Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 16:31:52 -0600 (MDT) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Whale ch 8 Message-ID: Chapter 8 Al yawned as Sam spoke to Captain Rustov. He desperately needed sleep yet he knew he wouldn't get mush because, in another hour, he would be relieving one of his troops. They were going to get less sleep than he was getting. He was asking a great deal from them. He only had twenty soldiers to spread around the complex for twenty-four hour surveillance at eighteen strategic places, leaving only three soldiers, including himself, to act as relief. He prayed that Tina and Gushie could repair the system quickly. He didn't like the idea of telling Congress that the security system didn't work and that he, therefore, needed about twenty more guards for the complex. There wasn't a better way to ruin the project's chances for continued funding. *This has to be one of Weitzman's ideas*, Al thought. *He's been wanting to shut down the project ever since I blackmailed him in '95. I wouldn't put it past him to do something like this. He knows better than anyone how many times Tina's asked for updated systems and didn't get it.* Al yawned again as Sam came out of Rustov's quarters. "You should get some sleep, Al. You look exhausted," Sam commented. Al laughed with slight cynicism. "I would if I had the time. What did Rustov say?" Sam exhaled. "He's stubborn but he's still willing to listen to Alik's side of the story." "Well, that's a little progress." "What about Alik?" Sam asked. Al consulted the handlink. "Ziggy says he should still be in the cabin but she can't get a lock on him." Al hit the handlink in frustration of not getting the information. Sam shook his head. "No, that can't be if he's still there." Al continued to hit the handlink. The handlink complained with squeals. "She still can't get a lock on him. You don't think..." As Al started the sentence, Sam frantically ran for the stairs to below deck. "Damn!" Al suddenly realized. "Ziggy, keep me centered on Sam!" he ordered. A split second later, he was at the bottom of the stars as Sam came down. "Alik! It's me! Gregor!" Sam yelled out in Russian. "Don't try to stop me, Gregor! This has to be done!" "Al," Sam whispered. "Go find him." "Gotcha, Sam," Al answered, walking towards Alik's voice while trying to get Ziggy to center him on Alik. "Alik, let's talk about this! The Captain is willing to talk about it! He's willing to listen to you!" Alik laughed cynically. "Right. Sure he is! Just like you were willing to help me in the fight against whaling! And what did you do? You betrayed me! I had to try to make you pay!" "Sam! I've found him!" Al shouted. "He's on the starboard side aft. He's got an axe, Sam! He's gonna break the hull!" "You don't know that he won't listen to you, Alik. He may actually want to hear your viewpoint on this," Sam continued to speak to Alik, finding his way towards him. "There are better ways to stop whaling, Alik, without the loss of human life!" "Sam! I don't like the look on his face! Get him from behind. Go port and come around," Al advised. "Don't try to take yourself out of the equation, Gregor! This is your fault, you know! All I wanted was Rustov but you made it so that I have to take everyone down! You never had the courage to act, Gregor!" Alik stood ready with the axe. "You've always been words! Just words! Well, actions speak louder than words, as you Americans say! And those are just words because you don't act! Words aren't stopping whaling! Fear is! Whalers fear death at sea for daring to defy the natural order of the world!" "Sam!" Al exclaimed. "You'd better hurry up! I think he's going to do it!" "The whalers will stop because they will be afraid of dying at sea!" Alik continued. "So what are the lives of a few dozen people when their deaths save the lives of thousands of whales!" Alik brought the axe back for the swing. "Sam!" At that moment, Al saw Sam dive through him, landing on Alik. Sam quickly slid the axe out of the way as Alik struggled to gain momentum under Sam's oppressing body. "Sam, your handkerchief! Tie his hands with your handkerchief." Sam quickly did as Al said and brought Alik on his feet. Alik exhaled slowly with a glare. "I knew I should have never trusted you," he told Sam as Sam led Alik topside. Both were met at the top of the stairs by Captain Rustov. "What is this? Alik escaped?" the Captain questioned. "How?" "I don't think the question is how, Captain," Sam stated, looking directly into Rustov's eyes. A peculiar feeling came over Sam. He wasn't sure but, suddenly, he didn't trust Rustov at all. He put the feeling to the side for the moment. "The question is why," he continued. "I think you two need to sit down and talk to each other in an intellectual discussion because, until you do, neither of you will see the other side of the coin. Neither of you will negotiate on this subject and both of you will continue to do exactly what you are doing without a thought for others." Rustov looked to the side for a moment in thought. Alik huffed. "Why should I listen to him?" Alik asked haughtily. "Because I'm willing to listen to you," Rustov told him. He didn't sound very sincere. Sam looked at Alik's face. He looked as if he were coming to a decision. He bolted, heading towards below deck. "Alik!" Sam called out. Rustov smiled slightly, an action unnoticed by Sam but not by Al. The Captain pulled out a gun and, before Sam could stop him, pulled the trigger. Alik screamed in pain and collapsed on the deck. Sam rushed to Alik. Al followed, as well as the rest of the crew. "That guy's crazy!" Al exclaimed, pointing towards Rustov. "Sam, you had to have seen the look on his face! He wanted to shoot Alik!" "He's dead, Al!" Sam looked at his friend with shared sympathy. The Captain had a look of triumph on his face, as if he were gloating. Sam turned to him. "He's dead!" he exclaimed in Russian. "You didn't solve anything by killing him! All you did was turn him into a martyr. And, if you're a typical whaler, he deserves his martyrdom because you've proven the truth of his ideals! You didn't have to kill him!" Rustov's smile widened. "I did have to kill him," he told Sam. "I wanted to kill him." Al and Sam looked at Rustov in shock at both what he said and how he said it. "Sam, he speaks English! Ziggy says Rustov never spoke English in his life!" Sam approached Rustov slowly, anger in his eyes. "Why?" he demanded. Rustov huffed. "A delaying tactic. A distraction." Sam glared at him. "A delaying tactic? A distraction? For what? What kind of delay - what kind of distraction - is worth a man's life?" Rustov approached Sam slowly. "Collision alert!" someone called out as Rustov grabbed Sam's hand forcefully. The ship shook violently as it collided against another ship. The sound of metal ripping filled the air but Rustov, Sam, and Al didn't hear it as the world rippled and then reassembled itself. "Oh, my gawd!" Al exclaimed. Zoe laughed at the shock on Sam's face. "It's all over, Beckett. You're not going anywhere." She laughed again. "I told you he was here, Thames!" She dug her fingernails into Sam's hand, causing Sam to wince in pain as he tried to free himself from her grip. "That's the Greenpeace ship, Sam!" Al told him. "No one survives! And neither will you if you don't get away from her! She's determined to make sure you go down with the ship!" Sam forced his hand free with difficulty just before the leaping effect grabbed him and took him away. The Khrushchev remained lost at sea.