Trouble
in Vegas
By
JSRobertson
Dear
Diary,
I’m very upset.
Seaview left for a mission today and I’m not going.
I got the flu a couple of days ago and ended up in Med Bay. I sure was
sick. Jamie said I couldn’t go
because I could spread it to everyone on board. This is the first mission I’m missing
since I came to work at NIMR. They
are testing out a new sonar system and will be gone for at least week to ten
days. What am I going to do without Lee?
Because I was still sick we couldn’t spend the night together before he
left. It’s going to be a long week
to ten days.
******
Dear
Diary,
I’m finally feeling better
and was able to go work today at the Institute. I have a lot of work to catch up on.
I talked to Lee today. I miss him already!
It will be the last time I will be able to talk to him as they will be on
complete radio silence for the next few days.
Right before lunch the
telephone rang.
“Hello, Janet
Crane.”
“Hello, Mrs. Crane, this is
Admiral Johnson from ONI.”
“I’m sorry Admiral, Lee is
not here and won’t be back for at least another week.”
“I don’t want to talk to
him, I want to talk to you.
I need you to go on a mission,” he asked sweetly.
“Admiral, I can’t go on a
mission. You know I would have to ask Lee and he can’t be reached right
now.”
“The mission would only take
four days and it’s a rather simple job. I need you to go to Las Vegas and get
some maps from a courier. The
maps show where the People’s Republic has hidden all their nuclear weapons. You’ll be back in Santa Barbara before
Crane even knows you were gone.”
“He’d be really angry if I
went without his okay.”
“Please,” he pleaded, “I
don’t have anyone else that can go now. Time is of the
essence.”
“All
right, all right. I think I’m going
to regret this, but I’ll go.”
“Great. I need you in Las
Vegas Thursday afternoon,” he said. “Your cover will be as a cocktail
waitress at the Paradise Hotel in the old downtown section of Las Vegas. Leave the travel arrangements to me.
Your contact is Kim. She’ll get you set up and give you a picture of the man you
are to get the maps from. Kim
will meet you at the coffee shop in
the hotel. She has red hair. Er...you can
wait tables can’t you?”
“I guess so. But I’ve never
done it professionally.”
“Easy as pie, I’m
told...”
******
Dear
Diary,
I’m going to be in
big trouble when Lee finds out what I’m going to be doing while he’s
gone. Oh, I’ll tell him when he gets home, but wouldn’t want to be in Admiral
Johnson’s shoes when he does!
I’m not sure what to tell
Angie and Wanda. Maybe I can just take some vacation time.
******
Dear
Diary,
I just arrived in Las
Vegas. It is really hot
here. Angie and Wanda know where I
am just in case Lee should call and that I should be back by Sunday afternoon.
I really hated lying to them.
My room at the Paradise
Hotel is very small and in the back of the hotel. A bit unusual for employees to
bunk on the premises, so Kim must have arranged it as a stop gap measure for the
‘new girl’. I will meet up with
her at 5:00 tonight. Hopefully,
she can give me some pointers so I won’t spill anything on
anyone.
******
***
Dear
Diary,
I made sure I was on time
for my rendezvous at the coffee shop, and a redhead zeroed in on me right
away.
“Janet Crane?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Kim.
Here is your ID,” she handed it to me.
“Lulu?”
I asked, incredulous, as I read the name on the card.
“Lulu
Perry. You’re researching life
as a cocktail waitresses in Las Vegas as a freelance
writer. Report
to the manager, Leon Kelly.
You’ll get your uniform from him. He knows you’re only temporary. You
start working at 1:00 tomorrow afternoon and he will show you where you will be
working in the casino. Now, this
is important,” she handed me a picture. “Memorize the face. It’s David
Biggs. He should be at the casino
on Saturday evening. He only drinks tequila sunrises.
After you get the maps from him, keep them with you.
Jason Weldon will be at the Institute Monday morning at 8:30 to collect
them. ”
“Jason
Weldon?”
“You know him?” Kim
asked.
“I was on a mission with him
a few months back. So...any tips?
I’ve never been a waitress before.”
”What? Oh that’s just great.
What’s Johnson thinking of, scraping the bottom of the
barrel?”
