duffle bags off the boat.

“They left the car unlocked,” Lee said crabbily.

“Lee, they always do. Who’s going to take anything?” Janet answered warily as she noticed Lee’s attitude was getting worse. She climbed in the car and looked out the window. I sure hope Jamie’s tests reveal what’s wrong with him.

()()()()()()()

Lee and Janet rode the short distance to their house on institute grounds in silence. Lee parked the car in the driveway and sat there for a few minutes.

“You okay?” Janet asked cautiously afraid she might set him off.

“Yes, I’m fine,” Lee grumbled and pushed the button to open the tailgate.

They exited the car and walked to the back so they could retrieve their bags. Lee picked up his duffle and when he picked up Janet’s, he winced in pain causing him to drop it.

“Sorry,” he said. “I just couldn’t hold on to it.”

“I’ll take in... it’s not that heavy.” Janet picked up her duffle and Lee’s briefcase.

Lee unlocked the door and set down the duffle by the door. Janet followed him in and put his briefcase by the chair. She deposited her duffle in the laundry room and went back to get Lee’s as he sat down on the couch. Janet noticed he looked more tired than before. She put his duffle with hers and would deal with them later.

“Are you hungry?” Janet asked as she walked past him into the kitchen. “There’s probably not a lot to choose from but I’m sure I can find something.”

Lee got up from the couch and sat down at the counter. “Whatever you make is fine with me.”

As Janet looked for something to eat, Lee removed his tie, unbuttoned the top button on his shirt, rolled up his sleeves and rested his arms on the counter.

“How does peanut butter and jelly sound?”

“That’s okay,” Lee responded tiredly.

Janet defrosted the bread in the microwave, made the sandwich and set it down in front of Lee. He took a bite. “I haven’t had one of these in a long time,” he commented and finished it up.

“Would you like some coffee and another sandwich?”

“No to both, just some water, please.”

Janet gave him a glass of water and picked up her sandwich. “This does taste good.”

Lee looked at Janet as she licked the peanut butter off her fingers. “I sure had a short temper today,” he remarked softly.

Janet returned his look, “Yes, you were a little testy today.”

“I just don’t know what came over me,” he replied uneasily. “One minute I’m biting someone’s head off and the next minute I’m back to normal. Why did the little stuff bother me?”

“I don’t know, honey. You’re the calmest person I know. Not much bothers you but today everything did. Maybe the lack of sleep is catching up with you. I know it’s still early but why don’t you go to bed,” Janet suggested as she put her hands over his. He quickly pulled his hands out from under hers and got up from the stool.

Janet was surprised at his actions but didn’t say anything as she saw him grimace when she touched him.

“That sounds like a good idea,” Lee answered as he rubbed his hands where Janet had placed hers.

“I’ll be up soon,” Janet said as she watched him climb the stairs.

()()()()()()()

Lee plodded up the stairs. When he got to the bedroom, he was so tired he could barely get undressed and left his clothes in a heap on the floor. He decided to forego his shower and take one in the morning. He climbed into bed and moved away from the spot he and Janet always slept. He didn’t want to be touched. Why am I snapping at everyone…why I don’t want to sleep next to my wife…why does it hurt when someone touches me…What the hell is wrong with me? Lee thought as he drifted off to sleep.

()()()()()()()

After cleaning up the kitchen, sorting out the clothes in the duffle bags, it was an hour later by the time Janet went upstairs. Normally Lee would wake up when she came into the room but he was sound asleep. Before Janet got ready for bed, she took out her clothes for tomorrow. Since she always wore pants on the boat, she was looking forward to dressing up. By the time Janet slipped into bed, the storm that had been threatening all night had finally arrived with vivid lightening and loud claps of thunder that shook the house. She noticed Lee was sleeping on the far side of the bed. Frightened by the severity of the storm, she scooted over to him and put her arm around him.

“Not now,” he said gruffly and pushed her arm off.

“Okay,” Janet answered quietly and moved back to her side of the bed. Hopefully Lee will be back to normal after a good night’s sleep, she thought before she dozed off.

()()()()()()()

Janet woke up at 0100 and found Lee staring out the window. Even though the storm had passed, it was still very windy. He’s probably checking on Seaview.

“How long have you been up?” she asked sitting up on her elbow.

“A couple of hours,” he said impatiently. “What’s it to you anyway?”

Surprised at his tone, Janet responded calmly, “Lee, I’m worried about you. I thought when you got home you’d be able to sleep as I know the bunk on the boat isn’t very comfortable for two people. I guess I was wrong.”

“I’ll be back in bed soon…just leave me alone,” he said curtly and continued to stare outside.

Janet laid back down and waited for him to return to bed. It was 0300 when he finally slipped back into the bed and resumed his spot as far away from her as possible.

There’s more wrong with Lee than just lack of sleep. He hasn’t been the same since he returned from the mission in Kolenovo. Something had to have happened while he was knocked out, Janet thought. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long day. She finally fell back to sleep only to be jostled awake when Lee got up.

()()()()()()()

Even though Lee was exhausted, he only managed to sleep a few of hours before he woke up again. He noticed the storm was over but it was still quite windy so he got out of the bed hoping he wouldn’t wake up Janet. He stood at the window watching Seaview bob in her pen. The water was still pretty rough but she was handling it with no problems. He gazed out over the ocean watching the lightening as the storm headed out to sea. He heard Janet ask if he was okay. I don’t know what’s wrong so I wish she would just leave me alone, Lee thought. I really shouldn’t have snapped at her but I don’t want to deal with her right now. Lee stood there a few more minutes waiting for Janet to go back to sleep. He returned to bed and laid there until 0400 before deciding to get up. He’d look over the reports he brought back until it was time to go to work. He quickly got out of bed not caring if he woke up Janet or not.

()()()()()()()

Lee turned on the water in the shower. He was looking forward to taking a nice long leisurely one. Janet heard the water running and looked at the clock noticing it was 0400. She quickly got out of bed not wanting to miss their shower together when they’re home. Lee was in the shower by the time she got there. She opened the door and went to get in.

“What do you want…can’t I take a shower in peace,” Lee snarled.

Janet closed the shower door and went back into the bedroom. She knew he didn’t mean what he said but it still hurt anyway. Jamie, please find something wrong with him so we can take care of him.

As Lee stood in the shower, the water felt like needles on his skin. It was worse than when someone touched him so he quickly finished bathing. As he dressed, he could barely tolerate the clothing against his skin. He took a deep breath waiting for the pain to pass before he headed for the kitchen and made the coffee. The thought of food turned his stomach so he only had some coffee. While he waited for Janet to get ready, he located his briefcase and took out the report he wanted to read.

()()()()()()()

Janet took her shower and dressed. She’d eat before she put on her make-up since she had plenty of time to kill as it was 0500. She made her way downstairs and found Lee reading a report. She poured a cup of coffee and refilled Lee’s.

“Do you want breakfast…I think there’re some waffles?”

“No,” Lee responded not even looking at her as he continued to read the report.

Janet made some toast and sat down next to Lee. She didn’t touch him or even talk to him. She quickly finished up and headed up the stairs to finished getting ready. He didn’t even notice she was gone.

When Lee finished the report, he refilled his coffee cup and headed outside. Even though the wind had died down, it was still cool and he felt chilled so he returned to the house and looked at his watch.

“Janet, hurry up,” he shouted as he stood by the stairs. He returned to the kitchen and cleaned up while he waited.

Janet looked at her watch and sighed…0600. What’s his hurry? She was almost ready, she put on her shoes and sweater. She made her way downstairs and found Lee waiting by the door. She grabbed her purse from the chair and went out the door as Lee stood there holding it open. He’d put on his service coat and had his cover in his hand along with his briefcase.

()()()()()()()

They drove to the institute in silence. Lee parked the SUV in his parking place and got out. He would normally come around an open the door for Janet but today he didn’t. It was too early for Howard to be there so Lee had to use his key to open the front door. He located the log-in book that was on the shelf under the top of the desk and signed them in. Neither one said anything as they got into the elevator and took it to the second floor. Once in the office, Janet made the coffee before she retreated to her office. She sighed as she looked at her desk covered in mail. I guess it was good we came in early, Janet mused as she removed her sweater, hung it on the back of the chair and put her purse in the drawer taking out her cell phone which she put on the desk.

She had almost all the mail sorted by the time Chip arrived at 0800. He noticed they had signed in at 0630. He stopped at Janet’s office before heading for his.

He looked at all the mail. “That’s the one bad part about being away, all the mail to go through.”

“Yes, for some reason there’s a ton of it,” Janet replied with a grin. “Almost done. Looks like you’re going to get most of it this time.”

“Thanks a lot,” Chip remarked. “You sure came in early this morning. Everything alright?”

“No,” Janet said honestly. “Lee was up most of the night...I think there’s something more going on than the lack of sleep.”

“Sorry to hear that but if you need anything, just call,” Chip responded as he left her office and headed to Lee’s.

He found him sitting at his desk reading a sheet of paper, “Good morning, Lee,” Chip said noticing he still looked tired.

“Have you seen this list of items those scientists need to bring aboard for the mission to Antarctica?” Lee asked sharply. “It’s ridiculous.”

“No, I haven’t seen it. Let me look at it,” Chip replied holding out his hand for Lee to hand him the list.

Lee thrust it into his hand but Chip didn’t quite catch it and it dropped on the floor causing Lee to sigh heavily.

Chip quickly perused the list. “I don’t think there’re that many items. We’ve had them bring a lot more aboard.”

“Figures you’d side with them,” Lee hissed. “Do you have the information on the new communications upgrades?”

“No, not yet. I was working on them when we left to check out the reefs and I never got back to them when we had to rescue you from Kolenovo. I’ll work on them today. Hopefully I’ll have all the information by tomorrow.”

“Make it later today,” Lee said nastily. “You can go now.”

Chip took a deep breath before he said something he’d regret later. He turned tail and left Lee’s office and headed to his own. What the hell was that all about, he wondered as he hung up his jacket and put his cover in the closet.

()()()()()()()

Chip put his briefcase on the desk and took out the information Lee wanted. He had to go to the boat and check on something before he could finish the report. He would then call the company once he found out the information.

Janet came into his office with an armful of mail. “I’ve taken out everything I can handle. This is what you need to look over.”

“I’ll check it out later. I have to finish something for Lee before I can do anything. What did you give him for breakfast? He’s sure in a bad mood…he practically bit my head off.”

“Tell me about it. He hasn’t spoken a civil word to me since we got home last night. I’m hoping Jamie will have some answers.”

Lee heard them talking and walked into Chip’s office. “Maybe if you’d stop talking about me, you could get some work done,” Lee said testily.

“Yes sir,” Chip answered tensely. “I need to go to the boat to check on something for your report, I’ll be right back.” Chip brushed by Lee and headed for the elevators.

“Don’t YOU have something to do?” he asked glaring at Janet.

“Yes sir, I have to deliver your mail,” she replied and left Chip’s office. That’s not Lee, she thought. It may look like him but that’s not him.

Lee stopped to get a cup of coffee, returned to his office and sat down at his desk. He turned on the computer to check his e-mails.

By the time Janet entered her office and picked up the mail, Wanda and Angie were just walking in. She wished them a good morning and continued on to Lee’s office. She walked in and put the mail on the desk.

He looked away from the computer at the mail and then at her, “Can’t you take care of any of this?” he asked somewhat civil.

“I’ve only given you the items I can’t handle. I’ll take care of everything else,” she replied quietly and turned to leave. As she walked out the door, Harry was coming down the hall.

“Good morning, Janet,” he said pleasantly. “Is Lee in there?”

“Good morning, sir,” Janet replied. “Yes, he’s in there but….” Harry entered Lee’s office and didn’t hear the rest of what Janet said. “you might want to give him a few minutes.”

Janet turned and headed back to her office just as Harry was saying good morning to Lee.

()()()()()()()

“Good morning, sir,” Lee answered.

“That was some storm last night. Have you checked on the boat?” Harry asked standing in front of Lee’s desk.

“I looked at her last night and everything looked in good shape. Chip’s down there now so if there’s anything wrong, I’m sure he’ll let us know,” Lee replied annoyingly.

His tone didn’t get by Harry nor the fact the Lee didn’t go down to the dock and check on Seaview himself. He also noticed that Lee still looked very tired and on edge. “I want to have a meeting at 1300 hours to discuss our mission to Antarctica.”

“Yes, sir,” Lee replied indifferently. “I’ll let Chip know.”

Harry walked out of Lee’s office and wondered what was wrong with him. He sure isn’t himself today, Harry thought.

Harry said good morning to Angie and continued in to his office where he placed his briefcase on the desk and took out his papers. Lee’s attitude was really bothering him so he picked up the phone and called Med Bay.

“Good morning, Med Bay,” Hazel answered politely.

“Good morning, Hazel,” Harry replied, “this is Admiral Nelson, is Doctor Jamieson in?”

“No sir, I’m sorry he won’t be in until after noon. It’s his day to help out at the free clinic.”

“Have him call me as soon as he arrives,” Harry instructed.

“Yes, sir.”

Harry hung up the phone. “Damn,” he said out loud as he wanted to get to the bottom of Lee’s problem.

He sat down at his desk, read over all his messages and mail that had come in will he was gone.

()()()()()()()

It was 1100 hours by the time Chip returned from the boat. It had taken him longer than expected to get the information he needed as he had to find some paperwork regarding the existing radio. He then placed the phone call to the company supplying the upgrades. He was told they had run into a problem and didn’t want to give him some bad data but the assured him they would have it tomorrow morning. He knew he better tell Lee right away so he left his office and walked over to Lee’s.

“Lee,” Chip said. “There’s…” was all Chip could get out before Lee cut him off.

“The admiral’s having a meeting at 1300 hours regarding the mission to Antarctica. Don’t know what’s on the agenda, I’m just letting you know. What about the report on the communications upgrade…is it done?”

“No, that’s why I came in here. I just called the company and they have a problem and won’t have the information until tomorrow morning.”

Lee stood up and looked Chip in the eye. “Can’t you do anything right,” he yelled. “All of this should have been done BEFORE we left for the Philippine Sea. Are you that incompetent?”

“I don’t know what the hell your problem is, but don’t take it out on me,” Chip hollered back. “If we didn’t have to get your six out of trouble, I would’ve had it done.”

Janet came running out of her office when she heard to the two men arguing. The door to Angie’s office was closed so she or Harry didn’t hear them but Wanda did and followed Janet into Lee’s office.

