by Dale Mayer
As the three headed off, he realized he was stalking more than walking. He tried to ease back down, letting some of the stress roll off his back. He rotated his neck and his shoulders so that, by the time they walked into command central, he wasn’t quite ready to jump down anybody’s throat. The three suits stood in the center of the bullpen area, talking around all the computer systems. They looked up and nodded to the three new arrivals.
“Problems?” Mason asked.
Berkley stepped forward. “Have you talked to your pilot lately?”
He pulled out his phone and said, “Last contact was about an hour and a half ago.” He quickly sent a text. He looked up at her. “Why?”
“Nobody has seen him,” Troy said.
At that, Gregor, gasped. “He’s flown for me for years,” he said. “I hope he’s okay.”
“I hope so too,” Troy said. Then they filled in the suits on what happened to Chucky and their subsequent talk with Winslow.
Gregor sat back down again. “What the hell is going on?”
“Nothing good,” Mason said. “Nelson and I have just done a full rundown on all the crew who works here. Everything from felons with conviction records, to a couple guys on the dodgy side that Interpol might be interested in, and the rest appear to be harmless.” At the word Interpol, he heard her gasp. He turned to look at her. “Do you know those two?” He pulled up their names and photos.
She shook her head. “No idea, but heavy background checks were done on everybody who’s here.”
“Sure, but, if you’ve got a friend of a friend,” Mason said, “there are ways to get people in, no matter who you are.”
“There shouldn’t be,” Gregor said bitterly. “These rigs are billion-dollar investments. We can’t afford to have things go wrong.”
“Maybe not,” Mason said, “but it looks like you’re already past that point.”
“And what else have you got to say?” Gregor addressed the trio.
“Lionel’s body is missing, Daniel’s brother,” Axel said. “And no one has seen Daniel the foreman in the last few hours either.”
Mason froze and looked at him. “What the hell?”
“Yeah, not exactly sure what that’s all about.”
“What about the power outage?”
“It’s back on again,” she said. “I’ve done a full system analysis, but it’s not coming up with anything.”
“Meaning, nothing went wrong?”
“Exactly,” she said. “So the only thing I can think is that it was done manually.”
“So,” Mason asked, “who needed to move something or to get somewhere and needed the cover of darkness for it?”
“Outside of us?” Troy asked with a grin. He caught Berkley looking at him carefully, but he didn’t say anything. She had overheard Mason earlier telling Troy to get their two extra men on board. It should make her feel better, but he didn’t have clearance to tell her fully about them. If she came across them unexpectedly, that was a different story.
“What do you think is going on?” Nelson asked Troy.
Troy said, “I’ve taken a look at the blueprints, and a hell of a lot of places exist where people could hide.”
“And I think that’s exactly what’s happening,” Axel said. “I think we’ve got a couple extra bogeys on board who are here deliberately.”
“To take out the rest of the crew?” Mason asked. “Or to dispose of the dead who aren’t supposed to be here?”
“Dispose of evidence for sure,” Troy said, “and maybe clean up their tracks. I don’t know if anybody has handed in notice recently or has been fired, but that’s someone who we should take a hard look at.”
“Two men were just fired,” Gregor said. “And both Chucky and Winslow are done in ten days. They’ve told us they’re not renewing their contracts.”
“And that coincides with what they said to us too,” she said.
“What Winslow said anyway,” Troy corrected. “Chucky is pretty shook up. He’s not talking much.”
“And neither of them knew about the extra bodies in the cooler,” Axel said.
“So potentially those two are in the clear, but we can’t be sure of that,” Gregor noted.
“Exactly,” Axel replied.
“Sounds like we can’t be sure of anything,” Troy continued, “so we need to start checking things off. I want to do a full sweep in the place, and I want anybody else we find—other than the eight crewmen we expect to be here and us six right here, seven, if we count the pilot—to be brought up to the bullpen here.”
“I think you can probably make that happen faster than we can,” she said to Mason.
“It’s already in progress,” Mason said with half a smile.
She frowned at him.
He shrugged and said, “Some things you’re better off not knowing about.” He looked over at Gregor. “And who were the two just fired?”
“James Baldwin and a buddy of his.” He stopped for a moment, frowned, and then said, “Oh, right, Stephanopoulos Canker. They are good friends, but they’re feisty, and they get into trouble all the time. They had three warnings each, and we decided that, this time, we were done.”
“Could they be behind this damage to the rig or the recent rapes?” Mason asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. “It’s possible, I suppose. The managers who died would have been in conflict with them and could have been blamed for them getting fired. But I don’t know if James and his buddy were violent or just troublemakers.”
“Got it. And it really is a far stretch for somebody who likes to have a good brawl,” Troy said, “to creating this sabotage that would hurt these men.”
“Exactly,” Gregor said.
“Anybody else on the troublemaker list?” Mason asked.
Gregor shook his head. “Not according to any notes I have. We have multiple rigs that we oversee,” he said.
