Floating Lies and Sinking Truth - P1 COMPLETE

Chapter Thirteen - July 1980

Chief Officer Eliot Black stared at the scene before him, Second Officer Neil Farmer armed with a stun gun or Taser and Ray Reid working out a way to escape. It was then that Eliot reached up and touched his head, he was bleeding. When Ray threw the table it must have caught him in the head.

Eliot felt faint and wobbled then sagged into the corner and passed out.

Neil looked over his shoulder briefly at the sound of Eliot collapsing. That moment of distraction gave Ray the chance to leap at Neil. Ray was really angry and also really strong. Neil tried to hold him off and jab him with the stun gun but instead Ray turned Neil's hand back toward him and Neil felt a sharp jolt of pain as the stun gun touched the soft skin on his neck. Neil convulsed and shook uncontrollably as Ray looked down into his eyes with murderous intent.

Neil thought he was about to die, Ray Reid was going to kill me just like he did Joe Smith. Ray pushed harder with the stun gun and Neil continued to convulse violently and then passed out. Neil's consciousness left him and his heart began to fail from the powerful electrical disruption caused by the stun gun.

*

Purser David Clough had deliberately avoided contact with the Captain, Second Officer and Chief Officer. Dave didn't want to ask how the investigation was going as he knew they wouldn't be able to tell him.

The Captain kept Dave at arm's length in a professional capacity in order to ensure the crew knew that he was an honest and fair arbiter and not skewed in the favour of his senior officers.

Dave stood up at his desk as he heard the sound of someone running up the gangway. The ragged steps sounded like someone in a panic. Dave moved to the doorway to look and just as he did a man ran into him and before he could react punched Dave in the face.

The moment of confusion passed and Dave realised he had been attacked by Ray Reid. Ray must have thought he'd knocked Dave out because he was frantically searching Dave's desk...he must be looking for the key to the safe so he can get the guns Dave thought. What had Ray done to Neil and Eliot?

What should I do? Dave thought to himself. Pretend to be dead? Dave knew that Ray wouldn't find the key on his desk because Dave wore it on a chain around his neck. How long until Ray figured that out?

Dave kept very still and waited for Ray to come over.

*

The Captain looked at his watch. He had been expecting an update from Neil and Eliot. There was a phone in the Guard Room of the Brig and the Captain rang it but got no response. They should be able to hear the phone ringing. The Captain put the phone down and decided to wait, they would ring soon.

The Captain looked out the window and could just make out the last of the land on the horizon as they cruised south. The huge engines in the bowel of the stern chugged along day and night and consumed vast quantities of black and sticky fuel oil. A more accurate description would have been to say the ship motored along as that is what the MV at the start of the name of the ship stood for, Motor Vessel. MV Shire.

Now they were completely clear of land the Captain should issue the order to increase to full cruise speed but the Captain was hesitant. The faster the ship went the faster it left land and the opportunity for help behind. The Captain told himself off as he was a professional mariner and should do his job. He also thought that conversely the faster they went the sooner they would reach the coast of Brazil and then onto their destination in Japan.

The Captain leaned out of his office door and summoned over one of the Junior Crewmen on the Bridge. 'Instruct the Engine Room we're going to Full Speed'

'Aye aye Captain' the crewman responded and rushed off to the control panel.

The increase in speed was barely noticeable on the Bridge as they were over ten floors above the Engine Room and the surface of the vast Atlantic Ocean. The northern Atlantic was a vast expanse of cold blue water that was famous for its Spring icebergs. The iceberg which sank the infamous Titanic in April 1912 was widely reported as an anomaly but Captain Steve Jones knew differently as an experienced mariner. There was no risk of icebergs on this journey as it was July and they were heading south.

The safety of the ship was a constant worry for the Captain especially as Captain Jones took his responsibilities seriously and would not leave the ship until all the crew were evacuated. Being the last man off the ship if it was sinking was a terrifying thought.

The biggest threat to a ship as large as this one, the biggest in the world, was a collision with another large ship. The vastness of the Atlantic would make it seem unlikely however as they all tended to operate on similar routes and corridors meaning bad weather or bad visibility were a real hazard. If visibility dropped below a few miles then even if they saw a ship on a collision course it would probably be too late to avoid each other.

The Bridge was a vast area which stretched the whole width of the ship. There were multiple control panels as was common for a state of the art ship such as this. Despite the advance in technology there was still a helm, or steering wheel, in pride of place in the centre of the Bridge that could be used to steer the ship. In reality the ship was too large to respond much to inputs on the helm and whenever they were approaching a port or tight stretch of water they would be pushed and pulled by at least two huge Tug boats. Because of this it was rare for the MV Shire to stray too far from the major Oceans and Seas of the world, sailing from modern mega-port to modern mega-port which took a lot of the enjoyment out of being crew aboard a large ship. Part of the joy in the good ol'days was sailing up rivers to small and out of the way places, places where Westerners were still an unusual sight.

*

Ray reached down and started to manhandle Dave thinking he was unconscious. He searched Dave's pockets and then as he started to get closer to his neck and the location of the key Dave grabbed both Ray's arms.

Ray was startled and tried to pull away but Dave in a moment of insanity and uncharacteristic violence swung his head violently forward and heard a crack as Dave's forehead connected with Ray's nose!

Blood streamed out of Ray's nose and covered Dave's face. Ray swung a punch at Dave but his eyes were streaming with tears of pain and he missed as Dave ducked out of the way. Dave called out for help and that extra burden of pressure was enough to convince Ray to run off and disappear.

Dave dragged himself up off the floor onto his knees and clung to his desk to steady himself. His head was woozy from the powerful punch it had received from Ray. Dave tried to focus his balance but realised it was futile. He grabbed the phone on the desk with one hand whilst using the other to keep himself from toppling over. His knuckles were white and taught in a death grip as Dave focused all his energy on staying up right and holding the phone to his mouth.

*

'Go ahead' the Captain responded picking up the telephone on his desk. The Captain strained to listen and understand the confused babble coming from the phone.

'Calm down Dave I can't understand you!' the Captain exclaimed.

Dave steadied his voice and spoke more slowly. 'Ray Reid just attacked me and tried to get the key to the safe. Send someone to check on Neil and Eliot in the Brig. Hold on, get the handguns before you do down there as Ray is still on the loose!'

Dave finished speaking and was then too exhausted from trying to maintain his balance and as he had passed on the message he slumped to the floor to rest his swollen head.

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