by John J. Rust
“Bailes, I’m going to put us right over the boat,” said Olivas. “Get down there and bring that guy back ASAP. That monster could still be hanging around.”
“Yes, Sir.” Bailes turned to Yeager. “Time to go outside.”
The flight engineer nodded. “Watch your ass, buddy.”
“How about you cover my ass with that machine gun so I don’t get eaten?”
“Deal.”
The two Coasties bumped fists.
Rastun continued checking around the MLB, and Karen kept taking pictures, while Bailes sat in the doorway and attached the hoist hook to his vest. Yeager looked over the rescue swimmer, then tapped him on the chest. Bailes released his gunner’s belt, checked his gear, then gave Yeager a thumbs up. The flight mechanic played out an orange trail line until it reached the bobbing MLB. All the while, Olivas kept the Dolphin in a hover directly over the boat.
Hurry up, guys. Rastun’s eyes swept over the waves. Visions of the monster breaking through the surface and snatching the survivor spooled through his mind.
Yeager lowered Bailes toward the MLB. The rescue swimmer used the trail line to stabilize himself as he neared the boat, which continued to pitch and roll. Olivas did his best to keep the helicopter steady.
Bailes landed on the deck, slipped and went down on one knee. He quickly recovered and raised his right arm, the signal for, “I am all right.”
Bailes unhooked himself from the hoist and started forward.
A geyser of water erupted next to the MLB.
“Shit!” Rastun took quick aim and fired.
Bailes turned around. The Point Pleasant Monster’s jaws clamped down on his shoulder. Karen screamed as the beast yanked Bailes off the boat.
“It’s got Bailes!” Yeager shouted. “It’s got Bailes!”
Yeager took aim with the machine gun, but didn’t fire, probably for fear of hitting his friend. Rastun also sighted up the monster. He fired another tranquilizer dart.
Both the monster and Bailes disappeared beneath the waves. Rastun had no idea if he had even hit the beast.
“Oh my God.” Yeager stared down at the MLB, mouth agape.
“Yeager? Yeager, what’s going on?” Olivas demanded. “Bailes, do you read me?”
“Bailes is dead.” Rastun slid over to Yeager and slapped him on the shoulder. “Hey! There’s nothing we can do for him, but we still have one man we gotta get out of there. Lower me down.”
Yeager blinked in surprise. “But-But you’re a civilian.”
“I’ve rappelled out of helicopters before in the Rangers. Now get me down there.”
Yeager just stared at him, like he was mulling over the idea.
“Let him do it, Yeager,” said Olivas. “It’s not like Mister Rastun is a virgin at this.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Yeager brought up the hoist and gave Rastun a crash course in what to do. It was certainly different from rappelling, where all he did was slide down a nylon rope to the ground. Nice, flat ground that didn’t move, unlike the MLB below him.
Rastun slung the Aster 7 over his shoulder and attached the hoist hook to his vest.
“Be careful,” Karen said, her face taut with worry.
He gave her a quick smile. “I’ll be fine.”
Yeager lowered the hoist. Rastun gripped the trail line. Rain pelted him. The wind tried to push him to the left. He fought through it, using the trail line to maintain a steady descent to the MLB. The shattered vessel dipped and rolled.
Fifteen feet to go. Rastun looked left to right, rivulets of water snaking down his goggles. No sign of the Point Pleasant Monster. It was probably still feasting on poor Bailes. Hopefully that would give him a few minutes to get the survivor back to the chopper.
Rastun hit the deck and detached himself from the line. The boat rocked to the right. He stumbled and fell to his knees. Rastun got back to his feet, turned to the helicopter and raised his right arm. He unslung his Aster 7 and moved the cylinder so the toxin dart would fire. If the monster appeared again, he wasn’t going to mess around. He was going to put the ugly bastard down, permanently.
Rastun hurried across the deck. Some debris covered the survivor’s legs and waist. Rastun lifted it off him. The man’s pants were torn. Blood stained his right leg. He also had a red gash down his right cheek. Rastun noticed a fabric rank device on the collar of his parka. A gold ensign’s bar. The nametag on the parka’s left breast read GALE.
