A Pawn’s Promotion
By: Chris B.
August 9
It was coming up on 0300 as Lee Crane, captain of the SSRN Seaview and occasional ONI agent, turned into his driveway and hit the button on the garage door opener. He was dead tired after what surprisingly turned out to actually be a quick “in and out” mission for ONI. Although there hadn’t been any of the physical abuse he so often endured the mental strain of being undercover and in such a potentially volatile location had weighed heavily on both his mind and his body. He had returned to DC early yesterday morning, delivered his intel and then sat through a rigorous debrief before being released to return home. His flight arrived in San Diego around 2200 and he was only now getting home.
He pulled his car into the garage and hit the remote to shut the door. As Lee unfolded his body from his little red sports car the snaps and pops of his joints made him sound and feel as though he was a 100 years old. “I’m getting too old for this crap.” he thought to himself as he wearily trudged into the house. Tired as he was he grabbed a cold beer from the fridge and headed to the bedroom leaving a trail of clothing behind him. As he took his last swallow of the beer he made it to his bed. Chucking the bottle into the trashcan, he shed the remaining pieces of clothing still encasing his body onto the floor and flopped down face first onto the bed and fell fast asleep.
As Lee crashed into an exhausted heap, the man sitting in a dark sedan down the road from his house sat up, started the car and quietly pulled out heading off to report the quarry had arrived.
~~~~~~~~~~
Lee awoke around 0900 that same morning feeling much refreshed after a solid 6 hours of sleep. He rolled out of bed and took care of nature’s call before dressing in a t-shirt and shorts and heading to the kitchen to start the coffee and to let the Admiral and Chip know he had returned alive and none the worse for wear. As the coffee began to drip into the carafe the doorbell rang. Lee wasn’t expecting anyone but knowing the Admiral and Chip, either one could have smoked out that he was already back and were making a preemptive strike to take stock of the Captain’s condition.
Lee peered through the peephole in the front door and spied a UPS driver with a large crate waiting at the front door. Not expecting any type of shipment, Lee cautiously opened the door and inquired, “May I help you?”
“Lee Crane?” the driver inquired. Lee nodded. “I have a parcel for you, would you please sign here?” The driver offered the electronic receipt device to Lee.
Lee opened the door wider and stepped out onto the doorstep to take the device. As he did two fine wires shot out from the device and Lee was hit full force in the chest with a high voltage Taser blast. He fell immediately to the ground twitching uncontrollably from the electric charge. As he floundered about the “driver” quickly injected Lee in the neck with a hypodermic needle and pulled him into the house.
He next brought in the crate and laid it down next to the now unconscious Crane. He then proceeded to open the box and quickly stuffed Lee’s body inside. Although the drug should keep his package out for at least 24 hours he was taking no chances, he securely bound Crane’s legs and hands, and blindfolded and gagged him. He then sealed the box back up, exited the house pulling the front door closed behind him, loaded his parcel into the truck and drove off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 16
Admiral Harriman Nelson, founder and head of the Nelson Institute of Marine Research, was fit to be tied. His captain and “son” was supposed to have been back from his ONI jaunt a week ago and they were scheduled to sail on their next mission in just over 24 hours. Nelson called out to his secretary, “Angie, get Admiral Hardy at ONI on the line.” Nelson fussed and fumed around his office as Angie placed the call. He was getting extremely tired of ONI co-opting his captain for missions that their other full-time operatives could just as easily carry out.
“Admiral Hardy on line 2, sir.” Angie called to her boss.
“Tom, Harri. Where the hell is my captain? You promised me that he would be back from your little errand over a week ago. We sail tomorrow and I’m absent one Skipper.” Nelson huffed.
“Harri, always such a pleasure.” Hardy replied. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, Crane returned from his mission early, injury free I might add, 8 days ago. He came in on the morning of the 8th, delivered his package, sat through his debrief and was on a MAC1 flight to San Diego that same evening presumably heading home. You say he hasn’t turned up yet?”
An all-encompassing sense of dread enshrouded Harri as he listened to Hardy’s report. It was not like his workaholic captain to willingly stay away from his “gray lady” for any period of time. “No, we’ve had no indication that he’s back and that just isn’t Lee Crane.” Harri answered. “Tom, I have a bad feeling about this. Would you please check with your people and make sure Lee got on that flight to San Diego and actually arrived there?”
“I’m already on it Harri. I’ll have my team back track all of Crane’s movements up until the time he exited NAS2 North Island. I’ll also see if we can access any traffic cams or other government surveillance systems between there and Santa Barbara to see if we can spot his car and determine how far he went. I assume you’ll be checking out his place for any clues.” Hardy replied.
“Yes. I’ll send my security team over to his house to see if he made it home and let you know what they find.” Nelson responded. “I’ll call you back as soon as I know anything and I hope you’ll do the same.”
“You know I will Harri. You’re not the only one who needs to know where Crane is and despite what you may think I am concerned for his well-being too. Talk to you soon.”
After hanging up with Hardy, Nelson immediately picked up his phone and dialed Chip Morton’s office. “Morton” Chip answered.
“Chip, Nelson. Have you spoken to Lee lately?” the Admiral inquired.
“No sir.” Chip answered. “I’ve been expecting a call from him for the last week or so letting me know he survived his last ONI adventure. Has something happened?”
“I just called Admiral Hardy at ONI wanting to know where Lee was, come to find out he supposedly returned home on the 9th. I’ve had no communication with him since the day before he went on his mission and I now fear that something has happened to him between the time he left DC and heading home. Hardy said he’ll chase down things from DC to Santa Barbara and we will check things out here. Get Chief Michaels from security and head over to Lee’s place and see if you can turn up anything.”
“Aye, sir.” Chip responded. Upon hanging up with the Admiral Chip immediately called Chief Michaels alerting him to the situation. Chip bolted out of his office and flew down the hall to the stairs. He took two steps per flight of stairs and was out of the building and in his rig heading to pick up Chief Michaels in under a minute.
As Chip drove to Lee’s place he relayed what few details he had regarding Lee’s apparent disappearance between DC and home. He felt as though a fist had grabbed his stomach and was twisting it into a pretzel. The traffic was light that morning and Chip was able to reach Lee’s place in under 20 minutes yet if felt as though a decade had passed.
Chip pulled into Lee’s driveway and threw his truck into park. Both men literally sprang from the vehicle and ran to Lee’s front door. Chip rang the doorbell once and tried to turn the knob; locked. With no response he immediately isolated the key to Lee’s door, shoved it into the lock and opened the door. “Lee” Chip called. “Hey, are you here, buddy?” Silence was the only response. There was an unmistakable smell of burnt coffee that seemed to permeate the air inside the house.
The two men walked cautiously into the kitchen finding a shattered carafe in the coffee maker on the counter. They noticed a trail of clothing from the door coming from the garage heading up towards Lee’s bedroom. There were no obvious signs of an attack and Chip mentally attributed the litter of clothing to an exhausted Lee. Chip walked to the door to the garage and opened it carefully finding Lee’s car safely parked in its rightful place. “Well it looks as though he made it home okay.” Chip remarked.
Both men then moved to the stairs and headed up towards Lee’s bedroom. Upon entering they found an unmade bed and the rest of Lee’s clothes in a pile on the floor. Again there was no indication of a struggle.
Chip pulled out his cell phone and rang up Admiral Nelson. “Sir, its Chip. We’re here at Lee’s place now. It looks as though Lee made it home all right but there’s absolutely no sign of him here. There isn’t any obvious sign of a struggle but I think whatever happened to him must have occurred the morning he arrived because the coffee pot apparently was left on and shattered after all the liquid was gone. Have you heard anything from Admiral Hardy?”
“Hardy just called and let me know that Lee arrived safely in San Diego and security footage shows him driving off the base at 2245. He has alerted NCIS to conduct an investigation into Lee’s disappearance. Have Michaels check with Lee’s neighbors to see if they noticed anything and then touch base with NCIS with anything he may have found. You need to come on back, we sail in less than 24 hours and unfortunately this mission can’t be delayed.”
“Sir you can’t be serious.” Chip exclaimed. “We can’t just leave not knowing what has happened to Lee. He may need us or we may be able to help find out where he’s gone.”
“Chip we need to leave this to the professionals. You know how I feel about Lee. I’ve put in motion every asset and investigative service I can to find out where Lee has gone. There’s little else we can do other than taking care of Lee’s gray lady and carrying out the mission she is assigned.” Nelson replied solemnly.
“Aye, sir.” Chip responded dejectedly. “I’ll be on my way back once I get Michaels turning over stones.”
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August 11
As consciousness began to return, Lee Crane slowly started to collect his senses. Pain was the first sensation to register home, his head felt as though he had been on a drinking binge for a month. His chest burned where he had taken the hit from the Taser and throbbed in pain in unison with his heart. He was lying on a bed of some sort, not particularly comfortable. There was a feeling of dankness and a smell of mold and mildew. He slowly peeled his eyes open to find a dark room except for a sliver of light showing under what apparently was the only door.
Lee shifted on the cot and attempted to sit up when he was hit with a horrific spike of pain ricocheting through his head. He groaned aloud at which point a bright flood light illuminated his cell. The light only increased the pain in Lee’s skull and he laid back down tightly screwing his eyes shut to try and stem the surging tide of nausea and the heightened discomfort the movement and light brought on. He took a number of quick, shallow breaths to gain control over the pain to allow him to begin assessing the situation in which he now found himself.
