"Mr. Morton!" Sharkey called out to the officer, wondering how the XO had managed to slip Doc McKenzie's watch and get out of Sick Bay. If Sharkey had been a fraction later, he'd have missed the man. "Mr. Morton, sir, you're supposed to be in Sick Bay."

The XO turned back, his eyes narrowed, and the glare he sent Sharkey was so cold, the COB could almost feel ice crystals forming in his blood. "Chief. Doctor McKenzie is missing. Have you seen him?" The words were sharp enough to draw blood. Mr. Morton was always quiet-voiced and calm… If he was snapping out at Sharkey, he must be worried… That didn't bode well…

"I haven't seen him, sir…" Sharkey thought about that. Doc had planned to stay in Sick Bay, but maybe everything had quieted enough that he'd decided to get some sleep, check in later? "In his cabin, sir?"

"I just came from there, Chief."

And the tone of the officer's voice told Sharkey that Doc hadn't been there. If Mr. Morton were concerned about Doc, enough to go looking for him and leave Sick Bay, then something was very wrong. "I can turn out a couple of the boys, sir, we'll start casing the boat. We'll find him." He started to turn away, but something made him stop and wait for instructions. What if that stowaway had somehow taken Doc away, somewhere on this boat? What if that was what Mr. Morton was afraid of? They had all seen what she had done to Ski and Pat and Briggs. Sharkey himself had seen Briggs' body, tossed under that ladder like some abandoned rag doll… He shuddered, and looked to the XO for direction.

"Get Riley, Malone…" Mr. Morton hesitated and thought for a moment. "Crowe, and Alfaro. Meet me down on A deck. We'll start there."

It made sense… The only people who went down into the belly of the boat were those with duty stations there. After that Krueger episode – which Sharkey still didn't understand, and he hoped the admiral never found out about the falsified log – some of the guys had been nervous about going down there, even to pump the bilge… But there were important stations down there, and the XO had chivvied them into it, like only he could. The guys had finally settled down, but they still talked about Krueger in soft whispers.

Sharkey shook his head. Now wasn't the time to revisit the Krueger thing. No matter how similar their situation now might be, there were other things here that needed doing. "Aye, sir. Where should we start?"

He knew the XO was thinking that over carefully; he could tell it from the man's expressionless face and stony blue eyes. If it were Sharkey's decision, he'd have said the bilge room, but it wasn't his decision, thank God. It was tricky, because wherever they went first, they were faced with the knowledge that - if she wasn't there – she might be someplace where they wouldn't find her until it was far too late… Doc deserved better than that; Hell, Briggs had deserved better than that. Anyway, he knew the XO would probably come to the same conclusion. It was the least frequented room on the boat. It seemed the logical place for some creepy, blood-drinking, animal-like woman to hide.

And sure enough, Mr. Morton came to the same conclusion. "The bilge room. Get down there as soon as you can. If she's there, I'll need you to help pry Will from her clutches."

If the Doc were still alive… Sharkey thrust that thought away and went to wake the guys. But no sooner had he turned a corner than he almost ran into the skipper, moving purposefully toward Sick Bay, his face a study in determination. Sharkey began to wonder if they'd all had dreams that had made them get up and start looking for trouble. "Sir." He drew himself up straight. "Just going to roust out some of the guys, sir. XO's orders. Doc McKenzie is missing…"

The skipper's eyes blazed. "In his cabin?" He snapped the question out with no attempt to gentle it; he was well and truly peeved, and not bothering to hide it. Pity the thing that might be down on A deck, if the skipper ever got hold of her. He hated losing men like poison. And Doc was a special friend, of both the admiral's and the command team's. They would stop at nothing to get him back safely…

"No, sir. Mr. Morton already checked." Sharkey drew a breath and plunged ahead, eager to inform the captain of their plans. "I'm to wake the guys up and meet him down on deck A at the bilge room, sir. We'll start the search there."

The skipper frowned. "What the hell is he thinking? He has a concussion!" He muttered something under his breath; Sharkey thought he heard the words, pig-headed fool, but didn't say anything. The skipper was clearly strung tight. When he and Mr. Morton met, they would sort it out with a minimum of fuss. Besides, though Sharkey kept the opinion to himself, he was pretty well convinced that Mr. Morton was pig-headed… So was the skipper, and the admiral… He shook his head and looked back at the skipper intently.

"Where is Mr. Morton now?" Captain Crane's voice was steely, but controlled.

"On his way to the bilge room, sir, so I gotta hurry." Because leaving any of these officers alone for a minute while there was a crisis going on was like throwing gasoline on an open flame. Mr. Morton was generally the safest of them; quiet-like, and not too prone to go off on a wild hare and be all heroic… But this was a bad situation, and there was no telling what would happen…

The skipper stepped aside hastily. "Go. I'll go after Mr. Morton. See that you get down there in double time, COB."

"Aye, sir." Sharkey jolted into a run, brushing past the captain heading for the sailors' quarters. Malone, Riley, Alfaro, and Crowe. Exactly who he would have chosen himself, if he couldn't have Pat and Ski. Well, Riley was still a little green, but he was a good kid in a pinch. He used his head. They would need that if they had to pry three officers away from some blood-drinking bitch… And knowing his officers like he did, Sharkey was sure it would come to that in the end. A hell of a fight, and Seaview triumphant… But at what cost?