Athol pressed the binoculars to his eyes, straining to pierce the gloom that surrounded them. The vast expanse of the ocean rendered claustrophobic by the stale early morning fog.
'How long?' He barked gruffly at the pilot.
'Any moment now Sir' came the clipped reply. Athol leant studiously over the large suspended compass and watched the needle as it started to wander aimlessly, 'Engines stop' ordered the pilot into the intercom. The low hum of the refinery vessel's engines fell to a whisper.
'North Pole Captain' confirmed the pilot as the needle continued to spin uncertainly in its casing.
'Unbelievable to think this was once an ice shelf' Athol murmured almost to himself, just fragments left,
'how long will we wait?' He said a little louder to the uniformed man who sat vigilantly in the corner.
'As long as it takes, we are the bait' Agent Lynch rose from his chair 'Get the drones in the air' he ordered and another man of obviously lesser rank departed the bridge. He turned to face Athol 'Patience my friend, they got your message I am sure they will be here soon' Athol nodded hesitantly they where his own people how could he do this to them.
The pilot interrupted his thoughts 'ship approaching from the starboard' they all stood to see a battered tanker emerging out of the mist, it had already begun to orientate itself for docking. Athol reached for the radio, as he did so Agent Lynch grabbed his hand 'Just as we planned Captain, the Syndicate wants every drop back' he stared into Athol's eyes as he released his grip.
'This is the Refinery Vessel XL1, please identify yourself'
'XL1 this is the tanker Blackwater preparing to come alongside, Athol we are on top of the world, a long way from home' Came the reply from a smiling woman's voice. Athol could not help himself and grinned as the voice from his past spoke, better times.
'Good to hear your voice Blackwater, our engineering team will get you all connected up, prepare your pumps, next satellite pass is in three hours we need to get you on your way before then' Agent Lynch nodded at Athol, it was the little details that were important.
'Understood, our pumps are ready to go, we have 16000 deadweight tonnes of crude' confirmed the Blackwater, after a short pause lights began to flash on the control panel in front of the Chief refinery engineer.
'Blackwater we are fired up and ready to go, remember to clean your tanks to avoid contamination when we refill them' Athol instructed and nodded to the Chief who pressed a switch and the pumps roared to life. Agent Lynch patted him on the shoulder, 'These criminals deserve everything they get' he sneered, Athol winced at the security man's touch.
'Sea water Chief, fill their tanks with sea water' the Agent smirked.
'We have plenty in tank 3 chief we had pumped it in for cleaning' Athol ordered.
'Yes Sir' the Chief responded
'Chief, how come you never call me Sir' Agent Lynch broke in. The Chief looked flustered and Athol moved between the two men.
'perhaps some day ....' the Agent grinned and let it drop to the relief of everyone on the bridge. They will never leave us alone Athol thought, the free market for oil had collapsed the Syndicate would never let up, it was all about control.
The radio burst to life 'Looks good this end' came the recognisable voice of the Blackwater, 'Captain Athol you are welcomed aboard, some people would like to see you here'
'It would be good to see you all too' replied Athol knowing they had just sealed their fate. Why had he replied to them.
'I will make my way to the gangway'. Agent Lynch clapped with delight and produced two hockey puck sized disks, 'they are magnetic, stick these anywhere on their ship, the drones will do the rest' reluctantly Athol took the two disks and placed them carefully in the pocket of his jacket.
Two armed guards stood watchfully at the gangway to the Blackwater, they both grinned as they saw Athol step aboard. He was met by Yuri, a distant cousin, he embraced him.
'You are our saviour' he smiled 'this is a great thing you are doing for us' Athol blushed awkwardly
'how are things at home?'
'The town is much quieter now, they have cut off our heat and electricity but we have some limited supplies, this load will last us through the winter' Yuri grinned.
'Where did you get this bucket of bolts from?' Athol looked as brown rusty water dripped in front of him.
'We stole it, then tapped the last bit of the uncontrolled pipeline, we paid a heavy price, the Syndicate has been hunting us ever since, plan is to land this load then scupper her, we'll not get near the pipeline again'
Athol grabbed him, the stress of the last few days finally gave way to frustration, 'Yuri, you barely know me, don't tell me your plans, I don't want to know, I left to get away from that bleak place, you all being here puts us all in terrible danger, have you got the money?' Regaining his composure he remorsefully let the scruffy young man go.
'It's on the bridge', he replied flustered. He didn't speak again.
Athol disguised it well yet his heart leapt as he stepped onto the bridge. Mila, the voice on the radio, hugged him warmly and the others shook his hand enthusiastically, the prodigal son. He was surprised by how much he had missed them and thought about the day he left, like so many their small town was dying, the factories had closed one by one leaving nothing but despair, the roads fell silent. He had left to make a future for himself and he had to leave everything behind, he looked admiringly at Mila, the leader she had become. Unconsciously his hand felt for the weights in his pocket.
It was like he had never left and the stories of simpler times flowed,
'What's it like working for the bad guys?' One of the men asked although there was no judgement in his voice.
'It's work' Athol answered 'they are looking for you?......It's been on the radio, the patrols are headed this way'
'We will be long gone by the time they get this far north' replied Mila 'You could come with us?' She added
'I would but they would track me', he bent down to show the locator buried in his neck,
'and besides they are probably already starting to wonder where I have taken their ship off to'
'I could cut that out' said another of the men pointing at his neck brandishing a menacing looking knife.
Athol stroked his chin 'perhaps next time'
They all laughed just as one of the entrance guards came onto the bridge, 'Your men are asking for you' he said motioning to Athol.
'I guess the distillation is nearing completion, I best go........ there is the small matter of payment, my mens silence doesn't come cheap' the mention of payment darkened the mood.
'Of course' Mila spoke then produced a small bag containing enough money to pay each of his crew a handsome fee, it was time to go he kept his farewells brief. Each goodbye tightened the knot in his stomach.
Athol's pocket felt heavier and heavier as he was escorted down the ageing deck, he dropped to his knee motioning like he had tripped, the disks eager to attach to the rusted iron. He regained his composure as he was helped up. Agent Lynch was waiting at the end of the gangway as he stepped back on board, Athol gave him a knowing nod.
The ocean foamed as the Blackwater made its way into the mist. The tension on the bridge punctuated with the preparations of the Agents. Agent Lynch watched as it was lost from sight, 'We have the oil, Drones are armed sir' said the other Agent holding a communicator to his ear. 'Execute' Lynch ordered, Athol moved towards the window and turned his head to the skies. As he did so something caught the Agents eye, he watched with a growing realisation as the compass needle followed Captain Athol across the bridge. 'What have you done?' he yelled and lunged for the Captains jacket.
'They are just trying to survive' Athol answered stepping away from the grasping arms. 'Abort the drones' he ordered frantically but it was too late as they slammed into the foredeck, followed quickly by a blinding flash as the vessel disintegrated.
'We've just tested the tanks, its high quality, we sell some, keep the rest we can last for a year or more on it' the tinny voice from the intercom was drowned out by shrieks of delight from the bridge. Yuri came running in holding the small bag of money, bewildered 'I can't believe it, he must have dropped it'. At that moment the horizon blazed orange then faded. Mila shaded her eyes to look in the direction of the refinery vessel, now she understood, she knew it was gone. Her big brother had always protected her, she bowed her head fighting back the tears.
'It's gone.....he's gone' she said 'lets go home'.
