Hunter and Hunted
Chapter Three
Rick signaled his request to approach and got a confirmation, telling him which air lock to connect to. "On my way." He was more than ready to change ships.
Once he was docked he shut most systems down and got up out of his seat. "Transfer yourself into the drive, Alexis." He was going to take her with him when he left the ship. He waited until he saw all greens and then pulled the drive and carried it with him.
He opened the air lock and got the reception he was anticipating. Bee was right there and heavily armed. "BEE! You look as sexy as ever." Rick was happy to see her. Especially happy that she wasn't yet infected.
"Get your sexy lying ass in here, Castle." Bee lowered a weapon that was almost as big as she was. "Did you bring it?" She really wanted her payment.
Rick reached down, picked up a small container, and handed it to her before he stepped inside her station. "I chose one at random. You wanted 72 canisters; I got you 81 of them." He was hoping she would explain what she needed them for or just what they were.
"You sexy flirt, what do you want for the extra?" She was more than willing to take the extra off his hands but knew he would want something for them in return.
"Two things… well three, really. One, I want to be able to plug this drive into the ship's computer system so it can run a complete diagnostic. Not that I don't trust you, but I want a second opinion."
"You're too smart for your own good. If you didn't have such a fine ass I would tell you what you could do with your three items." She nodded decisively. "Done, what else?" He wasn't asking her for much in return so far.
"Second, I want the best lead you have on who to see to get a McKenzie Beam installed on this ship." Rick knew who had one but he couldn't install it for him.
"Ooo, a McKenzie Beam. Those aren't easy to find and even fewer know how to install it into an existing system." Bee knew just the person but wanted to make Rick sweat.
"What's the third?" He had nine extra canisters and he had almost used up all nine already.
"I need a lead to find as much of this chemical as I can lay my hands on." Rick gave her his hand-sized pad so she could read it.
"This is a nasty drug, Castle, very nasty. Please tell me you are not addicted to this crap." Suddenly Bee feared for him in a way that actually shocked her. Did she really care what happened to him this much?
"It's not for me," Rick assured her. "The guy who has the McKenzie Beam wants tons of this stuff, so I need to know where a lot of it can be obtained one way or another. I'm hoping this ship has enough cargo space to hold that much." He hadn't seen it yet. It was just a little over twice the size of the ship he had now so he was hopeful.
"You may need to load it in more public spaces but there's enough space. As to where you can get this much, I know just the place." Bee was thankful it wasn't for Castle but it left her wondering just what the guy that had his Beam needed that much for.
"We have a deal then?" This was the next step in his dream.
"Be thankful I like you so much. Yes, we have a deal. Follow me and I'll take you to your new ship." Bee started walking and held her weapon close to her.
"Do I want to know how you got this ship?" He doubted that Bee would steal it outright. Perhaps charge someone far more than she needed to, yes, but not outright steal it.
"The previous owner no longer has any use for it. It comes as is, you know. That includes all the junk that he left in the ship." Bee thought it was junk. Everything else had been stripped out of it to use as barter for something else.
"I'll fix what's broken or find someone who can fix it or replace it." Rick was willing to take it as is right after Alexis ran a complete diagnostic on it.
He eventually found himself climbing up a utilitarian metal ladder until they reached an air lock that Bee opened and climbed up. "This is the only airlock I have that matches what this ship has. Plus because of its shape it works out the best."
Rick followed her into the ship and watched as lights started coming on. "This is the engineering section. Well, the lowest section of engineering. To either side are the engines for normal thrust to get you from planet to planet in the same system," Bee explained. It looked familiar and different all at the same time. He now knew he was going to need to do some reading to understand this ship.
"This way." Bee began walking and Rick soon realized that the artificial gravity was operational.
"There are four transit pods. One on each side and one dead center. Only the one in the center can reach the bridge." Bee took him to the one in the center. She stood at the door and waited for a moment until it opened. "Bridge," she called out.
"Voice and movement censors?" Rick was a little impressed.
"The pod has manual controls, if you prefer. You can even lock out all voices save for the ones you approve," she said.
A moment later the door opened and the lights started to come on. "WOW!" He was used to his very small bridge that was little more than a large cockpit. This was a real bridge. Since it was actually a personal yacht it actually had empty space. Space that on a space ship was considered wasted space.
"Plug in your program over there and I'll give you the tour." Bee was sure he was going to take it, but she still needed to sell it.
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"You're the best, Bee! Try not to get yourself killed or worse." Rick bent down to her level and kissed the top of her head.
"You make me wish I was human." She would take him to her bed in a heartbeat if they were in any way compatible. "Let me know if you need anything. You know my price." This was the closest she could come to wishing him luck.
"Yell if you need help. Once I get the McKenzie Beam installed I'll help you in any way I can," Rick said since until this ship was armed he couldn't do much of anything.
"And charge me an arm and a leg I'm sure," Bee teased since she would do the same. "Come back in one piece, Castle. This Universe needs more like you." The Universe was getting smaller and smaller all the time… and their side was losing.
