Captain Howard received a message instigated by Sam Leighton, from the Managing Director of Ocean Wide Ventures Inc., asking whether US1 would be able to get close to the gas terminus unseen and let Max and Carla off, to carry out a mission.
Howard knew The Organization owned sixty per cent of the shares in the company developing US1, and that Max and Carla worked for them. He also knew their crucial role in taking back the vessel from hijackers, and returning it safely after the perilous journey in the subterranean tunnel.
After some consideration, Howard declined the request. He was not under military command, this was a civilian enterprise and he was not going to act unlawfully; but he offered to provide them with an inflatable and paddles. He could let them off at sea and they could carry out whatever they had too, without his knowledge.
Sam explained the situation to Max and Carla, they understood, and the mission was on.
He also told them, the FBI had received information alleging Jason Sterling had created the drug situation to raise funds, and the resulting civil unrest was all his fault. Sam needed evidence to prove the claim, and feed it back to the FBI for action.
“Get computer files with records of his partners, backers and financial transactions; these would be ideal, but just get what you can” Sam ordered.
It was fortunate James and Amy were on-board, they needed James’s input and his knowledge about computer systems.
However, unless James could find the operating system the files were stored with, he had no way of breaking into the computer system to get the information. There would be two main systems, one to run the complex mechanical processes, the other to deal with administrative functions like purchases, sales and payroll. In view of the somewhat dubious business ethics of Gas Harvesting Associates, Sterling might well have all the records they needed, on a basic laptop computer.
Max and Carla were rather surprised when James and Amy suggested they came on the mission; they believed they could come up with ways of accessing the systems, working on two at once, and make the mission a success.
No amount of arguing would put them off, so they kitted up with waterproof clothing and when US1 surfaced, they left the submarine through the deck hatch, under cover of darkness.
Captain Howard said he would wait until the same time the next night, to pick them up. “Just head out to sea, the same way as you go in now; we will see you.”
***
This mission was difficult to plan, they had no idea what security measures they would have to overcome, and apart from the hub being the target of their visit, the layout was unknown.
Their landing on the terminus would be as close to the hub as possible, using the cover of the loading ships. Several ships would come and go whilst they were there, so the inflatable could be hidden in plain sight.
The ships would have their own individual security, so the hub should be the first barrier to overcome. They would certainly need uniforms to enable them to blend in, inside the hub. But taking prisoners for their uniforms, or injuring the workforce was not an option.
Paddling across the calm water was made unpleasant by the mild chop, they soon became wet from the water splashing over the sides of the dinghy, and hot from the exertion on such a warm night.
So that work could be continuous, everywhere in the terminus was brightly lit. This strong light would hinder anyone looking out to sea from observing their approach; it allowed them to paddle alongside the loading pontoons amidst the frenzied activity, and pick a secure place to disembark.
Although the four were not dressed in orange overalls like the harvesting staff, they blended in with ship’s crew and could have come from any of the moored ships. There also appeared to be a steady flow of ship’s crew to and from the hub.
The four mingled with the flow in their dark waterproofs, passing others in casual clothes, dirty overalls and even a group with scuba gear. Probably they had carried out some underwater repair on a ship or pontoon.
By keeping with the group, the four could appear frequent visitors and casually explore their surroundings, unobserved. Carla and Amy started flirting with some of the sea men in a large group heading for the hub. Max and James just drifted along as part of the crowd.
From what they overheard, there were places to eat and drink inside the hub as well as continuous entertainment, day and night. They also got the gist of the security system within the hub.
The hub was now clearly in sight, each person entering received a bracelet that acted as a tracker and a communicator. Apparently, if you strayed into a prohibited area, or if you had to return to the ship, the hub security contacted you. Security removed the bracelet on leaving the hub. The four were surprised at the efficiency of the security system; this would make entry into the computer areas impossible for them.
The group made their way to the social center, a large building serving drinks and food. Sterling had monetized every facet of his business, a bit like Las Vegas, but keeping prices low. He relied on demand to make a good profit. The crews preferred to pay for the excellent quality food and drink here, rather than have it free on board ship.
***
During conversation, the four discovered that visitors could wander the streets of the hub, but the doors to certain buildings would not open for them.
They removed their outer waterproof clothing and stowed it under a bench seat fixed to a wall. The four went outside and walked the streets looking for the main administrative building.
It was a large circular building right in the center of the hub.
The outer door opened as they approached and inside was a large lobby with an inquiries counter. The man at the desk was a member of the security team, he eyed them suspiciously as they entered.
“Do you have any job vacancies?” Max asked.
