Noah's Ark: Survivors (11 page)

As he was already down on deck two, Jake figured he should make the effort to go down one more flight of stairs and congratulate Martin on getting the generator going again. He walked into the engine room to see a group of three engineers high-fiving each other.

“Captain on deck!” one of them shouted upon spotting him.

“Yes, yes, you can dispense with all that. So, the generator’s going? That’s excellent news, well done.”

“It was harder than we thought. That ash had fused together in the confined space, and when it cooled it went rock hard. We had to chisel some of it out, and even now there’s some still in there, but we made good time,” a short, tubby man in greasy overalls said, beaming. Jake thought that he couldn’t possibly have got into the funnel himself, but didn’t say anything.

“Make sure Martin lets you guys get some rest soon, you’ve earned it.”

“Taking over down here too, are you?” Martin appeared from behind a mass of pipes.

“No, of course not, Martin. Just saying what a great job you and your team have done. What about the engine, is she ready to start?”

“I’d like to run some diagnostics before we do that,” Martin said. “She’s probably fine, but we need to check the cooling intake. She’ll need the preheaters on too. With the generator out for so long, she’ll be cold. When we start her up it will have to be done gently. I hope you’re not expecting a fast getaway.”

“Far from it. Take all the time you need, as long as we can move tomorrow morning.”

Martin nodded, and disappeared back the way he had come.

“So,” Jake said, looking around, “I don’t suppose any of you chaps have seen Tania Bloom around have you?”

Three heads shook in unison.

Twenty-Two

M
AX
SLIPPED
BACK
down the corridor. He’d followed the men without being seen, heard their demand at the door to the bridge. He knew he shouldn’t have listened to Jake, should have kept the rifle handy. He wondered if he could pull the same trick as earlier and use the bridge fire escape to go and get it back. The trouble was that pesky Russian girl was in there. She went all doe eyed every time the captain was around, probably wouldn’t stand for him using a gun when lover boy had asked him not to. No, the captain wanted things sorted out by peaceful means, so the captain could sort them out himself. He just had to find him.

• • •

“He was here, but that was a while ago. I haven’t seen him since.”

“Okay, thanks, Martin.”

Lucya sank into her chair. She’d called everyone she could think of, and every time she’d either just missed him, or he hadn’t been there at all.

Three bangs at the door.

“We’re still here. If you’ve been lying to us and the captain is in there, there’s going to be trouble.”

“I am trying to locate the captain!” Lucya was losing patience with these people. “If you are not happy about that, then perhaps you should return to your cabins and have a lie down!”

• • •

Max called on various areas of the ship and was met with the same responses Lucya had encountered.

“You’ve just missed him.”

“Haven’t seen him.”

“Wouldn’t know what he looked like if I had seen him!”

He decided all he could do was wait until twenty-two hundred hours, when everyone was due to reconvene on the bridge. If he waited further up the corridor, he had a chance of intercepting Jake before he got there, and could at least warn him there may be trouble ahead. In the meantime, he fancied a cigarette. Now the power was back on he couldn’t risk smoking inside or the detectors would probably start blaring out their horrible high-pitched squawk. He pushed open a door and stepped out onto the deck thirteen stern terrace.

“Well now, isn’t that just grand,” he said. “I spend half an hour looking all over for you, and here you are, taking it easy outside.”

“Hey, Max. What’s up? I was taking five minutes of quiet time before going down to the bridge.”

“Right. About that. You’re not going to get much quiet time on the bridge, there’s a horde of angry passengers waiting for you.”

“What? Who let them in?”

“No, no, not on the bridge. But they’re in the corridor, waiting to ambush you when you arrive. I followed them up from a little meeting they held in the cinema. I can’t be sure, but I’d say mutiny is on the cards.”

Jake laughed. Max didn’t look impressed.

“Mutiny? Really? Have you been watching too many films, Max?”

“This isn’t a laughing matter. We knew this was a possibility, and now it’s happening.”

“Well then we’d better go and see what they want,” Jake said, and strode off towards the door.

