He untied the ropes from the first person and helped him onto the ladder. ‘You’re going to swing around a lot, but don’t panic, and hold tight.Don’t let go. Use your legs to kick away if you swing too close to the steel.’ He ordered. Karen braced herself behind him, holding the rope should it tear from the railing where Nick had tied it. The hair-raising fearful groan of the concrete remains of each floor grinding against steel petrified them and they were fearful the entire building could collapse around them, crushing their bodies before they could escape and they pushed forward to climb onto the ladder. ‘Whoaa. One at a time.’ Nick cautioned. ‘The ladder’s not strong enough to hold more than one person at a time. We have to wait until the person in front is all the way down.’
The women climbed down first and were helped aboard the ribs by the Navy rescuers. Nick slipped the sling under each child’s arms in case they should fall from the ladder, lowering it as they climbed down. His heart pumped wildly as the children followed one by one into the waiting arms of their rescuers below. Large swells lashed the ribs drenching them in a spume of spray, and buffeted them mercilessly as they made their way back to the stern of the frigate where a landing gangway had been lowered.
The hostages scrambled up the gangway to the ship followed by Karen and Alex who waited on the deck of the Mittagong, relieved to be out of danger as Nick climbed aboard. The last to leave.
Chapter Fifty
Navy Hospitality
The forlorn group were immediately taken below to the crew’s mess decks where they were given fresh clothes and allowed to shower and clean up, then to the canteen where the cook was handing out water and steaming coffee with hot bread rolls.
Nick was bone tired, his body operating on sheer muscle tone which was beginning to shutdown. The headache he had been fighting for weeks returned, this time accompanied by nausea brought on by the anxiety of the past few hours when they were in the hands of the looters. He secured a coffee and asked directions to the wardroom where he was sure he would find Dave, where he could tackle him about the speed boat.
‘Why did you have to kill them? You’re as bad as they were!’ He accused.
‘Nick, we had no choice. We have to show these people who’s boss. If we let them get away with that where would they stop? Other’s would soon hear of their success and we’d have uncontrolled gang warfare. You don’t seem to understand that we’re facing anarchy here. The way we react now will determine our future.’
‘What about the money?’ Nick asked.
‘Counterfeit.’
Nick thought for a moment and realised Dave was right. ‘I’m sorry. I guess I’m a little overwrought. It’s been a harrowing month for me with one thing after another. I just hated to see that young girl die.’
‘I know how you feel, but we had no way of knowing they’d take a hostage into the boat, just as they didn’t realise we had to stop them.’
Nick felt better, he had a lot to learn. ‘Got to get some shut eye.’ He muttered, and shuffled off back to his allotted pokey cabin in the Petty Officer’s mess that felt like heaven as he collapsed on the bunk, not bothering to remove his clothing, allowing the darkness to cushion him into a deep troubled sleep.
Karen followed, exhaustion catching up with her as well, yet she was unable to sleep and instead lay tossing on a narrow bunk. The past few days had surpassed all others in her life and she found it hard to come to terms with the impact and the changes wrought. She thought about Brian and their years together, and softly said goodbye to his memory. The ghost of Sean still lingered and she wondered where he was, if he was still alive. She felt somehow that he was. He was certainly still alive in her mind, and now another man captured her thoughts, adding to her unrest. Her nerve-racked body refused to relax and one stream of thoughts after another attacked her weary mind, sending it racing, tormenting her senses. Never-ending conversations flashed by, future plans crowded in pressing for recognition. Frustrated; her head throbbing now, she fumbled in the dark for her medical bag seeking a sedative to calm the torrent. Finally, a warmth spread through her body as the nerve ends began to unwind and she slipped gradually into a coma-like sleep.
Dave allowed them to sleep the rest of that day and the following night, knowing they were both exhausted, and the ship was not going anywhere. Alex however, was up and around and making himself useful. At daylight the following day the seas had calmed, but there was no sign of them receding. The remaining towers of the Phoenix stood alone, like three misty ghosts in the early morning light, their steel walkways twisted and tangled at odd angles. The Marriott building beside it had slipped into its watery grave sometime during the night leaving another pile of rubble beside the remains of the Phoenix tower.
The Mittagong’s Navilon cocoon was open and Dave stood on the deck with a steaming coffee in hand, watching the rapidly growing arc of bright red sun nudge her way higher up on the eastern horizon.
‘Beautiful, isn’t it?’ Nick said quietly as he joined Dave.
‘Why’s the sun rising so far in the south? Why is it so warm?’
Dave listened intently as Nick explained his theory.
‘Will it tilt back?’
‘It’s what I’ve been scared of since this whole thing started, when we found the new fault line. I think it will tilt more as the last of the ice melts. It’ll change our seasons forever.’
Brilliant rays of glimmering colour danced on the surface of the water and a rosy glow filled the sky with the promise of a clear perfect day.
‘Look at the way the sun’s filtering through the open walls of the Phoenix, it’s almost like a futuristic painting, only no-one would paint buildings in the ocean!’ Nick said.
Finally the calmer sea splashed lazily against the steel girders supporting the towers, no longer hurling her mighty power in anger.
‘Do you think they’ll remain standing?’ Dave asked.
‘Yeah, after what they’ve been through, I think they’ll be there for a long time. A reminder of what used to be. Maybe we should make them a memorial to past civilisation. They’ll make a great land mark for ships at sea.’
‘Marking what?’
The question remained unanswered as both men fell into silence, sipping their coffee and watching as the commercial boats that had survived returned from the sea.
Dave broke the silence. ‘I could use a man like you on my team Nick. What’re your plans now?’
Nick racked his elbows on the deck railing, stroking his moustache deep in thought. ‘I don’t know mate. The Platypus will be here soon. I can’t go back to the States, that era of my life is over. I guess I’ll find something to do here.’
‘God knows there’s going to be a lot to be done.’ Dave said. ‘Right now I can’t think beyond today and tomorrow, one step at-a-time, but if you’re interested, I know there’ll be room for you and the Platypus. You’re going to need fuel and we have the only supply.’
‘Thanks Dave. Let me think about it. I’ll decide when she gets back and talk to my crew if that’s okay.’
‘Sure take all the time you need. Meanwhile, if you want something to do, we have to distribute face masks to all those people returning on the boats. Graham’s in Brisbane again, the damage there’s unbelievable. You’re going to have to get ashore by boat and it won’t be easy. Tomorrow will see a high risk of contamination from the onshore debris and bodies washed in by the tsunami, they’ve created a huge barricade to the roads up to the mountains. All the survivors here will have to stay out here until we can ferry them to the shore. Not a pleasant thought at the moment, but the Vetos are deployed in areas where survivors can’t reach safety by any other means. In the meantime we have to contact all those boats out there, explain what’s going on and get the masks to them. If they attempt to enter without protection, they’ll run the risk on contracting any number of diseases.’