Chapter 12

Tom emerged from the vent shaft into the missile room after having made his dash from the armory. He passed down his bag and then remained where he was waiting for the skipper to come along. As time passed, he stared worriedly at his shipmates down in the missile room.

"Where is he?" Phil asked. "Do you think he ran into problems?"

"Don't know. I'll double back and see if I can find him. He's been having real problems breathing so maybe he ran into trouble," Tom replied then turned and headed back the way he had just come.

Reaching the junction, he heard a soft scuff of something on the vent shaft floor. He crawled forward quickly and was relieved to spot the skipper pushing his bag down the shaft. "Skipper, you okay?" Tom whispered.

"Yes, just had to wait for one of Logan's men to clear the passageway before I could move," Lee replied as he struggled to catch his breath. He grimaced to himself, it was technically the truth.

"We were getting a bit worried, sir," Tom replied. He could easily see how difficult it was for Crane to catch his breath and that he was struggling to move the heavy bag of gear. "Here sir, let me take that for you."

Lee nodded and Tom grabbed the bag and started working his way back to the missile room. Arriving at the hatch he passed out the bag then climbed down and turned waiting for Crane to arrive so he could assist him out. Lee was right behind him and carefully climbed out as well.

After catching his breath, Lee looked over his band of men seeing a sea of smiling faces. "Are we all here?" he asked

"Gerry hasn't made it back yet," Gene answered.

"Well I don't think we can wait for him. If he'd been discovered, we would be well aware of it by now. I hope he just had to lay low because one of Logan's men returned before he could get back in the duct," Lee replied.

"So what's the plan Skipper?" Starns asked.

As Lee was about to answer, there was a call over the intercom ordering Logan's men to their stations. Lee smiled briefly, this had just simplified everything. If they were manning stations, then there wouldn't be anyone conducting roving patrols or watching their prisoners.

"Anyone know how Logan's got his men assigned?" Lee inquired.

"Based on what Ski told me when I came to, he's got seven men handling things there, and probably one in engineering and one with the reactor. They came aboard with nine and with Logan that makes ten. The one thing he said he did notice was that no one really seemed to be set up to captain the boat. I think they were waiting for reinforcements or something," Tom answered.

Lee smiled again, that was exactly what they needed. Logan's forces were now stretched so thin it would be easy to regain control. Their biggest hurdle would be keeping the admiral and Chip safe once Logan realized he no longer held the boat.

"Excellent. Okay here's what we need to do. Gene you take ten men down to engineering and take control, and then send half to take over the reactor. Hal you take five men and work your way forward to the aft hatch to the control room. I'll take six men and we'll come down the staircase into the nose. Tom, Randy, your task is to free the admiral and Mr. Morton. Phil, Art, you see to releasing the rest of the crew."

The men all nodded as they received their assignments. Lee smiled and then directed them to arm themselves and be ready to go in ten minutes. Since Logan's men were now taking positions in the con, they would be able to move more freely throughout the boat.

Lee picked up his machine gun, slapped in an ammo clip and slung the strap over his shoulder. The others quickly followed his lead and formed into the small groups the skipper had identified. Lee moved to the missile room hatch then turned around and regarded his assault team.

"All right, you have your assignments. Be damn careful and try not to get shot, Jamieson gets touchy about that, but remember we cannot fail in this effort," Lee said with a wink. He was met with a sea of faces each bearing a look of grim determination not to fail.

ooolo)

Logan spun around and stalked into the nose, his gun leveled at Nelson's chest. "What the hell have you done to the boat?!" he demanded.

Nelson looked at him quizzically. It was quite obvious that Logan was losing it fast as all his plans were beginning to unravel. "How the hell would I know," he responded evenly. "I've been here tied to this chair ever since your men took over. As best I can tell, you have had the rest of the crew sequestered and unable to attend to their stations, so any number of things could be wrong."

"Don't lie to me Nelson. What did you do?" Logan fumed back.

Nelson just shook his head and shrugged. He had no answer for what had gone wrong, but fervently hoped his men had somehow found a way to escape and disable the boat.

