When Obsession Takes Over
By JSRobertson
Diana Parker was a receptionist at the Office of Naval Intelligence in Washington DC. She would greet visitors and answer the phones directing calls to the secretaries of the admirals in charge of intelligence division. It was late morning on Thursday when she was called into Admiral Gerald Johnson's office. His secretary, Sandy, had an emergency at home and had to leave. No one else was available to fill in while Sandy was gone so Admiral Johnson asked her to step in.
I'm good enough to fill in but not good enough to be a secretary, Diana thought as she was once again passed over for a promotion of secretary; this time it was for Admiral Kingston.
Sandy quickly explained Admiral Johnson's appointments for the afternoon, took the files folders on her desk and put them in her drawer. "Don't worry about anything but answering the phones and telling the admiral his appointments here," Sandy told her quickly as she grabbed her purse and left. Diana showed the admiral's first appointment into his office after letting him know he had arrived. She was looking for a pen and saw the files Sandy had put in the drawer. She took them out and looked them over. She knew she shouldn't be reading the files as she didn't have the proper clearance. She didn't care as today was her last day working for ONI.
The admiral had quite a few appointments scheduled that afternoon so she couldn't leave before 4:00. When the admiral's last appointment left, Diana took her ID tag off, left it on her desk in the reception area and gathered the few personal items she had along with one of the files from Sandy's drawer. She walked out the front door of the ONI building and never looked back. She and Sandy were friends and she knew Sandy would be mad at her because she didn't tell her she was leaving. She was going back to California to help her brother with his catering business but would stop in Las Vegas first for the weekend. Before leaving for Las Vegas she had an appointment at the hair salon to get a hair cut. She wanted a whole new look so she was cutting her long brown hair very short.
((()))
Before Diana boarded her flight, she called her brother. "Terry, someone may call looking for me. Please tell them you haven't talked to me," she begged. "I have something that could make us very rich."
"Diana, what's going on...where are you...what about your job?" Terry asked confused.
"I'll explain when I get out there. I'm stopping in Vegas for a few days before coming to California. Please just do it," she begged. "Here's my new number. Don't call it unless you have too."
"Okay," he replied jotting down the number. Oh, Diana, what have you done now? Her brother thought as he hung up the phone.
Walking past a trash can, Diana threw her phone in it.
((()))
Seaview had been in port for two weeks. She would be in port another two weeks before heading out on quite a few missions with only enough time in between to restock the boat. The admiral had decided along with Dr. Jamieson that all the executive officers would take a vacation. Lee and Janet Crane had just returned from a stay at a bed and breakfast in Santa Cruz. Now it was Chip Morton's turn to take a week off. He was leaving for a family reunion in Las Vegas on Thursday and would return on Monday night. When he came back from Vegas, he didn't have any specific plans but maybe take his boat out for a trip to the Channel Islands if the weather permitted. Lee would be the only executive officer at NIMR for a few days as the admiral was in Boston visiting his sister and wouldn't be back until Tuesday.
Lee sat on the corner of Chip's desk as Chip told him what needed to be done. Chip was in charge of procuring all the supplies and items needed for Seaview. "Here are the inventory sheets and I've check everything over. You just need to order a few items for the next cruise. If you have any questions, just ask Janet. She knows as much about the inventory as I do." He also handed him a few reports that needed to be completed but Lee was still looking at the inventory.
"Chip, are you sure the quantity on these valves is correct?" Lee questioned and handed the sheet back pointing to the item he was talking about.
Chip looked at the item and frowned. He picked up the phone and dialed Janet's extension, "Janet, can you come here please?"
"Yes sir," she replied promptly. "Is there something wrong?" she asked when she got to his office door. She didn't know Lee was there with Chip.
"Hi honey," she said happily to Lee and went to the other side of Chip's desk.
"Is this figure correct?" Chip asked showing her the inventory figure on the valve. "That quantity seems too low. We're always replacing those valves for some reason so we should have more in stock."