Twenty-Three

“G
ENTLEMEN
,” J
AKE
SAID
as he approached the group camped out in front of the bridge entrance. “Oh, and lady, excuse me.”

There were twelve of them in all, eleven men and a woman. All were in their late twenties or early thirties. Only one was standing, and he appeared to be the ringleader, because the others all looked to him for a response when Jake spoke.

“I am Melvin Sherwood, and I am the representative for the unrepresented, the voice of the unheard, spokesperson for the silent majority.”

“I think that means he’s in charge of this rabble,” Max said loudly.
 

“A pleasure to meet you, Mr Sherwood. I’m Jake Noah, captain of the ship.” Jake offered a hand, but it was ignored.

“What happened to Captain Ibsen?”

“Shall we discuss this inside?” He indicated the door.

“Jake, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Max said. “Shall I disperse this crowd so we can get on with business?”

“Nonsense. Sorry, Mr Sherwood, this is Max Mooting, he’s head of security.”

Max raised his eyes to the ceiling. So much for keeping a discreet eye on goings on. Sherwood didn’t quite know what to say; the wind had been taken out of his sails. He’d come expecting confrontation, prepared for a fight, and was met with a young captain acting very reasonably. But it was early days, he thought. The captain hadn’t heard their demands yet.

“Lucya, could you open the door, please,” Jake called.

There was a clunk, the noise of sliding metal, the click of a lock, and the door swung open.

“Please, let’s go inside.”

The group scrambled to their feet and rushed onto the bridge. Sherwood joined them, followed by Jake and Max, who closed the door behind them, but left it unbolted.

“I’m afraid we don’t have seating for everyone,” Jake said, looking around at the sparsely furnished control room. “We’re not used to having such large groups up here. So, if you don’t mind standing…? Now, how can I help? What’s this all about?”

Once again the assembled passengers looked to Melvin as their spokesperson. He glanced around at the expectant group, and began his barely rehearsed pitch.

“In the last twelve hours this ship has not moved. We have been told that food and water are to be rationed with immediate effect. We have spent most of the day without power or light, and no effort has been made to inform us why.”

“That’s not true!” Lucya interjected.

Jake held up a hand. “Lucya, please, let him continue.”

“We all saw the television report of the asteroid, we all have friends and families back home. We need to go back, to see what has happened to them. We cannot sit here and wait to die. Passengers outnumber staff by two to one, yet these decisions have been made without the involvement of any passengers. The minority are deciding for the majority. This cannot continue. We are here to take over control of the ship. I will assume the role of captain, and your staff will answer to me.”

“I see,” Jake said. “You understand, of course, that our priority since the asteroid passed over has been to save lives by making the ship safe, and by preserving our resources? You are quite right, passengers’ views should be taken into consideration going forward.” Jake winced as he heard himself use the phrase; he had always hated management speak. “Am I to assume you have been elected to the position of spokesperson by a majority of passengers?”

“You’re not listening to me, Mr Noah. This isn’t about taking our views into consideration. This is about redistributing authority. We’re taking over. You’re done here. This ship is going home.”

Max took a step towards Sherwood, but Jake glared at him to back off.

“Mr Sherwood, this ship is the property of Pelagios Line until evidence says otherwise. Myself and my crew are employees of Pelagios Line, and are responsible for the safety of the
Spirit of Arcadia
and her passengers, our customers. Who knows, perhaps the world has ended and there is no more Pelagios Line, or shareholders, or indeed anyone else, but until someone can prove that to me, nothing has changed. I’m willing to listen to the views of passengers through a properly elected spokesperson, which it seems, as you ignored my question, you are not. Now, if that is all, I have a lot to discuss with my crew, so if you’d like to return to the public areas of the ship?”

“We thought you might react this way,” Sherwood said, a nasty grin spreading across his face. “So we came prepared. We aren’t taking no for an answer.” He turned to look at the woman in the group and nodded to her. She fished a mobile phone from her pocket and passed it to Melvin. He pushed a button, slid a finger across the screen and held it out for Jake to see.

“No!” Jake said. “Where is she? What have you done with Tania?”