Surprised by their actions, “Lee, Chip, calm down,” Janet pleaded desperately. “Please stop.” She was afraid they would come to blows.

Chip looked at Janet and could see how frightened she was and left Lee’s office before he said or did anything more. Wanda followed Chip out and returned to her desk.

Janet stared at Lee as she couldn’t believe he was that angry over a report. “Lee, let’s go to Med Bay. There’s something wrong with you. Please.”

“Get out of here,” he snarled. “Leave me alone.” He took her by the elbow, shoved her out the door and slammed it closed.

She stood outside the door to Lee’s office for a few minutes trying to assess what had just happened before heading in Chip’s.

“You do know that man in there is not Lee,” Janet said to Chip anxiously.

“Yes, and I should have let it go but he just pushed my buttons one time to many today,” Chip sighed.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with him…he won’t go to Med Bay…what should I do?”

“Just let him calm down but I think we should tell the admiral what just occurred. He can order him to Med Bay.”

“I guess you’re right,” Janet agreed as the two of them walked to Harry’s office.

“Angie, is the admiral available?” Chip asked worriedly.

“No, he’s on the phone with one of the scientists from the mission,” she replied. She could see by the looks on Chip’s and Janet’s faces that something was terribly wrong.

Janet replied urgently. “We have to see him at once…it’s about Lee.”

Angie quickly got up from her desk and knocked on the door to Harry’s office. She didn’t wait for his reply before she opened the door.

“What is it…I’m busy,” Harry grumbled upset that Angie would barge right in.

“Sir,” Janet said following Angie in. “It’s Lee…there’s something wrong with him…I need your help,” she said distraughtly.

Harry took one look at Janet and then Chip, who’d also entered the office, and knew there was a problem.

“Something’s come up, let me call you back,” Harry told the scientist and hung up.

“What’s wrong…what about Lee…is he hurt?” Harry asked nervously.

“No, not yet. He and Chip almost came to blows over a report. Can you make him go to Med Bay?” Janet asked frantically. “The man in his office is not Lee. He hasn’t been the same since he returned from Kolenovo.”

“I suspected that. He’s been pretty testy since he came back. Let me talk to him,” Harry responded giving Janet a pat on the arm seeing how upset she was and walked to Lee’s office.

()()()()()()()

Lee sat in his office seething over what had happened between him and Chip. The irritation from his clothes was getting worse so he undid his tie, threw it on the desk before he unbuttoned his top button and rolled up his sleeves. I can’t believe Chip was that insubordinate. I’ll see that it gets put in his file, Lee thought angrily. I’m going to have Harry reprimand him.

Lee stood up from his desk and walked over to the door just as Harry was opening it. Janet and Chip were with him.

“Have you come to apologize for your actions, Mr. Morton?” Lee asked snidely.

“Lee,” Harry said calmly. “Let’s go to Med Bay and see if Jamie has the results of the blood tests. Obviously, there’s something wrong.”

As Harry went to put his hand on Lee’s arm, he batted it away almost knocking Harry to the ground. “Get your hands off me,” Lee growled.

Chip managed to grab Harry before he fell to the floor. Janet stood there stunned at Lee’s actions.

“Please, Lee, go to Med Bay,” Janet begged.

Lee watched in horror as Chip stopped Harry from falling. What IS wrong with me…I’d never put a hand on the admiral. I’ve got to get out of here before I hurt somebody. Lee started for the door but Chip grabbed his arm to stop him. Lee screamed in pain, shook Chip’s hand loose, and ran for the elevator which was stopped at their floor.

Janet ran after him using the stairs hoping to meet the elevator. She knew if she waited for the elevator, Lee would be gone. Chip and Harry weren’t too far behind her.

When she got to the ground floor, Lee was just exiting the building. He unlocked the SUV and hopped in. As he was driving away, Janet grabbed the door, opened it and hauled herself in.

“Get out,” Lee spat. “I don’t want you here.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Janet shouted back. “We’re in this together.”

While Lee barreled down the street towards the entrance, Chip ran back into the building, picked up the phone on Howard’s desk and called security at the front gate.

“Commander Crane is trying to leave the complex. Stop him,” Chip ordered.

“Yes, sir,” Ben, the security guard on duty, replied. He walked out of the security hut and saw Lee’s SUV heading for the gate. He also knew that Lee had no intentions of stopping to check out. He crashed through the gate and continued down NIMR Drive.

Ben called the administrative building where Chip answered the phone.

“I’m sorry sir but he left the complex. He crashed right through the gate.”

“Okay, Ben. Get the gate repaired,” Chip said despondently.

“Well?” Harry asked urgently.

“He crashed through the gate at security.”

“Damn,” Harry replied. “Let’s go back upstairs so we can figure out what to do next.

Chip and Harry boarded the elevator and rode up in silence to the second floor. When they arrived, Wanda saw it was only the two of them and knew Lee and Janet were gone.

When they entered Harry’s office, the phone was ringing and Angie quickly answered it.

“Yes, he’s right here,” Angie said and handed Harry the phone.

“Harry, its Jamie. I just arrived at Med Bay and checked on Lee’s blood test. There’s definitely an abnormal substance in his blood. Unfortunately, I have no idea what it is and can’t locate any record of it anywhere. Get him over here right away. He’s going to have to be monitored.”

“Too late, Jamie. He and Janet just drove off the grounds. We’re going to contact security to track him.”

“Shit,” Jamie replied. “I have a feeling whatever is in his system is going to get worse instead of better. We better find him pretty quickly. I’ll be right over.”

“Thanks,” Harry answered and replaced the receiver on the phone.

“Jamie, found something but he doesn’t know what it is and feels Lee’s going to get worse before it’s over,” Harry remarked tensely.

()()()()()()()

Lee continued driving at a high rate of speed down NIMR Drive before turning right on Eagle Drive.

“Lee, please slow down, you’re going to kill us,” Janet pleaded.

“You shouldn’t have come along,” Lee replied curtly.

Lee slowed down as they drove down a secluded road Janet had never been on before but knew they were heading away from Santa Barbara. As they drove along, Janet looked over at Lee and could see he was in pain but she had no idea what was causing it. Lee drove a few more miles before pulling over to the side of the road that had a large shoulder and a shallow valley next to it. He got out of the car, taking the keys with him and walked to the back. Janet turned around to see what he was doing but lost sight of him. She figured he was going to remove the tracking device from the car. She knew there was one attached but didn’t know where it was.

Lee bent down, reached his hand under the bumper and pulled off the tracking device that was on the car and threw it over the side of the road into the valley. He had NIMR security put one on the car in case they had a problem, the car could be located. He pulled out his cell phone and turned off the tracking device app that was installed and also turned off the phone. He had one more item to take care of and opened the back hatch of the car. Janet heard the hatch open and tried to see what Lee was doing but the seats were in the way. Before she could get out of the car, she heard Lee scream in pain. She quickly left the car and ran to the back to find Lee standing there with a pair of scissor and blood running down his arm that sported a deep cut.

“Damn, Lee,” Janet murmured as she knew he had removed the ONI tracking device that he had in his arm under his skin.

Janet ran over to him as he was trying to bandage his arm and not having much success.

“Let me do it,” she told him as she reached for the first aid kit they had in the car. She looked in the kit and knew Jamie must have packed it as it had everything anyone would need for an emergency.

She found some gauze patches and bandages along with some antiseptic cream. She put pressure on the wound with some of the gauze hoping to stop the bleeding. She knew she was hurting Lee by the agonizing look on his face but didn’t know what else to do. After the bleeding slowed down, she doubled-up the gauze patches, applied some cream to them and put them on the cut. She wrapped a gauze strip several times around the patches and finally put an elastic wrap around that hoping it would stop the bleeding.

“Thank you,” he murmured looking at her with his amber eyes filled with pain.

Those are Lee’s eyes, Janet thought. I have no idea how to help him.

He looked away from her, shut the back hatch, removed the keys from his pocket and went to the front of the car. Before Janet climbed in the car, she discreetly took one of the bloody cloths and threw it under the car. She knew that NIMR would track them and hoped they would find it. It would at least let them know they had been there. She made her way to the front and hopped in the car. Lee unbuttoned the rest of the buttons on his shirt before he slowly got into the car. Janet realized that his clothing must be bothering him as he would never drive with his shirt undone. He started the car and pulled away from the shoulder and onto the pavement.

“Where are we going?” Janet asked softly.

“None of your business,” he replied harshly.

They continued driving for another hour before Lee pulled into a fast food restaurant where he ordered hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, French fries, salads, soft drinks and water. Janet hoped he would use his credit card so they would have a way to track him but he paid with cash. He put the food in the back and drove off. He drove a couple of miles before he stopped at a vacant building and pulled behind it so no one would see them. He handed Janet one of the salads and a drink and took one for himself.

“Thanks,” she said and started to eat it but wondered what he was going to do with the rest of the food.

Janet was hungry and managed to eat her salad but Lee took a couple of bites before putting the lid back on it. He hadn’t eaten very much but looked like he was going to be sick. He took a couple of sips from one of the soft drinks and put the cup in the holder. He started the car and headed back on the road.

Janet tried to stay awake but not getting much sleep the night before nodded off shortly after they stopped for lunch. Lee look over at her and shook his head disgustingly. I wish she hadn’t come.

()()()()()()()

While Harry was talking on the phone to Jamie, Chip tried called Lee’s phone but it went directly to voice mail so he tried the tracking device they had installed on all their phones and it showed nothing. Damn, he must have turned off his phone, he thought. He then dialed Janet’s phone and heard it ringing only it was coming from her office.

Harry finished his conversation with Jamie and saw Chip walking back from Janet’s office.

“Did you try Lee’s phone...Janet’s?”

“Yes, Lee’s goes directly to voice mail and he must have turned off the tracking device and phone as I’m not getting anything. Janet’s phone was on her desk,” he replied dejectedly standing there with her phone in his hand.

“Call Hank Rivers, he should be able to track where they are,” Harry said tensely.

Chip dialed Hank Rivers, NIMR head of security, and he picked it up on the first ring.

“Hi Chip,” Hank answered. “I know why you’re calling. I heard what happened at the gate and I’ve tracked down Lee’s car.”

“Aren’t you tracking it now…what’s going on?”

“It’s stopped about five miles from here heading away from the city. I’ve got Steve and Paul heading out there to see if there’s a problem. They should be reporting in shortly. I’ll call you as soon as I hear from them.”

Harry was listening to Chip and wanted to know what was going on so Chip explained what Hank just told him.

“Have him come over here. I want to talk to the men directly when they find Lee’s car,” Harry told Chip.

“Hank, the admiral wants you here now.”

“I’m on my way,” Hank replied. He grabbed his cell phone and headed over to the administrative building.

He ran into Jamie who was just entering the building. The two men signed in and headed for the elevator just as Larry was bringing in the mail. They held the elevator for him so he wouldn’t have to wait as he was loaded with mail. They exited the elevator and walked down to Harry’s office. Larry stopped at Angie’s desk and dropped off the mail. There was a small box addressed to the admiral on top.

()()()()()()()

Jamie, Hank, Chip and Harry sat in Harry’s office waiting for Steve and Paul to report in.

“Jamie, have you any idea what’s in Lee’s blood?” Harry asked.

“No, I have no clue. I’ve sent samples to all the agencies I know to see if they’ve ever run across this substance. So far, no one knows what it is but I’m still waiting for a few more responses,” Jamie replied. “Whatever it is, it’s not good and I don’t know how to treat it if and when we find Lee.”

Just as Jamie finished, Hank’s phone rang. He put it on speaker so they all could hear what the men had to say.

“Mr. Rivers, this is Paul. We’ve found the area where the SUV was parked but it’s not here now. We’re still receiving a signal from the tracker so I’m assuming Commander Crane removed it from the car and threw it into a valley right off the road. We’ve checked the valley and there’s no sign of his SUV down there. We also found a bloody cloth on the road. We’ll bring it back with us.”

“Thanks, Paul,” Hank answered and looked at Harry who nodded his head. “Come on back and bring the cloth directly to Med Bay.”

“Yes, sir,” Paul responded as Steve went to the truck of their car, pulled on some rubber gloves, picked up the bloody cloth and put it in a baggie. He removed his gloves and put them in a bag, shut the trunk and climbed in the car.

“I wonder who and how Lee or Janet was injured,” Jamie said worriedly. “Lee’s been like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”

“Unfortunately, he’s been more Mr. Hyde lately,” Chip commented anxiously.

“Tell me how is was reacting before he left and why did he leave,” Jamie questioned.

“He was in a foul mood this morning and from what Janet told me he was like that last night as well,” Chip said. “We went into his office to try and get him to go to Med Bay. The admiral reached out to take his arm and Lee batted it away almost knocking the admiral to the ground then started to run out the door.”

“I was shocked at what he did but I think he was too. I could see it in his eyes,” Harry added.

“I went to grab his arm and he let out a scream I’ve never heard before,” Chip continued.

“We all know Lee has a high tolerance for pain so it must be pretty severe if he screamed like that,” Jamie declared.

“He ran out of the office, took the elevator down and left the building. Janet ran down the stairs after him and caught up with him as he started to drive away. She climbed in the car as it was moving and it headed out,” Harry continued.

“Well, we know he must be in terrible pain and obviously capable of violence. I hope he doesn’t snap and hurt Janet,” Jamie said.

“Is there anything more I can do? I’m assuming you tried his phone and now with his tracker removed from his vehicle, there’s nothing more we can do,” Hank lamented.

“Yes, we have one more option,” Harry declared as he picked up the phone and dialed a number from memory.

“Gerald, its Harry…I need your help.”

“What can I do for you?” Gerald Johnson, head of ONI, replied.

“Lee’s missing. He hasn’t been right since he returned from Kolenovo. Doctor Jamieson found an abnormal substance in his blood. He took off early this afternoon when he realized he was getting worse. We know he’s turned off the tracking device on his phone and removed the one from his car. I know he has one implanted on him from ONI. Would you please see if you’re getting a signal from it? He’s extremely agitated bordering on violent. We need to find him and make sure he’s okay along with Janet.”

“Sorry to hear that Harry. Nothing was mentioned in his report or Mr. Caldwell’s that he was having a problem.”

“Doctor Jamieson checked him out when he returned from the mission and his blood was clean accept for a small amount of sedative. We only found the substance when we checked his blood today. Doctor Jamieson has no idea what it is and is hoping to get some answers from other sources,” Harry explained.

