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| Illustration for "ALEXANDRA'S TITANIC NIGHT TO REMEMBER" created by the author. Copyright © 2011-2025 Stephen J. Williams. |
This episode has a reading time of approximately 60 minutes.
This story can be found in "The adventures of Alexandra" BOOK SERIES 2 - Episode 11.
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1. 'A' DECK CABIN No.3
The first act for Alexandra in her allocated cabin was to bounce on the bed. She was impressed; it was firm but yielding. She could smell the faint odour of fresh paint but it was only a background smell. She pulled her small perfume bottle from her handbag and gave a little spray into the air. She smiled, that solved the slight smell of paint problem. She could feel the great ship moving, but didn't feel seasick by any measure. Alex sat at the small writing desk and picked up some writing paper and envelopes; all with the 'White Star' insignia on. "Bloody worth a fortune after she goes down." Alex muttered to herself.
She stood and paced the cabin, measuring the space. It was more than adequate for the short time that her and the team would be on board. Alex did smile at the thought of Wilson stuck in his cabin with Owen until she ship goes down. A big African wandering about the damn ship would generate a lot of interest and would certainly be reported by survivors. So he had to sit in the cabin until the actual sinking. It had been decided that her and Jericho would tackle the strangely behaved Mrs. Lucy Crawford, until everyone was in the lifeboats. Alex sighed and pulled off her coat and hat. She felt the cold immediately. The bloody cabin heating was off. Alex grunted and jabbed the Stewards bell push.
It was some minutes before the Steward answered her call. She was wrapped in her coat again, when there was a hard knock at her door; she jumped up and pulled it open. The young man smiled and asked how he could be of service. Alex also smiled and gestured for him to enter. He was in his early twenties and built like a rugby player, with big hands and gorgeous green eyes. She explained about the cold and he checked the heating and nodded; "I'll get Frankie, one of the maintenance men up here straight away madam." He said and rubbed his hands together; "Your right madam, its well parky in here."
Alex further explained that she was travelling without her husband and so would have to deal with it herself. The handsome young man nodded and stated that he would look out for her personally on this trip and smiled. Alex sat on the bed and crossed her legs slowly and very lady like. She smiled at the young man and he actually grinned. "I do like the idea of being taken care of personally, by a nice young man like yourself." She said very softy and slowly unbuttoned her coat, adding; "I really need to get warm, do you have any ideas?" He nodded and pulled open the buttons on his neat white jacket. "I was just going off duty ma'am, so I can give you my undivided attention, in the matter of warming you up." Alex really grinned at that.
They were both stark naked under the bed covers with Alex on her back and the young man on top. He was thrusting with some determination and the bed groaned and shifted under his efforts. Alex had both arms about his broad shoulders and her tongue buried in his mouth. He had a wonderful large cock with a good girth and clearly knew how to use it. He had filled her up with his cock and was fucking her hard and fast. She loved it and groaned a little under his sustained pumping. They changed position and Alex lay on her side with him behind, both his big hands on her breasts. He now fucked her deep and slow and Alex had a couple of little orgasms under his skilful lovemaking.
Pulling the sheets about them, they fucked doggy style and he caressed her neck and shoulders with his hands and mouth. Alex was groaning with pleasure; the young man was a good lover. His head came close to hers and he whispered if it was ok to cum in her. She nodded vigorously and the young man thrusted for a few more minutes before groaning loudly and poured his seed into her. They collapsed together; kissing and whispering, with their hands gently exploring each other.
Alex sat up in bed, the sheets pulled about her, leaning against the pillows behind her back. She smiled, watching him throw on his uniform. He leaned over and kissed her slowly; he was off to get Frankie, who could fix the bloody heating for her. He left quietly and Alex relaxed in the bed and smiled; not a bad start to a sea voyage, even if the bloody ship sinks!
She must have dozed for a few minutes and heard the soft knock at her door and the young man's voice. He pushed open the door and stepped in, followed by a big man with a tool box. "I told Frankie that you needed warming up and he'll soon get the heating on." Alex smiled and pulled the covers back a little, revealing her magnificent bare breasts. "Best you get in here before you freeze darlings." She said softly. The young steward had his clothes off - again - in seconds and dived under the covers. Frankie fixed the heating as he pulled off his clothes too. Alex really did smile; the maintenance man was hung like a small horse. The bed really did protest under the weight of its heaving occupants.
