Ben Hammott - Salvage

Richard scanned the ship and saw no sign of any weapons capable of blowing him out of the water. It seemed like a type of work or salvage vessel and definitely not a warship. It was a bluff. Richard looked back across the deck. The dark golem watched him and no doubt grew suspicious. “If I stop or alter course I’m as good as dead anyway, so I have nothing to lose, but I have an idea that may save us all. Do you have any explosives?”

Brusilov, though confused by the man’s question, nevertheless answered, “What if we do and why do you ask?”

“I’ll explain in a minute. What reach does your crane have?”

Brusilov glanced out at the crane, wondering what the Englishman’s plan was. “Twenty-six meters, why?”

“If you extend the jib over the side and lower the cable with an explosive device on the end, I will make sure it destroys the alien and then use the crane to escape from the barge before it explodes. It’s a win, win for everyone.”

Brusilov raised his eyebrows; he was impressed. The man was obviously capable of thinking on his feet and had somehow managed to convince the black demon to spare his life. “I’ll get back to you.” He placed the radio down and picked up the internal telephone. “Sergei Antonoff, report to the bridge immediately.”

“I thought I recognized the name,” stated Chersky, picking up the Russian newspaper he had been reading earlier. “Richard Whorley is one of the scientists that first discovered the spaceship.” He handed the newspaper to Brusilov and pointed out the article.

Brusilov stared at Richard’s smiling face. “I wonder what he’s doing back here.” He turned when Sergei entered.

“Captain,” said Sergei.

Brusilov quickly explained Richard’s plan to kill the black phantom.

“What do you think, Sergei, will it work and do we have enough explosives to fashion a bomb powerful enough to destroy the barge and everything onboard?”

Sergei rubbed the stubble on his chin. “It’s a crazy plan, Captain, but we have the explosives and it could work and put an end to that black devil. The only other option is to wait until the barge comes close enough and then throw the bomb onboard, but things could go wrong. A bad shot would toss it into the ocean or the explosion might damage the ship if it’s too close. A distance of twenty-six meters shouldn’t cause us any damage and even better if the man aboard could steer the barge away at the last moment so it heads away from us.”

Brusilov nodded. “It’s putting a lot of faith in the Englishman’s capabilities.” He tapped Richard’s newspaper image. “But he does seem to have the uncanny ability to survive. Let’s go along with his plan for the moment and I’ll get a backup plan ready in case it starts going wrong. Whatever happens, we can’t let that alien get aboard this ship.”

“I agree, Captain. I’ll see to the preparations.” Sergei left the bridge.

Not altogether certain the Russian captain would go along with his plan, Richard stared out worriedly at the ship drawing steadily closer and jumped when the captain’s voice came over the radio.

“Richard, I have decided to try your idea. Preparations are being made, but any mishap on your part and we will destroy the barge whether you are onboard or not,” warned Brusilov.

“Understood Captain.”

“Good luck, and turn the barge away from the ship before you disembark.”

“I will try my best.” Richard hung the radio up and noticed the creature had moved nearer. He smiled nervously and held up a thumb to try and convey everything was okay.

EV1L stared at Richard suspiciously, but as the vessel continued to head for the larger ship, it defrayed from taking any action. At the first sign of deceit it would pounce and kill him.

Sergei hung the strap holding the bundle of explosives together over the crane’s hook and set the timer for twenty seconds. All the Englishman had to do was press the red button to set the countdown in motion and lob it at the alien. He gave the signal to the crane operator that he had finished and watched the swaying bomb rise. The crane turned to the side of the ship and extended the boom out over the ocean to its full reach.

Sergei walked past the group of men armed with assault rifles and grenades concealed behind a shipping container to hide their presence from the alien and ready to rush forward if required. If the Englishman failed this was their last line of defense. He joined Brusilov at the rail staring out at the approaching barge and noticed the captain had collected the alien pistol from his cabin.

Brusilov glanced over at the bomb swinging from the crane’s cable. “It’s all up to the Englishman now.”

Richard watched the crane swing out and adjusted course slightly to align with it. He had noticed the alien glance at the crane, but it seemed to pay it little interest. Aware speed would be the only thing that would save him, he had gone over the steps in his mind until he had everything worked out. When the bow of the barge was almost level with the hook dangling too high for the evil golem to reach, he turned the vessel sideways to the ship and inserted the pin to hold it on a course away from the Spasatel Kuznetsov. He rushed from the wheelhouse and climbed onto its roof as the hook lowered and came nearer. He grabbed it, unhooked the bomb, pressed the timer activation button and threw it at the alien rushing towards him. It sunk into its chest when it struck. Richard grabbed the cable, placed a foot in the crook of the hook, and let the boat’s momentum drag him off the wheelhouse roof and swing him out over the cold turbulent sea.

EV1L reacted as soon it noticed the human move. It rushed forward but stopped when something struck its chest and sunk into its soft oily form. Strands, black and treacle thick, stretched out from its body when it tried tugging it free.

As the helicopter approached the Spasatel Kuznetsov and Jack noticed the waves tossing the Russian vessel erratically, he knew it was going to be impossible to land safely. He glanced at Jane sitting beside him. “I’ll have to do a fly around to find a safe place to hover so our passenger can climb onboard.”

Jane nodded and looked down at the angry sea worriedly; if they ditched they wouldn’t last long.

Jack brought the helicopter lower and flew around the ship. The helipad presently occupied by the large Halo helicopter counted out the stern as a pickup point. As he rounded the ship something flew through the air towards them.

Jane screamed in surprise.

Jack dodged the helicopter clear.

Jane stared at the man swinging from the end of the crane, who smiled at her. “I don’t believe it! It’s Richard.”

When Jack had leveled off, he looked at the man swinging on the end of the cable, and grinned. “You have to give it to Richard. He never fails to make a surprising entrance.”

“But what’s he doing here and why is he hanging on the end of a crane?”

Jack shook his head. “Who can fathom why the man does these crazy things?”

Jack noticed two men at the ship’s rail waving their arms at him and pointing at the black form on the barge he was about to fly over. He glanced at the evil black shape wrestling with something on its chest, and noticed the red blinking countdown on the object. He jerked the helicopter away sharply and increased power as an explosion lit up the sky. Pieces of metal debris ricocheted off the craft.

Richard hung on as the crane jib swept him away from the barge and the imminent explosion. He heard a loud thrum, turned and gazed at the helicopter rotors heading straight for him and sucked in his chest when they ripped his jacket before pulling clear. He recovered from the fright and couldn’t resist grinning at the helicopters occupants when he recognized them. As the crane carried him over the ship, the explosion rang out. He dropped to the deck and sheltered behind a large crate to avoid the pieces of metal clattering to the ground around him. When they had stopped, he went over to the captain standing by the rail and stared down at the sinking wreck of the barge. There was no sign of the black demon.