Staying Silent, part ten – September
Bright sunlight filtered down onto the boat deck, gently touching the heads of the crew as they watched ET swim back towards the Hammersley. They had found a body, in the water. Kate and Nav were standing on the top deck, looking down curiously.
"Looks like he's been dead awhile," Nav said quietly, as the sailors pulled the man on board. His skin was pocked and broken, and Swain was making a quick evaluation. His voice floated up to the two watching girls; Nav appeared a little disturbed by the discovery, whereas Kate's face was flat and expressionless.
"He's been dead a long time... months, maybe. The water stopped the skin decay, but I'd say the fish have been at him..."
"Not sharks?" Mike asked, leaning over his shoulder.
"No evidence of it. Some of them won't go dead meat. Too much chance of it being poisoned or inedible."
"Any idea what killed him?"
"Pretty obvious..." Swain muttered, rolling over the corpse, until the face and stomach were visible. "He was stabbed..."
One clinical finger followed the rip in the corpse's shirt. It was hard to remember the body had once been human – the eyes were missing. Swain pulled up the fabric, exposing his belly, and Mike's eyes widened with horror. Several of the crew gagged and moved away. Nav leant back, looking away from the scene. Beside her, Kate tensed – but not for the same reason.
A knife wound, through his gut and stretching up towards his ribcage. "Pretty nasty..." Swain said. "He would have been dead before he knew what was happening. Whoever dumped him probably had him weighed down... whatever they used could have worn through, which is why we've found him now."
Mike nodded, and the two men continued discussing what to do, not noticing the X's strange behaviour above them.
Kate was looking down, her throat steadily closing up. Her vision darkened, the shapes below her blurring. She grabbed the railing in a vain attempt to remain standing. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, even though it wasn't hot. She sucked in a breath, her throat closing, and Nav looked at her, concerned.
She was cold. She lifted one trembling hand to her throat, and for a moment heard Nav calling her name. Something touched her shoulder, and fear flashed through her. She wanted to escape, needed to escape.
Nav caught her moments before she hit the ground.
***
"What happened?" the frantic CO asked, racing down the hallway after Swain and Nav.
"We... we were... just standing there, and then she went all stiff, and her eyes rolled up and she collapsed," Nav said, her hands fluttering around her cheeks as she tried to work out what to do. Mike laid a steadying hand on her shoulder, and Swain turned into the wardroom, Kate in his arms, unconscious.
"The shock? Wasn't a pretty sight..." Swain suggested, laying her down carefully, and looking for something to bring her round.
"This is the X we're talking about," Nav remonstrated. Mike was inclined to agree. Just then, Bomber came through the doorway with Swain's kit, already opening it.
"C'mon, X," Swain muttered, checking her pulse. A look of alarm suddenly passed across his face. Bomber passed him some smelling salts, which he waved in front of Kate's face. Her nose wrinkled in distaste, and her eyelids flickered. Mike moved closer, unconsciously shoving Nav out of the way.
He gently stroked the side of her face. "Wake up, Kate," he whispered, and her eyes opened, wide and frightened. A moment later, she rediscovered how to move her limbs. Her arms windmilled for a second, before she grabbed hold of the seat below her and forced herself into a sitting position.
She sucked in several deep breaths, calming as she recognised her surroundings.
"Ma'am? How are you feeling?" Swain asked. She blinked a few times, and looked at him.
"Fine," she muttered, swinging her legs down, and pushing Mike away from her. She tried to stand, wobbled, and fell back down with a thud.
"Not so fine," Swain said with a slight smile. He grabbed a small torch, and indicated he wanted her to tilt her head. She did so, grudgingly, and he shone the light in her eyes a few times, watching as the pupils contracted and dilated.
"How many fingers?" he asked, holding up three.
"Six," she said, sarcasm evident. Swain met her gaze reprovingly, and she shrugged irritably. "Three!"
He heard her mutter something else, but apart from the word 'six' couldn't make out what she was saying.
"What happened?" she asked after a moment. The four people in the room shared a glance, and despite the headache now beating rhythmically in her head, she still managed to glare at them.
"You fainted," Nav said before the X starting snapping. Kate growled something under her breath.
"I got that. Any idea why?"
Mike looked at her, hard, silently instructing her to cool it. She glared back, but he recognised the pain and fear lurking behind the icy wall.
"Any nausea? Dizziness?" Swain asked. She shook her head, wincing slightly at the sharp motion.
"I have a headache," she grumbled. He nodded, fishing out a couple of painkillers.
"That'll pass. But I suggest you take it easy. Maybe it's a virus."
"I'm fine," Kate repeated. Bomber rolled her eyes, then remembered that Kate was a senior officer, and quickly rearranged her expression.
"Okay. Just stay sitting down while you're fine," Swain suggested, his eyes reflecting his humour. Kate snorted.
"What? This isn't weird. People probably often faint for unknown reasons."
Mike gaped at her. "I can't decide which part of that statement is more worrying," he replied. He turned to Swain. "You're sure she's okay? She's saying things like that, she has to be delusional..."
"Yep. Fine enough. Maybe it was the heat."
"What heat?" Nav asked, confused. Bomber winked at her, hiding a smile, and Nav closed her mouth, understanding. "Oh. Well, yes, it was a little hot."
"I don't like heat," Kate agreed, trying to make them all shut up. Her head ached, and the gaudy fluorescent lights were not helping.
"Maybe you should get some sleep, X," Mike said, and she nodded.
"Sleep sounds good," she said. There was silence for a moment, and no-one moved. Kate looked at Mike.
"You want to give me a hand?" she asked sarcastically. He smirked, and offered one hand. Swain, Nav, and Bomber moved aside as Mike led the way out, Kate using him as a support. The girls shared a look, not missing how easily the pair coordinated their movement.
None of them, however, saw or heard Kate whispering to Mike, "I need to talk to you."
***
"You okay?" he asked, once they were safely in her cabin. She sat down, her head falling helplessly into her hands. He went to turn on the light, but she waved a hand at him, and he realised that her headache was getting worse.
"The body," Kate said, launching straight into an explanation. Mike sat down beside her, concerned.
"You knew him?" he asked softly.
"No. But I saw him die."
Mike's mouth opened slightly with shock. One arm moved to wrap around her shoulders, but she shrugged him off.
"Of all the ships in the sea... why us? Why did we have to find him?" she asked miserably. He shook his head slightly, not knowing what to say.
"He's the one you..." he began, but broke off.
"Oh, I don't know," Kate said, her voice once again caustic. "I've witnessed so many murders, it's getting hard to keep them all straight!"
"Calm down," Mike replied. She lifted her head and looked at him steadily.
"Think, Mike! We have to hand this body over to the Feds. They're going to start digging, and who knows what they'll find?"
Mike sighed, understanding. That was one problem – and there was another. If Kate's stalker got wind of what they had found, Mike wasn't sure what he would do. Maybe he'd get scared, kill them both before they had a chance to say anything. Or, maybe he would flee. It might get him out of their lives for good.
Nice try, he told himself. We're not that lucky.
Suddenly overcome with exhaustion, Kate pushed weakly at Mike's side.
"I'm going to sleep," she mumbled. He nodded, standing up.
"Call if you need anything," he instructed her, heading for the door.
His chest tightened as he watched her lie down. He knew he had to protect her – and himself – but the real question was: how?