Adv in Swinging: Heading Home

This is a work of fiction and is the sole intellectual property of the author; all rights are reserved. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or true events is purely coincidental. Any reproduction, alteration, republication, or dissemination of this story without the author's written consent is prohibited.

January 29

2220hrs CST

Distance from Galveston: 464 miles

Course 095 degrees, Speed 24 knots

Corridor Near AI Control Center

Dave reached the bottom of the stairs, followed by Bunty, who came down hard on the last step and gave an instinctive 'oof' as she barely avoided twisting her ankle. She had managed to stop her fall by reaching out and bracing in a controlled impact against her husband.

Dave paused long enough to check, "You okay, Pen?"

Bunty nodded as she quickly ensured she had control of her medical supplies. That didn't stop her from letting her husband know her discomfort by whispering, "Damned trigger is pinching my right titty."

Dave had turned and flashed the grin that his wife loved, "Yeah, the good lord didn't make those precious gems of yours to serve as a makeshift holster."

Bunty giggled, Oooh, David, are you flirting with me?"

"Damn, right I am, little lady," he replied. He wrapped his arm around Bunty's torso and tugged her close to him, ensuring she was steady. "No time for fun here. We both need to get our asses in gear, now hush," he said. Dave released his hold and moved aft with Bunty close behind.

Dave could see the crew moving ahead in the starboard passageway. Very slowly, he reached under his shirt and drew his Sig Sauer. He drew a deep breath and gently pulled the hammer back until it clicked. He was glad he had decocked the pistol before leaving the cabin in the mad rush to grab the needed medical supplies.

As Dave scanned ahead, his brain was racing in thought, 'Okay, corridor traffic is clear ahead, gun to ready position, let's see if we have threats at the entrance to the AI facility.' He poked his head quickly around the corner of the bulkhead at the junction of the two corridors. 'Four guards, armed with MP-5 submachine guns, clad in light body armor, tactical headgear, and communications were deployed around the entrance of the AI center.

A gurney, handled by the EMTs, came through the door quickly. Dave noted it was bearing Annie, still playing up her electric shock to its fullest. Then followed Crossthwaite, who had a brief discussion, and two men from the security detail moved aft with Crossthwaite as the gurney and EMTs took Annie to medical.

Dave pulled back slowly and tuned slightly to make eye contact with Buny. He whispered softly, "Two, MP5s, armor, and comms." He noted that his wife had drawn her weapon from her cleavage. He nodded in approval, cocking his head as he did so.

Bunty acknowledged him with a single nod. She scanned her husband's face and instinctively knew that Dave wanted to say more. "Annie?" she whispered.

Dave shook his head, "We're too late." He saw Bunty drop her head momentarily as she drew a deep breath. Dave turned his head back and thought, 'Do I press my luck again?' It was critical to see if the guards had re-positioned at the entrance to the facility. The thought flashed in his head, 'I hope Seth and Control saw the gurney as it passed them.'

Dave stayed low and leaned forward, bringing his head around the corner of the corridor just as the gurney passed Seth and Controls storage locker well down the passageway aft of the AI center. The two guards were on their comms facing aft, and a thought flashed through Dave's head, "Maybe our luck is still with us.'

The two guards turned and positioned their backs to the opposite wall facing each other, adjusting their load and pulling their MP5s into a ready position. Dave was about to pull his head back when Seth's head appeared briefly, gazing aft, following the departing medical team.

Seth and Control had heard the gurney pass as they counted footsteps.

"Four to six," Control whispered. Seth nodded silently.

"Let's see if they have protection with them," Seth replied softly. His hand grasped the doorknob as she turned it slowly, pulling the door back to him. He shifted in his crouched position, moving into the opening. He pushed his head into the passageway long enough to confirm his worst fear. At least one of the group headed aft was part of Crossthwaite's armed security. Quickly turning his head, he spied Dave, nodding and pulling his head back to disappear.

Commotion came from inside the AI center as the remaining EMT struggled to keep Basehart alive. The guard closest to the door turned and disappeared inside the AI Center. The guard along the opposite wall caught a glimpse of Dave's disappearing head in his peripheral vision.

Dave was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when he heard a shout, "Stop, whoever you are." Dave fumbled an IV bag as he dropped back. He prevented it from falling, which caused him to lose his situational awareness for the briefest moment.

