Chapter 10
Logan stormed into the nose and glared at Nelson and Morton. Both men regarded Logan and made no attempt whatsoever to hide their reaction to him clad in the hideous jumpsuit. Snorts of derisive laughter issued forth. The men behind him also fought hard to tamp down their own amusement knowing that if they were caught so much as smirking he would most likely kill them.
Logan stepped forward and backhanded Nelson, snapping his head viciously to the side. He provided the same shot to Morton. "It's not so funny now, is it Admiral?" Logan spat.
Harri scrunched his face driving off the pain then glared back at Logan. "Yes, it is still funny. I find it hilarious that you think you're getting away with anything. You're a petty, minor, villain with delusions of grandeur that will all too quickly explode in your face."
"Big words from someone who has lost his submarine to me twice," Logan retorted. "Your time is coming Nelson. My friends in the PR are virtually drooling over the opportunity to get their hands on you. Crane's the lucky one, he's already dead."
Both Harri and Chip stared at him, their expressions set in stone providing no reaction to his rant. The lack of reaction sent Logan into a rage and he backhanded them again. Logan spun around and fixed Weems in his sights. "Where is my clothing?"
"It's in my cabin, you want me to escort you down there?" Weems replied.
"No, take my bags to my cabin," he answered. "It's the one erroneously marked Admiral Nelson." He turned back to Nelson and scowled.
Harri graced him with a dismissive eye roll for all his pointless posturing eliciting another backhand across the face. "I'll wipe that smug look off your faces before we arrive at my base. You will be begging me to let the PR have you by then."
He then turned and stormed up the staircase to Nelson's quarters. Weems and the other men blew out a sigh of relief once he was gone. There was too much bottled up rage and if they weren't careful it could just as easily find vent on them. "Bridger, go get the bags out of our cabin and take them to him," Weems ordered. Bridger nodded and exited out the aft hatch.
"I'm sure as hell glad I'm not you Nelson," Weems remarked.
"Give it time Weems, you'll most likely be next on his list. He was mad four years ago, and apparently prison time has only made it worse. Ever wonder what happened to his second in comand the first time he grabbed my boat? He made the wrong move and he shot him down without the least bit of hesitation, just to save a painting," Nelson replied. Chip nodded confirming the statement. "I seriously doubt you'll make it to his base alive, since your real usefulness is now gone."
Weems paled slightly then glared at Nelson. Not wanting to know he'd struck a nerve, he just turned and stalked off leaving Chip and Harri alone in the nose.
"That's got him thinking, sir," Chip whispered.
"I don't think any of these men have ever really been around him, so if given the chance we need to plant those seeds of doubt when we get one alone with us. I wasn't kidding when I said he's become more deranged since being in prison. I just hope he doesn't turn his anger on the crew before the boat destructs."
Chip nodded in agreement. "Got you, sir. If he comes across too unbalanced and deranged in front of his men, we may have something to work with and may just gain our freedom." Harri nodded then resumed his stoic countenance as Hillman and Weems moved through the con.
(olooo
Logan threw open the door to Nelson's cabin and stomped in. His escape from prison hadn't been anything like he'd imagined. They had taken away all his powers and any opportunity to gloat and make them feel inadequate and sorry for having stood in his way the first time. He walked behind Nelson's desk and then placing his hands and arms on one side he swept them across the desktop sending everything crashing to the floor.
He then stood there breathing hard as the fury within him boiled over. He knocked all the pictures off the wall, eliminating anything that personalized the cabin. As he fought to bring his emotions under control there was a knock at the door.
"Enter!" Logan ordered. Bridger opened the door and stepped in carrying three bags with him. "What the hell do you want?!" Logan demanded.
"Here's your luggage," Bridger replied warily as he took in the destruction around the room.
"Fine, fine, fine. Just put them down on the desk," Logan snapped.
Bridger walked across the cabin and set them carefully down on the desk, making damn sure not to make eye contact with the obviously unstable man standing near the bed. "Is there anything else you need?"
"Yes, get someone down here to clean this up. Now get out!" Logan spat out.
Bridger nodded and quickly turned and left, shutting the door quietly behind him. "Whoa," he said softly once out in the corridor. He made his way down the passageway to the con to pass on Logan's demands to Weems.
With Bridger now gone, Logan tore the hideous pink jumpsuit off his body. He immediately went to the head and turned on the shower. He needed desperately to wash off the taint and humiliation he had been subjected to in his transit. All the while, he ranted and raved at the top of his lungs as he lathered up.