• • •

Tania Bloom opened her eyes and looked around as best she could. Her hands and feet were bound, her knees were pressed against her chest, and more binding held them in place. A woman’s scarf had been folded and tied in a gag over her mouth. Not that anyone would hear her scream if she tried. Not up here in one of the luxury suites; they were soundproofed.

She was shut in a wardrobe. Not many people would have been able to recognise the precise wardrobe if they were in the same position, but Tania knew every cabin and every suite on board like the back of her hand. She was a hands-on kind of manager, and regularly inspected the work of her housekeeping team. Her spot-checks were legendary. She had the ability to find dust in places no human should ever have to look. Even now, bound and gagged in the bottom of a cupboard, she couldn’t help but notice a cobweb between the back wall and the hanging rail.

• • •

“I said, what have you done with Tania?” Jake repeated.

“She’s safe. Well, as safe as you can be when you’re tied up. She’s with the passengers now. It’s an equitable swap. We’ve taken one of your senior staff, you get to take a passenger. That would be me. Like I said, I’m taking charge.”

“You’re doing no such thing, son,” Max said. In two giant paces he was behind Sherwood, clamping the young man’s hands in his own.

“Tell your ogre to unhand me.”

“Tell us where Tania is,” Jake said.

“This is very simple,” said Sherwood. “My people are holding Mrs Bloom. They are under strict instructions that if they don’t get confirmation I’m in charge by ten thirty, they are to kill her. Then they will abduct another of your crew members, and we’ll start again. Now, unhand me.”

“You animal!” Lucya spat the words in his face. “You piece of shit!”

Three of the rebel passengers surrounded her, restraining her hands. She kicked and screamed until they forced her to the ground.

“She can’t be far. We’ll search the entire ship if we have to, but we’ll find her.” Jake’s mind was racing while he spoke.

“Really? You’ve got about forty five-minutes to do it. Of course, you would have had longer, but you kept us waiting out there. That’s less than five minutes per deck. Think you can find her in time?”

“Max, let him go.”

“What? You’re not going to listen to this jumped-up little idiot, are you?”

“Tania’s life could be at stake.”

“You think he’s going to let her go? Come on, think about it. You give him what he wants, he can’t let her go; he knows what we’ll do to him afterwards.” He glared at Sherwood as he spoke.

“Your ogre isn’t as stupid as he looks,” Sherwood said. “We have no intention of letting her go. Like I said, an equitable exchange. She becomes a passenger, I become crew. Well, captain. Unless you refuse, in which case she becomes polar bear food. Did the polar bears survive, do you think?”

“I can’t relinquish control of this vessel. Maybe we can come to some sort of compromise.”

“Oh for goodness sake, have you gone insane?” Max propped himself up against a console, his forehead in his hand.

Melvin said nothing. He was thinking hard. So far everything was happening exactly like Flynn had said it would. Now he had to decide. He wanted to hold out, to force their hand, to take charge of the ship. But Flynn had been adamant: they would never let him take control, he’d said, it was out of the question. They would take the risk of losing Tania and lock down the ship. They would have emergency procedures for that. He had to play the long game, to get a foot in the door. That was the true purpose of the mission. But he couldn’t be seen to give in too easily.

“The passengers have a right to be heard,” Sherwood said coolly.

“And I agree with you,” Jake said. “But this isn’t the way to go about it. There is a chain of command, procedure to follow. I cannot hand over control to a passenger. But I could appoint a passenger representative to join the senior officers when we are making any important decisions.”

“Not just for meetings. There should be a passenger representative on the bridge at all times. Overseeing the operation of the ship, with the power to veto any decision.”

“Okay, we could have a passenger here all the time, but no power of veto. There are international rules and regulations that must be respected. The captain has the final say.” Sherwood was shaking his head, but Jake continued regardless. “
But
the passenger representative will have an equal voice among the senior crew.”

“We can quit saying passenger representative; that will be me. And when I am not on the bridge, it will be one of my deputies.” He looked at his fellow passengers, three of whom were still restraining Lucya.