Haywire: A Pandemic Thriller

By Shane Brown

Imagine you were honeymooning on the grandest, largest, most expensive cruise ship ever to sail the world’s oceans. Everything is perfect. Everything is always perfect on board the First Lady of the Sea, a super-liner designed to provide passengers with the ‘ultimate’ luxury cruising experience.

Highly-trained staff cater to your every need. International cuisine and activities you never imagined possible are waiting right outside your cabin door. You can dive in the world’s largest floating aquarium. You can join the action in the big tent circus or spend your days shopping duty-free in exclusive designer boutiques. Everything is just waiting for you. This is the best time of your life.

Now imagine the next morning you wake up to discover half the ship’s passengers have turned into homicidal maniacs. Quite literally, one half of the ship has declared war on the other half. Husband against wife. Brother against sister. The ship is a warzone. An epidemic of violence has swept through the ship, transforming its opulent decks into the most disturbing type of battleground.

Mindless, zombie-like brutality has overtaken the ship during the night, and when you awaken, the only thing standing between you and them is your cabin door...

Special note: HAYWIRE has an active table of contents, is approximately 100,000 words, and displays seamlessly with Kindles and all other eBook reading devices.

A message from Daniel J. Murphy, Gold Star Father of Navy SEAL LT Michael P. Murphy who was awarded the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor:
"As the father of a Navy SEAL LT and hero, I not only saw similarities between Captain Coleman and my son, Navy SEAL LT Michael Murphy, but Shane Brown captures with such clarity, the brotherhood between and amongst United States Special Operations personnel and their "Never Quit" attitude on every mission"

About the Author:

Hi there!

If you haven't landed on this page by accident, then you're one of those curious people, like me, who likes to know a bit more about the authors we read. My life is much less exciting than my writing (thank goodness, because I put my characters through hell!)

I married my university sweetheart (not sure how she still puts up with me) and I’m the lucky father of three young children (Cassandra, Luca and Nicholas). We live in Brisbane, Australia. I met my wife at James Cook University, where I completed a Bachelor of Biological Science with duel majors in Zoology and Archaeology, a First Class Honors Degree in Underwater Archaeology, and a Masters Degree in Environmental Management. My writing draws on these disciplines, but while researching for books I try to never stop learning.

To date, I have completed five novels and an anthology of shorter stories. Right now I’m working hard on my sixth novel, and very much enjoying my role in assisting with the development of a feature film based on one of my short stories.

I love hearing from people, and I reply to all my emails. Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you like, or what you think I could do better. Like I said, I’m always trying to learn.

Have a great week,

Shane M Brown

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shane Brown
• Release date: Nov 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463719121

Shane Brown

Hi there! If you haven't landed on this page by accident, then you're one of those curious people, like me, who likes to know a bit more about the authors we read. My life is much less exciting than my writing (thank goodness, because I put my characters through hell!) I married my university sweetheart (not sure how she still puts up with me) and I’m the lucky father of three young children (Cassandra, Luca and Nicholas). We live in Brisbane, Australia. I met my wife at James Cook University, where I completed a Bachelor of Biological Science with duel majors in Zoology and Archaeology, a First Class Honors Degree in Underwater Archaeology, and a Masters Degree in Environmental Management. My writing draws on these disciplines, but while researching for books I try to never stop learning. To date, I have completed five novels and an anthology of shorter stories. Right now I’m working hard on my sixth novel, and very much enjoying my role in assisting with the development of a feature film based on one of my short stories. I love hearing from people. Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you like, or what you think I could do better. Like I said, I’m always trying to learn. Have a great week, Shane M Brown

Book preview

HAYWIRE

Shane M Brown

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter One

Justin was having the time of his life.

The ship was amazing.

Last night he’d seen a circus. A proper circus with lions and monkeys and clowns. He’d never expected to see a circus on a Pacific Islands cruise.

Even more incredible was the aquarium.