“He said he had no one else
available. How come you’re not
doing it?” I asked angrily.
“I was passing this way on
my way to another assignment. Johnson asked me to give this information to you.
So the success of this mission is up to you now, sweetie,” she said
sarcastically and left the coffee shop with a smirk on her face.
I left too and went back to my hotel room.
“What have I gotten myself
into?” I muttered as I called Institute security from my
cell phone and told them that Jason Weldon has an appointment with me on Monday
morning. I sure hope this mission
is over before Lee calls. He is
not fond of Jason, even if he did save my life.
I
looked at the picture Kim gave me again.
The man is young and very handsome. He has the same dark hair as Lee, seems
to be as tall as him but has blue eyes.
I
sure miss Lee!
******
Dear
Diary,
You should see the ‘uniform’
the manager gave me. Hah! I feel rather naked in it.. The top is
cut so low that there is nothing left to the imagination. If I bend over you can
see everything! What have I gotten
myself into? But, maybe I should
ask if I can purchase it. Somehow I think Lee might like
it.
******
Dear
Diary,
Luckily for me, the hotel
wasn’t very busy. I went down to the casino area and watched how the waitresses
waited on the customers so I would have some idea on what to do. I reported in
at 1:00. There were only a few people at the bar and the gambling tables, I
guess since it was early Friday
afternoon. I was assigned the blackjack area. There were six tables and only three of
them had customers.
I went to the first table
and asked them what they wanted to drink.
I was very nervous and was hoping they would make it easy for me. They gave me their order and I went to
the bartender to place the order.
Not too bad, I thought.
“You’re new here aren’t
you?” the bartender asked.
“Yes, this is my first day,”
I replied. “My name is
Lulu.”
“I’m Peter,” he told me
smiling as he looked me over.
“I need three gin and
tonics, two beers, and one Pepsi, ” I said as he looked me over. Sure gave me the
creeps.
As Peter was making my
drinks another waitress came over to place her order.
“Hi, I’m Julie,” she
said. “you the newbie?”
“Yes, I’m Lulu,” I nodded,
“I haven’t done this before, I’m not sure I can keep the orders
straight.”
“Just write the number of
the table on a napkin when you take the order, this way you will know what table
to bring them to. Always start at
the same side of the table and work your way from there.
Place the drinks on your tray in the order you take from the bar this way
you know who gets what. Right now
it is pretty slow. Wait until
tonight and tomorrow when it gets really busy. It will get more confusing as there
will be more customers. Don’t
worry, most of the customers are pretty nice.”
“Okay, thanks for the help.”
******
Dear
Diary,
In the first two hours ‘on
duty’, I only mixed up the drink orders twice and haven’t spilled any on the
customers. The tips were good,
and so far I hadn’t been
groped.
“Waitress, I need a drink,”
an elderly gentleman yelled at me.
“I will be right there,
sir,” I headed over as quickly as I could.
“You’re new here. What’s your name,
babe?”
“Lulu,” I said,
expressionless, “what can I get you to drink?”
“A tequila sunrise; that’s all
I ever drink.”
Somebody sure goofed at
ONI, I thought. This
man looked nothing like the one in the picture, way too old and he was here too
early.
“I need a tequila sunrise,”
I gave Peter the order. “Do you
know that gentleman over there?”
“What’s it to you? Never
mind,” he said with a smirk. “Name’s Stanley Black.
He’s a regular. Almost every day. All he
drinks are tequila sunrises. Who cares as long as he puts more on the bar tab.
You know, I can get you some high paying johns if you’d like someone a bit
younger. Even me.”
I was lucky Peter didn’t
grab my ass. Mr. Black sure did as
I walked away after delivering his order.
If Lee had been there, Peter
and Black would be sporting broken jaws.
******
Dear
Diary,
I’m beat.
It’s now 2:00 in the morning. I’ve been working since 1:00 yesterday
afternoon. The hotel did
get a lot busier and then one of the waitresses didn’t show up so I had to cover
part of her area as well. Working
aboard Seaview is a piece of cake compared to this. I better get some sleep.
