She narrowed her eyes and stared at him. “I understand.”
“We’ve tried everything else. So we’re going to have to use your man to get a handle on it quickly. If he can find it, he can hitch our recovery cables to it.”
“I see.”
“We will take all necessary precautions—both for him and for us. He’ll be under escort when he’s in the water—for as far down as possible. And he’ll be tethered always, for, uh, security’s sake.”
Color returned to Elizabeth’s face. She set her jaw firmly. “I’m sorry, Admiral,” she said quietly, “but Mark Harris is not just a piece of hardware.”
“No, of course not.”
“And I - don’t think you should think of him either as some expendable trained animal.”
“No, not at all...”
“He is sensitive to personalities and directions.”
“Doctor, I know that,” he said calmly, leaning across the desk toward her. “I am aware of his sensibilities and loyalty and performance, thanks to you. I know he responds to you. That’s why I’m asking you to handle him for me.”
Elizabeth averted her eyes to gaze out the window. She pondered his words. The admiral was quiet, allowing her to think. Slowly she turned back to him. “Admiral, for the sake of the whole situation all the way around, I think it would be best if you made your request to Mark directly.”
They studied each other.
After a moment, the admiral nodded. “All right, I’ll talk to him. But why me?”
“I think you have to make it clear that this job comes from you, not me.”
“Why?”
“Because this job might not... be successful.”
“Doctor,” his voice was quiet but firm, “I think I understand your feelings.”
“It’s not just my feelings, Admiral. It’s my knowledge about Mark And my lack of knowledge. We don’t know for sure what the outer limits of his abilities are. But in any case he will perform better if he understands just what’s involved. Then he will be willing to look to me for guidance and support.”
“You’re willing, then, to oversee the mission?”
“Of course,” she said icily. “Mark Harris is my job.”
“But you wish for me to go alone to tell him?”
“Without me, at least. It’ll be less confusing to him. When I give him an assignment, he expects me to be able to explain it fully, every detail. That will not be possible in this case.”
“As you wish. I respect your judgment.”
The sign on the fence said: RESTRICLED AREA—AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.
Lt. Ainsley slowed the car as they approached the gate where two armed guards were posted. The guards stepped to either side of the car, stooped to look in, and quickly waved it through.
They pulled up near the dolphin pool and walked over. Two more armed guards were now posted around the pool..
“Quite efficient, Ainsley,” the admiral said, gesturing toward the guards.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Although I don’t know why you weren’t able to get things straightened out with him this morning.”
“Sorry, sir. I tried.”
They looked down into the pool.
Mark lay resting at the bottom. His eyes were closed. As the two shadows fell on the water, he opened them. He lay unmoving, staring up.
Ainsley leaned over. “Hey,” he called. Mark didn’t move. Ainsley cupped his hands around his mouth. “Hey, there! You! Mark Harris! We want to talk to you again!”
After a few moments, Mark rolled lazily over and began swimming in a slow upward spiral. He broke the surface a few feet from the edge and looked at the two men.
“Look here,” Ainsley said in a slow, loud voice, as if Mark were partly deaf, “you know who this is?” He hooked a thumb toward the admiral. “This is the—”
“It’s okay, Ainsley,” the admirai broke in, tapping him on the sho:ulder. “Mark, Lt. Ainsley here tells me you didn’t seem to understand my orders when he delivered them to you a little while ago. What didn’t you understand, son?”
Mark started moving slowly around the pool like a lazy eel.
“He can’t answer you, sir. He can’t talk.”
“I know, I know.” The admiral walked alongside where Mark was swimming. “Mark, the orders were fairly simple.” Mark swam away.
The admiral turned to Ainsley. “What exactly did you tell him?”
“Just what you said, sir. All about the mission.”
“And you told him you were acting in Dr. Merrill’s behalf?”
“Well, I told him she had talked to you. And that you had told me to deliver your orders. And I told him these were your orders.”
“Darn it, Ainsleyl That’s the most confusing thing I ever heard! It was supposed to be simple. The whole point was that he is supposed to understand that Dr. Merrill told you to talk to him!”
“Well, I just figured, unh, you know, the proper authority for...”
“Proper authority in this case, as far as Mark Harris is concerned, is Dr. Merrilll You know what the arrangement was!”
“Yes sir.” The lieutenant blushed and looked down at the grass. “I guess I just got confused myself. Because as I understood, the arrangement was for you to talk to him.”
The admiral sighed, puffed out his chest and let it relax. “Okay, okay. I just thought you could save me some time by giving him an initial briefing. I should have done it just like she said.”
“It might not have made any difference, sir. He just wasn’t responsive at all. Didn’t even pay attention.”
“Maybe.” He turned his attention back to the pool where Mark was swimming in lazy circles. “Son, let me explain it to you again. Dr. Merrill knows I am here. She asked me to talk to you about this. Wednesday—that’s two days from now—you leave on a ship. Not so much different from the one you were on the other day, just bigger and more comfortable. Dr. Merrill will be with you on the ship. Then you go down into the ocean to help us find a piece of equipment we’ve lost. Just like the torpedo the other day. Except that you don’t even have to bring it back this time. Just find it and we’ll do the rest. Understand? Do you understand that?”
