Coincidence Part 16

Elliott wiped his sticky comb on a towel and fingered his beard.

"A little better on this side, anyway," he said as he began jerking the comb through the remaining traces of adhesive on the other cheek. "a.s.suming the boat can be put back together safely, is it Edward's intention to keep on with the trip?" he asked.

"He doesn't know yet. Kathleen says that's his hope, but there are a bunch of things to be considered before he can make any decision. Obviously, getting the boat up and running safely is the first step. Hard to say at this point how long that might take. It should be relatively easy to fix the engine, but we don't even know exactly what the electronic needs are until we talk to the captain. It may take Kathleen awhile to locate any parts that can't be repaired, so she has to know as soon as possible.

"And apparently, if all goes well and everything can can be patched up, we'll have to be recertified by Lloyd's. That's a fairly lengthy process at best, and asking them to come out on the spur of the moment to Easter Island to make an inspection-well, who knows? be patched up, we'll have to be recertified by Lloyd's. That's a fairly lengthy process at best, and asking them to come out on the spur of the moment to Easter Island to make an inspection-well, who knows?

"But even if that works out okay-and thankfully we do have a four-day stay-over already planned, and we could extend it by a day or two without much problem-the main concern is the morale of the kids and all of the staff. And that's not to mention the reaction of the parents."

"Of course," Elliott said. "The kids will need a thorough a.s.sessment, physical and psychological. We'll have to monitor everyone for signs of post-traumatic stress. Ourselves included."

He felt his beard again and sighed.

"Do you have a pair of scissors?"

In spite of their uncertainty about the situation, once they got to the officers' mess, Anika and Elliott discovered that they were famished. They devoured with equal gusto the steaming lentil soup set before them and Captain Ritchie's account of what had happened on the Inspiration Inspiration during their absence. during their absence.

"They've been more worried about the two of you than themselves," the captain concluded. "Our plan is to rendezvous with the Inspiration Inspiration tomorrow. We'll take you over on the launch and then tow her to Easter Island." tomorrow. We'll take you over on the launch and then tow her to Easter Island."

"Wonderful! But could we talk with Captain Marzynski before then?" Anika asked.

"I'm afraid that's not possible. The VHF the Air Force dropped has a range of only about five miles. There's no way we can communicate with them until we get much closer."

"How long will that take?"

"Well, we're now some four hundred miles away. Cruising at twenty-five knots, that puts us at sixteen hours away."

Anika's heart sank. If they hoped to continue the trip, time was of the essence-and Anika found she was hoping very much indeed that they would would be able to continue. They'd have to see how the kids were doing, of course, and the teachers. But she had the distinct feeling that most of them would have come through this crisis with no serious scars. Abandoning the voyage now would be able to continue. They'd have to see how the kids were doing, of course, and the teachers. But she had the distinct feeling that most of them would have come through this crisis with no serious scars. Abandoning the voyage now would not not be in anybody's best interests. She looked across the table at Elliott. be in anybody's best interests. She looked across the table at Elliott.

"Is there absolutely no way?" he asked the captain. "The thing is, we've got to find out what parts need to be ordered for the electronic system so our office in Montreal can track them down as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the less chance we'll have of being able to salvage the rest of the trip."

Captain Ritchie nodded.

"There might be one possibility," he said slowly. "If I were to dispatch a helicopter right now, it could be there in a little less than two hours. Then another two hours to get your captain back here ... that would save you eleven hours-well, probably closer to ten and a half hours, when all is said and done."

"Would you do it?" Anika broke in.

"Would it really help that much?"

"That would give our office nearly one more whole day to find the replacement equipment," Elliott said. "That could make all the difference."

"All right. I'll give the order right away."

The captain stood up.

"As soon as you've finished your lunch-would you like seconds?-as soon as you're done, I'll have to ask you to allow one of my officers to debrief each of you individually about the whole incident. It's important to get your statements now while everything's fresh in your minds. They'll be needed in court."

39.

