Mike and Theresa had been assembling the fishing gear for almost forty minutes when Tony and Jess arrived. The two of them had “that look.”
“Nice of you to join us,” said Mike sarcastically.
“Sorry, man, I was fixing my hair,” said Tony as he rubbed his hand over his shaved head.
Theresa gave Jess a knowing smile.
They rigged up bluefish on the wire leaders and hooks and attached it to the robotic arm that would extend out beyond the ACD tube. They let the bait float up and out from the ship, then watched the monitor to see if they’d have any early morning customers. They ignored the occasional moan through the ship as best they could, although every now and then, someone’s wise comment would remind everyone else that they were each aware of the eerie noise. Like when Mike announced, “Hey look—I’m still dry.”
They set up their stations and capture tank as they waited to catch a fish. Theresa glanced around nervously, wondering where the horrifying beaker was, but didn’t comment. Finally, when everything was set up and there was nothing left to do, Mike looked around and asked what none of them had thought about until that point. “Where’s Jim?”
Jess replied, “Don’t open the body bag, Mike. We don’t know if he’s infectious.”
“Where is the body bag?” he replied.
The four of them glanced around and looked at each other. They got up and walked around the lab, checking everywhere, even the freezers.
“Where the hell is he?” asked Mike.
“When Ted comes down, we’ll ask him,” said Tony, puzzled.
“Bullshit. We’ll ask him now,” said Mike.
Mike hit the all-call button and yelled into the speaker. “Hey Ted! Wake up!”
After a moment, Ted’s voice answered, with his usual flat tone. “What is it?”
“Where’s Jim?”
There was no answer.
“You hear me? We’re down in the lab, and the skipper’s body ain’t here. Where did you put him?”
Another long pause. Then finally, “I’m dealing with that. It’s dangerous work.”
The four of them looked at each other, waiting for more.
“That’s it?” asked Mike to Tony. “It’s dangerous work? We’re supposed to just say ‘okay’ and forget about it?”
Tony looked at Jess. He didn’t like the answer either. “Well?” he asked.
“Ted!” bellowed Mike into the intercom. “Where is he?”
“I’ll be done in a little while. It isn’t your concern right now. Out.”
The four of them looked at each other, and Mike started to head out of the lab. “Where’re you goin’?” asked Theresa.
“I’m gonna go upstairs and kick that muthafucker’s ass,” he replied.
Tony grabbed Mike’s arm. “Yo, man. Easy. He’s the skipper. You can’t do that. He’s an asshole—but he’s the boss. Chill out, man.”
“You’re just gonna let him carve Jim up and do whatever the fuck he wants while we go fishing?”
“I didn’t say that. But you can’t go up there and start a war on this ship.”
“Besides, he’s a black belt,” said Jess.
“And I’m from Jersey—fuck ’em.”
“Seriously, the guy’s not someone you want to mess with,” said Jess.
Theresa walked over and grabbed Mike’s hand. “Please? Just wait for him to come down. We’ll all talk to him and find out what’s up. Don’t go up and start a fight. I’m sure you can kick his ass. Just don’t, okay?”
Mike looked around at the other three crew members. He realized he had lost his cool yet again. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry. Maybe I’m getting narced.”
Jess laughed. “Narcosis makes you mellow.”
“You shoulda seen him before,” said Tony with a big smile.
Theresa smacked Mike’s butt. “Come on, handsome, let’s catch a fish.”
Tony feigned great drama. “I cannot believe the blatant sexual undertones aboard an official research submarine.”
Jess joined in. “I’m appalled. Quite frankly, I may have to report this incident.”
Mike forced a smile and understood they were trying to cool him off. “I’m fine. I’ll be cool, okay? I just don’t like that prick.”
“You don’t say?” said Tony.
“Well let’s just hope he can figure what happened and keep it from happening again,” said Theresa quietly.
“Amen to that,” answered Jess.
************
The rest of the morning was spent in the lab. The four of them were so distracted with catching deep-sea fish of varying species that they forgot about Ted. It was an interesting morning, and Mike and Theresa were fully immersed in their work. It wasn’t until hunger forced them to break for a late lunch that Mike realized Ted hadn’t shown up yet. He mentioned that to his coworkers. The three of them shrugged it off, happy to avoid another showdown. They said they’d deal with it after lunch and headed up to the galley.
They discussed the morning’s work over lunch, genuinely excited over several new finds that couldn’t be identified in any of their research and reference materials. Several types of starfish, a few copepods, a sea cucumber that was beyond strange looking, and three anglerfish of assorted varieties had made for a busy, amazing morning.
When they finished cleaning up, Mike announced it was time to speak with Ted. The others suggested going back to the lab, but it was a losing argument. Mike wanted to know where Jim was, and although he was calm this time, he wasn’t taking “no” for an answer.
The four of them walked up to the bridge, fairly winded by the time they got there. There were a lot of stairs between the galley and the bridge. They arrived to find Ted reading and sketching at his workstation.
“Why didn’t you come down to the lab?” asked Jess.
“I needed some quiet,” he replied. “Lots going on. I need to concentrate.”
“Oh yeah? And where’s the skipper?” asked Mike, trying his best to be polite.
Ted placed his pen down on the notepad very slowly, choosing his words carefully. “The skipper has been isolated for observation. You’ve seen how quickly the bacterium attacks its host. This is very dangerous work. I know you don’t like me, Michael. That’s fine. We’re not down here for a tea party. But I am the commanding officer of this ship. I’m responsible for the success of this mission and the safety of the crew. I don’t answer to you or anyone else.”
Tony spoke up calmly. “With all due respect, Ted, we have a right to know where Jim’s body is.”
“I’ll take that under advisement,” replied Ted.
“Excuse me?” said Mike.
“I don’t answer to you. Any of you. You have your work to do and I have mine,” he replied.
“That’s it—you and me, right now,” said Mike, stepping closer.
“Mike!” shouted Theresa. “Knock it off!”
“Whose side are you on?” he screamed back at her.
“I’m on the side that’s gonna live! Ted either finds out what we’re dealing with, or we all end up like Ian and Jim!” She started to break into tears. “I don’t want to die like that, okay? It was horrible!” She ran out of the bridge.
“She right,” said Ted. “It’s a horrible way to die. If, in fact, you really die at all.”
“Keep talkin’,” spat Mike.
“The bacterium invades the host and causes rapid and wholesale metabolic and anatomical changes. It doesn’t kill the host—that wouldn’t serve its needs. It merely changes the host to accommodate itself. Until I can examine brain activity of the host . . .”
“You mean our friend Jim. His name’s Jim, Ted,” said Mike.
“Yes, our friend Jim. Right now I don’t know if Jim’s alive in his human form anymore. I don’t believe so. But he is alive. I need time to determine his status and observe the changes. I need to know if it’s safe to return to the surface. There’s a lot we don’t know yet.”
“And where is he?” asked Mike.
“He’s isolated and comfortable. Let it go.”
“Comfortable? You ask him if he’s comfortable, Ted?”
“Jim can no longer communicate,” Ted said quietly.
On cue, the ship reverberated with a long, low moan. Ted fought back a smile.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do,” said Ted.
“You’re not excused. Where’s the skipper?” demanded Mike.
“Sitting right here. You’re dismissed.”
Mike looked at Tony, who quietly said, “Not now.”
Mike leaned closer to Ted. “This ship ain’t that big. I’ll find him. And you can go fuck yourself.”
“If you do find him, try not to get infected,” said Ted smugly. He picked up his pen and returned to his notes.