˗ˏˋ𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫'ˎ˗

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉ℯ𝓇 ℰ𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉

˗ˏˋ𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫'ˎ˗

Third person POV ~

Hockley comes in and runs to the railing. Looking down he sees them locked in their embrace. Lovejoy comes up behind Cal and puts a restraining hand on him, but Cal whips around, grabbing the pistol from Lovejoy's waistband in one cobra-fast move.

He runs along the rail and down the stairs. As he reaches the landing above them he raises the gun. Screaming in rage, he fires.

The carved cherub at the foot of the centre railing explodes. Jack pulls Elizabeth toward the stairs going down to the next deck. Cal fires again, running down the steps toward them. A bullet blows a dive out of the oak panelling behind Jack's head as he pulls Elizabeth down the next flight of stairs.

Hockley steps on the skittering head of the cherub statue and goes sprawling. The gun clatters across the marble floor. He gets up, and reeling drunkenly goes over to retrieve it.

The bottom of the grand staircase is flooded several feet deep. Jack and Elizabeth come down the stairs two at a time and run straight into the water, fording across the room to where the floor slopes up, until they reach dry footing at the entrance to the dining saloon.

As Cal reels down the stairs in time to see Jack and Elizabeth splashing through the water toward the dining saloon. He fires twice. Big gouts of spray near them, but he's not a great shot.

The water boils up around his feet and stairs a couple of steps. Around him and creaks.

Cal shouts to them, "Enjoy your time together!!" Lovejoy arrives next to him. Cal remembers something and start to laugh.

"What could possibly be funny?"

"I put the diamond in my coat," Lovejoy doesn't understand, "I put my coat... on her."

He turns to Lovejoy with a sickly expression, his eyes glittering, "I give it to you... if you can get it." He hands Lovejoy the pistol and goes back up the stairs. Lovejoy thinks about it, then slogs into the water. The ice water is up to his waist as he crosses the pool into the dining saloon. Lovejoy moves among the tables and ornate columns, searching, listening, his eyes tracking rapidly. It is a sea of tables, and they could be anywhere. A silver serving trolley rolls downhill, bumping into tables and pillars. He glances behind him. The water is following him into the room, advancing in a hundred foot wide tide. The reception room is now a roiling lake, and the grand staircase is submerged past the first landing. Monstrous groans echo through the ship. Elizabeth and Jack are crouched behind a table, somewhere in the middle. They see the water advancing toward them, swirling over the floor. They crawl ahead of it to the next row of tables.

Jack whispers to Elizabeth, "Stay here." He begins to move over one row and looks along the tables.

Five feet tall and full of stacks of china dishes. It starts to roll down the aisle between tables. The cart rolls toward Elizabeth. It hits a table and the stacks of dishes topple out, exploding across the floor and showering her. She scrambles out of the way and Lovejoy spins, seeing her. He moves rapidly toward her, keeping the gun aimed at her. That's when Jack tackles him from the side. They slam together into a table, crashing over it, and toppling to the floor. They land in the water which is flowing rapidly between the tables. Jack and Lovejoy grapple in the icy water. Jack jams his knee down on Lovejoy's hand, breaking his grip on the pistol, and kicks it away. Lovejoy scrambles up and lunges at him, but Jack gut punches him right in the solar plexus, doubling him over.

"Compliments of the Chippewa Falls Dawsons," Jack says as he grabs Lovejoy and slams him into an ornate column. Lovejoy drops to the floor with a splash, stunned.