***** Vol.1 Chap.35 Another security briefing *****
Loud footsteps coming down the stairs to the hold woke Kristin up. Surprised that the time was already eight in the evening, she listened for the humming sound of the motor. Nothing. She concluded that they must have arrived on location. Time to spring into action. Though she still had to wait for George first. She tried to keep still fighting an almost unbearable urge to go to the bathroom, she had no choice but to remain yet hidden quietly. A lot of footsteps came down the stairs to the hold. This must be another security meeting.
“Okay, spread out,” barked the security chief.
A lot of muffled noises and grumbles all around. Her crate was bumped and pushed slightly. Someone must be leaning on her crate again. She tried to peer through the surrounding boxes, but saw nothing. As long as the boxes stayed in the way, she remained safe.
If I can’t peek at them, then surely they can’t detect me either.
So, she settled down to listen. Elated in a sense, like a spy engaging in a huge sabotage network of spies, she was presently collecting enemy intelligence.
“Has anyone seen Sobinowski?”
A loud ‘NO’ resounded in the room.
Of course not. I have been here all day, still hidden. Kristin scolded the security chief with a smirk on her face.
“The captain grew utterly irritated. He got word that she was nowhere to be found at the NOAA premises. She did not show up for work and she did not appear at her apartment last night. The captain figured that she must be on board planning some malicious sabotage work. Did anyone come across anything out of the ordinary today?”
Again, a loud ‘NO’ echoed throughout the room.
“Okay, no one has seen her. I am not sure whether that is good news or bad news. The sooner we apprehend this mad scientist, the better I sleep.”
More murmurs arose all around the room.
“Come on, Chuck. We have searched the whole ship twice already and detected no one that looked like her, nor have we seen any signs of her anywhere. None of us had seen anything out of the ordinary.”
“That doesn’t mean that she is not here. She probably knows the ship better than we do and has successfully avoided meeting us so far. Now that we are at the incident site, the captain is convinced that she will make her move and come out to sabotage the mission somehow. So be on the lookout for her and anything suspicious.”
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“Bad, bad, bad. Is it going to be like this for the rest of the trip?”
“Yeah, this is a bum deal. We want more pay!”
“We want time and a half for all the time we have put in.”
“Man! I am sick of standing on the stairs all day. I thought this was a cruise.” Laughter broke out.
“Quiet!”
“Look! I haven’t even been on the upper deck once this whole trip.”
“Alright, alright. I have spoken to the captain about the double-shift and he promised me that when we return, there will be a large bonus for all of us if we successfully apprehended this mad scientist.”
“What kind of bonus?”
“How much?”
“The captain was pretty stingy with money.”
“Did he say how much?”
“I don’t care about your bonus money. I wanted to enjoy the decks.”
“The captain did not go into details about the bonus. I will try to speak to him again tomorrow. In the meantime, if we can catch this mad scientist, I am sure that the captain will be pleased and agreeable. The new sentry duty schedule has been posted at the mess hall. Oh, by the way, the captain wanted the ship searched thoroughly again.”
“Again?”
“We did that twice already!”
A loud discontent echoed from all over the hold.
“We have searched the whole place many times already!”
“What else can we expect to find?”
“This is absurd.”
“Look into the place that we have not looked before. Look even at the most unlikely place where a stowaway may hide.”
“We haven’t searched the captain’s quarter. May be there is a skeleton there!”
Laughter broke out.
“Now get going.”
Many footsteps going up the stairs.
“Tyler and Toby!”
“Yes, chief.”
“The captain wants every box, and every crate opened and their contents verified.”
“You gotta be kidding me!”
“The captain specifically told me to make sure that we open every crate and every box. So, get to it.”
“Every crate?”
“Yes, every crate.”
“Every box?”
“Yes, every box!”
“Man, we will be here all night.”
“Get going. The sooner you start, the sooner you will be done.”
“Yes, sir.”
With heavy steps, the security chief went back up the stairs.
“What a lousy deal.”
“We better get started.”
“No kidding! We will be here all night.”
“Where do you want to start?”
“You go ahead, I am tired.”
“Me too, but let’s at least open a few boxes before we take a break.”
“You can open a few boxes over there while I take a quick nap here.”
“Do you have the manifest?”
“No, why would I carry the manifest with me?”
“Interesting reading material while you are on sentry duty!”
“Funny! Funny! Let’s get to the control room and ask the officer on duty to print us a copy.”
“Good deal. Meet me at the mess hall. I am getting myself a fresh cup of coffee. That cook, George, can make some excellent coffee.”
After the two men left, Kristin wondered what she should do. Clearly, it was now or never. She guessed it would take them at least fifteen minutes before they would be back. That should be enough time for her to break out of the crate and hide elsewhere. But where would she go to hide? If she stayed hidden, eventually, the men would be back and surely, they would discover her hiding place in the crate. The last option did not appeal to her at all. Well, if she got caught, she would be caught running, not hiding somewhere waiting to be discovered.