Alex sucked the young man's cock as Frankie fucked her hard in the missionary position. He gripped her swaying tits and squeezed hard; sucking the hard nipples with some force. The bed was creaking and moving violently under the threesome and the lovers decided to move to the floor - despite the cabin not being thoroughly warmed yet - but no one seemed to notice! Alex was now on top of Frankie, her arse in the air and the steward buried in her yielding bum hole. Both men held her tightly and fucked hard. She groaned and cursed; spurting with shaking legs. Frankie pulled her head down and stuck his tongue in her mouth with some force. He practically cleaned her tonsils with it!
He came inside of her and cursed loudly. They lay kissing passionately as the young man emptied his balls into Alex's arsehole with some loud cussing too. They all lay panting and laughing on the cabin floor. They dressed [the men] and quietly left Alex dozing in her bed. She certainly had no complaints about the service she was receiving from the shipping line!
That's when she heard a soft knock at the door and she sat up in bed and pulled the covers around her. "Who is it? I'm in bed." She said and stared at her small fob watch on the bedside cabinet. It showed eight thirty. The door creaked open and a head appeared around the door. It was a young man with a tray apparently; "Your steward said you missed dinner ma'am and told me to bring you some." He grinned and offered the laden tray as proof. Alex smiled and gestured for him to place it on the writing desk. She sighed; he was a good looking boy of about eighteen or nineteen. He stood nervously in the room and smiled; asking if he could be of further service. Alex just smiled and threw the covers back. He stared at her naked body and didn't need a further invitation.
2. ALEX'S NIGHT TO REMEMBER.
Alex was a little disappointed with his performance - but accepted that he was young and inexperienced with women - and so made no comment about it. He had fucked her in the missionary position only for about fifteen minutes before coming quickly inside her. She caressed his face and kissed him gently, then used her experienced mouth to raise his flaccid cock. It didn't work and he left some minutes later; thanking her profusely. She sat in bed and enjoyed the dinner - which like the cabin earlier - was a little cold. But the bottle of wine was excellent.
There was yet another knock at the door and Alex heard a woman's voice asking if she could use her [Alex's] stewards bell push because hers wasn't working and the cabin was cold. Alex sighed and shouted that she could. A short young woman with a long coat and her hair tied up, wandered in. She smiled and apologised for the inconvenience. Alex waved that away and offered her some wine. The young woman almost giggled and produced a bottle of brandy from her coat pocket. She admitted that she believed Alex' was having quite a party; she could hear everything from her cabin next door.
Alex laughed and held up her empty wine glass. The woman called over her shoulder; "You were right hubby darling; she really has been enjoying the service that the shipping line offers." Both women laughed and Alex smiled as the tall young man - also in a long coat - sprang into the room and closed the door.
Alex sipped her most welcome brandy and watched - a little fascinated - as the pair pulled off their coats, to reveal they had nothing on underneath except their shoes! Alex grinned and pulled the covers back. "I think it must be the bloody sea air." She whispered to herself as the pair climbed into bed. The young woman was between Alex's legs; her nibble fingers and tongue buried deep in her gaping wet fanny. She was enjoying all the cum that remained inside from Alex's other lovers. Alex - on her back - was sucking and caressing the man's adequate stiff cock. He groped her big tits with some passion. They changed position, with Alex now treating the woman to her expert tongue and fingers; the woman came like a burst tap and covered Alex's face and lips with cum. Her husband was fucking Alex hard and fast; doggy style.
He slapped Alex's arse a couple of times and shouted; "Yee-haw!" and gripping her trembling bum came deep inside of her. His young wife cleaned that mess up as Alex cleaned his cock. The happy threesome snuggled down under the covers, laughing and chatting, sharing the brandy bottle. Alex came up with a cover story; she was travelling to New York to meet her estranged husband over their divorce. The young couple admitted they had indulged in group sex before; with the wife's older sister and husband! Keeping it in the family - like the money - was definitely an English trait.