Mark stopped swimming and straightened up in the water. He looked at the admiral, indicating neither yes nor no—just a cool, appraising look.
The admiral rubbed his eyes and crouched next to the water. “Perhaps I’d better explain it to you a little differently. You see, we don’t have anybody, or anything, that can find this piece of equipment. It’s terribly important equipment. A kind of boat. We have to get it back. You’re the only one who can do it.”
Mark began circling again.
The admiral got down on all fours and leaned over the pool. “Look, son, this is one of the most important things Dr. Merrill has ever done. It’s not, it isn’t just—it’s more than machinery, son. There are people inside. Yes, that’s it,” he nodded briskly, “two people. Friends of Dr. Merrill.”
Mark surfaced near the admiral and peered at him.
The admiral spoke more quickly. “And these friends of Dr. Merrill, we want to get them back too. You understand? Of course you do. So if you go down there, you can find the equipment and the people. Why don’t you come out of the pool so we can talk about it?”
Mark swam over to the ladder and climbed out.
“Don’t you think you ought to tell him they’ll be bodies, sir?” Ainsley whispered. “What if he gets down there and finds out that they’re—”
“I just want him out of the pool, Ainsley. Once we get him working with Dr. Merrill, it’ll be all right.”
Mark walked around to them, and the three moved over to a gentle rise on the Center grounds. The admirai sat down and Mark joined him a few feet away on the slope. Mark glanced into the sun and quickly rubbed bis eyes.
“Run inside and get his sunglasses, Ainsley.”
Below them in the ship channel several vessels were moored. Work crews bus
ily loaded some, unloaded others. Trucks came and went. The water sparkled in the sun. Beyond the channel, the vast Pacific shone like a mirror.
Ainsley retumed with the glasses and Mark slipped them on. He looked out across the water.
“Son,” the admiral began softly, “there are some things about this place, and us, that are difficult for you to understand. This entire country, for as far east as you can see and more, is run by a government that oversees everything. Protects us all. I work for the government. Right now, with you here, everything on this base is my responsibility. I look after it for the government and the people. There are other people in other countries who do not like us, who would like to harm us. I help defend the country against those people.”
Mark continued staring down the hillside.
“Now, somebody has to be the leader, the boss. Do you understand that? Somebody has to tell others what to do. Usually people will agree to do what they are told, because they trust the boss. But sometimes they don’t completely understand why they are being told to do something. Or sometimes they don’t want to do it, even when they should. So we have orders. When the boss in the Navy gives orders, it means you have to obey. I give orders.” He took a breath. “Orders are when...”
Mark leaned forward, staring at the docks and the water.
“... when people older and wiser tell us what to do. And then we do it. We must do it. That’s how we get things done.” He leaned around to try to get Mark’s attention. “We get things done by obeying orders. Otherwise important jobs would take forever. You follow me, son? Hunh? Am I getting through to you? Obeying orders is what it’s all about.”
Mark gave him a sharp, questioning look.
“See? Now you’re getting it. Now you’re beginning to understand.” He reached out to tap Mark’s shoulder. Mark looked down at the hand. “And as long as you’re here, you’ll have to obey my orders too. Because I am older and wiser. You will have to do what I tell you to do. You understand?”
Mark looked steadily at the admiral, his penetrating, green-eyed gaze causing the admirai to shift his position nervously.
“Now then. Here’s what I order you to... Hey!”
Mark had stood up, and was now walking briskly down the grassy hill straight toward the ship channel. “Hey there! You better not waik away like this when I’m giving you an order!”
Mark continued waiking.
“Ainsley!”
“Yes sir! I’ll get him, sir!”
Ainsley trotted down the slope after Mark, waving his finger in the air. “Stop! I order you to stop!”
Two MP’s at the gate, hearing the commands, swung around to block Mark’s path.
Mark charged forward and burst between them, running toward the dock.
“Keep him out of the water!” Ainsley screamed.
“What?” The guards looked at him.
“Everybody! Don’t let him divel”
Two more MP’s jumped out of a dockside jeep between Mark and the channel.
Mark cut to his left and ran onto the road. Whistles were blown, MP’s materialized all around.
Mark darted behind a row of forklifts, reversed his direction, cut behind a jeep, and headed back up the road the other way.
The admiral stood on the grass, dancing on one foot and then the other, breathing heavily.
Mark ran at the fence, tried to climb it, fell back coughing. He lurched toward the channel. An MP got a hand on him and spun him around into the grasp of another.
“We got him!” they called.
Mark swung his body furiously, breaking free. Coughing and gasping and stumbling, he ran along the channel past the ships. In the distance before him lay the open Pacific. He lost his footing on the oil-slicked pavement and tumbled. He scratched his way forward, regaining his footing as he moved.
“Don’t let him get to the water!” Ainsley bellowed.
They were right behind him. The Pacific lay before him, a few yards away.
An MP made a diving tackle from the rear. Mark continued to advance, dragging the MP behind with his right leg. He reached out for the water.
