CHAPTER 278
The Huey flew over the Pacific waters heading westward. The ocean was choppy. Although the sun was bright in the eastern sky behind the aircraft, there was a fog on the horizon ahead that had not yet burned off in the heating air.
The Huey began to descend upon a large dark object in the water. As its details came into view it materialized into a massive container ship with an open area in the midsection of the deck. As the Huey continued to lower in altitude it banked and circled around the ship. In its final descent the helicopter lined up with the clearing and settled down upon the deck.
Its engines wound down, and the side door slid open. Lewis Dodgson stepped out and lit a cigarette as soon as his boots hit the deck. With glowing embers and a puff of smoke he snapped his Zippo closed and walked away from the helicopter.
With the rotors still settling above, Dr. Richard Levine exited the chopper next. Behind her Arby Benton, Kelly Curtis, Marty Guitierrez, and Diego all followed. They stood beside the Huey and looked around.
There were surprisingly few shipping containers on the boat, and up toward the bow most of the space was taken up by two Chinook helicopters. The boat itself looked like it had been dredged up from the bottom of the ocean.
It groaned and creaked and shuddered. As everyone came to exchange glances they did it with a clearly established mutual nervousness.
Diego dropped the pack off his shoulder and onto the deck with a whistle.
Arby said, "jeez, did they pull this hunk of rust from Davy Jone's Locker?"
Marty Guiterrez chuckled with a sound of distress, "does anyone else get the sense that something unsavory is going down here?"
Kelly didn't say anything. She was watching Dr. Levine who had her eye on Dodgson.
Dodgson had left the group without a second glance and was headed toward the nearest Chinook.
Kelly watched a mix of determination and insult grow over Dr. Levine's face. It was a look she had seen so many times before, and Kelly knew that the doctor was a mere second from storming after Dodgson. A moment later Dr. Levine stomped away.
Kelly looked from Arby to the others with an eye roll and said, "and we're off." In a few jumps Kelly fell into step behind Dr. Levine.
Marty and Arby stood uncomfortably, and Diego lingered with them. The pilot had gotten out of the Huey and was leaning against the cockpit. They could not see his eyes through a pair of mirrored aviators, but they all felt he was staring at them.
"Sooo," Marty began. "Do we go after her?"
Arby sighed, "we'd better." In truth the pilot was giving him the creeps, and he mostly wanted to get away from him.
As they started off Marty said, "I'm afraid to step too heavily on this deck."
Arby said, "don't worry. The barnacles reinforce the rust damage."
Behind them Diego lugged the bag back onto his shoulder and followed.