The aquarium wove right through the heart of the ship. The grand dining hall offered the best aquarium views, but the atrium was a close second.

Justin glanced around the atrium now.

Where is everyone?

Normally the atrium was bustling at 7am.

Suits me, he thought. I get the aquarium window all to myself.

Justin still hadn’t explored the entire aquarium, and he’d been at sea for three days.

It looked magnificent.
Passengers could even learn to scuba dive in the aquarium.

If my birthday fell in March, I could be scuba diving today.

Justin desperately wanted to earn his scuba ticket, but he wouldn’t turn fifteen until May 20th.

He’d already passed the medical test back in Portland, but the ship’s policy stated:

‘SCUBA TRAINING IS UNAVAILABLE TO GUESTS

UNDER FIFTEEN YEARS OF AGE.’

What difference does two months make? he thought bitterly.

Back in Oregon, Justin only needed his mother’s consent to learn.

‘When you’re fifteen,’ his mother promised. ‘I’ll do my refresher course. We’ll dive together.’

Justin stared into the giant aquarium, disappointed.

His phone beeped.

‘LOW MEMORY’ flashed on the screen.

How many photos did Mom take last night!

He thumbed through her photos of him wearing his mask, snorkel and fins in their cabin.

When she began taking photos, Justin pretended to swim around their cabin in his snorkeling gear. His mom laughed so much she fudged half the photos.

This morning Justin really wanted to photograph a shark.

He hadn’t spotted one yet.

Just colorful fish nibbling coral and occasionally looking back through the glass. They didn’t look concerned about sharks.

Justin scanned the water. A large shape loomed up before him.

It hovered in the water column, studying Justin back through the glass.

A turtle!

It looked huge and curious, with an expressive face and gentle-looking eyes.

Justin put his hand on the glass, wishing he could touch the incredible animal.

With a powerful thrust of its fins, the giant turtle glided away.

Incredible, thought Justin. Absolutely incredible. This is the best trip ever.

#

Erin barely glanced at the cabin numbers as she ran.

She didn’t need to.

This was the First Lady of the Sea, the most expensive cruise ship ever to sail the world’s oceans.

No ship was larger.

None boasted as many forms of entertainment.

None lavished as much opulent indulgence upon every guest, every minute of every day.

The four gold stripes on Erin’s shoulder epaulettes identified her as the Hotel Manager, in charge of everything passenger-related.

She kept everything running smoothly.

But right now, things weren’t running smoothly.

Everything was rapidly going off the rails.

This was becoming the worst night of her life.

How can everyone fall sick at the same time?

It was an absolute nightmare.

In the last four hours the First Lady of the Sea had turned into a floating hospital.

Worst of all, she couldn’t find the cause.

She’d checked everything.

It’s not food poisoning, water contamination, or a gas leak. What am I missing?

The norovirus bug had been Erin’s first guess, but the sick passengers didn’t have noro.

The feverish, confused patients experienced hallucinations, disorientation, rapid loss of coordination and then seizures.

Violent, barely-controllable seizures.

Just as many crew as guests had succumbed, and every minute that number grew.

Is it something new? Erin thought desperately. Something a guest carried onto the ship?

According to the medical staff, the bird and swine flu combined couldn’t have devastated the ship this quickly. Eleven older guests had died from seizures. The ship’s doctors predicted dozens more.

The medical staff sounded completely overwhelmed.

Erin slowed at cabin 630 and straightened her uniform. All senior officers wore white naval-style uniforms. Her tall build and fair hair suited the uniform. Lucky, because she wore it every day.

Cabin 630 was occupied by her cousin, Charlie, and his new wife, Monica.

This was their honeymoon suite.

Erin had purchased the couple this cruise as a wedding present, so when security reported a woman screaming in room 630, Erin had come running.

She listened at the door, trying to settle her own breathing.

What’s that sound?

She heard a muffled thumping sound.