Then several other MP’s pounced on top of him, and he collapsed. He lay face down, breathing in shallow gasps, his outstretched arm three feet from the water’s edge.
Though he lay helpless, the MP’s didn’t know that, and they grabbed frantically for various holds, hammerlocks, and half nelsons. Most of their struggle was with each other as they bumped, butted, and kicked.
The admiral raced out the gate and down the road to where they all lay in a snaky tangle. “Take it easyl Don’t hurt him! Take it easy!”
“We didn’t let him get to the water, sir!” Ainsley announced proudly, snapping to attention.
“Okay, okay! Get off him now, come on!” The admiral reached down and began pulling MP’s off Mark. “Ease up now. He’s not dangerous. Come on, just two of you guys lift him up and take his arms.”
Gradually they untangled and lifted Mark up.
He could barely stand. The admiral was gratified to see that despite the pileup, Mark didn’t seem to be injured. But he could also see that he was exhausted and dangerously out of his element.
“Quickly now,” he waved the men toward the lab, “get him into the pool!”
“But I thought the lieutenant said—”
“Into the pool! On the double!”
The admiral, Ainsley, and two MP’s hauled Markas quickly and gently as they could—away through the gate and toward the pool.
The other MP’s watched, scratching their helmets.
“What was that all about?”
“Beats me. For a guy that looks strong, he sure went down easy.”
“Yeah, but what did the guy do?”
“Goin’ AWOL, I guess.”
“Since when they put you in the pool for goin’ AWOL?”
“Maybe he was tryin’ to commit suicide in the ocean.”
“So they gonna let him do it in the darn pool?”
“Maybe he was gonna swim to Japan.”
“Anyway, we did what we were supposed to do. We gotta make out a report?”
“Not unless they tell us to, we ain’t.”
“He’s right. Our orders were to stop him, that’s all.”
“And that we done, first class!”
Mark swam swiftly around and around the pool, occasionally splashing the water angrily. Two MP’s watched him, drawing back from the splashes, which seemed to come most often when he was near them.
Elizabeth trotted out from her office to the pool and dropped to her knees. “Mark!”
He stopped briefly, then resumed swimming fiercely around.
“Mark! Please! Listen to me!”
He kept swimming and splashing the MP’s. She waited patiently. He didn’t splash her. Gradually his pace slowed. He dove for the bottom and lay there, staring up.
Elizabeth looked down into the water at him.
“Thank the Lord he stopped wettin’ us down,” an MP muttered.
For several minutes Mark lay on the bottom, his hands behind his head like a pillow. Elizabeth didn’t move from her knees. She kept looking at him.
Finally she turned to the MP’s, who were shaking the wet out of their pants legs. “Listen, men, I want you to back off for a while, okay? On my authority. Just move back away from the pool a few yards while I try to talk to him.”
They looked at her suspiciously. Then one of them shrugged. “Okay, let’s do like she says. She’s the doctor. He’s gotta come up soon anyway. For a guy who can’t fight a lick, he sure can hold his breath when he’s mad.” They moved away onto the grass.
“Mark? Will you listen to me?” She leaned out over the water so that if he couldn’t hear her he could see her lips move.
Gradually he moved from where he’d been reclining and circled up to the surface at the center of the pool. He stared at her.
“Mark, I don’t know exactly what you were told, and I don’t know exactly what
happened. Somebody made a mistake. There’s nothing I can do about that. But maybe we can just start over with this whole thing.”
He floated nearly still at the center of the pool, only his head out of the water, his green eyes glowing.
“Mark, the admiral came to see me yesterday. He wanted some help from you and me. He wanted to know if you will help him recover the submarine. As a favor to him, Mark. Not an order—a favor.”
She met his cold gaze and bit her lip lightly. “And he wants us to work together, Mark. You and me. That’s what he came to see you about. I guess it all got misunderstood somehow. The admiral is a good man. He really is. When you tried to leave, he sent those men after you because you’re just too valuable for him to lose. He didn’t know how to stop you otherwise. He didn’t want you hurt. You didn’t get hurt, did you?”
She paused, as if expecting him to answer. “And Mark, I would like you to stay here too. I would hate to see you leave. There is so much I want to learn about you—want you to learn about me, about us. So I want you to stay. But not like this. Not with force. That will not happen again. I hope you will stay with us because you want to. You understand?”
He continued to stare at her. She studied his face. She thought she could detect a softening. Nothing anybody else could detect, probably. Maybe there was no change. But she thought his unblinking eyes flashed a bit less angrily.
“Mark, I will not desert you. Do you understand that? I will never lie to you. I will stay with you so long as you are here. I will not give you orders. I will ask you to do things, and you will do them if you want to—just like before. Understand? Now, it was a mistake, what happened with the admiral. He feels very badly about it. He would tell you that himself, but he is afraid that if he comes out here it will make you angry again. So he wants me to be with you when he talks to you from now on.”
Gradually Mark moved closer to her.
“So listen, Mark. I’m going to try to work something out with the admiral. We will reach an agreement about that mission, the three of us. You will agree only if you want to. And then we will stick to that agreement.”
Man From Atlantis Page 8