As the water washed away the horror of the last couple of days, his temper cooled and a more reserved and rational mien took control. He mentally began plotting how he would take his revenge against Nelson and all those who had subjected him to those 4 years of hell.
Once clean and dressed, Logan flipped on Nelson's computer and quickly executed a search for a picture of his true love. As the image of the Mona Lisa resolved on the screen, he reached forward and lightly stroked the monitor. The mere sight of her was a healing balm and she would very soon be his, and his alone. She sang to his soul like no other demanding he reclaim her forever. He sat down in the desk chair and gazed upon her, slowly pulling himself back together before continuing on with his plans.
ooolo)
Lee crept quietly through the lower reaches of the sub and had found that the crew had primarily been sequestered in the crew quarters and two other large storage bays. They weren't being employed to operate the boat at this time, but that could change once Logan was ready to move out. He needed to locate Harri and Chip before he was really ready to begin his takeover.
He headed to the vents on the next deck and worked his way down to the control room. As he peeked through the small grate, he spotted both men secured to chairs across the room in the nose. Both had bruises on their faces and split lips. Lee's blood boiled as he gazed on his best friend and chosen father. Knowing where they were now allowed him to start making plans for their release.
As he started to back out of the vent shaft, he was nearly overcome by a coughing spasm that would have given away everything. Moving as quietly as he could he grabbed the inhaler and administered another dose of the medication. He stilled his movements and fought down his lung's desire to expel the residual liquid still floating around. Tears flooded his eyes as he drove the urge to cough back down. He froze as he heard the two men down in the control room speak.
"What?" Hillman said.
"What do you mean what?" Rogers replied.
"Didn't you just say psst?"
"No," Rogers answered. They looked at each other closely then turned their gaze to the area around them trying to find the source of the noise.
"Must just be the ventilation system," Hillman finally said as he focused closely on the small grate above his head. Lee willed his body to absolute stillness praying that they wouldn't investigate further. After a moment they both shrugged and moved across the con to chat with the man at the helm.
Lee released a very silent sigh of relief and cautiously backed his way out of the narrow shaft. Once clear of the control room he moved back to a junction and climbed to the second deck. He needed to get to his cabin and claim his weapon and keys to the various rooms on board so he could get more weapons and gain access to critical areas of the boat.
He quickly made it to his quarters and peered carefully into the room to see if anyone was inside. He was pleased to see that no one seemed to have taken up residence in his absence. He pushed open the grate and lowered himself slowly into the room. As soon as he hit the floor, his body rebelled and a wicked coughing fit nearly dropped him to the floor. He staggered over to the head, grabbed a towel and tried his best to muffle the sound. The fit went on for what seemed an eternity until finally fading away. He stood frozen listening intently for the sound of anyone coming to investigate. As the minutes passed and no one entered he relaxed a bit and then took another hit off the inhaler.
Not wanting to be walked in on unexpectedly, he quickly walked to the door and locked it. He then moved to his safe, entered the combination, opened the door and removed his gun and clips of ammunition. Given the amount of activity he was engaging in; the thermal suit he had on was now becoming uncomfortably hot. He moved to his closet and pulled out his black jeans and long-sleeved Henley, and quickly changed. As he finished changing he suddenly found himself short of breath and lightheaded and sat down at his desk to give his body a chance to recoup. As he sat there trying to regain his breath, his attention was immediately drawn to the door when someone tried to enter.
"Hey the door's locked," a voice said. "Did you lock it?"
"Not me, maybe Weems did. Do we have the key to it?" the second voice answered.
"Don't know, probably not. I'm sure Nelson has a set of keys somewhere in his stateroom."
"I'm not about to go knocking on that door. Logan's got that cabin now and after the grand entrance he made I'm going nowhere near him. Weems told Hillman that Logan shot the last one of his guys that upset him," voice one said.
"No shit?"
"That's what Nelson told him, and I'm inclined to believe it. His bubble ain't quite on plumb anyway, and I can see it happening."
"Come on let's just keep moving, I'm sure one of the other guys flipped the lock so he wouldn't have to keep checking the room."
"Yeah, you're probably right."
Lee released a deep sigh of relief as he heard the two men move off down the corridor. He sprung into immediate action making sure everything was returned to its proper place and appeared undisturbed. He then returned to the grate and climbed back into the shaft. It was time to start setting things in motion to end this takeover.
(olooo
Having cleaned up and cooled down, Logan exited the cabin and headed down to the control room. As his steps sounded on the stairs all heads turned to regard him. He scowled at Nelson and Morton then walked over to Weems.