Rick watched her enter the air lock and felt his heart clinch a little. She really was what he would call one of her best friends. He might not even charge her an arm and a leg if she did actually need help some day.
He watched the lights turn green. "How are we doing, Alexis?" She had been plugged in for a few days at this point.
"Did she tell you this ship has a few maintenance drones? I've got all of them out fixing things. This ship needs help," Alexis told him now that they were alone. Only her dad really needed to know that she existed or where she resided.
"Still it's a nice ship," she admitted. "The main systems are operational. The air should finally be clean in a few hours." She couldn't actually smell the air since she didn't breathe it. However, her scans told her that the air was a little dirty and her imagination had no trouble smelling it.
Rick was soon up on the bridge. He'd spent the last few days transferring all the stuff that was really his out of his old ship and into this one. He had little doubt that Bee already had a buyer for his old ship.
"Set a course, Alexis. We need to start finding as much of this chemical as we can so we can get the Beam and get it installed." After that they would see what came next.
"Course set. Bee knows it as PX-2356, but records show the locals call it Earth. I think that means dirt. Three quarters of the planet are water. Mostly salt water." Alexis didn't get it. Why call a planet that was mostly water, dirt?
Rick shrugged. "Just so long as it has what we need. We can sit in orbit while you scan and tell me about this planet. First question: since we're not armed, is this place a risk to us?"
"This planet does not yet have space flight. They're no risk to us." Alexis had already made sure of that. "The question I can't answer is whether the infection has reached this system or not."
"Just get us there, we'll figure it out." Rick was satisfied.
"Jump engines are online. Stand-by for jump. …Jumping." Alexis activated the system.
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It had been a week and they were getting a lot better at sailing. They were also feeling the pinch of hunger due to eating just one meal a day. Right now they were traveling up the far northwest side of the island, headed for Menemsha. They needed propane and food, mostly. Up to this point the weather had cooperated and been mostly calm.
Jim was up with Kate and had the binoculars out. "I don't see much on this north shore. I've actually only seen two houses so far. They looked like really nice ones. Nice and big but nothing else, including no movement." It was mostly a whole lot of sand. He lowered them until they got a little farther along.
They'd begun to go a little more southeast now so he raised the binoculars again. "I've got a lot more houses now. Really big and well designed ones, too...Still no movement and unless we want to start searching houses, I see nothing." He lowered them back down again.
Johanna joined them carrying a tray with drinks on it. "It's powdered lemonade but it tastes pretty good." She handed them out and set Katie's down where she could reach it. "Anything yet?"
Jim shook his head. "Just some scattered houses. Big ones but nothing we're looking for so far. Maybe we're on the wrong side." Kate had picked this course and he was still second-guessing her choice.
"Give it a chance, Dad. The island isn't that big. We can easily go all the way around if we have to." They were at least close to land now. They had seen nothing but water for a little while now.
Jim raised his binoculars again. "There – what's that? It looks like an inlet. Maybe a marina." He handed them over to Johanna for her to look.
"It's an inlet for sure. Kind of narrow looking." That was the part Johanna hated most. "Lots of rocks, too." Not something they wanted to hit and put a hole in their boat.
"We'll have to lower the sails and go in using the engines," Kate advised. "See anything else?" Was there a reason to go in there?
Johanna spoke up. "Can you sail us past the opening, Katie? Maybe if we were closer we could spot something. We can turn around and come back if we have to."
Johanna waited for Kate to get them closer. She was almost going to hit the rocks as they sail by. "It's a marina, all right. I can see some boats. Nothing our size, they're all smaller.
"I've got a Shell gas station. They might have propane tanks or we can fill ours. I've got what looks like a fish market just down the road a little from the Shell station. I can see a much larger building deeper into the marina. Not sure what it is.
"There are a number of houses and what looks like stores. Maybe one of them's a market." She handed the binoculars back to her husband.
Jim tried to come up with a plan. "There's a dock just inside the inlet. We could tie up there and walk into the area. Start with that Shell station first, maybe. If we can find keys perhaps we can drive a little. Load up the car and race back here."
"Put the sails down. I'll start the motor." Kate was willing to give it a try.
With the sails secured, Kate carefully and slowly took them over to the dock that was right up front, well away from everything. It meant a good walk just to reach the Shell station.
"I don't see any movement. There are some empty docks deeper inside the marina if we want to risk it instead of searching for a car," Jim said.
"Provided this place is actually infected. They might simply all be in hiding." Johanna took the binoculars back from her husband. "I think there are two fish markets and this entire side has space to dock at if we want to risk it." She lowered them as Kate pulled them up along side.
"Why don't you tie us up, just in one spot in case we need to run for it," Kate suggested and watched her parents go down and her dad got out to tie them to the dock.
Jim took his weapon with him as they slowly walked down the dock to reach the Shell station.
They found no one inside or out. "Propane bottles!" Kate spied them inside a mesh enclosure next to the building. "It's locked. We need keys or something to force it open." They'd hit their first snag.
"Maybe it has tools." Jim started looking around. "It's got a convenience mart inside." He saw food and drinks and beer.