“Winslow ID’d one of the men in the cooler as the medic,” Troy added, “which then stopped the others from getting any decent medical aid.”
“We always have two medics on-site,” Gregor said, “and sometimes we’re lucky enough to get doctors. But, of course, all we’re trying to do is stabilize the injured or sick and get them shipped out right away.”
“Of course,” Mason replied.
“But damn, if that’s Dr. Ramos in the cooler, that’s not good, since he had a lot of military field-surgery experience. We were quite happy to have him come on board.”
“I’m sure you were.”
“Dr. Ramos? Military?” Berkley said, as all the men turned to look at her.
Troy watched as she worked away at the question formulating in her mind.
“What if some of this has nothing to do with the rig itself?” Berkley asked. “What if this is old history, like, you know, with the medic? An old enemy from the military days or something.”
“It’s possible,” Troy said with a nod. “But why now?” He turned to look at Gregor. “Do we have any idea whether there was a problem with him? Was there any objection when he came on board? Did anybody have a hard-on—you know, an argument with him? Any complaints about lack of care or his abilities?”
“No,” Gregor said. “Nothing on record.”
“Where the hell is Daniel anyway?” Mason said. “These are questions we should be asking him.”
“But still, he’s a foreman, not a manager,” Gregor stated.
“I thought three of the dead were the missing managers,” she cried out.
“Yes,” Gregor said. “The three missing were found dead. And one of the other dead men is the fourth manager as well.”
“So, does Daniel even know about all these dead people? Seems he should because one of them is the medic.”
“He was also a manager, our fourth manager,” Gregor said. “Sorry, his position was a dual one because of his extensive medical background, but also because he was very good at what he did in managing one of the teams.”
“
So, by taking him out,” Troy noted, “it doubled up the confusion among the crew. Management and medical assistance.”
“Possibly, yes,” Gregor said. “But I still don’t see a motive, if this is a man-made issue.”
Still thinking hard on an issue she had yet to bring up, Berkley walked over and pulled up one of the chairs and sat down.
Troy could see the fatigue at the corner of her eyes and the slump of her shoulders. He wanted to give her a hug, but, at the same time, he knew he’d already been a little too overprotective as it was. And, even if there was a zing between them, as Idiot had pointed out, it wasn’t necessarily something they would follow up on. As soon as things were wrapped up here, he would be off on another mission assignment, and she would be bouncing around between here and her other contract jobs.
“Uh-oh,” she said suddenly. “Denny said, if we want any food, we better not be late. And he means it. Trust me.”
“Well, it would be interesting to see him try and not feed me,” Gregor said, as he strode toward the door. “Denny is a bit of a different case himself,” Gregor added.
“In what way?” Mason asked.
“He’s a convicted felon,” Gregor said. “Two counts of murder.”
Everybody froze. He looked back at them, smiled. “Right? Who would have thought? But everybody gets their second chance to be integrated back into society. And often they become camp cooks. In this case he learned to cook in prison.”
“And you trust him?” Mason asked Gregor.
“He has worked for us for over twenty-five years,” Gregor said. “So, yeah, I do.”
“You didn’t mention him when we were talking about your staff,” Mason said, anger threading through his voice.
Gregor looked back at him and shrugged. “We don’t see him as a problem. He’s been good to us, and we’ve been good to him. End of story.”
“But what if somebody recognized him from prison or something?” she asked quietly. “Or what if somebody from the families of the people he murdered recognized him?”
Gregor turned and looked at her in surprise. “He’s worked for us twenty-five years now, and he did fifteen years hard time before that. So his crime occurred well over forty years ago. Who cares now?”
Troy shook his head. “Everybody cares,” he said. “In some cases these people never forget. What if a son or nephew here grew up without a family member because of Denny? And now he’s in the same place and that anger just took over?”
“Wait. … What?” Gregor raised his hands in frustration. “Blow apart the rig, shut down one of the drills, and blast two of the other drills so they’re inoperable? What’s that got to do with Denny?”
“It’s hard to say,” Axel said, stepping up as they walked toward the door. “But just think. Who else is left behind? We’ve got eight dead, the eight-man skeleton crew working here already, not counting Berkley, excluding those of us who just arrived, plus our pilot, so one of those original eight crew members is Denny.”
Gregor stared at him. “You think all this was just to isolate Denny so he could be taken out?” He shook his head. “That’s garbage,” he said. “Come on. Let’s go eat. The one thing I do know is that Denny is one hell of a cook. I’d travel this distance just to have one of his meals.” He slammed his way through the doors out to the hallway.
The five of them stopped and looked at each other. Troy shook his head. “I’m really not liking too much about any of this mission at all. What the hell are we even doing here?”
Mason slid a glance toward Berkley.
Troy sighed. “Of course I get that,” he said, “but it still has to be official.”
“It is official,” Mason said. “The C-4 that was used? Remember we have that packaging?”
Troy nodded. “Yeah, sure. What about it?”
“Military supply,” he said. “It came from one of our bases.”
