Infinity's Gateway, page 6
“He didn’t give you any kind of explanation at all?” said MacKay. It really wasn’t unusual to get orders you didn’t fully understand, especially where black ops were concerned. And nowhere in military training is there ever a situation where it is okay to question orders. In fact, quite the opposite. The discipline drummed into each sailor’s head was to unquestioningly obey orders the instant they were given. MacKay knew that this was more likely a question of “need to know,” an expression he’d come to loathe over the years.
“The primary problem is that no one even has a good guess as to what that thing was. Personally, and it wouldn’t be the first time, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to find out that the whole thing was some kind of giant systems error. Nevertheless, with the navy not knowing what to expect, I’ve been directed to tag along.”
Reaching into his pocket, Colton pulled out a sealed envelope with MacKay’s name on it. “Guess there’s no better time than now for me to give this to you,” said Colton.
MacKay took the envelope, opened it, and read the one-page document inside. His face clouded over, even though he saw that it was signed by Admiral Fairfax. “I don’t understand.”
“If this turns into a fight, or we find something that turns aggressive, it will be my privilege to put those orders into effect. Captain, you know my background. And just so you’ll know, I read your file as well. It’s very impressive. So, it will all come down to my discretion. That said, unless you become physically incapable of running this ship, I have no plans to relieve you of your command.”
“Anything else?”
“Isn’t that enough?” answered Colton. “No, that’s everything I know. My opinion, Captain? We’re chasing some kind of computer anomaly that we will have no way of proving.”
MacKay nodded. “Sounds like the navy. What’s in the crates you had loaded?”
Colton smiled “My props. You can’t put on a good show without props.”
Before MacKay could respond, crewman Hatfield stuck his head out the door and said, “Commander, I believe we may have that company you referred to.”
The Wave Runner was keeping its distance, allowing the Eclipse to stay well out in front of them, just on the horizon. Favor had nearly hurt himself getting out of bed when the crewman told him that the Eclipse was pulling out. Now he stood next to the captain, watching the Eclipse through a pair of binoculars. Although the sea was very calm, Favor was on his third nondrowsy Dramamine.
“Really not clear on what you’re planning to do, but you do know how much of a long shot this is, don’t you?” asked Captain Madox.
“You’ve been well paid, Captain. Just do as I tell you and keep that ship in sight,” said Favor, not bothering to lower the binoculars.
Captain Madox laughed a little and said, “We don’t mind taking your money, but there are some simple facts that I don’t want you to lose sight of. I pointed these out to you back at the dock. I’m just making sure they haven’t slipped your mind.”
“Alright, Captain,” sighed Favor. “Let it out. You got something you’d like to say again?”
“Frankly, Mr. Favor, I do. In fact, there are a few items I’d like to go over with you. First, we have no idea where they’re headed, or how long it’s going to take them to get there. We have enough provisions and fuel for about four days and even that’s a bit of a stretch. Second, that ship was once a navy destroyer. While I have no idea what they’ve done to upgrade her engines, I promise you they can out run us any time they set their mind to it. So, tell me, what’s going on? What’s so special about that ship?”
“There’s more to the Eclipse than meets the eye, Captain. I’m sure of it. It’s portrayed as just another research ship, but from what I’ve been able to pick up, that’s just a cover story. The information that I’ve been given is that they’re involved in all kinds of secret stuff, stuff no one would want to see in the papers.”
“You talking government or criminal stuff? There are a few people out there that I have no intention of pissing off,” said Madox.
“I’m not really sure, but I’m betting government stuff. Unless I’m wrong, and that rarely happens, the Eclipse handles all kinds of secret projects, things you’d see in the X-Files.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Madox, his hands tightening on the helm. He was beginning to realize just how big of a nut job he’d teamed up with. The money had been too appealing; he should have asked more questions.