The two women went at it again, giggling and whispering under the sheets, while the young man jerked his flaccid cock and watched with happy interest. The girls were in the 'sixty-nine' position and enjoying the feast on offer. The young wife particularly loved Alex's skilful tongue in her bum hole. She groaned and rubbed her crotch, but didn't forsake thoroughly licking and fingering the open, wet cunt under her mouth. Finally, the husband had raised his game - well, his cock - and joined in. He mounted Alex from behind, as she lay on her side, firmly embraced by his moaning wife. She was the 'meat' in a very satisfying human sandwich and loved it.
They changed position after just a few minutes and he fucked Alex on her back, with his wife squatting over Alex's face. She had to grip the headboard as she spurted, groaning and cussing like a drunk sailor. He came inside Alex again and the three collapsed on the bed and lay gasping and panting. Alex did smile, as the wife didn't neglect her cum filled fanny and cleaned it with her tongue and fingers. They all finished the brandy bottle and said their goodbyes; with a promise to meet up in New York. Alex lay back and pulled the cover over herself, watching the young couple replace their shoes and coats, then leave quietly.
Alex lay - almost dozing - when she sat up a little; she could could hear voices from the the couple's cabin; she laughed outright. 'Frankie' the maintenance man was serving more than the bloody cabin's heating system! Then her mirror buzzed; it was Jericho informing her that they should meet in the First Class bar. They only had an hour before the damn iceberg made a deadly appearance. Alex sighed and jumped from her bed and quickly headed for the small bathroom to clean herself up. She dressed quietly; grinning broadly at the noises coming from next door.
Wrapped in her coat, scarf and lovely big hat, Alex slowly opened the cabin door and checked; there was no one in the small corridor. That's when she heard the thud behind her. she turned and saw the much abused bed in pieces. She shrugged her shoulder; "Well, no one will know. The bloody ship will be at the bottom of the Atlantic in a couple of hours." She muttered - and still grinning - left to meet Jericho in the bar.
3. OLD NIGHTMARES.
Mrs. Lucy Crawford woke with a jerk and covered her face with both hands, she sighed as she wiped the tears from her cheeks and groaned a little about her neck – she had fallen asleep in the damn chair again and dreamt about him – yet again. It had been over a year since Robert’s death and she still cried at dreams in which he appeared; smiling and pushing back his dark curly hair with a real exaggerated sweep of the hand; then the broad grin and gentle touch upon her hands.
She rose slowly from the chair and stretched; glancing at the wall clock which displayed 10.05 PM - she must have slept for about a half hour which was good for her. She poured water from the pitcher and opened her embroidered pill-box, removing two little white tablets and dropped them into her mouth and sipped the water slowly. Lucy could feel the movement of the ship and so she wrapped her coat about herself, adding a hat and scarf, for extra warmth. “I’m on a damn ship in the middle of the ocean, so i will follow Doctor Harker’s recommendation and get some sea air!” She muttered and unlocked her cabin door and made for the Deck stairs – the chill of the air made her draw shallow breath's - as she opened the sea door and stepped upon the deck.
Lucy was surprised to see several couples walking the deck and a polite ‘Good Evening’ was passed between them. She wandered along the deck until she noticed the young man smoking a small pipe by the Dining Room doorway; he was wearing evening dress and checking his pocket watch – a very handsome man with black curly hair and dark eyes. He watched her approach and raised his pipe in salute; “Good evening Madam.” Lucy concluded that his accent was American, probably from the Southern States.
She nodded her greeting and walked on; she resisted looking back for a few seconds, then glanced over her shoulder and for the first time in many years; blushed. He was smiling at her and he raised his hand a little, and then disappeared into the Dining Room. Strangely enough, she didn’t feel any shame; after all, married women should not send such signals to unknown handsome young men; but she didn’t really care!
In reality, her marriage had been over for some years before Robert’s death, but divorce was no option for a woman like her; in England. But not so in America and so her husband; John Crawford was waiting in New York. The Lawyer’s had been carefully selected and now all that was required was a five minute court case before a sympathetic Judge and it would be finished. Lucy noticed the lights coming from the bar and decided upon a large brandy for a nightcap and a shield against the cold of the North Atlantic. A very smart looking Steward opened the door and she was greeted with a smile. He helped remove her coat and scarf, but Lucy kept her hat firmly on and sat at the table by the fireplace, ordering her desired brandy.
