Chapter 7
It was barely controlled chaos on the sub, which Lee had mentally dubbed the Scourge, as the crew fought to repair the damage inflicted by the Indian vessel's depth charges. There was a tension that radiated throughout the boat that could be felt all the way down to the bilges. After nearly 30 minutes of running at flank, Lee finally called the con. "Con this is Sherman."
"Kargarov here, what is it?" snapped the captain.
"You have to throttle back to no more than one third power on the starboard engine and kill the port or risk losing the engines entirely," Lee informed the captain. "It would be better still if you could bottom the boat so I can repair the damage done during your little escapade."
"Why, what's wrong?" Kargarov inquired.
"Those depth charges shook a number of things loose, overloaded some of the circuits, and the engines are laboring badly, and on the verge of burning out. You keep pushing like you are and there won't be a damn thing I can do to keep these things running."
"Bottoming the boat is not an option; it's too deep. Reduce power to one third and take the port engine off line. How long until you get everything repaired?"
"I'm operating alone down here. Polanski was knocked unconscious during the bombing and hasn't moved. I need Whitcome down here to see to him, and I also need some assistance if you want these engines back on line anytime in the near future. If he's still on board," Lee said bitterly, "Peterson has engine room experience and can assist me."
Kargarov turned and looked at Jones for confirmation. Trevor nodded having already informed the captain of the chief engineer's status. "Alright, get to work and I'll have Peterson and Whitcome escorted down there. Kargarov out."
Lee smiled momentarily, getting his two cabin mates down in the engine room with him would enable him to begin putting his plan to take control of the boat into action. He looked over at Polanksi once more, and noticed that he was starting to fight his way back to consciousness. Having him around would complicate things. He didn't know Polanski's story or how he came to be on the boat. He hadn't been inclined to share any information about himself and since his clothing didn't match either conscript or paid crew Lee had no idea how he fit into the scheme of things. Given his lowly status amongst the crew, Lee might just be able to convince him to stand with him when the time came.
Fifteen minutes later Peterson and Whitcome were brought to the engine room and directed to assist Lee however he needed. The guard showed them in then secured the door; no one wanted to be anywhere near Polanski, which was another thing working in Lee's favor. As the two men entered Lee directed Whitcome over to the downed man and had Peterson come over and assist him.
He had to smile as he saw Whitcome's reaction at seeing Polanski for the first time, and then having to get all too close. His reaction was much like his own and he could see him struggling hard to control his gag reflex as he worked on his patient. Ned sucked it up though and professionally attended to the injured man.
Lee waved Peterson over to him and asked him to outline what experience he had working with engines. Based on what he said he too was more skilled at this type of work than Polanski ever thought of being. He directed Oscar over to one of the control panels and got him started on replacing blown circuits while he jumped in on the engines proper.
After about 30 minutes, Whitcome had done all he could for Polanski with the supplies he had with him. He moved to the door, opened it, and informed the guard that he needed assistance in moving Polanski to sick bay. The guard shook his head no, there was no way they were going to manhandle that lump through the narrow corridors of the sub. He called the con and told them what Whitcome had said. Jones directed him to send Whitcome back to sickbay to get the supplies he needed and treat Polanski in place.
Lee smiled to himself, that development would give Whitcome a reason to come and go as needed to tend to his patient and hopefully to carry out the actions Lee needed to begin their takeover of the boat. The guard let Whitcome return to sickbay unescorted setting a very desirable precedent of greater freedom of movement for the medic.
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As Lee and Peterson continued to work on the engine consoles, Lee finally set things in motion. "Oscar, what would you say to helping me take over the boat and hopefully getting us to a neutral port and freedom?" he asked quietly.
Peterson turned his head and stared at Lee in amazement for a few moments as he made sure he'd heard what he thought he had heard. "You mean mutiny?" he replied in a hushed voice.
Lee nodded. "I mean exactly that. I don't know about you, but I have no desire to be a slave the rest of my life, killing innocent sailors just so some scum can get rich. It goes against my grain, and my morals. So what do you say?"
"What can we do? They've got all the guns, they give us zero freedom, we're being monitored in our quarters; how do you expect to organize enough people to pull that off?" Oscar inquired.
