CHAPTER TEN
Parker seethed with resentment as the twelve couples ascended the gangplank. Why were they getting all the attention when he, whose wife was in America attending their only remaining child? Why did not both boys survive? Well technically his wife was in America, but the area they lived in was not. The Church had supposedly acquired the property and surrounding settlement from the Indians, but the Vatican representative's ship fell prey to pirates and never reached its location. Even though this part of Delaware was in limbo, the United States government assumed it was the property of the Roman Catholic Church. It was this assumption that kept the Centre and Blue Cove, untouchable.
Mr. Lamech Parker never gave up his British citizenship so when the call came to enlist, he left his wife and son while he returned to Scotland, and joined the Royal Navy. A natural administrator, he never actually saw combat, but he never rose above an ensign. It was one minor infraction after another, the way he lost his temper, blamed others for his mistakes and yet not enough to get him kicked out. Only his high marks saved him from dismissal. The men said there was something twisted about him, but they never said it to his face. Also the rumor flew, that when the doctors asked if they could revive his son, Mr. Parker said no and walked off, leaving his wife with his surviving baby boy in Delaware while he went to fight for 'his' country. Now his wife was a prisoner and no one said aloud what they knew was true that Mr. Parker actually gave the order to keep her contained or rather his father did. The Parkers, these Parkers could not tolerate weakness.
"When are we leaving?" he demanded.
"In a moment," said Reichart, "having a little trouble with the engine." He hollered down. "Try pulling the switch now! You can do it."
"Ja, Sarg!"
"So the men of the couples substitute as the crew?" asked Parker recognizing the man as one who went on board the ship, a man with light brown hair and gray eyes. .
"Secrecy you know, sir. Of course, you wouldn't know about it, being behind a desk for most of the war." An army man, Reichart had contempt for the Navy who he considered as basking on deck while the infantry went to clean up the mess.
Parker ignored him, and went to his cabin recounting everything he did to try to find out the man who was in charge of duplicating the Hercules experiment.
He had failed to try to search the passengers' luggage, failed when he asked questions where one went to school. How far did another man get in University. Did that man with the blond hair like to help on his parent's farm, how was it in the city for that man with a tan, what was the nearest college within walking distance of the tall red headed Scot, and asked every male passenger a few questions only a medical student could know. (Parker, himself, had someone steal a book from the Oxford University library. him and studied the contents in his spare time.) But, either they were incredibly wise or that Major incredibly astute.
In an hour, the engines started up, and they were on their way. They saw several other fishing trawlers heading for the Newfoundland banks, but he could not tell which were which and he certainly could not tell how many of them were there.
"What of the others, Reichart? I'd like to know the names of the other boats."
"They didn't tell me. We only know the identities by a certain number. Some nations are duplicated, but I don't know who. We won't know until one of us gets back to England, sir. Safety precautions, sir."
"Then, I'd like a complete tour of the Grand Illusion."
"Yes sir."
The sergeant showed Parker the engine room, the kitchen, and the dining room. He took him into the captain's quarters which was not exactly a true captain's quarters since the only ones on board were the passengers including Reichart and the other officer who was the acting captain, a lieutenant in the Merchant Marines. Parker looked at the schedule.
"What's this?" he asked as he put his finger below a particular paragraph.
"Quite clear sir. All but one officer has to return and the senior officer has the right, if he gets chosen to stay, to switch places with you, sir."
"What?" This put a damper in Parker's plans. He had planned when they reached Mexico to find the officer who would return, knock him out, and have him shipped back with the others. With that done, he would be free to radio Delaware.
"You know that we have to destroy all the ships, sir," said Reichart.
"I know." The Ensign had planned to herd the passengers on one ship and sail to Delaware. However, this was not practical, that being not enough room. If the Coast Guard caught them, he wanted the passengers to be healthy enough and the Grand Illusion not thought of as a floating Concentration Camp.
They had divided the main cabin where the passengers lived into twelve compartments, using dividers for privacy. As for the nets used for fishing, MI-5 had locked them in the hold where they would have put fish. The passenger crew brought them out occasionally when a cruiser or a plane flew overheard and pretended to fish. However, once they reached the mid Atlantic and started towards North America, they would not need them.
Parker had to make sure that the Grand Illusion never reached its destination. He had to make sure the ships sank with all on board supposedly. That's it! I will make MI-5 believe that we drowned in a storm. Then I'll head for Blue Cove. However, he knew this would not work. One or two ships sinking would be normal, but he had no idea how many there were and he would not know until they left the Grand Banks and headed down the Atlantic. Even then, he would not be sure other fishing trawlers were along for the voyage. The only ship he could scuttle would be the one he was on, but he had to make it convincing. He checked the calendar. This was storm season.
