Carolyn decided to start at the north end and work her way south. The first section she searched contained mainly household items. Soap. Detergents. Bathroom tissue. Deodorizers. Then came mops, brooms, and dustpans. The next aisle held sheets, linens, pillows, and comforters. And after that were stacks of pots and trays and other kitchenware. Up and down the aisles Carolyn went, scanning the ten-foot-high shelves for medical supplies. She stopped abruptly and gazed up at shiny, metallic objects, hoping they might be oxygen tanks. They weren’t. The objects were bathroom fixtures. Faucets, showerheads, chrome handles, and dust-covered mirrors. The next section held furniture and drapes and rugs. Then more furniture and more rugs.
On the next to the last aisle, Carolyn found what she was looking for. There were shelves packed with x-ray and laboratory equipment and instruments for minor surgery. The adjacent shelves held dressings and casting materials and boxes of antibiotics. Then her eyes lit up as they focused in on bags of IV fluids and setups, which she grabbed and piled onto the gurney. And next to them was a row of small oxygen tanks! She snatched up a half-dozen tanks and secured them onto the gurney with a wrap-around belt.
Feeling reinvigorated, Carolyn pushed the gurney toward the door. Maybe this is a good sign, she thought. Maybe things are starting to turn around.
At first she didn’t see the man standing in the entrance. But she did when he put out his hand to stop the gurney in its tracks. She jerked her head up and saw Robbie Hendricks staring at her.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked.
“Back to the sick bay,” Carolyn lied.
“Well, you can go,” Robbie said. “Just leave all the supplies behind.”
“These things are for the sick passengers,” she argued. “They are of no value to you.”
“We’ll let Richard Scott determine that.”
“There’s a sick child who really needs the oxygen tanks,” Carolyn pleaded.
“Needs it bad, eh?”
“Really badly.”
Robbie shifted the shotgun in his flexed arm, which caused his deltoid muscle to bulge, and this expanded his red-rose tattoo. “What are you willing to trade for it?”
“What are you talking about?” she asked, missing the point of his question.
“I’m talking about you and me getting it on down here,” he explained and patted the gurney. “We could use this instead of a bed.”
“You go to hell!” Carolyn spat.
“You seem to forget I’ve got a shotgun, which can be very persuasive.”
“And you seem to forget I’ve got a boyfriend who would rip you apart,” Carolyn snapped, her voice strong despite the fear running through her. They were alone on the huge level. No one was there to help her or even hear her screams. She quickly added, “And he’s one tough guy.”
“Wooo!” Robbie feigned a giant shiver. “Now I’m really scared.”
“You should be, if you had any sense,” Carolyn said.
Robbie waved his shotgun in her face. “How do you think he’d measure up against this?”
“That won’t help,” Carolyn said, not missing a beat. If he was going to kill or rape me, he would have done it by now. I think! “Before you could fire that weapon, you’d find yourself over the side, like Choi. Except David won’t pull you up.”
Robbie stared at her for a long moment. “How do you know about Choi? You weren’t there.”
“But a lot of others were, and they’re still talking about what a mean son of a bitch my boyfriend is.”
Robbie pointed his shotgun at her and moved in closer. He suddenly grabbed her left breast and squeezed it hard. “Fuck him!”
Carolyn gritted her teeth against the pain. Her fear returned and sent a chill through her body. He’s going to do it! He’s going to push me down onto the gurney and do it! Desperately, she looked around for a weapon to defend herself. “Y-you hurt me and he’ll come after you big time.”
Robbie squeezed her breast again, then shoved her away. “After Choi finishes with your boyfriend, there won’t be enough of him left to come after anybody.”
Carolyn glared at him, hating him and wanting to tell him that soon he would have to face someone from Special Forces who would turn his life into a living hell. But the last thing she needed to do was to provoke him further, so she held her tongue.
“That’s enough talk,” Robbie said coarsely. “Now you get your smart-alecky ass out of here before I lose my temper.”
“I want a tank of oxygen,” she insisted. “For the little girl.”
“No,” Robbie said and aimed his shotgun at her head. “Move it!”
Carolyn seethed at the merciless, tattooed man, hating him even more. She spun around on her heels and hurried down the passageway, with only one wish on her mind. To see that no-good bastard die.
twenty-seven
When Carolyn returned, David was at bedside, taking his sleeping daughter’s pulse. Kit looked even worse, with a deeply flushed face and raspy respirations. She seemed to be growing sicker by the minute.
“Her heart is racing at 120 beats per minute,” David said softly. “And she’s having occasional extra beats.”
“Should I get the EKG machine?” Carolyn asked.
David shook his head. “It won’t help her or me. If she were to develop an arrhythmia, there are no drugs in the sick bay to treat it.”
Carolyn watched David lean over and kiss Kit’s forehead. “Still hot?”
“Burning up, despite the Tylenol I gave her an hour ago.” He took Carolyn’s arm and guided her into the sitting room. Keeping his voice low, he asked, “Were you able to find some oxygen tanks?”
“Yes and no,” Carolyn replied.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means there weren’t any in the sick bay, but I found a row of tanks in the storage space you told me about.”