“Will you be joined Ma’am?” The Steward asked, placing the large Brandy upon the table. Lucy was about to say no when the Sea Door opened and the handsome young man stepped in; rubbing his hands against the cold – he smiled at Lucy and she turned to the Steward and ordered a second Brandy. He dropped into the seat next to her and pushed his hand through his dark hair; “I’m David Gray and I do believe you are Mrs. Lucy Crawford, of the Crawford’s of Liverpool, am I correct?”
Lucy smiled and nodded; “How did you acquire such knowledge?” She asked sipping her Brandy, watching his dark eyes which never left hers. He grinned and held up both hands; “I asked the damn Steward!” They both laughed and began to chat; all small talk and Brandy. They left the bar just after Eleven o’clock and walked slowly to her cabin and David opened the door with the key offered. Lucy hesitated in the doorway for a few seconds then strode into the room, removing her hat and gloves. They stood before each other for about a minute without saying a word; then David slowly gripped her and they kissed passionately.
At 11.40 PM the pair was disturbed by a large shudder which interrupted their love-making and made the lovers laugh as Lucy admitted it was the first time she felt ‘the earth move!’ The interruption didn’t last long as they immediately continued their embrace, oblivious of the chaos that was starting around them.
They were woken by hard banging on the door and a voice shouting; “Mrs. Crawford, Mrs. Crawford, the Captain has ordered all passengers to their Life-boat stations at once – please dress warmly and wear your life-jacket!”
They could hear the same message for their neighbours and so both slipped from the bed and David helped Lucy dress. They kissed passionately and made their way to the deck. The corridor was packed with people walking slowly; talking and smoking, with many carrying their life-jackets. When on deck the couple joined a group gathered around a life boat which was being swung out by a couple of sailors. A young Officer stood close by with both hands in the air and shouting; “Women and children only! Captains orders! Women and Children only!” Lucy and David exchanged looks and gripped each other’s hands.
They quietly argued about the situation and David won; Lucy would board this boat and he would find one that was allowing men to go. The Officer helped Lucy climb in and she joined about fifteen other ladies and several children. She watched David standing upon the deck; talking with several of the other men and lighting his pipe – she could make out the small white sparks and little yellow flames. He grinned and waved; like she was catching just a train and not saving her life by going.
Their eyes met and Lucy knew what she had to do. David was a young man with all his life before him – her life was over and she knew it. She signalled the Officer and spoke to him quickly and quietly; he reluctantly agreed that the pair could trade places. David refused at first, but Lucy convinced him that she had a far better chance of gaining a seat in another life-boat than he could. Much to the shock and embarrassment of the waiting passengers, the pair embraced with some passion and swapped places, with Lucy striding down the deck, this time not looking back, heading for the bar.
Lucy gripped the doorway to the bar and breathed deep; she had already decided not to bother seeking out another life-boat and made her way inside and sat at the very same table the pair had enjoyed earlier – except there was a very striking young couple, sitting and drinking brandy, in two of the chairs. Lucy sat down without introduction or inquiry about the empty seats and ordered a Brandy from the Steward.
The pair smiled at her and the very beautiful young woman raised her glass and said quietly; “To family, friends and loved one’s – and a damn space on a little wooden boat!” They both chuckled and sipped their drinks, Lucy smiled and raised her glass; “To love and the stupid, but wonderful things it does to you!”
The pair agreed with that sentiment and the three sat chatting, strangely enough they made little negative comment about Lucy giving up her seat for someone, who was a total stranger yesterday. Lucy discreetly omitted the part concerning their lovemaking - they were strangers after all!
Through the door came an Officer with two Stewards who were carrying blankets; he glanced across to their table and walked over. With a grim face, he leaned over the table and spoke quietly; “You ladies need to get to a boat at once, this ship is sinking and will go under. There are too few life-boats for everyone, so go now. The Captain has ordered only women and children first, but the boat I am to command will take young men, make for number nine and do it now – do you understand, you must go now; she will sink in less than an hour, get to a boat now.” He straightened up and without further comment walked away – followed by the two Stewards struggling with their pile of blankets.
