Chapter 4

The admiral went to sick bay to check on Mr. Porter. He was livid at what Janet had just told him. Jamie just finished putting in ten stitches in the back of Mr. Porter's head. Mr. Rosen was there along with Mr. Howard who was still in sick bay recovering from his appendix operation.

Confronting Mr. Porter, the admiral stated, "Mr. Porter, I understand you've been touching Mrs. Crane since you got on board. You threatened to hurt her husband and members of this crew if she didn't let you touch her. She said you tampered with the air valve in the bathyscaphe."

"Admiral you must be kidding. I did nothing of the sort. She was the one who came on to me. If she wanted more than to have me touch her I would have no problem giving her what she wanted. She's a very nice looking woman."

"That's a bunch of shit," the admiral retorted. "There is no way in hell she would ever have done that."

"Admiral those are pretty strong allegations," Mr. Rosen said.

"Mr. Rosen, I believe every word she said."

The only one who didn't see surprised was Mr. Howard who finally spoke up.

"Andrew, didn't you ever wonder why all the secretaries kept leaving. Even the ones that had been there for years left right after you hired Don," Mr. Howard remarked.

"Yes I did think it was odd, but I figured they got better jobs or more money. Did you see him touch any of them?" Rosen asked cautiously.

"Yes, but he threatened me so I was afraid of him too," Mr. Howard said cowardly. "He put some barbiturates in my coffee to show me what he would do if I spoke up."

The admiral and Mr. Rosen looked at Mr. Porter and knew he lied. The admiral was having a hard time controlling his emotions. He wanted to slug him. The admiral looked at Jamie and could tell he wanted to hit him too.

"In light of what has happened, Mr. Porter will be confined to his quarters for the rest of this mission. As of now, we are heading back to Pearl Harbor. I will make arrangements with the base commander there to have a police escort for him when we dock."

"Admiral, I'm very sorry this happened to Mrs. Crane. Do you think I could talk to her?" Mr. Rosen asked solemnly.

"I will ask her and let you know. Jamie can Mr. Porter be released to his cabin?"

"Yes admiral there is no reason for him to stay here. I will check on him tomorrow in his cabin."

The admiral picked up the mic, "Master-at-arms."

"Aye sir."

"Please come to sick bay on the double."

"Yes sir."

The master-at-arms was at the sick bay door in two minutes.

"Please take Mr. Porter to his cabin and sees that he stays there. No on is to enter his cabin except Dr. Jamieson and Mr. Rosen without my permission especially Captain Crane."

"Aye, aye sir."

The MAA took Mr. Porter by the arm and led him to his cabin.

"Admiral is Janet okay?" Jamie asked worriedly.

"I think so, but I will let her know you are available if she needs you."

((()))

After confining Mr. Porter to his cabin, the admiral went to Lee and Janet's cabin to tell them what Mr. Porter had told him.

"Admiral you know me better than that, please tell me you didn't believe him?" Janet pleaded.

"I never doubted your story. I knew his was lying but it's still your word against his. What pisses me off is that Mr. Howard was being bullied by him and knew he was touching other women and never gave us a warning that there could be a problem with him.

"I'm sorry for all the problems I caused. I never meant to hurt him."

"I know that. I've confined Mr. Porter to his cabin for the rest of the mission. We're heading back to Pearl Harbor. No one especially you Lee are to see him. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir," they both replied as Lee paced up and down the cabin clenching and unclenching his fists.

The admiral was worried what Lee would do if he saw Mr. Porter. The admiral could tell he was mad as hell.

By this time it was 0100 hours and Janet was emotionally and physically exhausted. They went to bed and she fell asleep in Lee's arms.

The admiral went to the control room and told Mr. O'Brien to set a course for Pearl Harbor.

((()))

Later the next day, Lee tried to get into Mr. Porter's cabin. He wanted to talk to him and Kowalski was on guard. As he reached for the door knob, Kowalski stepped in front of it.