"Yes, I thought it was wrong too and that maybe they wrote down the wrong part number but I went down to the boat and checked it myself. We only have two of those so I put in a requisition. I knew you were leaving so I put it the folder for Lee to order and sign. I hope that was okay? Since we need these items right away, I would order them but the manufacturer will give you or Lee a better shipping date than he would give me. I think your titles frighten them," she laughed.
Lee smiled at her, "No problem, I'll take care of it when I get back to my office." Janet left Chip's office with the letters she had put on Chip's desk earlier to sign. "I guess putting her in charge of inventory was a good idea on your part."
"Yes, she has learned a lot about the parts we use on Seaview, almost as good me," Chip replied with a grin as he went back to explaining the rest of the work to Lee. "Are we still on for dinner and you driving me to the airport?"
"Whenever you're ready to have dinner is fine with me."
Looking at his watch, Chip replied, "How about in an hour. I should have everything done by then and it will still leave us plenty of time for dinner and to get to the airport. I've got the last flight out of LAX for Vegas."
Lee left Chip's office so he could finish up what he needed to do. Lee found the folder with the requisitions and noticed there were quite a few of them so he would be busy for the next few days. He also had a lot of reports of his own to finish and now a few from Chip plus there were a lot of new proposals for him to check over.
((()))
Before leaving, Chip changed into a pair of jeans and collared shirt. Chip, Lee and Janet were ready to leave for dinner by 1700 hours. Chip packed his suitcase the night before and put it in Lee's car that morning so they wouldn't need to return to his house to pick it up. They were going to the diner for a quick meal before leaving for the airport. It would take them quite awhile to get there especially on a Thursday evening but the roads to LAX weren't too congested and they made it in plenty of time for Chip to make his flight. He gave Janet a quick kiss as she moved to the front seat while Lee took his suitcase out of the back.
"Please be careful and have a good time," Janet told him. "Hopefully you'll get lucky and win some money. Please give our love to your mom and dad and say hi to the rest of your family from us."
"Don't worry, I'm not a trouble magnet like some people," he quipped. "And yes I will make sure to give them a kiss from you." Chip's mother and father had become surrogate parents to both Janet and Lee since they didn't get to see or talk to Lee's mother too often. Chip's family was always calling him to check up on the three of them.
"Just don't find a girl and get married at 'A Little White Wedding Chapel'," Lee teased.
"Please, be serious," Chip laughed as he took his suitcase from Lee, gave it to the sky cap and headed into the terminal.
Lee quickly got back in the car before the police came and gave him a ticket for being there too long. The ride home took longer than the ride to the airport as there was a lot of traffic leaving town. Lee and Janet arrived home, looked at the mail and headed upstairs for bed. It had been a long day and they were tired.
((()))
Chip boarded his flight for Las Vegas and settled in for the hour flight. The flight landed on time and he rode the tram to the terminal where he would pick up his luggage. He took his suitcase off the carousel and was walking through the terminal to hail a taxi when a dark haired woman ran right into him as she talked on her phone. He grabbed her arm so she wouldn't fall.
"Thank you. I'm sorry I wasn't looking where I was going," she apologized as she stared into Chip's blue eyes.
He let go of her arm. "Are you alright?" Chip asked, "I didn't see you." He stared back at her looking her over before helping her pick up her purse and suitcase.
"I'm fine," she replied taking the items from him and walked outside the terminal and hailed a taxi. As she got into the taxi, she looked back at Chip and thought, He's one good looking man. Maybe I'll run into him again.
Chip stood there watching her walk away. Man, she's one good looking woman, he thought as he walked out the door and got a cab too.
((()))
"Where to?" the cab driver asked as he put Chip's suitcase in the trunk.
"Mandalay Bay, please," Chip told the driver getting into the back seat. His family was already at the resort as they had arrived earlier in the day. They would meet tomorrow morning at 8:00 for breakfast at the Bayside Buffet and decide what they were going to do for the day. He arrived at the resort, paid the driver and went to the registration desk.
