When he came aboard this luxury cruise ship, Leonard Snart expected the gaming tables to be the main attraction. He certainly didn't expect the …enticement…currently seated beside him. Sleek, midnight blue satin gown, artfully sculpted blonde curls, and the most amazing smile. That smile was mostly directed to the small boy that Mick Rory was explaining the ship's engines to, with remarkable patience.
"He's a great kid," Len murmured casually. "Is his dad traveling with you?"
The blonde turned to him with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "He is. And his dad is home, in Star City. And since you've noticed by now that I'm not wearing a wedding band, let me just go on record and say I'm his nanny, bringing him home from school for winter break."
Leonard made a show of eyeing her up and down. "Really. And do all you Mary Poppins types wear thigh holsters? I've seen the mayor of Star City - and his family - on the news. You're the kid's bodyguard."
She raised her glass in a mocking little salute. "Sara Lance."
He mirrored the action. "Leonard Snart."
The captain appeared at their table, wearing a diffident smile. "Miss Lance, I wonder if I might borrow Master William for the countdown?"
"Can I, Sara?" the boy shouted excitedly.
"Sure. Have fun," Sara replied with an indulgent smile. She turned back to the table, feeling the weight of Leonard's gaze. "You wanna dance, Leonard?"
"You go right ahead. I'll watch," he replied.
"Suit yourself." She stood and melted into the crowd, almost immediately claimed for a dance by the executive officer.
Leonard sipped his drink meditatively. Normally, he appreciated people for their distance, but Sara Lance was pressing all of his buttons. She was gorgeous, and wickedly funny, and obviously badass, and he wanted to be the one with his arms around her, feeling how her body moved beneath that slippery satin.
Professor Martin Stein stood at the rail, gazing out over the darkened seascape. He checked his phone. Still no messages. With a heavy sigh, he pressed the first contact on the list.
"Clarissa, it's me. I do wish you'd call me, at least tonight, at midnight. I…it's not the same without you. Accepting that award didn't mean nearly as much, without you beside me. Please…I miss you…please just call me."
He sighed again as he ended the call. Briefly entertained the maudlin idea of throwing it over the side, possibly followed by himself. And then something caught his eye. Deep, black, water, piling up, exactly the way water wasn't supposed to.
Martin stuffed the phone back in his pocket and hastily scrambled back inside.
Captain Hunter and the lead singer, Gideon, stood center stage, with William between them, leading the countdown. The clock struck midnight, balloons, streamers, and confetti cascaded from overhead - and all hell broke loose. Alarms began to blare as the ship shuddered noticeably.
"All hands to stations! All hands to stations! All passengers brace for immediate heavy water!" an officer shouted over the intercom.
Sara Lance staggered to her feet, a wall of panicked people between her and her young charge. Leonard caught her arm as the floor tilted sharply beneath them. The next few moments were a horrifying welter of darkness, vertigo, screams, and shattered glass.
After what seemed an eternity, the ballroom fell eerily silent, and the emergency lights flickered, then came on dimly. Sara found herself cradled against a warm, solid chest, with a pair of strong arms wrapped around her, and a weight pressing on her back.
"Don't look," Leonard murmured in a surprisingly gentle tone.
"I'm not afraid of dead bodies," she grumbled against his shirt front.
"I don't imagine you're afraid of much," he agreed, "but she's not very pretty. At least let me get us out from under."
He managed to sit them up, and Sara couldn't repress a shudder as the dead woman's weight fell away. They got to their feet, gazing around in stunned disbelief. They were standing among the light fixtures…the ones mounted in the ceiling. Bolted down tables hung grotesquely overhead. And there were bodies. Alot of bodies.
"Mick?" Leonard called.
"William," Sara muttered, then louder, "William!"
"Sara!" a small voice called from overhead.
Sara felt her heart constrict in her chest. William was perched on the grand piano that was bolted to the floor-turned-ceiling.
"Stay still!" she shouted. "I'll be -" She glanced around, trying to figure out how to get to him. "Just don't move!"
"Drapes," Mick Rory muttered, appearing at her side, and rubbing at the back of his head.
"What?"
"The stage curtain," Leonard supplied, following Mick's reasoning. "Look, Mick is a trained firefighter. Listen to him. He'll get the kid down in one piece."
"All right," Sara agreed dubiously, her eyes never leaving the small boy.
"Anyone who can stand, come and help with this!" Mick bellowed, hauling at the end of the heavy curtain.
The three of them began to position the curtain beneath William, and eventually enough of the shell-shocked bystanders caught on to what they were doing to help.
"OK, kid. Jump!" Mick ordered.
William shook his head in panic.
"William, it's fine," Sara coaxed. "We'll catch you."
"Come on, kid," Leonard added, and for whatever reason, that did the trick.
