Eileen Corbin.”
Eileen Corbin was head of communications. “Just a sec,” A.J. said as he cleared his throat. “Let me get my bearings.” He swung his feet over the side of the bed and sat up, taking a few deep breaths. “Okay, go ahead.”
“I’m afraid I have bad news.”
“What? What’s happened?” A.J. stood up and began pacing beside the bed.
“It’s the
Sea Maid
. She’s missing.”
“What do you mean,
missing?
How can a whole ship be missing?”
“She didn’t show up in Mombasa on schedule. Search teams were dispatched to her last-known location in the Mozambique Channel. So far they’ve found nothing. It’s believed that she may have sunk. Even the U.S. Navy has dispatched a ship.”
“Sunk,” A.J. said, clearly agitated. “How? Storm? Collision?”
“No storm and no collision, sir,” Eileen said evenly. “There was no Mayday either.”
“Is there a chance she was commandeered?”
“Unknown, but in that area anything is possible. One thing is certain: Something is very wrong. The
Sea Maid
is captained by Adrian Adair, and he’s never been late to port. The man’s legendary.”
A.J. sighed. “You said she may have gone down.”
“We don’t know for sure,” Eileen said. “The area has substantial ship traffic, and no ship has seen her since sundown.”
“The search teams are still looking?”
“Yes sir.”
“Keep me posted. I want reports as often as you can give them to me.”
“Yes sir. We have a couple of small aircraft delivering food and supplies in the outlying areas of Ethiopia. Do you want me to redirect them to help in the search?”
A.J. was silent for a moment as he thought the question over. “No, they’re needed where they are. Besides, I think they’re too far away to be of any good.”
“Okay,” Eileen said, then asked, “Are you all right?”
“As best as can be expected. Thanks for asking.”
“I know you take these things personally.”
“Am I that transparent, Eileen?”
“On you it looks good,” Eileen replied. “Try to get some sleep, sir. I think you may need it.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Thanks for everything, Eileen.” A.J. hung up the phone and began to pace back and forth across his bedroom. His mind raced with the possibilities: ship failure, collision, modern-day pirates. There was too little information to satisfy him. For him, not knowing was worse than knowing. Somehow he felt, he knew, that something sinister had happened to the crew of the
Sea Maid
. If that was the case, then he would make the perpetrators pay for their deeds. Somehow, someway, they would pay.
A.J. lay awake on his bed and gazed at the ceiling. He had been unable to fall back asleep after Eileen’s call, and now, in the predawnhours, his mind churned with the twin thoughts of Dr. Judith Rhodes and now the missing
Sea Maid
. The photo of Dr. Rhodes he had seen a few days ago showed her lifeless body, but what the photo could not show was her character and courage. Nor did it reveal the terror she must have felt. A.J.’s mind filled in those blanks. Those pictures were not eased by the addition of the missing ship.
There would be no more sleep for him tonight. He needed to do something. He tried reading, watching television, and pacing around the penthouse, but nothing quieted his nerves. The harder he tried to relax, the more upset he became. The muscles in his neck tensed more and more. His stomach tightened and was beginning to ache. “I’ve got to get out of here,” he said to himself. Looking at the alarm clock on the nightstand he saw that it was now 3:30. The sun wouldn’t be up for several more hours, but it didn’t matter; he decided to take his morning jog early.
Physical activity had always been a stress releaser for A.J. He had been active in sports, playing volleyball and basketball for both his high school and college teams. He had excelled at both sports, for which he was ideally suited. Being tall and strong had
Eileen Corbin was head of communications. “Just a sec,” A.J. said as he cleared his throat. “Let me get my bearings.” He swung his feet over the side of the bed and sat up, taking a few deep breaths. “Okay, go ahead.”
“I’m afraid I have bad news.”
“What? What’s happened?” A.J. stood up and began pacing beside the bed.
“It’s the
Sea Maid
. She’s missing.”
“What do you mean,
missing?
How can a whole ship be missing?”
“She didn’t show up in Mombasa on schedule. Search teams were dispatched to her last-known location in the Mozambique Channel. So far they’ve found nothing. It’s believed that she may have sunk. Even the U.S. Navy has dispatched a ship.”
“Sunk,” A.J. said, clearly agitated. “How? Storm? Collision?”
“No storm and no collision, sir,” Eileen said evenly. “There was no Mayday either.”
“Is there a chance she was commandeered?”
“Unknown, but in that area anything is possible. One thing is certain: Something is very wrong. The
Sea Maid
is captained by Adrian Adair, and he’s never been late to port. The man’s legendary.”
A.J. sighed. “You said she may have gone down.”
“We don’t know for sure,” Eileen said. “The area has substantial ship traffic, and no ship has seen her since sundown.”
“The search teams are still looking?”
“Yes sir.”
“Keep me posted. I want reports as often as you can give them to me.”
“Yes sir. We have a couple of small aircraft delivering food and supplies in the outlying areas of Ethiopia. Do you want me to redirect them to help in the search?”
A.J. was silent for a moment as he thought the question over. “No, they’re needed where they are. Besides, I think they’re too far away to be of any good.”
“Okay,” Eileen said, then asked, “Are you all right?”
“As best as can be expected. Thanks for asking.”
“I know you take these things personally.”
“Am I that transparent, Eileen?”
“On you it looks good,” Eileen replied. “Try to get some sleep, sir. I think you may need it.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Thanks for everything, Eileen.” A.J. hung up the phone and began to pace back and forth across his bedroom. His mind raced with the possibilities: ship failure, collision, modern-day pirates. There was too little information to satisfy him. For him, not knowing was worse than knowing. Somehow he felt, he knew, that something sinister had happened to the crew of the
Sea Maid
. If that was the case, then he would make the perpetrators pay for their deeds. Somehow, someway, they would pay.
A.J. lay awake on his bed and gazed at the ceiling. He had been unable to fall back asleep after Eileen’s call, and now, in the predawnhours, his mind churned with the twin thoughts of Dr. Judith Rhodes and now the missing
Sea Maid
. The photo of Dr. Rhodes he had seen a few days ago showed her lifeless body, but what the photo could not show was her character and courage. Nor did it reveal the terror she must have felt. A.J.’s mind filled in those blanks. Those pictures were not eased by the addition of the missing ship.
There would be no more sleep for him tonight. He needed to do something. He tried reading, watching television, and pacing around the penthouse, but nothing quieted his nerves. The harder he tried to relax, the more upset he became. The muscles in his neck tensed more and more. His stomach tightened and was beginning to ache. “I’ve got to get out of here,” he said to himself. Looking at the alarm clock on the nightstand he saw that it was now 3:30. The sun wouldn’t be up for several more hours, but it didn’t matter; he decided to take his morning jog early.
Physical activity had always been a stress releaser for A.J. He had been active in sports, playing volleyball and basketball for both his high school and college teams. He had excelled at both sports, for which he was ideally suited. Being tall and strong had
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