"I have a reservation under Chip Morton."
"Yes, sir," the clerk told him. "You're right down the hall from the rest of your family. Enjoy your stay."
"Thank you," Chip responded as he took his suitcase and headed for the elevator. It was already 2400 hours and he was very tired as it had been a long day. He went into the room, put his suitcase in the dressing area and got ready for bed. He pulled back the covers on the bed and climbed in where he fell asleep right away.
((()))
When Sandy reported for work on Friday she looked for Diana to thank her for helping her out but didn't see her at her desk when she came in. "Ellen, where's Diana?" Sandy asked the other receptionist who was trying to juggle the ringing phones.
"I don't know," Ellen answered tersely. "She didn't show up and there's no one but me to answer the calls until they can get a replacement. It looks like she left. There's nothing in or on her desk and her ID tag is here."
"She didn't say she was leaving," Sandy said surprised, "I'll try her cell phone." She dialed Diana's number but all she got was a recording telling her to leave a voice mail message. She told Ellen that Diana didn't answer her phone just as the replacement got off the elevator.
Puzzled she went into her office, put her coat and purse away and took the files out of her desk drawer. She noticed one of them was missing. The missing file had the names of all the operatives in the field and where they were located. Admiral Johnson had given it to her to update the current status of the operatives. Normally he would do it but because of all the meeting he had scheduled he gave it to her for updating. She hunted around her desk, the admiral's desk and the locked drawer where they kept it and it wasn't there. She hoped maybe the admiral had taken it to a meeting. When he walked in with his coat on and cover in his hand she knew he wasn't at a meeting.
Shit, she mumbled loud enough that Admiral Johnson heard.
"Did you say something Sandy?" Johnson asked. Sandy had been his secretary for ten years and he had never heard her swear before.
"Sorry sir but the 'Location' file is not in my desk where I left it yesterday. Did you put it away?" she asked praying he had taken it.
"No, I didn't take it," he replied nervously as he too helped her look around the office. "Where did you put it?"
Near tears, "I put it in my desk before I left yesterday. It was with the rest of these files," she replied showing him the files. He too went through each of them looking for the 'Location' file.
"Where's Diana? She was the only one in this office yesterday."
"It looks like she left," Sandy answered, "her things are gone and her ID tag is on her desk. I tried calling her phone but it says to leave a message."
"Damn," Johnson swore. "We have to find that file or every operative on a mission will be compromised if it gets into the wrong hands." They kept the information in a file instead of on the computer afraid the computer would get hacked and the hackers would then have the information.
"I'm so sorry, sir," Sandy replied softly, "I'll get a replacement secretary and pack my things."
Patting her on the shoulder he told her, "I'm not going to ask you to leave. We'll just have to find that file. Does Diana have any relatives we can contact?"
"She has a brother in California but I know she hasn't had contact with him for awhile. I'll look up his number and call him," Sandy replied booting up her computer so she could look up Diana's personnel file. It was 5:00 in the morning there so she would have to wait to call him. Sandy continued to look around the office for the file but to no avail. She was pissed at herself for not putting the file away and that Diana had betrayed her by taking it. When Sandy did get in touch with Diana's brother, Terry, he told her he hadn't heard from her and hung up.
Sandy knocked on the admiral's door and went in. "I check with Diana's brother and he hasn't heard from her," Sandy sighed. "What else can I do?" she asked desperately.
"I'll take over from here," Johnson told her. "We'll get it back," he reassured her.
"Yes sir," she replied and left his office shutting the door with tears in her eyes.
Admiral Gerald Johnson sat down at his desk and ran his hand through his hair. He would have to get in touch, if possible, with all the operatives he could. He realized some of them were unreachable. He remembered that some of the current missions were nearing completion so they might be safe. He knew that they were going to have to find another way of keeping track of the operatives. He was going to need help in finding Diana Parker so he picked up the phone and dialed Lee Crane's number. He needed his help and hoped that Dr. Jamieson would release him to return to duty.
