My Journal

By Harriman Nelson

6

It was the middle of the night when I got the call from the SecNav. As groggy as I was, when one receives a phone call from Washington, all bets are off for a good night’s sleep.

“When can Seaview sail?” had been the first words out of his mouth.

“She’s still in dry dock. We’re waiting for the paint to dry, and she’ll still need a shakedown cruise to make sure of the repairs….”

“Forget the shakedown and paint job. Get your captain and crew back asap. Admiral Cartwright will fill you in. Your office. About thirty minutes. Secure videophone.  Alpha line.”

And with that he hung up.

“Sweetheart?” Emmie asked from her side of the bed, having only heard my end of the conversation.

“I don’t know,” I replied, giving her a kiss and punching my phone’s speed dial for Lee’s cell. It took a few minutes for him to pick up.

“Harry? What’s wrong?”

“Sorry, son. Emergency call up, all hands. Meet me in my office.”

“Right.”

I hung up, and began to pull on my uniform, not bothering to shower or shave.

“Do you have to go along?” Emmie asked.

“I won’t know anything until Cartwright tells me,” I said, then buzzed for a golf cart. “I really am sorry, dear, but emergencies do happen, even during honeymoons, makeshift as ours is.”

“I’m coming with you,” she said as she grabbed a housecoat, snapped it shut and pulled on some tennis shoes over her bare feet.

In minutes we were headed to Admin under a blanket of stars. Nothing out of the ordinary up there that I could see, so naturally my stomach was in knots. Another enemy of mankind? An engineered or natural disaster? Why hadn’t the secretary told me himself? Why did I have to wait for ONI’s Admiral Cartwright?

It had to be something bad.

Very bad.

“Admiral, Mrs. Nelson,” Ames, unshaved, and back in his seldom used uniform, greeted us as we entered my outer office suite. Emmie headed directly to the sideboard behind Angie’s desk and began to heat up some water in the microwave.

 “Lee’s already issued the call up for all crew and institute essentials,” Ames said, “Security’s helping to dismantle the boat’s scaffolding before the dry dock crew gets here.”

“Never mind that. The scaffolding can be easily broken once the dry dock is flooded.”

“Aye sir. I also took the liberty of ordering whatever emergency foodstuffs we have in stock removed from storage and made ready for stowing aboard Seaview.”

“There might not be time for all of it. How much Spam do we still have aboard?”

“None. Everything had been removed during the repairs. I’m not sure of the inventory in storage, but I’m sure we have some Spam, but I’m not sure if its enough. How much time are we looking at before Seaview has to sail?”

“Probably right after Cartwright’s call, about twenty minutes or so.”

“Damn,” he said and urged security on, while fielding calls from the main gate checking in staff and crew.

“Do you like Spam?” Emmie asked me, furrowing her brows.

“Not particularly. But I always try to have a supply at the ready.”

The microwave dinged, and she pulled out the three paper cups of water she’d nuked, and began to spoon in instant coffee.

“Sugar, cream, Mr. Ames?” she asked.

“I take it black actually,” he said accepting it thankfully.

“I know you want sugar,” Emmie told me. “In fact, I think you could use a little extra right now.” With that she poured in three little packages.

“Thank you, dear,” I said, taking the cup and giving her a kiss.

Chip entered, a little disheveled, carrying Maleficent in her cat carrier.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea this time, lad,” I told Chip.

“I figured having her along might lessen the stress, of whatever it is?” he fished.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know any mission details yet.”

“Chip,” Ames said, “I ‘m not sure there’s any cat food in the emergency supplies. Or kitty litter.”

“No worry. I have both, and put it on the dolly set out to transport our gear to the boat.”

Just then the partly open door swung open even wider as Lee and his mother entered. Mrs. C. was at least wearing a dress. But like Emmie, her bare feet were encased in sneakers. Lee was in uniform, but even more unkempt than Chip, Ames, and I were.

“How many crew have already checked in, Drew?” Lee asked as his mother joined Emmie by the sideboard.

Ames checked Angie’s computer monitor, “Forty nine out of one hundred twenty three. But more are being punched in as we speak.”

“I hope they’ll all get here before we have to sail. What are we getting into, Harry?”

“I’m still waiting for Cartwright to tell us.”

“Cartwright?” Lee and Chip asked in unison.

“I thought the call came from the SecNav,” Lee said.

“It did, but he’s given Cartwright the honor of telling us what we need to do and….”
The distinctive beep of my videophone interrupted.

“Boys,” I said, motioning Lee, Chip, and Ames to  follow me into my private office.

Lee closed the door behind them as I began security procedures on the videophone. Fingerprints on the monitor and iris scans later, it came to life.

“Good morning,” Admiral Cartwright’s voice merged with his image. “Sorry to interrupt your plans for Disneyland, Captain,” he said sarcastically, “but something’s come up. The public will only know Seaview’s been requested to assist in a search, rescue, and repair for one of Australia’s sub’s that’s gone down. Nobody can complain about you missing your vacation that way.”

“Am I correct then in assuming there is no downed sub?” Lee asked.

“You are. The story’s invented, for cover. The  prime minister put out a Code ‘Bowlegs’ to the Royal Navy, so none of their sailors will question the Anemone’s existence or lack of it. Aussie and Brit sailors know how to keep their traps shut, and not to speculate in public or private.

“As for the public, all they’ll know is that you’ll have to postpone your appointment with Mickey and Minnie Mouse in order to command Seaview on the mission. Gawd, Crane, Disneyland? Why couldn’t you have just shut up and said you’d be enjoying some down time in Santa Barbara? Then the Aussies and we wouldn’t have had to go to all this trouble to get Seaview in the area we need to investigate.”