******
Dear
Diary,
Its 11:00 and I need to get
ready for work. I need to shower,
do my hair and make up and put on my ‘work clothes’ what there is of them. God,
I hate these clothes. What I won’t
do for ONI and I’m not even an agent.
Only one more day and I can
leave here. No fun being here without Lee.
*****
Dear
Diary,
Right before I left for work
my cell phone rang.
“Hi
Janet, its Angie. How
is your trip?” she inquired.
“Have you heard from
Seaview?” I asked, changing
the subject and hoping that Lee hadn’t called.
“No, they are still on
complete radio silence.”
Phew.
“Have you and Trish
won any money?” she
asked
“Nothing
so far.
We’re going to spend a bit more time by the pool. It sure is hot
here.”
“Well, I’ll call you
later. Have fun.”
Angie said and hung up.
Maybe I’ll make up for lying
to her with a girl’s weekend out here someday.
******
Dear
Diary,
Today I had additional
tables to wait on and was
glad of a break at 2000. I toyed with the idea of calling Angie, but decided it
would be better not to disturb her at home, or risk any of her questions.
My break went by really
fast, and I actually made some great tips. I was also grabbed and groped three
times. It is now 12:00 and Mr. Biggs still hasn’t showed up.
I’m getting worried that I missed him or that he didn’t show up at
all.
******
Dear
Diary,
He finally came in at
1:30.
“Good evening, what can I
get you to drink?” I asked sweetly.
“A tequila sunrise, please,”
he said smiling.
“Right away,” I smiled and
took the order to the bar.
I wondered how he was
going to be able to give me the maps and where I could hide them. My uniform
doesn’t exactly have any pockets.
“Another gentleman that drinks tequila
sunrises,” Peter smirked, “will wonders
never cease...it’s not all that popular.”
Biggs paid me for the drink
and handed me a tip with a packet attached. It was very small and thick. I put the
tip (along with the packet) into my bra for safe keeping, just like the other
waitresses did.
******
Dear
Diary,
Finally back in my
room. My feet are killing me. Walking around in high heels all day
and night was no fun. I can’t wait
to get out of this town and back home. Maybe Seaview will be off of radio
silence by then and I can talk to Lee.
I can’t wait until he gets home.
I miss sleeping with my husband.
Wish my flight was earlier but right now I just want to take a shower and
get some sleep.
My problem is going to be
where am I going to put the maps? Putting them in my purse is too obvious. Maybe my jacket pocket with a bunch of
tissues in it?
*****
Before she could take a
shower, however, Peter barged into her room, grabbed her and pushed her against
the wall.
“Where are they?” he
demanded.
“Where is what?” she tried
to look puzzled.
“Cut the crap, Lulu.
“I know you’re Janet Crane. I also
know you’re a plant from ONI. I
saw Biggs give you the maps and you put them in your bra.”
“I don’t know what you are
talking about.”
“Yeah, sure,” he kept a
heavy hand on her wrist and dragged her around the room with him as she
struggled. But his grip was too strong and when she managed to get a punch into
his gut, he laughed and hit her back, throwing her against the wall, her head
hitting it hard and knocking her out. When she came to, she was stunned and
disoriented, but saw him throwing her things out of the drawers and the suitcase
she’d just begun to pack. It was difficult not to sigh in relief that those
tissues had done the job.
“All right lady, “he pulled
her up,“Looks like I’m
going to have to persuade you to come with me,” he took out a small bottle from
his pocket and spritzed it in her face. The chloroform knocked her out in
seconds.
***
It was 7:30 Monday morning
and Angie was already at work when the phone rang unexpectedly. She usually
came early in order to get a bit done before the phone began to ring off the
hook demanding her attention.
“What now,” she muttered
before she took the call. “Nelson Institute of Marine Research, how may we help
you?”
“Ang! Where
the heck is Janet?”
“Captain?
I didn’t think Seaview had docked.”
“We haven’t but it was a
mission accomplished and we’ll be home in a few days. Janet doesn’t answer
either her cell or the house phone...doesn’t answer at her office
either...”
“Uh oh...I thought you
knew...” she hesitated. .
“Knew
what?”
“She went to Las Vegas
and...”
“Las Vegas!What the hell
is
she doing in Vegas?