Captain Marzynski thrust his shaving kit and nightclothes into a small satchel, folded his list of the needed electronic parts into quarters, stuck it in his pocket, and hurried to the deck. Mac and Henry were readying the Zodiac. The Serendipity Serendipity's CH46 helicopter was hovering almost directly overhead.

Its pilot had radioed just minutes before, as soon as it was within range of the Inspiration Inspiration's VHF radio, with the news of the captain's transfer to the cutter. They would not be able to lift the captain off the deck directly, he had said.

"We can't take a chance on the lift line getting tangled in your rigging. You'll need to come out in your dinghy about three hundred feet behind the s.h.i.+p. We'll drop down a line with a harness attached and lift you from there.

"It'll be tomorrow before you get back here, so bring whatever you need for the night."

Luke boarded the Zodiac and headed out toward the waiting helicopter, where the flaw in the pilot's plan soon became painfully evident. At about forty-five feet above the water, the helicopter was creating such a fierce downdraft that, try as he might, Luke found it impossible to keep the dinghy centered under it. He maneuvered the small craft out from under the blast of air and looked up.

The pilot's hand emerged from the helicopter in what Luke took to be a "hang on a minute" signal. Then, a moment later, from the other side of the chopper, the flight engineer dropped a guideline. Luke retrieved it and tied it off, enabling the Zodiac to stay in the same position relative to the helicopter.

The lift line and harness dropped down beside him. He caught them, donned the harness, and signalled to the flight engineer to start the lift.

If Anika had thought she could never be any happier than she was at that moment when the helicopter touched down on the deck of the Serendipity Serendipity and Luke Marzynski stepped out, she was mistaken. The following afternoon, as the cutter's launch pulled alongside the and Luke Marzynski stepped out, she was mistaken. The following afternoon, as the cutter's launch pulled alongside the Inspiration Inspiration's starboard with herself, the captain, and the doctor onboard, she felt she was going to burst.

There, pressed up against the railing, were the students-her students-some cheering, some clapping, some crying-many doing all three at once. And her fellow teachers! Mary stood with her arm around Sharon's shoulders; Sharon had both hands up covering her mouth and was shaking her head in disbelief. Tom Michaels was waving his hand in circles over his head and shouting, "Whooo-ee!" And Dave! Dave was standing, just standing, tall and straight, arms at his sides, his face lit up by a lopsided grin. Anika's heart flip-flopped at the sight. students-some cheering, some clapping, some crying-many doing all three at once. And her fellow teachers! Mary stood with her arm around Sharon's shoulders; Sharon had both hands up covering her mouth and was shaking her head in disbelief. Tom Michaels was waving his hand in circles over his head and shouting, "Whooo-ee!" And Dave! Dave was standing, just standing, tall and straight, arms at his sides, his face lit up by a lopsided grin. Anika's heart flip-flopped at the sight.

The whole of the crew was there to greet them, too. Mac and Henry and Charlie, Matt and Sam, Jarred-every last one of them.

"All's weel that ends weel, eh lads?" Mac said, stretching out a hand first to Luke and then Elliott. "As that Other Bard said."

He peered at Elliott's chin.

"Beard's a wee bit shorter since I last saw ye, isn't it?"

He turned to help Anika onto the deck, scooping her up in a bear hug.

"Now then, la.s.s, how ye doin'?" he asked after a moment, holding her at arm's length and searching her face with such sympathy that her intended "I'm doing fine" dissolved into a flood of tears.

He embraced her again, and then suddenly they were all embracing her, pa.s.sing her down a line of waiting arms, relief and joy riding through the crowd on a wave of euphoria. By the time she reached the end of the line she was limp. She leaned against Dave, wanting only to crawl into her bunk and sleep for a week.