David glanced around. “So where are they?”
“Robbie saw me in the passageway with the tanks and refused to let me have them,” Carolyn explained. “He said we needed Richard Scott’s approval. But I think he was just being mean and nasty and trying to show who was boss.”
“I’ll go talk to him,” David said at once and started for the door.
Carolyn grabbed his arm. “It won’t help. They will make you beg but still refuse to give up the oxygen tanks.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because they’d like for Kit to stay really sick. That way you’ll have to stay with her and be out of their hair.”
“You’re probably right,” David agreed reluctantly. “But I have to somehow get those tanks for Kit.”
“I was thinking the same thing, but I don’t know how to do it.”
“Neither do I,” he had to admit.
“But you’ll come up with a way, won’t you?” Carolyn said and stepped in to hug him. As she pressed up against him, she winced in pain. “Ah!”
“What?” David asked immediately.
“My chest.”
“What about your chest?”
Carolyn took a deep breath and rubbed involuntarily at the tender spot. “When Robbie stopped me, he decided he wanted to fool around. I told him to get lost, so he got angry and reached out for me. Before I could move away, he squeezed my breast really hard.”
David quickly unbuttoned the top of her blouse and saw a large black and blue bruise across the upper part of her left breast. His eyes suddenly went stone-cold. “That son of a bitch!”
“And some,” Carolyn added. “He may also be a sadist. I think he actually enjoyed doing it.”
“He won’t enjoy what he’s about to get in return,” David said icily.
“Don’t do anything rash, David. They’re just waiting for you to make a stupid move, so they can turn Choi loose on you.”
; “I won’t do anything rash.”
“Promise?”
“Promise,” David said as he remembered the words of a tough Special Forces instructor. Rash and stupid gets you killed. Smart and controlled gets the other guy killed. “I won’t act out of anger, and that’s a double promise.”
“Good,” Carolyn said. “Now, what about getting an oxygen tank for Kit?”
“Let me think on it,” David told her, but a plan was already forming in his mind. It was based on two assumptions. First, Robbie wasn’t nearly as bright as he thought he was. And second, like most not very bright people, Robbie was a creature of habit. Those two flaws could get Kit a tank of oxygen and cost Robbie his life. All David needed was a few more details. “Are there any other developments I should know about?”
Carolyn pondered the question at length before saying, “A fair number of the passengers are starting to panic. Some are totally out of control. I didn’t think it would happen to so many so soon.”
“And it’ll get worse,” David said, nodding. “When people see death at a distance, it’s only interesting. When it gets up close, it scares the hell out of them. They’ll do just about anything to survive.”
“Including pillaging a sick bay until there’s nothing left but trash on the floor.”
David nodded again. “Wait until the grand finale. When land is sighted, the passengers will rush for the lifeboats, which will quickly fill up. And more people will pile in until the boats are so overloaded they begin to sink. Then you’ll see real panic.”
“Do you think Scott will allow that to happen?”
“He wants it to happen. The more people and boats in the water, the greater the distraction.”
“So he and his pals can slip ashore more easily.”
“Exactly. And if some of the passengers drown, that’ll be okay with Scott too.”
Carolyn shuddered to herself. “That’s cold!”
“And clever.”
Kit let out a loud cough, then another, longer and louder yet. Seconds ticked by and the silence returned.
“That was a strong one,” Carolyn noted.
“Sometimes she seems to be clearing her lungs, other times not,” David said, glancing back to the bedroom. “Unfortunately, the weak ones outnumber the good ones.”
“Maybe she’ll start having more good coughs,” Carolyn hoped.
David shook his head sadly. “It will only become worse and worse. And before long, her airflow will diminish to the point where there’s obvious oxygen deprivation.”
“Then get those oxygen tanks!” Carolyn demanded.
“Wait,” David said patiently.
“For what?”
“A little more time to pass.”
“What happens then?”
“Then people’s body clocks reset, and their eyelids become heavy.”
Carolyn smiled. “And their reflexes slow.”
“Among other things.”
“How long will—”
There was a loud knock on the door.
“Jesus!” Carolyn moaned. “Who can that be at this hour?”
“Maybe Karen,” David said, then called out, “Who is it?”
“Robbie,” came the rough reply. “Open the damn door!”
“What do you think he wants?” Carolyn whispered.
“I don’t know,” David whispered back. “But stay behind me. Whatever happens, stay behind me.”
“Open it!” Robbie barked.
David approached the door carefully. It had a peephole, but he had learned long ago never to use one. It could mean certain death if the person on the other side had a gun. All the shooter had to do was wait for the peephole to darken, then fire a shot through it. The bullet would go through the eye, into the brain, and out the back of the skull in a tenth of a second.
David opened the door. Robbie stood square in the center of the passageway, with his shotgun pointed into the cabin. Choi was off to the side, his thick, hairless hand on the hilt of his knife.
“What do you want?” David asked.
“You’re to come with us,” Robbie ordered.
“I can’t,” David said firmly. “My daughter is very ill and I have to remain at her bedside.”
“This isn’t a request,” Robbie snapped.
