USS Downley
The
helicopter touches down on the deck of the ship just as the sun is beginning to set on the horizon. Its beauty is stolen by the battle still waging over the ocean. Captain Briggs waves and wishes both agents good luck as they exit the helicopter. The rotors never stop as the two agents dismount and just as they step off onto the deck it ss already lifting off.
"Guess they are in a hurry," Sam comments barely audible over the roar of the helicopter.
Spencer is about to reply when Admiral Pellington steps out onto the deck making his way toward them. He is flanked by several heavily armed men, all with grim determination set in their expressions. The admiral reaches the two quickly with his escort on his heels. Once his reaches the two agents the escort spreads out in a circle covering the group with three-sixty coverage.
"I'm Admiral Russell Pellington," he says extending his hand.
Spencer shakes his hand first followed by Sam and they make their introductions.
"Admiral, may I ask why we are here?" Spencer questions.
"I would gladly explain the situation once we are inside," he answers pointing toward the door he came from. "It is much safer this way."
"Very Admiral, lead the way."
——
Spencer
and Sam are taken below deck to a small conference room. The room space is mostly taken up by the table which is surrounded by six chairs. Admiral Pellington posts two of the guards in the room with them and the remainder just outside the door.
"Is all this guard really necessary?" Sam inquires.
"Believe it or not, it is," Pellington begins. "This ship has fallen under attack by someone or something. All my efforts to find this saboteur have proved useless. Just before you arrived I lost Squads One, Seven, and Ten."
"So we were called in to take out the threat," Spencer states.
"You were the closest assets near to here that can handle a threat like this," he explains. "I have been through many battle situations and in my experience whatever this is it isn't human."
Spencer and Sam look at each other locking eyes briefly. Sam nods to Spencer then he turns back to the admiral. "We'll need you to recall your squads and get you someplace that can be defended without hindrance."
"The best place will be the bridge then."
"Good," Spencer says standing up. He walks over to the two guards at the door. "I need your headsets."
The two guards look at Pellington for confirmation. "Go ahead."
The two men pull their headsets off and hand them over to Spencer. "Here," he says handing one set to Sam. "I'll track it down; you keep guard over the Admiral."
"Like hell I will," Sam argues. "I'm the better armed one here." She glares at Spencer, the look on her face saying that she isn't going to take
no
for an answer.
"Alright," he concedes. "You be careful."
"I will," she promises and heads for the door. Spencer reaches out and grabs her and spins her around. They lock eyes and he reaches in and kisses her deeply.
"You better make it back alive," he says pulling away before plunging back in."
Without another word she leaves the room.
"Women," Pellington remarks.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Spencer agrees. "Shall we sir?"
——
Sam,
do you copy?" Spencer says into the headset. He sat on the bridge with Pellington and so does nearly the entire guard the admiral has available. Those that aren't there are guarding other important stations located at various parts of the ship.
"I copy."
"Good," Spencer says letting his body relax. He isn't sure why he was so apprehensive about the situation. Sam can take care of herself and she certainly isn't new to this type of thing. "Pellington pulled all the squads back and has a standing order for the crew to stay where they are, so the corridors should be cleared."
"Except for me and the demon."
"Exactly," he confirms. "The squads set up motion detectors throughout the ship and we are monitoring them. The moment something pops up we'll direct you to it."
"Gotcha. Going silent."
——
Sam
travels light through the corridor carrying only
Kotetsu
and her
S&W
.40 mm
. The ship is eerily quiet except for the miscellaneous sounds the ship makes. Her footfalls echo through the empty corridors. The sound carries softly matching the rest of the sounds echoing throughout. She focuses on her breathing to control her emotions and to deepen her senses. Her focus takes her back to the years of learning martial arts. Endless drills and hours spent learning to hone other senses other than the eyes. She is glad to have had that training now.
It has been almost two hours now and three deck levels and she has found no evidence of a saboteur or a demon. The motion detectors set up throughout the ship haven't picked up anything, but that doesn't mean much. Such devices can malfunction or be disabled or if one knows what to look for, avoided. Sam pushes the thoughts to the back of her mind. Worrying about such things is irrelevant and her focus has to be centered on her task. She suddenly finds herself standing before a doorway leading to the final set of stairs that leads down further into the ship.
The sign labeled Deck Four looms above her head. The only parts of the ship that lay below are the most vital parts; the engine and pump rooms and the ship's gunnery storage. Sam stops to think her next steps.
Why stay on the lower deck? Why disable the engines but not do anything else?
Then it hits her like a ton of bricks. "You're going to blow up the ship," she whispers out loud. Tapping the headset, she speaks into it. "Spence, I know what he has planned. The ship needs to be evacuated." Sam now knows where to look and it becomes a race against time.