William jumped into the stretched out curtain, momentum sending him skidding into Leonard. The tall man caught him easily.
"See, kid? Nothing to it."
William was crying hysterically, both arms wrapped around Leonard's neck in a death grip. And then Sara was there.
"William? See, you're fine. I told you we'd catch you."
The little boy freed one arm just enough to wrap around Sara's neck, pulling both adults close together. It should have been awkward. It should have been uncomfortable. It was…well, not pleasant, considering the circumstances, but oddly enough, it was something Leonard might like to pursue…in a safe place that wasn't full of dead bodies.
Or irritatingly chipper British sea captains. Leonard gently shifted William into Sara's arms and stepped back.
"Ladies and gentlemen! If I might have your attention, please. I realize this has all been quite upsetting -"
"Ya think?" Mick muttered.
"I believe that we have been struck by a rogue wave. They are nearly impossible to predict or prepare for, and sadly, quite lethal. But now, the good news! The Waverider is a fully state of the art ship, equipped with all the latest safety technology. The moment that we were struck, a multitude of GPS beacons were launched. Our position is now lit up on every satellite monitoring the Atlantic. Help is on the way. And all we need do…"
Leonard wandered over to a staircase, trying to figure out where it led. He paused at the sight of a couple of bodies, men he'd fleeced at the gaming tables. Old instincts surfaced, and he thought about rifling their pockets. Who knew what sort of ship might find them first? Pirates were not unheard of, even in the 21st century. They might need bribes -
"What're you doing?" a small voice asked.
Leonard channeled his forward momentum into grabbing a tablecloth to toss over the dead men. He straightened and turned to face William.
"I'm trying to figure out the best way to climb up out of here."
The boy's face furrowed in thought. "But…we're upside down."
"That's right."
"But Mister Rory said that the bottom of the ship is solid steel."
"Except for the propeller shafts."
"William!" Sara called, stress making her voice sharper than usual, "Do not wander off! I need you where I can see you."
"But Sara!"
Mick wandered up. "You think we can make it?" he muttered.
"I sure as hell ain't sticking around here."
And then Sara Lance stepped up right in Leonard's face and grabbed his lapel. She was blazing with fury, and damn if she wasn't the most gorgeous thing he'd ever laid eyes on, and he couldn't restrain the hint of a smirk that curled his lips.
"What did you tell him?" she hissed.
"He said he's gonna climb up!" William piped.
Sara made a noticeable effort to school her features before turning to the child. "William, the captain says the best plan is to wait quietly here, so that's what we're going to do. Isn't that right, Mister Snart?"
Leonard leaned in and pitched his voice too low for the boy to hear. "The surface of the water is up there. The air is up there. And any rescue is going to come from up there. So that's where I'm going."
"We need to move, before the captain closes the bulkheads," Mick interjected.
"Where are we going, exactly?" Martin Stein inquired.
Mick and Leonard exchanged looks. Mick could clearly see the wheels turning in Snart's head, weighing all the odds and angles. The two of them stood a decent chance. Sara was tough, and her size might actually be an asset. But a kid and an old man…
"Sure you don't want to wait here, like the captain says?" Leonard replied smoothly.
"No, I don't. Look, gentlemen, I'm a physicist. Quite a good one, as it happens."
"So?" Mick grunted, still eyeing the stairs.
"So, I understand how forces interact with other forces. This part of the ship is meant to be above water, not under it. It's not designed to bear the weight of the entire ship, and it's certainly not designed to withstand all this water pressure. Now, as I see it, the way out is up there, somewhere, so that's where I'm going."
Sara eyed the three of them. "Do any of you actually know where this leads?"
"We'll figure it out," Leonard drawled.
Sara huffed impatiently and snagged the arm of a passing steward. "Do you know where these stairs lead?"
"Catering services for the ballroom and casino, ma'am," he replied.
"And beyond that?"
"The main kitchens, then food storage."
"And then further into crew areas and closer to the hull?" Leonard asked intently.
"Well, yeah."
"You're hired."
"Um, Captain Hunter says we're supposed to stay here. I could lose my job -"
Sara smiled mirthlessly. "Get us out of here, and the boy's father will make it worth your while."
"My girl and I are grad students. Our tuition -"
"Is covered," Sara assured him. "Both of you. We have a deal?"
"Hell, yeah!"
"What's your name, young man?" Martin asked.
"Ronnie. Ronnie Raymond."
"Pleased to meet you," Martin said, extending his hand.
"Well, this is swell and all," Leonard informed them, "but hero ain't on my resume. You come with us, you keep up. Got it?"
Sara looked up from making some rather drastic - and quite interesting - changes to the hemline of her gown. Leonard wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know where she'd been hiding the knife. He sucked in a deep breath and began to climb.