There was a brief hesitation as hands and arms disengaged.
"Doctor, may I ask you a question?" Charlie asked.
The doctor’s eyes found the Captain and seemed to take on a sparkle.
"A question? Certainly Captain. I would be happy to hear your question."
"I'm no scientist and don't know a lot about these device-things you're building, but I read a lot, and my understanding is that the stuff you need to put into them is really hard to get ahold of, and you need quite a bit of it to make the things, you know, effective."
"An excellent question Captain. I am happy to see that you are a thinking man, and have an interest in these things. They told me that would be true."
There was a noise, and the doctor glanced toward the door where two men had entered carrying a metal case.
"But I am afraid that I must go and tend to my duties right now Captain. I will be happy to talk again later and will answer any questions you might have. But let me just say that you are correct in your understanding, in most cases. However, when you have the capabilities of a group such as ours, those challenges become minor. Indeed, it has taken us time to gather our resources, but we have been patient, and have done what others have not been able to do. And now please pardon my rudeness, but I must go."
The doctor left with the two men. The Captain did not take a breath from the moment he recognized the case’s yellow radiation warning label until the leader touched him on the shoulder, "Captain, why don't you refill that cup of coffee now?"
"Yeah," is all the Captain could get to come out.
Chapter 7
As the Captain poured a fresh cup, the leader motioned for the Captain to join him at the table.
"Captain, I assure you that the doctor is a very capable man. I noticed your hesitation. Understand that he has been under a great deal of pressure recently, getting his work done, and has not had much sleep."
The Captain nodded.
"And speaking of sleep, you are off watch now, and things are quiet for a while. Why don't you get some sleep as well? I assure you that if anything of importance arises, I will see that you are notified."
The Captain looked toward the window.
"Captain, really, it is important that you rest. You are the only one who can make sure that everything proceeds normally, and that no one attempts anything that might, well, we need you to be alert and in control of your boat."
"Captain, I'll tell you what. You go get some sleep, so you are rested, and when you are up, I will answer questions I know you have. But please, you must rest."
"Alright, alright, but I don't see how the hell I'm going to get any sleep; not with you here, and the doctor back there, with his radioactive crap cooking our brains."
"I understand your concern Captain, and I assure you that we have taken every precaution to see that there is no danger to anyone here from the radiation. The elements are safely contained in canisters. And just to take extra precaution, we have placed shielding in the workroom where the devices will be assembled. Plus, we will only have a few canisters on board at any one time."
The Captain looked up from his coffee.
"Yes Captain, that is why we needed to borrow your boat. It would have been impossible to carry all twenty-seven devices around to deliver them. The canisters may still carry residual radiation from when they were loaded, but handling two or three at a time makes that harmless. What we needed was a movable laboratory; a place we could assemble our devices one at a time, and safely deliver them to their destinations."
"My boat."
"Your boat."
"But why..."
"Captain, sleep. We will talk more later."
The Captain dumped his now lukewarm coffee in the river as he walked along the side of the boat toward the ladder to the second deck and his cabin. As he glanced at the shore passing by, he was tempted to just jump into the water and swim away from this nonsense, but the bracelet on his wrist kept him here. Once inside his cabin, he kicked off his shoes, stretched out on his bed, knowing full well he would not, could not, sleep. He pulled out the photo of his wife and unfocused his eyes to make the scope crosshairs disappear. She was really beautiful. She looked just like she did before the kids were born; that time they took off to the Ozarks and spent three entire days and nights doing nothing but...nothing but...
Sleep is good.
Chapter 8
He opened his eyes and thought about a fresh, hot cup of coffee, and began running the daily routine through his mind. Then he remembered. He grabbed his deck shoes, threw water on his face, and ran out the door.
The sun cast a red glow over the water as the boat made the turn to the barges. It was almost an hour before the change of watch, so Frank was piloting the boat. As the Captain entered the pilothouse, Frank explained they were stopping to pick up six barges, all loaded and ready to move upriver; three to Memphis and the others to St. Louis. The Captain found his seat on the bench and stared into his cup of dark roast.
What troubled him was not the dirty bombs. There were other things eating at him right now. First, when he caught the boat a week ago, the office told him he would spend the entire trip on the lower river getting caught up on some loads that had been delayed in the spring floods. But they almost never took a boat this far down river. These barges were south of New Orleans, down in big boat water where the oceangoing ships load and unload. And why did their new orders say they were going back to the upper river; something had changed. But what bothered him most was the fact that the leader apparently knew about the change before the orders came. His eyes lost focus on the cup, and without raising his head, he said: "Frank, there’s a snake in the home office."
"I've been thinking the same thing but didn't want to say it. Who the hell could it be?"
"Shit, it could be anyone I guess."
"Well, I can't imagine the old man being involved in something like this.”
