Morning comes too early. I awake to find Ms. Steele has already showered and dressed for the day. She is wearing her black skinny jeans and a cream and black striped boat neck sweater with black ballet flats sporting turquoise soles.
"I'm not quite sure what the appropriate attire for maritime crisis control is so I picked my most yacht-y option," she laughs, motioning to her outfit.
"You look very yacht-y indeed," I laugh and kiss her forehead. I pick khaki Carrhart's, a white, long sleeve oxford, and a navy fleece vest along with my runners. I'm hoping that I will get a chance to get down in the 672's engine room at some point today, and these digs will allow for this.
Before we leave our room, I pull Ana in for one, last long kiss. She runs her hand across my shoulder and to the back of my neck. Soon, I have her pressed against the door as we grind into each other. I growl when she finally pulls back. I want to stay locked in here with her all day. Fuck the 672.
We make our way to the dining room. Sawyer, Reynolds, and Ryan have arrived. I am pleasantly surprised to see Leo, the head of PR from the GEH London office is here as well. Originally from the UK, I plucked Leo from the top New York PR firm where he built the reputation as the god of crisis management. Leo Williams could light a bag of shit on fire and convince the masses that he just created the ultimate alternate energy source.
Taylor debriefs us on everything we know so far.
"The 672 was returning from a voyage when the captain made the decision to lower the sails and operate under motor power. About twenty minutes after the engines were powered on, alarms sounded from the engine room. The captain cut the power while the engineer and first mate extinguished the flames. The captain sent out an SOS call. Since the French Gendarmerie Maritime was the first authority on the scene, the boat was towed into French waters."
"Who were the crew on board at the time of the fire?" I ask.
"We had five crew members logged aboard. Gavan Hennigan was the Captain. George Berry was First Engineer. I've got that Jer Owens was First Mate. Tuttle Halper and Amos Latham are also logged in as crew."
"I know Hennigan and Berry. They have been part of the 672 project since its inception. How about the other three? What do we know about them?
"Owens, Halper, and Latham have each logged well over 500 sea hours on the 672 alone. They all passed GEH background checks. They came to us with extensive boating experience. Hennigan handpicked this crew. They have been working together for several months now," Taylor tells us.
"Where are the crew staying?" Ana asks, taking notes on her iPad.
"Hennigan got them quarters down at the harbor. They are each taking turns keeping watch on the 672. Although the Gendarmes are currently in possession of the vessel, Hennigan is insistent that he be allowed to keep a man with the ship at all times," Sawyer adds.
I nod my approval. Gavan Hennigan is an excellent seaman. I often sail with him on The Grace when Mac, my usual captain is unavailable. I imagine that it took quite the statesman for Hennigan to convince the Gendarmes to allow one of our men to stay with the vessel in addition to one of their men.
"Brooks and his investigative team should be arriving before lunch," Taylor tells the group.
"What are the chances that the French are going to allow us to get our own men into the engine room today?" Leo asks.
"That's what our job is," I reply. "We need to figure out who the French have put in charge of the investigation. We are going to need to try and meet with whoever that is as soon as possible. The French need to know that we are not trying to take over their investigation. We just want to be present throughout the process."
"I'll see who we have contacts with the Gendarmes," Leo offers. "If we can get some military big brass to facilitate introductions with the leadership here in Brittany, that may be our best way in."
"Louis Arnaud,' Ana interjects, looking up from her iPad. "The French commanding officer in charge of this area of the French coast is Louis Arnaud. I have his contact information right here," she says, motioning to her tablet. "You should try calling his office. See if you can get an appointment this morning."
Ana grabs my phone from the table and dials Arnaud's command post. Everyone around the table is equally surprised when I am able to get us a sit down with the CO in just under an hour's time from now.
By ten in the morning, we have met with the highest-ranking Maritime officer on the Brittany coast. She, not he, is a good natured, sun-weathered woman who makes no apologies for her male first name. Using my French and Ana's jedi-mind powers, we are granted permission to have our team accompany the French teach during the fire's investigation. We promise to allow the French to do their job uninterrupted as they promise us real-time access to what they find. We agree to meet the French investigators as soon as our own maritime detectives arrive.
Ana suggests that we swing by the harbor to check in on the 672's crew and thank them for their diligence standing guard. Leo alerts us that some paps have been seen trying to get pictures of the boat and our crew. There is no telling what story the European tabloids could spin with pictures of a GEH vessel under guard of the French Gendarmes. They could spin it so many bad directions: alleged drug smuggling ring, a plot rife with corporate espionage; or luxury yacht turns into leaking dinghy. Leo begins conferencing with his team back in London to stay ahead of any bad publicity.