“You want Human Resources on the third floor,” the man replied dispassionately. “I will set your bracelets so you can go in, if you put your wrist here,” pointing to a well-worn receptacle at the side of the counter. He typed into the computer and each bracelet beeped in turn.
“All done,” he said and waved them through an arch, one at a time, to conduct the body scans.
The four went upstairs and looked around, trying a few doors but they remained shut; as they lingered the bracelet announced their location, and the route to their destination.
“We have to find a way of enabling free access, just like top-level security. Probably the only way would be to reprogram the bracelets at a security point” James suggested. “How can we get him out of the way, so we can reprogram?”
“I think we need to know more about this place before we can make plans, we should go to Human Resources and see what we can learn” Carla said.
They all agreed and went into reception. A girl in her late 20s quickly explained what jobs were available and when she touched on computer related work, James and Amy mentioned their skills. Carla then explained she had done data entry and Max added he was familiar with most of the main office software, and had general admin experience.
The girl suggested they followed her over to the computer section, and she would show them around. Carla thought the girl was probably bored, and was using them as a reason to make a personal visit, to catch up with her boyfriend, perhaps. Whatever the reason, it was working to their advantage.
She explained, “So you can get access, we need to reprogram your bracelets but if you worked here, you would have a microchip fitted, much more convenient than those clunky things. Still, at least we can easily see if you are a visitor and no one forgets to hand them back when they leave.”
Everyone smiled at the attempt at polite humor, and allowed the girl to modify the bracelet programming, from a security terminal identical to the one in the lobby.
The computer center was impressive, two substantial black glass cabinets about 3 meters long, 1 meter deep and 2 meters high sat side by side in the middle of the raised floor. Behind the glass, arrays of colored lights flickered meaningfully. Around them were eight workstations, with huge monitors displaying diagrammatic representations of different areas of the complex. The nearest showed the terminus from above, ships were routed with colored tracks showing where they had to dock or their exit. The appropriate detail and instruction would appear on each ship’s bridge-like sat nav. The operator at the workstation could redraw the track with a fingertip if necessary, overriding the optimum decided by the computer.
The girl explained that these two computers ran the complex. They worked independently, comparing answers at every stage to minimize error. Each had different software to do the same job, so it was as safe a system as could reasonably be built.
James asked if they handled the commercial aspect of the business, as well as the control of the plant. The girl said they did, one was the active server, the other backed up the data and did checks, and could take over instantly if the main server failed.
Max and Carla sensed from the tense facial expression, James was not happy with the answers, and neither was Amy. All hell would break loose if the system was hacked in any way, the balance between them would be disturbed and acted upon in a billionth of a second.
“Do you know what the operating system and software you use is called, I am familiar with all the major brands?” James queried.
The girl ushered James to the nearest workstation and asked the operator. James’s face lit up when the operator told him. It turned out to be a custom system generated by Project Oracle, the operating system was also the application software; all the motors, valves and operations for the whole complex were peripheral devices, just like a printer or external drive on a personal computer.
Suddenly the task of collecting the data had become possible. All James and Amy had to do was connect this system back to Oracle, and from any computer in the world James could read all the data he needed, so no changes would be made to the systems. The two computers were like twin children and Oracle was the parent. The child will obey the parent.
Carla asked who was the boss of the company, and the girl replied that it was Jason Sterling. “He lives on the old ship Nima Maru, tied up alongside the hub” and proudly added that he conceived all the systems in the complex, and used specialists from all over the world to build them.
The four could see the girl was getting impatient and wanted to speak privately to someone in the room. She asked them to wait there for her; she would only be a few minutes. This suited them perfectly and they looked at things going on around the room.
Amy wandered up to a young man at one of the workstations and spoke to him. She asked if he would explain a few things because she would be working in the department. One warm smile was all it took to captivate the lad, and he quickly ran through the basics.
Very soon, the other operators were distracted and wanted to know what was going on. One of them got up and joined Amy at the workstation. James sauntered over to the empty terminal, appearing to watch the display. His fingers lightly hit four specific keys simultaneously, to logon as administrator to Oracle and entered his unique code.
A connection was made between the terminal and Oracle; a command line of instructions ensured data was now being piped to a new server in Dorset, UK. James logged off and refreshed the screen, leaving it as though nothing had been touched.
Now, they had to get aboard the Nima Maru and access any computer there, for more incriminating data.
The girl returned, they went back to her office to fill in job application forms, and she canceled their access to the computer center.
***
The four walked to the dock area around the hub to find the Nima Maru. It was located in a deserted area of the hub, well away from the food and entertainment section, even the administration buildings had no doors in this area.