"I have a plan and you, Ned, and Marty are key players in making it possible. If you say no, I'll understand and don't blame you a bit," Lee answered.
Peterson continued to stare at Lee. He had had a good feeling about this guy from the very first and his first impressions were usually right. He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'll be more than happy to help you out. I don't like what's going on either and don't want to die just because my casserole was too spicy or something. What can I do?"
Lee smiled broadly and clapped him on the back. "Thanks. I'm going to need your help on two fronts. I'm going to count on you for knocking out as much of the regular crew as possible by means of your position in the galley. You also come in contact with everyone on board, you know how many black shirts there are, and you can pass on messages to the involuntary crew when you serve them in the meal line if we need that. I'm also going to get you up to speed on these engines so when I make my move on Kargarov and Jones I have a competent engineering officer ready to run things here."
Peterson smiled. "I can do that. So when do we start?"
"Right now. We've got a very narrow window of opportunity with the sub being in such bad shape, and Kargarov's men having to let the crew move around without escorts so they can make timely repairs. I'm going to give you a crash course in submarine engine operations and reactor control. The reactor shouldn't require much oversight but the engines will, since they're not in the greatest of condition," Lee answered.
"Great, but what about Polanski? Won't he rat us out?"
"I'm sure he can be convinced to stand with us or at the very least stand out of the way. From what I can tell, no one likes the man so I doubt he's got much loyalty to Kargarov or Jones. If he adamantly refuses to play, Whitcome can take him out of the equation easily enough with some of the things in sickbay; sedatives can be amazing tools," Lee said with a laugh as he flashed back on his CMO's nasty habit of employing the same tool to keep him down and out.
Lee quickly began laying out the basics of nuclear submarine engine operations for Peterson. He caught on easily and would be an excellent ally once the takeover swung into high gear. As they worked, they were joined again by Whitcome when he returned to finish his ministrations on Polanski. He quickly pulled out a suture kit and placed a number of stitches to close the open gash in the engineer's forehead. Once he placed the bandage over his needlework he began stowing his gear and preparing to leave. Seeing that he was finished with his patient, Lee waved him over to join him and Peterson.
"Man, that was a challenge," Whitcome said as he shook his head in disgust. "How did you get over the smell? I've been around festering dead things that smell better."
Lee chuckled quietly. "Lots and lots of mouth breathing," he replied with a wink. "Ned I have a proposition for you."
"Oh? What's on your mind?" he replied curiously.
"I've got a plan to take over the boat and hopefully get us to safety, and these creeps in the hands of the authorities. Would you be interested in helping out?" Lee asked.
Whitcome looked first at Lee and then Oscar who gave him a nod of assurance. "What have you got in mind?"
Lee smiled broadly and patted him on the shoulder. "You, Oscar, and Marty are key components of my plan given your positions on the boat. Hopefully you have access to drugs that can be used to incapacitate the majority of the black shirts, making it easier to seize control. Oscar here is our method of administering the sedatives via the chow line, and will then take over in the engine room once I make the run on Kargarov. As the medic, you seem to have rather free access to the boat and the crew. You can pass on messages and help coordinate the groups needed to make this work. Would you be willing to join us? If you say no I understand and won't hold it against you," Lee explained.
"Hell yes I want to help," Ned nearly shouted, then blushed slightly as he realized he could have given them away. "Sorry, I'm just excited about the prospect of getting out of here. I've been trying to come up with ways to do it but really didn't know where to start. So what specifically do you want me to do?"
Lee and Oscar smiled broadly at their coconspirator and each placed a hand on his shoulder. "Take a look at what's available in your medical stores that can be used to knock the black shirts out for a long time. Oscar here knows how many of them are on the boat and when they eat so he will be the one to start knocking them out and reducing the number of men we need to deal with. Ideally the drug needs to be something that doesn't take effect immediately but makes them sleepy and then knocks them down for a good long time. Is there anything like that in the pharmacy?"
"I'm not sure, I'll have to check. The shaking the boat took undid all my work so I'll have to re-stow everything which will make it easy for me to check things out without looking suspicious. If I find something, how do I let you know?" Whitcome asked.