"Kowalski, let me in," Lee ordered.

"No, sorry sir. No one is allowed in there, especially you," he told Lee quietly.

"Lee, I specifically told you not to go in there," the admiral yelled as he entered the passageway on the way to his cabin and saw Lee trying to get in.

"Sir, I just need to ask him why he did it to her," Lee pleaded. "Please let me go in. You can come in and watch that I don't do anything to him."

"No, Lee and that's an order," the admiral stated. "I realize you feel responsible for what happened to Janet but there is nothing you can do now. Please leave son." And Lee, I'm sorry I made you take on this mission. I should have done a little more research on the company."

"Yes, sir," Lee said as the admiral put his hand on Lee's shoulder as they walked away.

Kowalski and none of the crew knew what had taken place. But whatever happened must not have been very pleasant for the skipper to be that upset.

((()))

Janet went to sick bay that morning not that she was sick but to talk to Jamie and see how Mr. Porter was. He gave her hug when she walked in.

"Are you okay?" he asked with a concerned look. "Did he hurt you?"

"No he didn't hurt me, just touched me on my arms and shoulders. I'll be okay. I'm mad at myself for not telling anyone and I really didn't mean to hurt him."

"He isn't hurt that bad. If you need to talk at any time, please come and see me."

"Thanks Jamie."

She left sick bay and was on her way to her office when Mr. Rosen tracked her down. As Lee came into the passageway he saw Mr. Rosen talking to her and joined them.

"I'm very sorry Mrs. Crane," he apologized profusely, "I never realized what was going on not only here but in my offices in Hawaii. I will make sure this never happens again."

"I accept your apology," she told him reluctantly, "I will also finish entering the rest of the data from the last dive. There isn't too much more to enter and I want to complete the job I started."

"That's very gracious of you. I really do appreciate it."

"Captain please also accept my apology. I'm very sorry for what happen to your wife."

"Yes, sir," Lee replied tersely as he kept clenching and unclenching his fists.

She could tell Lee was ready to punch him for not knowing what was happening in his office. She grabbed his arm and they went into her office.

He couldn't wait to get them all off Seaview but they still had three more days of their company.

((()))

They docked at Pearl, where there was a police escort for Mr. Porter. Lee didn't care about them. He just wanted them all off his boat.

As the MAA brought Mr. Porter out the sail hatch and down the gangplank he had to pass Janet, Lee, Chip, Jamie and the admiral. Jamie was standing next to Janet as Mr. Porter walked by her. She looked him straight in the eye as he walked past her. She would never let anyone bully or harass her again.

The admiral and Chip stood very close to Lee and could feel him tense up as Porter walked by him. They were afraid he would take a swipe at him not that they blamed him as they all would've like to have a swipe at him too. Once he passed, Lee relaxed and the admiral and Chip moved away from him. They made eye contact and both let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks. If you weren't there to stop me, they'd be putting me in jail right now," Lee stated as he left to stand next to Janet and squeezed her hand.

Janet would have to go to the police station and give a statement to the police as to what had taken place. They all hoped Mr. Porter wouldn't press charges of assault against her for pushing him. Chip would oversee the unloading of all the supplies, computer and the bathyscaphe while Janet, Lee and the admiral went to the police station.

((()))

When they arrived at the station, the police took Janet's statement. There wasn't much they could charge Mr. Porter with as it was her word against his when it came to the faulty air valve on the bathyscaphe. The admiral did run a test on the coffee in Lee's cabin and in the crew's mess but found nothing in there and brought the results with him. Hopefully the women at A. R. Laboratories would come forward and tell the police what he did to them so no other person would have to endure what they did. Mr. Howard was also going to give them a statement.

((()))

As the left the police station, the admiral said, "That was quite a nice little bathyscaphe they had. Too bad it's a little too big for us to carry around."

"No thanks. I'll stick to my bathysphere." Lee stated.

After they pulled up to the dock, Lee opened the door for Janet. She got out of the car and gave her husband a kiss.

