CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

"Commander Slattery," Michener greeted as Mike walked into the president's office. Mike stood at attention.

"Mr. President," Mike snapped.

"Come over and sit down. I understand that Chandler is back on the ship?"

"Yes, Sir. He is receiving medical attention. From what I heard from our chief corpsman before I left the ship, Chandler will be down for at least a few days."

"That means you'll be in charge of things?"

"Yes, Sir, it effectively puts me in command of the Nathan James."

"Good. Now, we need to clean up this mess Randroni stirred up."

"I understand, Sir. Is there an established local police force?"

"There is. Randroni is the damn head of it," Michener spat out. Mike cringed. That could put a damper on things.

"How many of the men are loyal to him?"

"The ones you took into custody I'd assume. But that's at least half the guys. So, they're pretty wiped thin."

"My men can help with that for now. But we need to establish a line of command and restore order to the city."

"We need to speak with Mayor Oliver. He's trustworthy in my book."

"Aye, Sir. Are there lines of communication into the city currently?"

"We had them, but Randroni disabled our comms room when he took me hostage."

"Then we need to work on reestablishing control, Sir."

"On it, but I'm sure they could use some help. We a little short on expertise around here."

"I have a comms officer working with your protection detail. I'll reassign Mason to work in the comms room until things calm down."

"Sounds good. Thank you, Commander Slattery. I don't know what would have happened if you all hadn't shown up. Just wish it would have been earlier."

"Sorry about that, Mr. President. That ship had some fits on the way here. But our chief engineer was a rockstar and got us rolling again. Otherwise, we may still be drifting around the coast of Florida."

"Sounds like he did an amazing job."

"She, Sir. Commander Garnett and her crew worked their tails off," Mike said with pride. Michener nodded slowly.

They wrapped up the meeting and Mike went in search of Mason. When he found the young man, he ordered him to help restore the comms room. Then he went to find Green and Burk.

"XO," Green shouted and waved Mike over.

"Lt. Green," Mike greeted him. Burk stepped over to join them. "How are things going?"

"We have twenty-seven in custody. Four need medical attention. We've stopped the bleeding as best we can, but they really need a doctor."

"Understood. Start moving them to the jail downtown. Watch your backs though, as far as Michener knows all Randroni's supporters were with him, but he was the head of police."

"Great," Burk mumbled as he shifted his gun to a more comfortable position. "Sir, do we know what's going on in the city?"

"Not yet. I have Lt. j.g. Mason helping to reestablish communications. We need to find out where Mayor Oliver stands."

"This is a shit show, Sir," Burk ground out, clearly frustrated. Mike sighed.

"Maybe, but our job is to restore order and help the president. So, let's start getting the prisoners detained and the four needing medical help. I'll see if there is a doctor available or if I need to radio the ship."

"Aye, aye, Sir," Green and Burk barked in unison. Mike nodded as the two men wandered off to fulfill his orders. Mike sighed. He checked the time, then tried to hale the ship with the portable.

"Nathan James, this is Commander Slattery, do you copy?"

"Commander Slattery, this is Nathan James, we copy."

"Things are a mess here. So far, I've met with Michener and discussed a plan of action. We have detained Randroni and twenty-six others that participated in the attempted coup. Mason is trying to repair the comms room here in the hotel. Four of the prisoners are in need of medical attention, unsure if needed from the ship at this time, will advise soon. Over."

"Understood, XO," Granderson replied.

"How are things there?"

"Running smoothly," Andrea's voice answered him. Mike smiled and closed his eyes.

"Good to hear. Any word on the captain yet?"

"No, Sir," Andrea replied. "Last I heard he was still in the helo bay…resting."

"Keep me appraised."

"Aye, Sir," Andrea said. Mike turned and looked around. He walked to the comms room to check in on Mason.

After talking with Mason and two civilians in the comms room Mike was satisfied that a line of communication would be operational within the half hour. He walked out and saw Green coming towards him.

"XO," Green said as he walked up. Mike nodded. "We were able to secure a doctor after transporting the prisoners to the local jail. They are in cells awaiting…whatever Michener wants to do. There is a rag tag police force left, about fifteen guys that weren't loyal to Randroni. All of them are willing to stay active. None of them want to take control."

"I'll talk to them. I need to check in with the president then I'll head over to the jail to appoint someone to take charge."

"Aye, Sir."

"Work your team back into protecting the president."

"Aye, Sir," Green said then turned and walked off. Mike sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. He didn't want to have to handle this side of things. Chandler did a much better job at that than he did.

Mike circled back towards the president's office and stopped off in the comms room on the way. Mason gave him a thumbs up as he walked in.

