03 Deluge of the Dead (29 page)

The worst part was that Flotilla probably had no idea they were even gone. Scag had made him steer the
Expiscator
close along the port side of the
Catalina Jet Cat
as they turned northwest, passing the port and ships with the larger ferry masking any view or radar return from the yacht. Combined with the storm and darkness, there was very little chance than anyone in the Flotilla was aware that the
Expiscator
had sailed away. When the yacht was reported missing they wouldn’t know where she had gone. Billy was sure they would start by searching the port and in the direction of Catalina, where they were supposed to go if things went badly at the port, but they would be unlikely to look north where the
Expiscator
was now passing Malibu and about to enter the Santa Barbara Channel.

The yacht was running at full speed, over 25 knots, and still in close formation with the
Catalina Jet Cat
that was cruising comfortably at far less than her maximum speed of 37 knots. The ride was anything but smooth in the six foot storm swells, but the big Hatteras yacht and larger ferry took them in stride. The rolling of the boat was probably just adding to the excitement of the pirates as they ravished the women they had captured.

The big black man named Terrance – the traitor as far as Billy was concerned – stood behind him and watched his every move with gun in hand. Another of the pirates, who Billy could now see was covered in tattoos, sat in front of the radio with headphones on. Billy couldn’t hear what was being said on the marine radio, but he heard the pirate talking on a handheld radio to someone on the ferry as they plotted their course. Billy suspected, but hadn’t been told, that their immediate destination was Santa Barbara. They would arrive there well before dawn. What would happen then was anyone’s guess.

*****

Carl drove the Suburban up to the stern of the
Sovereign Spirit
and O’Hara pulled up next to him in a Marine Corps Hummer. The vehicle ramp was raised and a line of Marine guards stood in front of it at parade rest, but they faced away from the ship instead of towards it. They looked like an honor guard, not a besieging force. Carl paused as the Sergeant Major got out and spoke to the Marines. They seemed agreeable and moved to open a path towards the ship. O’Hara spoke into a radio and moments later a large section of the ship’s stern began to fold down to serve as a vehicle entrance.

The Marines, standing stolidly in the rain, allowed them to pass into the ship unmolested and several crew members were present to welcome them aboard. They were directed to park as far forward as possible and exited their vehicles. Carl noticed that a Marine officer accompanied O’Hara, but mostly ignored them as he helped Lucy out of the back of the Suburban.

“I’m sure they will take good care of you here,” Carl said. “I’m really sorry I ran over you, Lucy, but Karen might be right to give you the nickname of Lucky. There’s a doctor in the sickbay and you are much safer aboard this ship than anywhere else I can think of.”

“Sure, Killer,” she replied with a grimace as she tried to stand. Then she looked around the vehicle deck full of exotic toys and said, “What is this place?”

“The best place to be,” Carl replied honestly.

“In that case, I suppose you want me to thank you for running over me, huh?”

“No, I just want you to thank your lucky stars and I can try to make up for my honest mistake later.” 

She didn’t seem to have a response to that and acquiesced meekly as two members of the crew arrived to assist her down to the sickbay for medical attention. Carl noticed several other figures jogging onto the ship before the vehicle deck was raised again. FBI Agent Slidell seemed to recognize one of them and waved them over as O’Hara and the Marine officer joined them.

“Special Agent Corrigan,” Helen Slidell said. “We got here as soon as we could. Mr. Stiller gave us a ride.”

“Stiller? The engineer on the conference call?” Corrigan asked as he joined the group.

“Yes, sir,” Carl confirmed. “We just happened to be passing by. Agent Slidell and her people brought a lot of survivors to the refinery, so it was the least I could do to give her a lift down here. Where did you come from?” 

“My helicopter landed on the
Sea Launch Commander
after we saw all the Marines surrounding this ship and the helipad here occupied. I’ve been waiting for more than an hour to see the Commodore. Captain Fisher just called over to invite us aboard. This is Nancy Epstein from the Sea Launch team.” He introduced the woman who had run in with him before the ramp closed. “I just hope we’re not too late to see the Commodore.”