”
“What anyone in Las Vegas
does,
I suppose. Gambling, shows...sight
seeing, maybe even visiting that famous pawn shop that’s
TV.”
“
She went with Trish. Girl’s weekend
out, she said...”
“Trish?
Angie, Trish is in Boston right now! Didn’t you get the memo? Of all
the...”
“Calm down Lee,” Nelson’s
voice could be heard in the Control Room’s background,
“how was she to know
Communication’s schedule.”
“There is something,” Angie
took a breath. “I didn’t think about it at the time, but for someone who had an
opportunity to see Wayne Newton’s show and visit him backstage, she didn’t seem
too excited about it. I thought she was just going to humor Trish, now I’m not
sure.”
“I’m sorry Angie,” Lee said,
contrite, “ I didn’t mean to yell at you. Did she
give you the name of the hotel? Room
number?
“It’s the Paradise Hotel,
but she didn’t give me the room number after she got there. Something about the
AC not working well and that she might be getting a different
room.”
“All right...I um...I’m
sorry I flew off the handle...”
“You’re her husband...it’s
allowed.”
“All right, get security to
go check the house....just in case she’s home and too tired to answer the
phone.”
***
“Where are they?” Peter
snarled as Janet struggled against the ropes binding her to a
chair.
“I don’t know what you are
talking about,” she spat.
He slapped her face but when
she said nothing, he became even angrier and replaced the gag.
“Don’t get any ideas about
escape. I have the only key to this long forgotten storeroom. Sorry about the
bugs. Don’t worry though. The snakes like them,” he laughed as he padlocked the
door from outside, certain that the basement was as secure as Fort
Knox.
****
“Hang on Lee,” Angie told
Crane, as Security confirmed there was no trace of his wife at home, “Jason
Weldon just came in.”
“Jason?
Angie, let me talk to
him. Put it on speakerphone. Weldon, what the hell are you doing there?”
“I had an 8:30 meeting with
your wife. I know I’m early but...”
“Meeting?
What kind of meeting?” Lee asked coldly, hoping it wasn’t going to be the answer
he thought it was going to be.
“I’m here to pick up some
maps she went to Vegas for. Simple courier job, that’s all I know. She’s not in
her office but I know how you’re an early bird so I figured she might be too
and... er...you there,
Lee?” he added as he waited for a response.
“What-the-hell-was-Johnson-thinking?” Lee said beginning dangerously quiet and ended
yelling.
“I thought you knew all
about it.”
“We’ve been on
complete radio silence,
damn it! Even Johnson knew we would be. So, who arranged it?
Or do I even need to ask?”
“Admiral Johnson said he called her and
then asked me to pick up the maps on my way back from another mission as I was
closer to Santa Barbara than anyone.
I swear I didn’t realize that you had no
idea what was going on.”
“All right, all
right... Can you stay until I get
there? We’re
going to Vegas.”
“Sure.
Look, Lee, I’ll call Admiral Johnson for more
details while I wait for you. I really am sorry...”
He really was
too.
****
Lee flung the mike down,
“ Damn Johnson! Damn ONI! And damn me, for me not
insisting she retire from Agency business!”
“Like that’s going to work,”
Nelson said gently. “Especially since I’ve tried that with
another agent aboard.”
“That’s different. This is
my wife! She’s a civilian! Untrained, and...oh gawd,” he ran a hand through his hair. The entire crew
could see it was shaking. “Chief? Prepare the flying
sub. Chip? Admiral? I
have no right to ask, but I really need at least one of you to keep me from
from...well...if she’s okay, I have an overwhelming need to strike or spank
her! I...I’m acting more like her father than her husband, aren’t
I?”
“You’re worried, that’s
all,” Nelson said, “we all know you’d never act on
any such impulse. I’ll still go with you Lee. I’d feel better having Chip take
Seaview home.”
“Okay if we take Jaime with
us?”
“Good
idea...”
Crane wasn’t sure if his
response was in reference for any care Janet might need, or
his.
“Sparks?” he called out as
he checked some charts, “Have Angie tell Weldon to meet us at the dock. About
ten minutes,” he pulled on his flight jacket.
“Skipper?”