((()))
Chip woke up the next morning to knocking on his door. He quickly pulled on a pair of sweatpants, looked out the peep hole to find his mother and father standing at the door. He opened the door after running his hand through his hair.
"Good morning Chip." his mother said cheerfully giving him a hug and kiss. His father gave him a hug when his mother was finished.
"Good morning, Mom, Dad," he replied hugging his dad back and giving his mom a kiss on the check. Checking his watch he noticed it was only 7:00. "Up early as usual I see," he laughed.
"Sorry, we forgot you got in late last night. But your mother was anxious to check on you," Chip's father said looking affectionately at his mom.
Smiling at Chip's dad she replied, "Yes, that's right. He wanted to call you last night to make sure you got here okay."
Chip gave his mother another kiss and hugged both of them again. "That's from Lee and Janet," he told them grinning. His mother grinned back. "Thanks for that. I miss them. It's too bad they couldn't come too. You all work to hard."
"Don't worry about them. They just got back from a vacation so they are fine," Chip said smiling. "Why don't you let me get ready and I'll meet you at the buffet in a few minutes. We can talk before the rest of them get there."
Opening the door, Chip's dad replied, "Okay son, we'll see you in a few minutes." He held the door so his mom could walk out.
Chip took out a pair of jeans and shirt and took a leisurely shower before heading down to the buffet. He found his parents and saw they had a pot of coffee on the table. He poured himself a cup just as his sister and her husband along with his brother and his wife walked in the restaurant. They went over to Chip and give him hugs, kisses and a couple of slaps on the back. It has been quite a while since he had visited Chicago and many years since they all had gone on vacation. They all got their breakfast, sat down and all started to talk and ask questions at once. Chip's dad put his hand up. "Slow down. I can't figure out who's saying what so one at a time."
They all stopped talking and started to laugh. It was just like when Chip would come home from the Naval Academy. They all wanted to ask him questions. After talking for awhile, they all got some more food. They were teasing Chip at how much food he put on his plate again.
"I'm a growing boy," he laughed as he took a bite of the French toast.
Pouring more coffee in her cup Chip's sister asked, "What are we going to do today? We would like to see the Shark Reef." The rest of them nodded their heads in agreement; everyone but Chip.
"I know you would like to see it but that reminds me of work. How about I meet you for a late lunch? Say around 2:00 at the front desk."
"We'll let you pass on this excursion," Chip's brother said, "but it's the only one. The rest of the weekend you have to do what we want," he teased.
"Agreed," Chip said. "I'll meet you in the lobby for lunch."
Chip's dad picked up the tab for breakfast and they all left the restaurant. Chip headed back to his room and change into his swim trunks. It was warmer than normal so he knew the pool would be open and made his way down there. There weren't many people in the water but quite a few were enjoying the sun. He found a lounger and sat down. He laid there closed his eyes and soaked up the sun. If nothing else he could get a tan. He had been laying there for awhile when all of there was a shadow in front of him. He opened his eyes and saw someone was standing at the bottom of his lounger blocking out the sunlight. He raised his sunglasses and saw the woman from the airport standing there in a bikini that left nothing to the imagination.
"Well we meet again," she said as she looked over Chip.
Sitting up, Chip removed his sunglasses and replied, "At least this time I'm not knocking you down." He stood up and extended his hand. "Chip Morton."
"Diana," she said not wanting to give him her last name shook his hand back.
"Hi Diana. Care to join me?" Chip asked as he pulled over another lounger.
She sat down next to Chip. "Would you like a drink?" Chip asked as he signaled the waitress.
"Yes, a mimosa please" she told the waitress.
"I'll have the same," Chip said as they both sat down.
Diana spoke up, "What are you doing in Vegas?"
"A family reunion...how about you?" Chip asked as the waitress came over with their drinks and signed the slip charging it to his room.
