We left the Library and ran to the nearest subway stop. On the way, I grabbed a brochure for London.
"Look," I said, pointing to it. "It says that on Tuesdays," (which was today), "the ferry runs at two o'clock."
"Which proves," said Michael, smiling down at me. "That we are right."
"Excellent." I said, smiling back. "But I still don't understand, why did Sofia want me to ride a ferry? Are there more clues on it?"
"Better question – does she know that we are a part of Ministerio Iustitia?"
"Let's hope not." I said. "She looked very scared when she came to talk to me, like somebody was holding her at gunpoint."
"Was somebody?"
"No, Michael."
"I'm only saying – it is a possibility." He said. "Were there people in the park?"
"A few, yes."
"Did they look suspicious?"
"I don't think so."
He nodded, but didn't say anything.
We reached the London dock minutes before the ferry left. It was a dazzling white one with gold borders near the deck. At the hull, we could see the letters printed clearly, 'S.S. FORTUNO'. We quickly bought tickets and rushed on to it.
"Greetings," said a cool, female voice through the loudspeakers a few minutes later, when everybody was on board. "My name is Captain Elaine Deborah. Welcome to the S.S. Fortuno, where we pride ourselves on the safety and comfort of our passengers. Please abide by the following safety instructions." And she went on and on for about five minutes about all the emergency exits, first aid kits and lifeboat locations and proper usages. "Lastly, please do not hesitate to talk to our crew members if your needs and wants are not met. Thank you all for coming. Please relax and enjoy."
Michael rolled his eyes at the microphone and looked at me. "Now what do we do?"
"I thought you had a plan." I said, but I didn't let him argue further. "Well, we better search the ferry for anything suspicious. Do you still have your pistol?"
He opened his jacket a little, and I saw the handle of a brand new Beretta M9 shining out of his belt. "Of course I do. What about you?"
I showed him my Llama M82 from my jacket pocket. I always carried my gun around, and this morning I had made sure it was filled with bullets.
Michael whistled impressively. "Good one. Newly released model, isn't it?"
"1982."
"Where did you even get it?"
"Mr. I gifted it to me."
"That's not fair."
"Nobody is ever fair with you." I patted my pocket down nonchalantly. "Shall we start downstairs?"
"No," he said, looking around. "We better start with the deck. We should appear indifferent for a while, keeping an eye out of trouble. If we find it we follow it."
"And if we don't," I said. "We start downstairs."
I stood by the railing with Michael. The scenery really was beautiful. Ducks waddled near the ferry, being fed by a few people nearby. The water looked so calm and refreshing, and suddenly I wanted to leap out of the ferry and swim in the cool water. But then I remembered the Mr. Hiden had died during a swimming accident, and my imagination died too.
I looked over at Michael, protectively standing over me, his hands casually in his pocket, but his eyes as sharp as a hawk's, like he could fly at top speed at the slightest movement. I could almost feel that his muscles in his neck were tensed, below his hair blowing in the wind. On the other side of the deck, I saw a couple of girls stealing glances at him and giggling. I couldn't help but roll my eyes.
"Are you going to relax or what?" I said.
Michael looked like he just came out of a daze. "Huh? Relax? Are you relaxed?"
I shrugged. "Much more relaxed that I was yesterday. I've always like the sea wind."
He grinned. "Well then, I'm glad." He leaned on the railing next to me. "I'm hungry. You didn't even let me have breakfast."
Come to think of it, I was starving. I hadn't had supper yesterday, nor a crumb today. "Do you have any money? Maybe we can buy sandwiches."
"No, it's alright," he said. He put his hand in the other pocket and fished out a bar of my favorite chocolate. "Would you like some?"
I smacked his hand. "You've been holding out on me."
He opened the bar, and snapped it in half, handing me the bigger one. "Enjoy."
"Thanks," I grinned, and sunk my teeth into the most delicious chocolate in the world.
Maybe I had chosen the wrong time, or maybe God simply did not want me to have some minutes of peace and quiet to myself – I don't know. But as soon as I swallowed my first piece, the ferry suddenly lurched sideways.
"Whoa!" yelled Michael, grabbing the railing tighter. A few others weren't lucky enough. They helplessly skid away from it.
Captain Elaine Deborah spoke again. "It's seems as if we are experiencing some few complications with the ferry. For your safety, please proceed downstairs to the lobby, where proper seating accommodations have been provided. Crew members will direct you there. Thank you."
"This is why," said Michael, looking at me. "We don't relax." He suddenly grabbed my hand, and raced down the stairs. The inside was lined with red carpets, and beautiful lamps were nailed cleanly into the floor. The stairs ended in a long corridor, which had only a few people who could walk to the lobby without assistance.
"Take the north side," he said, pointing to the corridor. "I'll take the south. It is no coincidence that a ferry suddenly goes haywire at the same time that your friend Sofia told us." He ran to the other end but stopped, turning around. "And remember, keep it at the ready!" He turned around the corner and vanished.
The ferry lurched again as I tried to process what was happening. 1) The ship was sinking; 2) Some parts had malfunctioned; 3) We were all in danger. I took out my gun, hiding it from direct view, but readying it enough to shoot at a moment's notice, just as he had asked me to. I walked with quiet steps along the corridor, checking each and every room as I went. The lobby had a line of chairs nailed to the floor, each having a seat belt, like in an airplane.