Ski waylaid him, “sir, permission to go along...you never know when you might
need an extra pair of eyes, or...muscle, sir.”
“Thanks Ski, but this time,
it’s best to make
our presence less known.”
“I’ll fly her, Lee,” Nelson
said as he descended the ladder.
“Skipper, what’s going on?”
Jamie hurried to the nose, medical kit in tow.
“We’re going to Vegas...to
rescue my wife. At least I think so. Let’s just say she got herself bamboozled
into another ONI mission.”
“She
went without telling you?”
“Yes,” he descended into the
flying sub angrily. And very very worried.
******
“Admiral
Johnson? This is Jason Weldon,” the agent was saying as small groups of the
Admin staff waited around Angie’s desk, whispering amongst themselves. “Janet
Crane never made it back to Santa Barbara from Las Vegas yesterday.
She’s missing.”
“Damn!” Johnson
said.
“Lee and Admiral Nelson are
on their way to pick me up right now.
We are going to Vegas to track her down.”
“Very
well.”
“Right now, Lee Crane is
livid. How on earth could you ask
her to go on a mission? You had an agreement with the Cranes, didn’t you? That
Lee would be informed, and his decision about her taking on any assignment or
not would be final?”
“She’s a big girl and can
make up her own mind without his permission!” he snapped
back.
“Did you give her any
choice?” Weldon asked sarcastically.
“Not really I
guess.”
“Okay, Lee and I need details
if we’re going to pull off the mission and rescue Janet...if we can. And you’d
better start finding a replacement for Lee, because I don’t think he’s going to
work for you ever again.”
******
After picking up Jason,
Crane agreed that landing FS1 at
Northtown, aka the North Las Vegas
airport was better than using either
Nellis Air Force Base or McCarren International. It was closer to the old downtown
section of Las Vegas and while the Air Traffic Controllers at Nellis
might
wonder why the esteemed Admiral Nelson was visiting Vegas without
so much as a ‘how do you do’ to a
fellow branch of the Armed Services, he was, after all, retired from the Navy
and it was really none of the Air Force’s business.
As for McCarren, well, if Nelson wanted to
get in a bit of gambling, why the hell not.
“What do you mean Johnson
didn’t know what her cover is? Or her
covert name?” Lee yelled as Jason debriefed him about what he’d managed to glean
from Johnson.
“He left that information to
a fellow agent. Kim,” Jason told him.
“Never
heard of her!”
“Neither have I but...you
know he couldn’t divulge any more than that or her own mission might have been
compromised. “You mean this Kim’s not involved with Janet’s?”
“Calm
down, Lee. You aren’t going to
find her any sooner by yelling at Weldon,” the admiral told him.
“Kim was simply at the right
place at the right time to give Janet her ID and a few extra details about the
maps. We’ll find her,
Lee.”
“We’d
better.”
******
Janet was still tied up in
the storage room and hadn’t had anything to eat or drink for over 24 hours.
Peter slapped her across the
face again and again, but she still would not talk.Yet
again, he left the storage room, slamming the door and locking the
padlock.
******
FS1 landed at the North Las
Vegas airport without incident, secured the craft with iris and numerical
codes, then took a taxi to the Paradise Hotel.
Julie, near the bar saw the
men enter and zeroed in on Crane. “Well, handsome, what can I do for you?” she
purred, “My name’s Julie.”
Barely containing his anger
about being practically propositioned, Lee showed her a picture of Janet, “Have
you seen this woman?”
“You
some kind of cop? I thought that
was a military uniform...though most of the flyboys here wear
blue...
“Have you seen her, Miss?”
Nelson asked.
“Yeah, that’s Lulu,” she
told him.
“LULU?”
Lee bellowed.
“He’s her husband,” Jason
explained, “and her name’s Janet.”
“Oh
dear...she’s not here anymore. She
said she was a writer. She is, isn’t she?”
“No,” Nelson
said.
“She was only here this past
weekend and was going home on Sunday.”
“Well, she never showed up,
where’s the manager?” Lee asked angrily.
“I’ll get him for you,”
Julie escaped, very frightened.
Peter had come
up from the storage area and
glimpsed the men showing Julie the picture of Janet.
