Sea of Terror by Stephen Coonts Page B
Authors: Stephen Coonts
Tags: Fiction, thriller, Suspense, Thrillers, Action & Adventure, Espionage, Intelligence Officers, Political, Government investigators, Undercover operations, Terrorists, Cyberterrorism, National security, Hijacking of ships, Nuclear terrorism
Ads: Link
delaying the Queen's departure? Do you have any i.e. how much revenue is involved here?"
"No, Sir Charles. I don't."
"Hundreds of thousands of pounds! Most of the passengers on that ship are on time-sensitive schedules! If there is a serious delay in sailing, they will. . . make other arrangements. Royal Sky will have to refund a fortune in moneys already paid. It could ruin this company!"
"Don't worry, Sir Charles," Alcock said. "He won't delay the sailing."
"And why won't I. do that, Mr. Alcock?" Mitchell asked.
"Because to do so legally you will need to show cause, then get an injunction from the courts. And we will file to block that injunction. The ship is due to sail at nine tomorrow morning. I don't believe you could get the legal mills turning in time, sir."
"In the case of a capital crime, Mr. Alcock, there are ways to expedite matters."
"And there is also the unsavory possibility of a lawsuit against the government. And some very bad publicity both for MI5, and for you, personally. I assure you that if you try to harm this company, your name and the name of MI5 will be prominently displayed on page one of every newspaper in the country, from the Telegraph, the Guardian, the Times, all the way down to the Sun\ After that debacle over the files your bureau holds on ordinary, law-abiding citizens ... is that really something you wish to call down upon yourself?"
Mitchell chuckled. "I'm terrified. Fortunately, I'm not suggesting that we delay the departure."
"Then what are you suggesting, sir?" Captain Phillips asked icily.
"That you take on board two additional passengers, myself and one other. There's no way we could question two thousand people, and no way we could legally hold them long enough to do so. Besides, I assure you, the government has no wish to put you out of business. But if I and an assistant could circulate among the crew and passengers for the next fortnight, we could ask our questions, carry out our investigation, and the entire matter could be kept more or less quiet."
"That seems .. . most reasonable," Sir Charles said. "What do you think, Alcock?"
"I think that the government could still find itself on the receiving end of a major lawsuit if their agents spread slanderous accusations about drug use on one of our cruise ships. I promise you, Mr. Mitchell, that any bad publicity whatsoever concerning this line or its employees could be actionable!"
"Mr. Alcock ... a man is dead." Mitchell's face was stony. "Drugs are involved. Rattle all the lawsuit threats you want at me. I promise we will be discreet, but we will do our job."
They argued for another ten minutes, but in the end Mitchell got exactly what he'd wanted all along.
There were people on board the Atlantis Queen who knew more about Darrow's murder than had emerged from the investigation so far.
And Thomas Mitchell intended to find them.
Chapter 6
Bridge, Atlantis Queen
Southampton, England
Friday, 0849 hours GMT
"the deck crew reports the gangway has been secured, Captain," Vandergrift reported.
"Very well," Phillips replied. "Single up all lines, fore and aft, and secure the spring."
"Aye, aye, Captain."
Phillips walked to the port side of the spacious bridge, gazing out through the sloping windows overlooking the bow promenade and, below it and to port, the Atlantis Queen's berth alongside the Royal Sky cruise terminal. With the gangway pulled up and stowed, there were no longer security restrictions along the pier. People spilled out of the terminal to form a dense crowd alongside the ship, families, friends, and well-wishers giving her the traditional bon voyage send-off. Passengers lined the railing of the Promenade Deck, waving back, throwing confetti, and calling down inanities to the people ashore.
Tradition. . .
To starboard, the two harbor tugs Cornwall and Devonshire signaled their readiness to proceed with short whistle blasts. Southampton occupied the south-pointing arrowhead of land between two
"No, Sir Charles. I don't."
"Hundreds of thousands of pounds! Most of the passengers on that ship are on time-sensitive schedules! If there is a serious delay in sailing, they will. . . make other arrangements. Royal Sky will have to refund a fortune in moneys already paid. It could ruin this company!"
"Don't worry, Sir Charles," Alcock said. "He won't delay the sailing."
"And why won't I. do that, Mr. Alcock?" Mitchell asked.
"Because to do so legally you will need to show cause, then get an injunction from the courts. And we will file to block that injunction. The ship is due to sail at nine tomorrow morning. I don't believe you could get the legal mills turning in time, sir."
"In the case of a capital crime, Mr. Alcock, there are ways to expedite matters."
"And there is also the unsavory possibility of a lawsuit against the government. And some very bad publicity both for MI5, and for you, personally. I assure you that if you try to harm this company, your name and the name of MI5 will be prominently displayed on page one of every newspaper in the country, from the Telegraph, the Guardian, the Times, all the way down to the Sun\ After that debacle over the files your bureau holds on ordinary, law-abiding citizens ... is that really something you wish to call down upon yourself?"
Mitchell chuckled. "I'm terrified. Fortunately, I'm not suggesting that we delay the departure."
"Then what are you suggesting, sir?" Captain Phillips asked icily.
"That you take on board two additional passengers, myself and one other. There's no way we could question two thousand people, and no way we could legally hold them long enough to do so. Besides, I assure you, the government has no wish to put you out of business. But if I and an assistant could circulate among the crew and passengers for the next fortnight, we could ask our questions, carry out our investigation, and the entire matter could be kept more or less quiet."
"That seems .. . most reasonable," Sir Charles said. "What do you think, Alcock?"
"I think that the government could still find itself on the receiving end of a major lawsuit if their agents spread slanderous accusations about drug use on one of our cruise ships. I promise you, Mr. Mitchell, that any bad publicity whatsoever concerning this line or its employees could be actionable!"
"Mr. Alcock ... a man is dead." Mitchell's face was stony. "Drugs are involved. Rattle all the lawsuit threats you want at me. I promise we will be discreet, but we will do our job."
They argued for another ten minutes, but in the end Mitchell got exactly what he'd wanted all along.
There were people on board the Atlantis Queen who knew more about Darrow's murder than had emerged from the investigation so far.
And Thomas Mitchell intended to find them.
Chapter 6
Bridge, Atlantis Queen
Southampton, England
Friday, 0849 hours GMT
"the deck crew reports the gangway has been secured, Captain," Vandergrift reported.
"Very well," Phillips replied. "Single up all lines, fore and aft, and secure the spring."
"Aye, aye, Captain."
Phillips walked to the port side of the spacious bridge, gazing out through the sloping windows overlooking the bow promenade and, below it and to port, the Atlantis Queen's berth alongside the Royal Sky cruise terminal. With the gangway pulled up and stowed, there were no longer security restrictions along the pier. People spilled out of the terminal to form a dense crowd alongside the ship, families, friends, and well-wishers giving her the traditional bon voyage send-off. Passengers lined the railing of the Promenade Deck, waving back, throwing confetti, and calling down inanities to the people ashore.
Tradition. . .
To starboard, the two harbor tugs Cornwall and Devonshire signaled their readiness to proceed with short whistle blasts. Southampton occupied the south-pointing arrowhead of land between two
Similar Books
In the Court of the Yellow King
Tim Curran, Cody Goodfellow, Gary McMahon, C.J. Henderson, William Meikle, T.E. Grau, Laurel Halbany, Christine Morgan, Edward Morris
