Chapter 12

No one's POV

With Eames

"What is going on?" Eames shouted.

"Not now Mr. Eames." A crewman said.

"Why are these boats being launched half full?" he was horrified. There weren't enough boats as it was. "They are built to hold 65 and some only have 20!"

"We weren't sure of the weight" the crewman defended.

"They were tested with the weight of 70 large men so start filling them!" Eames yelled.

"Yes sir" the crewman replied.

With Robert

Browning and Robert were looking all over for Arthur.

"He's not on the starboard side." Browning reported.

"None of these boats are taking men!" Robert complained.

"There's one on the other side that is." Browning told him.

"Good, now we just need some insurance, follow me." Robert started back for the room.

He opened the safe and put everything valuable in his coat pockets. He left the drawings in the safe. They meant nothing to him.

Back on deck Robert searched for the first mate (is that was Mr. Murdoch is?)

"Mr. Murdoch!" he finally found him.

"Mr. Fischer" he acknowledged.

"As you know I am a business man, and I have a business proposal for you." Robert said smoothly. He handed Murdoch a stack of money.

"Make sure there is a spot for me on one of these boats."

Browning found Robert waiting to get on a boat.

"I found him" he reported, "And he's with her. They're on the other side."

"Any more?" Mr. Murdoch gave Robert a meaningful glance. Saito was helping to fill the boats.

"God dammit all to hell!" he muttered. Robert turned around and went to find his cousin.

Saito looked around. There were no other people around them to get on the boat. He jumped into the boat. He could feel Mr. Murdoch's stare on him.

"Lower them away." He said.

Saito sighed in self-loathing.

Arthur's POV

We ran through the halls. We heard shouting and found a mob of steerage people at the stairs. Gates stopped everyone from getting to the main deck.

"You have to give us a chance to live!" someone yelled.

We pushed towards the top.

"Ariadne!" someone shouted.

"Nash!" she replied, "Can we get out?"

"It's hopeless that way!" he replied.

"We need to find another way out and we have to do it fast!"

"Ariadne!" someone else called.

"Yusuf!" she quickly hugged her friend.

"All the boats are gone!" he yelled.

"This whole place is flooding" she told him.

"Let's go this way!" I said and turned Ariadne around.

Ariadne's POV

We found another staircase that was less crowded. Arthur pushed his way to the front.

"Go back to the main staircase!" a man was yelling.

"Open this gate right now!" Arthur demanded. The man just kept repeating himself.

"God dammit! I am Arthur Levitt-Fischer! My uncle, Maurice Fischer, runs Fischer-Morrow Power Conglomerate. I am personal friends with Mr. Eames and Mr. Saito. Now I demand that you open the god damned gate right now!" I'd never seen Arthur so upset. He was so commanding. Even though he wouldn't do it in any other situation, he was very good at name dropping and using his position to his advantage.

The man seemed to be thinking about it. Arthur became inpatient.

"Yusuf, Nash, come help me!" the guys ripped a bench from where it was supposed to be stationed permanently.

"Everyone move out of the way!" I shouted when I caught on.

The other people moved out of the way and they rammed the gate with the bench.

The second time the gate broke away and we all ran through. Arthur held my hand as I ran behind him.

"You can't do this!" The man was screaming. Nash punched him out to shut him up.

We finally made it onto the main deck. It was complete chaos. People were crowded around the lifeboats and being pushed back like animals by the crew. Some crewman fired warning shots into the air to stop the stampede of people. Passengers were jumping into boats that were already being lowered.

"All the boats are gone!" he exclaimed.

I jumped up onto the railing and looked down the side of the ship for any lifeboats.

"Colonel!" Arthur stopped a first class man in a top hat. "Are there any boats on the other side?"

"No I heard there are some over that way though." He directed us.

We ran passed the string ensemble from the dining room in first class.

"Oh lovely we have music to drown by." Nash commented. "Now I know we're in first class."

I couldn't help but let out a laugh.

We found a boat that was only taking women and children.

"You guys go check the other side" I told Nash and Yusuf.

I watched as a little girl was ripped from her father's arms and placed on the boat with her mother and sister.

"It's only goodbye for a little while. This is a boat for mommies and children but there will be another boat for the daddies." He told her, obviously trying to stay strong for his daughters. I felt my heart break.

"I'm not getting on without you!" I told Arthur.

"You have to get on!" he said.

"No Arthur, I'm not going to leave you." I insisted.

"Get on the boat Ari!" he said.

"Yes get on the boat." Arthur turned around. Behind him, stood a very angry looking Robert.

"My God, Arthur, look at you! You're a mess. Here" he handed Arthur his coat.

Arthur pushed me towards the boat.

"Get on this one and I'll be on the next boat." He promised.

"Not without you!" I half insisted half begged.

"There is a boat on the other side taking men" Robert piped up, "I made arrangements for us to get on it."

"See there's already a boat for me, now you need to get on this one."

Before I could say anything else a crewman dragged me onto the boat. I looked up at Arthur as it was lowered. He watched the boat being lowered to the water with Robert.

Arthur's POV

"There's no arrangement is there?" I asked.

"No there is," Robert answered, "but when we get out of here you are never seeing her again."

I stared at him wide eyed.

Ariadne was looking up at me. I nodded to her. She looked around then back at me. I just looked after her solemnly. When Robert wanted something he got it, no matter what he had to do. I feared it might actually be the last time I saw her.

Suddenly she stood up and pushed her way to the edge of the boat.

"Ariadne!" I yelled.

She jumped off the life boat.