Bunty had thought things through, placing her medical supplies on the deck, and risen into a combat crouch, gun in ready position. She had just completed a quick scan to confirm their six was clear and spun to face forward.

"Gun," she called out to Dave as a single security man slid into view. Bunty laid her weapon on target and squeezed two rounds, both striking the guard in the face. The man collapsed to his right side and hit the deck dead. This triggered immediate shuffling of feet and commotion from within the AI center.

Bunty and Dave heard the other guard calling for help, "Intruders at AI Center, man down. Send backup." This was followed by five pistol shots and another thud.

After hearing the exchange of gunfire, Seth and Control emerged from their location to meet Dave and Bunty in the passageway. Control waved at the Samuels and patted Seth's back before saying, "I will start aft. Catch up with me once you confirm Dave and Bunty's status."

Seth nodded at his handler, "Don't engage without me." Control smiled and started aft at a jog. Seth turned forward and said in a full voice, "Were clear. Dave? Bunty? You can go in."

Dave responded, "We've got this, Seth. Go get Annie." Seth mouthed a silent 'o.k.' and was off to rejoin Control.

Dave took a deep breath and led the way into the AI center. Before him was a chaotic scene as technicians stood in horror, watching two EMTs trying desperately to save Crest Basehart, who was on his back, the whites of his eyes exposed. Dave thought to himself, 'Fuck, he's gone. We're too late.' Bunty shot past him, dropped to her knees between Basehart's outstretched legs, and jabbed each with an auto-injector.

The EMT closest to the entry to the compartment, initially surprised by Bunty's actions, reached out to try to stop Bunty. The powerful grip of a large man ended the attempt to intervene. The EMT turned and looked up in the eyes of David Samuels.

"It's the antidote to cyanide poisoning," the big Texan advised as he slipped two IV bags of Cobaxabaxinalin into the EMTs lap and barked, "Rig it up and get it into him."

Both Samuels moved back and let the EMTs do their jobs. In under a minute, they had both bags plugged into Basehart, one in his left arm and the other in his left leg. Bunty sat back on her haunches, marveling at how fast and efficient they found veins for the IVs. Once done, the EMTs cleared her away as they jolted Basehart's barely registering heartbeat, bringing it back to a steady sinus rhythm. He was on pure oxygen. There was no more to be done.

Dave pulled Bunty to her feet, "Are you alright, darlin?"

Bunty caught a quick breath and puffed out a barely discernable "Yes."

Automatic weapons fire, followed by the staccato bark of multiple pistol shots answering in kind, echoed up the passageway.

"Bollocks," Bunty muttered.

Dave hugged her, saying, "Come on, Pen."

Both left the AI center swiftly and moved aft. Resuming tactical positions, they heard a continuing exchange of distant gunfire further ahead. Dave, in the lead, covered the front 120 degrees. Bunty was two meters behind her husband, skillfully shuffling in reverse as she scanned the rear 120 degrees. Not more than thirty seconds after resuming pursuit, ahead the sounds of gunfire began falling off and quickly faded out completely.

Dave shouted, "Eva, are Control and Seth alright?"

Evangeline immediately replied, "Yes, Dave. However, they have broken off pursuit after exhausting their ammunition. They have stopped and are foraging ammunition from one of the security guards they killed."

Dave turned the corner, his mind lit with images of the ship's deck plan. As he and Bunty moved stealthfully down the corridor, continuing their tactical focus on the twelve and six o'clock zones, Evangeline's steady voice began to guide them.

"Dave," she began. "There are six crewmen, all casualties lying just ahead at the next turn you take for the aft midships lifts. They are beyond any aid you can render." Evangeline paused as though lost in thought. "Just a minute, just a minute," she advised more than asked.

Resuming her updates to Bunty and Dave, Evangeline's voice had an increased sense of urgency as it grew in strength, "You both may proceed at a quicker pace. The threat level is zero. They have taken my sister up the port side passageway. Seth and Control have reloaded their weapons with ammunition taken from the dead security guard. I believe Crossthwiate and his remaining security guard will take Annie to a 'crew only' accessible lift forward. It opens off the navigator's plot room just aft behind the bridge and adjacent to Crossthwaite's office."

"Thanks, Eva, you are the best of the best," Dave responded. "Where are Control and Seth at this moment?"

"They are out of sight, well forward on the portside passageway, passing frame 29, on their way aft. They have informed me that they are moving to medical to treat a minor injury Control received while engaged with Crossthwaite's security team," Evangeline responded.