Sleep she did, but hardly for more than a couple of hours-the time it took to ready the Inspiration Inspiration for towing. That was a complex process that involved tying one end of a one-inch line to a tow bar on the launch, the bitter end to the for towing. That was a complex process that involved tying one end of a one-inch line to a tow bar on the launch, the bitter end to the Inspiration Inspiration's capstan, paying out the line as the launch returned to the cutter, attaching the one-inch line to a three-inch hawser, which was then winched over to the Inspiration. Inspiration. Anika was refreshed from her nap and ready to tackle the task of evaluating the students and staff to try to gauge their fitness for continuing the journey. Anika was refreshed from her nap and ready to tackle the task of evaluating the students and staff to try to gauge their fitness for continuing the journey.

The place to begin, she decided, was with her colleagues. If they weren't up to going on with the trip, there was no point in interviewing the students. If they were, it would be valuable to have their a.s.sessments of how the kids were faring before starting the interviews. And the sooner everyone got back to the normal cla.s.s routine, the better. Although the teachers had done their best to keep the kids on track with their studies, if only to provide enough distraction to ease some of the anxiety, no one had been able to concentrate very well. There was a lot of lost time to make up.

Anika called a group meeting of the teachers in the mess. Dr. Williamson would examine them individually afterward, to check for physical signs of stress.

The teachers were unanimous in their view: If at all possible, continue the voyage. Yes, certainly, the experience had been more frightening than anything any of them had ever been through- "even Dave," Tom chuckled, "and that's saying a lot!" Yet they had come through it, they felt, with no major psychological damage. In fact, as awful as it had admittedly been ("hugely scary," in Sharon's words; "like a nightmare," in Mary's), they all believed that they had emerged not merely unscathed but stronger and more capable than ever.

"And I really think that's true of the kids, too," Dave said. "They handled the whole thing incredibly well. Sure there was a lot of anxiety all around. How could there not not be, with gun-wielding bad guys taking over the s.h.i.+p? But I didn't see anybody falling apart over it." be, with gun-wielding bad guys taking over the s.h.i.+p? But I didn't see anybody falling apart over it."

"I agree," Sharon said. "And we were lucky. The hijackers pretty much left us alone. As long as we didn't interfere with them, they didn't interfere with us."

"Right," Mary said. "It might have been a different story entirely if they hadn't kept their distance-especially that one guy, the really evil-looking one."

"Juan," Dave said.

"Juan. He could strike fear into your heart all right," Mary went on. "But he spent most of his time in the first-aid room with his brother, thank G.o.d."

"Kids are so resilient anyway, aren't they?" Sharon said. "And so inclined to think of themselves as immortal. In that respect, they probably managed better than we did. Now that the danger is over, I'm betting they'll be able to put it all behind them fairly quickly, except as a great adventure to tell their friends back home."

Tom was nodding his head.

"That's my guess, too. I sure haven't seen any signs of any lingering emotional problems. And as we all know, you've got to be a trouper to be selected as a Floatie in the first place. They are all pluckier than your average kid or they wouldn't be in the program."

Anika smiled. This was exactly what she had hoped to hear and expected to hear. She would still have to talk to the students herself, naturally, and Elliott would have to check them out, to make absolutely sure they were okay, but there was little doubt in her mind that they would want to continue with their semester at sea. And, of course, if any of them did not feel able to go on, they could be put on a plane for home as soon as they got to Easter Island. If the good weather held out, that should be in just under four days.

"But what we don't know is what the parents' reaction will be," Mary said, her expression clouding. "It's one thing to be in the middle of a precarious situation yourself-especially when you're young-but quite another to imagine your child child in danger." in danger."

"And at least you know exactly what's happening when you're part of it," Tom added. "If you're thousands of miles away and know only that something terrible is going on, your imagination would be going wild. You'd be fearing the worst every minute. The not knowing would drive you crazy."

"Fortunately," Anika said, "the parents weren't told anything until the hijackers were in custody. It was a really difficult decision for BWA to make. Kathleen told me her first instinct was to call the parents immediately, but the RCMP advised her not to. Edward was off in South Africa on a recruiting trip, but when she finally reached him, he concurred with the Mounties. They figured that as soon as the parents knew, the media would know, too. That would have undermined the plan to trap the bad guys.