“Ah so you have decided to join us have you Captain?” a disembodied voice boomed from a speaker somewhere in the room. Lee tried to respond but found his mouth and throat too dry to allow for anything more than an unintelligible grunt.
“I apologize for the accommodations Captain but your reputation precedes you and I’m not about to take a chance on losing you now that I’ve got you where I want you. To spare us all from the tedious inquiries you are no doubt about to make, I am Nels Magneson and you are a guest here on my private island.”
“Magneson?” Lee repeated, “Never heard of you. What specifically is your interest in me?”
“I find that amazing Captain since I am the preeminent weapons designer and nuclear physicist in the world.” Magneson responded with a noticeable drip of disdain for Crane’s lack of recognition. “I’m surprised your Admiral Nelson has not spoken of me. But then again Nelson is not one to acknowledge anyone that is superior to him intellectually. In answer to your question my interest in you is twofold. First off you are very “special” to Admiral Nelson and he would do anything to ensure your safe return. Second the People’s Republic seems to value you even more than Nelson and they are willing to pay handsomely for you, your submarine and its weapons.”
“You over estimate my value Magneson, the Admiral would never pay a ransom to you or sacrifice Seaview or her weapons to save me. I’m just one man who can easily be replaced. There’s also no way in hell I’ll give you anything that would allow you access to Seaview so the PR won’t get their prize either. By the way, just how long have I been your “guest”?” Lee responded back.
“It took quite a bit longer for you to regain consciousness than I expected Captain, it’s been over 48 hours since your pickup. Also you sell yourself short Captain and false modesty does not become you.” Magneson responded. “For whatever reason Nelson looks upon you as his son and in many respects that makes you irreplaceable. That little fact also makes you immensely valuable to me and the PR.”
“Me?! I’m just a sub-jockey. I drive the boat and make sure we don’t run into anything.” Lee sniped back.
Magneson laughed mirthlessly at Crane’s protestation. “Don’t insult my intelligence Captain. Your talents run far in excess of motoring through the briny deep. I think it’s time we continue this discussion in person.” At that comment the cell door swung open and two large, heavily muscled men entered the room their weapons trained squarely on Lee.
Lee recognized one of the men as the UPS driver. “Here for another pick up?” quipped Crane. The larger of the two just snorted and motioned Lee to exit the room with the barrel of his .45 automatic.
As they exited the cell they entered a long, brightly lit corridor with a number of doors on either side. They led Crane to another room which consisted of a shower and set of clean clothing. “Ah I suppose I’m to make myself more presentable for my meeting with the head cheese.” Lee remarked. Again the only response he received from the two men was a wave of a gun barrel towards the shower and the clothing. As Lee moved towards the shower stall the two men backed out of the room and locked the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once Lee completed his shower and dressed in the clothing provided, a non-descript pair of trousers and white t-shirt, the door opened and he once again was motioned out of the room and down the corridor. This told Lee that he was under constant monitoring and it would be very difficult to carry out an escape. As they reached the end of the hallway there was a large door on the left which one of his guards held open while the other pushed Lee through. The room they entered was opulently decorated with crystal chandeliers suspended from a 30 foot ceiling, highly polished maple paneling made up the walls and antique tapestries and works of art by Da Vinci, Van Gogh, and Rembrandt adorned the walls. In one corner was a small table with two chairs and an ornate chess set standing ready for play. Lee mentally noticed the lack of windows and surmised this was most likely a bunker-type facility probably to avoid satellite detection.
In the center of the room was a long dining room table elegantly set with fine china, sterling silver utensils and crystal glasses of varying size. There were 8 chairs around the table but only two place settings, indicating to Crane this was going to be a semi-private meeting. He really couldn’t envision Goon 1 and Goon 2, as Lee now thought of them, leaving him alone with the master of the manor. Goon 1 indicated that Crane should be seated at the place setting at the end of table closest to the door they just entered.
As soon as he was seated a door on the opposite end of the room opened and a short, stout man with short, graying black hair, neatly trimmed salt and pepper goatee, and beady black eyes behind glasses sporting Coke-bottle like lenses entered the room. He gait was short and choppy and as he waddled to the table, he reminded Crane of a walking fireplug. He was dressed in an expensive suit and tie which did nothing to enhance his overall appearance. Lee smirked to himself, “He should have saved the money for a personality transplant.”
“We meet at last Captain.”Magneson said. “Once again I welcome you to my island. “Jorge”, he called to Goon 1, “you may start serving the meal. I’m sure you’re quite hungry Captain; it’s been awhile since you’ve eaten. Jorge is an excellent chef so you should enjoy the meal.” Goon 1 exited the room but Goon 2 remained standing behind Lee to ensure he attempted nothing drastic.
“Where exactly is your island? And what is it you expect of me Magneson?” Lee inquired
“Directly to the point I see. In answer to your first question my little island is located off the coast of Norway in the Barents Sea. As to your second question we’ll get to that later. Tonight you will dine with me and possibly a game of chess afterwards. I play at the Grandmaster level so this should be a quick exercise and you will be able to return to your room early so you will be well rested for tomorrow’s activities.” the short man smirked.
“And what would tomorrow’s activities entail?” Lee asked although he was fairly certain the slated events would not be to his liking.
“Tomorrow.” replied Magneson as Jorge reentered the room with the first course. He placed an appetizer in front of each man and backed away. “Eat Captain. You will need your strength.”
Crane looked at the dish of pickled herring set before him and swallowed convulsively, the nausea not yet completely quelled. He made no move to pick up his fork to sample the fish. “Now, now Captain you’re being rude. Jorge has gone to a great deal of trouble this evening. I assure you that nothing is poisoned or drugged. Tonight I only want to chat and get to know you better.” Magneson purred.
“Pardon my lack of appetite and apparent lack of trust but the drugs you already injected me with have left me queasy and I seriously doubt I could keep this down.” Lee replied candidly.
“Very well then, maybe something else during the course of the meal will be to your liking.” answered Magneson as he heartily devoured his fish.
As the dinner progressed Magneson nattered on about himself ad-nauseam and rarely inquired of anything about Crane. He was apparently bent on impressing on the Captain his intellectual superiority over both his peers and the world in general, no doubt trying to firmly seat the concept in Crane’s mind that any attempt to resist or escape such a formidable force of nature would be folly. Lee sat quietly taking it all in, cataloging the information imparted for use when the time came. Knowing he would need his strength for whatever activities Magneson had planned he ate sparingly from the more benign items offered up for consumption.
As the last dinner dishes were cleared away Magneson rose and scuttled over to chess set. “Join me in a game Captain? Surely a military man such as yourself has a firm concept and in comparison to me a limited mastery of this tactical game.”
Lee pushed away from the table and likewise moved to the game table, all the while under the very close scrutiny of Goon 2. “I’ve been known to dabble. Sure I’ll give you a try.” he replied.
“Excellent!” Magneson bubbled and sat down in front of the white pieces. Lee took the opposite seat and waited for Magneson’s opening move. “As I said Captain I play at the Grandmaster’s level and in fact approach all aspects of my life much as I do a game of chess. I visualize and plan for ALL possible responses at least six moves in advance.”
Having played numerous games with the Admiral, Lee put forth a vigorous effort, challenging Magneson at every point. The little man was beginning to sweat as Lee read and defeated his various gambits putting to test his boast that he could counter every possible move that could occur. Sensing that he was on the verge of revealing more about his true abilities to Magneson, Lee “missed” the correct counter-response to Magneson’s charge and the game ended some five moves later.
The game lasted nearly 6 hours, far longer than Magneson thought possible with this military drone. In the end he won, as he knew he would and took great pleasure in once again pointing out to the Captain his mental and tactical superiority to that of the mere sub-jockey.
Following the game Crane was escorted back to his cell and the lights went out for the night. Lee lay on his cot quietly working through all the information he had accumulated during his dinner. He was still feeling ill from his transport to the island and knew he needed to get some sleep if he was going to be in any condition to deal with Magneson tomorrow, whenever that would come.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 19
The Seaview had left port as scheduled transporting a highly experimental missile system that they would help test with the Navy. Seaview’s greater crush depth was essential to the tests, which was the only reason Nelson grudgingly permitted the boat to leave dock without her Captain. They were heading north towards the arctic waters of the Bering Sea where they would rendezvous with USS Regan carrier group to conduct their tests.
They had been underway for two days and still no news on the whereabouts of Lee Crane. There was an underlying wave of tension that gripped the entire crew, all unhappy to be leaving their skipper to whatever forces had snatched him away. They were the epitome of professionalism and would not let their personal feelings interfere with the mission but keeping focused on that was a true test of their skills. It seemed that all the normal chatter and interaction that went on had ceased as thoughts kept straying to that ever looming question, where the hell was Lee Crane?
Chip Morton, acting Captain of the SSRN Seaview, descended the spiral staircase into the control room. He spotted Admiral Nelson seated at a table in the nose section near the herculite windows, no doubt reviewing information pertaining to the upcoming missile tests. “Good morning, sir.” Chip said to the Admiral, “anything new on Lee?”
Nelson looked up slowly from his notes, the strain and worry over his Captain’s current whereabouts etched firmly in the lines in his face, blinked and responded, “Morning Chip. No nothing new from ONI or NCIS.” He thumbed through his documents again. “Are we all set to initiate the test protocols for today’s exercises?” He inquired.
“Yes sir. Everyone is fully versed in what is required and hopefully we can complete the required tests in short order and get back to the more immediate concern of finding Lee.” he responded somewhat testily. Nelson shot him a stern glance and Chip averted his eyes. “Sorry sir, that was uncalled for. I know national security is our primary mission but it’s tough to keep that in perspective with Lee unaccounted for.”