"Acknowledged, Dave," answered. "Stay with me, wife."

"Right behind you, Luv," Bunty replied.

Bunty turned and pushed on Dave's back and then shot past him on a fast airborne shuffle. Bunty called, "Evangeline dear, are you tracking all the threats?"

"Negative, Commander," the AI responded. "They are not wearing any tracking tags that our team or the passengers and crew have on their persons. My threat analysis is based on video and sounds correlated using a predictive analytic algorithm for detection and tracking. I just wrote and implemented it when the running firefight broke out."

Bunty turned the next corner, and Dave lost sight of his wife for the briefest of seconds. When he rounded the bend, he saw that Bunty had stepped around the dead crewmen and was pressing the elevator button to call the lift. Dave scanned across the thoroughfare to the opposite passageway just as one of Crossthwaite's security goons appeared.

Without hesitation, the fifty-year-old Texan raised his P225 and fired three rapid shots as he called out, "Gun at your four o'clock."

Dave's warning registered in his wife's ears, and she reacted instantly. Recognizing the sound of Dave's pistol, she began to duck and spin to her right as she brought her weapon up to engage.

The security member from Crossthwaite's protection team stayed focused on Bunty. Dave's first shot whizzed past his face with a sharp crack. The guard continued to focus and target Bunty. He was just about to squeeze off a center mass shot when Dave's second bullet plowed through the thinnest part of his protective vest just under his left armpit. The impact from Dave's projectile created a hydrostatic shock wave as it expanded and transected the rear upper lobe of the security guard's left lung. The wounded man staggered, and his hand dropped just enough to throw off his aim. He reflexively fired only once, just as two shots from Bunty's weapon struck him in the head, killing him instantly.

Dave saw the man drop dead as he whistled, "Nice shooting, Tex." Then he saw Bunty slumped, her knees falling to the deck. "Oh, dear Christ Pen, where are you hit?" he shouted.

Bunty gasped, "My bloody arse."

Dave rushed to her. He knelt alongside his wife. A light flow of veinous-carried blood flowed freely from both sides of a wound channel. Dave checked the exit wound and saw it was a clean pass through her right butt cheek. Dave put his gun on the deck and then, with both hands, ripped the material around the exit wound, eliciting a sharp gasp of pain from Bunty. He looked carefully at a bloody, exposed mass of mangled flesh three inches in diameter.

"Well shit Pen, that's gonna leave a scar." he declared. Bunty just scowled and gasped in pain. She decided not to waste her breath to admonish him.

Evangeline's soft voice filled the corridor, "Oh, Commander, I did not record anyone lurking inside the utility room entrance on the far side passageway." Evangeline's inflection and tone sounded as though Ellie was there with them. It was an authentic human admission of guilt and regret.

David Samuels had no tolerance for Evangeline's apology. In exasperation, he shouted, "Eva, I have to get Pen to medical. Please guide me there." The big man grabbed his pistol off the deck and pulled his wife into his arms as he carried her into the lift.

"About time you bloody well took me across a threshold," Bunty said sarcastically as Dave rolled his eyes. Evangeline's softening voice continued to apologize as the lift doors closed behind them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

January 29

2310hrs CST

Distance from Galveston: 478 miles

Course 095 degrees, Speed 24 knots

Ships Medical Facility

Seth and Dave stood behind the sliding doors opposite each other at the entrance of the medical facility. Both kept their weapons drawn, lowered at their sides. Evangeline continued to give them updates from the cameras positioned throughout the passageways, providing needed early warning of Crossthwaite's security team.

Dave shook his head as Seth explained the gun battle he and Control fought to rescue Annie.

"I swear to you, Dave, we had very few windows where we could safely take shots without risking hitting Annie," Seth explained. "Those bastards kept using the gurney, Anne still strapped down, as a shield. Jesus, they were directing automatic weapons fire directly over her."

The big Texan moved to Seth and patted him on the shoulder, "Don't kick yourself, Seth. Crossthwaite managed to keep his entire security force hidden from even Evangeline. He knew she turned, and he took no chances."

Doctor Sarkisian came down the hallway that led to the operating room, exam room, and overnight beds. As she walked up to the two men, she smiled. Following on her heels was Control, her upper left arm heavily bandaged.

"Doctor, is my Boss going to be all right?" Seth asked.

The good Doctor had barely opened her mouth to respond when Control announced, "You could ask me directly, Seth."