“Nah,” the Captain said. “I mean hell, I've been with him for almost 30 years; and if anyone wouldn't tolerate somebody messing with his boats, its him. And besides, he's got as much to lose in this deal as anybody else. I mean, damn, if they actually blow these things up like they say, it fucks up our river too; we're out of a job, and the old man's company goes under with all the others."
"He can be a real asshole at times,” Frank said. “but he's not stupid. Who else are you thinking?"
The Captain stood and walked to the window, "I dunno. Most of them have been around for years; it’s almost like a family."
"A fucked up one sometimes."
"Yeah, that's for sure; but not this fucked up. Alma is the one responsible for putting together the orders; she's the one directing all of this. But..."
Frank interrupted, "Alma compiles the orders, but anyone there could come up with reasons to change them; it’s not really that unusual you know."
"Yeah, I know. I'm just fishin'."
What about Alex, he's fairly new, just came on about a year ago, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, I think about a year. And he deals with..."
The pilothouse door opened and the leader entered, looking fresh and alert, carrying a plate of donuts.
"Good morning gentlemen, I've brought a little something to start your morning."
Frank turned to stare out the window at the deckhands making up the tow, and the Captain looked at the leader and his plate as if he had just invited them to all put on tutus and dance around the pilothouse for a while.
"Guys, c'mon. I'm trying to make this experience be as painless as possible, really. Ah, Captain, how was your sleep?"
"Just fine, thank you."
"That is good. It’s important that both of you are in top shape during our mission. I was able to get a bit of rest myself, though those engines sure do make a lot of noise, don't they?"
No response, as the leader placed the plate on the small table, "Well, anyway, here you go, help yourselves!"
No one moved.
; "I see we are picking up the first load. That is excellent; right on schedule. Once you are finished, we need to stay here for another few minutes before we begin to move up river. This is actually one of the more challenging parts of our entire mission, and timing is critical. I will let you know when we are prepared to move on."
No movement, no comment, no nothing.
"In fact, I'll tell you what. We're almost at the end of watch anyway, so Frank, why don't you go ahead and go downstairs and get some rest? I'm sure the Captain won't mind; he and I have some conversation to continue anyway. Is that alright with you Captain?"
The Captain’s eyes did not move from the window. "Sure, that's fine, whatever you want, it’s your boat."
The Captain glanced at Frank and nodded his head toward the door. Frank scanned the controls to make sure everything was in order and stepped from the pilothouse as the Captain settled himself into the big chair.
Chapter 9
"So, just where the hell are we right now?" the Captain asked as he looked at the GPS and radar screens. "We usually don't come down this far."
"We're just a few miles south of New Orleans,” The leader said. “It makes a nice place to do things more unnoticed."
"I don't see..."
The leader's cell phone hummed, he took a quick look, and smiled, "Well that was even faster than I expected. Captain, we are ready to get underway. Please take us up the river."
Charlie glanced at the leader, turned his eyes to the front to make sure his crew was ready, and reached for the controls. They felt the vibration as the huge engines surged, and the leader walked to look out the aft window at the great churning of water caused by the twin, twelve-foot propellers.
"This is an amazing machine Captain; I imagine it must sometimes be quite challenging to control it."
The Captain remained focused; and silent.
"Captain, or do you really mind if I call you Charlie?"
"Call me whatever you want."
"Then Charlie it is. And my name is Dennis; that is my real name, by the way, in case you were wondering."
The Captain stared out the front window.
"I wasn't."
"Charlie, I realize you look at me and see a maniac; some kind of a warped, deranged, evil fool. I can't blame you for that. Five years ago, I would have thought the same thing. But I'll tell you; we're really not all that different; you and me."
The Captain looked out the window.
"Well, Dennis, for one thing, I'm not holding a bunch of men hostage and threatening to kill their families and blow up radiated bombs across the country; and I sure as hell haven't shot an innocent man in the back of the head, so no, I think we're probably more different than you think. And I think it would be better if you just kept calling me Captain; if you don't mind."
The Captain guided the boat into a sharp bend to the left, as it passed downtown New Orleans and its Riverwalk area, just waking up for the day.
"Certainly, Captain. I really do understand. Like I said, a few years ago, I would have felt exactly as you do. But then..."
"I know, you lost your son. I can't imagine how hard it was to deal with that, but shit man, how did that end up with...?"
"There was more to it than that, Captain. Yes, my son's death was very difficult. But as I spoke with others, I was shocked at how common that experience was; just how often people who might be made well are allowed to die, simply to fit within the algorithms of an insurance company."
The leader paused while he looked out the aft window again.
"It just ate at me. It wasn't about me anymore; it was about all of those who had their lives destroyed as part of the daily games of those with the wealth and control. And I looked for ways to try and make a difference in the normal ways. I became active in politics, and I studied more about business and law. But they're too well established. They own the businesses; they own the banks, they own education, they own the governments, hell, they own it all. And it’s the same in every nation in the world; the rich and powerful taking advantage of the poor and powerless. Don't you ever get tired of seeing this stuff happening Captain?"
