April 15, 1912
12:34 am

Max pulled out every drawer, opened every cabinet in this damn office, and there was no key that went to the pair of handcuffs that were holding Anna Marie to the pipes. The water was still rising, and he needed to get her unshackled, sooner as opposed to later.
"Max…" She tried to get his attention, as he was concentrating on finding the key. "Max, if you haven't found the key yet, ah don't think it's here. We're gonna need help."
He sighed in frustration. "With any luck, I won't find the Master at Arms until it's too late. There has to be something…." His mind is racing, trying to find a solution, to find a way to free her. If only he could break the handcuffs….
"I have an idea." He started wading his way towards the door. "I'll be right back."
Anna Marie had confusion on her face. "Max? Where are you goin'?"
"You will see. I will be right back, I promise."
As he got out into the hallway, the water was coming up to his hip, and he made his way towards a staircase that he had seen earlier, hoping to find something, anything, to break the handcuffs.
Up the stairs he went, drenched from the waist down, and walked a little ways down a hallway, the lights flickering before he came across a firehose and…a hatchet.
Unwrapping the firehose, he swung at the glass, breaking it so he could retrieve the hatchet, careful not to step on the sharp shards before making his way back down to E Deck, hoping and praying this would work.
A few minutes went by, and Max reemerged, a hatchet in his hand.
Anna Marie's eyes widened. "That's your idea?"
He waded closer to her. "If I can't unlock the cuffs, I'm going to have to break them." He got closer to her, and used his forefinger and thumb to tilt her head up to look at him. "I need you to trust me, Anna Marie. Can you do that?"
She nodded, realizing that this was the only way out of this situation. She took a shuddering breath. "Hurry."
He stepped back, getting into position.
"Spread your hands as far as you can."
She did as he instructed, the chain tight as she held it against the pipe.
Max knew he likely had one shot to break it, and positioned himself, doing two half-swings to make sure he was aiming correctly.
Anna Marie closed her eyes and prayed.
The sound of the hatchet hitting metal was quickly followed by the handcuffs breaking, and Anna Marie nearly fell over backwards as she was finally freed. She regained her footing, and Max had swooped her up into his arms, his kiss one of desperate relief.
"You scared the livin' hell outta me, Max…" She framed his face with her hands.
"Something I don't plan to repeat. Are you certain you're alright?"
She nodded. "I am now."
He kissed her quickly, and took her hand. "Come. I think it's time we find Kurt."
Kurt, to his credit, was not having any luck finding a way up. He and Ororo had tried two other staircases, each equally crowded.
They had come across several young children, all aboard without parents, that were frightened. With each new passageway they tried to pass through, their priority was getting these children up to the top deck first.
The crew members, seeing that Ororo was a first class passenger based on how she was dressed, had offered to let her through, but refused to allow anyone else to come with her.
The look of righteous anger on her face as she curtly refused made Kurt smile a little, despite the circumstances.
Kurt could hear his name being called in the distance, and as he turned he saw…
"Anna Marie?!" He ran to meet his sister.
Anna Marie let go of Max's hands to wrap her arms around Kurt. "Oh thank God you're okay!"
"What are you doing down here? I thought you would be on the boats already!"
"It's a long story, one ah'll tell later. We need to get up to the top deck, what are you still doin' down here?"
"They won't let us through. Ororo and I, we've tried three different staircases-"
"Hold on." Max cut in. "Ororo is down here with you?"
"Max?" Ororo was right behind Kurt. "What are you two doing down here?"
"Alright, alright, we can talk about this later!" Anna Marie exclaimed. "Let's just get up to the top deck and then we can chit chat. You said you tried three?"
"Yes. They'll let Ororo through, but not the rest of us." Kurt explained. Max and Anna Marie could see the group of five children crowded around Kurt and Ororo, their frightened, young faces pulling at Anna Marie's heart.
Max rolled his eyes in frustration. "Unbelievable."
"Well, we gotta find a way up, so let's move." Anna Marie stated.
"This way, there's another one down here, I think…" Kurt led them down a corridor, the nine of them moving with urgency.
They moved up one of the staircases that led to C Deck, and again, found it blocked. The staff guarding the gate would not let them through, no matter what.
"There are innocent people down here! Children! Let us through!" Max commanded.
"Sir, if you would go back to the main staircase, everything will be sorted out-"
Max's patience with any of the staff on this godforsaken vessel had reached its limit. He uttered low curses in German, words that made Kurt raise his eyebrows in surprise, before turning away from the gate.
Anna Marie watched as Max's eyes landed on a bench sitting not far away.
"Kurt, help me with this."
Ororo and Anna Marie were stunned to see Kurt and Max pulling the bench from the bolts that held it to the floor, both men putting their entire upper body strength into the task.
They moved the children away from the gate, and once the bench was pulled completely away from the floor, both Anna Marie and Ororo were helping to hold up the bench, the realization setting in that the men were intending to use it as a battering ram.
"On the count of three." Max commanded. "One. Two…three!" They ran into the gate with full force, breaking it away from the walls, twisting it to allow everyone to get through.
The bench was set down once the path was clear, and Ororo and Anna Marie ushered the children through first, Max and Kurt not far behind them. The attending crew tried to stop them, and Max, pure icy anger in his eyes, shoved past them, reaching for Anna Marie's hand.