He’d stood at the gate, watching the others being shoved and cursed past to another part of the camp. He didn’t know why, but something irrevocable would happen to them there. And for some reason, though he too was a captive, he felt intensely guilty. He’d reached out to one woman. “I’m sorry,” he told her. Raised his arms, as if to bless them, and called, “And may God keep you all.” Dark eyes rose, but no one spoke. The guard growled some harsh phrase he did not understand, and someone’s hand gripped his arm—
“Who’s that?” he muttered, trying to retrieve who and where he really was.
“Chief Grissett, sir. This a bad time?”
“I don’t know. What time is it?”
“Local 2310, sir.”
He cleared his throat. He was on the the bridge. USS Savo Island. Still dark. Still snowing. And in fifty minutes, he’d have to relieve Cheryl Staurulakis in CIC. “What’ve you got, Doc?”
“Sir, if you’re trying to sleep—”
He snapped, “You woke me up. Now what the fuck d’you want?” Then winced. “Sorry. Didn’t mean that. Just tell me it’s not another death at least.”
“That’s all right, sir. No, not another. I’ll come back—”
“What is it?” he said, trying not to put I am being so immensely patient into his tone.
“Sir, it’s the XO.”
He hitched upright. “The exec? What about him?”
“I looked in on him. In his stateroom.”
“You … why?”
“Well, that’s sort of my job, sir.”
“And?”
“Well, he seems depressed.”
The ship leaned. Something rattled and clattered on the darkened bridge. He wanted to say, “And this is my problem because…?” But didn’t. “He’s in his stateroom because I put him there. Occasionally, Chief, we still have to discipline people in this organization. That goes for O-5s, too. Not just E-2s.”
“Yessir. I grok that. But he’s not responding to conversation.”
Dan frowned. “What d’you mean?”
“Monosyllabic replies. Not making eye contact.”
Dan remembered the wet uniform. Almarshadi’s repeated statement he’d been in the breaker. Of course, the guy usually didn’t meet your eye. That was normal — for him. But what had he been doing in the breaker? Just smoking and looking idly down into the passing sea?
Or wondering if he should sling a leg over the lifeline, and let it all go?
“Okay, Chief. Thanks for bringing me this. You think he could be suicidal?”
“Not crossing that off the list, sir.”
Dan hitched himself erect again. “Is he alone down there?”
“I have the duty corpsman posted in the passageway outside his room.”
“Think it’s that serious?”
“I don’t know, sir.”
“Right. Well, do you think he should be medicated?”
Grissett cleared his throat. “Well, sir, I’m not qualified to dispense psychoactive medication. I’ve got it, but there are a couple of complications. Sometimes it actually makes people more prone to … offing themselves. According to the literature. And another thing. If I dispense, I have to certify the member as unfit for duty. It’s a disqualifying condition. That should be certified by a qualified medical representative. If there isn’t an MD around to do that, in an emergency, I can dispense it. But I have to report it to the CO. And put it in the member’s record. There’s a waiver process, but … it’s complicated.”
“I’ll bet. You’re saying, if he goes on these meds, he’s unfit for duty?”
“Yessir.”
“And that’s it for his career.”
“That toy’s out of my playpen, sir.”
“Uh-huh. Do you think he needs it? Medication, I mean?”
“Right now, it’d be even money, in my humble opinion.”
Dan kicked back in the chair again. “Unfortunately, we just rebuggered the watch bill … put Chief Van Gogh on as OOD.… Okay, you brought me the issue, now give me a recommendation.”
“I’d say put him back on duty. Unless you’re absolutely convinced he’s, I don’t know, totally incompetent,” Grissett said. “But is that the case, sir? I see a lot of him for medical stuff and XO’s masts and so on. I guess what I’m asking, is he really that bad? If he isn’t, lighten his load. Don’t wall him up. Maybe I didn’t get the whole story, but the word going around is, he took a smoke break, and now he’s being hammered for it.”
Dan frowned. “Is that really what’s going around?”
“It’s the scuttlebutt. But like I say, you’re the CO.”
“Thanks for the reminder.” He sighed and dug at his eyes again. “Bo’s’un? Any hot coffee in the neighborhood?”
“Just came up, sir. Stand by one.”
“You say he’s awake now?”
Grissett said he believed so. Dan sighed again and selected the CO/XO channel on the Hydra. “XO, CO here.… Fahad?… — No answer.”
“Want me to go down, sir? Knock on the door, tell him you want him?”
Dan kneaded his forehead. He’d already given the guy a second chance. But if the chief corpsman was right … Almarshadi was emotionally labile, that much was true. But maybe this wasn’t the best time to take him out of the loop.
The Hydra beeped and he rapped out, “Skipper.”
“Wanted me, sir?”
It was him. Dan leaned over to check the radar repeater. Aside from Lahav, screwed into position like a rusted-in bolt, it was empty of surface contacts. “Yeah. Look, I need some relief up here. I’m gonna try Cher and me on and off in CIC. I need you to take over on the bridge. Pretty much full-time, I’m afraid, until we get out of Condition Three. Could you handle that for me?”
A short hesitation. Then “I can do that, sir.” But the voice was flat; Dan couldn’t read any emotion at all into it, either resentment or pleasure.
“Can you get up here like at midnight?”
“I’ll shower and be right up.”
“CO out.” He made sure it was off and muttered, “Okay, he’s gonna come, but he doesn’t sound happy about it.”
“I think that’s the right decision, though, sir.”
“How’s everything else going? How about that guy with the cough?”
“He’s doing okay, sir. Temp’s up slightly, but he’s resting. The question is, how are you doing?”
“Me?”
“Yessir, you. You’re not getting much sleep. Napping in a bridge chair—”
“Don’t worry about me.” Dan scowled. “I’m all right.”
“You need sleep, sir. Or a go-pill. Whenever you think you need one—”
“I don’t need a go-pill,” he gritted out. “Just don’t wake me up again to tell me I need sleep! All right?” He put his head back again and closed his eyes.
The boatswain brought the coffee over and stood for a moment, listening to his captain snore. Then, balancing the mug against a heavy roll, he felt his way across the bridge and poured it back into the carafe.
Midnight on the Sea of Good and Evil. Combat was icy cold. Nothing wrong with the AC anyway. Dan swirled another cup of joe. It tasted horrible, but that wasn’t the brew’s fault. He was just drinking too much, past the point where it seemed to have any effect. Grissett wanted him to think about a stimulant. Later, maybe — he wasn’t totally ruling it out — but not just yet.
He scrubbed his face with his palms, dug grit out of his eyes, tried to refocus. Savo and Lahav floated in an existential void. Far to the south, the GCCS showed the three pips of the Alborz group — the Iranian surface force — creeping northward. He should get Pittsburgh down there, to pick up trail and surveillance.