He realized he was in big trouble and figured he better cut his losses
and run. Hoping no one saw him, he ran out of the hotel and down the street,
blending into the crowd of people.
Julie quickly told Leon that
Lulu’s husband was here and howling mad because she never made it home and was
using an alias.
Leon and Julie approached
him.
“I understand there’s been
some sort of misunderstanding regarding Lulu?” Leon
asked.
“Have you seen her
recently?” Nelson asked showing him Janet’s picture.
“She was only going to be
here for the weekend. She said
she was researching an article on waitresses in Las Vegas.
She said she was leaving on Sunday.”
“Her name’s actually Janet
Crane,” Nelson explained. “She
did not make it home on Sunday.
That is her husband,” he said pointing to Lee.
“Did she have a room here?”
“Yes,
actually. This way,
” he said leading them down the hall to the back of the hotel. “Housekeeping hasn’t reported it
cleaned yet.”
Using his master key, the
manager opened the door. “Ohmygod...Julie, call the
police, “he spotted some blood on the wall. Everything was thrown all over the
place.
“We’ll take care of that,”
Nelson said, pulling out an official looking badge, and ushering Julie and Leon
out, and closing the door
“Are these her things?
Weldon asked Lee who was going through them.
“Yes, they are,” he said
dejectedly running his hand through his hair.
“Hopefully they didn’t find
what they were looking for,” Weldon said as he looked at the mess. “Mind
if I look around?”
“No, go
ahead.”
Jason looked in the suitcase
and searched around the clothes. He didn’t find anything.
He looked in her purse, nothing there. He noticed her jacket , tissues falling out of the pockets.
“Must
have had a cold...wait...Lee!
Look!” he showed off the maps, wrapped in the tissues. “Pretty smart. Who would think to look in a bunch of
used tissues?”
“Glad you found what you
were looking for. Now you can
go and let me find what I’m looking for.”
“Look, Lee. I didn’t just
come here to see the mission accomplished, you know.”
“Sorry. And thanks for the
help. I really do appreciate
it.”
Lee hastily packed up
Janet’s things and took them back to the bar where they were deciding what they
should do next when Leon and Julie who were standing at the bar noticed Peter
was not there.
“Where’s Peter?” Leon asked.
This is his shift.”
“He was here a little while
ago, but I haven’t seen him lately,” Julie told Leon.
“Who is Peter?” Nelson asked
Leon.
“He is the bartender that is
supposed to be on duty right now,” Leon answered
disgustingly.
“Was he on duty when Janet
was working this weekend?”
“Yes, all weekend and was
working with Lulu, I mean Janet.”
As Leon was telling Nelson
about Peter, Stanley Black sauntered in, sat down, and yelled, “Why the hell
was Peter running down the street like a scared rabbit?
And where the hell is the waitress with the nice ass, you know,
Lulu?”
“Her
ass?” Lee grabbed the man’s chin.
“You wanted a piece of her ass?” he yelled.
“She’s not here Mr. Black,”
Julie intervened. “This is her
husband. She never made it home on Sunday and they are here looking for
her.”
“Cheech...Sorry Commander.
I hope you find her. I was in the
Navy once... a long time ago,” Stanley told him.
“I’m sorry too,”
Lee released his hold on
him.
“But I’m so worried. And when you said...what you said...my wife’s not a
whore, you know..and her
name’s Janet.”
“When was the last time you
saw her,” Nelson asked.
“It was early Sunday morning
right before she finished her shift.”
“Did you see her with
anyone?” Jason asked.
“No.
No one in particular, she was just serving drinks.
She was very busy. The place was packed on Saturday night and into the
wee hours on Sunday. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help...is he going to be okay?”
Black indicated Crane. “I know how I’d feel if she were my
wife...”
“He’ll be okay,” Nelson said
crossing his fingers behind his back, “And thanks for your
help.”
“No problem,” he told Nelson
as Julie brought him his drink.
“Did Peter have a room
here?” Crane was asking Leon.
“Yes, down the hall from
Janet’s,” he handed the master key to Lee.
“What about
storage rooms?” Lee added, having spent time locked
up in various abodes of imprisonment himself.