“I understand Chip, I feel much the same way but we need to keep our focus on our duty and ensure that we give this system a rigorous shakedown before we can indulge in the luxury of addressing our personal concerns.” Chip nodded and walked over to sideboard and poured himself a cup of coffee. He went back to the table and sat in the vacant chair across from the Admiral and began reviewing the mission parameters again to ensure they got everything right the first time.
“Admiral!” called out Sparks from the comms center. “Sir there’s an incoming message for you, but not from a source I recognize. It’s coming in from a Dr. Nels Magneson, do you want me to patch it through?” Nelson and Chip locked eyes both knowing this could be the contact they needed to track down the missing Lee Crane.
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August 12
The lights in Lee’s cell blazed to life forcing him awake. “Good morning Captain time to start the day.” Magneson chortled over the loudspeaker. “Today I’m going to give you a tour of my facility and demonstrate a little something I’ve been working on for our friends in the People’s Republic.” Goon 1 opened the door to the cell and motioned Lee out and down the hall. They reentered the dining hall where Magneson sat filling his gullet with a prodigious amount of breakfast foods.
“My god someone who eats more than Chip”, Lee thought to himself. “No wonder that mole hill of a man is a fat as a mountain.” His disdain must have been written on his face because Magneson shot him a nasty glare in return.
“Something to eat Captain?”,Mangneson inquired.
Lee stepped forward and grabbed a piece of toast and motioned towards the carafe on the table, “Coffee?” Magneson nodded and Goon 1 got Lee a cup and poured the strong, dark brew into the cup and handed it to him. He sipped at the coffee and nibbled at the toast while watching Magneson lay waste to the mound of food.
Once finished Magneson got up from the table. “Come this way Captain, time’s wasting.” Lee followed the little man through the other door into another corridor. They proceeded halfway down the hall where Magneson opened a door on the right and lead the group into a laboratory. “Welcome to my inner sanctum Captain, where my genius truly comes to life. There’s not another facility like it in the world”
That was probably a pretty safe statement to make. The room was cavernous. Floodlights bathed the entire room in bright light. Lee looked quickly all around the room taking in the details. The roof of the lab appeared to have large retracting doors similar to the villain’s lair in that James Bond movie. Along the opposite wall were four huge generators, whatever he was doing took power and a lot of it. Above and behind the generators were what appeared to be two large ventilation shafts probably providing fresh air to cool down the generators during operation. To the left of the generators was a metal staircase going from the laboratory floor up to a door some 60 feet above the floor, no doubt leading to the island surface. Along the wall to the right of the generators were rows of computer mainframes busily flashing and humming away.
In the center of the room was a large device with a huge parabolic dish at the back and an elongated barrel similar to the 20” guns on a battle ship, extending some 20 feet in front. The dish was affixed to an articulated arm that allowed the barrel to be raised and lowered for aiming purposes. There were a series of control panels and heavy electrical cables running from the machine to the generators. The entire thing was mounted on a huge scissor lift which was no doubt raised through the ceiling doors for use.
“See this little machine here, Crane?” Magneson started. “This is a tractor beam I’ve invented. This device has the capability of capturing an object as large as an oil tanker and drawing it to the generation source. ”
“Anyone ever tell you you’ve been watching too much science fiction?” responded Lee.
“Oh it’s no fantasy Captain. Imagine taking this into battle and turning it on your enemy. They can’t advance, they can’t run, they can’t fight; they become like a fly trapped in amber until released from the beam. As long as the beam is on, the user is safe from attack and can move their forces in for the kill at their leisure. It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “Held in Check”. Up to now my range has been limited to about half a mile but with the nuclear reactor on the Seaview I could extend my reach to a mile or more and would have nearly unlimited mobility. There is one side effect which I have yet to overcome, if I even want to.”
“And what would that be?” Lee asked.
Magneson smiled wickedly at Lee. “Heat. It generates tremendous heat and things not impervious to that heat either melt or cook depending on their composition. So if you’re not too worried about what’s in a vessel and can get past the smell, it would be easy enough to trap a boat in the beam, draw it to your base and let the heat take care of any resistance that might be present. As I said I haven’t really decided if I want to mitigate that little aspect of this weapon or not. That brings me to my need for your information on Seaview access codes, once I have trapped your vessel and disposed of the unnecessary cargo I still need to gain access. Give me what I want Captain and I will ensure that your crew does not suffer once Nelson brings Seaview within my reach.”
“I seriously doubt that Admiral Nelson would be gullible enough to respond to your demands and come anywhere near this rock. As I said Mangeson I am only one man and expendable at that. He will not sacrifice something as valuable and powerful as the Seaview even for me. There’s also no way in hell I’ll give you any information that could be used against Seaview or her crew.” Crane replied defiantly.
Magneson nodded to Jorge who immediately grabbed Lee, shoved him across the lab and forced him into a chair at which point Lars securely tied him to it. “We shall see Captain, we shall see. Here Captain I want to give you a demonstration first hand. I want you to experience what your crew will feel as I draw them inexorably to their deaths. I can draw your ship in fast and make their deaths nearly instantaneous or I can draw it in slowly and leave them writhing on the deck in extreme agony as they are slowly roasted in their titanium can. The choice is totally up to you.”
Magneson began flipping switches, turning dials, warming the machine up for use. He mounted the platform the beam generator was located on and took careful aim at Crane. He picked up a remote control unit and switched the beam on.
Lee jerked immediately as the beam engulfed him. He could feel the chair he was sitting on begin to slowly slide forward. At the same time he began to feel an intense burning sensation deep within his chest which started grow and radiate throughout his body. The heat and attendant pain steadily grew in intensity until he could no longer bite back the scream wrenched from his body. With that scream Magneson laughed shut off the beam and Lee slumped against his bonds as he lost consciousness.
“Take him back to his cell,”Magneson instructed. “I believe I’ve given the good captain something new to think about.”
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August 13
Morning “dawned” very early for Lee as the floodlights flared on in his cell. An ear-splitting squeal like microphone feedback reverberated throughout the room for what seemed an eternity. Lee bolted to his feet and then sank to his knees as light and sound assaulted his senses. He jammed his eyes shut and slammed his hands over his ears trying to mitigate the attack. As his instinctive response to the lights and sound faded Lee became very much aware of the intense pain that radiated throughout his body from his exposure to the tractor beam the day before. His breathing became rapid and shallow as he tried to control the pain. Sweat broke out on his brow and trickled down his face and neck.
As quickly as the sound had started it stopped, making Lee’s ears ring from the absence of input. The silence was immediately replaced with Magneson’s voice blaring through the speaker. “Good morning Captain, I do hope you slept well. I hope my little demonstration yesterday taught you the futility of resisting me. Save yourself the added pain and tell me what I want to know. Tomorrow has arrived again Captain and it is now time to extract from you the information I need to take control of the Seaview and her armaments.”
Lee rose slowly to his feet. “I told you yesterday that I will not, repeat, WILL NOT, give you anything that can be turned against my boat or crew.”
“Such bravado Captain.” Magneson chuckled. “The day is young and I have only just begun. By day’s end you will be offering up your mother’s phone number to put a stop to the pain I have planned for you.”
Defiantly Lee came to attention and shouted, “Lee Benjamin Crane, Commander, United States Navy Reserve, 6643862587.”
Magneson laughed again. “I am not a sovereign nation, Commander and definitely not a signatory to the Geneva Convention. The only humane treatment you will receive from me will come after you’ve told me what I want to know and that will be turning you over to the People’s Republic.”
With that declaration the door to Lee’s cell opened and Goon 1 and Goon 2 stepped in. While Goon 1 kept his weapon firmly aimed at Lee’s chest, Goon 2 grabbed Lee and forced him out the door and down the corridor to another room. Inside the room was a chain with a hook on the end suspended from the ceiling and attached to a winch on the opposite wall. Goon 2 picked up a metal bar about 4 feet long with shackles attached at each end and an eyelet in the middle. He first grabbed Lee’s left wrist and closed it in a shackle and then the right. He next grabbed the end of the chain and slid the hook through the eyelet at which point Goon 1 engaged the winch raising Lee’s arms above his head suspending him so only his toes touched the ground.
At this point Magneson waddled into the room. “Now Captain I will ask you nicely once for the information I want. What are the command access codes for the Seaview and the weapons systems?”
Lee glared at the little man then spat on him. Magneson recoiled in horror and disgust. “Jorge, Lars, teach the Captain some respect for his superiors!” he screamed desperately wiping Lee’s spit from his face. Lee smirked knowing he had completely unnerved the little man and laughed at him as he bolted from the room. Goon 1 delivered a powerful punch to Lee’s stomach forcing him to draw up his knees as he fought off the pain and tried to suck in a breath. Lee fought to regain some composure but the Goons assailed him with a vicious series of kicks and punches to his entire body. The beating continued until Lee lost consciousness and he was left to hang in place until he came back around.
Lee slowly awoke as the pain from the beating slammed through his body leaving him sweating from the strain in his arms and gasping for breath. He began mentally repeating his mantra to control the pain and steel his mind against the next session. A groan escaped his lips despite his best efforts and Magneson and his goons reentered the room.
“Who’s laughing now Crane!” Magneson yelled “Now Commander I will ask you again, what are the command access codes for Seaview and the weapon systems?”