Taking a deep breath, Johnson replied, “Let me check on it and I’ll get back to you in ten minutes.”

“Thanks, Gerald,” Harry said and hung up the phone. “He’ll let me know in ten minutes,” he reported to the other men.

()()()()()()()

Harry had left the door open to his office and Angie heard everything that was going on. She was very worried about Lee and Janet. While they waited for Johnson to call back, she sorted out the mail. After putting the items she would handle in a pile, she came across the box. She knew it was safe to open as all boxes or packages that arrive at the institute are x-rayed before they’re delivered. She opened the end of the box and shook out another box. It was long and skinny. She undid the lid on that box and found a black velvet bag. When she undid the tie at the end of the bag, a bracelet fell out. Whoever sent the bracelet had excellent taste as it was a beautiful gold and silver bracelet. She was going to show it to the admiral when his phone rang. She left the bracelet on the front of her desk.

“Hello,” Harry said quickly.

“Harry,” Johnson answered. “I’m sorry but we can’t find him. We traced him out of the institute for a short distance before we lost all contact. I don’t know what to tell you…I hope they’re okay…keep me informed.”

“Thanks, Gerald and I’ll keep in touch.” Harry slammed down the phone. “Damn, I bet he removed the tracer and the bloody cloth will have his blood on it.”

“I’ll check it out once I get the cloth,” Jamie assured him.

Sighing deeply, Harry said, “Chip, do you know where he might go?”

“No sir. He never mentioned anywhere else except your cabin and we know he’d wouldn’t go there as he knows it would be the first place we’d look.”

“I’m going to have Earl, the caretaker, check it out anyway. I’m out of ideas,” Harry replied running his hand through his hair before calling the caretaker at his cabin. The caretaker assured him he would check it out and let him know.

“Sir, I might have one more source that could possibly look for him,” Chip suggested.

“Whatever it is, go with it,” Harry said desperately.

Chip took out his cell phone and pushed the number one button on his phone.

()()()()()()()

Julie Morton was sitting at her desk looking over a report when her cell phone rang. She saw it was Chip calling so she picked it up immediately.

“Hi Chip…is everything okay…you never call me at work,” she asked nervously.

“Hi honey, we need your help. Can you come to the institute right away?”

“Sure, I can be there in twenty minutes,” she replied looking at her watch. “Is this official business?”

“Yes,” Chip answered seriously.

“I’m leaving now…I’ll bring Aaron with me.”

“Thanks, Julie,” Chip responded, “I’ll see you soon.” He disconnected his phone.

“She and Aaron will be here in twenty minutes,” Chip told Harry. “I don’t know if they can help but it’s worth a try.”

“Chip, at this point, I’ll try anything to find Lee and Janet,” Harry stated.

Chip called security at the front gate and told them to let Julie and Aaron in when they arrived.

()()()()()()()

As Julie and Aaron drove to the institute, Aaron asked, “Did Chip give you any idea why they needed us?”

“No, but he sounded very worried,” she replied.

They arrived at the NIMR security gate fifteen minutes later and were cleared to enter. Ben called the administrative building and let Howard know they were on their way. He then called Wanda and let her know. She was surprised to learn they were coming as no one told her to expect them but she knew that they had lost all contact with Lee and Janet so it made sense to call in the police. She was looking forward to seeing Aaron again this morning.

She greeted them when the elevator doors opened. Aaron managed to squeeze her hand before they walked down the hall to Harry’s office. Julie noticed the bracelet sitting on Angie’s desk as she walked by.

“Angie, what a beautiful bracket,” she commented. “Someone has fantastic taste.”

“Oh my gosh, I got so involved answering the phones, I forgot to give it to the admiral…it was addressed to him,” she exclaimed and quickly went into Harry’s office with the bracelet followed by Julie and Aaron.

“I’m so sorry sir,” Angie said softly. “I forgot to give this to you. It came in the mail today.”

“It’s okay, Angie, I know things have been a little hectic,” Harry responded and took the bracelet from her. He had a puzzled look on this face.

Chip stood up when Julie and Aaron came in after Angie. He went over to his wife and gave her a quick kiss.

“Thanks for coming,” Chip said as Harry looked over the bracelet.

“Who sent it…where did it come from?” Harry wondered. “Hi Julie, Aaron.”

“I’ll get the box,” Angie replied and went to her desk and returned with the box and handed it to Harry.

“Admiral, didn’t Lee say he bought a bracelet for Janet when he was in Kolenovo and that was the only item missing out of his backpack when he checked it out,” Chip said.

“Yes, you’re right,” Harry agreed and took the box from Angie. “The return address is from Kolenovo so whoever had Lee must have taken it.” He handed the box to Julie to look over.

“Admiral, Chip, who had Lee…you better explain what’s going on,” Julie suggested as she and Aaron sat down in front of Harry’s desk while Chip perched on the corner as Will and Hank stood off to the side.

“Sorry, I guess we better start at the beginning,” Harry replied and explained to them about Lee’s mission to Kolenovo leaving out why he was sent there only letting them know it involved national security.

When Harry was finished Chip picked up telling them how Lee’s attitude kept getting worse. “He was just like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” he explained. “He’d be his normal self and the next minute bite your head off.”

Jamie chimed in, “I did another blood test on his blood yesterday and today I found a foreign substance in it. I have no idea what it is and I’m hoping I can get some answers from some outside sources.”

Aaron took notes as they both listened to them.

“I remember when you returned from the mission,” Julie volunteered, “He really seemed out of sorts so I assume he got worse?”

“Yes, today I went to grab his arm and he batted it away almost knocking me to the floor,” Harry said. “He realized what he’d done and just ran out of the building with Janet following him. They just drove off. We traced the car to a spot on one of the roads about five miles out of town but he’d removed the tracking device on the car and his phone is turned off so we can’t track him. Right now, we have no idea where they are. I’m waiting for the caretaker at my cabin to let me know if they’re there but I don’t think he’d go there as it would be too easy to find him,” Harry continued.

“What is it you want us to do?” Julie asked cautiously looking over at Chip.

“Can you put a trace on his credit cards…put out an APB on the car…or whatever else you do to find someone?” Chip asked desperately.

“We don’t put out APB’s anymore we use BOLO, be on the lookout,” Aaron told them. “We’ll file a missing person’s report for both of them. You don’t have to wait twenty-fours to report them missing. We can track his credit card transactions but we’ll have to get a warrant but I’m thinking if he’s taken all these measures not to be found, I don’t think he’s going to use a credit card. I’m sure he knows they can be tracked.”

“You’re right,” Harry agreed.

“We’ll need the license plate and make of the car so we can get it to our officers. We’ll also issue the information to the surrounding counties,” Julie said. “You can give us the address on the box and we’ll see if we can get some information from FedEx on who sent it but you may want to contact a government agency to check out the address,” she added.

“Thank you,’ Harry said gratefully.

“No problem, sir,” Aaron answered as he and Julie stood up both of them shaking hands with Harry.

“We’ll get right on it as soon as we get back to the station,” Julie replied and followed Chip to his office where she wrote down the information on Lee’s car while Aaron got the information from Angie on the box.

“Thanks, honey,” Chip said give her a quick hug and kiss. “I’m not sure when I’ll be home.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be waiting. If you need me, just call,” she whispered kissing and hugging him back.

She walked out the door and went to the front office where Aaron was saying goodbye to Wanda.

()()()()()()()

Harry picked up the phone and called Admiral Johnson. He was waiting for him to answer when Chip returned from seeing out Julie and Adam. He waited with Jamie and Hank to see what Johnson would have to say.

“Gerald, I have some more information regarding Lee. I just received a box from Kolenovo that contained a bracelet Lee purchased for Janet. Can you send someone to the address to check it out? There’s no name only an address.”

“Give me the address and I’ll get in contact with the agent who helped us get the intel. Maybe she can check it out…I’ll need some time though.”

“Thanks Gerald,” Harry replied and gave him the address.

“I’ll be in touch.” The men heard Gerald hang up the phone.

“He’ll get back to us,” Harry said dejectedly not hoping for much success.

()()()()()()()

Harry sat at his desk holding the bracelet in his hands hoping Lee would walk through the door with Janet, take the bracelet from him and put it on her wrist.

“I’m sure the men are back by now,” Hank stated. “Let me make sure they get the cloth to Med Bay and I’ll see if they have any new information.

“Thanks, Hank,” Harry replied somberly.

Chip walked with Hank to the elevators. “Call me if they have anything new,” Chip said patting him on the shoulder.

“I’ll check in with you later,” he told Chip. “Let me know if you need any men to look for Lee and Janet.”

“Okay, Hank,” Chip replied and headed back to Angie’s office.

He noticed Angie was on the phone and could tell by the tone of her voice whoever she was talking to was giving her a hard time.

“The admiral is very busy now,” she explained with frustration. “Please give me your name and I’ll have him return your call.”

“No, I need to talk to him now,” the man insisted. “Tell him I have information on Commander Crane.”

“Just a minute,” Angie replied and put the call on hold. “Chip, he says he’s calling regarding Lee.”

Chip quickly ran into Harry’s office. “Admiral, there’s a man on the phone with information on Lee.”

“Put the call through,” he yelled to Angie.

“Admiral Nelson,” Harry said as soon as the phone rang putting the call on speaker so Chip and Jamie could hear what the caller was saying.

“Hello, Admiral. How is Commander Crane doing?” The man asked nonchalantly.

“How do know about Commander Crane,” Harry replied irritated wondering how someone found out about Lee as he was sure no one at the institute would’ve have said anything.

“Did you get the gold and silver bracelet…he has very nice taste…I hope his wife enjoys wearing it.”

“What’s your name…how did you get the bracelet…what did you do to Crane?” Harry demanded.

“You’re in no position to make demands but I’ll give you the information you want,” the man responded snidely. “My name is Ghag Huchay**, also known as ‘the boss’. Maybe Crane mentioned it when he returned to your boat. I know he was hiding in the brothel in Kolenovo as my man saw him leave so he heard the conversation between my man and Suzy.”

Chip wrote on a piece of paper that he remembered Lee mentioning something about the boss and Andre but shook his head on the name Ghag Huchay.

“How do you know Crane?” Harry asked as he wrote ‘trace call’ on the paper. Chip quietly slipped from Harry’s office into Angie’s where he called communications to have them trace the call. He returned and nodded his head acknowledging they were going to try and trace it.

“Let’s just say we go way back. I’m the former head of security for the PR. I’ve had many run-ins with Crane …too many as he cost me my head job of security but the last one was extremely painful.”

“The last one…where did you meet him?”

“In the PR at Hai Phong’s house. I was one of the men you were avoiding when Ms. Phong killed herself. I believe I shot one of your men as you were removing Crane from the house. I’ve never forgotten how YOU caused her death,” Huchay said bitterly.

Harry ran his hand through his hair as he recalled that day. “What have you given Crane?”

“A drug that causes enormous pain and personality changes that could make him turn violent. Has he reached that stage yet? He should be pretty close to it,” Huchay said hatefully. “Oh, how I wish I could be there to see him suffer.”

Harry took a deep breath, “How did you administer the drug?”

“When he left the brothel, my man knocked him out and brought him to my house where I injected the drug. I knew it would take four days for it to incapacitate him. I removed the bracelet from his backpack as proof that I had taken him. He dumped him back where he found him making it look like he had too much to drink. Did you have to lock him up so he wouldn’t hurt anyone?”

Jamie stood there wanting to know more about the drug but couldn’t say anything. He wrote on a piece of paper ‘antidote’.

“Is there an antidote for this drug, if so how do we get it?” Harry asked urgently.

Huchay burst out laughing. “Antidote! No, Ms. Phong didn’t have a chance to develop one. I’m not even sure how bad the reactions are going to be with drug. Maybe it will kill him or maybe not.”

Harry was losing his patience. “What do you want from me?”

“Nothing at all Admiral. Just the satisfaction of you watching someone you care for suffer or die. Now if you’re trying to trace this call, it won’t do you any good as I’m using a non-traceable phone and if you’ve given the box I sent the bracelet in to ONI, they won’t find me at that address as I left Kolenovo. Maybe we’ll meet again.”

“Huchay,” Harry yelled but to no avail as he had disconnected the call. Harry slammed the receiver onto the phone.

Ghag Huchay walked down Karpovo St. and tossed the phone in the garbage can. He had a huge smile on his face as he entered his car and headed for his new address.

()()()()()()()

Harry, Chip and Jamie sat in Harry’s office, none of them knew what to say until Jamie piped up.

“Lee’s in real trouble. That guy didn’t even know how bad Lee’s reactions are going to be. Harry, we have to find them.”

“I know Jamie but how…I don’t even know where to begin to look,” Harry replied discouraged. He was afraid the man he considered his son was going to die…at least he wasn’t alone.

“I’ll go back to Med Bay. Maybe I’ve gotten some answers on the drug or I can develop an antidote,” Jamie said disheartened.

Harry’s phone rang before the two men left. “Nelson,” Harry said quickly.

“Admiral, we were unable to trace the call,” Trish in communications reported. “Sorry sir.”

“Thanks for trying,” Harry answered. “No luck on the trace.”

“I’ll check in with you later,” Jamie said and left Harry’s office for Med Bay. Chip lingered a little longer.

()()()()()()()

Harry no sooner hung up the phone when it rang again. “What,” he yelled.

“Harry, it’s Gerald. “I was able to get in touch with the undercover agent in Kolenovo. She agreed to check out the address. Everything was gone…totally vacant and cleaned from top to bottom. She could smell the bleach.”

“Damn,” Harry replied. “I got a call from the man who drugged Lee. His name is Ghag Huchay. Ever hear of him?”

“Yes, he was head of PR security a few years back but retired a couple of years ago. Didn’t know he was back on the job.”

“It seems he was sent to bring Lee back to the PR’s security base when Lee was sent on the mission to get information on the long-range missiles and was kidnapped by Hai Phong.”

“I’m really sorry Harry, I know how close you are to Lee and Janet. If I get any more information, I’ll let you know…keep in touch.”

“Thanks, Gerald,” Harry replied and hung up the phone.

“He had the address checked out and the place was clean,” Harry told Chip.

“Shit,” Chip said under his breath but not soft enough that Harry didn’t hear.

“My sediments exactly.”

“Let me call Julie, maybe someone has spotted their car,” Chip remarked and left Harry’s office.

Harry got up from his desk, walked over to the window and looked out at Seaview bobbing in her pen.