“Well, there is one in the
basement. Haven’t used it in years...”
“Admiral?”
Lee waved him over, “you and Jamie check out Peter’s room with Julie. Here’s the
key. Jason and I will check out the basement with Leon. That
okay, sir?” Lee asked the manager.
“Yes, yes, of course...let
me get the key.”
***
“Doesn’t look like he
planned on leaving,” Nelson said. “Nothing amiss or
suspicious. Let’s get back to the bar and wait for Lee and
Jason.”
“Admiral?
About that badge...”
“Later, okay
Jamie?”
***
Lee and Weldon followed Leon
down to the basement and he unlocked the storage room door.
It was full of extra glasses, liquor, bottled water and napkins.
“What’s in there,” Lee asked
Leon as he noticed another door with a padlock on it.
“Just
more storage. Peter was in charge
of it all. I don’t think I even have a key to that
padlock.”
“Don’t think I need one,”
Lee replied as he kicked the door, breaking the hinges.
“Janet!” Lee rushed to her
side, removing the gag and ropes. “Sweetheart, are you okay?”
“Thirsty…hungry…tired…sorry.”
“I’ll bring water!” Leon
rushed out.
“Maps...safe?”
“Yes sweetie, they’re
safe...”
In seconds Leon returned and
Lee grabbed it, holding it to her lips,“ no, don’t
gulp. It’ll make you sick...”he rubbed her wrists and ankles. “Jason, go get
Jaime and the Admiral!” Kneeling down next to her Lee gave Janet a long kiss
and a hug.
“Honey,
I’m so sorry…Please forgive me.” Janet
begged.
“I’ve never been so worried
in my life!”
“I know, I know, but I
thought I would be back before you broke radio silence,” she interrupted
frightened by the look on his face.
“You
should have never gone on this mission without letting me know,” he said
angrily, hurt from the lack of trust between them.
“I was afraid I wouldn’t find you…or if I found you, that you were
…”
“Yes Lee, I know...I’m
sorry,” she said kissing him hoping to make him forget how angry he
was.
Just
then Jamie, Nelson, Weldon, and Julie entered.
“Thank God!” Lee rose,
“Jamie, she’s hurt..”
“I can see that,” he opened
his bag about to begin a cursory examination.
“Wait,” she said urgently, “
Julie? Are
there any facilities down here?”
“Er, yes, but they’re a bit primitive,
” Julie said and helped her out the door and down the hall to a small
bathroom.
***
“Well,” Jamie said a few
minutes after she’d returned, “she’s
dehydrated but the bruises are not serious. Neither is the scalp wound. She does
have an indication of a mild concussion, however. In fact, I’d like to keep her
here overnight instead of returning to NIMR in the Flying
Sub.”
“I don’t need a doctor,
er...hospital!”
“I didn’t say you did. Only a quiet night, here, under observation. Captain Crane
can be my ears and eyes. You have any adjoining suites?” he asked Leon. “I’d
like to be nearby.”
“I have the just the rooms,”
Leon said. “Follow me.”
As Lee scooped her
up into his arms he
suddenly noticed what she was wearing.
“What the hell do you have
on?”
“Why, my uniform, of
course,” she said blushing, aware now that all of the men were
too.
***
Leon proudly showed off the
room. It wasn’t fancy by any means, but it was bigger than most of hotel’s
accommodations. Still in Lee’s arms, Lee carried her over the threshold and
deposited her onto the king sized bed.
“Your room’s over here,” he
showed the men the door to the rest of the suite, which included two beds,
sofa,
and a small table and chairs, “the sofa pulls out so you’ll all be comfortable. Would you like
something to eat? There’s a great Chinese take out I
can call.”
“Not so loud,
” Lee whispered. “She’s asleep.”
***
“I still want to know if it
was Peter who tied that poor girl up,” Leon said later as the men ate in their
room. “He was a good employee, I thought anyway.”
“It was
Peter,” Lee said as he entered from the adjoining door.
“She’s awake?” Jason rose
and headed over.
“Not now, Jason. Leon, thanks for all your help. I’m sure you have a lot of
questions, but you’ll have to allow us a little leeway in this matter,” he
steered the man to the hallway.
