20:50 PM
“It’s worse than we thought,” said Quinn Martell to Vice-Admiral Reed, via his smart phone. He paced the corridor along from the Oval Office. He watched as Reed’s face crumpled. “He’s dismissed the Speaker of the House and has surrounded himself with his college buddies and they’re fooling around as if they were holding a frat party, they’re not taking this seriously. Because it’s never happened before, they can’t grasp the fact that we are facing a Doomsday scenario — an extinction level event.
Vice-Admiral Reed sucked on his teeth. “We’ve got to act fast. You’re on the inside which is good, but you will need back up. If he got the slightest inkling of what we have in mind, well, he’s surrounded by guards sworn to give their lives for the President, they’re utterly devoted to him and would follow his orders to the letter.”
“Even Hamilton’s?” said Quinn.
“Most would respect the position of President, if not the man. Who has the military presence to sway the guards?”
“You, but you’re needed where you are, trying to keep the warmongers under control. There are too many willing to shoot first and ask questions later.”
“Agreed, but at the end of the day, it’s the Chief Executive that’ll give the order.” He sucked on his teeth again. “There’s only one thing for it. I’ll come join you, before it’s too late.”
“Thank you, Vice-Admiral. I think this will need someone of your caliber to pull this off.”
“We must play this carefully, the timing is crucial. Tell no one, we have to act stealthily for this to work. You know, if he gets wind of this what’ll happen?”
“I’ve thought of nothing else,” Quinn Martell thinned his lips and stiffened his resolve. “I’m prepared to do what is right, no matter what the consequences to myself.”
“The way he’s behaving at the moment, Hamilton will perceive our actions as traitorous and will put us on trial for treason, can you accept the fact you could go down in history as a traitor?”
“I’m prepared for that, let’s pray he doesn’t get wind of our intentions.”
Along the corridor, sat at his desk in the Oval Office President Hamilton had heard every word, watching on a CCTV camera, he grinned to himself and rubbed his hands together in delight.
21:00 PM
As the sun dropped below the horizon, the fantail succumbed to the waves as the bottom heavy aircraft carrier sank. The conning tower the only part of the vessel still visible, as huge bursts of bubbling water frothed and foamed all around as the behemoth sank into the murky depths.
Up at the top of the conning tower, outside the bridge, the commander and three other men, had their helmets stripped from them and were swiftly replaced with a hangman’s noose.
Lebec was doing his best to play a mess-deck lawyer as they held a kangaroo court. “…And are guilty of mass murder, namely the force-feeding of lethal drugs, the killing of your own men, and ordering the locking of doors, trapping the men below decks leaving them to drown and… loads of other horrible shit. How do you plead?”
“I will not dignify that with an answer,” the commander said stiffly.
“Good, because you’re as guilty as fuck.”
The ‘court’ cheered their approval and a chant rang up; “Hang the bastard! Hang the bastard! Hang the bastard!”
“Make him walk the plank, ah har!” suggesting one of the men in his best pirate voice.
“Keel-haul him!” shouted an ensign.
“I did it for the good of the ship, for the benefit of—” started the Commander.
“Hang him from the yard-arm!” yelled a swabbie from the back.
“What’s a yard-arm?” asked Lebec seriously.
“What I did,” said the commander. “Has been for the reputation of the navy and the safety of the United States of Ameri—”
“Aw, shut your yap,” Lebec said in a bored tone, and shoved the commander in the back, sending him to meet his maker.
“Argh!” screamed the commander as he plummeted over the railing, until the hemp rope snapped tight, but unfortunately did not break his neck, and he dangled from the rope, his legs kicked and twitched and his body spun one way then the next.
Lebec approached the next condemned man. “How do you plead?”
“Not guilty.”
“Wrong answer.” He pushed him from the platform.
“How do you plead?” he asked the penultimate person.
“Not… not guilty, I only followed orders.”
“OK, you’re free to go.”
“Really?” the lieutenant asked in disbelief, as relief surged through him.
“No, not really.” He sniggered and pushed the lieutenant from the platform.
“Argh!” he yelled until his rope snapped tight, but the ‘drop’ was too long and the jerk ripped the young lieutenant’s head clean off, his body fell into the ocean, followed by the decapitated head.
The conspirators’ whooped with joy at the grisly sight.
“Whoa!” cheered Lebec. “Did you see that? It ripped the sucker’s head clean off his shoulders.”
One of his comrades fainted and fell off the platform causing another roar of laughter.
Lebec pushed the last prisoner off without any preamble as the ocean grabbed the colossal ‘unsinkable’ aircraft carrier in its clutches and dragged it down into the murky depths amidst a sea of bubbling froth.
CHAPTER 43
22.00 PM
In the tiny bedroom of the barge, Sophie snuggled against Luke’s chest, she sighed and stretched, when she heard a thump from above that almost stopped her heart. She lay frozen, trying to think if they had left any clues around to suggest that anyone lived on the barge. She leaned over and extinguished the flame of a small candle, plunging the cabin into darkness, and held her breath when she heard the footsteps on the deck above her.
She shook Luke roughly. “Wake up,” she hissed. “There’s someone on board.”
Luke came around slowly, feeling groggy. He shook his head trying to clear his thoughts. “Say that again?”
“Shush,” she whispered, “Listen? Someone is up on deck.”
Luke galvanized himself into action, slid out from the comfort of the bed, slipped on his jeans, and placed the pistol down the rear of his pants.
“Be careful,” she urged as he sneaked up to the door. Luke entered the den and paused by the ladder up to the deck, listening at the hatch. He crept up the wide wooden ladder and peaked out from top.
The national guardsmen jumped back onto the embankment to join his companion. “Nope, nothing over there apart from a couple of old, stinking hippies.”
“Yeah, I hate hippies too, stinky soap-dodgers.”
“Naw, I meant they are real hippies and they’re real dead and stinking. You know, rotting corpses.”
“Well, something warm-blooded showed up on the drone’s scanner, what led us here.”
“Sure there is. That.” He nodded at the horse.
Sophie crept up behind Luke on the ladder and they sneaked out onto the deck where they could see and hear the two young national guardsmen.
“Well, now,” said the tall, skinny soldier, tickling the horse’s ear and talking to the horse in a warm soothing voice. “We can’t have him keep popping up on the scanner can we now…” Quick as a flash he put his pistol to the horse’s eye and fired.
The gunshot echoed around the canal, sending a few startled birds skyward.
“Nooo!” shouted Sophie putting her hands to her mouth, utterly unable to believe her eyes, as the horse for a moment appeared uninjured, then with an agonizing high-pitched shriek toppled over.
The tall national guardsmen turned to Sophie and leered. “Well now, looky here, this could be interesting.”