Certainly no screaming.

She swiped the lock and heard the ‘click’ of the door unlocking.

She cracked the door an inch.

‘Charlie? It’s Erin. Is everything all right?’

No one answered.

She opened the door cautiously.

The room resembled a hundred other elegantly furnished suites on board the First Lady of the Sea.

Charlie was standing in stripy blue pajamas, holding up a chair like a lion tamer. He stared at the bathroom door.

Someone in the bathroom began bashing on the door, making an incredible racket.

Erin looked around for Monica, Charlie’s new wife.

Perhaps she’s gone for help. The security staff is as overwhelmed as the medical staff.

Erin let the door close behind her.

‘Charlie, are you okay? Charlie?’

‘It’s Monica!’ Charlie blurted. ‘She’s gone crazy. She just flipped out. She’s gone completely berserk.’

Erin glanced around the room, noticing the overturned nightstand and broken lamp.

‘Listen,’ warned Erin. ‘Other guests are complaining. You need to calm her down. And I don’t mean by hitting her with that chair. Why are you arguing?’

Charlie never took his eyes off the bathroom door.

‘We weren’t arguing. She was having a fit on the floor. She was all twisted up in the bed sheets.’

‘Is she epileptic?’ asked Erin.

‘No. I thought it was a nightmare. I tried to wake her up and she bit my ear. Look. She bit a piece right off!’

Charlie twisted so Erin could see the chunk of missing earlobe.

Blood stained Charlie’s left pajama sleeve.

Erin noticed red scratches under his eyes.

‘Christ, Charlie. Your face is a mess. Did Monica do all that?’

Charlie pointed his chair at the bathroom. ‘I went in the bathroom to wash my ear. She followed me. I turned around and she tried to claw my eyes out. She went ballistic. She didn’t even recognize me. I pushed her into the shower and then yanked shut the door.’

Thump!

‘See?’ pointed Charlie. ‘She just keeps hurling herself at the door.’

‘Has she spoken?’

‘Not a word.’

‘Wait,’ Erin pointed at the bathroom door handle. ‘It’s not even locked. Why doesn’t she just open the door?’

Charlie wiped his watering eyes. ‘It opens inward. She’s trying to bash her way out. I don’t think she can figure out how. She’s too confused.’

Erin imagined Monica’s precisely manicured fingernails clawing at Charlie’s eyes. She missed what Charlie said next.

‘What?’ Erin asked. ‘Did you say she had a fever?’

‘She’s boiling hot,’ confirmed Charlie. ‘Like she’s been in an oven. What’s taking the doctor so long? Can’t you do something?’

Erin stared at the bathroom again, wincing as Monica threw herself at the door. She doubted the door could sustain such punishment for long.

‘And this just started?’ Erin asked. ‘She wasn’t feeling sick yesterday or the day before?’

Charlie thought about it. ‘No, she was completely...wait, do you know why she’s sick?’

Erin avoided eye contact.

‘Erin!’ barked Charlie. ‘Look at me. What do you know?’

Erin met his eyes. ‘Lots of people are sick, Charlie. We don’t know why. It’s spreading through the entire ship.’

Objects suddenly rained against the bathroom door like hail. Monica was throwing things now. It sounded like makeup and toiletries.

‘What kind of sickness?’ Charlie waved at the door. ‘What can we do? We need to help her!’

Erin shushed him quiet and then whispered. ‘Listen. She’s stopped.’

Charlie listened.

Monica had halted her assault on the door.

‘Maybe she passed out,’ Charlie whispered back.

‘Did you hear her fall?’

Charlie shook his head. ‘She’s small. She might have hit her head. We have to help her.’

Erin wasn’t sure.

‘We have to do something,’ insisted Charlie. ‘We need to cool her down. Let’s get her under the cold shower. I’m sure it’s the heat making her crazy.’

CRACK!

The bathroom door shuddered on its hinges.