“Captain, it’s not important whether you understand or not. My instructions were quite simple. Stay in range of the Eclipse so that I can get pictures of whomever it is they have on board. If I can just get a look at some of the equipment they’re using I’ll be able to get some idea of what they’re up to. All I need is one piece of leverage, something they don’t want released to the public, and I’ll finally have them right where I want them.”
“It’s your business Mr. Favor, but I’ve known a few blackmailers in my time and things didn’t end well for them. Man can get himself killed doing this kind of work.”
Crossing his arms across his narrow chest, Favor tried to take on what he thought was a very macho pose. “I’m not a blackmailer. I’m a journalist. You run your little boat; leave the tough work to me.”
It was almost more than Madox could do to keep from bursting out laughing. Favor looked about as tough as a kitten. “Alright, I’ll do my part and keep the Eclipse way out in front of me, just like you ordered. But how do you plan to pull this off? With them so far away, how are you going to get the pictures you want from way back here?”
“We live in a marvelous age of technology, Captain. You really need to get caught up. The reason I’m having us stay this far back is because if we get too close, they’ll spot us and get suspicious. By staying this far back I’m hoping they’ll forget we’re even here,” said Favor.
For Madox this confirmed that Favor was even more naïve than he imagined. Whether the Eclipse was manned by the good guys or the bad guys, you can bet your bottom dollar they wouldn’t lose track of a ship that was trailing them. “Okay, but that doesn’t answer my question as to how you’re going to get pictures if we’re so far away.”
“Those three boxes I brought on board contain the best drones money can buy, fully equipped with high resolution cameras. We’ll be able to get as many pictures as I want, and they won’t even know what’s going on.”
Captain Madox thought about that for a moment and nodded. “Might work, but I’m telling you now. If they spot your flying cameras and start shooting, at the drones or at us, I’m turning my ‘little boat’ around and heading for shore. We clear?”
“Or what, you’ll throw me overboard?” asked Favor.
“Something like that,” said Madox.
A little over an hour had passed since Hatfield had alerted Colton to the fact that it appeared someone might be following them. Oddly, Colton didn’t seem to be all that concerned. He thanked the sailor and asked him to keep them posted. He then stepped back outside and using his sat phone, made a short call. He then joined MacKay back on the bridge as they continued due east into the Atlantic.
Finally, MacKay asked, “So what are we going to do with our little buddy back there?”
“We’ll just let things play out,” said Colton. “We both know that things are not always as they seem to be. Patience Captain, patience.”
A little more than twenty minutes passed when Hatfield turned in his chair and said, “Commander, we may have more of a problem than we thought.”
Colton and MacKay stepped over to the radar station and looked at the monitor. “What do we have, Mr. Hatfield?” asked MacKay.
Hatfield pointed to a dot on the screen. “This is the ship that has been with us since we left Baltimore. He hasn’t gotten any closer to us, but he also hasn’t lost any ground. But now there’s more, look at this.”
The young crewman pointed to two other dots on the screen. Both were approaching the Eclipse, one from the north and one from the south. “They appear to be coming right at us,” said MacKay.
“They are, sir, and at a very fast pace. If they hold their course, they should intercept us in about fifteen minutes,” said Hatfield, his voice not doing too good of a job at hiding the nervousness he felt.
MacKay picked up a pair of binoculars and stepped outside, followed by Colton. “What are your thoughts on this Colton? I would never have guessed that they’d make a direct run at us. What can they possibly hope to achieve?”
Colton studied one of the approaching ships through some binoculars for a few moments, but didn’t seem to be disturbed by this turn of events at all. Setting the binoculars down he smiled and said, “Captain, would you please have Captain Garrett and Lieutenant Tanner join us on the bridge immediately?”
“Do you really think we need marines on the bridge?” asked Mercer.
“I want them to make sure their men are ready for what’s about to happen,” said Colton.
“And what exactly would that be, Mr. Colton?” asked Captain MacKay.
“The Eclipse, Captain, is about to be boarded.”