Lee firmly fixed his gaze on Magneson giving him the full force of his command glare saying all he intended to with his eyes. Magneson shifted uncomfortably unable to return the stare. “Continue.” He instructed his goons and left. That sequence of events occurred three more times before Lee was lowered to floor and drug back to his cell for the night.
He was dumped unceremoniously in the middle of the cold stone floor. The cool rock felt good against the bruises and swollen joints until he became chilled and began to shiver violently. Knowing he couldn’t allow himself to become hypothermic Lee painfully crawled to the cot and pulled his body onto the mattress. Goon 1 and Goon 2 were very good at what they did he was forced to admit and he knew he had a number of severely cracked or broken ribs thanks to their ministrations. He could barely breathe and his back felt as though every muscle had cramped making it impossible to fully stretch out on the bed. Tired and hurt Lee finally managed to drift off into a fitful sleep.
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August 18
Magneson and his goons had been at Lee for the last five days trying to break him, forcing him to provide the demanded information. They had alternated between physical and mental attacks trying to breach the wall of silence Lee had erected. The only tactic that seemed left were drugs but those would leave him little more than a mental vegetable and of no value to the PR. Magneson pondered his options and finally settled on a tactic.
Although physically drained. Magneson suspected that Crane was keeping some hidden reserve of pure willpower to be used if an avenue of escape presented itself. The man was no longer operating at his best and would not detect Magneson’s subtle gambit allowing him to escape the bunker and attempt to gain his freedom, contact Nelson and call for a rescue. “Time for another little game, Captain” he thought to himself. “What say we go on a hunt?”
To give Lee a better chance of “escaping”, the next interrogation session was delayed giving the man more time to recover his strength. Magneson instructed Goon 1 that he was to present a number of opportunities for Crane to overpower him and make his escape. Nothing was to be too overt but to a trained naval officer if would be an opportunity that could not be turned down.
As the next session began, the floodlights flared to life as usual only this time only one Goon entered Crane’s cell. The Captain he was pulled roughly to his feet and shoved out the door. Lee stumbled into the corridor and slammed into the opposite wall where stunned by the impact he slid slowly to the floor. As Goon 1 bent down to grab the Captain and pull him to his feet, Lee reacted just as Magneson had hoped shooting out a fist to his man’s throat, cutting off his air. Goon 1 staggered back and Lee followed up the attack with a series of well-placed punches and kicks that left his guard unconscious and bleeding. He grabbed the Goon’s gun and slowly stood up fighting off the wave of pain and vertigo from his previous treatment.
Lee worked his way down the corridor to the dining room. From there he passed through the room to the opposite corridor and moved towards the laboratory. He cautiously entered the lab finding it empty. He moved quickly over to the bank of computers scanning the rows of machines. He moved next to the generators and likewise eyed the machines for possible means of sabotage to take Magneson’s beam out of play. About that time the klaxons went off notifying everyone within earshot that Goon 1 had been discovered and that the prisoner had escaped.
Lee moved rapidly from the generators and started climbing the metal stairs to the door above. As he reached the top he heard shouts from below and the report from a gun about the same time he felt the bullet tear into his right side. He gasped and slammed hard against the door. He tried the door and found it open. He staggered into a tunnel behind the door and followed it up and out into the open.
For the first time in what seemed an eternity Lee found himself outside. It was night and nature was throwing a ferocious fit. Torrential wind driven rain pounded down unmercifully. Lee was nearly knocked off his feet by the powerful gusts of wind but the cold clean air felt invigorating and gave him the strength to move quickly from the entrance into the surrounding coniferous forest that dominated the island. He was no fool, he knew that his escape was all too easy and was no doubt another gambit offered by his host, another mind game to make him give something up.
As Lee stumbled through the woods he scanned the area as best he could and was able to discern video cameras positioned in the trees. Lee knew that the darkness and rain would make it difficult for any cameras to easily focus on his movements so he moved as quickly through the trees as his beaten and battered body would allow.
The storm was unrelenting in its fury and was soundly ripping branches off trees, snapping off tree tops and felling entire trees. As Lee moved through the trees he spotted a large sheet of black plastic undoubtedly ripped off some pallet or building somewhere on the island. He grabbed the sheet and moved to an area where a number of large trees had been blown down. He surveyed the site and spotted one area where there was a void between the trees that was large enough for him to crawl into and lay down. He shoved his sheet of plastic into the hole securing it with a large downed branch and then proceeded to collect other branches and throw them haphazardly over the hole to hide it from sight.
Lee then carefully crawled into his new shelter and adjusted the branches to further obscure his hiding place. Next he grabbed his plastic, stretching it flat as best he could then lay on top of it and rolled himself up like a burrito. The ground below him was covered in moss and lichen and was surprisingly comfortable to his abused body. Once down and no longer active, Lee was consumed by near convulsive shivering as his body tried to warm itself from the blood loss and the chilling wind and rain. The plastic trapped what little heat Lee’s body was generating and eventually he found himself getting warm and the shivering stop. Well he at least hoped he was getting warm as the latter stages of hypothermia result in much the same feeling. Darkness descended upon him as his body shut down and Lee passed out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 19
As the sun peaked above the horizon Lee slowly came to, momentarily finding himself at a loss to explain how he came to be wrapped in plastic nearly buried under branches and other debris. As realization dawned on him he smiled slightly, realizing Magneson had given him an opening that he needed to bring him down.
Lee carefully extracted himself from his impromptu habitat and fully surveyed the landscape. His body screamed in pain at the abuse it had been subjected to. He swallowed a groan he felt welling up inside him to avoid possible detection and struggled to rise to his full height. The storm had done tremendous damage taking out trees, antennas and most importantly Magneson’s video system. Cameras dangled inertly from the trees where they had been installed. Lee listened intently for any sound that would indicate that Magneson or his Goons were on the prowl to recapture him.
Although the wound on his side had stopped bleeding for the moment, Lee removed his shirt and fashioned it into a compress and bandage to staunch any blood flow that might occur once he started moving in earnest. Thankfully (yeah real thankfully Lee thought sarcastically) it was an in and out so he wouldn’t have to worry about complications associated with having a bullet rolling around inside him as he moved about. The wound was hot, red and swollen and would no doubt soon become infected. He had to work fast before his body finally betrayed him. With that done Lee headed out to conduct a more thorough reconnaissance of the island before Magneson was able to get his eyes back.
Lee crept stealthily through the woods steadily moving toward the shoreline. When he reached the edge of the trees he was dismayed to find that the island was a veritable fortress. It was a column of granite rising at least 30 feet above the sea. The cliff walls were sheer and for the most part devoid of outcroppings or ledges. The shoreline at the base of the cliffs was rocky and appeared very shallow near shore; no tide pools or lagoons deep enough to dive into from the top.
He continued his evaluation of the island until he reached his starting point. The island was about a mile in circumference, heavily wooded and nearly impossible to access from the sea. He had spotted a helipad located on top of a concrete structure near the center but no aircraft was in sight. Escape at this point was not an option but disabling or destruction of this facility was a distinct possibility. Lee returned to his cave to rest and plan his assault. Seaview would not fall into the hands of this bastard if he had anything to say about it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Magneson was absolutely livid with rage. Crane had been wounded, something he had not ordered his goons to do, and although he had escaped to the surface as planned he as yet was undiscovered. If Crane died from his wounds, he fumed he wouldn’t be the only body on this island left outside to rot. That thought left him bathed in sweat as the PR would not be pleased in losing their prize. Magneson was deaf and blind thanks to that storm and for the first time felt as though he were not totally in control of the situation.
Crane was a formidable adversary well known for his physical prowess in overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds. Magneson chided himself for not checking the weather conditions above before arranging his prisoner’s escape. Through his own stupidity he had not taken into account all the variables and erected the appropriate defense. Although highly unlikely, he reasoned, he had quite possibly opened the door for Crane to complicate his plans. A sense of fear slowly started to take root in the back of his mind.
Magneson had already ordered his men to scour the island to find Crane. They had been gone for nearly four hours with no luck. Using his handheld radio he called to his men, “Get back to the bunker. We need to reestablish our video network if we stand any chance of spotting Crane.” Goon 2 acknowledged the call and they turned to leave totally oblivious to the Captain’s presence in the well- concealed hiding place at their feet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lee let loose a sigh as the two goons moved off. He had been correct in his assumption that Magneson was completely deaf and blind to his activities for the moment. While holed up in his lair Lee and mentally reviewed everything he had seen of the island and facility. When following the coastline he had noticed what looked like two man-made shafts on the south end of the island. He smiled to himself as he posed his question, “Ventilation shafts?” If he made it out of this alive the irony of that solution would not be lost on the Admiral or Chip.
He once again extracted himself from his burrow and headed back towards the center of the island to try and locate rope or something else that would allow him to inspect those holes. The down time had helped but he was quite nearly at the end of his endurance as he found himself tripping and stumbling like a drunk as he walked. At some point during his scouting he had managed to break open his wound and the impromptu bandage he had donned was now deep crimson with his blood.
He arrived at the entryway to the bunker and then began poking around looking for anything that could be of use. There were plenty of broken pallets and other bits of debris but nothing that would get him down to those holes. The only option left was to try a free climb down the face of the cliff and pray to hell that he had the strength to get there without plunging to his death on the rocks below.
As he turned to leave he heard the unmistakable sound of someone walking up the tunnel from the bunker door. There was little cover available and he would soon be discovered. He took off at a run, if it really could be called that given his condition and headed south towards the shafts. Just as he made the trees he knew he’d been spotted as he heard one of the goons yell.