‘What’s she got now?’ said Charlie, staring at the door in wonder.

Erin knew what she had. ‘It’s the sandstone toilet brush holder. She’s going to break through.’

‘Let’s wrap her up in a blanket,’ suggested Charlie desperately. ‘Then we’ll drag her into the shower.’

Erin thought they’d have more luck wrapping an angry mountain lion in tissue paper.

‘We’ll have to rush her,’ decided Erin. ‘You tackle her. Pin her down. I’ll tie her hands and then we’ll drag her into the shower. Okay?’

CRACK!

Charlie began rummaging through the bedside drawers. ‘She’s got a belt in here. We’ll tie her hands with it.’

Erin listened to the furious sounds coming from beyond the door. Her plan suddenly seemed ludicrous.

This won’t work. This is crazy!

CRACK!

‘Forget it, Charlie!’ yelled Erin. ‘Let’s get out–’

CRASH!

The bathroom door burst open.

Monica’s transformation shocked Erin. The delicate, young newlywed was gone. The woman who burst from the bathroom had leaped from a horror movie. Her black, sweat-soaked hair stuck to her neck and shoulders as though painted on one strand at a time.

Her face shone with psychopathic rage.

She looked possessed.

Erin had seen enough.

She’s insane. She’ll kill us both. We need to get out of here!

Monica leaped at Charlie.

Charlie was still kneeling at the drawers.

He looked up just in time to see Monica swinging the sandstone block down onto his forehead.

It sounded like a sledgehammer hitting a watermelon. Or a wooden mallet hitting a cooked crab.

Charlie’s spine compacted as his wife caved in his forehead.

His body toppled like slaughtered livestock. A silver belt snaked from his fingers.

Monica lifted the stone over her husband for a second pulverizing blow.

That’s when Erin reached her.

Erin tackled Monica sideways, knocking the sandstone from her hands. They hit the bed together and rolled.

Monica came out on top and instantly grabbed Erin’s throat.

Erin couldn’t breathe.

Monica slid forward in her black satin nightie, bringing her full weight down on Erin’s throat.

She’s strangling me! She’s going to kill me!

Erin pulled desperately at Monica’s wrists.

I need to breathe. I need to breathe right now.

Erin bucked her hips. Monica’s weight lifted for a moment.

Erin used that moment to tear Monica’s hands away.

Monica’s fingernails clawed across her throat.

Erin sucked in a breath - Fwaaaah! - and then rammed her shoulder into Monica’s ribs. The smaller woman crashed sideways off the bed.

As Monica fell one way, Erin rolled the other.

On her feet, Erin saw she’d never reach the door in time.

Monica was already on her feet.

I need a weapon!

Erin scanned the bedside table, the writing desk, even the floor.

Nothing! There’s nothing!

It was too late anyway.

Erin was trapped in the corner.

Monica came scrambling across the bed, wild-eyed and teeth bared.

Erin grabbed the only object within reach.

She swung with all her strength.

The laptop struck Monica’s temple with a resounding Crack!

Monica dropped like a charging predator felled at the last moment.

Erin lifted the laptop above her head, ready to slam it down again if Monica even twitched.

When Monica didn’t move, Erin raced around to Charlie.

Oh, God no....

The depression in Charlie’s skull overflowed with blood.

Erin searched his wrist and then his neck for a pulse.

No pulse.

Her cousin was dead.

Erin slumped back against the bed, staring in disbelief at her younger cousin.

After a moment, she carefully covered Charlie’s body with the bed sheet.

A voice sounded from the radio clipped to her belt. Erin recognized her security manager’s voice.

‘Erin! Where are you? For Christ’s sake, we need help!’

Erin lifted her radio in a daze. Her own voice sounded strange. ‘What is it?’

‘Erin, you’re not going to believe this, but we’ve got people killing each other. It’s happening all over the ship!’

#

...thump...thump...thump...

