Chapter 6~ In the Dark
Thresher looked out upon the City of St. Louis with a mixture of concern and disdain. Concern because of President Mitchell's failing policies and disdain over a certain news reporter's actions that were making said policies fail. Jacob was a cruel bastard. He insisted upon bullying the president so much that Thresher was seriously beginning to wonder if he was an immune.
Squabbling brought her attention back to the present as Achilles and Olympus started a tug of war with a bone near the beach. The other pups cheered them on, including Chandler. Achilles put some muscle into it and tore the bone right out of Olympus' mouth. The youngest pup squealed as she tumbled face first into the sand. Even Thresher had to laugh. Growling, Olympus leaped up and tackled her elder sibling. The others cheered them on as a fight developed. Sighing, Thresher intervened, picking each pup up in a fin. Both struggled. "Enough." She ordered sternly. "She started it!" Both squealed simultaneously. Thresher resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I don't care who started it, I'll finish it." She growled. "Now apologize." Olympus looked away while Achilles crossed her fins in front of her and huffed. Thresher took them into an empty drydock. "Alright then, no supper for either of you." She said, setting them down inside. They whined and wailed but Thresher ignored them as she took to caring for her remaining pups.
"Chandler come here." She ordered. The destroyer shipling waggled his stern as he came forward. "Behave yourself." She ordered and he chirped questioningly. "I know you encouraged them." Thresher growled. "No more of that, you here. Or I'll have to call your father home so he can deal with you." Chandler whimpered, his bow lowered in submission as he agreed. He was too young to understand the full scope of what was going on but he knew that bringing his father home wasn't good for anyone. Thresher licked him. "Alright, go and play now." She said. "But stay within earshot." He nodded and raced off. Thresher watched him go until she saw he was heading for the far side of the river. "Chandler, I've told you not to go over there!" She cried and took off after him. She passed Clamagore on the way. "Watch them." She growled, not stopping. Her remaining pups all squealed and tried to chase after their mother. Clamagore sighed and called to them, promising some fun games. They all immediately went to her.
Chandler, being as small as he was, was able to squeeze his way through some tight places that Thresher was forced to go around. Eventually, the sub caught up with him. Grabbing him by his stern she raised him out of the water. "You are in so much trouble mister. When I'm finished with you..." She cut herself off as she heard voices. Well aware that Illinois was still largely a gangster state after the plague, she immediately set him down and held him close to her. She listened carefully, hidden by the shadows as three men came perilously close to her position.
"Is everything ready?" asked the first. "We have men stationed at various points to ensure the plan goes into action smoothly." replied the second. "Do you trust your brother?" The first asked the third. "I know Jacob will do his part. He's loyal to our cause." The third replied. "Excellent. With Mitscher out of the way, no one can stop our advance. And I trust Shaw to hide any incriminating evidence, if he wants to remain president that is." The first cackled. Thresher didn't realized she had gasped until it was too late. The men turned in her direction and the submarine closed her eyes, praying her black hull camoflauged her. "Someone's down there, Avery go check it out." The first man ordered. The third man, Avery, stumbled down the rocky bank, making his way to where Thresher hid. The submarine gripped Chandler tightly as she blew just enough ballast to slip her hull beneath the surface. Her sail would appear like any other piece of equipment around her. The shipling didn't like being underwater and struggled out of her grasp. Avery shined his flashlight on him. "Hey, there's a shipling back here. Must've gotten separated from his momma." Chandler waggled his stern as he moved closer, curious about this man. Avery pulled back. "Well then get rid of him, man. We can't have any witnesses." The second man said. "He's just a baby!" Avery protested. "And he's too young to understand anything we're saying. But if you insist, I know a way to get rid of him." He pulled out a stick and Chandler's eyes lit up. "You want it, go get it!" Avery cried, tossing it out into the river. Chandler took off after it. Once he was out of sight of the shore, Thresher intercepted him. "No Chandler." She growled, grabbing him. He whined and wailed and that's when the explosion happened. The fireball was brief but impressive and it would've happened inside the shipling's mouth had he grabbed it. "Alright, let's go home." Thresher growled and with a squeak of agreement, Chandler gladly let the submarine carry him back to the Missouri side of the river.
Clamagore was waiting for Thresher when she got back. "You were gone a long time." She said. "Aye, I had to catch a wayward shipling." Thresher growled, setting Chandler down as the shipling snuggled to her side. Her pups shuffled their way over as well. "If you were back sooner you might've been able to prevent what just happened." Clamagore said, her eyes darkening. "What? What just happened?" Thresher asked though she had a sickening feeling she already knew. "Mitscher's dead. He hung himself." Thresher's fears deepened. The men on the bank. They knew full well what was going to happen. They planned it! "Clamagore, while I was chasing down this rascal," she nudged a now very sleepy Chandler. "He ran right into a gangster part of the river bank." "And what happened?" Clamagore asked. "I heard them talking. Three of them. They mentioned the president, and how someone named "Shaw" was going to take over." Thresher replied. "Shaw's the Vice President, well he's the President now I guess." Clamagore replied, her eyes widening. "You don't think?" She asked. "I don't know." Thresher replied, her jaw tightening. At her side, little Achilles could sense her distress and began to whine, her little nose poking the bigger sub's belly. Thresher soothed her back to sleep. "But as much as I don't want to find out, I believe we all will sooner rather than later." She said grimly.