Angie entered his office after Jamie and Chip left. “Sir, Earl called and said Lee and Janet aren’t there.”

“Okay Angie,” Harry muttered.

Angie left Harry alone. After she left his office, he picked up the bracelet. Please Lee, let us know where you are.

()()()()()()()

Chip returned to his office and called his wife.

Julie answered immediately, “Hi Chip.”

“Anyone spot them,” he asked hopefully.

“Sorry Chip, nothing so far. We’ve checked with the other counties and no one has seen a car matching that description.”

“We got a phone call from the man who sent the box. He said we wouldn’t be able to trace the phone and there would be no one at the address on the box. We had NIMR communications try and trace the call and they came up with nothing. They sent someone to the house and it was cleaned out.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Julie responded sympathetically. “We’ll keep looking.”

“Thanks, honey.” I’ll talk to you later,” Chip responded disappointedly.

()()()()()()()

Janet woke up, checked her watch and saw that she’d been sleeping for almost an hour. She glanced over at Lee and he looked worse than before. He was sweating profusely even though the air conditioning in the car was running full blast. She could tell his pain had increased as he grimaced every time they hit a bump in the road and the wound on his arm was still bleeding as it was starting to seep through the bandages. She noticed the weather had also turned. The sky was covered in dark clouds threatening to rain at any moment.

“Lee, do you want me to take over the driving. You look very tired…I promise I’ll take us to where you want to go,” Janet volunteered.

“No, we’re almost there,” he growled.

Janet looked out her window and saw they were entering the town of Frazier Park. She’d never heard of it and had no idea where it was. They traveled a few miles before Lee made a left-hand turn onto a gravel road. As they drove down the road, Janet noticed several log cabins tucked into the woods. They had cleared some of the woods away from the road so the cabins could be seen. As they travelled further on the road, there were no cabins and the woods became denser. They were almost at the end when Lee stopped and backed up. He’d missed the turn he was looking for as it was overgrown but clear enough to see a driveway.

Looks like Lee’s been here before…I wonder who owns it, Janet thought, and it’s a good thing we have the SUV since the driveway is covered with long grass, small bushes and brush.

They hadn’t travelled too far in the driveway before a small log cabin came into view. It wasn’t as large as the ones Janet had seen but it still looked nice. Lee stopped the car in front, turned off the engine and pocketed the keys. He grimaced as he reached over for his phone and got out of the car. He opened the back door and removed the extra food he’d bought.

“Lee, could you please open the back tailgate?” Janet asked as she stepped out of the car.

“What for?” he snapped.

Taking a deep breath, that isn’t Lee, Janet thought and replied, “I want to get the first aid kit. Your wound has bled right through the bandages…I’m going to have to put on a new one.”

He went to the back of the car, opened the tailgate and Janet removed the first aid kit. As she closed the hatch, Lee walked up to the front porch, reached into the light, grabbed the key and unlocked the front door. He walked in and put the food on the counter in the kitchen as Janet followed him in.

The cabin wasn’t very large and was very masculine in the decorations. To the left of the front door was a large great room with a fireplace constructed of river rock and flanked by windows on each side. To the right of the door was a bedroom with a large window. Straight ahead and up three stairs was the eating area and then the kitchen where Janet set down the first aid kit on the counter. To the right was a bathroom and next to that was a room Lee had entered so Janet followed him. She watched as he went over to the electrical panel and flipped a switch. He then went over to a small counter and opened the doors underneath where there was pump. He removed a large blue ball-looking thing, took a large container of water and poured it down the hole. He waited a few minutes and did it again. He returned to the kitchen and turned on the water letting it run for a few minutes. It came out rusty at first but eventually ran clear. Janet heard the pump start to run so she knew they had water.

“You can use the bathroom now, if you need to,” Lee stated indifferently. “Just flush it first before using it.”

“Thanks,” Janet said and used the facilities.

When she left the bathroom, she saw Lee was leaning against the counter with his eyes closed. She could see the pain etched on his face.

“Lee, remove your shirt,” Janet said.

“What the hell for?” he snarled.

“I want to re-bandage your arm and cut off the sleeves so they don’t rub on your arms. Maybe it will help with the pain.”

He took off his shirt and threw it at her. She opened the first aid kit, found the scissors and cut off the sleeves. He gasped in pain as she cut away the elastic bandage that had stuck to his skin.

“I’m sorry, honey, but I have to clean it up,” Janet said softly. “This is going to hurt like hell but the cut already looks infected. She found a bottle of saline solution in the kit and poured it on the cut. Lee let out a loud scream that shook her to the bone. She took a deep breath trying hard not to cry as she continued to dab the wound. She put on new gauze patches with cream, wrapped the patches with gauze and used an elastic bandage to hold it all in place. By the time she was finished, Lee had tears in his eyes from the pain. Janet helped him put on his shirt.

“Do you want me to cut-off some of your pant legs,” she inquired hoping that would help with pain.

“No, thanks anyway,” Lee replied curtly.

Lee moved away from the counter and went to the bathroom where he slammed the door. He stood there taking deep breaths praying the pain would subside before using the facilities. He returned to the eating area where Janet was waiting for him. She had her back to the stairs going down to the great room.

“Lee, please let’s go back home…your pain is getting worse…Jamie can help you…I can’t stand to see you in this much pain,” Janet begged.

“You shouldn’t have come along if you didn’t want to see me like this,” Lee spat. As he headed towards the great room, he brushed into her causing her to fall down the stairs.

Lee stood there staring as she laid on the floor not moving; a pool of blood forming next to her head. Oh my god, I’ve hurt her, Lee thought. What have I done…please be alright. Forgetting his pain, he stooped down to help her up.

()()()()()()()

Janet laid on the floor stunned for a few minutes. She suddenly felt Lee’s hands gently picking her up. She looked in his eyes and saw the eyes of her caring husband and not the raging man he’d become. She wiped away the blood that was running down her face from the gash she got when she hit the metal table next to the stairs.

“I’ve got to go before I hurt you again,” Lee said as he fumbled in his pocket for his phone. He placed it next to her and ran out of the cabin.

Janet quickly followed him out the door and watched as he went around to the left side of the cabin.

“Lee, stop, please come back,” she yelled chasing after him but lost sight of him in the woods. She knew she would need help finding him so she returned to the cabin. By the time she reached the door, there was a bright flash of lightening and a huge clap of thunder and it was pouring rain. She ran to the phone on the floor.

“Please let it be charged,” she said as she turned it on. It lit up and there was enough power for her to call for help. She was having a hard time seeing as the blood ran into her eyes. She wiped it away and pressed the number two button. It rang three times before it was answered.

()()()()()()()

Chip was sitting at his desk with his phone right in front of him. He tried to do some work but he couldn’t concentrate on any of it. He just wanted the phone to ring. He looked at his watch and saw that Lee and Janet had been gone for three and a half hours.

Please call, he thought as he checked the phone for the hundredth time. He left to get a cup of coffee when he heard the phone ring. He raced back into his office forgetting the coffee. He saw it was a call from Lee’s phone.

“Hello, Lee,” Chip said urgently.

“No Chip, its Janet, please help us. He’s gone…he left the cabin.”

“Cabin…where are you?” Chip asked as Harry, Angie and Wanda came running into the office. Angie was just leaving the admiral’s office when she saw Chip run into his. She told the admiral, so they all ran into his office wanting to know what was going on.

“Frazier Park, in a cabin. That’s all I know. Please come and help me find Lee,” Janet pleaded frantically. “I don’t have much power left in the phone.”

“Find Lee…where is he?”

“He ran into the woods…I’m going to look for him.”

“Can you find and turn on the app that tracks where you are?” Chip asked as he knew she had the same app on her phone.

“I’ll turn it on when I get off with you,” she answered weakly.

“Janet, are you hurt?” Chip inquired as she sounded funny.

“I hit my head…little dizzy…cut on my forehead,” she responded softly. “I better go, not much power left.”

“Janet, stay where you are…we’ll be there shortly to look for him,” Chip insisted.

She disconnected the call, turned on the app and left the phone on but she knew it wouldn’t last much longer. Hopefully, they can find us, Janet thought.

Chip, Harry, Angie and Wanda waited impatiently for Janet to turn on the app. What seemed to take minutes actually took a few seconds when their location was shown on the map.

“They’re in a town called Frazier Park. It’s a small community in the Los Padres National Forest. What or who does Lee know there,” Chip wondered. “We better let Jamie know so he can pack up what he’s going to need. I’ll see if Sharkey, Kowalski, Patterson and Riley are available to help find Lee.”

“Where did he go?” Harry asked impatiently.

Chip ran his hand through his hair, “Janet doesn’t know where he is…he ran out of the cabin.”

“I’ll notify Jamie, while you call the men. We’ll meet in front as soon as possible. We’ll take your SUV,” Harry stated and left Chip’s office heading for his.

Chip quickly called Julie and told her what was happening. “We’ve found them. The admiral and I along with some crew-men are going to look for him.”

“Do you want me to come along?”

“No, thanks, honey, just stay here and I’ll call and let you know when we find them,” Chip replied.

“I’ll inform the police as to what’s taking place so they can be on the look-out for Lee,” Julie added. “Please be careful.”

“Thanks, I will,” Chip replied and hung up the phone. He quickly called the men and everyone was able to come except Riley as he was out of town.

Hang on Lee, we’re coming, Chip thought grabbing his raincoat as it looked like it was going to rain.

()()()()()()()

Chip drove to Med Bay to pick up Jamie. When he arrived, Jamie was waiting in front with all the supplies he thought he would need.

“You’ve got quite a haul here,” Chip remarked as he loaded up the back.

“I have no idea what to expect so I want to be prepared,” Jamie answered and closed the hatch.

They both climbed in the SUV and headed back to the main building where they would pick up Harry and wait for the other men to arrive.

Chip checked his phone and still had a signal coming from Lee’s phone. He hoped it would last until they found the cabin. When they arrived back at the main building, Kowalski and Patterson were there with Patterson’s pick-up truck. Sharkey pulled up in front of the building a few minutes later. They decided to take Pat’s truck in addition to Chip’s SUV. Harry climbed in the passenger seat of the SUV while Jamie headed for the back. The six men left for the front gate where Hank would meet them.

“Good luck,” he said as he handed them radios so they could communicate with one another.

“Thanks,” Harry responded as they drove through the gate and started on their two-hour journey.

()()()()()()()

Lee ran out the front door, turned left and headed for the dense woods at the back of the cabin. He ran a few hundred feet through the woods as fast as he could before turning to see if Janet was following him. He caught a glimpse of her heading towards the back of the cabin. He kept on running as he didn’t want her to catch up with him; afraid he would hurt her again. As he ran low hanging branches scratched his face. His arms were being scraped by tall bushes and brush. He cried out in pain with each scratch and scrape. He stopped briefly to wipe the rain from his face and catch his breath. The pain had increased with every step he took. He looked back again to see if Janet was still following him but he didn’t see her. Good she must have gone back to the cabin, Lee thought so he resorted to walking as the pain wasn’t as bad as when he ran. He tripped on a root and fell hard on the ground causing him to cry out. As he staggered deeper into the woods he saw an old dilapidated shed with a sagging roof a few hundred yards away. Once at the shed, he didn’t know if it would fall in on him but at this point he really didn’t care as his pain was escalating with every breath he took. He had never experienced such pain before. Even when he was tortured it was never like this. He entered the shed and collapsed in a heap in the corner shivering from the cold rain and the pain now wracking every inch of his body. As he laid there, he shrieked at the top of his lungs from the excruciating pain thankful the thunder would hide his cries. Tears ran down his face as he tried to cope.

“Please stop, please stop the pain,” he wailed desperately.

He continued to scream out until his voice was nothing but a hoarse whisper. Finally, the pain had become so intense he couldn’t fight it anymore so he curled up in a ball and mercifully passed out.

()()()()()()()

After Janet finished talking to Chip, she turned on the app on the phone and put it on the sofa. She wiped the blood from the wound off her face and headed out the door. She ran around the side of the house and looked to see if she could see Lee.

“Lee, stop running…I’ve called for help,” Janet yelled in the pouring rain.

She headed into the woods running straight back from the cabin hopefully following the same path Lee took. She ran a couple hundred feet before she tripped over an exposed root and fell twisting her ankle knocking her breathless. She laid there for a couple seconds trying to catch her breath. She sat up when she caught her breath and wiped the mud and blood off her face. She tried to stand but found she couldn’t put any weight on her ankle.

“Lee, please come back…please,” she shouted again but knew he’d never hear her over the thunder and rain. She tried to crawl back to the house but it was too far away. She found a tall bush, crawled under it hoping it would keep the rain off her and closed her eyes.

()()()()()()()()

Harry, Chip and Jamie along with Sharkey, Kowalski and Patterson had finally entered the city limits of Frazier Park.

“We should be almost there,” Chip mentioned as he tracked the location on the phone. “Damn,” he shouted unexpectedly and slammed his hand on the steering wheel.

“What’s wrong?” Harry yelled.

“The phone died…I’ve lost the signal,” Chip replied pissed.

“Why the hell didn’t she charge the phone,” Harry declared. “I’m sure they have a charger in the car.”

“What if the car is locked and she doesn’t have the keys. If Lee took off, he might have the keys with him,” Chip responded. “You know he’s not thinking clearly.”

“Or she couldn’t,” Jamie added solemnly.

“You’re both right. I’m just so worried, I guess I’m not thinking straight. Now what do we do?” Harry asked.

“When I checked where we were, I’m almost positive we should make a left on the next street we come to,” Chip remarked looking at Harry and then back at Jamie.

“We’ve got nothing to lose by not turning. Go for it,” Harry answered as he returned to looking out the window hoping to spot the Crane’s SUV.

They drove another three miles before coming upon a street where they could make a left turn. Chip looked at Harry who nodded yes. Chip made the turn as the men in the other vehicle followed.

()()()()()()()()()

The two cars drove down the gravel road that had now turned into a muddy mess from the rain. They looked from side to side hoping to spot the Crane’s SUV in one of the driveways.

As they drove further down the road, the radio came life. “Sir,” Sharkey called. “Are you sure this is the road we’re supposed to take?”

Harry picked up his radio and pressed the key, “Chief, we’re not sure as the phone died a few minutes ago. But Mr. Morton was pretty sure this was the road they were on. Just keep looking.”

“Yes sir,” Sharkey replied. “Keep up with him,” he told Patterson.