“So,” I asked, “just what is our mission?”

“To be honest, Harriman, it’s not so much Seaview we need, it’s the captain.”

“Oh gawd,” Chip said, “can’t you guys give him a break? He hasn’t even had a full shore leave yet and….”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion, Commander.”

“But Chip’s right,” I said, “you have plenty of other agents in the field, and other transport you can draft.”

“Other agents don’t have X-ray vision, among other things.”

For a moment Chip and I were stunned. Ames wasn’t. But then, he is a former spook buddy of Lee’s. And spook buddies know everything.

“Well, what do you want him to see, then?” I asked.

“We have reason to believe that the Hewlett Sea Lab isn’t quite what we’ve been led to believe. The Aussies have been picking up unusual signals from the area but no matter what they’ve tried, can’t pinpoint them to the lab or the topography, by sub or by hands on teams posing as habitat inspectors. Hewett’s made no secret of using some nearby caves to harvest certain kinds of algae, and surrounding area for aquaculture, or so he says, for food supplements. The Aussies don’t buy it. Nothing on the market can trace its way to the Hewlett labs. Hewlett himself is acting damn peculiar. Even his daughter-in-law has to go visit him, if he wants to see her, not the other way around.

“Crane’s job…”

“Nelson-Crane,” both I and Lee corrected.

“The captain’s job is to find out if Hewlett is up to something. It’s all supposition right now.”

 “I can understand the concern,” I said, “but most scientists are secretive when new formulas are developed.”

“We could hardly refuse to help out our ally. And since Seaview has better acoustics than any sub in the world, plus the flying sub, well, she’s the perfect underwater vehicle to go investigate. Especially since her captain has X-ray vision now. After Seaview has completed ‘repairs’ to the ‘downed sub’, you’ll make contact with Hewlett. I’ll leave it to captain, as ops leader, as to just how to proceed from there. One thing. If the captain discovers anything he’s to report it, nothing else. This is purely an investigative assignment.

“And you, Nelson, aren’t required to go along. Cartwright out.”

“X-ray vision?” Chip muttered. “Can you see through the door right now?”

“Only when I turn it on. Responds to blinking in code.”

“Wow… I don’t suppose that gadget of yours could, well, perhaps, maybe, er, never mind.”

“I know what you’re thinking, Mr. Morton,” I said, “and you ought to be ashamed of yourself.”

“Don’t worry, Harry,” Lee said. “I won’t turn it on to discover what color bra and panties any of the girls are wearing.”

“But,” Chip said, “you could if you wanted to, right?”

“Well, Abs, er, Admiral Nesbit, was wearing non regulation red.”

“Never mind that now,” I said. “Start getting Seaview ready to sail, Chip. Ames, you do whatever you can to assist. Lee and I need to discuss something in private.”

After they left, I’m afraid I let my temper get the better of me.

“You could have at least told me about the damn eye, Lee! It’s not as if I’m a security leak, for God’s sake!”

“I was going to, but at the time, Joe said it was a need to know and….”

“Jackson? Your friend was in on it, instead of me?”

“He was visiting me as a courtesy from ONI. It’s not as if anyone thought I’d need x-ray vision for anything. It was just an option that ONI thought might come in handy for the modified prosthesis.”

“Harry?” Emmie called out nervously. “Aren’t you done in there yet?”

“Yes, we’re done,” I shouted and stormed out of the office.

“Chip said you didn’t have to go,” Emmie said, relieved.

“’Have’ being the operative word. I’m sorry, dear, but I feel it best if I do tag along. We might not have our full compliment. Several of our crew are out of state. An extra pair of hands and eyes will come in handy, you know….”

“I see,” she said, though I could tell she was disappointed, “Mrs. Crane? How about staying with me while they’re gone. I’d hate to think of you going all the way back to the east after you just got here. Besides, you can tell me all about Lee growing up….”

“Well, I…” Mrs. C. hesitated, looking at Lee for permission. She knew how much he valued his privacy.

“That’s a wonderful idea,” he said embracing her, “just don’t go into how many times I was sent to the principal’s office.”

Within one hour, Emmie had packed my duffle, and was standing with Mrs. C. at the now flooded dry dock, while the last of the emergency food stores were loaded and stragglers came aboard.

It was time to cast off.

The women wove us off trying so hard to be brave. Lee had made sure that they believed what ONI wanted them to believe about our ‘dangerous mission’. Mrs. Crane, of course had had more practice with Lee’s career, but even her eyes were moist. Emmie had tears. She knew when she married me that there would be times she’d have to be a ‘Navy Wife’, and all that it entailed. Including emergencies. But she wasn’t thrilled knowing that I could be staying home with her if I’d wanted to. Safe and sound.

 Safe and sound. 

Famous last words, usually, as far as Seaview and Lee were concerned, even on a faux mission where only he was going ‘undercover’.

And so, no more than ten minutes later, Seaview emerged from the underwater tunnel, and surfaced in the harbor by the dawn’s early light. Lee had decided we be seen leaving Santa Barbara, ready to lend a hand to our allies. As was the official version. I think he might simply have wanted to show off his scarlet lady, whose patches of shiny Corvette Red paint were already starting to peel off not having had a chance to set.

News choppers were probably already reporting from on high as we cleared the harbor.

What they will say about our emergency mission, we pretty much know from the PR job ONI already set in motion.

 What they will say about Lee’s red boat, which is news to them, I can only imagine.

I’m still irritated with Lee. Will he willingly inform me about what else I might expect from his Superman eyeball? Or will I, his Reserve commanding officer, his friend, his own father, be left in the dark?