Nima Maru was not particularly old and had been a small freighter. It had been stripped of the usual deck equipment, and a new single story superstructure formed an extension to the bridge, covering most of the deck up to the taper of the bows. This was the main living area, with picture windows and luxurious interior to rival any superyacht.
The conference room and guest quarters also luxuriously appointed, were below this level. Jason Sterling wanted all the good things life on the ocean could offer, but was not prepared to sacrifice space or convenience. More importantly, this was infinitely cheaper than a comparable superyacht.
Access aboard was via a gangplank and there appeared to be no one around to prevent them boarding, so they approached.
The bracelets announced they were forbidden to go closer, so they walked away.
Carla commented, “This is to be expected, the complex is exceptionally secure, but without the logistical nightmare of security guards everywhere. These damned bracelets cannot be charmed, conned or corrupted. Somehow we have to neutralize them so we can move around freely, either that or we need them reprogrammed.”
“Perhaps we had better keep an eye on the ship to see if there is some routine we can make use of. Supplies must be brought aboard and rubbish taken away, we may spot something that will help” suggested Max.
***
Night passed, the brilliant early morning sun bathed everything it touched in a warm glow; the shadows in sharp black contrast, shrank rapidly as the minutes slipped by.
“Time for breakfast,” suggested James, quite bored with waiting around. Stakeouts were not his thing, and he pulled Amy even closer for a cuddle.
“I will keep watch,” offered Max. “You three go for something to eat but don’t be long, I am getting hungry as well.”
Carla, Amy and James walked the third of a mile back to the restaurant and ordered breakfast. Fifteen minutes later, two security men came in, heading straight for their table. Carla was on her guard and warned the others there was trouble approaching, and to remain calm.
The two men passed Carla and stopped at the next table. The senior security man held a smartphone type display and used it to locate his target, a green rectangle enclosed the seated man’s face.
The security man spoke, “Excuse me sir, but we have detected a fault with your bracelet, may we examine it please?”
The seated man looked up unconcerned and offered his wrist with the bracelet. A quick scan with the hand held display showed it was not working properly and they replaced it with a new reprogrammed one.
“Thank you sir, everything is working properly now. Have a good day” and they both left.
The seated man noticed Carla watching what was going on and said, “These bracelets take a lot of abuse, no wonder it packed up. Sensors in the room highlight a person without a working bracelet, so even if you can get it off they can still find you!” He laughed, and Carla gave one of her warm smiles; it made the man’s day.
A few minutes later, the three made their way back to Max; they told him what had happened with the bracelet, confirming the security system was damn good.
Max had been contemplating ways to disable the bracelets, but was now glad he had not tampered with them and attracted unwanted attention from security.
“I have seen crew members on deck, but no one has boarded or left the ship, so we cannot sneak aboard in disguise.” observed Max.
“So it will have to be a dash and grab job, getting off the ship before security gets us.” suggested Amy.
Carla replied, “Great in movies, but there’s no chance we can do that. First and foremost, we were told not to leave evidence of the data theft; secondly, we don’t know precisely where on the ship the computer will be and thirdly, is the data accessible? It might be on a laptop, or a terminal to the mainframe server, and how do we physically hold the data?”
“You’re right of course,” replied Max despondently, “I just hate being beaten, and I know you do. Anyhow, I don’t think well on an empty stomach so I am going to the restaurant for breakfast, and try to come up with an answer.”
***
The four had started walking to the restaurant, when their bracelets let out a series of short irregular beeps, like the death throes of a mobile phone when it powers off. James made an idle remark, “oops, sounds like the system has crashed.”
Grasping at straws, Max headed back to the gangplank. “Come with me, quickly, I think James might be right, let’s give it a try!”
As they ran, Carla looked here and there, trying to spot cameras or detectors. No cameras were moving and there were no activation lights on the sensors.
Max reached the gangplank and walked along it briskly, ready to turn back the moment the alarm sounded. Nothing happened, and the others were catching him up.
Earlier, while he was waiting for the three to have breakfast, Max had speculated where he would go to on the ship, should the opportunity arise. It would be the sort of thing Carla would do, she was always steps ahead of him with escape routes and plans of attack.
Lessening the chance of being seen from the terminus they entered by a door facing the stern, into the bridge structure. The ship would likely have a skeleton crew when docked, so they carefully progressed through the passages, listening for voices or movement.
To improve reaction time getting cover, Max and Amy paired up so did Carla and James. Each pair would move past doors like a game of musical chairs. Listen at the door and if quiet, check it would open and move on to the next, knowing they could dive back if necessary.