"Katie and I will take the store while you work on the propane bottles." Johanna went inside with Kate. "Plastic bags behind the counter. All you can grab. Look for food only and maybe some coffee; we don't need any of the drinks." They were too heavy if they needed to run for any reason.
It took a little while but Kate and Johanna emerged with hands full of loaded plastic bags, just in time to see Jim pull out two propane tanks. "Let's get out of here, this place gives me the creeps." He picked up both propane bottles and began walking toward the boat.
They were only about halfway back when he had to stop. The weight of the bottles was making his hands hurt. "Keep going, I'll catch up. Just let me get some blood moving again." He flexed his fingers and shook his hands.
Johanna and Kate dropped their bags at the first opportunity. Nothing they had taken required refrigeration. Then Johanna went back out to help her husband.
"Now what? There's still more in the Shell station." Johanna was wondering if they should push their luck.
"How about this: one more trip and then we decide, Jo. Perhaps move down to that first fish market with the boat. Katie can stay with the boat and keep it off the dock a little. We can go inside and look, throw what we find onboard and jump if we have to. If we're fast enough, no one catches us."
Johanna thought it beat walking the entire way. What if the infected were faster than they were?
One more trip and they now had four propane bottles and a lot of dry goods, including canned vegetables. "Mom, did you notice that the hot dogs on that heater looked like they were all dried up and burnt?" They looked a lot like prunes rolling on the heated rollers to her.
"Maybe no one has been inside in a while," Johanna mused. "Jim, if everyone on the island's infected how long will the power last?" It wasn't going to stay on forever.
"I don't know. A few days, weeks at best. Definitely not longer, not around here." He was betting the power here was generated by either natural gas or maybe even simple diesel.
"We all take propane bottles this time," Jim said. Propane was how they cooked and kept their refrigerator working.
He was the only one that could begin to handle two bottles at the same time. They made two trips and eventually emptied the cage they'd been stored in. They scored eleven 20-pound propane bottles.
"Fish market next? After I catch my breath and get my hands working again." They were red and just a little white and they ached fiercely from carrying all those propane bottles.
Eventually they found themselves next to the dock just the other side of what was called Larsens Fish Market. There was another one just down the dock called Menemsha Fish Market. It was much larger, however, it had boats tied up next to the dock just outside of it. They could get a little closer but not much.
Johanna didn't want her coming with them. "Stay here, Katie, and keep the engine running. If you see us running I want you to gun it. We'll jump for it and swim if we have to. Then race us out to sea."
"Please be careful." She didn't want to lose either one of them. They were all she had.
The second Jim opened the door with the gun in his other hand, he pinched his nostrils closed. "Smells like someone died." He went inside, holding his gun out in front of him and looking everywhere.
It wasn't that big and it looked to be more of a restaurant than a grocery store. "The food's gone bad." Johanna walked up to the display cases that held food in metal bins. "It looks like the power's still on. Let's check the walk-ins see if any of it's still good." She found a way around the counter and into the back where the actual kitchen was located. "Over here, Jim." She found the walk-in and waited for her husband. He had his weapon trained on the door and watched her open it. They felt the cold that was inside it come roaring out.
"Jackpot!" They'd struck pay dirt. "Put that away and pick up a case and take it to the boat." Johanna walked inside and saw lots of produce and pointed at one for her husband to take. She moved a little farther in and opened the freezer door.
Inside were cases labeled with words like flounder, striped bass, cod, mako, salmon, swordfish, shrimp, mussels, and oysters. Johanna smiled as she picked up a box and carried it to the boat.
That was where she found that Kate had moved in closer as her husband stepped off the boat and onto the dock to go back for another trip.
Their refrigerator just wasn't big enough to hold it all so they had to stop and pick up other items like bread that wasn't moldy yet.
They chose to go back out of the marina and stop just outside of it. Too far away for anyone to jump into the boat but not far enough away that they couldn't go back inside to get more. Provided the power lasted.
Their kitchen cabinets were now stuffed to overflowing. They'd had to leave bags filled with things laying out all over. They were even tripping over the excess propane bottles that littered their boat.
"I'd complain about the lack of space if I wasn't so happy about it." Jim was smiling broadly. "It leaves me wondering what happened to everyone. Martha's Vineyard isn't that big of an island. Yes, people come here but what happened?" The TV was filled with nothing and Katie had gotten no one on the radio when she had tried.
Granted she hadn't tried lately or very often, so it was possible that no one was listening at the time. "Now what?" They were here and their boat was loaded with supplies now.
"We stay a couple of days maybe and then move to a smaller island? There are smaller island around here, aren't there?" Johanna looked at Kate.
She hurried down to the main bridge with her parents following her. "There's Cuttyhunk island, Nashawena island, Pasque island, and Naushon island which is almost as big as Martha's Vineyard. After that we're back on the mainland. Or we go around to Nantucket island." Kate pointed at all of them.
Jim told them his choice. "Cuttyhunk looks to be the smallest of them. The bigger question, though, is where do we go when it starts to get cold up here? And what do we do when the power goes out everywhere?" Islands were just not that self-sustaining. Using their boat to get away had been a good idea. But where did they want to stay long term?