A pause as the captain guided the boat under the massive structures of the Crescent City Connection; the twin bridges carrying the morning rush traffic into the city.
"Hell, of course I do. Anyone in their right mind gets tired of that shit. But Jesus Christ man, that doesn't mean you blow up the country. That's just insane."
"No Captain, insanity is doing the same old things that have never worked, and somehow expecting them to work this time. The reality is that those who are in control are not going to give up that control, and they will never do anything that will allow their control to be threatened. The only choice we have is to change things ourselves. I met some other people who believe the same thing, and together we decided that we would do just that. Crazy? Perhaps captain. But insane? No."
The only response was the hum of the engines as the leader watched the two bridges move into the distance behind them.
"Captain, I realize I will never convince you of the value of our mission. But I just wanted to assure you that it is not just the act of a broken mind. That is why we have gone to every measure to see that no one needs to be harmed; no one other than those who have caused more harm than our little journey here could ever create."
Several minutes of hum-filled silence as both men stared out of pilothouse windows; one forward, and one aft.
The Captain glanced at the leader and then back to the window.
"So tell me, when does this little mission of yours officially begin? I mean, what do we do first?"
The leader smiled as he looked back down river, "But Captain, it has already begun. The first two devices are already in their place and ready to do their work."
The Captain had a tough time finding a breath as he looked back at the Crescent City Connection, now filled with morning traffic just 150 feet above the surface of the water. His hand shook just a bit as he drank from his coffee cup, trying to stop the sensation that he really needed to throw up.
Chapter 10
The morning passed just as it was supposed to pass, with everything looking like it was just business as usual. As the boat made its way under the span of the Huey P. Long Bridge, the morning rush traffic on Rt. 310 had ended, and traffic on the Hale Boggs was lighter than usual for late morning, so the Captain found it was a bit easier to keep breathing as he imagined seeing the two canisters slowly burying themselves in the murk below the bridges.
Just before noon, Frank came back to the pilothouse for the afternoon watch. "Hey Captain, where's your buddy?"
"Yeah, right. Did you get some sleep?"
"Yeah, some. Enough. I'll be fine. So, what's going on?"
"Well, they actually did it. The sons a bitches actually dropped a couple of those things under the bridges; three of them so far."
Frank looked out the aft window, "Holy shit, they really did it?"
"Fuck yeah, or at least that's what he said. You couldn't tell a thing from up here, but my guess is they are doing exactly what they say they are doing."
"Shit Charlie, we can't just sit here and let them use our boat like this, we've got to do something."
"Yeah, I know. But I'll tell you something. I don't think these guys are as crazy as I thought they were at first."
"You're not buying their crap are you?"
"Fuck no, nothing like that. But at first I figured they were a bunch of, I don't know, terrorists, or just lunatics out to make a name for themselves. Those kinds of people make mistakes we could probably take advantage of. But these guys, fuck, I'm not so sure they're the kind that make many mistakes; they might be crazy, but they're not stupid."
"Yeah. Where are we now anyway?"
"Just below Reserve. Got new orders to pick up another load at Mile 138. Still lots of big boats around here; I'm glad it’s nice and wide."
Both men were quiet as they looked out the windows at the busy river
traffic. Nothing was said as Charlie stepped from the chair and Frank took the controls for his six-hour watch. The two men had worked together for almost fifteen years on one boat or another, so they could run through a string of shifts without ever saying a word. As he watched Frank handle the controls to pick up the new load, he remembered the first trip they ran together, when "Deckhand" Frank first mentioned his dream of someday becoming "Captain" Frank. Charlie remembered when he had said those words and had decided to take it upon himself to see that the young man got his shot. There had been good times, and times he had to kick Frank's ass a bit to get a point across, but it had clearly all paid off in the end. Charlie couldn’t help but let a smile creep onto his face.
"What the hell are you grinning at?" Frank said.
"Aw, I was just..."
The pilothouse door opened and the leader walked in as he put his cell phone in his pocket.
"Frank, I'm glad to see you here. I'd like to borrow the Captain for a few minutes."
"You're the boss apparently," Frank said as he looked out the front window.
The Captain grinned at Frank's bit of attitude, and said, "Ok Frank, let's see if you can keep her between those trees out there...that's where the water stops."
The two friends glanced at each other and shared a weak smile. They’d been through tough times before.
Chapter 11
"Captain, I thought you might like to see just how our little operation is working; I imagine you may be curious?"
The Captain moved to the open door and walked down the steps to the main deck. The leader followed, looking at a message on his phone.
The gangways on a towboat are just wide enough for one person at a time. If you needed to pass someone, one of you had to press your back against the side of the boat to make room for the other. At one point as the leader passed the Captain, Charlie thought about how he could just give a little nudge and watch the asshole fall to the water two decks below; if it just wasn't for those damn bracelets. The leader paused and offered a friendly smile.
Disruption: A River Of Secrets And Betrayal Page 3