Life still just as crazy – but I'm trying to update at least once a week for everyone!
Chapter Four-
EK was glad she was off watch. She was hiding in her cabin, still upset about the argument that she and Spider had loudly started earlier that morning.
She knew they were meant to be together, but sometimes, she wondered if she was making a mistake. Spider had always shown loyalty to the boys, and he had known her half-brother longer, but he wanted to marry her, and that meant making an effort to spend time with her. Lately it seemed like they had a few mere hours together before one of them was crash-sailed, or some other emergency came up. She resolved to send him an email, set the wheels in motion so they could talk this through when they were both in port, although knowing her luck, it could be months. She opened her door, and headed down the corridor to ComCen. She could hear arguing…
And the anger levels were rising.
She stopped outside ComCen, unsure as to whether she should knock or just walk away and do the email later. She was about to walk away when she heard the contact of someone hitting someone else.
It was a slap, and she was unsure of who instigated it, but even she flinched.
She knew she had to get someone; a superior officer. She left ComCen, and the clearly sobbing sailor still inside, and headed for the bridge.
"Uh, Dutchy? Can I… Can I see you for a moment please?" Asked EK nervously.
"Sure, no problem." He followed her down the stairs.
"What's up?" He asked, noting the concern already on her face.
"I… Look, I don't know if I should be saying anything, but I was going to go into ComCen to send an email, and it sounded like there were two people arguing in there, and I think someone may have been slapped. I don't really want to intervene, but I think it might be better to be safe than sorry," she said, almost stumbling over her words. Dutchy nodded.
"I'll go and investigate. Are you on duty?" He asked. EK shook her head.
"Still got two more hours until change of watch," she replied.
"Go make yourself busy then, and I'll deal with this." He waited for EK to leave, and strode towards the door of the ComCen. He didn't even knock, preferring to just push the door open.
"What's going on in here?" He demanded. Nikki was cowering on the floor, Jono against the wall on the opposite wall. Nikki was sporting a bloody nose and a red handprint across her face, and Dutchy knew exactly what was going on. He pointed to Dodger.
"You are confined to quarters until further notice. Your able assistant will take over your duties. There may be a hearing at the captain's table, but we'll decide that later. Inform Slinger that she needs to be down here now, and then you have five minutes to get to your quarters. Got it?" Jono nodded, and pushed past Dutchy. Dutchy crouched down in front of Nikki.
"What happened?" He asked gently.
"I just pushed it too far. It was my fault, I swear. He hit me because I kept pressing the issue of us, and what we were going to do, and he got upset. He was remorseful after he did it Dutchy." Dutchy glanced at her, not sure whether to believe her, or whether she was protecting Jono. It didn't matter right now. He pulled her to her feet.
"Come on; we'll get Flash to make sure your nose is okay, and we'll find you an icepack to take the redness out of your face."
"Charlie 82 to Bravo 82. Report!" Buffer could hear them loud and clear, but couldn't answer them.
He was busy trying to stay alive, and to pull Bird to cover. The Samaruans had been waiting, like they knew when they would arrive, and they had guns waiting for them. They'd hit Bird and Anderson first, Jess copping a shot to the Kevlar, and Anderson in the arm. Spider grabbed Anderson and dragged him over to where Buffer was hiding with Jess.
"How did they know we were here?" Asked Spider breathlessly, crouching behind the small shelter.
"No idea. Bravo 82 to Charlie 82, we've got gunfire here on the island. Bird and Anderson have both been hit. We're hidden, but we won't be able to stay that way for much longer," reported Buffer. Kelly glanced at Mike.
"A goodwill visit turns into this? Someone had to know we changed our plans," said Kelly.
"I know. Hunt, prepare the other RHIB so we can get them out of there. RO, report all of this to NAVCOM, alert them to the situation. X, with me," said Mike, leaving the bridge. Kelly followed him.
"What's up Mike?" She asked. He shook his head almost imperceptibly, and then ushered her inside his cabin. He closed the door behind her.
"Someone had to have told our plans; it doesn't happen like this," said Mike desperately. Kelly took his desk seat.
"What are you implying by all of this?" Asked Kelly.
"We have a leak. Someone's leaking information."
Dutchy escorted Nikki to the wardroom. Flash was inside, doing a small stocktake on supplies.
"Need more gauze pads," he muttered as the two sailors entered.
"Dutchy. X. What can I do for you today?" Asked Liam. Dutchy steered Nikki towards a seat, and pushed her down.
"I need you to document these injuries and then treat her," replied Dutchy.
"What happened?" Asked Liam, taking a seat in front of Nikki. He pulled a notepad and pen out of his pocket, and flipped it open onto the table.
"It's nothing, really. I can deal with this myself Dutchy," said Nikki furiously.
"And I need to deal with this the way protocol demands I have to X. Let him treat you, and let me have some piece of mind. He will be reprimanded for this; there are better ways to deal with what happened," responded Dutchy calmly. Nikki sighed, and allowed Liam to check her over. After a few minutes of scrawling on his notepad, he got up and pulled an instant ice-pack out of the cupboard, a saline solution and a gauze pad. He snapped the crystals in the ice-pack, activating it, and then passed it to Nikki.
"Hold this to your nose for a few minutes; it'll relieve the swelling. Then I'll clean it up, make sure everything's okay. I can say that it's not broken." Nikki sighed with relief.
"Well, that's one bonus for my day." Liam glanced at Dutchy.
"Sir, can I speak with you outside for a moment?" He asked. Dutchy glanced at Nikki; she'd leant back and closed her eyes. Dutchy nodded, and followed Liam into the corridor.
"Who's the sailor in trouble?" Asked Liam.
"Jonathen Long. We'll deal with this; right now, I need you to just make sure she's okay."
He'd fought with her before they'd left port, both of them departing with sour faces and grumpy moods…
He hoped he'd get to see her again…
He didn't want to die like this…
Jess came around first, coughing and spluttering.
"You okay Bird?" Asked Buffer. She held a hand to her chest.
"Feeling pretty awesome Buffer," she rasped.
"You're looking pretty good too," jested Spider. She cracked a half-smile.
"Don't let EK hear you say that; she'll have my head on a silver platter," replied Jess. Spider moved to check on Anderson.
"Jess, he's bleeding from the wound. What should I do?" Asked Spider.
"Strap it tight; we can deal with infections and everything once Hammersley gets us out of here." Spider nodded, and pulled a gauze pad and bandage out of Jess's medi-kit. He pressed the gauze pad to the open wound, and then awkwardly pulled the bandage around it. He secured it with strapping tape.
"How does it look?" Asked Spider. Jess craned her neck to look at it.
"Excellent Spider," she wheezed. Spider glanced at Buffer.
"Now; what do we do about getting out of here?"