This is long-2039 words this chapter.
Chapter Fourteen, Transfer 4: Canals of Venice
Jess sat in front of the monitors. "I could get used to this," she said. "It's nice sitting in the warm sun with a light breeze blowing; it really beats being held hostage inside the ARC for hours."
"You could probably join the new ARC," said Marino, "once our two countries stop arguing and set it up."
Jess smiled. "Tempting…but London is home."
"Marino, do you read?" asked Cooke.
"No, she does not. You've got Jess Parker now."
"Well, that's pleasant," said the Commander. "Even if your boyfriend is currently looking menacingly at me. Anyway, I'm reporting that we're nearing the end of the Grand Canal. We've almost sailed the whole length and we still haven't located the anomaly."
"That's not good," said Jess.
"Yes it is," said Becker. "It means we're close."
"Which is why I want a progress report on the fish roundup," said Cooke.
"Nearly complete," said Marino. "They're taking a bit longer with the Xiphactinus for safety reasons, but they're nearly done."
"Yep, little Buddy confirms that the Canal is clear," said Jess, "up to your location."
"Excellent," said Orsetti.
"It won't mean much if we can't close the anomaly," said Becker, "and stop these things from swimming in. How are the side Canals, Jess?"
"Clear. It didn't take near as long as we thought," said Jess. "Of course, Cooke and Valentina did supply gobs of boats and crew, so it went quickly."
Becker sighed. "So far, this has been a cake walk."
Cooke and Orsetti both made noises at the same time. Cooke kind of guffawed and said, "Don't jinx us!"
Orsetti cried out as if in pain and then he exclaimed, "I'm surprised at you, Captain! Now you've doomed the whole thing!"
Jess' giggles filled the comms and Becker's heart. "Aren't you both a bit old for superstition?" she asked.
"No," said the Signor.
Cooke said, "Superstition won't bite you in the arse. Trust me; this is going to bite us thanks to your captain."
Marino and Jess giggled over the comm.
"I'm glad the ladies are enjoying our predicament," said Cooke.
"Predicament?" asked Jess.
"Ci, mio cara, haven't you been listening? Your man just cursed us all," said Orsetti with a moan.
"I don't know about that," said Doctor Ivey. "Bob just found the anomaly."
"He did?" asked Orsetti, excited.
"If the anomaly is a big ball of shining light," said Ivey.
"It is," said Becker, smiling. "Bob found it. He did brilliantly."
Ivey smiled. "Thank you, Captain."
"Let's get this done," said Cooke. "Miss Parker, let the other boats know where we are."
"Will do."
The other boats rendezvoused with Cooke and the others. Jess directed them one at a time, so there wouldn't be a traffic jam. They dropped their nets and divers pushed the nets filled with the prehistoric fish through the anomaly. They took extra care with the nets full of Xiphactinus.
Hours later Orsetti breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally," he said. "Venice is free."
"Not quite, yet," said Becker. "We need to double check that the lagoon is clear."
"I can turn Bob around," said Ivey.
Cooke nodded. "Do it and make sure he goes down every Canal even the side canals that had been clear."
Ivey nodded, activating the controls. "Okay, he's going back the way we came."
"Where's the other one?" asked Becker.
"Buddy is just catching up to us," said Ivey. "He's a slow poke."
"Keep him monitoring the anomaly, just in case," said Becker. He turned to Cooke. "I don't like it being open while we wait. I wish we had waterproof EMDs we could aim at the thing."
"I'll get Connor and Matt on it when we get home," said Jess.
They waited anxiously while Bob completed checking the lagoon. "So far, so good," said Jess. "He isn't reading a thing."
"Good," said Becker.
They waited over an hour. Then Jess said, "Hi there, handsome."
"Excuse me?"
"Hmm, oh, nothing Becker. I just have a very attractive visitor coming down the canal toward me."
"Jess, you better be toying with my emotions right now."
Jess broke into giggles.
"You're mean," said Marino. "She is, Becker. Her handsome visitor is Bob."
Becker laughed. "You are mean."
Jess giggled. "Sorry, but I couldn't resist. We're nearly done!"
Becker chuckled. "Yeah."
"Oh, mio cara, you are so anxious to leave Venice and me?"
"No, Signor, she is ready to prepare to leave," said Becker. "I know how her mind works. She's already planning her final shopping trip."
"I am!"
Everyone laughed.
"I will be sorry to see you go," said Marino.
"I won't. They've given me an ulcer and sworn me off romance," said Cooke.
"Somehow I doubt that," said Marino. She blushed when Jess looked at her and smirked.
"You must all come to my house for a final soiree."
"No offense, Signor, but I'm not letting Becker anywhere near Signora Orsetti again."
"Oh. Well, I'll just send her somewhere for the night."
Everyone laughed or giggled.
"OK, Commander," Becker said to Cooke, "let's send the divers to close this baby then we can all call it a day."
Cooke smiled widely. "My pleasure, Captain." He moved to signal the divers when Ivey screamed. "What the hell is that?" she cried.
Becker looked at the monitor and cursed.
"What is it?" asked Jess, seeing the images sent by Buddy.
"It's bloody huge," whispered Cooke, "that's what it is."
"Jess…" began Becker.
"How close to you is it?"
"Too damn close," he whispered.
"I don't believe what I'm seeing," said Ivey. "It kind of looks like a crocodile…with flippers."
"It's still swimming through the anomaly!" cried Cooke. "Jeez! It must be…10 meters long?"
"Something like that," said Becker.
"It's opening its mouth!" cried Jess.
"Look at those teeth!" cried Ivey.
"Why are we still here? Let's go!"