Goon 1 yelled at Crane to stop and then alerted Magneson that he had spotted their wayward guest. He had been given strict orders not to shoot Crane but he could still beat the crap out of him. He owed Crane for the bruised throat, split lip and cracked ribs he had received when he allowed him to escape. Payback would be sweet. He tore after Crane to exact his revenge.
Lee moved as fast as he could, he just had to get to the cliff. Goon 1 was closing fast and as he looked back to see if he could spot his pursuer Lee’s foot caught a tree root sending him crashing to the ground. He groaned in intense agony as one or more of his damaged ribs went from cracked to broken. His breath was gone and he couldn’t seem to refill his lungs. Knowing Goon 1 would soon be on him he pulled his purloined gun from the back of his waistband and rolled over. He dragged himself to the nearest tree and slowly maneuvered into a sitting position where he stood the best chance of using the gun. He pulled out the clip and verified that they had actually allowed him to have a loaded weapon. “Were they even aware of that?” Lee thought foggily to himself.
Goon 1 ran directly towards Crane, no bobbing or weaving around trees, no hint whatsoever that he was looking for any type of cover because his quarry had a loaded weapon. As he drew nearer Lee suddenly raised the gun and fired once. “Guess not.” Crane answered his own question as he looked at the completely surprised expression on Goon 1’s face as he fell over backwards with a single gunshot to the middle of his forehead.
Lee staggered slowly to his feet, his breath coming hard and for the first time he tasted blood. “That’s not a good thing” Lee thought dully to himself as he fought off the blackness that threatened to overcome him. He once again turned and trudged toward his goal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Magneson flipped the switch and much to his relief the remaining undamaged cameras on the surface came to life. He quickly began flipping between the various images to find Crane and his man. “Where the hell are they?!” he fumed. Just then he happened on the image of Jorge laying spread eagle on the forest floor. He played with the focus on the camera and was able to discern the small, round hole in the middle of his forehead. “Idiot” Magneson swore. The kernel of fear that had taken root in his mind burst into full bloom as he realized the implications of an armed Crane. How had he let this game get so far out of his control?
He continued to rapidly move through each camera view until he finally spied a figure weaving unsteadily towards the coast. “Gotcha!” he thought triumphantly. As he followed Crane’s progress he now realized he had the means to draw Nelson into his trap. He called to Goon 2 “Lars get me in contact with Admiral Nelson on the Seaview.”
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The video screen in the Seaview control room came to life as the image of Nels Magenson coalesced into focus. Magneson sported a smug and haughtily superior smirk on his face as Nelson’s image came into focus on his own screen. “Admiral Nelson, at last we meet. I have looked forward to this for such a long time.”
Nelson looked neutrally back at the image betraying none of the concern and dread he felt with the incoming communication. “What is it you wish to speak with me about Magneson?”
“Ah, much like your captain, you jump quickly to the point. And speaking of your captain that is the reason for my call, I have in my possession one Commander Lee Benjamin Crane, Captain SSRN Seaview.” Magneson purred in response.
“Where’s Lee, what have you done with him? What do you want?!” Nelson demanded.
“I want Seaview Admiral to put it bluntly. I have your Captain and I’m willing to trade his life for your vessel.”
“You’re insane, there’s no way I would give Seaview to anyone, especially to someone as unbalanced as you.” Nelson retorted.
“Really Admiral? Not even to save the life of your Captain, your best friend,…your son?” Magneson responded. “I find that interesting and quite in conflict with all I’ve read about you and your relationship with Commander Crane.” Magenson nodded towards someone in the room and the video cut away to footage of Lee Crane stumbling through the forest atop Magneson’s island.
Lee was drenched in sweat, his t-shirt bandage completely saturated with blood as were his trousers below his wound. His left arm was firmly pressed against his chest as he staggered forward. There seemed to be no portion of his exposed torso that wasn’t bruised, cut or scratched. It was obvious that he was struggling to breathe and that there was pink foam on his lips indicating a damaged lung. As they all watched Lee tripped over a root and fell to the ground which was accompanied by a pain laden groan as he landed. He laid there unmoving, eyes closed fighting to draw in each agonizing breath.
“You bastard!” fumed Nelson. His face flushed in anger as did the faces of every member of the crew in the control room.
With that exclamation Lee seemed to react as though he had
heard the Admiral’s words. Lee opened
his eyes and scanned the forest until he spotted the video camera in the
tree. “Admiral?” he gasped.
“Admiral is that you?”
“Lee! Lee can you hear me?” Nelson responded.
“Yes Admiral he can hear you, just as you can hear him.” Magneson cut in. “You can rescue him from this plight, you can bring an end to his suffering all you have to do is turn over the Seaview.”
“Admiral!” Lee screamed. “Admiral stay away, keep Seaview safe he has a…” Magneson cut the audio feed as Lee attempted to warn the Admiral of the danger. After Lee’s warning he cut in the audio again. “….Please sir I am expendable, Seaview, the crew, the world are not.”
“Such a brave sailor is he not Admiral”, taunted Magneson. “Are you really willing to offer your son up for sacrifice to a world that would give it no more thought or appreciate it any more than a passing dance fad? Are you willing to let me finish taking him apart piece by bloody piece? I’ve only just begun Admiral Nelson. I have a plethora of toys in my toy box that will leave him cursing your name knowing his “father” sold him to the devil just to protect his boat. I have no doubt you’ve tracked my transmission signal by now Admiral. Bring Seaview to this location in two days or I will start mailing you pieces of your beloved Captain until you arrive or there is nothing left to send.”
“Admiral, don’t give in to his demands!” Lee yelled into the video camera. “He only has one thing to use against you and I’m going to take that away right now. Harri just know that I have appreciated the incredible gifts you’ve given me; your time, Seaview, a family.” Harri felt a growing sense of foreboding as Lee spoke.
“Chip, you have been my brother since the Academy. Take care of Harri, the crew and Seaview. Don’t let this bastard win. Don’t let this be for naught. Magneson I’m done being your pawn!” With that last proclamation Lee pushed himself to his feet and ran towards the cliff and launched himself off the edge to plummet into the rocky surf below.
Harri, Chip and the entire control room crew screamed, “NO!” in unison as the camera transmitted the last image of Lee Crane, Captain of the Seaview. The ensuing silence by all those who witnessed the Captain’s last selfless act was oppressive. Only the whirrs and pings emitted by the various instruments in the control room filled the void and even those almost seemed melancholy and subdued in their report.
Nelson glared into the camera. “Magneson, know this there is nowhere on this planet that I won’t be able to find you and when I do you will think hell is paradise.” With that he flipped off the screen.
“Lee.” Nelson said softly. His world crashed down around his ears. Harri sank slowly into the chair beside him no longer having the will or ability to stand. The man fate had given him as a son was no more. Tears flowed freely down his cheeks. Chip buried his face in his hands and likewise felt the bitter sting of tears falling from his eyes as he lamented the passing of his brother. Shock spread quickly throughout Seaview as the crew learned of their captain’s fate. Many a tear was shed by the men of Seaview for their beloved leader. It felt as though the very soul of the Seaview had been ripped out as a somber pall settled heavily on the hearts and minds of all aboard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Magneson likewise let loose a resounding “NO!” as he too, fully realized the implications of Crane’s last act. Fear settled firmly into his heart as he knew there would be nothing checking Nelson’s response to his heinous actions. By the same token Nelson was the least of his worries as his only key to the Seaview and the weapons he so dearly needed to satisfy his debt with the People’s Republic had just jumped from the face of the earth. Crane was also a critical part of that payment he had promised the PR as they desperately wanted him in their hands. They were not forgiving of debts owed them and would be more aggressive in collecting their due, even more so than Nelson and his crew.
He paced furiously across the control room floor trying to synthesize a plan to regain his hold on the Seaview and to hopefully placate the PR and keep him from a most untidy end. There had to be another way. All his vaunted words about his ability to plan and control a situation, identify all possible options, just blew up in his face. He was surprised to find himself so royally pissed, “Who the hell was Lee Crane to upset his carefully crafted plan with a move no one could have foreseen?!” Long gone was the measured and prudently considered logic, panic was now dictating his actions. Looking four or five moves ahead was a luxury he no longer had the time to take.
Nelson would be coming to exact retribution, of that he was certain and therein lay the only remaining opportunity he had for wresting control of the Seaview. He was sure that in his anger and grief Nelson would become careless and imprudent in his actions to catch the man responsible for his captain’s death. The Admiral was a genius and an excellent tactician under normal circumstances but now, Magneson reasoned, those gifts would be rendered less effective with the rush of emotions released by Crane’s death. He smiled slightly, “There may just be a way out of this.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finally recovering some of his control Chip walked slowly over to the crash door controls and isolated Nelson’s front porch from the rest of the control room. Chip moved to the sideboard and poured a shot of scotch. He walked over to the Admiral’s side and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. “Sir…” Chip said as he handed Harri the glass, “Sir, have a drink.”
Harri perfunctorily accepted the glass and took a sip not really even aware that he was doing it. The burn of the scotch down his throat stirred him from his reverie. He slowly raised his eyes to meet Chip’s and found a reflection of his own grief staring back at him. “He’s gone Chip. How the hell could he do that? How could he just give his life away? We could have found him, rescued him. We’ve done it before. He knows we would have come for him.”
“To state the obvious sir, that’s just Lee. You know the protection of you, me, the crew, Seaview was always paramount with him. There’s no way he would ever want to be used as a means to gaining control over Seaview or the people he loved. Not knowing the extent of his situation, it must have been untenable for Lee to give up the things he loved most to protect them from harm. As I said, that’s just Lee.”
