Chapter Two-
The ship turned gracefully in the water, and headed for the specified co-ordinates. Kate turned to Nikki.
"XO, you're in charge of the boarding party," said Kate, gently prodding Nikki out of her chair. Nikki looked confused for a moment, and then realised what she was supposed to do. She ran down the stairs, and promptly ran into Buffer.
"X, what's going on?"
"Boarding party Buff. You in?" Asked Nikki.
"You don't get a choice X. Take 2Dads and Bomber," suggested Buffer, turning to head to the weapons locker. On the way there, Nikki grabbed 2Dads from his cabin, and Bomber from the medic room.
"Boarding party?" Guessed Bomber, grabbing her gear.
"You guessed right," said Nikki, taking her weapon from Buffer.
"Why do we need weapons if we're just rescuing some people from a boat?" Asked 2Dads.
"Because it's a necessary precaution," said Charge, entering the small room.
"Thanks for coming Charge," said Nikki. She felt a little out of her depth being in charge of all these people, but knew she had to be capable of it.
"Right. Let's go!"
Robert Dixon sat on the edge of his bed, the room spinning crazily. He tried to remember if he'd taken something, if he'd eaten something that he shouldn't have. He was so careful and meticulous, and it was scaring him that he felt so awful. He'd search his symptoms on the internet, but after the last disastrous episode of doing that, he wasn't going to repeat it. He thought of going to find Chefo, see what he would say; maybe there was something wrong.
"RO to the bridge at the rush," came Kate's voice over the tinny speakers. RO pushed himself up off the bed, and watched as the room spun around. He held his head, trying to clear it, and then stumbled his way out of the cabin and up to the bridge. He felt fatigued; to the point of exhaustion.
"Here's RO ma'am," said Ryan, checking another console. Chefo was sitting in the helmsman's seat, and RO went to speak to him, but Kate interrupted.
"RO, I'm trying to get through to NAVCOM, and the lines seem to be down. Can you see what you can do to fix it?" Asked Kate, eyes still trained on the ocean rescue going on in front of her.
"Of course CO. Right on it." RO left the bridge and headed for the communications room. He stumbled along the corridor, fighting his way along. One of the newer crew members, Alexei Hunt, or Lex as she preferred to be called, said his name as he walked past, but he ignored it. He fumbled with his keys, struggling to open the door. He made it inside, but caught his foot on the floor. Robert tumbled forward, hit his head on the desk, and was plunged into darkness…
"Thank you for helping us," said Keith Hardaker. He helped his wife Mia onto the RHIB, and his daughter. Charge was below deck, checking the pumps, and Bomber and Buffer were checking the wheelhouse. The two children now seated in the RHIB looked frightened, and Nikki and 2Dads could hardly blame them
"Wait. Where's that bigger man?" Asked Keith, turning comically on the spot. The two children and Mia stiffened, then cowered.
"Below deck, checking your water pumps and engines," replied Nikki.
"No! He can't be down there!" Yelled Keith. He pulled out a gun, and headed below deck.
"XO to Buffer, Keith's got a gun, and he's heading for Charge!" Exclaimed Nikki into her radio.
"On it X. Take Mia and the two children back to Hammersley, then come back for us" replied Buffer. He headed below decks, Bomber hot on his heels.
"You can't be down here!" Screamed Keith, waving the pistol around.
"Sir, put down the gun," said Buffer, training his weapon upon Keith.
"You've ruined it all! If you'd just let my boat sink, I could hide the evidence!" Keith instantly realised he'd said too much. He headed towards the stairs, and Bomber stood in his direct path. She let down her guard for a moment as he started to smile. That was all it took.
"Move bitch!" He screamed. The calm, helpful man they'd had moments earlier was gone, replaced by the enraged individual in front of her.
"Sir, you need to put down the gun," said Bomber calmly. His fist lashed out from nowhere, clocking Bomber square in the face. She went down like a rock, her head making contact with the metal stairs. Keith fired a shot at her chest.
"I said 'move' bitch!" He turned to face Buffer and Charge.
"You let me go, or the next bullet goes straight through her pretty head," said Keith, pointing the gun at Bomber's head. Charge and Buffer stood stock still, and allowed the man to leave. Before Keith left, he viciously kicked Bomber in the ribs. Buffer and Charge flinched as they heard something crack. Keith disappeared up onto the deck. Charge pulled his weapon.
"He's mine. Look after Bomber, and get Hammersley to send the RHIB over with back-up and Chefo." Charge disappeared up the stairs, exceedingly stealthy for a man his size. Buffer dropped down onto his knees next to Bomber, checking her over. Her nose was bleeding freely, as was the back of her head. He ripped open the Kevlar vest, unbuttoned her shirt, and lifted up the simple grey tee she was wearing underneath. There was a large bruise blossoming on her left side, as was one lower down where Keith had kicked her. He grabbed his radio.
"Buffer to Hammersley. RO, we need back-up over her immediately, send Chefo as well." Buffer waited for the standard reply, but heard no response, only static. He could feel his stress levels rising quickly, the blood rushing in his ears.
"This is Buffer to Hammersley…"
"Reading you loud and clear Buff, what's the problem?" Asked Kate. For a split second, she wondered where RO was, and if he'd fixed the link back to NAVCOM, but she clearly had other issues on her mind now.
"Send the RHIB back, get Chefo on board. Keith Hardaker is armed, and has just attacked Bomber. She's in urgent need of medical assistance. Over." Chefo glanced at Kate and she nodded. He sprinted from the bridge, and met 2Dads and Nikki at the RHIB.
"Buffer, they're travelling now." Buffer looked down at the girl who lay prone on the floor in front of him. She'd paled visibly, and was breathing strangely, and Buffer hoped that Chefo was up to date on all his medical training. He glanced up, and then looked down at her again to realise she wasn't breathing.
"Bomb? Bomber!"