"Have we been contacted by our partners yet?" he inquired, calmly.
"No sir. The only contact we've had has been with the Navy. According to your instructions, you were going to be taking care of that," Weems replied cautiously, not wanting to set the man off.
He glowered a moment. "Whoever you have operating the radio, get them down here now," he ordered.
Weems nodded and picked up the mic. "Bridger report to the control room immediately."
Five minutes later Bridger entered through the aft hatch. "You need something Weems?"
"Yes, Mr. Logan needs to make a call," Weems informed him. Bridger nodded and took a seat at the radio.
"Who do you need to contact?" he asked Logan.
"PR submarine Thrasher," Logan replied. "And make it snappy."
Bridger nodded then activated the radio and tuned to the appropriate frequency. Minutes later a voice answered in heavily accented English. "This is Thrasher."
"Thrasher, this is Seaview. Standby for Mr. Logan," Bridger replied, then handed the mic to Logan.
"Thrasher, this is Logan. Is Captain Dresden available?"
"Dresden here, Logan. We've been waiting too long for your contact. What is your status?" snapped the captain on the other end.
"I was unavoidably detained and unable to signal you. I am now aboard Seaview and ready to depart. Have you placed the bomb on location?" Logan responded.
"Negative. You took too long to contact us; we could not get in before the US forces took up position around your location. Any attempt now to enter the area would be immediately detected and would uncover our participation in this scheme of yours. You're advised to exit the area as best you can, then lay low until we notify you it is safe to approach our docking facility," Dresden informed him.
"That was not our deal," Logan fumed. "You were to place the bomb then provide immediate escort back to your facility along with men to operate the boat. Where the hell are we supposed to go now?"
"As you people are so fond of saying, it sounds like a personal problem to me," Dresden shot back. "Do you have Nelson and Crane?"
"Just Nelson. Apparently the good captain was killed in an auto accident on his way back from a Navy mission. I do have his XO who is acting in his stead."
"You promised us both, Logan. I have no interest in the exec, it was Crane who had the intelligence information we paid for. I will have to contact my superiors to see if a change in terms is in order," Dresden replied.
Logan's face began to cloud as yet another setback was dropped in his lap. "I can't be held responsible for his death; it was entirely beyond my control. Nelson has just as much vital information. This should change nothing," he raged.
"As I said I will contact my superiors. Inform us when you have reached a safe location. Dresden, out."
Logan slammed the mic down on the top of the radio set shattering the casing around it. Bridger shrank back as did Weems as their boss glared at them both. "You should have been in contact with them the minute you took control of this boat," Logan yelled at Weems.
"My instructions were to maintain silence until you arrived," he responded defensively. "It was made abundantly clear to me that any deviation from the plan would not be tolerated, so I didn't."
Logan looked ready to blow a gasket. He balled and unballed his hands as he closed in on Weems. The other men in the control looked on anxiously to see what he would do. After a moment he seemed to wind himself down to a new deportment. "Get the men to their stations," he snapped. "We need to get out of here now."
"Yes sir," Weems barely squeaked out and hurried to the chart table to alert his men.
Logan stalked back to the nose, breathing heavily as he tried to get control of himself. He stopped in front of Nelson, folded his arms and stared at him.
"Sounds like things are unraveling fast, Logan. Your friends are deserting you like rats from a sinking ship, and you now have nowhere to go," Nelson said, unable to contain his smile.
"Tread lightly Nelson, you are becoming less valuable by the minute. I may be inclined to see just how fast your body will surface when released from these depths via a torpedo tube."
"You'll never get this boat to port, Logan. There are too many ships and subs looking for her now and given what's at stake they will not hesitate to blow her out of the water. Give it up now and you just might live to see tomorrow." Logan snarled at Nelson and backhanded him yet again. "Is that all you're capable of, a temper tantrum? You really have lost your edge sitting on your ass the last four years," Nelson taunted.
Logan turned to Weems, snatched the gun from his holster and placed the barrel firmly against Nelson's forehead. "Push me much further Nelson and I'll have your crew up here sponging your brains off the wall before I shoot them out of the torpedo tubes one at a time."
Nelson's expression remained unchanged, not reacting in the least to Logan's threat. Logan then removed the gun and laughed at him. "I'll be in my cabin," he informed Weems then turned and trotted up the staircase. Weems stood there stunned and more than a little concerned that Logan had taken his gun.
"I'd watch it very closely now Weems, he's on the edge and you screwed up big time, even if you didn't," Chip said quietly. Weems paled then turned and stalked off.
ooolo)