There was silence at the table until the young man slapped his top hat on and smiled; “Well, Mrs. Crawford, I think it’s time to find that little wooden boat and take our leave from this wonderful, but dying ship.” The young Lady arose and adjusted her hat and coat; “Come on Lucy, let’s find our future.”
At first Lucy refused, but the pair was very persuasive and she slowly agreed to join them and the little group headed for the deck and all three could feel the strange new movements of the ship.
Bright white flares punctuated the dark night sky and illuminated the dreadful sight of people rushing about the decks; some crying and screaming, some standing with arms folded and grim faces. “The ship is going under.” The young man commented with no emotion in his voice and they made their way through the throngs of desperate people until they reached boat number nine. Lucy glanced at her watch and saw 1.25 AM; the boat was starting to be lowered. It was the young lady who called across to the Officer; “Have you room for this Lady?”
He nodded and The young man gripped Lucy by the arm and almost frog marched her to the boat, where the officer helped her board for the second time that night. “Aren’t you coming?” Lucy spluttered in amazement as the two started to walk away from the boat, which now jerked gently and started the long descent to the quiet ocean surface.
The young woman called back; “See you in New York Lucy!” and the pair disappeared into the crowds heading for the boats. Lucy gripped the side of the boat and watched until she couldn’t make them out anymore. The boat dipped into the sea and cold water splashed nearly everyone in the small boat. Lucy pulled her coat about herself and brushed off the freezing spray, then realised that the water was so cold few people would be pulled from it alive. She slumped back and gripped her seat as the life-boat rolled with the waves and started to head away from the ship. The woman next to her wiped her wet face and sighed; “I can’t see him anymore, I can’t see him.”
Lucy and the woman gripped hands and she stared up at the ship and felt her heart stop; by the rails where number nine was launched stood David, looking about and puffing hard on his pipe. Lucy sat in cold fear and with some growing anger, tried to stand shouting; “You idiot! You had a place in a bloody boat, what are you doing there!” She was screaming and the other passengers shouted for her to calm down – the sailor at the helm pushed her hard into the seat shouting; “You’ll capsize us you stupid cow!”
The boat was rowed away with some effort as several of the women sobbed loudly; including Lucy, but the little boat fell almost silent as the terrific noise of escaping steam and breaking metal filled the night air. They watched in utter horror as the ship plunged into darkness and they could make out her silhouette splitting into two and slowly [so it seemed] the great ship disappeared from view. For a few long seconds there was a kind of silence, then the screaming and pitiful crying of those thrown into the icy water floated across the sea’s surface.
With a shaking hand, Lucy held her watch up to her face and could just make out the time: 02.20 AM. It had been just over three hours since David and she had found each other. They had been together for just three hours and now that was all gone. Lucy bowed her head and sobbed.
“Why don’t we go back and help them?” One elderly lady shouted at the sailor holding the tiller, He said nothing and she repeated the question, being joined by another couple of women who demanded they return to help those in the water.
“No.” He said simply and wiped his face with a dirty rag, he looked about the little boat and added; “They will swamp the boat and sink us – they are desperate and won’t care a fig about drowning us – so we’ll wait until it gets a bit quieter, then we’ll try.” He coughed loudly and blew his nose. The Lady sitting opposite Lucy also wiped her face and said with a very firm and clear voice; “You mean go back when most of them are dead?” There was a little murmur amongst the women, but several agreed with the sailor and the discussion seemed to fade away in the shivering, bitter cold as the little boat rose and fell with the soft waves.
Lucy sobbed quietly for some minutes and then felt something in her coat pocket and fumbling about, pulling it out – to her amazement it was a large hip-flask. She had no idea how it came to be there and she slowly unscrewed the cap and sniffed the contents; Brandy!
She ran her fingers over the metal body and found it was etched with the name; JERICHO TIBBS, Esq. she had never heard of him, but Lucy took a little sip – it tasted like nectar – then she offered the Lady next to her and the woman gulped some down and smiled at her benefactor. “I couldn’t see him, you know, I just couldn’t see him.” Lucy gently lowered the woman’s head upon her shoulder and wrapped her coat tightly.
"I couldn’t see my husband David, I never saw him to say goodbye.” The woman gripped Lucy’s hand and Lucy whispered; “What was his name?”