We swing by the hotel where the 672 crew is staying. I spend some time hearing from them what happened when the fire erupted. Ana asks their permission and records their brief descriptions. Brooks and the other investigators will get more detailed statements when they arrive.
By lunch time, Brooks and his team arrive. Ana works to get them settled in a hotel on the harbor. We all agree that they need to stay within close proximity of the boat. Brooks, his team, Taylor, and I head to a lunch meet and greet with the French investigative team. Ana has arranged for a private dining room at a restaurant overlooking the water. Ana acts the role of hostess, charming the French as well as the American maritime experts. When it comes time for the group to sit, I notice several ranking French officers vie for a seat next to my assistant. Before I can move in to claim what is mine, Ana manages to plant herself between two of the less talkative French officers. By the second course, the men are laughing along with the darling of GEH.
Following the meal, those involved in the hands-on investigation, including myself, head down to the dock. Taylor and Reynolds stay with me. Sawyer and Ryan escort Ana and Leo back to the holiday rental. The afternoon goes as smoothly as an international investigation into whether a maiden fleet of yachts might be unseaworthy can go. Brooks' guys are top notch. They video the entire onboard investigation. They leave no item un documented. They are measuring, photographing, and using engineering diagnostics that are cutting edge. At one point, the French investigators ask for our team's help as our equipment is more advanced. The teams work well side-by-side.
Following the on-board investigation, the French team wants to take statements from the five crew members. They allow one GEH representative to be present as well as for the interviews to be recorded by our team. We decide that Brooks should be the one to sit in with the crew members as he is the most knowledgeable about these types of matters. We are hoping that he will be able to garner an idea of what angle the French are working.
Brooks' team heads back to their hotel to begin processing their data from boat. Sawyer and I return the to holiday rental. Taylor stays at the harbor. A group of guards from the European GEH security branch are arriving to take over guarding the 672. Gavan and the rest of the crew are due some well-deserved R&R. Taylor is going to brief the incoming team and get them settled before joining the rest of us back at the house.
Back at the holiday rental, I find Ana and Leo with laptops and wine on the terrace.
"How is the boat?" Ana asks.
She tilts her head back so that I can lean down and give her a kiss. I like how she is not ashamed to be affectionate in front of Leo. I grab a glass and join them.
"There was definitely a fire. Much more than that and we will have to wait for what Brooks has to say."
"Any idea what the French are going to attribute to the cause?" Leo asks.
I rub the back of my neck. "I have no idea. This could have been really bad if the crew wasn't able to get it under control as fast as they did. They were in tricky waters. Without their expertise, more than just the boat might have been lost."
Ana reaches over to stroke my thigh. Her touch calms me like none other.
"Ok, so Ana and I have been going over some possible scenarios on how this investigation might play out," Leo begins. "Basically, fires are accidental, natural, or incendiary."
"Don't forget undetermined," Ana adds.
"Right, undetermined is the fourth classification. So natural would be something like a lightening strike or a wild fire. Those can be ruled out. Incendiary implies criminal intent which seems unlikely with what we know so far."
"So, we are looking at accidental fire as the cause?" I ask to make sure I am understanding.
"Exactly," Ana says. "Now accidental fires can come from equipment malfunction, human error or oversight, or design flaw."
"What's the difference between equipment malfunction and design flaw?" I ask.
"There is a lot of overlap in those categories," Leo interjects. "Basically, design flaw implies that a fire would happen every time given the same scenario. Equipment malfunction means that the equipment usually does one thing in a scenario, but this one time it did something different."
"Which is worse?" I ask.
Lea answers, "From a PR stand point, design flaw is the worst scenario for a boat manufacturer. It is basically an admission of inability to create the intended product. Now, if the fire is ruled design flaw, we can still put a spin on it based on the actual source of the fire."
"It's just that it is going to be really hard to earn back the public's trust in GEH's boat works if this is the case," I say. I rest my forehead on the edge of the table. Ana starts rubbing my neck.
"What's the best possible finding we can hope for with the fire?"
"Barring natural causes, human error would be the best ruling in terms of GEH's reputation."
I groan. I know how hard Hennigan and his crew work day in and day out. A public ruling of human error would effectively ruin the captain's career no matter which crew member caused the incident. Ana excuses herself to check in on dinner preparations. Leo and I stay out on the terrace and work through as many scenarios as we can think of and how GEH will respond to each one. Ana brings us our supper as we continue to plan for whatever ruling the Gendarmes hands down. Late in the night, Brooks returns from the interviews with the crew. The three of us go through several bottles of wine while we attempt to piece together the information that we have. By the time I make it to bed, I find my delicate Ana sleeping soundly in our bed. I strip down to my boxers and pull her close, chasing the calming powers that only she can provide.