“Take it easy, Chief,” Patterson replied. “I can’t see where I’m going if I get to close.” He was hanging back because he was getting the muddy back splash from Chip’s SUV and was having a hard time seeing out the windshield even with the wipers at top speed

They continued driving when Chip realized they were almost at the end of the road.

“Sorry, sir, maybe this was the wrong road,” Chip lamented.

Patterson hadn’t caught up to them but as they passed the last driveway, Kowalski hollered, “Stop! I think there’s a driveway there…I might have seen the bumper of a car. Back up and pull in.”

Patterson slowly backed up and turned into the driveway. He drove a short way before they spotted the Crane’s SUV.

“Mr. Morton,” Sharkey said excitedly over the radio. “We found them. Back up and you’ll see Patterson’s truck in a driveway.”

Chip put the SUV in reverse and backed up to the driveway where they spotted Patterson’s pick-up truck. He waited for Patterson to pull in the rest of the way and he backed up parking next to Lee’s car while Pat pulled behind it.

The men hopped out of their cars and headed to the front door. Sharkey took a quick look inside Lee’s vehicle in case he was in there but it was locked. He caught up with the rest of the men as they opened the front door and went inside.

()()()()()()()

The men quickly checked the cabin for any signs of Lee and Janet. Harry went over to the sofa where he spotted the phone.

“Okay, we have the phone…where are they?” Harry wondered.

“They were here,” Jamie remarked as he held up the bloodied bandages. “There’s also quite a bit of fast food here so Lee was planning on staying for a while.”

“Janet must have gone out to look for Lee,” Chip said unhappily.

The rain had stopped along with the lightning and thunder but it still looked threatening. Chip pulled out his phone and checked the weather.

“We have about an hour before another more severe storm heads in. We better get moving.”

“Jamie, you stay here in case they return,” Harry suggested. “If we need you, we’ll radio and come and get you.”

“Okay Admiral,” Jamie replied.

The five men headed to the back of the cabin to search for Lee and Janet. They spread out across the back of the property the best they could as there were dense woods on each side of them. Kowalski had strapped the foldable stretcher to his back.

“Radio if you find them and give us your position,” Harry ordered.

“Yes, sir,” the men replied and set out.

()()()()()()()

Harry and Chip walked into the woods looking for signs of Lee and Janet. They had travelled a couple hundred feet from the back of the house when Chip stopped.

“Admiral, straight ahead about 1:00, is that a white shoe?” Chip asked hopefully.

“Could be,” Harry replied and the two men hurried over to a spot where Chip saw the shoe and saw it was sticking out from under a huge bush.

Chip stooped down and saw Janet sitting under the bush. He didn’t know if she was asleep or unconscious.

“Janet,” he called quietly.

She slowly opened her eyes, surprised to see Chip’s blue ones staring back at her. “Chip,” she answered shakily. “Did you find Lee?”

“No, the men are looking for him. Let’s get you back to the cabin,” Chip responded and helped her out from under the bush. She had dried blood on her face and was covered in mud as were her clothes. When she tried to stand, she would have fallen over if Chip hadn’t caught her.

Harry radioed the cabin, “Jamie, we’ve found Janet. We’re bringing her back.”

“Okay Admiral, I’ll be waiting,” Jamie acknowledged. “How is she?”

“From what I can see, she has a gash on her face, covered in mud and looks like there’s something wrong with her ankle.”

Harry and Chip wrapped their arms around Janet’s waist and carried her back to the cabin. Jamie had gone out to the car while they were looking for them and brought in the first aid kit along with the rest of supplies he might need. He’d also scoped out the cabin and found some sweat pants, shorts and t-shirts along with blankets and towels knowing they would be wet and dirty when they were found.

He met them at the door and looked over Janet. He wasn’t surprised at how dirty she was after being out in the rain.

“I’ll take her,” Jamie said and wrapped his arm around her as Harry and Chip let go.

“Please find Lee,” Janet begged. “He’s in a lot of pain and not himself so don’t be alarmed if he bites your head off.”

Harry gently patted her arm. “We’ll be okay. Jamie, as soon as we find Lee, we’ll let you know.”

Harry and Chip walked out the door and returned to the woods to find Lee.

()()()()()()()

Jamie walked Janet to the sofa and helped her sit down. She was shivering from the cold rain so Jamie wrapped a blanket around her and then stooped down to take a look at the gash on her forehead.

“You don’t need stitches but I’m going to put a butterfly bandage on your cut.”

“Thanks, Jamie,” Janet said. “Don’t you ever get tired to taking care of us?”

Jamie smiled, “No but I’ll admit between you and Lee you do keep me busy.”

Jamie went to the kitchen, found a bowl, and put some warm water in it. He dug in his first aid kit for some mild soap and grabbed a towel he had put on the counter. He returned to Janet and gently cleaned out her gash and put a bandage on it.

When he was finished, Janet wrapped the blanket tighter around her as she was still cold.

“Do you think you can take a shower? It’ll warm you up,” Jamie suggested. “I can put a waterproof bandage on your cut and when you’re done, I’ll wrap your ankle.”

“What am I going to wear?” she asked looking at her pink dress that was now black with dirt, mud and was sopping wet.

“I found some sweat pants and t-shirts. I know they’ll be big on you but at least you’ll be dry.”

“Okay,” Janet replied as Jamie helped her hobble over to the bathroom.

“I’ll wait outside the door for you. If you need help, please call,” Jamie said seriously.

“Thanks,” Janet answered and limped into the bathroom. She looked around in the closet that was in there and found some towels. She looked in the vanity, a man must stay here as the shampoo and shower gel were for men, Janet thought but took them out and put them in the shower stall.

She turned on the water, let it get hot and stood letting the hot water warm her up. She slowly managed to wash her hair and body. She tried to stand on her ankle and almost fell but caught herself on the shower door. By the time she had dried off and put on the clothes she was dizzy. Jamie heard the water turn off but noticed it was taking Janet a long time to leave the bathroom. He didn’t bother to knock and opened the door to find her sitting on the toilet with her head between her knees. He knelt down in front of her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked with concern.

“A little dizzy,” she replied taking a deep breath.

Jamie found a washcloth, ran it under the cold water and put it on the back of Janet’s neck. “Just sit here for a few minutes,” he instructed rewetting the cloth with the cold water.

“I feel better,” Janet said a few minutes later and slowly stood up leaning on Jamie as they returned to the great room. He helped her sit down and put her ankle on the sofa so he could put an ace bandage on it.

“When was the last time you ate?”

“About an hour after we left NIMR. Lee stopped and picked up all that food. We both had a salad but he only ate a few bites as he looked like he was going to be sick. I’m not hungry just thirsty…is there any tea? I didn’t get a chance to look around before Lee bolted from the cabin.”

“When I’m done, I’ll make you some tea and you can tell me how you got the gash on your forehead,” Jamie answered as he finishing wrapping her ankle. “Just leave it up here.” He grabbed a pillow and put it under her ankle. He searched the kitchen, found some tea and brought her a cup. He sat down on the table in front of the sofa and faced her. “Tell me how you got hurt.”

Taking a deep breath, Janet said, “Lee brushed up against me and I lost my balance and fell down the stairs. I think I hit my head on that table next to the stairs. When he saw I was hurt, he helped me up.”

“You better tell me what he was experiencing,” Jamie said worriedly.

“When we left the institute, he stopped on a road I’d never been on. He went to the back of the car and removed the tracking device. He’d also turned off the tracking app and phone. Before I could stop him, he’d taken out the tracker from ONI in his arm. He had a nice deep cut. I wrapped it up the best I could but he was in such pain that even touching him caused him to grimace. His attitude had gotten worse too…a lot worse since we left.”

“He was in a lot of pain?” Jamie questioned.

“Yes, it had gotten so bad that I had to cut the sleeves off his shirt as they were irritating him. When we got here, I changed the bandage as it had bled through the other one. It looked like it was getting infected so before I re-wrapped it I cleaned it with the saline solution from the first aid kit. I was sorry I did that as it caused Lee to scream like I’ve never heard anyone scream before. I told him that we should go back and he got even angrier. That’s when he brushed by me and I fell. For just one second, when he picked me I saw the Lee Crane I love…not who he is now. He said he was afraid he’d hurt me again and ran out the front door. I saw him run around left side of the cabin so I chased him for a little way but he was too far ahead of me. I knew I would never be able to find him myself so I returned to the cabin. He’d put the phone on the floor next to me so I called Chip for help and then I went out to try and find him but with the rain and blood running in my eyes, I didn’t see the tree root and fell twisting my ankle. I tried to crawl back to the cabin but it was too far. I found a dense tall bush and crawled under it. I closed my eyes and when I woke up Chip was staring at me.”

Janet paused to take a sip of tea, “I’m sure his pain has to be unbearable by now. Do you know how and what caused him to be a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde…more Mr. Hyde than anything.”

“I’ll let the admiral explain it to you but someone grabbed him when he was in Kolenovo and injected him with a drug.”

“Don’t you have an antidote for it?” Janet asked.

“No, I’ve never heard of the drug and the man who injected it isn’t even sure how severe Lee’s reactions will be or if it will kill him,” Jamie responded.

“Kill him,” Janet gasped as there was a loud clap of thunder.

“Yes, it’s a possibility...but we’re going to hope for the best.”

“They better find him soon,” she whispered.

He patted her hand, got up from the table and went to the kitchen to see what if anything there was to eat besides the fast food Lee had bought. He put it in the refrigerator as it was better than nothing.

()()()()()()()

Harry and Chip headed back out into the woods after leaving Janet with Jamie. Sharkey had moved to the right side of the cabin, Patterson took the left and Kowalski the center. Harry and Chip would look in between the rest of the men. They’d been searching for thirty minutes and hadn’t found any sign of him. They could hear thunder in the distance signaling the next storm was rapidly approaching.

“Any sign of the captain,” Harry called desperately over the radio.

Sharkey returned the call, “Admiral, I’ve reached the end of woods on the property. All that’s ahead of me is nothing but a fir tree farm. They’re far too small to hide in.”

“This is Patterson, I’ve also arrived at that point. The Skipper wouldn’t go that far as it’s too easy to be seen.”

“Okay, men,” Harry responded. “Start heading back to the middle of the woods and we’ll work our way back to the front. He’s got to be out here somewhere.”

“Aye sir,” they replied and headed to the center.

Kowalski had almost reached the back of the woods when he came across an old shed. It looked like it would collapse at any moment but he ventured in anyway. He looked around and was going to leave when he caught a glimpse of Lee curled up in the corner.

“I’ve found him,” he yelled over the radio. “He’s in a shed at the end of the property, straight back from the cabin.”

Kowalski walked over to him and knelt down next to him. “Skipper,” he called softly not wanting to scare him. “Skipper,” said a little louder but received no response. He gently touched his shoulder and heard him groan.

He clicked the radio, “He’s alive but unconscious,” Kowalski reported as he removed the stretcher from his back and started to unfold it.

“Be careful moving him,” Jamie cautioned when he heard the report on the radio.

“Yes sir,” Ski replied.

The other four men raced to the back of the property and found the shed. They quickly entered and barely made out Kowalski in the corner. Kowalski and Sharkey carefully lifted Lee off the floor of the cabin. As they gently laid him on the stretcher he cried out in pain.

Once he was on the stretcher, Patterson and Chip picked up the other two ends and they walked out of the cabin. As soon as they left the cabin and were a couple hundred feet away, a huge bolt of lightning hit one of the trees shearing off the top causing it to fall right on top of the shed and just missed hitting them.

“Phew that was close,” Sharkey declared.

“We better get the hell out of here…that storm is upon us,” Harry stated.

They hustled the best they could careful not to jostle Lee and trip over the brush and roots. They reached the cabin just as the rain came down so hard they couldn’t see the woods.

()()()()()()()

Jamie was holding open the door so they could bring Lee in. He looked him over and saw he was shivering, covered in scrapes, scratches, mud and in obvious pain moaning as he laid on the stretcher.

“Leave him on the stretcher and bring him into the bedroom. It’s big enough to fit in there,” Jamie ordered. The bedroom had a queen size bed on the left side with a dresser on the right. There were two chairs on opposite sides of the window which was straight ahead from the door. They set the stretcher down on the left side by the chairs.

Janet stood up when they brought Lee in. “Is he okay…can I see him?” she asked worriedly.

Jamie went over to the sofa and sat down on the table, “Just stay here for now and let me check him over.”

“Alright, Jamie,” Janet answered and sat back as the men walked out of the room.

Jamie returned to the bedroom and quickly examined Lee. His wounds weren’t bad but he was concerned that he was still unconscious and in severe pain. He returned to the great room and the concerned look on the faces of the group waiting for him, “I would really like to get him to Med Bay tonight.”

“Jamie, I’ve checked the weather on my phone and it’s not going to get any better…only worse. Right now, it’s pretty brutal out there, you can barely see the road,” Chip reported.

“Damn, I guess we’ll have to stay here,” Jamie relented. “I should have everything I need to treat him. Kowalski, I could use your help.”

“Yes, Doc, whatever you need,” he responded.

“I’ll let Julie and Angie know that we’ve found them and that will be returning to the institute tomorrow,” Chip said and went out to the porch to make his calls.

“Kowalski, make some bowls of warm water,” Jamie said as he picked up one of the first aid kits and brought it in the room. He returned a few minutes later to get the other kit he’d packed.

They both grabbed a bowl of water, the towels Jamie had found and went back into the bedroom and shut the door.

()()()()()()()

Chip stood out on the porch and couldn’t believe how hard it was raining. It’s a good thing they were staying the night as the storm wasn’t going to let up until morning.

He dialed Julie’s number and she answered on the first ring.

“Chip…did you find them…where are you…how are they…are you coming home?” she asked before he could say anything.

Smiling Chip replied, “Hi honey, you sure have a lot of questions and yes, we found them in a cabin in Frazier Park so you can stop looking for them. Janet has a twisted ankle and a few scrapes but Lee’s unconscious and still in pain. Sorry honey, the weather here is extremely bad and not going to get better before morning so we’re staying here tonight.”

“I understand, it’s pretty bad here too so I’m glad you’re not coming home. I’ll miss you though.”

“Me too,” he replied just as a large clap of thunder shook the cabin. “I better go before I lose my connection. I still have to call Angie.”

“Be careful, see you tomorrow,” Julie responded as she heard Chip disconnect the call.

He quickly called Angie and told her they found Lee and Janet and to let Hank know. He also told her that they’d be spending the night.