Chapter 8
Back in the dining area, Berkley was surprised, and yet not, when Troy reached out and grabbed her hand, then bent down and whispered, “Stay with me.”
She nodded. It amazed her in a way that he wasn’t acting this way. She was grateful, not to mention the fact that she really liked him, though she didn’t really know him. She knew his kind though. Just like Axel and Mason, they were all about doing the right thing. A stark contrast to the guys she worked with here, who appeared to be only after their own needs. It was a little disturbing to look around and to see just how many of them may not see her as she’d hoped and believed they did. Just the thought of the three gang rapes on board was disturbing enough.
More than disturbing, her friend Tabitha deserved a whole lot better than what she’d gotten from everybody here. It wasn’t fair that, when she needed support and help, she hadn’t been able to get either. The entire mess had been brushed under the carpet. Berkley didn’t even know now if she could do something about it for her friend. Berkley wanted to think so, but so much had happened, and most of the men were gone.
It was hard to look at the men still here and wonder if they had participated in those crimes. Unfortunately Tabitha hadn’t said anything about who her attackers were as she’d been blindfolded. Thankfully Berkley had been here to help collect evidence and to get her friend out of here. Berkley had never really thought about it or had the same insecurity or fear after what happened to Tabitha, somehow thinking it was specific to her, since she was a full-time crew member. But then Berkley hadn’t heard about the other two women until more recently. And now Berkley didn’t know what to think on the whole inhumanity of it, unless it was to point fingers at the unholy men who did this and throw them in shackles and dip them into shark-infested waters.
Denny looked up as they stepped into the dining area and frowned immediately. “About time,” he scolded them, ushering them to one of the big tables. “You sit at this one.”
She raised her eyebrows at that but didn’t say anything. Ahead of them Denny had seated the three company men at a smaller table off to one side. They had a tablecloth and silverware. Her table was just a regular cafeteria table, where Jonesy and Idiot were at one end. She took her place quietly at the other end of the table, with Troy on one side and Axel on the other. The other men looked from her to her two guardians but didn’t say anything. She wondered what they were thinking but didn’t dare ask. She looked over at Denny, wondering if they were supposed to get up, but he brought platters of food to their table. Roast beef, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and maybe meat loaf. She quickly served herself a normal portion and handed it to Troy.
Axel looked at her and asked, “How come you didn’t give it to me first, huh?”
She grinned at him. “I figured Troy here, being a little guy, might need some, and, if I gave it to you first, there wouldn’t be any left afterward.”
He chuckled.
“You guys know each other?” Idiot asked, interrupting their conversation.
She nodded. “I’ve met them both before several times,” she said smoothly. Of course she knew Axel well, better than Troy, but that seemed to settle something in the other men. As if understanding that prior relationship explained why she was sitting with them.
“I guess this isn’t the only rig you go to, is it?” Idiot asked.
She shook her head. “Nope. I travel a lot. I work for the company, just like you guys, but I can end up on any number of their rigs, depending on what the issues are.” She cut into the meat loaf and took a bite. Her eyebrows shot up. She stopped and looked at it, then took a second bite.
“Is it good?” Axel asked.
She nodded slowly. “Very unique flavor but very tasty.”
Before she realized it, she’d finished the meal on her plate. She pushed the plate slightly away and put her knife and fork on it, then settled back. “That was really good.”
“Don’t you eat here all the time?”
She nodded. “Sure, but this was especially good. Company men, you know?”
“What?”
Axel looked at her, confused.
“When the company men are here,” Jonesy felt the need to explain, “everybody gets the benefit.”
“Ah,” Axel said with a nod. “That Denny is a sly one. He was all wound up earlier about not knowing they were coming.”
Everybody nodded.
“Well, it was definitely good,” she said.
“Good.” Jonesy reached out and grabbed another slab of roast beef off the platter.
She contemplated the food for a moment and then shook her head. “I want more,” she said, “but I don’t dare. I’ll just be miserable.”
She watched as the other men all appeared to be on their best behavior. Maybe it was because the company men were sitting in as well. A lively conversation was going on at that head table, but it was too far away for her to hear the details. She glanced from Troy’s to Axel’s plates and realized they would still be here for at least twenty minutes.
Troy looked at her, leaned over, and whispered, “You okay?”
She smiled up at him. “I’m fine. I want more to eat, but I’m too full.” She said, “I’d like to go back to work.”
“Is there any work you can do?”
She shrugged. “There’s always work one can do,” she said. She stared out one of the large windows to watch the storm rage outside. “I wish we’d found the pilot.”
He nodded. “So far there’s been no news.”
“What news can there be?” Jonesy asked. “The pilot probably got too close to the edge and fell.”
“Is that a normal problem?” Troy asked. “You have warning signs up and around, and he’s been here many times.”
Jonesy shrugged. “It happens. In bad weather like this, it’s fatal. Most of the time somebody’s out there with him, and it’s okay. We can grab him back in again, but, once they hit the water, you know what it’s like. Hypothermia sets in within minutes.”