The Last Passenger (11 page)

XVII

Upon hearing the word
bomb
, Moore began shouting orders like crazy. Before they knew it, a dozen armed guards surrounded the passengers and directed them toward the interior of the
Valkyrie
. A few of them protested with the same annoyance of a passerby being asked to leave the scene of a horrific traffic accident, but most obeyed immediately. Kate took a few rushed photos before she returned inside as well.

Moore was on the verge of a fitful rage. His pupils had shrunk down to the size of two tiny black marbles as he kept issuing orders. He approached his boss and relayed a piece of information that caused Feldman to nod gravely.

“Attention.” Moore raised his voice. “This is an emergency. Return to your cabins while we run a security check on board the ship. Don’t move until we advise differently. Exiting your cabin is strictly forbidden until we say otherwise. Anyone who disobeys will be removed from the ship, after having some quality time alone with me.”

“Look, buddy,” said Carter, the American with a lazy Southern accent, as he listened nonchalantly. “You don’t have to show such poor manners. It’s not like we’ve signed up for the army, so far as I know.”

Moore cast a furious look at him. Carter, indifferent, proceeded to wipe his glasses with the edge of his shirt, unperturbed. He thoroughly cleaned them before holding them up to the light with an expression of impatience before bringing them down to wipe them again. Finally satisfied, he put them back on.

“Since I’ve been on board I’ve spent more time locked up in my cabin than out of it. The last time I looked at my passport I was a free citizen. I think, at the very least, we deserve an explanation.”

Moore approached Carter until their noses were nearly touching. The Brit was a mountain of muscle and a head taller than the American. Still, Carter seemed unflustered.

“Listen to me,” said Moore, his voice raspy and threatening. “This is not an invitation or a suggestion. It’s an order. Anyone unwilling to go freely back to their room will be escorted back by two of my men. You have ten minutes. It’s your choice.”

Without another word he turned to Senka and left the Gneisenau Room followed by three of his men.

The fifteen passengers looked at each other, confused and disoriented. They had left Hamburg barely five hours ago, and it was already beginning to seem less and less like an eccentric indulgence.

Feldman walked toward them in silence, and Kate caught a hint of worry on his face. It was a tiny inkling, no more than a light shadow, yet it was the first crack in the hard granite shell he had erected to keep his feelings from being exposed. This scared Kate. If Feldman was worried, the situation had to be serious.

“I beg you to listen to Mr. Moore,” he said in a conciliatory fashion. “At times he can be quite curt, but he knows what he’s doing.”

“What’s going on, Feldman?” asked Kate. Somehow, she had become the spokesperson for the entire group.
Let the reporter do the talking
seemed to be the common sentiment.

“An object has exploded in the engine room on the
Mauna Loa
, and at least two crew members are dead and one is seriously injured. The ship has also suffered serious damage and is drifting as we speak. We think someone may have infiltrated her while we were docked in Hamburg. If so, they could have planted a bomb with a timer set to explode at sea. Worse yet, in spite of all our security, there is still a chance someone has planted a bomb aboard the
Valkyrie
as well.”

A hushed panic swept through the group. Almost by instinct, they huddled closer together.

Kate and Feldman locked eyes. The incident with the SUV, the death of Carroll, and now the explosion. Someone definitely did not want the
Valkyrie
project to move forward.

“We need to talk,” Kate said in a voice low enough that only Feldman heard.

“We will.” Feldman nodded. “But for now, please return to your cabin.”

Kate turned around and walked inside. As she entered she gestured toward Carter. The American, who seemed like the rebellious type, reluctantly followed Kate. The rest of the group, like lost sheep, crowded together and babbled to each other as they followed orders.

“What are we doing?” the physicist whispered as they walked down the hallway together. “If there’s a bomb, it could be anywhere.”

Kate gave no response and continued walking. Eventually, she turned to Carter and gave a sly smile.

“You were brave back there with Moore. Almost reckless,” she said.

“I don’t stand for bullies.”

Kate smiled as she recalled the scene. Moore could have whipped him like a wet dog, but Carter had not been scared. Or, at least, he had not let it show.

“Feldman’s right. Moore as well, in his way,” Kate finally said. “If someone has planted a bomb somewhere, they could have only done so in the restored areas. The rest of the ship has been sealed off since we left, and before that only Feldman’s most trusted confidants were allowed on board. If we’re not getting in the way like drunken ducks, Moore and his men can finish the search sooner.”

Carter chewed on something while he mulled over Kate’s thoughts. Finally, he nodded.