They were heading towards the recent extension from the bridge, added by Jason Sterling; they felt it logical that he would probably have a secure cabin somewhere in the extension. These were his quarters but guests would be entertained there, so any sensitive information would be close to hand, but secure in a locked steel room.
Three minutes had passed since they boarded and stealthily moved down the short passage. Max wondered whether the security system was back on line yet, and was it likely that the steel shielding of the ship was masking their intrusion.
***
Just then, a commotion outside reached their keenly attuned ears. The sound of running feet approached the stern door through which they had entered.
Max grabbed Amy bodily and shoved her through the storeroom door they had just passed. Carla had already vanished through a different one, yanking James in with her.
There was no other way out of the room, not even an opening porthole. Max realized they were now trapped and hoped that if he held the door firmly closed, his pursuers would think the door was locked.
A couple of indistinct panicking male voices, probably members of the crew, followed by screams of terror terminated by the chilling Phut! Phut! Phut! Someone was using a gun fitted with a suppressor. This was not security after them! It was an armed attack on the ship. Amy shivered with fear, Max pulled her close to comfort her, keeping her quiet and adding weight to better jam the door.
Doors clanged open as the attackers cleared the rooms and advanced rapidly down the passage; no doubt, they were on other levels as well, cornering everyone at the bow.
They tried Max’s door and assumed it locked, he prayed Carla and James had fooled the assailants in the same way.
The attackers passed, and it became quiet again.
“This might work to our advantage,” Max whispered to Amy,” it will take them a while to herd everyone to the bow, and then they will send a few of the team back to guard the main access points. That will give us a chance to find Sterling’s secure room and see if we can copy the data.
“We might have to leap over the side and swim for it.
“I reckon the attack team were responsible for disabling the security system, probably no one is aware that it’s off, yet.”
Amy made no comment, the prospect of a morning swim did not appeal to her feminine sensibilities.
It was still quiet and satisfied there was no one outside the door, Max started to turn the door handle. The barely audible tapping on the door startled him and Amy; it was Carla, already out in the passage.
They moved briskly and quietly through the main reception room of Sterling’s quarters, no sign of computer equipment there. Remaining vigilant the moved into the next room, a large dining room with a kitchen on the starboard side. The kitchen was shorter than the dining room, and this provided space at the end for a moderate sized room off a much larger open plan general office. Carla found the door locked.
She had decided this was the most likely place for the secure room, handy to the office. The next room to port was the main bedroom with another bedroom on the starboard side. The passage between the two bedrooms led to a main staircase down to the rest of the ship.
Carla had already sourced a large paperclip from the office and was skillfully bending it into a lock pick, when she heard voices coming up the stairs towards them.
The lavish bed offered no hiding place under it, so they squeezed between clothing in the massive wardrobe of the main bedroom. Hardly daring to breathe, they listened to the argument between the attackers and Jason Sterling.
The aggressors were a team of mercenaries who claimed to be working for an Al-Qaida group, and this was simply a robbery to raise funds. They heard Sterling had many millions of dollars’ worth of mixed currency locked in his safe, money from the drug cartels, which was being used to pay his work force.
Jason Sterling warned the invaders that his security team would be here at any second. They struck him several times and announced that the security system on which he was so reliant, was switched off by a sleeper in the computer department. The sleeper was on his way to the ship now and would be escaping with the attack team.
Sterling was determined not to part with the money, so to change his mind, they shot him in the left foot.. It was a couple of minutes before his muffled screaming could be stopped; someone was pressing a large hand over his mouth. They asked him again for the safe combination and this time he gave up the numbers. As soon as the safe was opened, they hurriedly started bagging up the cash.
The attack leader issued instructions to cut the mooring ropes, so the ship would quietly drift away from the dock, then blow a hole in the hull, and sink her.
Minutes later, two muffled explosions deep in the bilges caused a tremor throughout the vessel. The sound of water rushing into the hull was barely a whisper, as was the gentle sensation of lateral motion as the ship eased further away from the safety of the terminus.
***
A minute or so later, the voices of the mercenaries disappeared in the distance, as they left the stricken ship. Max explained the real danger now facing everyone on the ship and the terminus.
“The ship will sink on top of the gas harvesting field, crushing gas filled pontoons and cylinders, and causing vast quantities of methane to bubble to the surface. Not only will there be massive turbulence, enough to break up the terminus, but also there are so many ignition sources on it, the gas will certainly explode.”
Remembering the wrecks on the seabed, they had all seen the damage such a blast would cause. There were several thousand people on the terminus, most of the 140 ships were full of gas and they would cause additional explosions; the cost in terms of life and property was incalculable.
“The longer term effect is just as grim, the harvesting would stop and the methane would be released, to accelerate global warming by at least a factor of five.”