"Meeting a few friends for the weekend," she replied taking a sip of her drink. "What kind of work do you do?"
"I work for the Nelson Institute of Marine Research out of Santa Barbara," Chip told her. "What do you do?"
"I'm sorry I never heard of it," she lied. She heard of NIMR because she knew Lee Crane, an occasional and very good looking ONI operative, worked there as she heard him tell Sandy. "I just left New York to move out west to work with my brother," she told Chip.
They continued talking for the next couple of hours before Chip looked at his watch and noticed he had about thirty minutes to get ready for lunch.
"I'm sorry but I have to leave. I'm meeting my family for lunch and probably dinner. Can I meet you later tonight at the Ri Ra Pub?"
Smiling, she replied, "That sounds great around 10:00? Peters."
"It's a date," Chip replied. "Peters?" he asked as he got up.
"My last name just in case you need to call me," she said as she gave him her phone number.
Chip gave her one of his famous smiles and walked back to his room. Diana sat a little longer at the pool before returning to her room. She took out her cell phone and type in 'Nelson Institute of Marine Research'. She found their webpage and saw Chip's picture along with Admiral Nelson's and Commander Crane's. She was surprised to learn that Chip was the Lt. Commander on a submarine named Seaview. She finished reading the information on the website and returned to her room. Once in her room, she changed, and left the hotel to check out the Las Vegas strip and do a little gambling.
((()))
Lee and Janet Crane had just arrived at work and were getting a cup of coffee when Lee's cell phone rang. He quickly picked it up recognizing the admiral's number. He went to his office to take the call while Janet went to her office. She booted up her computer and took out the reports Chip had completed so she could finish processing them. The phone rang indicating there was a call for Lee. She answered the phone not sure who was calling as no number showed on the phone.
"Commander Crane's office, Janet Crane speaking. How may I help you?"
"Good morning, Mrs. Crane," Admiral Johnson said. "Is Lee available?"
"No sir, he's on the phone with Admiral Nelson right now. Can I take message?"
"Please have him call me as soon as he can," Johnson asked politely. "I need his help."
"I'll have him call you as soon as he's available," she replied softly. Lee hadn't been cleared by Jamie to return to ONI so why was Johnson calling, she thought.
"Thank you," he answered, "Is there anyway you can transfer me to Dr. Jamieson?"
"Yes sir, hold on please. I'll try his phone but I don't know if he has come in yet."
"I'll leave a message if I have to."
Janet dialed Jamie's extension and he answered the phone, "Dr. Jamieson."
"Hi Jamie," Janet said, "I have Admiral Johnson on the phone for you. I don't know what he wants but can only assume he needs Lee."
Hesitating for a moment, Jamie replied, "I knew he would be calling soon. Janet, there is no reason he can't return to ONI. It's been four months and he is fully healed."
"I know Jamie," Janet said discouragingly. "Now if we could only convince him to quit."
"Sorry, I've tried to make him quit so you're going to have to persuade him. Put Johnson through."
"Yes sir," Janet said as she hung up the phone. "Damn."
Lee walked in her office and heard her. Smiling, "Problems already?"
"Sorry honey. No not really but Admiral Johnson called and would like you to call him."
He could see she was upset at his call. "Sweetie, I know we talked about this. I am going to try and cut down on the missions I take but I still need…" Janet stopped him before he could continue, "I know, I know." He went behind her desk, put his hands on her shoulders squeezing them gently and gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head. The phone rang as he finished kissing her. "Janet Crane," she answered.
"Janet, is Lee there? I need to talk to him before he calls Admiral Johnson," Jamie asked. Whispering to him it was Jamie, Janet handed the phone to Lee.
"Yes Jamie," Lee said. "I assume Johnson wanted to know if I was cleared to return to duty."
"That's correct. I told him there was no reason why you couldn't return. I'm sending him the return to duty form now."
"Thanks Jamie." Lee hung up the phone and called Admiral Johnson from Janet's office. If he needed to go on a mission, she would find out about it anyway so she might as well know what it is right away.
