Chapter 11.
Chip stared at the paper on the desk in front of him. He'd been trying to write a letter to Mrs Crane, Lee's mother. But what the hell was he supposed to tell her? He could hardly tell her that some-one had tried to kill her son. Maybe he should go and see her. After all, if Lee really had died, that's what he would have done. However, that would mean leaving Lee, and with the Admiral being away he was reluctant to do so. The only other thing was to call her. He was about to reach for the phone when it rang. "Morton here," he answered.
"Sorry to disturb you, Sir – this is the gate house. We have a Commander Collins asking to see the Admiral. He claims to know Captain Crane. We've checked his I.D, he's with British Intelligence," the guard reported.
"Okay, have him escorted to the dock, I'll meet him there," Morton instructed. Intrigued by this unexpected visitor, Chip replaced the receiver and got to his feet. What did British Intelligence want with Nelson? Lee had never spoken of Collins, but that didn't mean anything. There was a lot about Lee's time with O.N.I that he never talked about. Closing the cabin door behind him, Chip headed forward to 'B' deck where a ladder would take him to the control room.
Chip shook hands with the tall, dark commander. "I'm Morton, Seaview's exec. What can I do for you, commander?"
"Actually, I just came to offer my condolences. I cannot believe that Lee Crane is dead," Collins said, shaking his head.
"Thank you," Chip hesitated, not sure how to break the news that Lee was alive. "Won't you come aboard?" he invited.
"Thank you, I'd be delighted to see the inside of your famous submarine," accepted politely.
"Then follow me," Chip turned crisply and headed across the gangplank. The conning tower was an imposing structure up close. Chip opened the hatch and waited to allow Collins to precede him through. "This way," Chip took the easier route rather than the long climb down the ladder that Lee always complained had too many rungs. They had both gotten into the habit of dropping the last few rungs, but that could be risky if Seaview was riding a heavy swell or making a crash dive. At the bottom of the spiral staircase Chip stopped and waited for Collins.
The control room needed no explanation and Chip stood letting the commander take in his surroundings.
"I've heard a lot about the Seaview, but she is even more remarkable in reality," Collins said, gazing appreciatively towards the nose.
"Thanks, we're all very proud of her," Chip replied as his thoughts returned to Seaview's Captain. "If you'll follow me, commander, there is some-one I think you'd like to see."
Turning from his scrutiny of the control room, Collins looked at him. "Sounds very mysterious." He said curious.
"How long have you known Lee?" Morton asked, leading the way aft to the hatch.
"Several years."
Collins was giving anything away, and Chip needed to be sure that he could trust him before they reached sickbay. "How long are you here?" Chip enquired, pausing at the top of the ladder.
"I'm not sure, I've taken some leave. I am sorry that I missed Lee's funeral," Collins sounded genuinely sorry.
"You didn't," Chip told him.
"What?" Collins grabbed Chip's arm. "Hold on there, what do you mean, I didn't?" he demanded, his grey/blue eyes darkening. "I thought Lee was buried at sea."
Chip jerked his arm free. "Can I trust you, commander?" he asked bluntly.
"What sort of a damn fool question is that?" Collins snapped, looking insulted.
"A pertinent one, considering that someone tried to kill Lee," Chip retailed, before continuing along the corridor.
"Tried – you mean Lee isn't dead?" He asked, following after Chip.
"No, he isn't, thank goodness," Chip confirmed, suppressing a shudder at the memory of finding Lee. A few more strides took him to the junction of two corridors, turning the corner he stopped outside sickbay and opened the door. "Lee, you have a visitor," he announced as he entered.
"James, what the devil are you doing here?" Lee smiled in greeting.
"I'll leave you two to catch up. We can talk later, commander," Chip turned to the still open door. He had a lot of arrangements to make if Seaview was going to be ready to sail.
xxxxxx
"So, what is the plan? I take it that you intend to deal with this Rosjohn?" Collins asked over coffee with Chip in the observation nose.
"Personally, I'd like to kill the son of a bitch. But while he's on American soil I can't touch him. I can't risk dragging the institute into a diplomatic row."
"But if you could?"
"I know a deserted island. I'd leave him there for a few days, give him time to reflect on the error of his ways," Chip replied. However, he knew that Nelson would not approve of him taking matters into his own hands.
"After what he did to Lee, he deserves all he gets," Collins said. "I'd be happy to help. I am not an American, I could do things that you cannot," he offered.
Chip regarded him thoughtfully. "I have a plan – I'll let you know."
Collins finished his coffee and returned the cup to the table. "Thank you for the coffee, I will not keep you. I am sure that you have things to do. You can reach me at the James House hotel," he said, extending a hand to Chip.
Chip shook hands. "Thank you, commander. I'll escort you topside, and have someone take you to your car."
xxxxxx
After checking on Lee, Chip headed for the control room to put a call through to Nelson. Lee had seemed a lot better, although after an eventful day he had tired and Jamieson has said no more visitors until tomorrow.
Chip was sure that being aboard Seaview had helped Lee's condition, even though it would be some time before Lee would be fit enough to return to duty. In the interim, Chip wondered what Nelson had planned for Seaview. Chip had a few ideas of his own for the Flying Sub, but he couldn't launch her while they were berthed.
Reaching the radio shack, Chip put the headset on and started flicking switches; bring the equipment to life before turning the dial to the institute frequency. "Seaview to Nelson Institute, come in please, over."
"Receiving you Seaview – go ahead Mr Morton," the operator replied almost immediately.
"Can you patch me through to Admiral Nelson?" Chip asked.
"Hold on, Sir – I'll try."
Chip waited while the operator called Washington and tried to contact Nelson. He wondered how Lee would react to being kidnapped by this exec, aboard his own command. At least he wouldn't be bored.
"Hello, Chip – is something wrong?" Nelson's voice came over the radio.
"Good evening, Admiral. No, nothing is wrong, Sir," Chip replied. "I would like to request permission to launch Seaview."
"Why?"
Chip could hear the suspicion in Nelson's voice. "I think it would help Lee's recovery to get back to some sort of normality, Admiral. I am not suggesting that he is fit to return to duty, but a short cruise might take his mind off things," Chip explained.
The Admiral wasn't stupid, and had probably seen straight through Chip's excuse. "What did you have in mind?" the Admiral asked.
"A visit to San Diego harbour museum. It would be a good public relations exercise."
"And a good way to lure Rosjohn out," Nelson voiced what Chip had been thinking. "Very well, permission granted. But be careful, Mr Morton," Nelson warned.
"Yes, Sir - Seaview out," Chip turned off the radio and removed the headset. Now he needed a crew.
xxxxxx
"You wanted to see me, Sir?" Chief Sharkey asked as he arrived in the control room.
"Yes, Chief. Is Mr O'Brien still topside?" Morton asked. He needed some-one to take the first watch.
"I believe so, Sir, would you like me to find him?"
"Yes, Chief, and prepare to sail in the morning. We get underway as soon as we have a full crew. You'd better tell O'Brien." Chip told him.
"Yes, Sir...Err, are we going somewhere, Mr Morton? What about the Skipper?" Sharkey asked, looking doubtful.
"Captain Crane is aboard, but he is not to be disturbed," Chip told him.
"Yes, Sir."
"Carry on, Chief," Chip prompted. He did not want to spend time explaining everything now. He would do that later when all the crew were aboard.