فصل چهل و دوم

Chapter 42: Surprise Inspection

The engine room door was constructed of inch-thick metal with a large glass portal that gave those inside a clear view of the corridor. I grasped the handle and slowly spun it until it opened. Not surprisingly, there was an armed guard stationed near the entrance. He immediately turned to us, his hand hovering near his sidearm.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

Ostin stepped forward. “Seaman Liss, first class,” he said. “The admiral sent us down for a surprise inspection.” “I wasn’t informed of this,” the man said.

“Hence the surprise . . . ,” Ostin said.

The man stared at him. “I received no notice of an inspection,” he said.

“Perhaps you don’t grasp the concept of surprise,” Ostin said.

“You’re not authorized to be here,” he said. “I’m alerting security.” He reached for his radio, but Taylor rebooted him. His expression went blank and for a moment he just stared at the radio as if trying to remember why he was holding it. He blinked several times, then looked back at us. “Who are you?” “You were taking us to the engineer,” I said.

He still looked confused. “Sorry, I . . .” He looked at us all and nodded. “This way.” The Ampere’s engine room wasn’t anything like I had imagined it would be. I’d never seen an engine room, outside of black-and-white photographs of old steam ships with glowing furnaces fed by men with soot-blackened faces shoveling from coal scuttles. The Ampere’s engine room was about as far from that as possible. The room was brightly lit with stark white walls and white paneled ceilings with thick chrome pipes running both vertically and horizontally. The ship’s engines, four of them, were mounted in the middle of the floor with chrome pipes leading into them from different angles. The floor was made of steel plating, forged with diamond patterns for better traction.

The engineer was standing near a bank of gauges and switches. He didn’t look any happier to see us than the guard had. He snapped at the guard, “What are these sailors doing in here?” “Dr. Hatch sent us,” Jack said.

“Admiral Hatch,” Ostin corrected. “Surprise inspection.” “Elgen protocol does not allow surprise inspections,” the engineer said.

“Exactly,” Ostin said. “Surprise.”

He looked us over, then said, “You all have the same serial number.” His expression changed. “You’re not Elgen.” Suddenly he reached for his sidearm. I was about to surge when Taylor rebooted him. He grabbed his forehead, crying out with pain. “Ah . . .” “Tell all your men to line up against that wall,” I said.

He looked up at me, pain still evident on his face. “Why would I do that?” I glanced at Taylor, and she rebooted him again. This time the man screamed out with pain, fell to one knee, then to his side, crying out as he hit the floor. Then he went silent.

Taylor was as surprised as any of us. “What happened?” “I think you just gave him an aneurysm,” Ostin said.

“Is he dead?” McKenna asked.

“Does it matter?” Jack said.

Just then two other crew members approached us. They looked at the prone engineer, then back at us. “What happened?” “He fainted,” Ostin said.

“Who are you?”

Before Taylor could reboot them, I pulsed, dropping them both to the ground. “How many more are there down here?” I asked.

“There are two working on that engine over there,” Taylor said, pointing to the farthest engine near the back of the room. “Jack and I can get them.” She looked at him. “Ready?” Jack lay the backpack down. “Let’s get them.” They walked over to the men.

“That makes six crew,” Ostin said. “That’s about right for a night shift.” “We need to get these guys out of the way,” I said. I pointed to a small door. “What’s that room?” “It’s a head,” Ostin said. “The bathroom.” “We’ll lock them in there.”

The bathroom door opened inward and Ostin, McKenna, and I carried the four men—the two crew members, the engineer, and guard—inside and stacked them on top of one another. As we lay the last man on top, Taylor and Jack came around the corner. Jack was dragging two men by their feet.

“Put them in there,” I said.

Jack dragged them to the bathroom, then lifted the men and threw them on top of the others. I pulled the door shut.

“How do we lock it from the outside?” Taylor asked.

“Like this,” Ostin said. He walked across the room, grabbed the guard’s rifle, then came back and wedged it between the door’s handle and the doorjamb.

“That will hold them,” he said.

“All right,” I said. “Let’s plant the explosives and get out of here.” “Where should I put them?” Jack asked.

“It shouldn’t matter,” Ostin said. “That much explosive will obliterate everything within two hundred feet. But generally speaking, the tighter the fit the better.” “But hide it,” Taylor said. “In case someone comes down here after we’re gone.” “How about back here,” Jack said, wedging the pack behind one of the engines. “They won’t see it.” “Bonus,” Ostin said. “That looks like a fuel line running across the wall next to it.” “How long are you setting the timer for?” I asked.

“What do you think?” Jack asked.

“I’d say thirty minutes,” Ostin said.

“You’d better make it forty,” I said. “Just in case.” “All right,” Jack said. “I’m activating it. Everyone ready?” “Do it,” Taylor said.

Jack pushed four buttons. The timer emitted a long, steady tone, then stopped. “We’re live.” “Let’s keep it that way,” I said. “Let’s go.” Suddenly an alarm went off outside the engine room, reverberating loudly down the corridor.

“What is that?” Taylor asked.

“Maybe they’ve discovered the board’s escape,” Ostin said.

“We better get out of here fast,” I said.

Suddenly a voice boomed from a speaker box mounted below a surveillance camera. “It’s too late for that, Vey.” I’d recognize that voice anywhere. It belonged to Hatch.