Ensign Parker had lived in Delaware for quite some time. He knew that at this type of year, there were storms along the Atlantic coast. Honestly, there were storms every part of the year, but he had to steer the ship in such a way to crash on the rocks below the placid surface of the Cove. For that, he needed the radio operator's manual.
"Sergeant, could you check to see if we have enough food for the voyage?" He waited until Reichart had descended into the cargo hold, and went into the communications room. It took him some time to read the manual, and to learn how to operate the switches. He did not want anyone else to know he was here, let alone asks questions about "how do you talk on this thing."
First, he found the contact number, and then he had to have an excuse. He turned on the radio, listening for the various weather reports, and studied the maps, waiting for his opportunity to scuttle the shi, and make MI-5 believe that they had gone down in a storm with all hands and to do that, Parker had to get rid of Lieutenant Fitzpatrick and Reichart. He turned off the radio, left the room, and went to the office.
Now all he had to do was to get the combination to the safe where they kept the documents, but he knew that the Major would only tell the acting captain it when they were sailing along the coast of North America. The Major ordered Fitzpatrick to open the safe, and give the passengers their passports, documents, marriage, and birth certificates, when the coast guard came on board to demand them. After that, they would go back in the safe.
That left a small window for Parker to act, but now he had plenty of time for his plans.
Throughout the voyage, he watched as the passengers went on deck, the women noticeably pregnant, and the men very attentive. He sat and ate in the dining room with them, taking note of their physical characteristics, the shape of their eyes, their noses, whether one had an oval face or a round face, whether one had full or thin lips, whether one had sad eyes, whether one was light, medium, or heavy build. He watched how they walked, and their manner of speaking as well as their accent. He would have to know all these for his plan to work. He had to know how to deal with the new species after he got rid of the evidence.
The ship was now nearing North America. Parker knew that once they started past Canada, they would sail along the coast of New England. He watched the other trawlers, seeing who would separate from the others and go southward, but none made the move. Either the ships were far ahead or they were waiting until dark. The waves were beating against the sides of the ship, everyone was putting on their yellow slickers, and Fitzpatrick was calling for him.
"Parker, I have to see about the passports. It's your turn to act as Captain."
"Will do!" He entered the captain's room, where Reichart had already turned the steering wheel towards the safest part of travel, this area being infamous for storms. Parker looked at the map. "Take it easy, Reichart and avoid the rocks."
"Don't worry about it, Ensign, this ship's in the hand of an expert."
They were nearing Delaware now, where his father owned a piece of land complete with a large imposing building known as the Centre. .
Parker reached for his gun in his pocket, but then Fitzpatrick called out, "Reichart, I'm not that good at German. I'll need your help in deciphering something."
"Be right there. Are you okay with this, Parker?"
"Yes, no trouble." Parker then took over the steering. All he had to do was to steer it a little closer to the shore, but then one of the passengers saw him through the observation window. At once Parker moved the steering wheel back to its original position.
The passenger went back to the cabin. It was now quite dark.
Parker set the steering wheel and then went downstairs, he could see Fitzpatrick had just opened the safe and was just reaching for the metal box. With a quick retort, Parker fired. Fitzpatrick went down, his hand clutching the edge of the safe.
"What the?" Reichart explained and started opening the door to the cabin.
Parker quickly hid behind the door and raised his pistol. He just needed one shot. Reichart fell as the bullet pierced his heart. He had not even time to echo surprise. As soon as he ascertained Reichart was dead, Parker took off his own uniform, switching with that of Reichart. Then he took out the metal box, removed the passports and certificates, read each, and committed them to memory. He then took out a match.
In less than a minute, all records of the passengers, and their proof of existence disappeared except in Parker's brilliant memory.
After locking the passengers' door (after all, he did not want to lose such valuable commodities), Parker went back to the observation deck and steered the ship towards the rocks. As he did so, he noticed a trawlers making out in his direction. Parker came to the correct conclusion. This was the other ship heading to who knows where. Making sure the other ship could see him, he waved at it and caught the reflection off a pair of binoculars and then he made as if the Grand Illusion was in trouble. He turned the wheel to the left, and than far to the right, and made as if he could not hold the steering wheel.