“So what’s Feldman got up his sleeve, then?” the physicist asked. “Do you know something he hasn’t told the rest of us?”

“No,” she answered, thinking of Carroll.

Carter grinned. “Hey, you’re all right, Kate Kilroy. I suppose that’s because you’re the only one who doesn’t look at Feldman like he’s Zeus. Or perhaps I should say Yahweh?” he said with a chuckle.

“He does command a certain reverence, I’ll agree with you there,” Kate answered with a smile. “What can you tell me about yourself and all these people, Carter?”

“I really don’t know much about what’s going on here. Two weeks ago I was working as a physics professor in Georgia when someone called and asked if I’d be willing to participate in a scientific expedition. Of course, I agreed. They’re paying me a small fortune for a two-week voyage, but they haven’t filled me in on anything else. I think all the others are in the same boat.” Carter laughed at his pun as he pointed a thumb back at the rest of the team. “There are astrophysicists, mathematicians, a geologist, two meteorologists, and even a guy I think I’ve seen on TV before. Everyone here is blind. Nobody knows much except Cherenkov. He’s in charge.”

“Cherenkov?” Kate turned around to look at the Russian, who was conversing with another scientist and waving his arms about wildly. “Why him?”

“He’s the only one who is up to speed on Feldman’s master plan. He recommended all of us and recruited this team. I guarantee this is no easy team to unite. I’ve heard of several of these scientists and their reputations. I’d bet anything they haven’t left their laboratories for anything less than a fortune.”

“But what exactly is the project?”

The pair had arrived in the hallway where their cabins were located. The guards, looking nervous, were urging everyone to get in their rooms as quickly as possible.

“I’m not sure,” answered Carter just before stepping into his cabin. “But I’d bet the farm it has something to do with the Cherenkov Singularity.”

“The
what
Singularity?” asked Kate, but Carter had already closed his door.

XVIII

Kate entered her cabin with unanswered questions whirling in her mind. As she took her shoes off and let her hair down, she tried to put together what facts she had: the
Valkyrie
, its scientific research team, the unknown person who had tried to kill everyone.

The voice she had heard in the hallway.

The memory spread through her mind like poison ivy, but she pushed it out as soon as it entered. It had not happened. The tension, the idea of being aboard a haunted ship, the nerves. There were a million possible explanations. Occam.

She sat down on the bed. For ten minutes she sat without taking her eyes from the same point on the carpet. Her thoughts explored what had happened so far that day.

She decided a bath would do her good. She went to the huge bathtub and turned on the water. It rushed out from the bronze faucets. After only a few seconds, the bathroom had filled with steam, making the place look like an ancient and decadent hot spring bath.

She dipped into the water and gave a slight gasp. The steam traced strange shapes in the air. Kate closed her eyes, relaxed. She noticed how the small ceramic tiles pressed into her butt without being uncomfortable. To her right was a large jar of bath salts. She took a handful and sprinkled the crystals into the water. Immediately, a delicious fragrance permeated the entire room. She closed her eyes again and sank back into the cozy little spa she had created for herself. She breathed deeply, satisfied.

But then something almost imperceptible crept in. Kate nearly overlooked it and continued relaxing, but underneath the smell of the bath salts stirred a much more subtle scent. Something metallic and oily.

Boom.

Kate sat up in the bathtub, completely alert. The door separating the bathroom from the bedroom was slightly ajar, exactly as she had left it. Steam flowed out of the cracks of the doorway and swirled lazily through the air. Someone was moving on the other side of the door, dragging something heavy. Then, she heard a dull thump as if someone were fluffing the biggest pillow in the world. She heard a peculiar and labored breathing. Almost like a death rattle—deep, desperate gasps and quick panting, over and over. Kate shivered as her skin sprouted goose bumps.

Sitting in the bathtub completely naked, she could hear her heart pounding as adrenaline rushed through her body. Someone was in her cabin.

Or something, Kate. Or something.

She looked around for something that could act as a weapon. She grabbed the heavy ceramic bath salt jar and tried to stand up in silence. As she rose, a small splash of water betrayed her movement. The noise on the other side of the door ceased. Kate cursed herself. Without bothering to cover herself, she slowly tiptoed toward the door. Her skin felt like it was receiving an electric shock.

She quietly placed her hand on the door and then burst forth, wielding the ceramic jar over her head.

Nobody was there. Even so, an icy knot formed inside her stomach.

