Milwaukee Deep
Chapter 65

“Fellas, we’ve got a problem.”

Harding glanced over to Perks and Sam.

“What is it?” he asked as he grasped the microphone tight.

“Something wrong with the timer,” replied Michael over the radio, “it’s now reading only one hour thirty two minutes.”

Harding raised an eyebrow.

“Can you repeat that?”

“The timer – it’s jumped over eight hours – I’m looking at it as we speak and it’s showing me only one hour and thirty two minutes left.”

Harding turned to Yandell.

“How the hell could this have happened?”

“I’m not sure,” replied Yandell, “perhaps the timer short circuited during transportation.”

“Now what do we do?” said Sam as he looked over to Harding.

Harding grabbed the microphone again.

“Michael, is the timer still working – is it still counting down?”

“Yes,” was the reply, “one hour thirty one and counting.”

Yandell reached over and covered the microphone.

“If Michael doesn’t make it to the other side of that ship, I don’t need to remind you what will happen.”

Harding nodded.

“Michael,” he said calmly, “you’ve got to get moving and fast. Get your weapon – make sure it’s loaded and you’ve packed enough ammunition – it’s going to get very tight over the next ninety minutes.”

“Copy that – give me thirty seconds to get myself ready. I’ll re-establish contact once I’m out on the hanger floor.”

President Stoker picked up the phone.

“Irene, can you put me through to Joel, please.”

“Certainly, Sir.”

The President’s secretary dialled the Washington Hospital Centre’s number.

“Joel Stoker’s room please – access code, alpha-one-seven-six,” she said.

The operator confirmed the code and transferred the call.

The phone began to ring…

“Joel, how are you feeling? I have your father on the line. Yes, I’m putting you through now.”

The secretary placed Joel on hold and pressed the line into the Oval Office.

“Mr President, Joel’s on line one.”

“Thank you, Irene.”

“Hello?” was the quiet response on the line.

“Son, how are you?” asked Stoker.

“Better. And you?” Joel asked.

“I’m fine. Has the doctor seen you again? Did he say when you could check out?”

“He told me Wednesday morning, dad.”

“Good.”

“Is everything all right, dad? You sound worried.”

“Everything’s fine. I just wanted to hear your voice – make sure you’re okay.”

“I am, don’t worry.”

General Conwrey entered the Oval Office.

“All right, son – I’m just glad you’re okay. I have to go now. I’ll make sure I talk to you later tonight. I love you.”

“I love you too, dad.”

The President ended the call and looked up at Conwrey.

“What is it?” asked Stoker.

“Sir, there’s a problem.”

“And what’s that?”

“There’s word from the Nimitz, Sir – our visitors have now increased their radiation emissions by over fifty percent in the past hour, Mr President.”

“What are they up to, General?”

“I’m not sure, Sir, but after our discussions with the Nimitz, I believe a sitting of the National Security Council is required. I know we don’t have a lot of members left given the circumstances, Mr President, but we need to determine our response and we should do this following standard protocol.”

“Very well, General – see to it.”

“Guys I’m ready,” Michael said as he stood still on the ice in the empty hanger, “So far no sign of anything.”

“Copy that,” was the reply over the radio. Harding continued…

“Do you see a doorway at the far end of the hanger?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Take that – it will lead down a hallway which connects you to the main corridor. This will direct you to the front of the ship.”

“Is there anything waiting for me down there?” asked Michael hesitantly.

“Negative – from where we sit, the main activities are in the centre of ship – the hive as the Major calls it – take the path I’ve directed and we’ll see if we can circumvent it once we get closer.”

“What about sentries - surely they’ve got to have patrols roaming the ship?”

“Michael,” Yandell’s voice came through over the radio, “With the recent seismic activity it appears that they’ve all retreated back to the hive. This isn’t uncommon - I’ve seen this once before, about a year ago, there was an earthquake and they retreated back to the hive – I guess it’s their defence mechanism.”

“Well that’s reassuring.”

“Don’t worry, Michael” Harding could sense the anxiety in his voice, “just take a deep breath – we’re not going to walk you into a minefield.”

“I know – I’m okay.”

“Good. Now let’s get moving.”