CHAPTER 5
One of the crewmen that Madox had assigned to help keep an eye on the Eclipse joined him on the bridge and said, “Captain, not sure what’s going on, but take a look at this.” He handed Madox a pair of binoculars and directed his attention to a point off the port side. “No idea who that is, but they’re closing fast, heading directly towards the Eclipse.”
It took Madox a moment to focus in on the ship, but it was too far away for him to get a good look. “Do you know where Favor is?”
“Last I saw him he was busy unpacking one of those boxes he brought aboard.”
“Better let him know what’s going on,” said Madox. “It may be nothing, but in case I’m … Madox stopped midsentence as something caught his eye off the starboard side. It looked like another ship, and it too was racing toward the Eclipse. Raising the binoculars, he studied this new arrival for a few seconds. “Get Favor up here on the double. Whatever is going on, I don’t like the looks of it.”
“Aye, aye, Skipper.”
Madox had a bad feeling about this in the pit of his stomach. He hoped that these two ships bearing down on the Eclipse were strictly interested in the Eclipse. His fear was that the Eclipse had called in reinforcements to take care of them. What had that idiot of a reporter gotten him into?
Favor raced back to the bridge as fast as he could. Madox pointed to the two ships closing in on the Eclipse. “We’re too far away for us to identify them, but I’d say the Eclipse is about to have visitors.”
“Yes! This is the break I was hoping for,” said Favor, almost jumping with excitement. “Full speed ahead, Captain. Get us as close as you can.”
“That might not be a good idea,” answered Madox. “If the Eclipse is up to no good, and those ships are friends of theirs, there’s a chance that they were called in to persuade us to stop following them.”
“You are such a simpleton. The Eclipse doesn’t even know we exist. Speed it up, Captain! Now! I want to get as close as we can as fast as we can so that I don’t miss anything. And I do mean close. I’ll be in the back getting one of the drones ready to go.”
Although this went against every instinct he had, Madox moved the throttle forward, pushing the Wave Runner as fast as she could go. Fortunately, the sea had stayed remarkably calm, which helped their progress. It wasn’t as if they weren’t armed, but, if push came to shove, it was three against one and Madox hated those odds.
Five minutes passed, and the Wave Runner was rapidly gaining on the Eclipse, but so were the other two ships that seemed to have the Eclipse hemmed in. As best he could make out, it appeared that their quarry had come to a full stop. They were now less than a half mile from the Eclipse and closing fast when suddenly a loud, wailing siren erupted from behind them.
Their focus had been so centered on the Eclipse that they hadn’t paid any attention as to who might be coming after them. The siren continued to blast out over and over again. The crewman manning the radio turned to Madox and said, “Sir, we’re being ordered to come to a full stop.”
“Who’s ordering us?” asked Madox, trying to get a look behind them.
“US Coast Guard, and they don’t sound happy.”
Madox had no idea what was going on, but he quickly complied, pulling back on the throttle. Walking over to the radio operator’s station he told the crewman, “Let the coast guard know that we are coming to a full stop and will await further instructions from them. Then alert the crew. I don’t know where this is going, but clearly we’ve done something to attract their attention.”
Madox stepped outside the bridge and watched as the coast guard rapidly approached. Favor nearly flew up the ladder to the bridge, his face red with rage. “Why are you stopping? I want to get as close to the Eclipse as we can!” he shouted.
Nodding his head toward the coast guard ship, Madox asked, “Did you not hear that siren behind us? We’ve been ordered by the coast guard to stop immediately.”
“I don’t care what they’ve ordered. What do you think they’re going to do, shoot you out of the water? Now get this antique moving, Captain, that’s an order!”
Madox laughed, but there was no humor in his voice. Madox towered over Favor and was fighting the urge to bust him in the mouth. Grabbing the man’s shirt with both hands, Madox shoved him hard up against the wall. “You have less than two minutes to tell me what this is all about. I know you’ve been holding out on me and I’m not going down for something you’re mixed up in.”