Amy woke to the annoying sound.

Oh, God - why did I drink so much? Why do I keep doing this?

She pushed herself up on one elbow.

Where’s that stupid noise coming from?

The bathroom. She could hear the shower running. Wisps of steam curled around the door.

...thump...thump...thump...

The sound repeated over and over, like a blanket stuck in a washing machine.

Are the girls washing clothes in the shower?

The whole idea of paying for a cruise was to relax.

She threw a pillow at the bathroom door. ‘Shut up in there. I need more sleep!’

The thumping stopped.

Then started again.

...thump...thump...thump...

Sharing a four-berth cabin kept the price low, but Amy decided it wasn’t worth it.

Living in each other’s pockets sucked. She would rather have stayed home this time.

This seals it, she thought. This is the last trip I’m taking with the girls.

Next year she’d be married and (fingers crossed) pregnant. She’d have an excuse to skip the next trip.

Amy listened to the noise again. It sounded like nothing she’d ever heard before. Across the cabin, the two empty bunks meant that either Shelley or Amanda was making the racket.

Last night Shelley had felt sick.

She’d come back to the cabin to lie down.

Amy kicked the bunk above her. ‘Kim, you awake?’

‘No.’

‘What’s that noise?’

‘Who cares? Go back to sleep.’

‘What are they doing in there?’

‘Just tell them to shut up.’

‘Hey!’ Amy yelled toward the bathroom. ‘People are still trying to sleep in here!’

The noise paused for a moment and then started again.

Amy rolled over and put her head under her pillow. The sound easily penetrated.

...thump...thump...thump...

She rolled over and grabbed her watch. It’s not even 7am. For Christ’s sake!

She got up, walked over, and shoved open the bathroom door. ‘What are you guys doing in here?’

Amy peered through the foggy bathroom, barely believing her own eyes.

Amanda lay naked in the bottom of the shower.

Shelley squatted over her, still dressed in her clothes from last night.

The thumping sound was Shelley bashing open Amanda’s head with her aluminum toiletries case. Amanda’s thin body lay motionless in the shower enclosure.

The shower pelted steaming hot water over them both, washing Amanda’s blood down the drain.

Amy dropped her watch.

Clank.

Shelley stopped instantly.

She looked up and locked her mad eyes on Amy.

One second Shelley was kneeling, and the next she was running toward Amy.

Amy yanked the door shut in her path.

She wasn’t fast enough.

Shelley ran straight into the edge of the swinging door.

Whack!

Her face collided squarely with the narrow edge. She careened back onto the tiles.

Amy stared in shock at the door.

Two of Shelley’s teeth were embedded in the wood!

That impact would send most people to the emergency room, but Shelley didn’t even pause as blood began pouring from her ruined lips and nose. She scrambled across the tiles like a giant wet spider, trying to tackle Amy.

Without thinking, Amy snatched the big bottle of bath salts from the vanity.

She swung the bottle like a tennis racket.

Smash!

The bottle exploded against Shelley’s jaw. She fell sideways toward the toilet in a cloud of colorful bath salt crystals. She missed the toilet, but her head struck the tiled wall with neck-breaking force.

Amy backed away, feeling bath salts crunch under her bare feet.

She tried to close the door, but Shelley’s foot blocked it.

Across the cabin, Kim pushed herself up on one elbow. ‘What was all that about? Can we go back to sleep now?’

Amy shook her head, pointing into the bathroom.

She wasn’t pointing at her dead friend in the shower enclosure.

She wasn’t pointing at the blood-smeared tiles or the teeth embedded in the door.

She pointed at Shelley.

Because Shelley began getting up again.

#

Ted held his sick wife’s convulsing limbs to the bed.

They’d been married fifty-nine years this month. This cruise was an anniversary present from their children.

Where is that doctor?

The doctor knew Vera was the oldest woman on the cruise! If she fell and broke a bone, well, the last time had nearly killed her.