"Well since they won't let you move Polanski into sickbay, you have the perfect excuse to return to check on him, and to pass the drugs on to Ned here for salting the food so to speak. How long before you think you can check out your stores?" Lee inquired
"I'm pretty much done with treating the injured on the boat. Most of the injuries were to our kind and it was mostly bumps, bruises and strains. Polanski here is actually the worst of the bunch. Speaking of which, you want me to take him out as well?"
"Wouldn't that be kind of dangerous with the concussion?" Lee asked.
Whitcome stared at him strangely for a moment. "Why would you care about that? Isn't he a willing member of the crew?"
"I have no idea what his story is other than he's a miserable person to be around. I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt, call it my personal failing. I can't see Kargarov purposely hiring such a poor engineer. I know he can't stand him or Jones or anyone on board for that matter so I think should he come to, he can either be swayed to stand with us or at least out of the way. If he won't, he gets the same meal as the black shirts." Lee answered.
"You really want to take that chance?" Peterson asked.
Lee shrugged his shoulders. "He could come in handy if things go wrong down here."
"Okay we'll do it your way. I'll head back to sickbay now and start looking through the drugs they've assembled. I'll come back down as soon as I find something and to 'check' on my patient." Whitcome replied with a smile.
"Thanks Ned. Once you come up with something, then we'll start recruiting for our band of mutineers. As I told Oscar, we have a very narrow window of opportunity here with everything so unsettled. I'm hoping this is all said and done by tomorrow night."
"Me too. I'll be back as soon as I can." Whitcome responded then turned and exited the engine room to go tidy up his sickbay.
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Once Whitcome had left, Lee and Oscar returned to their work on the engines. As they worked Ned laid out how the black shirt shifts worked on the boat. They had been divided into three shifts to ensure that there was an alert cadre of guards on duty at all times. Ned explained that usually the first shift ate and retired to their quarters a couple of hours before the next shift showed up for their 'breakfast' which replaced the on-duty crew a couple of hours after that.
It would work out perfectly. The dinner crowd would eat the doctored meal and then go to bed as usual without a hint that they had been drugged. They would be dead to the world and unable to respond should any alarms go off. The second shift would just start dropping off from their drugging about the time the on-duty shift was ready to knock off for the day. That would be when they would have to act to seize the weapons, storm the control room, and take over. Based on Oscar's count they would be dealing with approximately 7 to 9 armed men.
Kargarov and Jones didn't usually walk around armed which should make it easier for them to be taken down. The one bit of information Lee desperately needed was where they were in the ocean. They needed to be in an area where the boat could survive a dive to the bottom if they somehow lost control of the helm. Marty was the man he had to talk to next to get an idea of the bathymetry around them. He prayed that by now they were in a shallower area of the ocean. He would still make the attempt even if they were over deep water but one less thing against them the better.
As they finished up with the console they had been working on the guard entered the engine room and told Peterson to report to the galley to get started on dinner. Oscar quickly wiped his hands off and headed for the door. As he left Whitcome entered carrying his med kit and told the guard he had to check on Polanski. The guard nodded him over as he escorted Peterson out.
Lee looked up at Ned and was thrilled to see the wide grin he flashed him unseen by the guard, as he moved over to Polanski to check his vitals. The guard shut the hatch and they were once more alone.
Completing his check of the still unconscious engineer, Ned walked quickly over to Lee. "Bingo!" he whispered. "I found exactly what we need." He reached into his kit and pulled out a number of vials and handed one to Lee.
Lee accepted the vial and scrutinized it closely. "Flunitrazepam? What is it?"
"It's a really powerful sedative that will leave them unconscious for up to 36 hours depending on the dose. It's known as a date rape drug, which puts 'em out and leaves them with amnesia in the morning along with a bitchin' hangover. Probably what they used on us in the bar," Ned explained. "Oscar will need to put at least one vial into each batch of whatever he decides. It's odorless and tasteless so nobody should get wise to him until it's too late," he added with a deliciously evil smile. Lee responded with his own devilish smile as it looked like things were going to fall into place.
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