"They were right, too. Kathleen said she'd hardly hung up the phone after calling all of the parents to let them know what had happened and rea.s.sure them that the kids were safe before the media began calling, demanding interviews. Apparently the phone hasn't stopped ringing since.

"Kathleen was thinking she might have to ask Edward for a raise, as media darling is not in her original job description."

"Ah, I can see just her rising to the challenge," Tom said.

"How did the parents take the news?" Dave asked.

"Quite well, most of them. A couple were upset at being kept in the dark so long, but even they came around eventually. Most seemed genuinely pleased with the way everything was handled. As Kathleen said, the ends pretty well justified the means."

"Very true," Tom said. "The hijackers most likely would not be safely in the brig now if the word had gotten out sooner."

"'Hijackers safely in the brig,'" Anika repeated. "You have no idea how delightful a phrase that is to me! I will never forget the sight of the Coast Guard crew handcuffing those men and leading them away. That horrible, horrible Phillip ..."

Her mouth twisted down at the memory of Phillip. She pulled herself together after a moment.

"You know, I actually went to the brig-no, not to spit in Phillip's face, though that's a tempting thought. No, I wanted in some way to thank the wounded man-Stefano-for keeping the others under control, for not hurting the kids. For not hurting anyone. One of the officers took me down there, but when I looked in and saw Stefano sitting there ..."

Anika shrugged and shook her head.

"I couldn't do it. I couldn't find the words to thank him; I just turned around and walked away."

Sharon's eyes grew wide.

"You mean to tell me you were going to say 'thank you' to the head bad guy?"

"Really, Anika," Dave said. "Don't you think that's carrying our famed Canadian politeness a bit too too far?" far?"

40.

Moving at just under one knot, with the Inspiration Inspiration in tow, the in tow, the Serendipity Serendipity's progress toward the small harbor at Hanga Roa was barely perceptible.

Captain Ritchie scanned the water, looking for a good place for the Inspiration Inspiration to drop anchor. As luck would have it, no docks had been available, but they would need to be as close as possible to town to pick up the parts required to make the repairs. to drop anchor. As luck would have it, no docks had been available, but they would need to be as close as possible to town to pick up the parts required to make the repairs.

The cutter inched its way to a suitable spot just outside the docking area.

As soon as Captain Marzynski had given the order to drop anchor and cast free the towline, the Serendipity Serendipity turned and, gradually picking up speed, headed out of the harbor. Captain Ritchie wanted to avoid any chance of getting entangled in a jurisdictional dispute with the Chilean authorities on the island. The sooner the s.h.i.+p got back to international waters, the better, as far as he was concerned. turned and, gradually picking up speed, headed out of the harbor. Captain Ritchie wanted to avoid any chance of getting entangled in a jurisdictional dispute with the Chilean authorities on the island. The sooner the s.h.i.+p got back to international waters, the better, as far as he was concerned.

With what seemed like startling suddenness after their long, drawn-out ordeal, there they were, safely in the lee of Easter Island, the Serendipity Serendipity rapidly disappearing from view, spiriting the hijackers out of their lives and on to whatever justice awaited them once they got to San Diego. It was all over. It was almost more than anyone on the rapidly disappearing from view, spiriting the hijackers out of their lives and on to whatever justice awaited them once they got to San Diego. It was all over. It was almost more than anyone on the Inspiration Inspiration could take in. could take in.

Anchorage off Hanga Roa could be rough. Except for a small shallow basin, used by fis.h.i.+ng boats, it was largely unprotected and subject to unpredictable swells. The port captain required that any boat anch.o.r.ed in the harbor have someone onboard at all times.

This suited Captain Marzynski just fine. Edward Flynn would be on his way out to the Inspiration Inspiration in a rented boat with the new injectors as soon as he could make the arrangements, and Luke wanted to get started on the repairs immediately. He, along with the second mate, Henry, and the two engineers, Matt and Sam, would remain onboard; they would very likely have the engine up and running again before the afternoon was over. in a rented boat with the new injectors as soon as he could make the arrangements, and Luke wanted to get started on the repairs immediately. He, along with the second mate, Henry, and the two engineers, Matt and Sam, would remain onboard; they would very likely have the engine up and running again before the afternoon was over.