"What's that for?" he asked smiling.

"Because you didn't slug him as he walked by. I don't have enough money to bail you out of jail," she grinned.

They walked hand in hand down the gangplank behind the admiral but before they got to the sail hatch the admiral turned around.

"Lee, since we got back to Pearl sooner than we planned, why don't we stay here for a couple of days. Give the crew shore leave so they can enjoy the island and fresh air. You and Janet, along with Chip can take the first rotation. I'll stay aboard with Bobby, Sharkey, Jamie and Sparks. We'll take our leave when you get back.

"That sounds like a good idea," Lee agreed. Chip was nodding his head in agreement.

"Chip and I will set up the rotation so everyone gets some time away but we'll still have all important posts covered on Seaview and on deck."

They continued into the sail hatch and down the ladder to the control room where Lee and Chip started working on the shore leave schedule. They had it worked out in an hour.

The crew was very happy they would get some leave. Hawaii was a very nice place to get shore leave, lots of sights to see and nice looking women.

As the first group was leaving the boat, Chip reminded them, "Men please don't get into any trouble or fights and be back on time so I don't have to look for you or bail you out of jail.

Lee smiled as Chip gave the crew their instructions. He knew they could get a little rowdy sometimes.

"Aye, aye, sir," they all answered.

((()))

Since they would get the first leave, Janet went back to their cabin while Lee and Chip worked on the schedule. She grabbed a duffle bag and put in some clothes for her and Lee. Lee came to the cabin about an hour later and she had everything packed.

"You ready to leave," he asked giving her a kiss.

"Yes, let's go before the admiral changes his mind."

Lee grabbed the duffle bag and they left the cabin just as Chip was leaving his. They walked down the passageway to the spiral staircase and went down to the observation nose.

The admiral was in the observation nose watching the crew leave and saw them come down the staircase.

"Have a nice leave," the admiral told them winking at Janet.

"Thank you, admiral. I'm sure we'll have a wonderful leave," she winked back.

They went up the ladder to the sail and walked down the gangplank to the dock. They walked to the end of the dock and hailed a taxi. Since they didn't have a lot of time to spend in Hawaii, Lee checked and found rooms with an ocean view at the Hale Koa Hotel. It was a hotel for military personnel. They checked in and of course Chip was hungry. They went to the Koko Cafe in the hotel.

"This sure is a nice change of plans," Chip said eating a Black Jack Burger with fries. He also ordered a piece of coconut cream pie.

"Yes it is nice," Lee commented as he ate a Koko burger.

Janet sat there eating her Spicy Chicken salad watching the two of them. She was glad to see they both had finally relaxed. When they were finished they went for a walk on the beach. As they were walking back to the hotel, they walked by a bar and saw Patterson sitting there. Chip decided to go in instead of going back to the hotel.

"We're going back to the hotel," Lee told Chip before he went into the bar, "Please don't get into any trouble. I don't want to have to bail you out of jail.

"Yes sir," Chip saluted and patted him on the back.

Kowalski, Patterson and Riley were already there enjoying the music and dancing with some of the women. They all stopped what they were doing when he came in.

"Don't stop on my account," he told them as he sat next to Patterson at the bar and ordered a beer. He also danced with a few of the women in the bar.

((()))

When Lee and Janet got back to their room, Lee took the 'Do Not Disturb' sign and put it on the door. He took Janet into his arms and gave her a passionate kiss. He led her over to the bed and gently laid her down where he made love to her. With what had happened on Seaview's mission it had been awhile and they both missed the affection between them. When they were finished, Lee put on a white shirt and shorts and went out on the balcony. The sun was setting and the clouds were rolling in. It looked like rain. He turned around to look at his wife who was watching him from the bedroom.

"What's wrong honey? You have a tormented look on your face," she asked as she grabbed her robe and joined him on the balcony.

"Just thinking of how I let you down by not finding out what was really bothering you."