“Ensign Gale? Can you hear me?”
Gale looked at him, his eyes slightly glazed, his face pale.
The guy was clearly in shock.
“It got them all,” Gale mumbled. “It got them all. I couldn’t do anything.”
“Ensign, can you stand?”
Gale acted like he hadn’t heard him. “It got them. Got them all.”
“Ensign!” He grabbed Gale by the collar and pulled him up so their eyes met. “Pull it together! Can you stand up?”
Gale blinked a couple of times. “I …I think so.”
“Then get your ass up if you want to live.”
Rastun helped him up. Gale tried to stand straight, then slumped to his right.
“My knee.” His face twisted in agony.
“I got you.” Rastun slung the Aster 7 over his shoulder and put an arm around Gale’s back. He half carried the ensign back to the hoist. Again he checked around the MLB for any sign of the monster. He found none.
Rastun reached the hoist and secured a rescue sling around Gale. Once they were both secured, Rastun gave a thumbs up. He felt his feet leave the rolling deck.
Something moved to his left.
The Point Pleasant Monster leapt out of the water and crashed onto the stern. It lifted its head, dark eyes aimed at him and Gale.
An icy shiver went up Rastun’s spine. With one hand on the rescue sling and the other on the trail line, he had no way to defend himself or Gale.
The monster lunged forward.
Something bright red shot through the air. A little flaming ball zipped by Rastun. He turned away, but not before several multi-colored dots formed before his eyes. He blinked a few times and turned back to the monster. It looked away from him and Gale and eyed the flare.
Another red glow caught Rastun’s attention. He looked up at the helicopter.
Karen leaned out the door, clutching the flare launcher. She disappeared back inside the helicopter. Seconds later she reappeared and fired another flare.
Rastun looked down. The monster tracked the third flare as it fell into the water. It jumped out of the MLB and plunged into the ocean.
When Rastun and Gale reached the Dolphin, Yeager disconnected them from the hoist.
“Rastun and survivor aboard,” Yeager reported to Olivas. “The survivor has a pretty bad leg injury. It looks like he also might be in shock.”
“Roger that. The closest hospital is AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City. We’ll take him there.”
The Dolphin headed west. Rastun laid the injured ensign on the deck while Yeager got the first aid kit. They bandaged Gale’s leg and covered him with a thermal blanket.
“You’re gonna be all right, Ensign.” Rastun patted Gale on the shoulder. He then looked over to Karen. She pushed her goggles atop her helmet and just stared at him.
Rastun lifted his goggles and slid over to her. He said nothing, just took in her beautiful face, dampened by the rain.
“You saved my ass back there.”
Karen opened her mouth, but said nothing. Instead she flung herself at him and gave him a crushing hug. They held each other for what had to be a good minute. Just as Karen released Rastun, he gave her a long kiss. He then stared into her eyes, eyes that held worry, relief, joy …and something else.
It was in that moment Jack Rastun knew with absolute certainty that Karen could not possibly be the mole.
TWENTY-FIVE
Piet saw the orange form of the Coast Guard helicopter fly away from the bobbing motor lifeboat
. He scanned the vessel through his binoculars. The pilothouse was wrecked. He couldn’t find anyone aboard. Any survivors were probably on that helicopter.
“I just picked up a transmission from the helicopter to the cutter Vigorous,” Doern reported. “They picked up one survivor from the motor lifeboat and are flying him to a hospital in Atlantic City.”
“What about the monster?” asked Piet.
“It sounds like they used flares to distract it. It dove back into the ocean.”
Piet nodded and looked back at the abandoned MLB. There was a chance the Point Pleasant Monster could still be around, which meant they wouldn’t have to wait for the FUBI or Coast Guard to capture it. They could do it themselves and get the four million dollar bonus.
“Heinrich. Make for the motor lifeboat. Doern, get the tranquilizer gun. I’ll man the M-60 and Olef can use the RPG.”