The woman lifted her head and wiped her face again; “David Gray. My husband is called David Gray, We’re from Richmond in Virginia. Some people are surprised....or even shocked because he is so much younger than I. But we don’t care about that.” Lucy realised that the woman must be similar in age to herself and noticed that her tears had stopped. The woman introduced herself as Mrs. Elizabeth Gray and had been visiting London for the funeral of her English grandmother; she was also showing off her new, young husband to relatives.
Lucy spoke about the loss of her young son; Robert to influenza and the enduring pain that she carried regarding his death. Her only comfort was her two grown daughters; both due to marry next year. She slumped back on the hard wooden seat and realised that she would have given her life up for an apparently worthless, cheating seducer. She shuddered and sipped some more brandy, thanking her lucky stars that she had encountered that strange couple – but what had become of them - she wondered?
She stared out into the darkness and could make out another lifeboat some yards away; everyone waved and shouted; the sailor at the tiller turned towards the other boat and shouted to pull hard at the oars. The two little boats headed for each other in the icy blackness.
The white galleon slid across the sea's surface with great ease, dipping gently and rolling very little with the waves. On the fore deck, Captain Alfonzo Stark consulted his mirror with great interest, doing the maths in his head, he turned to Alex and smiled; "We've recovered some 1, 496 souls from the water. but we have nine souls still missing which is rather strange, wouldn't you say?" he gestured to the vast empty ocean and added; "Where the hell could they go out here?"
Alex was also reading her mirror and shook her head in puzzlement; "The total taken by the sea is given at 1,503, so how do we have nine missing souls - that's two to many by my calculations."
Jericho chuckled and pushed his mirror back into the folds of his long, dark frock coat and folded his arms; "There were two stowaways amongst the steerage passengers, they came aboard when the ship stopped at Queenstown [now called Cobh]. They pretended to be part of the crew working the PS America - the tender that carried passengers and cargo to the Titanic - they then slipped aboard."
He looked down at the lower deck, watching countless souls being greeted by the ten collectors assigned to the case. Little flashes of light gave notice of individual souls commencing their journey to the 'hereafter'. He smiled at Alex; "Angel Margret is going to be busy processing this lot. I understand that Angel Francis is lending a hand [he was Duty Death Angel before Margret took over the position] He knows what he's doing,"
Wilson and Owen joined the little group upon the fore deck and confirmed the figure of 1,496 souls being processed - they had the figure on good authority; Raj Bakshi, the Senior Collector present, had told them. Wilson also informed Jericho that the two stowaways were amongst the missing souls. Jericho rubbed his chin, deep in thought until Owen said; "Maybe they were hiding deep in the ship and simply couldn't escape to the upper decks in time."
"Maybe, but that wouldn't explain why their souls are missing." Jericho muttered and his thoughts were interrupted again, this time by Alex, who tapped her mirror; "The two stowaways were local men whose families reported them missing some weeks after the disaster. Of course, no-one knew what had actually happened to them and so there was never any link to the Titanic."
"We need to look very carefully at the missing souls. Owen, get me all the information Records has on them. I think the answer may lay with one of the missing souls." Jericho thrust both hands into his pockets and one hand emerged with a strange little glass orb. They all gathered around him and watched as soft red streaks started to appear about its circumference.
"Fuck." Muttered Captain Stark as he realised that those little streaks indicated a Minion of the 'Dark One' was about - possibly in human form. The group stood in silence until Jericho sighed loudly; "There is only one place the bastard could be hiding in this vast nothing." Everyone followed his gaze towards the huddle of lifeboats some distance away.
"We must have been too quick on scene for it to escape with its prizes." Captain Stark spoke directly to Jericho, who nodded his agreement; "Yes, you would have seen the dark light appear quite clearly and could have called for a Guardian. So the bugger hid where it thinks its nice and safe - amongst the still living."
"Which means we must go amongst them and find it before the rescue ship arrives [RMS Carpathia] in a couple of hours. We are now really up against the clock and its not in our favour." Jericho stared at the little boats as they tried to gather together in the rolling waves.
"I've put a call in for a Guardian." Wilson said simply, then chuckled; "Its quite a swim to reach them." Jericho allowed himself a little smile and pointed to an empty and damaged lifeboat floating some yards away; "Can you get that for us captain?" Stark shouted; yes, as he made way down the stairs nearby to arrange its retrieval.