Admiral Johnson answered Lee's call and explained to him what had transpired. He needed him to come to Washington DC and check out Diana's whereabouts and see if he could get a lead on where she went. He was one of the few agents available to help him out.
"I'll be there later today," Lee told Johnson. "Damn."
Cautiously Janet asked, "That bad?" Lee explained to her why Johnson needed him. "Well, I guess it could be worse," she said thankfully, "you could be on a mission and have your identity compromised."
Giving her a wry grin, "I need to call the admiral and let him know what's taking place. Do you know who's on Seaview right now?"
Taking the schedule out of the file on her desk, Janet responded, "Kowalski and Chief Sharkey."
Lee radioed down to Seaview and Chief Sharkey answered, "Chief, I need you and Kowalski to prepare FS-1 for immediate launch."
"Yes sir," Sharkey answered. "We'll have her ready in fifteen minutes."
"Thanks, Chief." When he was finished with that call he called the admiral and explained to him that he needed to go to Washington. Lee left Janet and went home to pack a few things. While he was gone, Janet packed his briefcase with the requisitions that needed to be done along with the proposals that needed to be looked over. Janet quickly wrote a note and put it in the briefcase. Lee stopped back at the office and picked her up so they could walk down to the sub pen together. She grabbed the briefcase as they left the office.
"If Chip calls, tell him what's going on," Lee said. "But tell him no need to rush back. I'm sure that you, Angie and Wanda can run the institute while we're gone. If you run into a problem, just call the admiral."
"Yes Lee." Reaching the sub pen, they went down the gangway to the sail hatch and down the ladder to the control room where Kowalski and Chief Sharkey were waiting for Lee. They took the briefcase from Janet and Lee's bag from him and Kowalski put them in FS-1.
"All checked out and ready to go, Skipper," Chief reported. "Would you like one of us to accompany you?"
"No thanks," Lee replied. "I'm meeting with Admiral Johnson."
Both Sharkey and Kowalski looked at him frowning which Lee ignored. He gave Janet a kiss and hug before he went down the ladder into FS-1. "I'll be back soon," he told them. He ascended into the hatch and Kowalski secured it as Chief did the pre-flight check off. Lee noticed the briefcase on the seat next to him. He was smiling as he took off ten minutes later. Kowalski and Chief Sharkey made sure Janet got off of Seaview before returning to work. Janet walked back to the office and continued on with her work. Angie, Wanda, and Janet would go out for dinner so she wouldn't be alone for at least part of the night.
((()))
Chip met his family at the front desk. They were going to take the tram from Mandalay Bay to the Excalibur so they wouldn't have to walk all the way. They planned on stopping at the Bellagio and watch the fountain waters dance to music. They decided they would just walk around stopping in the hotels along the way to gamble a little before returning to the New York, New York hotel to ride the roller coaster that was inside the hotel before going to dinner at Gallagher's Steak House. Chip had a good time with his family but was looking forward to meeting Diana at 10:00.
As they walked back to the Excalibur to pick up the tram, Chip's dad said, "I'm bushed. I haven't walked that far in ages. I don't know about the rest of you but I'm going to bed." They all agreed with him as they waited from the tram to arrive.
"What's on the agenda for tomorrow after our golf game?" Chip's brother asked.
"I would like to go on the rides at the Stratosphere hotel. They are supposed to be the world's tallest rides," Chip replied as the boarded the tram.
"Not for us," his mother answered, "but all of you go and have a good time. Your father and I will find something to do. But I would like to go to Fremont St. tomorrow night and see the light show they have and gamble at the Golden Nugget."
"Okay mom," Chip answered, "we'll do that tomorrow night."
They departed the tram and walked down the stairs to the hotel where they returned to their rooms. Chip changed his clothes putting on a pair of jeans and a white shirt rolling up the sleeves. He left his room at 9:45 and walked down to the Ri Ra bar at Mandalay Place.