Piet led Doern out into the wind and rain. They opened a cargo container and pulled out their weapons, along with the nets and catch poles.
Hefting the long-barreled M-60 machine gun, Piet headed toward the bow. The constant rocking and bouncing of the 41-foot utility boat made it difficult for him to keep his balance. Somehow, he managed.
They closed with the MLB. Piet swept his head to and fro, scanning the ocean.
“You fellows see anything?”
Both Doern and Olef replied, “No.”
Piet kept looking, his finger coiled around the M-60’s trigger. If that bloody thing tried to hop aboard this boat, it’d be in for a nasty surprise, like a face full of 7.62mm rounds.
“Over there!” Doern pointed to something off the starboard bow.
Piet squinted against the rain and wind. Something in dark blue clothing floated in the water. A body, face down and missing its left arm.
“Looks like the beastie didn’t finish its supper,” said Piet.
“It might come back for it,” suggested Doern.
“It just might. Be ready with that tranquilizer gun.”
Doern nodded.
Piet ordered Heinrich to cut the engines about 20 feet from the corpse. The boat bobbed among the waves as the mercenaries waited.
They didn’t wait long.
“There!” Doern pointed.
Piet saw a long, reptilian neck emerge from the roiling water. The monster stared at the floating body, then lifted its head. Its gaze was aimed right at the utility boat.
“Doern. Send it to dreamland.”
Doern nodded. He got on one knee and balanced the tranq rifle on the railing. The boat continued to pitch up and down. The monster’s attention shifted from the boat to the corpse.
“Dammit,” Doern cursed. “I can’t aim for shit with this boat bouncing up and down.”
The monster surged forward through the waves.
Doern fired.
The monster brought down its head. It clamped its jaws around the corpse and pushed it underwater.
“Did you hit it?” asked Olef.
Doern shook his head. “I don’t think so. I doubt it. Who the fuck can aim properly on this damn thing?”
Piet scowled. Would the monster surface again? Was there something they could do to lure it back to the surface?
“Hey!” Heinrich called from the pilothouse. “There’s an American Coast Guard cutter approaching to port.”
The mercenaries turned. A white ship with an orange stripe down each side plowed through the rain and waves, headed for the wrecked MLB.
“What do we do?” asked Olef.
Piet stared at the approaching vessel. “If we stick around, we run the risk of being made. One call to a Coast Guard base and they’ll find out we’re imposters. Plus we don’t have the Point Pleasant Monster. Better if we leave.”
The other mercenaries nodded.
“Doern. Keep monitoring the radio. If that ship actually finds the monster, we’ll have to come back and take it from them.”
“All right.” Doern headed back into the pilothouse, with Piet and Olef following.
Heinrich spun the wheel. The utility boat turned a full 180 degrees and sped off. Piet checked over his shoulder a few times. The cutter continued straight for the MLB. Maybe the Coasties hadn’t seen them, or maybe they thought they were just another USCG vessel, nothing to be suspicious about.
It wasn’t long before the cutter was out of sight. Doern monitored the Coast Guard vessel’s radio frequency, provided to them by their mole inside the FUBI. It lingered in the area for an hour without seeing the monster, then sailed away.
“What now?” asked Heinrich.
Piet stared out the windows. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve had enough of this shit weather. Let’s head home.”
The trip back to the Manasquan River seemed to take longer than normal. Piet threw up again and wondered why any fool would want to join the Navy. When they returned to the abandoned boathouse in the woods, Piet was the first off the utility boat. The ground was soggy, but at least it didn’t move. Once inside the boathouse, he used his smart phone to check the weather forecast. The storm was expected to move out of the area by late tonight. Tomorrow should be a much calmer day on the ocean.
Piet peeled off his sopping wet clothes and put on fresh ones. He thought back to the encounter with the monster. They’d been so bloody close. Had it not been for this damn storm, Doern would have easily put a tranq dart in that thing. Then they could have delivered it to Gunderson’s “research ship” and collected their bonus.
Now he had to hope for another opportunity to nab the Point Pleasant Monster.