"History records that 705 people survived this disaster, which means our little friend must be one of them. If we take him or her we change history and we can't do that, so we need a changeling. Alex, pick one of the dead who has not yet been processed and keep them on standby - I'm pretty sure they will be happy with that!"
Not surprisingly Alex objected to being an arbiter of life and death, but nevertheless, reluctantly agreed. To no-one's surprise, she selected a young child; but remained unhappy about her allocated task.
But everyone was happy when the Guardian appeared; it was their old friend and former colleague; Oscar. He was greeted with much warmth and friendship, even receiving a little kiss upon the cheek from Alex. "O.K. you motley crew of old sea dogs, let's go demon hunting!" Jericho shouted and they made their way to the now resurrected lifeboat and headed towards the other boats.
Lucy watched the other life boat approach with great interest and a little relief; the odd young couple were safe and sound after all. But the other three characters in the boat caught her eye and she was both puzzled and a little amazed; a strapping big African man, a well dressed dwarf and a strange young boy with a peculiar grin!
She certainly couldn't recall seeing a big black man about the ship and Lucy would have noticed a dwarf amongst the passengers - he and the black man would have been the talk of the voyage. She wondered about their connection with the strange young couple and believed they must have kept to their cabins to avoid being objects of fascination, whilst at sea.
"Oh my God; a black man!" Elizabeth Gray almost spat the words out and added; "I hope he doesn't expect to share this little boat with decent white people." Her words didn't shock Lucy, but they did surprise her. Mrs. Gray clearly didn't like or value black people, but she was from Richmond, Virginia and that may go a little way, to explain her unpalatable hatred, Lucy reasoned to herself.
That bought her thoughts back to David and they weren't pleasant ones - she really was disgusted and ashamed with herself, at what had passed between the two, especially now; sharing this lifeboat with his wronged wife - and she was the other half to that awful, cheating infidelity and deception. Lucy wondered how many other stupid, desperate women had fallen for his obvious fake charm. She glanced at Elizabeth, who was adjusting her hat against the sea spray and felt a little sympathy for her. She pulled her coat about and shivered in the cold night air and she realised that it would be good to speak to the strange couple again - they had a quiet, reassuring manner about them - and they had certainly saved her life.
Jericho's lifeboat came aside and the sailor at the Tiler of Lucy's boat shouted out in welcome; he was clearly relieved to see other men had escaped the terrible calamity - but wondered why the boat only carried five persons. Mr. Andrews [the Titanic's designer and architect who had sailed with her from Liverpool] had told the lifeboat crews; that the little boats were built to carry seventy full grown men.
The sailor also knew that many had been launched only half full, under officer's orders to fill with women and children only. He looked about his little boat and deduced that nearly everyone here was a first or second class passenger. What happened to all those women and children in steerage? He pushed the thoughts from his mind, but had his wife and children been on board, they would probably be at the bottom of the sea now. He shuddered at that thought and tried to focus on the job in hand; keeping his passengers safe and sound until rescue.
Oscar leaned forward and in a voice just above a whisper said; "It's not here, there's nothing showing on my orb." He pushed the little glass ball back into his pocket and relaxed back in his seat. Jericho nodded his agreement and also replaced his orb into a coat pocket. That's when Alex spotted Lucy, waving and smiling at her. Alex turned to Jericho; "Its Lucy Crawford!"
They both exchanged a quizzical look and Jericho rubbed his chin; thinking hard on the significance of this co-incidence. He turned to Owen, who was on the tiller, and ordered the boat away; to try another craft.
"Wait, hold on!" Alex suddenly exclaimed, as she realised that Lucy was moving quickly, but carefully, through her boat towards them. She could hear Lucy telling people that her friends were in that boat and she was going to join them. The sailor at the tiller made no objection to that; it was one less damn woman to worry about!
Lucy was gently eased into the lifeboat and hugged Alex with some feeling and settled next to her. Alex noticed the look upon Jericho's face and shrugged her shoulders in reply. There wasn't much they could do about this unexpected turn of events - and Jericho understood that; he sighed loudly and ordered Owen to guide the boat towards another two lifeboats nearby.
