“And I figured if I came for you myself and we were stopped or seen, I’d just pretend that I was giving you a tour of the ship. You have behaved in an amazing manner, so no one might doubt the fact that I’d want to give you a bit of special treatment.”
“Good plan, Captain,” Wes assured him. “Thank you. Shall we?”
“The brig is one deck below the hospital, spa and loungers,” Millbrook told them. “Next to the waste collection. Not the prettiest part of the ship.”
He was right. They hit the elevators, running into no oneat first, but then seeing Darlene and her father with a small group of college-aged kids.
“Captain! And, of course, our new dear friends!” Bryan Jordan said. “Nice to run into you. I thought you two were out for the night!” he added, addressing Chloe and Wes.
“I’m just giving them a bit of a walkabout,” Captain Millbrook explained. “Figured they should see the ship and enjoy a bit of special treatment.”
“Oh, they deserve it!” Darlene said.
“You know the cool kids!” one of Darlene’s friends teased.
“Okay, okay, I’ll introduce you all!” Darlene said. She pointed out the two girls and the young man who accompanied them. “Marla, Nancy and Lennie!”
“So, I’m being a good dad!” Bryan said. “Taking these guys for facials. Something a dad can do for a girl.”
“Hey, a facial is good for guys—even guys who play football!” Lennie explained.
“I hope you’re getting a group discount!” Captain Millbrook told Bryan lightly.
“I’ll need to ask!” Bryan said.
The elevator reached the spa floor and Bryan looked back, holding the door.
“So, you all are heading to stowage?” he asked. “Or the mechanical deck—”
“The parts of the ship no one sees!” Millbrook explained dramatically with a smile.
“Yeah, believe it or not, I wanted to know what you did with all the garbage for this many people on a ship,” Chloe told him.
Bryan laughed. “Enjoy!” he told them.
He followed his group on down the hallway and the elevator doors closed behind him, bringing them down below.
It was impressive to see that, even in the so-called bowelsof the ship, everything was neat and tidy—as pristine as garbage could be. Millbrook described the different sections of recycling, of what was done on the ship and what was brought where to be recycled or become part of a landfill somewhere.
The security offices were down there, too, perhaps naturally. Just as in a police station, one went through the reception and offices to get to the brig.
By then, they’d casually met many of the security personnel on the ship and, of course, everyone in the place paid heed as Millbrook walked in.
Millbrook explained their purpose and said that he’d be waiting for Chloe and Wes to have their conversation.
“Can’t say I’m giving you a tour if I’m not with you!” Millbrook explained.
Chloe and Wes thanked him and one of the officers, Doyle Stratton, looked at them ruefully. “We don’t have much of an interrogation room. But Ms. Swenson’s accommodations here just include a decent enough cot, sink and toilet, so I’ll bring her to you in our little office area for such conversations.”
They thanked him as he nodded, indicating they should follow him. He pointed out a door to the left as he moved forward.
Before entering the little room with the desk where they’d question—no, no, chat with—Amelia, Chloe noted that at the end of the hallway where Stratton was headed, there was a heavy metal door with a small barred window. They could see that there was an electronic keypad to lock and unlock the door. But it was an impressive two-tiered system. Stratton also had to use a key.
When they were holding someone on this ship, they intended to hold them.
She followed Wes into the room with the desk. It was small, as Stratton had told them, but not terrible. A verysimple desk sat in the middle with two chairs on either side. There was no one-way mirror in the room, just bare walls.
She and Wes took chairs and Amelia, still looking like a pouting child, was brought in.