Logan stomped over to the mic on the wall and snatched it up. "Weems where the hell is the crew? Get them up here now!" There was no response. "Weems, report!" Again no response.

Logan glared at Nelson and Morton, both of whom sat there with a blank inscrutable expression on their faces. "Damn it to hell, where is that buffoon?" he spat as he slammed the mic back into the cradle. "Hillman you make sure everyone is ready to go when I get back."

Hillman warily nodded his head, keenly aware that Logan had become completely unstable as his plans had failed. "Yes sir, Mr. Logan," he replied quietly.

Logan expelled a disgusted and frustrated gust of air. "Call me if Weems returns before I do." He then turned and headed up the stairs.

Once gone, the men in the control room exchanged concerned looks as they realized their promised big payday had just evaporated. They all turned their attention speculatively towards Nelson and Morton as they realized they were their only way out alive.

Logan stormed down the passageway and entered Nelson's cabin, slamming the door shut in his wake. He paced furiously across the room and he tried desperately to calm himself and begin figuring a way out of this mess. He flipped on Nelson's computer and once again pulled up the image of his dear Mona Lisa. She calmed him like no one else could and he lost himself in her enigmatic gaze.

(olooo

Lee spun open the hatch, pushed it open slightly then snatched a quick look up and down the passageway. As expected there was not a man to be seen. He pushed the hatch open the rest of the way and signaled his men to follow him out. They moved quickly and quietly out of the hatch and down the passageway to their assigned destinations.

As his team entered the passageway in officer's country, Lee suddenly grew short of breath, dizzy and nearly collapsed. Ron lunged forward and grabbed him before he could fall. "Skipper, are you all right?" he whispered.

Lee fought hard to focus his eyes and maintain consciousness. He shook his head trying to clear it, but felt as though he was consumed in a dense and choking fog. "Leave me," Lee gasped. "Carry out your mission."

Ron looked back at the other men in the group, deep concern for their skipper etched on their faces. "Griggs, open the captain's cabin," he directed.

Griggs turned and tried the knob. "It's locked," he hissed back.

"Skipper you got the keys to your cabin?" Ron asked.

Lee nodded weakly and raised his hand to his pocket and fumbled out a ring of keys. Ron grabbed the keys and tossed them to Griggs. Griggs quickly looked over the ring, found the right key and opened the door. Ron and Michaels gently picked up the captain and carried him into the cabin and placed him on the bed.

As soon as he was down, Lee broke into a wicked coughing fit that had him curled in a tight ball on the bed. Bloody foam stained his lips as the constant coughing irritated and strained his lungs. Between jags, he croaked out. "Go… now. That's an order."

Ron nodded, acknowledging the order. "Stay here and rest Skipper, we'll take care of Logan and make sure the admiral and Mr. Morton stay safe." Lee gave him a quick nod then buried his head in the pillow as another wracking jag of tortured coughs rocked his body.

ooolo)

Weems scurried quickly down the passageway putting as much distance between him and Logan. He needed to find a place to hole up and think for a moment, there was no doubt in his mind that if there was another hiccup he would be eliminated since he had zero experience on subs. As he turned the corner to head down to the crew's quarters, he ran into Al and his team. His expression became one of both fear and extreme relief as he realized Nelson's men were about to take back control of the boat. He might just make it out of this alive after all.

"Freeze and don't call out," Hal said quietly as he and the other men leveled their guns at him.

Weems instantly threw up his hands and dropped the clipboard to the floor. "Don't shoot. Please. Thank god you're free." The Seaview men exchanged quick confused glances at Weems' words. "Logan's lost it and were all going to die if you don't do something about it," Weems blathered on.

"Where's Admiral Nelson and Mr. Morton?" Hal asked as he indicated Peterson should take control of Weems.

"They're both tied up in the observation nose."

"Where are the rest of your men?"

"There are six in the control room manning the stations, and two down in the engine room. Logan's up in the control room too. He's trying to make Hillman maneuver the boat out of the area and up to North Korea," Weems responded. "Please you've got to take back the boat, I don't want to die."