Carla added, “apart from saving ourselves, the crew is locked up somewhere in the bow, and we have to save them too. Sterling is badly wounded, and this ship is dead in the water. Failure to complete this mission is irrelevant if this installation vanishes.”
***
Max weighed up the situation and suggested a plan.
He turned to James and said, “go up on deck and call for help, attract attention by any means possible, then come back here.”
“I am on my way,” he replied.
“Amy, do you think you could dress Sterling’s wounds, at least stem any bleeding; he doesn’t know you, so just say you happened to be on board and hid, he probably won’t care to probe deeper.”
“Yes, I can manage that, I have had some basic first aid experience.”
“Carla, see if you can free the crew. I doubt the attackers are still here, but be careful, I know you will deal with them if you have to. Meet back here with everyone, and we’ll see if we can get the ship powered up and out of the area. I am going to find the data we came for.”
Max added, “We still need to know who the drug cartels are; there may be other valuable clues in the data to help restore public order. The problem will still be relevant, even if this place ceases to exist.”
Amy peeked into the room to see Sterling laid out on the office floor, blood was still oozing from his foot onto the thick pile carpet. She said, “Hi, let me see if I can stop the bleeding to your foot, do you have a first aid kit anywhere?”
Startled, Sterling looked up at the girl approaching him. Obviously, she was not a threat to him, she carried no weapon of any kind, and she appeared more frightened of him than he did of her.
“There is a small kit for the office staff over there in the cabinet.” Sterling pointed to a large steel cabinet of a type often used for office stationery. She took out the kit and helped him into the main bedroom. Using several towels from the nearby bathroom she started to clean up and dress the injury. It was a through and through wound, the bullet had dented the steel deck and fragmented, under the carpet.
James ran up on deck and was surprised how far the ship had already drifted; it must be at least 50 meters from the dock. Looking seaward, he saw the attackers were just a dot in the distance; their wake had not yet faded, on the placid water.
There was no one in sight along the dockside, this was an area the crews of other ships had no reason to visit. Security were either still unaware of the failure of the security system, or were too busy dealing with the problem, to be out here.
James shouted out and banged metal on metal, to no avail, and after several minutes he gave up and reported back to Max.
Carla picked her way carefully along the passageways at the lowest deck level, towards the bow. Oily water was already pooling in dents in the floor plates, so time was running out if the engines stood any chance of starting.
There was no one on this level, she concluded, ‘I should try the next one up.’
Back to the stairs, up one floor and back along the passage she went, listening for movement or voices at each closed door, most were open. She wanted to call out and bang doors, but if an attacker had remained on board, she would lose the element of surprise.
At the end of the passage was a portable arc welder, her heart sank, ‘the bastards have welded the door shut to prevent them escaping’. She could hear the crew talking, so this was the room.
The door had four tack welds to the opening edge, fixing it securely to the jamb. To get the door open, would need the tools and expertise she did not have, so she ran back to Max.
With Sterling out of the office, Max was trying to pick the lock to the secure room, making use of the bent paperclip Carla had fashioned earlier. She always made lock picking appear so easy, but she’d had more practice than him.
Carla explained to Max and James why she was not able to free the crew and added the dreadful news about the water level.
Amy had just finished bandaging Sterling and joined the others, quickly picking up on the dire situation with the crew.
Max asked Amy if she felt confident of getting the data if Carla could get into the secure room, but she was hesitant and for good reason, she had no idea where or how the data was stored.
“Well, you can only do your best Amy,” said Max. “James come with me, and we will attempt to get the crew out.”
“OK! Dad, but we’d better hurry or we will all end up on the bottom.”
***
Following Carla’s directions, they ran to the sealed door and hammered on it to catch the attention of the crew. Max explained that the door had been welded shut with four welds, each about 25mm long; did they know where they kept tools to open the door.
Voices became raised as the crew discussed the problem. Instead of focusing on what was important, they were arguing and blaming each other for something that was beyond their control. Max hammered on the door again, but panic had set in and they all ignored him.
James suggested the most likely place for tools was the engine room. Max agreed, and before leaving he shouted where he was going, to the trapped men and that he would be back. Now they were asking him all sorts of inconsequential questions, so reluctantly Max and James set off to the engine room.
The engine would be at the stern end on the lowest level, so they went back down the stairs, into the ankle deep water and tried to find the passage to the engine room. However, the passage from the stairs was, in fact, just a deep, dark recess and they searched in vain for a door through the bulkhead. The water was noticeably deeper now and thick with sludgy oil.
James suggested it might be best to go up to the top deck, al