()()()()()()()

Jamie and Kowalski put the bowls and towels down on the dresser.

“We need to get him out of these wet and dirty clothes. I found some shorts and T-shirts we can put on him,” Jamie told Ski. “Has he moved or said anything?”

“No sir, but when I touched him on the shoulder to see if he was alive, he groaned,” Ski reported.

Jamie frowned when he heard that. “He’s still in pain so we’ll have to be very careful when we remove his clothing. Just to warn you, he might scream out in pain,” Jamie said somberly.

“Thanks for letting me know, Doc.”

Jamie carefully unbutton his shirt and gently removed his left arm. When he’d got that one out, Kowalski did the same thing with his right arm causing Lee shriek in pain.

“Sorry Doc,” Ski said softly. “I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

“It’s okay Kowalski. Let’s get the t-shirt on him and then on work removing his pants.”

They managed to get the t-shirt on Lee with him groaning softly. When they removed his shoes, socks and pants he yelled in pain.

Kowalski wiped the sweat from his forehead when they were finished. “Boy that was hard.”

“I’ll get Sharkey and Patterson in here to help us move him to the bed,” Jamie said and opened the door motioning to the two men to come in.

They got Lee unto the bed causing him to moan loudly.

“Thanks, men,” Jamie said. “I’ll let you know when we’re finished.”

When the two men returned to the great room, Harry looked at them.

“They got him changed and on the bed. Doc’s going to take care of his injuries,” Sharkey reported.

Jamie and Kowalski gently cleaned off the mud and blood from the scrapes and scratches on Lee’s arms and face causing him to groan as they did. Kowalski had to get a few more bowls of water before they were all cleaned. Jamie removed the bandage Janet had put on the cut on his arm where he removed the tracking device.

“Damn,” he mumbled to himself.

“He’s going to need stitches isn’t he,” Kowalski said after looking at the wound. Being a trained field medic, he’d seen his share of cuts and gashes to know when a wound needed stitches.

Jamie rubbed his hand on his head. “Yes, and I’m afraid it’s going to cause him a lot of pain,” he replied. “I better let the rest of them know what’s going on.”

Jamie and Ski left Lee alone and returned to the great room where the rest of them were waiting for his report.

“His scrapes, scratches and bruises are all superficial and we’ve cleaned them up without causing him too much pain but I need to put stitches in his arm and an IV. Janet, has he eaten or drank anything since this morning?”

“No, just coffee this morning. He only ate a few bites of the salad…he looked like he was going to be sick after he’d eaten it.”

“I’m worried at how much pain he’s still in but I have no choice. I’m just letting you know that he’s probably going to scream out. I’ll try numbing the area first but I’m not sure if it’ll help as I have no idea how the drug in his system is going to affect it.”

Sharkey looked at Jamie with a confused expression on his face, “What drug…how he’d get drugged?”

“I guess I better explain why he was in a foul mood on the boat and in so much pain and how it happened,” Harry replied.

Jamie and Kowalski got more clean bowls of water and headed back into the bedroom as Harry explained.

“I wish I could get my hands on that guy,” Sharkey said angrily.

“I doubt we’ll ever get a chance,” Harry answered and turned around to look out the window at the monsoon taking place outside. Me too, Chief, Harry thought.

()()()()()()()

When Jamie injected the numbing solution into Lee’s arm, he let out a loud scream. The group outside of the bedroom jumped when they heard it. Janet took a deep breath as she’d heard that scream before and knew Lee was still in a lot of pain.

“Damn,” Patterson mumbled under his breath as he’d never heard the captain scream like that before even though he’s seen him in tough times.

Even with the numbing drug, Lee still shrieked in pain as Jamie put in the four stitches needed to close his wound and start the IV. When he was finished, he bandaged the arm and laid it by his side. He hung the IV bag from a hangar he found in the closet and hooked it on the sconce that was next to the bed.

“Ski, we’re done for right now. There’s nothing more we can do to help him. The drug is going to have to run its course. Let’s get this gear out of here,” Jamie said. “I’ll come back and check on him in a little while.”

“Okay, Doc,” Kowalski replied. “Do you think he’ll get over this soon, I mean it’s pretty scary seeing him in so much pain?”

“I hope so but according to the man who injected him, he’s not even sure what effects it might leave. Captain Crane has a high tolerance for pain so I can’t imagine what it would do to someone else.”

Jamie and Ski picked up the first aid kits, the dirty towels and bowls of water and left the room. Jamie took one last look at Lee before he left. His breathing was normal, his color was fair and he’d stop shivering. He hoped when the pain subsided he would regain consciousness.

Once Jamie and Kowalski put the items away, Jamie went to Janet who was waiting to see Lee.

“Can I please see him now?” Janet asked.

“Sure,” Jamie replied and helped her up and walked her to the bedroom. “The rest of you can look in on him in a few minutes.”

“I could use a drink,” Harry muttered. “Chief, Patterson look around and see if you can find something.”

“Yes, sir,” the men replied.

Sharkey and Patterson went to the kitchen to check it out and found an unopened bottle of scotch. Sharkey set it on the table and searched for some glasses. While he was checking out the cabinets, he found cans of stew which he handed to Patterson to heat up. He looked in the refrigerator and pulled out the sandwiches Lee had bought and passed them to Pat. Sharkey poured them all two fingers worth of scotch saving some for Jamie and Janet.

()()()()()()()

Janet walked in the bedroom and saw Lee laying on top of the bed. His scrapes and scratches were covered with antiseptic cream. His arm was bandaged where Jamie had put in the stitches and the IV.

“Jamie, why is he still unconscious?” Janet asked fighting the urge to grab his hand and squeeze it.

“I’m assuming that the pain was so intense that even using his pain blocking techniques he’s acquired over the years of working for ONI, didn’t work so he just gave up. I’m hoping when the pain subsides, he’ll wake up.”

“Do you know when that’ll be?”

“I can’t say,” Jamie answered honestly. “I know nothing about this drug and either did the man who injected him.”

“Can I stay with him?”

“Let him rest for a while before you stay with him,” Jamie suggested and helped her out of the room and back down on the couch.

Harry walked over to them and handed each of them a tumbler of scotch. “Just what the doctor ordered.”

Jamie drank his down while Janet sipped hers. She never did like scotch.

()()()()()()()

Sharkey and Patterson brought over bowls of stew along with the chicken sandwiches and hamburgers for them to eat. The rain was still battering the cabin and the lightning and thunder was just as bad. Before long they were yawning from the long day and the glasses of scotch they drank.

Chip helped Janet into the bedroom so she could stay with Lee. He moved her chair closer to the bed. He found a small table and a pillow so she could rest her ankle. Jamie decided to stay in the room too just in case Lee woke up and needed him. The rest of them would sleep on the couch and the other chairs in the great room. It was well after 2200 hours when they finally settle down as the storm continued to rage outside.

()()()()()()()

Janet fell asleep pretty quickly but woke up a little while later when she heard Lee moaning as he moved on the bed.

“Lee,” Janet said softly not wanting to wake up Jamie. “Do you need something?”

He never answered her so she knew he wasn’t awake. Janet continued watching him for a few more minutes. She was afraid to touch him so she laid her hand next to his. Damn, Lee, please wake up, she thought but never fell back to sleep as Lee kept moaning as he tried to get comfortable.

Jamie also heard Lee moaning and looked over at him. He knew he was still unconscious and must still be in a lot of pain. He also laid there not able to fall back to sleep.

The men in the great room woke up when they also heard Lee’s moaning. It was so unnerving that none of them were able to get back to sleep.

()()()()()()()

The storm finally stopped around 0200 hours. The silence was deafening as the lightning and thunder moved on.

It was early morning when Lee woke up and wondered where he was when he realized he was lying in a bed. How did I get here? he thought. He cried out in pain as he tried to sit up and laid back down closing his eyes hoping the pain would subside. Janet and Jamie both quickly moved to his side.

“Lee,” Jamie said. “Are you awake?”

Slowly opening his eyes, he replied, “Yes, I’m awake...why does it still hurt so much?”

“Welcome back and I’m sorry I can’t answer that,” Jamie said relieved that he was awake.

“Wrong answer, Jamie,” Lee answered breathing deeply fighting back the pain. “I assume I’m back at the cabin.”

“Yes, Kowalski found you in the shed and they brought you back here,” Janet responded.

“The last thing I remember is running into a shed…I guess I passed out,” he said hoarsely as his throat was still sore from screaming.

Janet and Jamie both heard the hoarseness of Lee’s voice.

“Is your throat sore?” Jamie asked.

“Yes, I have to admit I was screaming at the top of my lungs for the pain to stop,” Lee confessed.

Lee looked more closely at Janet and noticed her forehead had a bandage on it. “Did I do that?”

“You brushed by me, I lost my balance and fell down the stairs. You picked me up and left me the phone so I could call for help.”

“I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to hurt you but I had no idea what was happening to me and had no way stop it,” Lee said apologetically. “You know I’d never purposely hurt you.”

“Lee, you haven’t been yourself since you returned from Kolenovo,” Janet replied.

“Are you in much pain now?” Jamie asked as he examined Lee.

“Yes, it still hurts whenever I move,” Lee answered softly.

“Lee, we need to get you back to Med Bay. I can monitor you better there,” Jamie explained. “But I’m afraid it’s going to cause you extreme pain when we move you.”

“Let’s just get it over with,” Lee nodded in agreement.

“I’ll have the men put you on the stretcher and bring you out to the car. Your car’s back seats recline so you’ll be a little more comfortable.”

Jamie left the bedroom leaving Lee and Janet alone for a few minutes while he got the men. Lee smiled at her just as Jamie returned with Kowalski, Sharkey, Patterson and Chip along with the stretcher.

“Hi Skipper,” Kowalski greeted. “We’re going to move you now…just let us do the work.”

“Thanks,” Lee replied and gritted his teeth.

Each one picked up a corner of the blanket and slowly lifted it off the bed and set it gently down on the stretcher. Lee cried out in pain as they picked him up and put him on the stretcher. He yelled again when they put him in the car. Chip and Harry helped Janet into the car.

Once Lee was in the car, Sharkey and Patterson put the first aid kits in Lee’s SUV in case Jamie needed them. They quickly straightened up the place. When they finished, Chip locked the door and put the key in his pocket. He’d give it to Lee later.

Kowalski would drive Lee, Janet and Jamie back to Med Bay with Harry and Chip in Chip’s SUV and Sharkey and Patterson in the pick-up truck. Ski slowly backed out of the driveway and headed down the gravel road that had more pot holes and ruts from the rain. As he drove down the road, Lee would moan in pain.

Hang on, Lee, Janet thought wishing she could hold Lee’s hand. We’ll be home soon.

Chip called Julie and Angie letting them know they were leaving the cabin and going directly to Med Bay. Both said they would meet them there.

()()()()()()()

Lee closed his eyes as they drove back to the institute. Since the pain was a little more tolerable, he was able to use some of his techniques to control the pain and eventually fell asleep. Janet also fell asleep but woke up an hour before they arrived at NIMR. Lee awoke when he felt the car slow down and stop at the security gate.

“Welcome back, Doctor Jamieson. How’s Commander Crane?” Hank Rivers asked.

“He’s better but will need plenty of rest.”

“Glad to hear that and happy you were able to find him.”

“Thanks Hank,” Jamie responded as Kowalski continued on to Med Bay with the rest of the vehicles close behind.

When they arrived, Frank, John and Hazel were waiting for them as Jamie had notified them about when they would be arriving. He also told them about Lee’s condition and to handle him with kid gloves as not to cause him any unnecessary pain. Kowalski quickly jumped out of the car so he could help put Lee on the waiting gurney. He groaned in pain as they gingerly picked him up and transferred him. Once he was strapped loosely in place, Frank and Hazel wheeled him into Med Bay where they would put him in a room and wait for Jamie.

“John,” Jamie called before he entered the building, “Please bring a wheel chair for Mrs. Crane. She has a bad ankle and I don’t want her walking on it until we can get it x-rayed. Please see that she gets an x-ray of her ankle and a CAT scan of her head. I don’t think she has a concussion or broken ankle, I just want to make sure.”

“Yes, sir,” John replied and immediately returned to Med Bay and brought out a wheel chair.

“Jamie, I don’t need one,” Janet pleaded. “My ankle and head are fine. I just want to be with Lee.”

“You’re not going to be able to see him until I check him out and make sure he’s comfortable so this will kill the time you’d have to wait.”

“Yes, sir,” Janet answered and let John help her from the car into the wheel chair as Jamie made his way into Med Bay and the room where they had taken Lee.

Julie and Angie were waiting at the entrance for them to arrive. As John wheeled her past them, he stopped so they could give her a hug surprised that she was in the chair.

“We’ll talk later,” Janet said and John continued on.

Chip and Patterson parked their cars and hastily made their way over to the rest of the group. Everyone but Chip went into Med Bay as he walked over to Julie where he hugged and kissed her.

“I missed you,” he said his arms still wrapped around her waist.

“Me too,” she answered. “How’s Lee…what happen to Janet?”

“He’s a little better. Janet was injured trying to help Lee. I’ll tell you all about it when we get home. Can you stay or do have to go to work?”

“I can stay. Let’s go in and check on Lee.”

()()()()()()()

He took her hand and they walked into Med Bay where the rest of the them stood in the waiting room. Angie and Harry were off to the side when they entered. Harry saw him come in and motioned to Chip to join them. Chip left Julie with the men and went over to Harry.

“Angie was just telling me that the mission scheduled to leave next Wednesday has been postponed for a week. Seems the head scientist had to leave town on a family emergency.”

“That’s great news as I don’t think Jamie would’ve let Lee sail on the mission,” Chip stated.

“I think you’re right,” Harry concurred. “Angie, implement the call system and let the men know they don’t have to report for duty for another week.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied. “Is Lee better…he didn’t look too good when they wheeled him by us.”

“He’s still in a lot of pain,” Harry answered noticing she looked very worried. “I’ll let you know as soon as I find out anything.”

“Thank you, sir,” Angie responded. “I better go and let Wanda know what’s happening. She volunteered to stay at the office and I’ll get right on notifying the crew.”

“Thanks,” Harry said and watched her as she left the building.

He and Chip joined Julie and the others standing around waiting for Jamie and news regarding Lee.

()()()()()()()

Jamie entered Lee’s room and walked over to the gurney. He wanted to move him to the regular bed so he would be more comfortable but knew it would cause him pain.