"Peterson, throw Weems here in the brig. We're heading forward. The skipper and his team should be ready to go," Hal ordered.

"Couldn't I just shoot him out the torpedo tube, Hal? It would be a whole lot less worry and work," Pete responded, an evil smile spreading across his face. Weems looked absolutely terrified at the prospect of being shot out of the tube just as he had threatened to do to them.

Hal looked at him a moment as though honestly considering his request. "Nah, better not. The skipper will want a shot at him and we don't want to deprive him of that pleasure," he replied cryptically with a nasty chuckle. "Logan will probably have a go at him first though once we lock them all in the brig. Get him out of here."

Peterson nodded and shoved his gun in Weems back, then pushed him down the corridor. All the while Weems cast terrified glances back over his shoulder wondering if they really were going to lock them up all together.

(olooo

It all went like clockwork as the two teams converged simultaneously on the control room. Hal and his group burst through the aft hatch catching Logan's men off-guard as they focused intently on making the boat go. Ron's group bounded down the staircase and likewise caught the men forward in the control room equally unprepared to defend themselves. Logan's men offered no resistance and looked decidedly relieved as they signaled their surrender.

Tom and Randy moved immediately to free Nelson and Morton. Once free Morton moved to the mic and snapped it up. "All stations, report status to the con," he ordered. Within seconds reports indicating Seaview's crew now controlled the boat flooded in. "Admiral, we now control the boat," Chip reported.

"Excellent! Well done men. Great plan Ron, you couldn't have pulled it off any smoother," Nelson responded with a smile.

"It wasn't me sir," Ron began, then froze as he saw Logan standing on the staircase his gun leveled at Nelson.

"Don't make a move, or I'll kill him here and now," he ordered.

"Logan, put down the gun. You've lost, you've got nowhere to go and if you shoot me, your life won't be worth a plug nickel," Nelson responded calmly.

"Don't you think I know that, I've got nothing left to live for. You've destroyed my plans one time too many Nelson, you've taken her away forever. The thing is though, she's not here to save you this time and I have no compunction about shooting you, since you no longer are of value to me. I may have lost, but so will you," Logan snarled and slowly pulled his finger tight against the trigger.

A lone shot rang out and for a moment no one moved. Then suddenly Logan crumpled pitching forward off the stairs onto the deck below. Everyone stared in amazement as they watched blood blossom and the flow across the back of his shirt. Seconds later a pair of jean clad legs eased slowly down the steps.

"Not on my watch, Logan," came a raspy and airy voice.

"Lee!" Nelson and Chip chimed simultaneously, pleasantly surprised to see the man they thought lost alive and well.

Logan raised his head weakly and regarded the captain of the Seaview standing over him with a smoking gun. A look of total surprise marked his face as he tried to process how the hell he got aboard. Lee glared back at him with a smug look of triumph and satisfaction at having defeated him yet again.

"Crane?" Logan whispered. "Hhhh.…ow?"

Before Lee could answer Logan died wondering how indeed he'd been bested again by these men.

Lee took the few remaining steps down the staircase and was the immediate recipient of a loud cheer from the crew that had assembled in the control room. He smiled at them and then at Harri and Chip.

"My god, lad how did you get aboard?" Harri asked as he grabbed Lee's hand and gave it a shake.

As Lee prepared to answer, his eyes suddenly rolled upwards and he pitched forward into Harri's arms. "Lee!" Harri exclaimed as he caught him and then gently lowered him to the deck. He was extremely pale, had a bluish tinge to his lips beneath the bloody froth. "Get Jamieson down here now!"

Harri and Chip stared down at Lee in concern. Kowalski moved forward to assist the captain given his training as an emergency field medic. He checked his skipper's pulse and respiration, both were rapid and weak. Just then Jamieson entered and made an immediate beeline for the downed man quickly taking control of his treatment.

"How the hell did he get aboard?" Chip said, repeating Nelson's question.