"We can't Signor," said Cooke.
"Do you really want that thing loose in your lagoon?" asked Becker
Orsetti shook his head in a panic. "No! Oh, my god, no!"
"Where are the divers?" asked Jess.
"Everyone cleared out of the water as soon as this thing appeared," said Becker.
"What do we do?" asked Cooke. "Becker, do something. You're the action hero."
"I agree with the Signor," said Ivey. "We don't have to run away completely but I'd say a retreat is in order."
Cooke nodded and ordered the driver to move the ship away. He then gave the orders for every boat to head back even further.
"I've closed the lagoon," said Jess, "and ordered police to keep everyone well away from the banks. So far everyone seems to be cooperating."
"It's swimming toward us," said Ivey.
"We need to keep it toward the middle of the Canal," said Cooke. "With that body, it could seriously damage the structure of buildings."
"NO, no, no…" whined Orsetti.
"We won't be a match for it in these boats," said Becker. "That thing could probably flip a cruise ship." He ran to the back of his boat to retrieve the three EMDs he'd smuggled into Venice. As he opened the container holding them he exclaimed. "God, I love you, Jess Parker!"
Jess laughed, trying to keep it light and not on the verge of panic. "I thought you'd like my present," she said. "I was seriously hoping you wouldn't need them."
Cooke looked over. He smiled widely. Becker was staring into a crate of about twenty EMDs. "I love you too, Jess."
Jess chuckled. "Put them to good use."
Becker laughed. "We will, baby. You can count on that. Thank God you like to be prepared."
"New plan," said Cooke. "Becker, let's you and me change ships."
Becker smiled. "I promised Jess no ship-hopping."
"I'll allow it this once."
Cooke laughed. "Thank you. Orsetti, you stay here with Ivey. Jess, have the biggest of the three ships pull alongside us."
"Copy."
The ships pulled alongside. Cooke thought it best to split up, so he jumped in one boat and Becker in another. Then the boat with Orsetti and Ivey withdrew.
"I have an ID on the creature," said Jess. "It's a plesiosaur, probably Brachauchenius. It was about ten tons and 30 feet long. It lived in the late cretaceous and ate fish and marine reptiles. Becker, everyone, please don't get too close."
"We'll try not to," said Cooke, "but..."
Becker finished his sentence. "We have to keep it from the population, Jess."
"I know," she said. "Be careful."
The ships sailed toward the plesiosaur.
"Will you even be able to fire through the water and hit it?" asked Marino.
"Oh, this thing is huge, Lieutenant," said Cooke. "Our shots will reach."
They sailed close, too close for Jess. She watched the monitors, scared and anxious. Then the sailors, about six per boat, opened fire.
They fired at once and on command, but the thing was so huge that it wasn't knocked out. It began to thrash.
"I was afraid of this," mumbled Becker as he was rocked by a big surge.
Cooke was rocked also but his boat was pushed backward toward the third boat. The captain of that boat steered clear and Cooke's boat slid into the banks, unharmed.
Becker's boat was unfortunately pushed closer to the plesiosaur.
"No!" cried Jess, as the boat smashed against the mass, making the creature thrash more. The boat began rocking violently with the creature.
Cooke and the third boat were in danger of hurling toward both of them. The drivers had no choice but to abandon Becker's boat and run for their lives.
Becker and his men valiantly tried to keep firing. It was impossible though in the shaking boat.
As everyone watched, the boat reached its limit, shattering into pieces.
Jess screamed. "Becker!"
It was a feeding frenzy for the plesiosaur, which could be clearly seen now, close to the surface.
Cooke watched helplessly as men screamed, tried to swim away, or tried to hang onto wreckage. He turned away as one was bitten into pieces.
Two men tried to grab onto the bank. Only one was hoisted to safety.
The other one was tangled in wreckage and floated helplessly back to the plesiosaur. He became another casualty, his death disturbingly visible to everyone.
Signor Orsetti cried as he watched the carnage on the monitor.
"Cooke, the rescuers want to move in," said Marino.
The commander had turned white. "No, Valentina. There is too much wreckage, waves, and the creature…No, don't send more sailors to their deaths."
"Understood," she said quietly.
They watched as the plesiosaur searched the wreckage for more food. It found two more sailors: one was screaming as he was silenced forever by the creature. The other was unconscious or dead.
"Do something!" screamed a sailor in Cooke's boat.
The commander looked at him. Calmly Cooke asked, "What? What shall I do?" He stared at the men as they stared back. "I'm asking you all," he said, tears forming. "Honestly, I can use suggestions."
The sailors had none.
"We could try to fire from the banks," suggested Marino.
"Too far away," said Cooke. "So are the bridges. Only boats get close enough, but close enough is too close. Becker was too close," he said sadly. Then a horrible image hit his brain. Jess. Her smiled filled his head. "Oh, god," he said with a moan. "How is Jess?"
Marino looked around. "She's gone. She asked me to take over monitoring, but I thought she was still here. Cooke, she's gone."
Jess was in frenzy mode. She had to do something. She had to help Becker. What could she do? After she saw Becker go down, the life drained out of her. She stared helplessly at the monitors. Then Doctor Ivey had said something over the comms that gave her an idea.
Ivey had suggested sending Bob in as a diversion. Cooke told her it wouldn't help. Bob would just become a billion dollar hors d'oevres.
A diversion, thought Jess. Something to occupy the creature so the men could get away. Maybe even distract it long enough for others to sail in and shoot it.
Ivey just suggested the wrong kind.
Jess ran to the nearest restaurant. "I need meat," she said, "the bloodier the better."
End of Chapter Fourteen