"You didn't let me down. You could never let me down. I was just as much to blame by not saying anything," she replied taking his hand and bringing him back into the room.

"Let's go back to bed," she suggested as she dropped her robe.

He took off his shirt and shorts and joined her in bed where they stayed for the rest of the night.

((()))

They awoke the next morning and were famished. They got dressed, packed their duffle bag and were leaving the room to get some breakfast just as Chip was leaving his. He looked a little hung over.

"We're going to breakfast," Lee told him with a grin, "Care to join us?"

"I need coffee. I'm too old to hang around with Kowalski, Patterson and Riley. I didn't get back until 0300 hours. It's now 0700. It's a good thing were still in port. I would never get Seaview out of the harbor today.

"Damn," Lee said, "there went a free dinner for sure."

All three of them where laughing as they walked to the cafe for breakfast.

When they finished breakfast they hailed a cab and went back to the dock to relieve the admiral, Sharkey, Sparks and Jamie.

((()))

They boarded the boat and went into the control room as the rest of the men were getting ready to leave. Chip made a beeline for the coffee pot in the observation nose.

"Welcome Lee, Janet, Chip. Enjoy your leave?" the admiral asked with a grin. He noticed Chip was not his normal self.

"Yes sir. Any problems?" Lee wanted to know.

"None so far. Chip okay?" he asked with a grin.

"A little hung over. He hung out with Kowalski, Patterson and Riley last night."

Smiling Nelson said, "I'll be back later on tomorrow. I'm going to visit a friend of mine I haven't seen in ages. Call me if you need me."

"Aye, aye sir." Lee answered, "Enjoy visiting your friend."

Lee gave the same speech Chip did to the next group of men to leave.

With half the crew gone and nothing pressing in the control room, Lee and Chip went to their cabins to finish up some reports and logs that needed to be done. Janet was still trying to catch up on all the work that was left behind when she was entering the data from the dives. She would have more work to do once Lee and Chip finished what they were working on. At least she would be busy on the way back to Santa Barbara.

The day flew by and Chip, Lee and Janet finally were able to meet for dinner in the wardroom. The mess specialist on duty served them the leftovers from the mission. Cookie was on shore leave and ordering supplies for the trip home.

"What's wrong Chip you still don't look good," Janet asked him worriedly.

"I've had a headache all day; remind me never to drink again."

Laughing Lee said, "You're getting old bro."

They would have an early start tomorrow getting Seaview out of the harbor so they went back to their cabins after enjoying the dinner the mess specialists made for them.

((()))

The next morning, Lee and Chip were on the dock checking in the crew when the admiral returned.

"Did you enjoy your shore leave, Admiral," Lee asked noticing the blond that dropped him off and a lipstick mark on his face.

"Just fine Lee," the admiral replied wiping off his face. "Are we ready to shove off?"

"Yes sir. All the crew has reported back. I'm happy to say no one got in trouble this time."

Chip and Chief Sharkey were on the also on dock watching the crew load the supplies Cookie ordered to get them back to Santa Barbara. They also had grins on their faces when they saw the admiral.

Once the supplies were loaded Chip instructed the dock hands to remove the gangplank and prepare for them to shove off.

((()))

Lee let Chip take Seaview out of the harbor this time. Janet got to go in the conning tower to watch him maneuver Seaview out of the harbor and make sure he didn't scratch the paint. As they came down the ladder into the control room, Lee was waiting for an answer.

"Well, did he scratch the paint?" Lee asked with a smirk.

"Yes, he did," Janet told Lee in a very serious tone.

Chip almost had a heart attack.

"How could you say that? I never was close enough to anything to scratch her paint," Chip said looking at her appalled.

"No of course he didn't," she said grinning. "I just wanted to see his reaction if I told you he did."

"You're going to be sorry Janet Crane," Chip said teasingly. "I will get you for that."

The admiral was in the observation nose and heard the conversation between the three of them. He just shook his head and knew all things were back to normal.

The End.

Thank you for reading the story and I hope you enjoyed it.