I walked farther, keeping my eye out for any suspicious behavior. The people were now scurrying around me, panicking. A child brushed past me, yelling from the top of her lungs, "Mummy, we're going to die!" And the mother, who had another baby in her arms, took the child's hand and raced to the father. The elderly were being assisted by the crew members, dressed in blue shirts. None of the people looked like they were troublemakers.
I walked for a few minutes, trying to maintain my balance as the ferry lolled sideways, and listening to Captain Deborah attempting to calm the civilians down. A few late-comers were quickly being ushered to last minute seats, and the crew members were hurrying around me from the storage room to there, carrying paper sick bags for those with a weak stomach. Many of them stopped and asked me to proceed to the lobby, but I told them that Deborah had asked me to do a last-minute check for others lost in the corridors. They believed me, probably realizing it would be better to just convince the others who weren't lying (thank God).
I was explaining this to a harassed looking crew member when some movement caught my eye. A man, dressed in a long brown coat was walking casually around the corner. He didn't seem the least bit distressed, and was going away from the lobby. I quickly dismissed the member and started following the strange man. I had to admit, he was a very good actor. I wouldn't have noticed him if this was a normal situation. He walked down the corridor, occasionally peeking in the open doors, which I thoroughly checked. I stayed right behind him, but hid myself from view. We had just finished the length of the corridor, and I was going to give up on him, when he looked all around him, and, seeing no one (I was hiding behind a curtain), he suddenly took off to the right at top speed. I followed him.
He took me to the other end of the ferry, to the restrooms. There were a man there – wearing the clothes of a crew member. A crew member. The word 'Betrayer' seemed to be written all over his face. I got so angry that my gun started shaking as I gripped it. I stood in the doorway of a storage room near them. They couldn't see me, but I could hear them.
"Any problems?" the man said in a low gruff voice.
"None so far." Said the crew member. Suddenly, behind them in the men's room, I heard muffled screams which made me jump. "Well, other than that."
The ferry lurched badly again, and the lights flickered on and off.
"The faulty wiring really did its job, right?" asked the other man with a crooked smile on his face.
"Yes, well," he said, returning the smile. "We sold the parts acquired yesterday, didn't we? Turns out tungsten is very expensive. We made at least a hundred pounds each. The fuel tank will explode soon enough – the screws were made from the weak Rose's metal. Do we have the lifeboats ready?"
"Yes, we do." He replied. "Three other attendants are taking care of that now. So, about the people inside –"
The crew member frowned. "I don't know why we got stuck guarding these people on a ship that's about to sink. We could just forget them and spend the money, couldn't we? So what if we promised the girl her parents wouldn't die? It's not like she would go to the authorities and complain and we would get arrested. We could kill her off too."
The man looked at the doors behind them, the screams getting louder, and back at the other man, and sighed. "You're right. Let's go."
They had just turned around and taken a few steps, when a bullet rushed past me and skewered the member straight into his left leg. He tumbled to the ground, cursing badly, his beige trousers now covered with blood. I turned around to see where it had come from.
Michael Earnest was standing in the middle of the corridor, his arms straight and his Beretta at eye level, shooting again at the other man, who was still too shocked to respond, now doubling over with pain as his right shoulder spewed his blood.
"Michael!" I yelled, relieved. He looked at me with a ghost of a smile.
"You've been following them, haven't you?" he asked.
"I was just about to fire a bullet when you came."
He looked at the two figures, writhing in pain. The ferry lurched horrifyingly, and Captain Deborah spoke through the microphone, her voice no longer cool and calm, but very agitated. "Passengers, brace! Crew members, get the lifeboats out and guide the passengers to them! Do not panic – our reliable members will take care of you."
The ferry was now bobbing uncontrollably. I could barely stand on my two feet. I had never been seasick my entire life, but now I felt I could throw up all over the floor.
The people who were inside the men's room screamed badly. Michael frowned. "What's that?" he asked.
Then I remembered the huge emergency. "Sofia's parents." I rushed to the door, very closely avoiding the two men on the floor, one of whom had now lost conscious, and tried to open it. "It's locked. Help me, Michael!" He came forward, but then I stopped him. "No, forget this – I'll take care of it. Listen, there are three crew members who are stealing lifeboats on the deck. You have to stop them."
"But –" he hesitated. "But what about you – and them?"
"I said I'll take care of it!" I kicked away the unconscious man, who had rolled too close to me, as the ferry shook badly. "You need to help the people get out before the fuel tank explodes!"
"The fuel tank what?"
"Just do it!"
I turned around, pulling the handle with all my might – but the door had been locked tight. I went to the crew member, who was howling in pain, and placed the gun on his throat.
"Where is the key?" I yelled into his face.
"I – I don't know!" he whimpered. "I didn't lock the door!"
"Then who did?"
"I don't know! Please don't shoot me!"
I didn't. I turned around and started hitting myself into the door. No use. I ran to the other side of the corridor and barreled into it. I heard a small crack in the lock. I did this a couple more times, and the door finally gave away.
There was only one toilet in the room. In front of it there were two small stools on which two people sat, a man and a woman, their heads covered in sacks, hands and feet bound in thick cords. They shrank away when I came to them, the screams getting very loud.
Suddenly the other end of the ferry, the larger part of the deck, where people usually stand, exploded in fire. My side of the ferry tilted backwards seventy degrees, such that we nearly fell into the murky water of the toilet.
The fuel tank.
The ferry was now sinking completely.