TWENTY-SIX
“We have the resources to capture it. Just let us do our job, dammit!”
Rastun winced at Malakov’s shrill tone. The animal behaviorist had come halfway out of her chair, staring daggers at the tall, white-haired man in a white service dress uniform sitting at the head of the conference table.
“Unfortunately, Doctor Malakov,” said Admiral Gerad Timmins, commander of the 5th U.S. Coast Guard District, “you no longer have a proper research vessel at your disposal, and Director Lynch informs me its replacement developed engine trouble and won’t be here for two more days. I’m not going to wait that long for it to arrive.”
“We’ll give you all the tranquilizer darts you need. Just drug it and bring it back to us.”
Timmins shook his head. “After what happened yesterday, I refuse to risk the lives of any more of my people to capture that thing.”
Rastun noted the admiral’s tight face and the narrowed eyes. He saw similar expressions when he and Karen returned to the Vigorous. A combination of anger, sorrow and fear. The Coast Guard had lost four of their own to a monster that had already killed seven others. He didn’t think they’d be inclined to capture it.
“Mister Lynch, Mister Parker, please.” Lauren stared at the speakerphone in the middle of the table. “Will you make this man see reason?”
“Lauren,” Lynch replied. “I understand your concern. But without a proper research vessel, there’s no way to safely secure the monster.”
“You said the replacement ship should be here in two days. There’s no guarantee the Coast Guard will find the creature before then. We still have a chance to capture it alive.”
“I don’t think it’s worth the risk anymore,” said Rastun.
“Nobody asked you,” Malakov snapped.
“It’s time to face reality, Doctor,” Rastun fired back. “We have gone above and beyond trying to capture the Point Pleasant Monster. You know when a wild animal attacks a human it has to be put down. This creature has killed eleven people. It has absolutely no fear of humans, and right now it’s sitting on top of the food chain.”
“I don’t even think it’s solely about food anymore,” said Ehrenberg.
Timmins tilted his head. “Explain, Doctor.”
“The way it attacked your boat yesterday, killing one person after another. It couldn’t have eaten them so fast. I talked with both Lauren and Raleigh. There’s
a possibility the monster was defending its territory more than looking for a meal.”
“All the more reason to take it out,” said Rastun.
“No, it isn’t.”
“Doctor Malakov.” Timmins gave her a harsh stare. “Are you even bothered by the fact this thing has killed almost a dozen people? Where are your priorities?”
“My priority is to keep animals like this alive. You can’t hold the Point Pleasant Monster responsible for what it does. It’s acting on instinct, not hatred or vengeance like men do.”
Timmins looked around the table. “So does anyone else feel the same as Doctor Malakov?”
“I have to side with her,” said Pilka. “We can’t take the chance that we might kill the last of this species. We have an obligation to science to capture it alive.”
Ehrenberg cleared his throat. “I’d love nothing more than to agree with you, Raleigh. But, given the number of people killed, I guess…” He sighed and stared at the table. “Damn. I can’t believe I’m about to say this. I guess we have no choice but to kill it.”
“Randy!” Malakov gaped at him. “How could you?”
“I’m sorry, Lauren, but people have to come first.”
“Mister Parker and I also agree with Doctor Ehrenberg and Mister Rastun,” said Lynch. “Admiral Timmins, you will have the full support of the FUBI in hunting down and destroying the Point Pleasant Monster. Doctor Ehrenberg, your team will deploy on Epic Venture as soon as it arrives. If you spot the monster, you will contact the Coast Guard immediately. Understood?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. Again, I wish we could have handled this differently. Good luck and be careful.”
A click came from the speakerphone as Lynch hung up.
“Well, now that that’s settled…” Timmins stood and straightened his uniform. “I’m going to start redeploying our cutters and helicopters to search for the monster.”
“I guess we’ll stay on the Vigorous until our new boat gets here,” said Ehrenberg.
“Negative, Doctor. Since this is no longer a capture operation, the presence of your team on our cutters is no longer necessary.”