Chapter Two: Discovery
"Nav pipe boarding stations" Says the CO
"Sure thing boss" Says the woman who I assume is the Navigator
"Hands to boarding stations, hands to boarding stations" She calls over the loud speakers
"Well that's me" Says Dutchy rubbing his hands together and getting out of his chair
"Do I come with you" I ask him
"Yes come on" He replies ushering me off the bridge "Come on 2DADS"
"What the heck is that" Says 2DADS as we speed towards the mystery object in the RHIB
"I have no idea" Replies Bomber matching his confused tone
"It looks like the bottom of a Jet-Ski with a flag on it" I say
"Bottom of a what" Asks Dutchy
"Jet-Ski" I reply
"I know what you said but why would one of those be all the way out here" He asks
"Wasn't there a huge storm on Marco Island the other day" Bomber asks
"Yeah I think there was" Replies Swain "But that's easily 80 to 100 miles away"
He adds
"You never know the wind could've carried it for ages then it just floated out here" Says Bomber
"It should've sunk by now though" Says Swain
"There could be an air pocket keeping it afloat" I say
"Okay 2DADS you can dive in now" Says Dutchy
"Ugh" Moans 2DADS "Okay Dutch" He adds before diving in
A few minutes later 2DADS is on the surface again
"It's not a Jet-Ski" He says "Well not any more anyway"
"What do you mean" Asks Swain
"It looks like the bottom of a Jet-Ski that has had the top removed" He says pointing to show what he is talking about
"It's been hollowed out with a sheet of industrial plastic placed on the other side and I think it might have something in it" He says
"Like what" Asks Bomber
"I have no idea" He replies
"It's not from the storm" Asks Swain
"No way" He replies before diving back under
"Well you were half right" Bomber says nudging me
"I guess so" I say nudging her back
"I have to get it back to the Hammersley to have a proper look at it" Says Swain as 2DADS is surfacing
"Okay I'll let Charge know so he can prepare" Says Dutchy pulling out his radio
"Like I said before, I've never seen anything like it" Says the CO
"Neither have I" Replies the XO
"Should we open it" I ask
"We should consult with Swain first about how best to go about it" Replies the X
"Agreed" Says the CO
"Can you please go find him leader" He asks me
"I'm sorry sir, I don't know where half the stuff on this ship is" I say to him
"Didn't you get a tour" He asks me
"I was in the process of giving Bambi the tour when we were interrupted by this" He says pointing at the object on the table
"Okay Dutchy you go with her and show her around on the way"
"Yes sir" He replies
"Okay so this is the Galley" He says showing me the kitchen "It's where Bomber works"
"Hey" Says Bomber with a smile "Dinner isn't for another 2 hours"
"I'm looking for Swaino. You seen him" He asks her
"Yeah um last time I saw him was about 20 minutes ago and he was on the bridge"
"Okay thanks" He replies
"Dinner smells good Bomb" I shout following Dutchy to the bridge
"Thanks" She shouts back
"Swain to the bridge at the rush" Calls Dutchy over the loud speakers
"Hi I'm Nikki, Nav" Says the navigator to me
"Hi nice to meet you" I say shaking her hand "I'm Sarah, Bambi"
"Nice to meet you as well" She replies with a smile
"Your the navigator" I ask
"Yep, Sure am" She replies
"Your the new buffer's mate" She asks me
"You know it" I reply with a bit of a laugh
"Yeah Dutchy" Swain asks as he arrives on the bridge
"We need to discuss some things about what we pulled out of the water today" Dutchy replies
"Okay like what" Swain asks
"Come with me the boss and X are down in the ward room with it" He replies
"Come on Bambi" He says to me
"Coming I'll be there in a minute Nav is just showing me something" I reply
"Make it quick" He says before walking off to follow Swain
"Finally" Mutters the X under her breath just loud enough so only I can hear
"Sorry Nav was showing me something" I say
"As I was say" Says Swain "If you open it from here you won't damage what's inside and you can easily seal it back up with make it look like it hasn't been touched"
"Okay good work Swain" The CO says "Do you want to do it"
"Yes it's probably better if I do it but I will probably need help" He replies
"Dutchy will help you" Says the CO
"Okay what do you need Swain" Dutchy asks
"Some pliers, a cutting knife and a camera" He says answering Dutchy's question
"What's the camera for" I ask
"Evidence" He replies "So we can show the feds how we opened it and what's inside"
"Okay I'll go and get what you need if you want" I say hoping to make up for my lateness earlier
"Be quick please" He replies
"Can do" I say smiling before leaving the room
"Okay let's open this baby up" Says Dutchy
"You ready with the camera Bam" He asks me
"Yes I'm ready to go" I reply making the Okay sign with my hand
"Good start filming now" He tells me
"Okay" I say "It's recording now"
"Dutchy please pass me the cutting knife" He says "Make sure you film me cutting" He tells me
"Yeah I am" I reply
"Ugh" Says X "What is that smell" She says covering her face
"Dutchy pass me the pliers" Says Swain
"Here you go" Dutchy replies passing the pliers to Swain
"Boss you need to take a look at this" Swain says suddenly "Bambi film in here where the pliers are holding the plastic sheet up"
"RO" Says the CO into the radio "Get me the feds now"
"Doing it now boss" Replies RO
"Boss feds are online" Says RO through the radio
"Thanks RO" Replies the boss
"Hello this is Mike Flynn CO of HMAS Hammersley" CO says into the sat phone
"Hi Mike this is Amanda Cooper what can I do for you"
"Earlier today some of my crew pulled the hull of a Jet-Ski out of the water"
"What do you mean hull" She asks
"The rest of it had been removed and where the top used to be was a sheet of industrial plastic covering it" He says "We opened it up and there are bags of blood inside all labelled with the blood type, sex, age and authenticity of the person it came from"
"How do you know it's from the person it came from" She asks
"I'm just assuming it's not for the person it's going to" He replies
"Fair enough. How many bags are there" She asks
"We haven't touched it yet we wanted your permission to do so first"
"Okay can you have a look and make it quick"
"I'll try" He replies
"Swain count them please" He tells Swain "Try not to open it any more though"
"I'll try" Swain replies before starting to count
A few minutes later Swain has finished counting
"There are 24 bags sir" He tells the CO
"Okay thanks Swain" He replies "Agent Cooper are you still on the line" He asks into the phone
"Yes Mike I'm still here"
"My Coxswain has counted 24 bags all of them labelled"
"That's a lot" She replies "I've spoken to my boss and he thinks it has something to do with a smuggling operation that we have been trying to crack for 6 months now" She continues
"We would like you to seal it back up and place it in or near the water where you found it"
"Then what" CO asks her
"We would like you to keep watch over it and when someone goes to pick it up move in and arrest them"
"I'll need to talk to Navcom first" He replies
"As will we but that is the general idea of the plan we will come up with with them"