"He said he dived, sir." Kowalski replied.

"Dived?" Nelson asked incredulously. "I can't imagine how he could have done that."

"Yes sir. I don't know how, but however he did it, he's paying for it now. He had an inhaler with him and that seemed to help but I don't see it on him. He's a lot weaker and really struggling to breathe compared to when he contacted us a couple of hours ago," Ski reported.

Jamie stood and directed the corpsmen to get the captain to Sick Bay immediately. He had placed an oxygen mask over Lee's face and he seemed to be regaining some color. "Admiral, his lungs are severely irritated and congested, his heart rate is fast and somewhat erratic, and he is presenting symptoms consistent with CO2 poisoning. We need to find out how he got down here and if it's the cause of his problems. Ski, if possible, see if you can find the inhaler and get it to John stat. I'm going to have to put him on a ventilator if he keeps struggling to breathe like he is."

"All right Jamie, go take care of him. I'll contact COMSUBPAC and see if they've got any information on how he got here," Harri replied. Jamieson nodded and followed his corpsmen out of the control room. "Chip, get me Jiggs Starke on the horn."

ooolo)

It had been nearly 5 hours since they had lowered the bell down to Seaview and Starke and Hardy were getting extremely antsy. There had been no attempt to move the boat in the intervening time and the sonar operator on the Bunker Hill had just reported hearing what sounded like a single gunshot coming from the sub.

"Damn it, I wish I knew what the hell was going on down there," Starke fumed. Hardy nodded his agreement.

There was a sudden buzz on the captain's intercom. Allen picked up the receiver. "Allen…Yes, pipe it through." He looked up at the two pacing admirals, "Apparently you're about to get your answer sir, there's a call from Seaview coming in."

Hearing the line go live, Allen hit the speaker button and nodded to Starke. "Starke, here."

"Jiggs, Nelson here on Seaview. Just wanted to let you know that Logan is dead and the boat is in our control."

The men in the room looked at each other and let out a whoop as wide smiles beamed on their faces. "Outstanding Harri! Are you in need of any assistance?" Starke replied.

"No, we are capable of making it to the surface and returning to port on our own. Thanks for all the assistance Jiggs. I do have a question for you, how did Captain Crane make it aboard Seaview?"

Hardy, Starke and Allen exchanged confused looks. "He made it? Wow, that's fantastic. He wouldn't tell you how he got aboard?" Hardy inquired.

"Hi Tom. No he's currently unconscious and having a great deal of difficulty breathing. He did tell one of the crew he had dived down and came aboard that way, but didn't provide him any details. He said Lee was using an inhaler to help him breathe, but we've yet to find it and our doctor needs to know what was in it to help him," Nelson responded.

"He went down tethered to the bell, Harri. He was using the liquid breathing medium developed by Dr. Al Marquez at NRL. Crane said Marquez and NIMR were working jointly on the project," Starke answered.

"Yes I'm quite familiar with the project, but I didn't think they had progressed nearly that far in their research. Where's Marquez now? I need him to get in touch with my CMO for any insight on how to treat Lee."

"Well according Dr. Marquez this dive went at least 1900 feet beyond where they had tested, but it was Crane's plan and he was willing to take the chance it would work. Marquez is here on-board the Bunker Hill. I'll have someone get him so he and your CMO can chat," Starke replied.

"Thanks Jiggs. I'll have Seaview surface so if he needs to come aboard there won't be any delay. We can also unload some unwanted trash for your disposal."

"Harri, wait! Before you do that, you do know that Crane initiated the autodestruct sequence on Seaview?" Hardy broke in.

"Yes, we know the sequence was initiated. I assume that's why you wanted Morton and me in the radio shack so we would be able to see the dive board alerting us to that fact."

"Correct. Crane figured between the two of you, you'd catch the initiation signal. With Crane unconscious, will that prove problematic bringing the boat to the surface?" Starke asked.

"No, we have a couple of methods to disarm the system so there shouldn't be any issues. Seaview will signal before we begin our surface. Nelson out."

(olooo