Favor tried to break away from Madox, but he was easily overmatched. “I know as much about this as you do,” said Favor, his fear of Madox evident in his voice. “But don’t you see, it was like I was telling you, the Eclipse is up to no good. Why else would the coast guard be here?”
Madox glared at the reporter. “You had better hope on your mother’s life you’re telling me the truth.”
“Please, if you won’t go any closer, at least let me launch my drone,” pleaded Favor. “All I need are some pictures and we’ll have accomplished what I set out to do.”
Before Madox could decide, the same crewman who had alerted him to the approaching ships came up to him and said, “Captain, this is starting to look pretty serious.”
Madox released Favor, took the binoculars from the crewman, and focused in on the Eclipse. “What have I missed?”
“Both of those ships are coast guard. The one off the port side is keeping its distance from the Eclipse and has its guns trained on her. The other one lowered a boat and sent over a boarding party. See, on the starboard side, they’re in the process of boarding her right now.”
Madox now had a much better view. He could see two coast guard officers aboard the Eclipse and they appeared to be shouting at someone. The Eclipse had obviously not resisted, but that would have been a stupid thing to try. “Captain, the coast guard just radioed over that we are to stand by to be boarded.”
Handing the binoculars back to the crewman, he said, “Tell them we’re standing by.” Turning to Favor, who hadn’t moved an inch, he said. “Stay right where you are. You launch that drone now and they’re likely to open up on us.”
Favor nodded his head, but inside he was dying. The Eclipse was finally getting its day of reckoning and he was missing out on the whole thing.
From the bridge, MacKay and Colton watched as the coast guard ship rapidly approached the Eclipse. They had been joined by Marine Captain Casey Garrett, officer in charge of the marine unit on board the Eclipse, and Jarek Tanner, her second in command. They’d also been joined by Father Ryan Donatelli, the ship’s chaplain.
“Father Ryan,” said Colton, “glad you joined us. I’m guessing that, under the circumstances, you feel we may be in need of prayer.” Colton certainly had nothing against prayer. He’d called on God for help many times, but he also believed that God was more apt to help those who helped themselves. More than one man of the cloth had told Colton that that was completely wrong, but Colton just couldn’t buy in to the idea that the God of the universe truly expected his people to just sit around and do nothing. His whole career was a complete contradiction of that notion.
Father Ryan Donatelli had served in the navy as a chaplain for close to twelve years. Although not that tall, he was thick chested and looked more like a boxer than a man of the cloth. “This man’s navy is always in need of prayer, Mr. Colton, some of us more than others.”
Colton smiled at this. “Glad to have you with us, Father. We’re going to need all the help we can get.”
“Gentlemen? Somebody want to fill us in on why we’re being boarded by the Coast Guard?” asked Captain Garrett.
“At this point you know as much as we do, Captain,” said MacKay. “That is unless our guest, Commander Colton, isn’t sharing everything he knows.”
Turning to Colton, Garrett said, “Sir, our job is to protect this ship, but more importantly, to protect Argos at all costs. Do you know what this is all about?”
Colton, glancing over at Garrett, experienced the same feelings he’d felt the first time they’d met. In his time, Colton had served with several marines, but Garrett didn’t look like any marine he’d ever seen. Quite young to be a captain, she was about five-and-a-half feet tall and weighed in at probably 120 pounds, soaking wet. Her hair was dark brown with subtle, auburn highlights, although Colton didn’t know if those were natural. But most startling of all was her figure. She had a build that would attract the attention of any man with a pulse. Colton knew that his appraisal of her was completely unprofessional, but facts were facts. Captain Garrett was a stunningly attractive woman. Physical appearance aside, Captain Garrett was highly decorated, had seen her share of action, and was probably one of the best shots on board.
“Just make sure that you and Mr. Tanner make it clear for your men to stand down. They are not to interfere with the boarding party in any way. Understood, Captain?”