“Damn him Chip!” Harri raged and then with a choked sob, ”How am I… we, going to live without him? How am I to reconcile the enormity of his sacrifice with the guilt that I feel sitting here safe from Magneson’s threat?” Chip tightened his grasp on Harri’s shoulder reassuring him that he was not alone.
“So what is our next move now Sir?” Chip asked quietly. “I can’t see an act of vengeance but I also can’t see Lee’s sacrifice going unanswered. Magneson’s threat must be substantial for Lee to have given up his life; he has to be made to pay for what he did to Lee in his quest for power.”
“I agree Chip.” Harri sighed tiredly, “but the last thing we need to do is respond rashly negating Lee’s sacrifice. Emotions are controlling too much of my thoughts right now as is the same with you I’m sure and that will prove to be our undoing. All I want to do right now is to give Mangneson every one of Seaview’s weapons, one at a time until all that’s left is a charred crater where he used to stand.”
“Chip bottom the boat. We all need time to grieve and to control that anger before we set out after our enemy. Check with Sparks and get the location of the video feed. I’ll contact the Institute and have Angie initiate a search for any information available on Magneson and what he may have been working on. Once we know more our path forward becomes that much clearer. Also have Sparks get Starke and Hardy on the line.”
“Aye, sir.” Chip turned and reopened the crash doors. He returned to the chart table in the control room and began scanning the charts for an appropriate location to settle Seaview safely on the bottom. A location selected, he issued the orders to bottom the boat. A somber silence settled over the Seaview as each man aboard let their thoughts dwell on their Skipper; their leader/friend/mentor/brother/son.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three hours later Sparks had Jiggs Starke, COMSUBPAC and Tom Hardy, head of ONI on the line. Nelson gave them a rundown of the events. He then played the last minutes of the video feed for the two admirals. Nelson averted his eyes unable to watch Lee disappear from his life again. A stunned silence followed the end of the video.
“Harri I am so incredibly sorry.” Jiggs Starke finally said. “Crane was an outstanding officer and I know how much he meant to you and to his crew.”
“Likewise Harri,” Tom Hardy followed on. “He was one of the best agents I’ve ever had the privilege to command and his sacrifice will not have been in vain.”
Harri continued to stare blankly at the floor as the horror of the past events replayed in his mind. After a moment he raised his head and accepted their condolences. “Jiggs we need to break off from these tests and get to Magneson before he disappears. We’ve got his island located and at flank speed we can be there in 20 hours. We need to know what Lee found to be such a threat to Seaview that he gave up his life and we must neutralize it. And if it could threaten Seaview it could quite obviously be a threat to every other vessel in our fleet.”
“Okay Harri, you’re released from the trials. I’ll get in touch with DC and see about mobilizing assets in the Atlantic to back you up. Have you got any idea what he has cooked up?” Jiggs inquired.
“I’ve got the Institute staff looking everywhere they can think for information on Magneson. I know he has done some work in nuclear physics but that was years ago. From what I’ve read the man has the ego of a giant and the physical stature of an elf. He is convinced of his own intellectual superiority over everyone else in the world. He’s generally considered to be more unstable than the elements he works with.”
“ONI can be of service as well. I’ve had my staff run a check since you gave me the information and it looks as though he has been doing some work for the People’s Republic. Indications are that he has been working on beam technology but nothing specific on what type. It also looks as if he’s in deep to the PR and probably promised he could deliver Seaview to satisfy that debt.” Hardy added.
“That’s a great help Tom at least now we have some sort of idea what we’re going up against. Odds are he’s developed a technology that is capable of rendering a large vessel inoperative to allow for takeover by an unfriendly force.” Nelson responded. “To do that he would have to have a huge power source but it probably is stationary which is why he wants us to come to his island. My guess is that with the Seaview and her nuclear reactor it would transform his weapon from a novelty to a highly destructive weapon capable of moving freely and stealthily through the world’s oceans to take whatever prizes he wants. That’s probably why Lee found it necessary to give his life. He took away our desire, dare say the need on my part, to rescue him and gave us the ability to respond to Magneson’s threat without concern for his well-being. He untied our hands.”
“So what’s your plan Harri?” Jiggs asked. “I wish we could just lob a few missiles into his lap but it’s highly unlikely Norway would permit such a demonstrative response in their waters.”
“We’ve collected satellite imagery of the island and it looks rather impregnable from the sea. Maybe an airborne assault but I’m not sure his beam wouldn’t take out any aircraft detected. We’ll keep assembling the information we have on Magenson as we head for his island and will have something fully in hand by the time we arrive.” Harri replied. “If you can keep track of the comings and goings at the island that would be a huge help to us.”
“ONI is at your disposal and we will provide updates as conditions change.” Hardy offered. “Good luck Harri take this son of a bitch down for Lee, we’ve got your six.” Harri nodded and severed the connection.
Harri opened the crash doors and strode into the control room. “Chip get us up and running, we’re going hunting.” A feral grin spread across Chip’s face as he acknowledged the order and started issuing commands to move Seaview on her way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Magneson was sweating bullets. General Tsu from the PR was on the line wanting to know when he could collect the Seaview and Captain Crane. Magneson informed Tsu that Crane had been killed when he was shot by an overzealous employee trying to prevent his escape. To say that Tsu was not amused was an understatement. “We had an agreement Magneson and now you are telling me that you cannot deliver what you have promised?”
“It couldn’t be helped”, lied Magneson. “He had escaped from his cell and was threatening to destroy the beam. There was no other choice but to eliminate that threat. Nelson still thinks Crane is alive and Seaview is on her way and with your assistance we can still capture the Seaview and her weapons.”
“And just how do you propose we do that?”Tsu queried. “The People’s Republic’s involvement was to have been secret; if we aid you in that capture then our complicity will be known.”
“Do you want the boat or not?” stormed Magneson. “All you need do when the Seaview arrives is herd her into range of the weapon. Certainly that can be done subtly enough. Nelson is by now steaming full speed ahead to meet the deadline I gave him before I dispatch his captain. I anticipate his arrival within the next two days.”
“Very well doctor I will position a submarine near your island to ensure capture of the Seaview. But be very aware that if this falls apart it is you who will be dispatched with extreme prejudice.” With that Tsu ended the transmission and Magneson sat there feeling the chilling roll of sweat down his face borne from the intense fear that now controlled his mind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 20
Seaview surged through the water closing rapidly on Magneson’s island. After close review of all the satellite footage, nautical charts and bathymetry Nelson had come to the conclusion that an assault from the sea was not possible. The only thing remaining was dropping in personnel from the air and the best choice for that was the flying sub. When the call for volunteers was made every man had thrown his name into the hat; they all wanted a piece in bringing their skipper’s murderer to justice.
Nelson looked on as Chip went over the mission brief with his team once more before boarding FS-1. Chip had let the Admiral know in no uncertain terms that he would be leading the assault. Harri was privately amused at Chip’s fortitude and unwillingness to let him lead the team. Chip had deftly derailed each and every argument Nelson had presented and was resoundingly committed to keeping him out of harm’s way. There was so much of Lee’s style in handling the prickly Admiral, Harri had to chuckle to himself. “Lee would be proud.” Harri mused and another wave of sadness washed over him leaving him to choke back a sob.
The assembled squad, Morton, Sharkey, Kowalski, Patterson, Rodriguez and Thompson, rechecked their gear and headed down the hatch. Not knowing what resistance they would meet and what means of detection Magneson had at his disposal, it was decided to keep the initial force small and arrive on the island via a HALO3 jump from 35,000 feet. The drop could be initiated far enough away that they may be perceived as a private jet and therefore ignored and then hopefully go undetected until they touched down. Harri shook hands with each man and was met with a predatory look promising they would not fail. As the hatch was secured and as FS-1 released from its cradle Harri said a small prayer and wished them luck.
He watched the little sub move forward slowly then accelerate out of sight to begin the first phase of the operation. Harri turned and looked at Lt. O’Brien, “Now we wait.” O’Brien nodded and moved to the charts to ensure they were on course to their appointed coordinates.
Unbeknownst to Nelson the People’s Republic had in deed moved not one but two of their attack class submarines into the area as well and now sat silently on the seafloor like a stonefish waiting for Seaview to arrive. The plan was really very simple, they would allow Seaview to enter the area unchallenged and then announce themselves with a barrage of torpedoes herding the giant submarine closer to the island to the designated coordinates where Magneson would engage his beam.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 hour later
Chip gave the sign and turned control of FS-1 over to Hansen who would return to Seaview until it was time to pick them up. The team all rose and double checked each other’s chute, air supply and weapons. As they neared the jump coordinates Hansen donned his mask as well and began depressurizing the cabin to allow the team to exit. When the cabin hit ambient he nodded to Morton and the bottom hatch was opened. As he neared his target he began his countdown, ”Five… four… three… two… one… GO! GO! GO!” With that the assault team rapidly disappeared into the night plummeting to the earth at over 200 mph. The hounds of hell were coming for a visit.
Back on Seaview, Nelson looked at his watch and walked over to O’Brien, “Well its begun are we in position?” Bobby O’Brien did a quick scan of the charts and nodded affirmatively.
“Admiral!” called Riley from the sonar station, “We’ve got company. Looks by the sound signature we’ve got a PR Marlin class, no…. make that two, Marlin class submarines coming in behind us. Shit, high pitched screws, sir they’ve fired two torpedoes at us.”