“Lee, I’d like to move you to a regular bed but if it would cause you too much pain you can stay where you are.”

“Please just let me be for a while. Maybe later, I couldn’t take another move right now,” Lee replied tiredly.

“Okay,” Jamie replied noticing that Hazel had already hung a new IV bag and started a chart.

“Do you want me to take his temperature or blood pressure and draw some blood,” Hazel asked softly.

“No, don’t do anything right now. He doesn’t have a fever and if you put that blood pressure cuff on him, he’d be screaming in pain.” Jamie saw Lee had closed his eyes and fallen asleep. “Let’s leave him alone.”

Jamie, Frank and Hazel left Lee’s room. Hazel and Frank returned to the nurse’s station leaving Jamie to face the group in the waiting room.

“He’s resting. He’s still in pain but I’m going to wait before I take some blood as I know what it’ll do to him. I’m hoping later today to take and test his blood. That drug has to be almost out of his system. I’m going to check in with my other sources and see if any of them has any ideas on how to treat him. Why don’t you all go home and get some rest. I’m sure none of you slept very well. I’m going to stay a little longer before I hit the couch in my office. If there’s any change in his condition, I’ll let you know.”

John was just bringing Janet back from her tests and heard what Jamie said. “Please let me stay with him. I’ll sleep in the chair. I just can’t leave,” Janet begged.

“Okay,” Jamie conceded knowing he wouldn’t win and this way he could keep an eye on her at the same time.

“I’ll be at the office for a few minutes before I go home,” Harry stated.

“I’m going home but will be back later this afternoon,” Chip said.

The rest of them said they would be at home and to call if they were needed. They walked out of Med Bay and to their cars. Chip and Julie would take Harry to the office before heading home.

()()()()()()()

Jamie helped Janet out of the wheel chair and into a new lounger. He bought a couple of lounge chairs for Med Bay since he always had someone staying there so he wanted them to be more comfortable. He moved it closer to the bed so she could be near Lee.

“I’ll ring you if Lee has a problem,” Janet told Jamie.

“I know you will,” Jamie replied with smile and patted her shoulder.

He dimmed the lights and left the two of them alone. He returned to the nurse’s station and instructed them to report to him immediately if Lee had a problem. He then went to his office and looked at all the papers on his desk deciding they could wait until later. He logged onto his computer hoping to have some responses on the drug but no one had any ideas on what to do. While he was looking on the computer, John brought in the results of Janet’s tests and just as Jamie thought she only had a sprained ankle and no concussion. One problem solved, he thought. One more to go. He shut down his computer and went over to his couch and laid down.

()()()()()()()

Janet sat in the chair and watched Lee sleep. It disturbed her that he continued to moan as he tried to get comfortable. She put her hand next to his still afraid to touch him before she eventually fell asleep.

After sleeping for a few hours, it was late afternoon when Lee woke up and moved his arm to see what time it was and winced when he looked at his watch. He saw Janet sleeping in the chair next to his bed, her hand lying next to his. He eased himself up, picked up her hand and gave it a squeeze. He noticed his pain wasn’t as bad as before. He only felt a twinge when he squeezed Janet’s hand. Maybe it’s finally going away, he thought.

Janet thought she was dreaming when she felt Lee squeeze her hand. She looked over at him and could see him sitting up in the bed.

“Lee, you’re awake?” she said quietly.

“Yes, sweetie,” he replied softly.

Janet quickly sat up in the chair and looked over at him. “How are you feeling…are you still in pain?”

“Nothing that I can’t manage but this gurney is very uncomfortable. How about helping me move to the bed over there.”

“No, I’ll call Jamie and we’ll get help to move you. I don’t want you to get hurt,” Janet informed him.

“Okay,” Lee conceded. He took Janet’s hand and pulled her down to him and kissed her. She returned the kiss seeing him grimace slightly as she did.

Hazel answered the phone and Janet explained to her what Lee wanted to do.

“I’ll get Doctor Jamieson,” she said and rang Jamie’s office. She woke him up and explained to her that Lee wanted to be moved.

“I’ll be right there,” Jamie answered. “Don’t do anything until I get there.” He quickly washed his face and ran down to Lee’s room.

()()()()()()()

Jamie, Hazel, John and Frank all entered Lee’s room surprised to see him sitting up.

“You must be feeling better,” Jamie remarked.

“Yes, there’s still pain but it’s manageable,” Lee replied. “But this gurney is uncomfortable…how about I move to the bed?”

“No problem,” Jamie responded happy that Lee was feeling less pain.

They moved the hospital bed close to the gurney and transferred Lee to the new bed. He only winced when they got him settled. John removed the gurney from the room giving them more room to work.

“Now that you’re feeling better, can I take some blood? I need to know how much of the drug is still in your system,” Jamie explained.

“Go ahead, Jamie, I can handle it. It’s not nearly as bad as before,” Lee stated.

Jamie instructed Hazel to get the blood drawing equipment. She returned shortly but let Jamie take care of drawing the blood. They could see Lee wince when Jamie stuck in the needle. He took quite a few tubes to test.

“Can I spare that much,” Lee quipped seeing how many tubes Jamie removed.

“I don’t want to have to stab you again until tomorrow,” Jamie retorted.

‘Tomorrow, can’t I go home today? We have a mission to get ready for.”

“No, if you’re lucky, I’ll let you go home tomorrow. You’re not leaving here until you’re pain free,” Jamie stated emphatically. “I want to make sure your blood is totally free of the drug.”

“Lee, please do what Jamie asks. You’ve been in so much pain…,” Janet pleaded.

Lee patted her hand, “Okay, I’ll stay,” he replied, “but, Jamie, don’t get used to me agreeing with you.”

“Deal,” Jamie grinned. “I’m going to test these and get back to you.”

Jamie, Hazel, and Frank left the room just as Sharkey, Kowalski, and Patterson entered Med Bay,

“How’s the Skipper,” Sharkey asked worriedly.

“See for yourself,” Jamie replied and continued onto the lab.

The three of them entered Lee’s room and were pleased to see him in a regular bed and sitting up.

()()()()()()()

“Skipper,” Sharkey said enthusiastically. “You’re looking a lot better.”

“Hi men,” Lee answered happy to see them as he didn’t have a chance to thank them before they left. “I am feeling better.”

“You sure had us worried,” Sharkey continued.

“To be honest Chief, I was pretty worried myself. I need to thank you for all your help.”

“Skipper, we don’t need any thanks…we’ll always be there for you,” Kowalski interjected.

Before Lee could continue, the door to his room opened…Harry, Chip and Julie were standing in the door. They too were surprised to see Lee sitting up in bed.

“Come on men,” Sharkey said patting Patterson on the shoulder. “Let’s get out of here.”

“No, please stay,” Lee said urgently. “I need to explain to you what was happening to me. Admiral, I’m sure you must know who and why I was injected.”

“Yes, I do,” Harry admitted. “I think we should all know the details.”

“Lee is it okay for me to stay?” Julie asked quietly.

“Yes, Julie, I would like you to stay,” Lee answered. “There’s nothing I’m going to say that you can’t hear unless the Admiral has any information you shouldn’t know.”

“No, she can hear what I have to say,” Harry replied knowing Julie had increased security clearance since she married Chip and that Lee occasionally worked for ONI. He also knew she would never repeat what she heard.

Chip pulled up a chair next to Janet’s and Julie sat down taking Janet’s hand into hers just as Jamie walked in the room.

“Jamie, I was just going to explain what I was going through, so please join us,” Lee insisted.

“Janet filled me in on some of the details but I want to hear what you have to say. But first I have the results of your blood test. As of now, you still have more of the drug in your system than I like so you’re going to be here again tomorrow.”

“Jamie, we have a mission to get ready for. I can tolerate the pain I have now, so I need to get out of here,” Lee commanded.

Chip spoke up, “Don’t worry about the mission, it’s been rescheduled to the end of next week as the head scientist had an emergency.”

Lee gently rubbed his hand on his head, “I’m sorry to hear about his emergency but happy the mission was delayed so I can help out. Now that we have that settled, let’s begin.”

()()()()()()()

Lee let out a breath, “First of all, I’m sorry to put you through all this but as I told Janet, I had no idea what was happening to me. I guess I better start on what I remember and then you can fill in the blanks on what I don’t know like how I got like this,” Lee said.

“When I batted the Admiral’s arm away, I knew that something was very wrong with me and I was hoping to get away before I really hurt someone. My attitude had also deteriorated…I was sniping and snapping at everyone even more than when I was on the boat…but please realize I couldn’t stop it. I didn’t expect anyone to catch up with me when I left the building. I was surprised at how fast Janet made it down the stairs and into the car as I drove away. I’ll admit I wasn’t happy with her…not because she managed to get in the car…I just wanted to be alone.” He looked at Janet, “You could’ve been killed jumping in the car like that.”

“There was no way I was going to let you go alone…I was afraid I’d never see you again,” Janet replied softly.

Lee gently squeezed her hand, “I figured you’d find the tracking devices I left on the road but I didn’t want to be found so I had to ditch them. By now the pain had escalated to the point where even my clothes caused pain. When we reached the cabin, the pain had really gotten bad but still not at its peak.” Lee paused for a minute to sip some water from the glass by his bed.

Chip chimed in, “Lee, whose cabin was that? I don’t remember you ever mentioning it.”

“It belongs to Jason Weldon. He’s owned it for many years and told me I could use it whenever I wanted. This is where I would go when I needed to be alone, especially after some of my ONI missions. If I told you where it was, you’d come looking for me so that’s why I never said anything about it.”

Lee continued, “When we arrived there, I wasn’t a very nice person. The pain was still escalating and I really didn’t care about anything or anybody. But after I knocked Janet down the stairs and saw her lying on the floor not moving, I realized I had to leave. For that one instant, the pain was still there but I blocked it out knowing if I could hurt her, no one would be safe. I left her the phone knowing she would call for help. When I ran out the door and saw Janet following me, I just had to keep running hoping I could out run her and find a place to hide. By now, it was pouring rain, lightning and thundering but I didn’t care. The pain was now to the point where I couldn’t block it out. Every step or movement caused immense pain. The bushes and branches that hit my face and arms were like hot pokers hitting my skin. I’d never been that far back on the property and had no idea what was back there. I saw the shed and knew it didn’t look very safe but felt if it collapsed on me it would put me out of my pain.”

The group sat there staring at Lee when he made that last statement.

“Ah, Skipper, if it collapsed on you, it could’ve killed you,” Sharkey said quietly.

“Chief, at that point dying was better than enduring the pain. I’ve never experienced that severe pain before.”

Janet gasped at what Lee said and barely held back her tears…even Julie’s eyes were tearing up.

“I finally passed out from the pain and didn’t know you’d found me and brought me back to the cabin until this morning.”

There was total silence for a few minutes everyone letting sink in just how much pain Lee must have endured that he wanted to die.

Lee took a deep breath, “Now I need to know who, what and why I was injected. I’m pretty sure I know where.” he declared. “And how you found out.”

()()()()()()()

“A few days after you returned from Kolenovo we knew something was wrong,” Harry stated. “You were like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde but by the time we’d docked it was more Mr. Hyde than anything. I’ll admit I was stunned when you batted my arm away almost knocking me down. It was at that point we realized you needed help but there was nothing we could do to stop you. Right after you left Jamie informed us that there was an unfamiliar drug in your blood.”

Jamie spoke up, “I’d never seen a drug like that before and when I sent it out to other sources, no one recognized it either. Even if you had come to Med Bay, there was nothing I could do for you but at least we would have been there for you.”

“Did you ever find out what it was?” Lee asked.

Harry took a deep breath and continued, “A man by the name of Ghag Huchay called. Do you know him?”

Lee ran his hand through his hair, “Yes, I’ve had dealings with him in the past. He was the head of security at one time for the PR and then was demoted to security at one of the chemical labs before he retired. I managed to escape his clutches a few times.”

“He called to tell me what he’d done and knew the only way I would talk to him was if I had proof he’d taken you, so he sent me the bracelet you bought for Janet. He’d removed it from your backpack when he had his bodyguard knock you out after you left the brothel and brought to his house. He injected you with a sedative to keep you out so he could inject the other drug. He then had his bodyguard dump you in front of one of the buildings making it look like you had passed out from too much to drink. He knew the sedative would be the only drug to show up in your system when you returned to the boat.”

“Why didn’t the drug take effect sooner…weren’t there any antidotes?”

“It was a delayed reaction drug and no an antidote hadn’t been developed because the person who invented the drug died.”

“Admiral, I bet I know who developed the drug, Hai Phong but how did he know about it?”

“He told me, he was one of the men who’d come to her house to bring you back to the PR’s headquarters. He and Ms. Phong were very close and he was pissed that you got away again and caused her to kill herself. He’s also the one who shot Chip.”

“What did he want from you?” Lee asked perplexed.

“He wanted me to see you suffer…nothing else. He didn’t know that you’d left and we had no knowledge of where you were.”

“I’m sure you tried to track him down.”

“Yes, I contacted ONI and they found the place but it was vacant and cleaned when they arrived. I also had NIMR communications trace the call but he was using a burner phone.”

Lee laid there soaking in everything Harry told him. “Thanks for all your help. I know I didn’t make things easy. Seems Hai Phong is still haunting me,” Lee replied dejectedly.

Jamie looked at Lee and could see he was mentally and physically drained. “Lee’s looking a little tired. I think we should leave him alone,” Jamie suggested.

Sharkey, Kowalski and Patterson quickly stood up, “Take care Skipper, we’ll check in with you tomorrow.”

“Thanks, men,” Lee replied as they walked out the door.

“Janet, do you need a ride home?” Julie asked.

“No, I’m staying here tonight,” Janet stated letting Jamie know she wasn’t leaving.

“If you need anything, please call us,” Chip added as he and Julie gave Janet a hug and left the room.

Only Harry and Jamie remained. “Lee…I’m so glad you’re back,” Harry said emotionally.

“Me too, Admiral,” Lee replied fondly.

Harry gave Janet a hug and left the room. He wiped tears of happiness out of his eyes as he walked out the door. His ‘son’ was safe.

Jamie looked at Lee and Janet. “Do you need anything…besides dinner. I’ll have Cookie bring you something to eat and you’d better eat it.”

“Thank you, Jamie, for everything,” Lee said warmly.

“You’re welcome,” Jamie replied. “I’ll be back later to check on the two of you before I leave for the night.”

Jamie walked out of Lee’s room and headed for the nurse’s station. He called the cafeteria and ordered dinner for them.