“Me too,” O’Hara chimed in. “Let’s go topside.” The group agreed and O’Hara led them to the elevator. He couldn’t help smile as he watched Major Connors and the newly arrived FBI agents gape at the collection of expensive and exotic vehicles assembled in the cavernous vehicle deck. “Welcome to wonderland,” O’Hara said as the elevator doors opened.  

*****

Scott waited in his office for the group to assemble in the adjacent conference room. He didn’t want to keep them waiting, but he didn’t want to have to explain his condition more than once either, not to mention expose them to possible infection any longer than necessary. He was sort of worried that nobody had answered his sat-phone call to the
Expiscator
and that neither George, Michelle, nor Billy had returned calls or radio messages sent in the last few minutes. Captain Fisher was checking into it, but it gave Scott a sour feeling in the pit of his stomach that might easily be confused with the onset of symptoms from Super Rabies. In short, Scott was really not feeling so great anymore.

“Commodore?” a voice said from the intercom on his desk. “Everyone who can make it is in the conference room. Captain Fisher is still trying to make contact with your yacht. They might have radio trouble and be en route. Do you want to proceed?”

“Yes,” Scott replied. “I’ll be right in.” If there was a problem of any kind with the
Expiscator
or his family, he should get this meeting out the way before dealing with it. Unfortunately it wasn’t an auspicious start to his miraculous return from certain un-death. Nevertheless Scott rose from his desk, looked at the photos of Michelle and Billy on the wall, and walked past them to the door.  

“Commodore on deck!” O’Hara called out as Scott entered the conference room. He was taken aback when everyone rose from their chairs and faced him, but nodded and walked to his chair at the head of the table.

“Please be seated,” he said. Scott could tell that many of them were also startled by the surgical mask covering his face, so he decided to cut to the chase. “I suppose some of you are surprised to see me still walking around alive, instead of undead, and wondering why I am wearing a silly mask on my face.” There were polite chuckles and nods around the table, along with some worried looks – so much for breaking the ice.

“As it turns out,” Scott continued, “Professor Bernhard is indeed a genius. Even though Clint was the carrier who infected the woman that bit me, the professor discovered that Clint’s blood also contains antibodies that can fight off the virus, if given in sufficient quantities. So the professor spent the last few hours pumping Clint’s blood through my veins.”

Looks of shock and incredulity swept the room before Carl asked, “So you’re cured?”

“I wish,” Scott said with a smile that few could discern through the mask. “No, I’m a carrier now, just like Clint. The virus won’t kill me, at least we think it won’t, but I might pass the virus along to others if I’m not careful. That’s why I’m wearing this mask and the gloves.” He raised his hands to show off the latex gloves. This was met by locks of fear.

“Anyone who wants to leave this ship is free to do so,” Scott continued. “But I intend to run it the same way I did yesterday and the day before. Of course the rest of the Flotilla and Safe Haven fall under the new Captain’s Council, but anyone who is scared of me, or Clint for that matter, are free to leave the
Sovereign Spirit
and stay as far away from me as you like. I just want you all to know that I’m still me and I hope to…” Scott was interrupted when Captain Fisher rushed into the room.

“Scott, uh, Commodore, we have a problem,” Fisher gasped, clearly winded from running the length of the ship from the bridge. “The
Expiscator
is missing. I sent boats to her last known position and there’s no sign of her. No radio contact. No sat-phones. It’s like she disappeared, or sank.”

Nothing could have hit Scott harder at that moment. He felt his guts flip and fought to keep from vomiting. That reaction did little to reassure the rest of the people seated at the table. “How is that possible?” Scott inquired with a shaky voice. “Where are my wife and son?”

Mick and Mark rose and moved towards Scott, as if to comfort him. “No!” Scott barked. “Stay away from me. I won’t put anyone else in danger of infection. Nobody can touch me anymore.” There was no self-pity in his voice now. All of his emotions were focused on his family. “Mick; Take the helicopter up and look for my yacht and my family. They must be out there somewhere close.”

“You got it, bro,” Mick replied and ran out of the room. Mark simply nodded and followed him. O’Hara also rose to join them.

“Where are you going, Sergeant Major?” Scott asked.

O’Hara hardly paused as he said, “You made me a Guardian too. Remember?” Scott nodded and O’Hara hurried to catch up with the other Guardians.