Ted didn’t know how he’d cope without Vera. She was the reason he woke up in the morning.

Food poisoning, he’d heard a steward say.

Apparently half the ship had it.

That’s absurd....

Ted knew it couldn’t be food poisoning. He and Vera shared the same lamb curry last night. He’d eaten most of it.

Whatever the cause, the windowless cabins and ducted air conditioning had turned the ship into a giant frothing petri dish of disease.

Vera violently arched her back again, becoming so rigid that only her heels and shoulders touched the bed.

Her thin, seventy-pound frame flopped down.

Her body hit the bed and didn’t move.

She lay deathly still.

Oh, God - she’s dead.

Ted checked her pulse with desperate, shaking fingers.

Her heart was pumping so quickly he could barely tell one beat from the next.

And she was hot! So burning hot!

He stumbled over to the cordless phone and pushed the emergency button.

The phone rang out again.

Still no answer! This is appalling!

In the bathroom he folded a wet face cloth so the little cruise ship emblem wouldn’t irritate Vera’s skin. At their age, even the slightest abrasion could take weeks to heal.

She would be in enough pain when she woke up.

He frowned over the phone. Perhaps he should go and find the doctor himself?

But I can’t leave Vera alone.

‘I’ll look after you, old girl,’ he muttered to himself, setting the phone back on the wall. She had looked after him long enough. Practically every day for the last fifty-nine years. They’d planned to do the cruise next year on their diamond wedding anniversary, but with Vera’s health diminishing, they brought the trip forward.

Ted glanced at the bed.

Vera was gone.

Where is she?

She hadn’t left the cabin. He’d have heard her.

He found Vera standing at the writing table.

She’s up. She’s standing!

‘Vera,’ Ted said. ‘You shouldn’t be up. I’ve called the doctor. What are you doing?’

Vera didn’t answer.

Instead, she turned around just enough to place Ted in her peripheral vision.

Her left eye twitched oddly.

Ted approached his wife slowly. She looked out of sorts.

He stopped.

Vera looked different.

She looked taller.

Her back is straight! Vera hadn’t stood with a straight back in more than fifteen years.

She held the hair dryer. Last night when Ted had taken too long in the small bathroom, Vera had used the hair dryer at the writing desk.

‘Put that down, Vera. You’re sick. You need to–’

Ted didn’t finish his sentence because Vera smashed the hair dryer into his face.

Vera swung the appliance with enough force to collapse Ted’s left eye socket.

Too surprised to dodge, Ted took the full force of the blow. Plastic and bone shattered with almost the same sound. He hit the floor face down, barely conscious, but with faculties enough to crawl for the door.

He needed to escape the cabin. He needed to reach the hallway.

He glimpsed Vera walking barefoot on the carpet behind him.

Pacing him.

Stalking him.

Halfway to the door she landed on his back. Her boney knees slammed into his spine. Her full weight drove him flat against the carpet.

‘Vera, please stop. It’s me, Vera. It’s Teddy.’

Ted barely recognized his own croaking cries.

Vera looped the hair dryer cord around his neck.

As she pulled the cord tight, Ted heard two things.

He heard Vera grunting, and he heard screaming coming from the cabin next door.

#

Coleman studied his photo of David again.

His son turned ten next month.

He looks more like his mother every year, thought Coleman.

Especially his eyes.

Coleman’s one fear had been that David would be permanently scarred by his experiences last year, but David seemed to have bounced back.

He looks like his mother, but inside he’s like me.

Coleman slipped the photo back into his vest.

He could hardly wait to get home.

Deployment was good, but time with David was better.

Exercise Talisman Sabre was the biannual joint military exercise with the Australians. Coleman’s team had arrived on the heels of the operation.

For the first time in Coleman’s military career, he’d been assigned the responsibility of field-testing new weapons.

Australia’s harsh environment proved the perfect testing ground. His team had put the weapons through hell.