"Comms are operational, Sir," Mason replied with a smile.

"Good work."

"Thank you, Sir. We've already informed the president."

Mike nodded and stepped back into the hallway. He walked the rest of the way and came into the outer chamber, observing the bustle of aides working. He took a deep breath, clearing his head.

"Commander Slattery," a voice called. Mike looked in that direction and saw a woman walking towards him.

"Yes, Ma'am?" he replied.

"President Michener requests your presence in his inner office."

"Yes, Ma'am," Mike replied. He followed the woman. She opened the door and stood just inside the room waiting for Mike to enter. Once he was in, She turned into the doorway.

"Commander Slattery to see you, Sir," she said then turned and walked out, closing the door behind her.

"Good news, Commander," Michener said.

"Comms are up," Mike replied with a smile.

"My guys say your communications officer did the trick. They were impressed with his skill."

"Lt. j. g. Mason is good at what he does," Mike agreed with a nod.

"What is the status of our prisoners?"

"My men have them secured in the local jail. Four needed medical attention but apparently my men were able to find a doctor. They have been patched up. Lt. Green informed me that there are fifteen men left on the local police force who were not loyal to Randroni."

"Who's in charge over there?"

"Currently? No one. I'm about to head over and find someone to…appoint."

"Sounds good. Keep me informed."

"Yes, Sir," Mike replied. He left the area and headed towards the jails. When he arrived, it was just shy of chaos. Mike scrubbed a hand over his face and steeled himself to deal with this.

He walked through the hall, looking at each of the men in uniform. He didn't think any of the uniforms actually matched, except the patch on their right shoulder. This had been a rag tag unit to begin with, no wonder it broke down.

"Help you?" an older gentleman in an old City of St. Louis police uniform shirt and jeans asked Mike.

"Yeah. I'm Commander Slattery, US Navy. My guys brought over Randroni and his band and placed them in your jail cells."

"Yes, Sir, they sure did. I'm Phillip Terrence. You can call me Phil. I guess the boys have kinda put me in charge around here."

"In charge?" Mike asked slowly as he looked around.

"Yes, Sir. See I have some experience in that manner. I was pretty high up here in St. Louis before I retired just before the red flu hit. After when Oliver made the call out for any one with experience I stepped forward. Now I don't want permanent control as I was already retired once. But I'll hold the fort until you all can find someone."

"Us all?" Mike asked confused.

"You work for the government," Terrence shrugged at him. Mike frowned. "Thems job to get this shitshow on the road I suppose."

"I'll, uh, relay that information back to the office of the president," Mike sighed out. He rubbed a hand down the back of his neck. "For now, just keep Randroni and his followers under lock and key. President Michener will let you know what to do with them soon."

"Understood. Never like Randroni anyway. Figured he'd make a grab sooner or later."

"He almost succeeded," Mike breathed out.

"Bet he did. Until you boys showed up with the big guns."

"Just following orders. Are you okay here to hold things together?"

"Depends on what we got to hold together. I suppose I got about twelve to fourteen guys who still loyal to the city and Oliver. But we'll be stretched thin if we gotta split up for shifts."

"I see. I'll see what I can spare for you for now."

"Seems fair," Terrence replied. Mike left the station in the hands of Terrence and reported back to Michener. He brought up the idea of lending a few sailors to the cause and Michener agreed. Mike reassigned three of the men from Cobra team to help at the station. The sun was setting when Mike finally made it back to the ship.

He checked in with Rios and learned about Tom's leave. He nodded knowing he was going to have to handle things for a little while longer. He then checked in with Jeter and had him take the night watch. Mike then grabbed some food to go and ended up in his stateroom. After devouring his meal, he removed his boots and stretched out on his bed, feeling the fatigue wash over him. He was almost asleep when he heard the hatch to the outer office open and close.

"Too tired for some company," Andrea asked quietly, and Mike opened one eye, his lips cracking into a smile.

"Never for you," he breathed out. She sat down on the edge of the bed and gentle stroked the hair on his head.

"How'd today go?"

"Things are settling over there," Mike said. "They have a hotel."

"A hotel, huh?" Andrea said with a grin. Mike chuckled.

"Yep. And I was thinking…about something you said not too long ago."

"Oh yeah?" she asked quietly as her hand settled on his chest. Mike smiled.

"Oh yeah," he said as he licked his lips.

"First chance I get," she whispered as she leaned down and gently captured his lips with her own. Mike felt his body relax as the kiss was soft and sweet and lingered.

"That sounds wonderful," Mike mumbled against her lips.

To Be Continued…