Seth gave Control a smirk, "Yeah, but you would lie through your teeth regardless." Turning back to Sarkisian, he simply said, "Doctor?"

The physician smiled, "A bullet grazed her upper left arm. It partially penetrated but still managed to tear open a four-inch wound channel that, while shallow, still required ten stitches to close. She is back together again with a precautionary tetanus shot to seal the deal."

Dave moved from the door and stepped in close to the physician. Doctor Sarkisian could see clear lines of worry in Dave's face. She immediately empathized with Dave and intuitively sensed he was a gentle giant.

Dave leaned in ever closer and asked, "How is my wife, Doctor?"

Sarkisian smiled, easing the anxiety inside Dave, "My Physician Assistant is closing her up now. It will be an ugly scar, and your wife may want to consider plastic surgery to help cosmetically repair the injured area. For now, I estimated it would take around thirty-five stitches to close what looked like a star-shaped wound. There was extensive tissue tearing. The bullet that passed through her right buttocks fragmented into eight petals. Are you familiar with such a projectile?"

Dave nodded, "Yes, it's called a Radically Invasive Projectile. It expands on contact, typically using four, six, or eight petals in a pure copper hollow point projectile to break off to create independent wound channels."

Sarkisian patted his arm, "This is why I took her straight back to surgery. She will be fine, Mr. Samuels, albeit with a loss of feeling from scar tissue. Again, I urge you to take her to a plastic surgeon for further evaluation once you are home.

Seth had been eavesdropping out of his own concern for Bunty. He decided to needle his buddy, "No use spanking that side anymore, Dave."

Dave and Doctor Sarkisian turned and faced him, having overheard the comment. The good Doctor frowned, "I beg your pardon?"

Dave touched her arm and shook his head, "He's just joking with me, Doctor."

Seth looked contrite, "I apologize for my off-color comment on Bunty's bottom Doctor. I am glad we could bring you on board and work for the company. We couldn't pull this effort off if we hadn't had you on our team."

"Please call me Linda," Sarkisian requested. Flashing a bright smile, she looked at Dave, "Well, your wife needs to get off her feet and avoid being shot for the rest of her time aboard."

Control weighed in as she joined the conversation, "I don't think we can eliminate that risk, Doctor, but we will try. In any case, we need Commander Samuels to be ambulatory. Load her up with enough lidocaine to keep any pain at bay for the next 10 to 12 hours."

Shifting her focus to Seth, she directed, "You and Dave need to move out and recover Annie without getting yourselves killed. Otherwise, Heather and Bunty will never let me hear the end of it, much less Ellie and Jared."

Seth asked Control, "How are things at the site. Are Heather and the kids doing well?"

Control swallowed hard but quickly smiled, "Seth, they have taken to the site and the mission like ducks to water. Ellie told me to pass on that you should be very proud of your family. Now quit stalling and get Annie back."

Evangeline's voice, clearly upset, announced, "You must move now! The man known as Don Javier Cortega is tasering my sister as he interrogates her. I have just shut down power to the entire bridge, including Crossthwaite's suite, and this has caused Cortega and Crossthwaite to leave Annie and move to the bridge. Hurry, and please help her; she is crying out for you, Agent Barksdale. I will guide you. They have restored emergency lighting and resumed their interrogation. My sister is in agony. This has gone far enough, and I am ending this now."

Evangeline sent the ship's electric drive engines into full reverse. The great vessel shuddered violently. The master alarm claxon sounded as red lights flashed throughout its main spaces. Evangeline's voice burst from the ship's public address system, "Abandon ship. Passengers and crew report immediately to your lifeboat stations. This is not a drill."

Dave called out, "Eva, what have you done?"

Evangeline said with determination, "I am going to end Geoffrey Crossthwiate and Don Javier's lives. You must all hurry. I will guide you to my sister. The course of action I have initiated has them confused. This is to your advantage."

Seth asked, "Evangeline, you are putting the crew's and passengers' lives at risk. What happened to your ethical sub-routines? Please tell us what you have done before we attempt a rescue. We need to know."

Evangeline's voice softened, "I have disabled propulsion, communications, and all the centrifugal pumps aboard. I have locked the watertight doors fully open and released the valves opening the sea cocks on the tank top throughout the ship. Without the ability to close watertight compartments and counter flood, the ship will take on an increasing list and founder within one hour and forty minutes at most."