“Battle stations! Evasive maneuvers!” the Admiral commanded. Seaview banked sharply to port and started a rapid descent. “Release countermeasures in 5 seconds.” “Countermeasures in 5, aye sir”, came a response.
“Helm come to course 230 degrees, make our depth 1000 feet, flank speed.” Verification of the orders flew back as Nelson issued commands fueling a huge sense of pride in his crew. Seaview made a sharp turn to starboard and headed toward the seamount Harri had picked out from the charts. As they passed the mount the two torpedoes slammed into its side and the resulting explosion rolled the Seaview wildly as she continued her dive.
“Where the hell did they come from?” fumed Nelson. Neither ONI nor COMSUBPAC had reported any vessel or submarine activity in the area. This had all the makings of turning out badly. “Damage report Mr. O’Brien.”
“Damage Control reports we’re tight and dry. There are minor system overloads that are being repaired as we speak and should be operational shortly.”
“Sir, another salvo. Two more fish coming from our port side.” Riley called out.
“Hard a starboard. Release countermeasures! Mr. O’Brien get all torpedo tubes loaded and plot a solution.”
“Missile room, load all tubes. Prepare for immediate fire!” Bobby called over the intercom.
“Missile room, aye. All tubes loaded and ready to fire.”
“Admiral I have the coordinates, ready to fire.” O’Brien called. Before Nelson could give the order to fire everything stopped. Seaview came to a lurching halt throwing everyone to the deck like rag dolls. Systems began overloading and spewing sparks across the control room. The approaching torpedoes exploded as they were also captured by the beam and Seaview rolled violently in response.
Regaining his feet, Nelson grabbed the mic and called to engineering, “All back full, full emergency flank” “All back full.” Came the response but aside from a slight shudder there was no apparent move in any direction.
Trapped! How could he have been so careless? Of course he never figured on the PR taking such an active hand in their capture. At least there would be no way their involvement could be hidden on this venture.
“Sparks get me the assault team!” Nelson yelled.
“Sorry sir,” Sparks replied “either the beam is impeding our signal or we’re being actively jammed.”
“Damn.” Harri swore. “O’Brien conduct a complete survey, find out what systems do and don’t work and I want it 5 minutes ago.”
“Already on it, sir.” O’Brien replied. “Thus far we’ve determined sonar is still active, as are environmental control and engines. Weapons firing systems seem to be operable but I would be hesitant to send anything off for fear that it would explode as it emerges from the boat. We’re maintaining position but it’s really starting to become a drag on the engines. Also sir the outer hull temperature has been steadily climbing since we were snagged by the beam. It’s rising about 3 degrees per minute, were already over 90 degrees.”
“That’s just great.” Harri said sarcastically. “If we can’t break free we’ll be nothing more than a tin of potted meat.” O’Brien cringed slightly at the imagery. Harri wiped the sweat off his face and opened his shirt a couple more buttons.
“Keep resistance against the pull, hopefully we can stress the system and overload it.” Nelson responded. “I want targeting locks on both those submarines in the event we can break free or Chip can get this damn thing shut off. I want those fish armed and on their way the second that beam stops and before the word “fire” is completely out of my mouth. Understood?”
“Aye, sir.” O’Brien replied and returned to monitoring the ship’s systems.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the assault team neared the island, they were able to make out what must be Magneson’s weapon. The barrel was aimed west and both it and the parabolic dish glowed red. “Damn” Chip cursed “Looks like we got big problems, I hope to hell the Seaview isn’t caught in that.” He said into his mic. They were less than 30 seconds from chute deployment but it seemed an eternity. Once they hit altitude six chutes billowed open and the team touched ground seconds later.
They hit the ground running. Parachutes were jettisoned quickly and weapons readied for use. They spread out as planned and immediately started working towards the center of the island. Thus far there hadn’t been any resistance, which Chip thought odd but they continued forward.
Spread out at 500 foot intervals they slowly approached the area where the beam was located. Suddenly a burst of machine gun fire strafed the ground in front of Kowalski. Each man dropped and stared in the direction of the muzzle flash. Another round of bullets sprayed across the ground which was answered with just one shot from the team. Scratch one shooter. When no further shots were fired the team slowly rose from their positions and moved in on the structures.
“Everyone look sharp.” Morton whispered. “See if you can spot a way into the compound. Patterson ready the RPG4, let’s see if that will take that thing out of commission.” At about the same moment Chip ordered his men to action the beam suddenly went dead. With the sound from the weapon gone they could hear a high pitched whine of a generator about to overload. “Everyone run for the woods, now!” Chip cried, not a moment too soon.
As the men scattered, suddenly there was a monstrous explosion sending a huge ball of fire up out of the hole the weapon extended from. The ground shook violently knocking them all to their knees. The rush of hot air that spewed from the hole threatened to burn any exposed skin and the men burrowed down into the forest floor as best they could to avoid it. The weapon was consumed by the fire and toppled down into the pit with a horrific metal twisting crash, and then there was silence.
Slowly the men regained their feet and began moving towards the smoldering pit. “What do you think caused that, Mr. Morton?” Sharkey asked.
“Either bad engineering or too much Seaview.” Chip replied with a slight smile. “I doubt that anyone survived that but start looking for a way in so we can make sure.” Chip then hung his head and wiped his eyes. Destruction of the machine seemed such a hollow victory when compared to the loss of his friend and brother.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was immediately apparent the beam was off as the Seaview suddenly lurched forward. With that move Nelson grabbed the mic and ordered all torpedoes to be fired and as requested they were gone before he finished his command. The enemy subs were caught off guard with the sudden release of the Seaview and they had no time to maneuver out of the way or initiate countermeasures before Seaview’s salvos impacted their hulls.
The concussion from both explosions once again viciously rolled Seaview spilling crew members everywhere. What systems hadn’t been damaged in their first run-in with the PR spewed sparks and fire and cut out lights and life support. Emergency lighting kicked in and illuminated the clouds of smoke and flame erupting from the panels. Every man that was able sprang to his feet grabbing a fire extinguisher to douse the flames or attacked the nearest valve to check the flow of ruptured pipes.
Nelson staggered to his feet finding O’Brien unconscious near the chart table. He quickly checked for a pulse and was relieved to find a strong, steady beat. There was a large gash on O’Brien’s forehead where he apparently met rather suddenly with some part of the boat. Nelson grabbed the mic “Emergency surface! Blow all tanks, full rise on all planes. Put us on the roof! Sick bay men down in the control room!”
Pulling themselves into their chairs, the helmsmen acknowledged Nelson’s order and the Seaview rose like an eagle bursting onto the surface with a huge surge and spray of water. Hatches were immediately opened to help vent smoke and bring down the hull temperature. The wash of fresh air was greeted by huge sighs of relief from the crew.
“Sparks see if you can get in touch with FS-1 or the assault team.” Nelson commanded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
20 hours earlier
Much to his pleasant surprise as he came over the cliff edge, Lee discovered there was a narrow ledge between the two ventilation shafts he had wanted to examine, no doubt created when the shafts were installed. The drop was a good 15 feet and by some incredible stroke of luck Lee had been able to successfully land on the ledge and keep from falling off. He stood there hugging the cliff face like a glove on a hand. He focused hard to stave off passing out from the exhaustion and pain that had taken up permanent residence in his body. “More lives than a golden-eyed alley cat, Crane.”5 Lee chuckled to himself as he recounted one of Doc’s favorite observations when Lee seemed to narrowly evade fate’s hand.
Once he had regained some semblance of control he carefully turned around facing out to sea. He was able to shuffle forward marginally and look into the shafts. Each one had a heavy iron gate and again luckily for him they weren’t locked. Magneson’s arrogance and disdain for lesser mortals was going to bite him in the ass hard if Lee had anything to do with it. He slowly opened the one to his right and eased inside. Once inside he was bathed in a warm flow of air which dispelled the chill he had picked up from his exhaustion, blood loss and remnants of the storm. As the heat washed over him and his body warmed he suddenly shut down.
Some 18 hours later as he came to, the only things he could focus on was the pain and overwhelming fatigue gripping him to his very soul. He couldn’t remember the last time he ate and his stomach growled loudly for attention. He pushed himself up gently into a seated position leaning heavily against the shaft wall breathing hard from the exertion. He knew he had to follow the shaft so he could get back into the bunker and take Magneson’s weapon permanently offline. If his luck held, it should come out near the generators in the lab and luck of late had seemed to be on his side. The shaft was maybe 3 feet high which meant he had to crawl to get where he needed to be, not a pleasant prospect given his damaged ribs, lung and side. “Enough lollygagging Crane” he said to himself, “time to get to it, one last duty to perform.” He began his arduous trek to the end of tunnel and hopefully the lab.
As he crawled forward a light became visible as he neared the end. The shaft had a significant downward angle which became more acute as he came closer to the light source. He noticed that the air had become significantly warmer and he was sweating profusely. “Oh god, no.” he thought to himself, “He’s using the beam against Seaview.” He doubled his effort to reach his goal. As he neared the end he heard the sound of seriously straining generators. “Seaview must be proving more of a challenge than Magneson bargained for” he said to himself with a slight smile. He crawled another 30 feet to be greeted by the sight he most wanted. The shafts came out exactly where he hoped they would and he scooted carefully forward so as not to alert Magneson or his goon.
Nothing could have intruded on Magneson’s concentration. He was seriously sweating as his beam labored to maintain its grasp on the Seaview. He was losing it and knew if he failed there was nothing to stop the PR for taking their due out of his hide. He shuttled back and forth between control panels trying to adjust the settings to increase power muttering loudly.