()()()()()()()

“Janet, help me get out of the bed, I really need to use the facilities,” Lee asked and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

Janet helped him get up and watched him as the made his way to the bathroom. She noticed he grimaced in pain when he stood up. While he was in the bathroom, Cookie brought in their dinner.

“Hi Mrs. C., how’s the Skipper?” he asked as he set the tray down on the table over by the window.

Smiling Janet replied, “You can let everyone know he’s doing better.” Janet knew the whole institute would know what had happened to Lee by now and wanted to make sure they knew he would be okay.

“Thanks,” Cookie answered, “if you need anything else, just let me know.”

“I will, thank you, Cookie.”

Cookie left just as Lee came out of the bathroom and noticed what Janet was wearing.

“Where did you get those clothes?” he asked.

“My dress was filthy and Jamie found these at the cabin. I totally forgot I had them on.”

“No worry, you still look good,” he replied smiling.

Grinning, “It’s a new look I’m trying out, Janet said as she walked over to him. “Let me help you get back in bed.”

“No, let’s eat dinner by the window. I know I can’t see Seaview, but at least I can see the ocean. I’m tired of lying down.”

()()()()()()()

Janet walked next to Lee wishing she could take his hand but didn’t because she was afraid she would hurt him. He eased himself down at the table by the window. Lee picked up the cover on the tray and didn’t look happy.

“What’s wrong,” Janet asked worriedly.

“I was hoping for something more than chicken soup and jello,” Lee replied.

“I’m sure Jamie’s just being cautious on what you can tolerate,” Janet surmised.

She sat down across from Lee. As he ate his soup, Janet just stirred hers.

Lee noticed she wasn’t eating, “What’s wrong?”

“Did you really wish you would have died when you were in the shed?” Janet whispered as the tears she’d been fighting back finally fell down her face.

Lee took her hand in his, “Sweetie, you’ve seen me in pain from when I’ve been tortured, beaten and shot. The pain I experienced from those was nowhere near the pain I just went through. I’m glad I passed out.”

“I understand,” Janet said softly.

Lee reached across the table and wiped away her tears with his thumb. “I’m sorry I got you into another mess,” he apologized.

“No need to apologize…we’re in this together and I wouldn’t have my life any other way.”

“I did think it was strange that someone would kidnap and drug you after they knocked you out. They could’ve taken the intel while you were unconscious. Now we know why Huchay went to all that trouble to drug you,” Janet commented.

“He’s been after me for a long time. I guess what happened to Hai Phong pushed him over the edge.”

“Let’s forget about him,” Lee said as he stood up, took Janet’s hand and helped her up. He gingerly wrapped his arms around her as she laid her head on his chest. “Love you,’ he said tenderly as he stroked the back of her hair.

“Love you too,” Janet replied affectionately wishing she could hug him harder.

They stood there a few more minutes before they sat back down to finish up their dinner. They had just finished when Jamie came in to check on them.

“Nice to see you out of bed,” Jamie declared. “I’ll check your blood tomorrow and if it’s at acceptable levels, I might let you go home but you can’t return to work until Monday.”

“Thanks, Jamie,” Lee replied. “See you in the morning.”

“Good night, Lee, Janet,”

“Night, Jamie,” they replied as he walked out of the room.

As Jamie walked out of Med Bay to his car, he thought, Problem number two solved.

Janet could see Lee was tired so she helped him back to bed. She sat down in the chair next to the bed wishing she could lie next to him but knew he wasn’t quite ready for that. He fell asleep a few minutes after he was back in bed. Janet sat there watching him sleep thankful he was still with her.

()()()()()()()

Lee woke up early Saturday morning and quietly got out of bed with only a grimace. Janet was still asleep and he didn’t want to wake her but he couldn’t stay in bed any longer. When she did wake up and saw he wasn’t in bed, she quickly got out of the chair to look for him and spotted him by the window.

“You okay,” she inquired anxiously.

“I’m fine…I just wanted to look outside.”

Janet went over to the window and opened the curtains so they could look at the ocean. They were standing there when Jamie came in to check on them.

“How are you feeling this morning?” Jamie asked walking in the door with Hazel who had the blood drawing implements.”

“Better, just a little pain,” Lee replied. “When can I leave?”

“Just as soon as I draw some blood and test it to see how much of the drug is left in your system,” Jamie answered.

Lee sat on the bed while Jamie prepared his arm. He winced as Jamie inserted the needle and drew out a couple of tubes. The wince didn’t get by Jamie who knew Lee was still in pain but would never admit it.

“I’ll test these right away and let you know the results,” Jamie said as he handed the tubes to Hazel. “Have some breakfast and we’ll see if you can leave today.”

“Thanks Jamie. And I hope breakfast is better than dinner last night,” Lee remarked.

Jamie broke out in a grin. “Didn’t like dinner…you can eat whatever you want for breakfast. I’ll be back shortly.”

Lee picked up the phone and dialed the cafeteria as soon as Jamie left. He ordered eggs, bacon, toast, pancakes, a pot of coffee and juice.

“You really must be hungry,” Janet laughed. “You ordered enough food for at least three people.”

“I bet Chip will be here before breakfast arrives and he probably hasn’t eaten,” Lee quipped.

“You’re probably right,” Janet agreed.

()()()()()()()

Chip showed up right as Cookie was delivering Lee and Janet’s breakfast.

“I hope you have enough for me,” Chip said as Cookie set down the trays.

“Of course. I knew you’d be here in time to eat,” Lee quipped. “Help yourself.”

Chip waited until Lee and Janet took what they wanted before digging into what was left.

“You doing okay?” he asked before taking a sip of coffee.

“Much better. I’m hoping to be able to go home, take a shower and get into some decent clothes,” Lee replied.

“Where’s Julie?” Janet asked.

“She had to check on something but as soon as she’s finished, we’re going to go see her parents. By the way, I finally received the information on the communication upgrades, so I’ll take a look at them on Monday.”

A frown appeared on Lee’s face. “I seem to remember we almost came to blows over that report and information. I think I was even going to charge you with insubordination,” Lee said.

“Yes, you were pretty pissed at me because I didn’t have the report finished,” Chip replied. “I was surprised at your attitude that day but didn’t realize how sick you were.”

“Me either,” Lee agreed. “I’m really sorry for the way I acted. I hope the crew members I was nasty too will forgive me.”

“I think they’ve already forgotten it,” Chip reassured him. “Your crew knows you well enough to understand you weren’t yourself.”

“Thanks, as always, for everything,” Lee answered. “I couldn’t get a better brother or XO.”

“I know you’d do the same for me,” Chip responded as he took a bite of a pancake.

They had just finished up all the food when Jamie entered the room.

“Well, Jamie,” Lee asked hopefully.

“You still have a small amount of the drug in your system but not enough to keep you here. I’m sure you’re not totally pain free and you wouldn’t tell me if you were in pain so I’ll let you leave on one condition. You rest today and tomorrow and come in first thing Monday and let me take another sample. If it’s clean, you can return to work. I’ll removed the stitches from your arm before we leave on the mission.”

“I’ll make sure he rests,” Janet declared.

“You’re free to leave,” Jamie said. “Let’s hope that drug is never used on another person again.”

“Jamie, I agree with you and pray that was the only dose made,” Lee stated somberly.

Before they left, Jamie checked over Janet’s ankle and head wound. Her ankle wasn’t swollen and her gash was healing nicely.

“It doesn’t hurt at all,” Janet reported.

“Okay, I’ll clear you to report for work on Monday too,” Jamie remarked knowing she wouldn’t tell him if it hurt either.

As the three of them walked out of Med Bay, Chip offered, “Do you want me to take you home?”

“No, I can drive,” Janet answered as it was her left ankle that was sprained.

“I’ll drive,” Lee responded and helped Janet into the car. Chip headed for his car but turned around and went back to Lee’s.

“I forgot to give you this,” he said as he handed him the key to the cabin. “I didn’t know where it went so I just put it in my pocket.”

“Thanks, I’ll see that it gets put back there,” Lee replied and put the key in the pocket of his shorts.

Chip walked back to his car and headed home. Before they left the Med Bay parking lot, Janet realized she didn’t have her purse or phone.

“Lee, we need to go to the office. When I ran after you I didn’t take my phone or purse. I would like to pick them up before we go home.”

“No problem,” he replied and made a left-hand turn and headed to the institute office.

()()()()()()()

When they arrived, Lee noticed the admiral’s car was in the parking lot. He helped Janet out of the car and opened the door for her as they entered the building. No one was at the front desk because it was Saturday so they didn’t sign in and headed directly for the elevator.

“I’ll only be a minute,” Janet said. “My purse is in my desk and the phone on top.”

“Don’t hurry,” Lee replied wincing slightly as he walked towards Harry’s office. He didn’t expect the admiral to be there but he really needed to speak with him so he was relieved he was there.

He noticed the door to Angie’s office was open and so was Harry’s. He was working at his desk and looked up surprised to see Lee standing outside the door.

“What are you doing here? I see Jamie let you out but I’m sure to go home not report to work,” Harry declared.

“Janet left her purse and phone here. She wanted to pick it up before we went home. Do you have a minute to talk?”

“Of course, son,” Harry replied and pushed himself away from his desk noticing his unflappable captain was still in pain and had something on his mind.

“Let me tell Janet that I need a few minutes with you,” Lee asked and left the office. He found Janet in Chip’s office where she’d located her phone on his desk. “Can you wait few minutes before we leave…I need to talk to the admiral.”

“No problem,” Janet answered. “Take as much time as you need. I’m sure I can find something to keep me occupied.”

They left Chip’s office with Lee heading back to Harry’s and Janet back to hers. Lee closed both doors to his office. He sat down on the couch placing his elbows on his knees and rested his chin on his hands. He looked across at Harry who’d sat down on the opposite couch.

“Admiral, please forgive me for striking out at you. I had no idea how violent I was going to be,” Lee said remorsefully. “I don’t know what else to say but I’m sorry. You’ll have my resignation for insubordination on your desk on Monday.

“Lee,” Harry replied with dismay, “why the hell would I want your resignation. I know you would never hit me or anyone else for that matter unless it was vital to your survival. I knew by the look on your face that you were just as stunned at what you did.”

“For one quick second, I realized what I had done and had to leave. I was so afraid I would severely hurt someone else. It bothers me that I knocked Janet down the steps but the pain was so intense that I had no control over what I was doing.

Harry looked over at Lee and saw the hurt in his eyes. “Lee, she knows that. You stopped and helped her by giving her the phone because goodness that runs down deep will always triumph over evil. You’re too good of a man and that’s why it’s bothering you so much. Lee, let it go, no one will ever blame you including me for what you did.”

“Thank you, sir,” Lee answered feeling better after talking to Harry.

“There’s just one more thing,” Harry said as he stood up from the couch and walked over to his desk. Lee also stood with a puzzled look on his face as Harry opened the middle desk drawer and removed the black velvet bag. “You might want to give this to Janet.”

“The bracelet,” Lee replied opening the bag and letting it fall into his hands. “Do you think she’ll still want it after all the trouble it caused.”

“I’m sure she’ll want it. You bought for her because you love her and that’s all she’s going to remember,” Harry assured him. He wanted desperately to pat his shoulder but knew it would cause him pain so he held back. “Now get the hell out of here…I’m sure you have better things to do.”

“Yes sir, I do now,” Lee responded as put the bracelet back into the velvet bag and put it in his pocket. “You’re not going to be here too much longer are you?”

“No, I only have a couple of more items to clear up. It’s amazing how fast the works gets done when you’re not interrupted.”

“I can attest to that. I’ll see you bright and early on Monday.”

“Good because we have a lot of thing to go over regarding the next mission.”

Lee opened the door to Harry’s office and then Angie’s with Harry following him out. He found Janet in her office reading over her e-mails.

“Good morning, Admiral,” Janet said with a smile when she saw Harry standing at her door with Lee who looked at little more relaxed than he did when he went in. “Don’t stay too long and have a good weekend.”

“You too,” Harry replied with a broad grin.

Janet picked up her purse and they walked to the elevator and waved good bye to Harry as the doors closed.

Harry rubbed the back of his neck. Hopefully things will get back to normal, he thought as he returned to his office.

()()()()()()()

Lee waited for Janet to get into the car before he climbed in. “Sweetie, do you mind if we take a detour before we go home?”

“No Lee, whatever you want to do is fine with me.”

Lee started the car and headed towards the sub pen. Janet smiled knowing Lee wanted to check on his ‘grey lady’ before they went home but he shocked her by driving by the street that leads to the sub pen and continued down towards the botany department and garden. He parked the car in the lot and helped Janet out of the car.

“Why are we stopping here?” Janet asked. “I thought you wanted to check on Seaview.”

“No, I’m sure she’s fine,” Lee commented surprising Janet as he always worried about her. “I wanted to give you something and I know you love the gardens so I thought it would be an appropriate place.”

“I do love it here,” Janet said as she stood in the garden. The clouds that had been around earlier had broken up giving way to blue sky and bright sunshine.

They walked over to the area of the garden that overlooked the ocean. Lee reached into his pocket and took out the black velvet bag.

“Lee, what’s that,” Janet wondered as she’d never seen it before.

“Sweetheart, I bought this for you when I was in Kolenovo. It’s the bracelet that was removed from my backpack,” Lee remarked as the opened the bag and let the silver and gold bracelet fall into his hand.

“Oh Lee, it’s beautiful,” Janet exclaimed as she held out her wrist so he could put it on her.

“I was worried about giving it to you as you might not want it. I never thought it would become part of a nasty plot and was afraid every time you wore the bracelet it would bring back bad memories. The admiral convinced me to give it to you. He knew you’d love it no matter what.”

“Lee, I do love it and I’ll be honest it will bring back memories but the good ones will out-weigh the bad ones.” She gently put her arms around his neck, not wanting to hurt him as she knew he was still in some pain and stood on her toes giving him a passionate kiss.

He bent down, returned the kiss and gave her a hug.

Still wrapped in Lee’s arms, Janet ran her finger down his shirt, “Is someone up to doing some dancing in the sheets?” she asked with a mischievous grin.

Chuckling, Lee responded, “Dancing in the sheets sounds really good to me.”

They walked hand in hand back to the car with Janet’s bracelet glistening in the sunlight.

The End.

Or Is It?

*See my story “The Reason Why”

**See my story “Crown of Thorns”

A huge thank to Christy, my beta, for all her suggestions, comments and corrections.