He knew the hydraulic parts were waiting for them on the dock, and the electronic equipment was due to arrive on tomorrow morning's flight from Santiago. Chances were good that they could manage all of the repairs themselves; if not, even though the island had no repair facilities, the government did have a small maintenance shop and no doubt would help them out in an emergency. And there were a few local mechanics they could call on as well if necessary.

If all went well, they could just have everything ready for the Lloyd's inspection in four days.

The rest of the staff and the Floaties were free to go ash.o.r.e. The kids especially were champing at the bit to get off the s.h.i.+p and explore-and to call their parents.

As soon as customs and immigration had cleared them, Mac lowered the Zodiac into the water and began ferrying the Floaties, about ten at a time-Pierre's cabin was in the first group-to sh.o.r.e. How many times now, Mac wondered, had he been to this most remote spot in the world? Och, he'd lost count by now.

He never tired of the place, though. Despite its subtropical climate, there was something about Easter Island that always put him in mind of the islands off the north coast of Scotland. They had the same rocky, treeless, windswept landscape; the same sudden changes in the weather, which could go with scant warning from misty drizzle to brilliant sun to driving rain; the same play of light and shadow against barren cliffs.

And even the Moai, those great mysterious stone statues, were they not, when one came right down to it, the kith and kin of the Standing Stones O' Stenness or the Ring O' Brodgar? Those unearthly monuments on Orkney, though much more ancient, sprang, surely, from the same human needs and desires that had given rise to the Moai. People were pretty much the same the whole world over, weren't they?

"That Man to Man, the worr-uld o'er, Shall brothers be for a' that."

The words of the Immortal Bard had sprung to his lips unbidden. He looked up, feeling a bit silly, to find Dan and Evan and Chris regarding him with astonishment.

But Pierre grinned and, only a little off-key, took up the chorus: "For a' that, an' a' that, It's comin' yet for a' that, That Man to Man, the world o'er, Shall brothers be for a' that."

Pierre shrugged.

"Caneff," he said. "It was required to learn about Canada's Scots heritage-even for us Quebecois."

The students' first order of business once Mac dropped them off at the dock was to call their parents. The reaction of Pierre's mother, Helene, when he reached her in Quebec, was typical. Kathleen Tutty had already talked to her and a.s.sured her that everyone on board was safe, yet her maternal radar remained keenly attuned, ready to pick up the slightest sign of stress or trauma in her son's voice.

"But you are sure sure you are all right?" she asked, and asked again. "You are absolutely sure?" you are all right?" she asked, and asked again. "You are absolutely sure?"

When she was at last convinced that Pierre was vraiment vraiment unscarred by the experience-that his voice betrayed not the smallest hint of psychological damage-she gave him her blessing to continue the voyage. After all, she told herself, the whole episode had been a fluke, unknown in the entire history of the Blue Water Academy, and to imagine that any such peril would befall the s.h.i.+p again would be to give in to a foolish, irrational anxiety. She'd have liked to give her son a hug before he went on, but ... unscarred by the experience-that his voice betrayed not the smallest hint of psychological damage-she gave him her blessing to continue the voyage. After all, she told herself, the whole episode had been a fluke, unknown in the entire history of the Blue Water Academy, and to imagine that any such peril would befall the s.h.i.+p again would be to give in to a foolish, irrational anxiety. She'd have liked to give her son a hug before he went on, but ... C'est la vie. C'est la vie.

Waiting for Melissa's group to be ferried over, Pierre and his cabinmates went first to the "supermercado" near the town center. The shop was so tiny it was a squeeze for all four of them to fit inside, but they had been warned that Hanga Roa was the only place they'd be able to buy water and food to take with them as they explored the island. There were so many interesting things to see and do they hardly knew where to begin.