“Of
course, Commander. Besides, I’m an
ex military man myself. US
Army. Good night gents.”
As soon as he’d left, Lee
sat down, his head in his hands, “Peter worked for the People’s
Republic.”
“I’ll get right on things,
Lee,” Jason said, and pulled out his cell phone to make the
call.
“Admiral Johnson? It’s Wel....”he was interrupted by Lee grabbing his
phone.
“Admiral, this is Crane. We
have the maps, so
it’s a mission accomplished for ONI. But don’t get too
comfortable. I found Janet tied up, gagged and slapped around! She also has a
concussion. All thanks to you.”
“Now, listen Crane...”
“No, you
listen you big bag of wind! If you draft her, sweet talk her, do anything
to make her accept another assignment, I quit!”
“I could court martial you
for that insubordination, Commander.”
“Yes, but think how bad it
would look to the press. Forcing
a civilian into harm’s way. I can see the headlines on CNN right
now.”
“That’s
blackmail!”
“So it is. Do we have a
deal, Admiral?”
“Oh very
well.”
“Good. I’ll expect her termination paperwork at
NIMR in the morning,” he handed the phone back to Jason.
“Well played, Lee,” Nelson
whispered as Jason resumed his chat with Johnson.
“Yes sir,” he was saying,
“...but...I know sir, but...but...no, I don’t think that’s a good
idea...but...yes sir, I’ll tell him. Lee? Your next assignment with ONI is at ONI. A full two
weeks aide duty. Manning a desk. I know how
much you’ll hate that.”
“Sounds good to me,” Jamie
muttered.
“You know, Doc, for
once,
it does to me, too,” Lee grinned.
******
“So, did you get any tips?’
Lee asked while piloting FS1 home.
“Actually, I made
$300.00.”
“Only
$300?”Lee
laughed.
“What’s so funny? I don’t think that’s too bad
considering. I was never a waitress before, besides that I’m going to give the
money to charity,” she told him yawning.
“Keep it,” Jason said, “call
it compensation above and beyond for being groped a few
times.”
“I was also propositioned
once and proposed to twice. But since the men were drunk I didn’t take either
seriously. What do you think Lee? Should I keep the
money?”
“I wonder what my life
expectancy would be if I told you how to manage your money. What’s mine is ours, remember. What’s yours is
yours.”
“Seaview to Flying Sub,
Seaview to Flying Sub, come in please,” Morton’s voice came
over.
“This is
Nelson.”
“Is it a mission
accomplished sir? Getting Janet...er..Mrs.
Crane back safe and sound?”
“Safe, yes,” Nelson
said.
One could hear the sighs of
relief from the Control Room crew.
“But sound,” Jamie added,
“depends on your point of view. My view is that she should take the week off.
Her view that she’s fine is under advisement.”
******
“By the way Admiral,” Jason
said as he was taking leave of Nelson at NIMR, “interesting badge you used. I
didn’t see any P.D. on it.”
“Er, yes,” Nelson flushed, pulled it out of his pocket and
handed it over. “Compliments of
NIMR.”
“Save
the Whales?”
“This prototype badge will
be for sale in the NIMR gift shop soon. I’m just glad I’d forgotten to take it
out of my pocket.”
“Good thing you didn’t give
Leon a chance to really take a look. Well. Goodbye sir. Tell the Crane’s I’ll be
in touch...but not too soon.”
******
Dear
Diary,
I’m home and Jamie says I
will need to stay here until tomorrow morning. Even though we’ve been snuggling like
mad, I’m still in big trouble with Lee. I think he has bilge tank and latrine
duty in mind. Those are the worst
jobs on Seaview.
******
Dear
Diary,
Admiral Johnson called to
say I did a good job and apologized for my being hurt. Lee and I signed some
paperwork which makes it illegal for ONI to ask me anything without Lee’s
permission, in writing!
They didn’t know about
Peter; which is par for the course for the bad intel
at ONI. So he’s still at large.
I did manage to get out of
cleaning the bilge tanks by seducing Lee in my waitress ‘uniform’ over supper.
But I still need to get out of latrine duty. I will just have to try a little more
seduction later tonight.
The
End.