Perfect Plan by Brett Diffley

Author:Brett Diffley [Diffley, Brett]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-02-10T22:00:00+00:00

*****

Arc Angel’s immaculate interior was nothing like the working exterior. The crew went to great lengths to keep the on-deck oily messes under control, but by their very nature, spills were very difficult to keep in check. Especially the big spills such as this one, which required a large amount of time working in the toxic element. If it weren’t for the cleaning crews that worked around the clock, the black tar would track to almost every portion of the exposed deck.

The effort was doubled in the ship’s interior. Buffer zones were set up at each exterior door, designed to keep the crew safe. “Training is the secret to success,” TJ preached to his crew, while overseeing the vigorous safety training implemented daily when not working a spill. He tolerated no shortcuts. The rules were in place and adhered to, to confine any collateral pollution from getting inside. Even the air that passed through the advanced ventilation system went through a series of scrubbers and filters, so no fumes made it into the confined areas.

Reed’s boots made a clumping sound that echoed from the steel steps, as he worked his way down to the third-deck crew quarters.

Earlier that morning, the requested files arrived from Brad Haster, and they’d made very interesting reading. He’d also gone over collision reports from Captain Garcia and Captain Ferrely, and saw they completely differed on what had happened prior to the accident. Someone was lying, but Reed wasn’t interested in that right now. The coast guard and local police would find out the truth, and who the guilty party was.

Right now, his pressing need was to find out what happened on the ill-fated ship before it went down, and how containers of children made it aboard the San Paulo in the first place. That’s where he wanted to start.

By mid-afternoon he finished interviewing the four kids. At first he tried talking to each separately, but this turned out to be a case of total futility. It was like a closed door, and he could cut the thick layer of anxiety with a knife. One fact became obvious. They didn’t trust him. He saw it in their lack of words and eye contact. Each stared at the floor, with arms folded tightly across the chest. But when he changed tactics and moved them all into the same room, the effect was almost immediate.

The bond the children had from the ordeal would last a lifetime. Eventually the trauma would fade and each would learn to cope with their emotional and physical scars, but right now, they needed to be together. It warmed his heart to see the happiness from recognition in each child's face, even for a fleeting moment. There were hugs and even a few smiles as the four mingled and huddled on the bed in the corner, much like they’d done in the containers. As the tenseness faded the kids talked more amongst themselves, but their eyes remained alert, constantly scanning the room while keeping vigilant eyes on Reed and the translators.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.