The room was absolute chaos. Her suitcase had been moved from the sofa and placed beside the desk. The bed was unmade as if some angry person had torn off the sheets and then decided to repeatedly stab the mattress with a large knife in a mad effort to remove all of its stuffing. A pillow was at her feet. Kate picked it up and discovered, much to her horror, that it was soaked in some foul-smelling liquid. There was a dark mud-like stain all over the back of the sofa, which had also been gutted like the mattress.

Kate suddenly felt very vulnerable standing there naked. Without turning around she stepped slowly back into the bathroom as her heart struggled to leap out of her chest. Once inside she grabbed a towel and covered her body.

Easy, Kate. Go into the hallway. Call security. Be quick.

She walked back into her cabin ready to rush through, but she stopped, aghast. Her knees shook, and the blood drained from her face.

“This isn’t possible. It can’t be.”

The bed was made without a single wrinkle. The upholstery on the sofa was immaculate, and her suitcase was back where she had placed it hours ago. Feeling as if she were trapped in a dream, she went to the bed and uncovered the pillows.

They were all dry. Completely, utterly dry.

She felt dizzy.

I know what I saw. I am not crazy.

She walked around her cabin feeling numb, like a bag of cotton was stuck between her ears. Her eyes jumped about erratically in search of some clue. She realized she was still holding the ceramic jar. She shivered and knew it had been no dream.

She began to hyperventilate. Something had been there with her in that cabin. Standing on the threshold between the bedroom and the bathroom, she turned back and forth over and over again, feeling more scared each time.

Two loud bangs sounded, and Kate dropped the jar to the floor and screamed. The banging became louder, more urgent.

Only then did she realize she had a caller at the door. Voices could be heard in the hall.

Knees aquiver and trying to regulate her breath, Kate wrapped the towel tighter around her body and opened the door. It was Senka accompanied by one of Moore’s guards.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” said Senka, tossing back her blonde hair and giving a sly smile as she noticed Kate was only wearing a towel. “We’re just doing a quick inspection of all the cabins. It will only take a minute.”

They barged in without asking permission. While the guard methodically took inventory of the entire room, Kate sat on the sofa with her legs crossed, clutching the towel closer to her skin and trying to keep from shivering.

“Are you all right, Kate?” asked Senka. “You look pale.”

Kate shook her head and muttered yes. She did not want them to think she was crazy. But she wasn’t quite sure of her state of mind.

“I take it that’s your luggage?” Senka pointed to Kate’s unopened suitcase sitting on the sofa. “I need to inspect it. Do you mind?”

Kate shook her head. All she wanted was for them to get out as quickly as possible.

Senka opened and began pushing Kate’s belongings to one side. When she got to her underwear, she paused before a smile began to show at the corner of her lips.

“This is quite seductive,” Senka said, holding a tiny black thong with red trim. “Is all of your underwear like this?”

Kate shook her head, feeling nervous. She had no interest in playing games.

“What’s this?” Senka asked, stiffly holding up the urn that contained Robert’s ashes.

“That’s my husband,” answered Kate. “What’s left of him.”

“Do you always travel with your husband’s ashes?” Senka looked at her in disbelief as she undid the top to have a look inside. A puff of ashes was sucked out and floated down to the carpet, leaving a small gray mark on the design.

“Put the urn down. Now.” Kate’s voice was glacial. But underneath, the fury was so intense that Senka’s playful expression melted into an uncomfortable grimace.

Watching Senka with fiery eyes, Kate’s temples were pounding. All the panic and fear she had felt only minutes before were boiling into a rage that made her want to rip out someone’s throat. Barely thinking, she walked toward Senka and yanked the urn from her hands. Her towel nearly came loose from doing so, but her wrath was such that she hardly noticed.

“Don’t play games with this,” Kate hissed, “or you’ll regret you ever met me. That’s your only warning.”

Senka took a step back. She had a strange gleam in her eyes. It was a mixture of fear and respect. Maybe even excitement. “Kitten’s got claws,” she finally said. “I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

The guard who had accompanied Senka poked his head out of the bathroom door and shook his head. The inspection was done.

“It’s been a pleasure, as always. See you soon,” Senka said and raised an eyebrow.

As soon as they were gone, Kate shut the door. She shook with rage. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she was determined not to cry. With trembling hands she placed the urn containing Robert’s ashes on the table and kneeled down on the rug, trying to recover the tiny amount that had spilled out. There was so little that she could hardly pick it up. Sweeping her hands over the floor for a second time, Kate lost the majority between the rug’s fibers, leaving behind a dirty streak in the fabric.

Plop, plop. The first two tears fell like drops of rain. Then, slowly, the rain became a storm, and Kate tried to break free from all the pain and fear she was carrying deep within her. Once again she felt terribly alone.