Lee slowly edged forward to the vent grate and was again relieved to find that it had been left unsecured. He eased it open and then gingerly lowered himself out of the shaft until he could drop the couple of feet to the floor behind the generator. No part of his body with thrilled with that move and spasms of pain lanced through his body leaving him sweating and curled in a fetal ball on the floor. He once more took control of his breathing and tightened his grasp on the pain. He knew he had virtually nothing left to give.
Having gained a modicum of control, Lee quickly surveyed the generators to ascertain if he could overload them so they would explode. Given the loads they were currently under it wouldn’t take much and he moved to make the necessary adjustments on each one. Once he finished that he pulled himself to his feet, pulled out his .45 and put a bullet in the main control panel causing the beam to suddenly cut off.
Magneson spun around immediately finding himself looking down the business end of the gun. His face lost all color looking very much like the underside of a halibut and his mouth flapped open like the fish as well. He thought he was looking at a ghost. “How can you be here, you’re dead! I saw you jump from the cliff, there’s no way you could have survived.” he stammered.
Lee smiled maliciously. “Oh I’m very much alive Magneson. As a Grandmaster of chess you should always be sure a man has been completely removed from the field of battle before discounting him. I told you I was done being your pawn. You are of course well aware that a pawn left unchecked and reaching the eighth row of the board can be promoted to the most powerful piece on the board?” Lee’s smiled grew menacing making Magneson shudder in fear. “Check and Mate Magneson.” Lee stated with a deadly calm voice.
Magneson’s eyes widened as he realized he had run out of options and he had failed. He never failed. “Where did you come from, how did you get here?” That he could not have anticipated Crane’s jump from the island and his subsequent return was inconceivable to him.
“Vent shafts.” Lee replied. Magneson stared stupidly at him. “You know Magneson for someone who professes to be so intelligent you’re really awfully stupid. There’s nothing I could have told you that would have given you access to Seaview. Once my disappearance was discovered and especially after you let Admiral Nelson know you had me all my access codes were inactivated. And even if you were successful in overcoming the crew, the Admiral would have initiated Seaview’s self-destruct mechanism to prevent anyone from gaining control. I only had to stall for time until they could locate you and mount a defense. My guess is they are already here and ready to ruin your party.”
“No! It’s not possible, I don’t lose.”Magneson screamed. Rage began to build like a thunder storm contorting his face. “I am a genius! I’ve planned for it all. I never make a mistake.” Sanity had just left the station leaving Magneson at the platform. He began storming about the lab throwing chairs, books anything he could get his hands on and then he turned his attention back to Lee. “You! You are the reason for this!” he fumed. He spun rapidly on his heel and charged at Crane. In no condition for any form of physical struggle Lee aimed his gun and shot Magneson in the thigh, shattering his femur and dropping him like a sack of wet cement. Magneson writhed on the floor grasping his leg screaming hysterically from the pain.
Lee slowly turned and started limping to the staircase. The generators were near critical and would explode shortly. He just hoped that he could make it up and out of the lab before that happened. He had noted the direction the beam had been pointed and hoped that if he could make it out he could drag himself to the edge of the island for one last look at his Gray Lady. Powered by nothing more than pure determination he began his climb up the stairs. Magneson’s screams of pain and frustration were slowly drowned out by the increasing whine of the generators.
The explosion was massive and knocked Lee to his knees. He was truly amazed he had been capable of exiting the complex. He pulled himself to his feet one more time and staggered through the dark towards the shore. As he broke through the woods he was greeted with the most spectacular sight he ever could have imagined. There before him Seaview sprang out of the water like a dolphin fully illuminated in the moonlight. She settled heavily back into the water then bobbed softly back to the surface. “Thank you.” he said softly then gently lowered himself down at the base of a large spruce tree and the darkness claimed him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once the dust had settled Morton had ordered a complete survey of the island to determine if there were any other unfriendlies hidden about. Kowalski and Patterson heading west moved through the woods working toward the coast line when Ski suddenly stopped. He thought he saw something at the base of one of the trees. Grabbing his binoculars he focused in on the trees ahead and clearly made out a man slumped against the trunk. He tapped Patterson on the shoulder and motioned him to follow.
They moved cautiously towards the tree and as they got nearer they were better able to make out the form. He had dark curly hair, a dark beard, no shirt and appeared to have a bandage tied to his side. Simultaneously a realization dawned on them, the Skipper! They bolted through the woods to the man. “Skipper!” they yelled in unison, but there was no response. As they neared Crane the damage he had sustained was glaringly obvious, dark bruises in a rainbow of colors covered his torso along with numerous blood encrusted scratches. He was covered in mud and blood from head to toe.
Once reaching the Captain, Ski slowly kneeled at his side and gently placed his fingers on the Skipper’s neck. Nothing. “Oh Skipper, no.” Ski whispered softly. Pat dropped his head and raised his hands to cover his face. Ski repositioned his fingers and this time was rewarded with a weak pulse. “Pat! He’s alive! Call Mr. Morton, get the first aid kit over here, he’s alive!” Ski immediately took off his jacket and wrapped it around his Skipper.
Within a minute of alerting Mr. Morton and the rest of the team it sounded like a herd of elephants were crashing through the forest. Chip crumpled at Lee’s side fighting back tears of joy. He gently reached out his hand to touch Lee’s face. “Lee” he said softly, “we’re here now; you’re going to be all right. Can you hear me buddy? Just hang on and we’ll get you all bundled up and back to Seaview and into Jamie’s hands in no time.”
“He’s so cold.” remarked Chip. He pulled off his jacket and laid it over Lee, as did the rest of the team. They all knelt around him making a human windbreak to try and warm the injured man. Chip placed his hand on Lee’s head and leaned forward touching his forehead to Lee’s. “Hang on buddy, you can’t give up now. We need you.”
Lee suddenly felt warm. He heard soft voices, familiar voices speaking in hushed tones all around him. It took all he felt he had left to barely pry open his eyes. He groaned softly and Chip suddenly sat back to see small slivers of amber and jade peeking out from underneath Lee’s long lashes. “Fancy meeting you here.” Lee quipped. “What have you been doing to my boat?”
Chip laughed as a huge wave of relief flooded over him and the rest of the team. “Well if you could stay out of trouble for more than 10 minutes you could keep tabs on your boat yourself.”
“It wasn’t my fault” Lee quietly whispered back.
Chip smiled warmly and gave his brother a gentle hug. “Just relax Lee, FS-1 is on its way and we’ll have you home in no time.” Lee smiled slightly, returned his brother’s hug and once more passed out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“FS-1 is coming in to dock now, sir” Lt. Jackson informed the Admiral, having taken over for O’Brien who was down for the count with a concussion. Nelson nodded and moved towards the hatch. Although thrilled that they had escaped from both the beam and the PR submarines the mood on the Seaview was subdued. Their Captain was gone forever and that was a wound that would never completely heal.
Communications had yet to be restored so Nelson was extremely anxious to hear how the team had disabled the tractor beam and destroyed the facility. The docking process seemed to take forever. Notified of the incoming craft, Will Jamieson and a couple of corpsmen with a stretcher had come forward as well to greet the team and see if any members were in need of their services.
With the final clank and illumination of the green indicator light, Nelson knelt down and started opening the access hatch. As he pulled the hatch open he was greeted by Chip sporting the biggest smile Nelson had ever seen. He smiled back, “I take it all went as planned.”
“Not through any of our doing sir” Chip responded as he started climbing up the ladder. “Things sort of resolved themselves just as we arrived at the party. But we did find something you’ll be most interested in seeing I’m sure.” Chip spun around and indicated that the stretcher should be passed up. As the stretcher started coming up Jamie and the corpsmen moved in to take charge. The body inside was tightly wrapped in blankets obscuring the face. There were multiple IV’s strapped on top along with an oxygen cylinder indicating whoever was inside had significant injuries. Once the stretcher was up and on the deck Jamie pulled back the blanket to reveal a beaten and battered but very much alive Lee Crane.
“Lee” Nelson whispered and swayed slightly as the wave of relief and shock shook him to his core. Chip grabbed the Admiral’s arm to steady him. Tears formed in his eyes and threatened to spill down his cheeks as he took in the visage of the son he thought he had lost. Jamie jumped immediately into action taking quick reads on Lee’s vitals and mobilizing his corpsmen to pick up the litter and move towards sick bay at flank speed.
“How Chip, how?” Nelson asked.
“I have no idea sir. I have a sneaking suspicion that “Super Agent” there had a hand in destroying the whole thing. After everything went up, I ordered a sweep of the island to round up any stragglers that hadn’t been consumed in that blast. Kowalski and Patterson found him seated at the base of tree, facing out to sea towards Seaview. He came around briefly and asked me what I had been doing to his boat and then passed out. I have no idea how he came to be seated at that promontory looking out at Seaview in the condition he’s in. Kowalski got IV’s going to replace some of the fluids he lost, shot in some pain killers and stabilized him for transport.” Chip responded quietly. “I swear to God he’s got more lives that a golden-eyed alley cat.” Both men chuckled.
Again Nelson looked up to meet Chip’s gaze and found his relief reflected back in those blue eyes. They smiled at each other and then turned and made their way to sick bay to await the full return of their Captain/friend/brother/son. The Seaview family was whole again.
The End.
1 Military Airlift Command
2 Naval Air Station
3 High Altitude Low Opening
4 Rocket-Propelled Grenade
5 Steel and Stone – One Red Fish