“And this isn’t a polite refusal,” David retorted. “I stay. You move on.”
“We figured you’d play it this way.”
“Who’s we ? The two brain cells you have inside your head?”
Robbie poked his shotgun into David’s ribs. “It’d be real easy to blow you to hell and back.”
“But you won’t,” David said, unconcerned. “Because you’re just following orders. You’re not smart enough to give them.”
“Not smart enough, eh?” Robbie snarled. “Well, let’s try this on for size. I’m going to persuade you to come with us and it’s going to be easy. Let me tell you how I’ll do it. Rather than have Choi slice you up, I’ll have him pick up your daughter and carry her down to the elevator. I’ll bet you’ll follow us there. And I’ll bet you do it really peaceful too.”
David’s temper began to flare, but he pushed it aside and quickly assessed his situation. He could deflect the muzzle of the shotgun away from his ribs, but Robbie would still pull the trigger. The shot would spray all over the cabin and might hit Carolyn. And then there was Choi and his knife to deal with. That would be far too risky. David sighed and turned back to Carolyn. “You stay with Kit. I’ll return as soon as possible.”
“Good boy,” Robbie said derisively.
“Let me just check on my daughter before we leave,” David said in a submissive voice.
“Make it quick,” Robbie growled.
David hurried into the bedroom and glanced over his shoulder to make certain no one was watching. They might frisk me, he thought hastily. And then I’d lose the only advantage I have. He quickly removed the hatchet from the back of his belt and placed it under Kit’s pillow. She groaned weakly, but remained asleep. David came back into the sitting room and said to Carolyn, “Keep a close eye on her.”
Robbie shoved David into the passageway and kept the shotgun pointed at him.
“Where are we headed?” David asked.
“You’ll see,” Robbie said and poked the muzzle of his shotgun into David’s ribs. “I just hope you make a dumb move and give me a reason to pull the trigger of this fine Browning.”
Don’t worry, David thought to himself. I won’t make a dumb move. When the time comes, I’ll make a smart move you won’t see. You won’t even feel it. Because dead men can’t feel.
twenty-eight
Carolyn was wrong on all counts. Robbie hadn’t confiscated the oxygen tanks on some sadistic impulse or to show he was boss or to demonstrate how mean and nasty he could be. He was ordered to do it, so the tanks would be available for Richard Scott’s flu-stricken girlfriend. David looked down at Deedee Anderson and saw death coming.
“What do you think?” Scott asked.
“It’s bad,” David said frankly. “Very bad.”
Deedee’s face was colored a deep blue from lack of oxygen, and her respirations were so weak they resembled squeaks more than breaths. And most of her beauty had disappeared. Her blond hair was a messy tangle, and what little makeup she had on was smudged. She was wearing a scant, silk nightie, but all of her sexuality was long gone.
“Can you do anything for her?” Scott queried.
“Some oxygen might help.”
“Then give her some,” Scott directed, and pointed to a small tank on the floor near the head of the bed.
David quickly started Deedee on oxygen, using a plastic, transparent mask to deliver it. He adjusted the flow to two liters per minute. Casually glancing around, he searched for other tanks, but saw none. So Scott had only o
ne tank in the cabin, David thought, and Carolyn had used the plural tanks when describing her encounter with Robbie. That being the case, where were the other tanks? Probably still down in storage, in a secure place.
“I hear your daughter is sick,” Scott said, breaking the silence. His voice was matter-of-fact and showed no concern. “Right?”
“Yes,” David said.
“Is she as sick as Deedee?”
“Almost.”
Scott nodded slowly to himself. “You’ve got to be thinking about getting her ashore.”
“It crossed my mind,” David said honestly.
“You could come with us,” Scott offered. “I’d see to it you were in the front of the line to the lifeboats.”
Oh yes, David thought, not trusting Scott for a half-second. We’d board well after you and the other mutineers were already in the water and heading for shore. And we’d be in an overcrowded lifeboat, with chaos all around, and no guarantee of ever reaching land. Yet still, it was a chance to get Kit ashore. But to what? An isolated island or one with second-rate medical facilities at best.
“Well?” Scott pressed.
“I’ll pass,” David said. “I’m not going to start a pandemic, which will kill millions upon millions, just to save my own skin.”
“What about your daughter’s skin?” Scott asked cruelly. “Are you just going to let her die on this ship?”
David looked away and tried not to second-guess himself.
There was a loud knock on the door. Scott and another mutineer named Tommy aimed their shotguns at the entryway.
“Yes?” Scott shouted.
“Choi,” a voice shouted back.
“Come in!”
Choi hurried into the room. Ignoring the mutineers, he gave David a I can’t wait to cut your heart out stare. The glare lasted for a full five seconds before Choi turned to Scott. “Important news! Hurricane pass over Cuba and go to Gulf of Mexico. All clear by thirty-six hours. We now head for port. Yes?”
“Yes,” Scott said promptly. “Find Robbie and bring him to me.”
“I look,” Choi said in broken English. “No see.”
“He’s guarding the storage area.”
Plague Ship (A Ballineau/Ross Medical Thriller) Page 20