“I don’t understand any of this,” Special Agent in Charge Corrigan interjected. “What’s going on here?”

“I sent my wife and son away on my yacht when the Navy and Marines surrounded this ship. I wanted them to be in a safe place. And I didn’t want them to watch me die. So I sent them over to anchor in front of Long Beach where they would be out of sight from the port. Now they’re missing.”

Agent Slidell leaned over to whisper in Corrigan’s ear before he replied. “Do you think it might be a hostage situation?”

“I don’t know what to think,” Scott groaned. “The whole world is fucked up and today it caught up to me too.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Carl said quickly. “We have a lot to be thankful for today, not the least of which is that you’re still with us, Commodore. We’re also saving thousands of lives through rescue operations. And we don’t know for sure that anything has happened to your yacht or family, sir.”

“We know it disappeared,” Scott said with a note of finality that served as premature closure to the meeting.

*****

The Super Huey had already been refueled and Mick skipped the pre-flight walk-around in his haste to get airborne. Mark climbed in the passenger compartment, but O’Hara noticed Mick’s omission and made a quick run around the chopper to make sure nobody had strapped down the landing skids or rotor blades. Luckily they hadn’t. He hopped aboard as the rotors began to turn. Jake arrived moments before takeoff and jumped in with his father. He had a way of knowing where the action was going to be.

The helicopter lifted off from the
Sovereign Spirit
and swept across the port, purposefully avoiding the Navy Frigate floating in the basin.  They flew over the cruise ships docked at “Land’s End” and within seconds they overflew the
Queen Mary
and began circling over the Queen’s Way Bay at the mouth of the LA River. Mick turned on the search light and swept back and forth over the last reported position of the
Expiscator.
There was nothing in sight.

Mick slowly expanded the search pattern. In one sense it was a good sign that they didn’t see anything. If the big yacht had sunk, even with all hands aboard, there would have at least been some flotsam to mark her demise. The life vests in the flip up bench seats, the jet skis, the cushions on the flying bridge and surrounding the hot tub, all of them would float and give an indication of where she sank. Since none of that was present, the yacht must have gone elsewhere.  Mick decided to look in Rainbow Harbor and the adjacent marina before sweeping the coast, or heading out to sea. The rain was slacking now, which would also improve visibility.

*****

Nikki had been curled inside the big air handler for what seemed like many hours, naked, shivering and crying. She had only left her hiding spot once, after she heard gunfire coming from the harbor. After making sure that the rain was still keeping the zombies contained in the stairwell, her curiosity took to the edge of the roof. She saw the flashes of gunfire coming from a big boat. Then she saw men moving on the dock. They were far away, but she considered calling out to them.  Then she saw a larger group of people approach them. It was the gang of bad men. She huddled at the edge of the roof, spellbound, until another man arrived. A few minutes later the big boat left the dock and Nikki gave a sigh of relief at the knowledge that the gang was going with it. She was about to return to her dark shelter when she saw the big boat stop at another big boat. More gunfire ensued. Then both boats left together and she saw bodies being thrown over the side. That was enough to send her back into hiding.

The rain was still falling but it didn’t sound as loud anymore. Maybe the constant drumming of water on the sheet metal was making her go deaf. But no, she heard a new sound, a louder and deeper thumping. It took her a few moments to recognize it as a helicopter. The sound came and went, as if it was coming closer and then further away. Then it got even louder and Nikki realized that it might be her only change at rescue.

She unlatched the door and leapt out onto the roof, running to the edge and waving her arms frantically. She could see the helicopter circle the ferry terminal where the bad men had gone. Then it turned to fly over the aquarium towards the marina. She screamed and jumped and prayed. Nikki was so focused on the helicopter that she didn’t even notice the rain had stopped until the first monster was almost on top of her.

*****

Rainbow Harbor was empty, so Mick turned the Huey south towards the marina. Mark and Jake were staring out over the water, looking for the yacht, but O’Hara’s training led him to make sure at least one pair of eyes were trained out the other side of the bird. Even after all he had seen in last few weeks he could hardly believe what he saw on the roof of the aquarium. A naked girl was waving frantically at the helicopter as six zombies rushed across the roof towards here.