Overall, Coleman was impressed, but there would never be any replacement for the world’s third precious metal: brass.

‘Captain.’

The Black Hawk helicopter’s co-pilot passed a set of headgear back to Coleman.

Coleman glanced at the pilot. The Australian pilot tapped the rank insignia on his shoulder, indicating a senior officer was calling.

The pilot also raised an eyebrow at Coleman.

A very senior officer then, Coleman realized as he fitted the headset.

He signaled the co-pilot the go-ahead.

‘Captain Coleman is ready, sir,’ said the co-pilot. ‘We can both hear you now.’

‘Confirm that,’ reported Coleman into the microphone. ‘This is Captain Alexander Coleman, Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team.’

‘Captain Coleman, this is Admiral Broadwater.’

The Admiral paused, as though giving Coleman a moment.

Admiral Broadwater was the supreme military U.S. authority in the Pacific Ocean area. Admiral Broadwater commanded the U.S. Army Pacific, Marine Forces Pacific, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and the Pacific Air Forces. He answered directly to the Secretary of Defense and the President.

The Admiral wasn’t known for contacting officers in the field.

‘Yes, sir. How can my team assist, sir?’

‘I’m changing your orders, Captain. We have a civilian emergency on board an American cruise ship. It seems there’s a riot on board.’

Coleman pressed his headset closer to his ears.

‘Could you repeat that, sir? Did you say a riot?’

‘Yes, Captain. Many of the passengers are sick. We have reports of multiple fatalities and violence. Hundreds of passengers have called their families and the media to confirm the reports of mob violence. The ship’s bridge is currently in lockdown.’

A riot?

Coleman’s team had managed security on hundreds of civilian assets, but never to protect it from the civilians already inside.

‘What are your orders, sir?’

‘Our closest friendly asset is the Australian Navy Frigate Pegasus. It’s on route to intercept, but we need you there first.’

‘Yes, sir.’

The Admiral continued, ‘I’m sending you floor plans. Board the ship and secure the bridge so the Pegasus can rendezvous without delay. Understood?’

Coleman’s eyes went to the bags stowed under their seats.

‘Sir, are you aware of our current deployment?’

‘Yes, Captain. I assigned that task to you myself. You’re field-testing the new less-lethal weapon systems.’

Coleman hadn’t been told why his team was chosen to test the new weapons. Field testing new equipment was a highly-coveted task.

‘The less-lethal weapons are all we have, sir. No actual firearms except my sidearm and the pilots’ weapons.’

‘You’re perfectly equipped,’ snapped the Admiral. ‘I want only less-lethal weapons deployed. Your options would be very limited with standard firearms. This is the perfect test for the new weapons, Captain.’

‘Understood, sir. We’re ready.’

‘Good. Let me speak with the pilot.’

Coleman handed back the headset.

His team stared at him.

‘Change of plans?’ asked Corporal Forest.

Coleman didn’t need to answer.

The Black Hawk helicopter answered for him.

Putting on a burst of speed, the chopper tilted under their boots as it swung toward their new objective.

Chapter Two

Justin abandoned his search for sharks in the aquarium.

He glanced around for the nearest restroom.

Why do I drink so much orange juice?

Every meal had become a personal challenge to Justin. He couldn’t break the habit of all-you-can-eat gorging. He’d never eaten so much bacon in his life. His mother said at the rate he was eating, the trip would pay for itself.

He began walking back toward his cabin.

Where is everyone? The ship feels deserted.

One young couple hurried past him, arguing about food poisoning.

Justin watched them over his shoulder. It sounded like lots of people were sick.

His mother would know more.

I wonder if Mom’s back in our cabin yet.

She’d been called away around 3am. Justin was used to that with her job, but not on vacation.

‘It’s nothing to worry about,’ she reassured him on her way out. ‘It’s probably just influenza. They want me to take a look. I’ll be back