Titanic: Zarry Stylik

14- a business proposition

Song: the wedding waltz
This chapter doesn't really show Harry and Zayn, but the next chapter does.
Anne rows with Molly Brown, two other women and the incompetent sailors. She rests on her oars, exhausted, and looks back at the ship. It slants down into the water, and there's still light. Nothing is above water forward of the bridge except for the foremast. All Anne could think about was Harry.

Another rocket goes off, lighting up the entire area. There are a dozen boats moving outward from the ship.
At the Boat Deck rail, Captain Smith is shouting to Boat 6 through a large metal megaphone.

"Come back! Come back to the ship!"
Chief Officer Wilde joins him, blowing his silver whistle.
From Boat 6, the whistle comes shrilly across the water. Quartermaster Hitchins grips the rudder in fear. "The suction will pull us right down if
we don't keep going."

"We got room for lots more. I say we go
back." Says Molly.

"No! It's our lives now, not theirs. And I'm in charge of this boat! Now row!!"
Captain Smith, at the rail of the boat deck, lowers his megaphone slowly. "The fools."
-
As Moe and Lovejoy cross the foyer, they encounter Benjamin Guggenheim and his valet, dressed in white ties, tail-Coats and top hats. "Ben, what's the occasion?"

"We have dressed in our best and are prepared to go down like gentlemen."

"That's admirable, Ben." He starts walking away. "I'll sure and tell your wife... when I get to New York."

There are still two cardgames in progress. The room is quiet and civilized. A silver serving cart, holding a large
humidor, begins to roll slowly across the room. One of the cardplayers takes a cigar from it as it rolls by. "It seems we've been dealt a bad hand this time."

Moe and Lovejoy are walking with a purposeful stride. They pass Chief Baker Johghin, who is working up a sweat tossing deck chairs over the rail. After they go by, Joughin takes a break and pulls a bottle of scotch from a pocket, opening it. He drains it, and tosses it over the side too, then stands there a little unteadily.

Panic is setting in around the remaining boats. The crowd is now a mix of all three classes. Officers repeatedly warn men back from the boats. The crowd presses in closer. Seaman Scarott brandishes the tiller of boat 14 to discourage a close press of men who look ready to rush the boat. Several men break ranks and rush forward.

Lightoller pulls out his Webley revolver and aims it at them. "Get back! Keep order!" The men back down. Fifth Officer Lowe standing in the boat, yells to the crew. "Lower away left and right!"

Lightoller turns away from the crowd and, out of their sight, breaks his pistol open. Letting out a long breath,
he starts to load it.

Mohamed and Lovejoy arrive in time to see Murdoch lowering his last boat.

"We're too late."

"There are still some boats forward. Stay with this one... Murdoch. He seems to be quite... practical." Lovejoy tells Moe.

In the water below, there is another panic. Boat 13, already in the water but still attached to its falls, is pushed by the discharge water being pumped out of the ship. It winds up directly under boat 15, which is coming down right on top of it.
The passengers shout in panic to the crew above to stop lowering. They are ignored. Some men put their hands up,
trying to keep the 5 tons of boat 15 from crushing them.

Fred Barrett, the stoker, gets out his knife and leaps to the after falls, climbing rudely over people. He cuts the falls while another crewman cuts the forward lines. 13 drifts out from beneath 15 just seconds before it touches the water with a slap.
Moe, looking down from the rail, hears gunshots.

Fifth Officer Lowe, in Boat 14 is firing his gun as a warning to a bunch of men threatening to jump into the boat as it passes the open promenade on A-Deck.

"Stay back you lot!" The shots echo away.

"It's starting to fall apart. We don't have much time." Moe sees three dogs run by, including the black French bulldog. Someone has released the pets from the kennels.
Mohamed sees Murdoch turn from the davits of boat 15 and start walking toward the bow. He catches up and falls in beside him.

"Mr. Murdoch, I'm a businessman, as you know, and I have a business proposition for you."
-
-
Zayn, Harry, and the others burst out onto the boat deck from the crew stairs. They look at the empty davits.

"The boats are gone!" Harry shrieks. He sees Colonel Gracie chugging forward along the deck, escorting two first class ladies.

"Colonel! Are there any boats left?"

"Yes, there are still a couple of boats all the way forward. This way, I'll lead you!"
Zayn grabs Harry's hand and they sprint past Gracie, with Ed and Niall close behind.
The band is, incredibly, still playing.
Zayn, Harry, and the others run by.

"Music to drown by. Now I know I'm in First Class." Ed comments.

Water pours like a spillway over the forward railing on B- Deck. There are four so-called collapsibles, or Engelhardts boats, including two which are stored on the roof of the officer's quarters.

Moe slips his hand out of the pocket of his overcoat and into the waist pocket of Murdoch's greatcoat, leaving the stacks of bills there.

"So we have an understanding then?"

He nods. "As you've said."

Moe, satisfied, steps back. He finds himself waiting next to J. Bruce Ismay. Ismay does not meet his eyes, or anyone else's. Lovejoy comes up to Moe at that moment.

"I've found him. He's just over on the port side. With him.

"Women and children? Any more women and children?" Murdoch says, glancing at Moe. "Any one else, then?"
Moe looks longingly at his boat... his moment has arrived.

"God damn it to hell! Come on." He and Lovejoy head for the port side, taking a short-cut through the bridge.
Bruce Ismay, seeing his opportunity, steps quickly into Collapsible C. He stares straight ahead, not meeting Murdoch's eyes.
Murdoch looks at him. "Take them down."

Meanwhile, Zayn and Harry and the others continued looking for a boat to get on. For Harry at least. But Harry didn't know that.