Splash! Parker did not know what hit him, as the movement of the ship sent him wheeling to the floor and he hit his head against the wall,
Parker seethed with resentment as the twelve couples ascended the gangplank. Why were they getting all the attention when he, whose wife was in America attending their only remaining child? Why did not both boys survive? Well technically his wife was in America, but the area they lived in was not. The Church had supposedly acquired the property and surrounding settlement from the Indians, but the Vatican representative's ship fell prey to pirates and never reached its location. Even though this part of Delaware was in limbo, the United States government assumed it was the property of the Roman Catholic Church. It was this assumption that kept the Centre and Blue Cove, untouchable.
Mr. Lamech Parker never gave up his British citizenship so when the call came to enlist, he left his wife and son while he returned to Scotland, and joined the Royal Navy. A natural administrator, he never actually saw combat, but he never rose above an ensign. It was one minor infraction after another, the way he lost his temper, blamed others for his mistakes and yet not enough to get him kicked out. Only his high marks saved him from dismissal. The men said there was something twisted about him, but they never said it to his face. Also the rumor flew, that when the doctors asked if they could revive his son, Mr. Parker said no and walked off, leaving his wife with his surviving baby boy in Delaware while he went to fight for 'his' country. Now his wife was a prisoner and no one said aloud what they knew was true that Mr. Parker actually gave the order to keep her contained or rather his father did. The Parkers, these Parkers could not tolerate weakness.
"When are we leaving?" he demanded.
"In a moment," said Reichart, "having a little trouble with the engine." He hollered down. "Try pulling the switch now! You can do it."
"Ja, Sarg!"
"So the men of the couples substitute as the crew?" asked Parker recognizing the man as one who went on board the ship, a man with light brown hair and gray eyes. .
"Secrecy you know, sir. Of course, you wouldn't know about it, being behind a desk for most of the war." An army man, Reichart had contempt for the Navy who he considered as basking on deck while the infantry went to clean up the mess.
Parker ignored him, and went to his cabin recounting everything he did to try to find out the man who was in charge of duplicating the Hercules experiment.
He had failed to try to search the passengers' luggage, failed when he asked questions where one went to school. How far did another man get in University. Did that man with the blond hair like to help on his parent's farm, how was it in the city for that man with a tan, what was the nearest college within walking distance of the tall red headed Scot, and asked every male passenger a few questions only a medical student could know. (Parker, himself, had someone steal a book from the Oxford University library. him and studied the contents in his spare time.) But, either they were incredibly wise or that Major incredibly astute.
In an hour, the engines started up, and they were on their way. They saw several other fishing trawlers heading for the Newfoundland banks, but he could not tell which were which and he certainly could not tell how many of them were there.
"What of the others, Reichart? I'd like to know the names of the other boats."
"They didn't tell me. We only know the identities by a certain number. Some nations are duplicated, but I don't know who. We won't know until one of us gets back to England, sir. Safety precautions, sir."
"Then, I'd like a complete tour of the Grand Illusion."
"Yes sir."
The sergeant showed Parker the engine room, the kitchen, and the dining room. He took him into the captain's quarters which was not exactly a true captain's quarters since the only ones on board were the passengers including Reichart and the other officer who was the acting captain, a lieutenant in the Merchant Marines. Parker looked at the schedule.
"What's this?" he asked as he put his finger below a particular paragraph.
"Quite clear sir. All but one officer has to return and the senior officer has the right, if he gets chosen to stay, to switch places with you, sir."
"What?" This put a damper in Parker's plans. He had planned when they reached Mexico to find the officer who would return, knock him out, and have him shipped back with the others. With that done, he would be free to radio Delaware.
"You know that we have to destroy all the ships, sir," said Reichart.
"I know." The Ensign had planned to herd the passengers on one ship and sail to Delaware. However, this was not practical, that being not enough room. If the Coast Guard caught them, he wanted the passengers to be healthy enough and the Grand Illusion not thought of as a floating Concentration Camp.
They had divided the main cabin where the passengers lived into twelve compartments, using dividers for privacy. As for the nets used for fishing, MI-5 had locked them in the hold where they would have put fish. The passenger crew brought them out occasionally when a cruiser or a plane flew overheard and pretended to fish. However, once they reached the mid Atlantic and started towards North America, they would not need them.
Parker had to make sure that the Grand Illusion never reached its destination. He had to make sure the ships sank with all on board supposedly. That's it! I will make MI-5 believe that we drowned in a storm. Then I'll head for Blue Cove. However, he knew this would not work. One or two ships sinking would be normal, but he had no idea how many there were and he would not know until they left the Grand Banks and headed down the Atlantic. Even then, he would not be sure other fishing trawlers were along for the voyage. The only ship he could scuttle would be the one he was on, but he had to make it convincing. He checked the calendar. This was storm season.
Ensign Parker had lived in Delaware for quite some time. He knew that at this type of year, there were storms along the Atlantic coast. Honestly, there were storms every part of the year, but he had to steer the ship in such a way to crash on the rocks below the placid surface of the Cove. For that, he needed the radio operator's manual.
"Sergeant, could you check to see if we have enough food for the voyage?" He waited until Reichart had descended into the cargo hold, and went into the communications room. It took him some time to read the manual, and to learn how to operate the switches. He did not want anyone else to know he was here, let alone asks questions about "how do you talk on this thing."
First, he found the contact number, and then he had to have an excuse. He turned on the radio, listening for the various weather reports, and studied the maps, waiting for his opportunity to scuttle the shi, and make MI-5 believe that they had gone down in a storm with all hands and to do that, Parker had to get rid of Lieutenant Fitzpatrick and Reichart. He turned off the radio, left the room, and went to the office.
Now all he had to do was to get the combination to the safe where they kept the documents, but he knew that the Major would only tell the acting captain it when they were sailing along the coast of North America. The Major ordered Fitzpatrick to open the safe, and give the passengers their passports, documents, marriage, and birth certificates, when the coast guard came on board to demand them. After that, they would go back in the safe.
That left a small window for Parker to act, but now he had plenty of time for his plans.
Throughout the voyage, he watched as the passengers went on deck, the women noticeably pregnant, and the men very attentive. He sat and ate in the dining room with them, taking note of their physical characteristics, the shape of their eyes, their noses, whether one had an oval face or a round face, whether one had full or thin lips, whether one had sad eyes, whether one was light, medium, or heavy build. He watched how they walked, and their manner of speaking as well as their accent. He would have to know all these for his plan to work. He had to know how to deal with the new species after he got rid of the evidence.
The ship was now nearing North America. Parker knew that once they started past Canada, they would sail along the coast of New England. He watched the other trawlers, seeing who would separate from the others and go southward, but none made the move. Either the ships were far ahead or they were waiting until dark. The waves were beating against the sides of the ship, everyone was putting on their yellow slickers, and Fitzpatrick was calling for him.
"Parker, I have to see about the passports. It's your turn to act as Captain."
"Will do!" He entered the captain's room, where Reichart had already turned the steering wheel towards the safest part of travel, this area being infamous for storms. Parker looked at the map. "Take it easy, Reichart and avoid the rocks."
"Don't worry about it, Ensign, this ship's in the hand of an expert."
They were nearing Delaware now, where his father owned a piece of land complete with a large imposing building known as the Centre. .
Parker reached for his gun in his pocket, but then Fitzpatrick called out, "Reichart, I'm not that good at German. I'll need your help in deciphering something."
"Be right there. Are you okay with this, Parker?"
"Yes, no trouble." Parker then took over the steering. All he had to do was to steer it a little closer to the shore, but then one of the passengers saw him through the observation window. At once Parker moved the steering wheel back to its original position.
The passenger went back to the cabin. It was now quite dark.
Parker set the steering wheel and then went downstairs, he could see Fitzpatrick had just opened the safe and was just reaching for the metal box. With a quick retort, Parker fired. Fitzpatrick went down, his hand clutching the edge of the safe.
"What the?" Reichart explained and started opening the door to the cabin.
Parker quickly hid behind the door and raised his pistol. He just needed one shot. Reichart fell as the bullet pierced his heart. He had not even time to echo surprise. As soon as he ascertained Reichart was dead, Parker took off his own uniform, switching with that of Reichart. Then he took out the metal box, removed the passports and certificates, read each, and committed them to memory. He then took out a match.
In less than a minute, all records of the passengers, and their proof of existence disappeared except in Parker's brilliant memory.
After locking the passengers' door (after all, he did not want to lose such valuable commodities), Parker went back to the observation deck and steered the ship towards the rocks. As he did so, he noticed a trawlers making out in his direction. Parker came to the correct conclusion. This was the other ship heading to who knows where. Making sure the other ship could see him, he waved at it and caught the reflection off a pair of binoculars and then he made as if the Grand Illusion was in trouble. He turned the wheel to the left, and than far to the right, and made as if he could not hold the steering wheel.
Splash! Parker did not know what hit him, as the movement of the ship sent him wheeling to the floor and he hit his head against the wall,