"That must be some sort of record for any disaster; a place in three lifeboats in one night!" Owen grinned and guided the boat away. As Alex introduced Owen, Wilson and Oscar to Lucy, Oscar suddenly pushed a hand into his pocket and pulled out his orb - tiny little red streaks had suddenly appeared. He peered hard at the little glass ball and grabbed Jericho by the arm; "I have a very weak presence coming from our new lady friend here!" Jericho confirmed the weak signal with his orb and the little boat went silent with everyone staring at a very confused Lucy.
The team of temporal Detectives all knew what a tiny, weak signal like that indicated; a dark Angel in the making - one in human form and born to a human mother would mean that the dark Angel could survive in the world of humans. It would be a very dangerous adversary when it grew to adulthood and that must be prevented.
But there was the dilemma that Jericho faced; if Lucy perished in the disaster that would prevent the birth of the dark Angel, but would change the current Human time-line; as she should have survived the sinking! Jericho wasn't very subtle with his questing of the very reluctant Mrs. Crawford, he asked her directly; "Who did you sleep with in the last few hours?"
8. BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE.
The two ladies chuckled and told Lucy that she must have dreamt the strange story up; she had gone nowhere since the lifeboat was lowered! That's when Lucy realised she was in lifeboat No.13 and there was no Elizabeth Gray. She asked the younger of the two ladies, about the young man who was with her, when she entered the boat.
Mrs. Alice Cassiter wiped spray from her tired face and told Lucy that she saw the young man disappear into the crowds. Both elderly women exchanged knowing glances; but said nothing. Such things were known to happen on romantic sea voyages and both had witnessed the passionate embrace of the pair, before Lucy stepped into the little boat. Lucy stared across the dark sea and wondered about the strange dream, as thoughts of young David plagued her mind and she started to doze again.
9. NEW YORK; AUGUST 7th 1912.
Lucy still thought it was strange, that a woman she had dreamt about was an actual person and she had been on the Titanic. Thoughts about the strange young couple disturbed her sleep - they appeared so real to her - She wondered what had happened to them.
10. THE FAT LADY SINGS.
Owen moved a couple of pieces and decided now was the time to broach the subject of the Internal Affairs inquiry outcome; "Alex, can I ask you something?"
Alex nodded; "Of course Owen." He chuckled and held up both hands; "How the hell did Jericho get you and Skyrise off the bloody hook - that Chief Inspector Samoski had you dead to rights!" She smiled and shook her head; "I honestly don't really know Owen, all we received was a strong caution, when we both should have been demoted - that's what we were expecting."
"Wilson believes he [Jericho] got Angel Margret to pull a few strings with the Arch-Angel himself. But little Oscar said he heard that 'himself' [God] had made his opinion known and that was that. Wilson also understands that 'himself' had a visit from James the Knight, just before he made that opinion known. Strange that eh?"
"Mr. Wilson is at the Inspectors Training Course and tonight is one of his study groups - Mrs. Harris will keep him something warm." Mr. Harris allowed a small smile to cross his face and departed for the Dining Room. Owen chuckled and jumped up; "Come on Alex, lets grab some grub."
Alex sighed and closed her book, placing it upon the coffee table and looked up as Jericho sauntered into the room and warmed his backside by the fire. "I saw Oscar today, he had some interesting news regarding that little adventure we had on the Titanic." Jericho said quietly and poured himself a whisky, sipping it very slowly. Owen and Alex stopped in the doorway and Alex folded her arms in anticipation of bad tidings.
But Jericho smiled; "That little dark Angel won't bother any humans or us. It's dead." He swallowed down his whisky and rubbed his hands together, adding; "Let's get to dinner, it's roast chicken with all the trimmings."
"I can't wait to hear the rest of Oscar's news." Owen followed Alex and Jericho into the Dinning Room, where over an excellent chicken dinner, Jericho imparted the news that Oscar had passed on to him. Alex admitted to being sad over the manner of Lucy's death, but glad that the little dark Angel was gone. She asked Jericho if he knew her fate, when he allowed her to re-join the lifeboat. He nodded; Yes.
"I received an interesting message from Records, when the call came in about the return of the lost souls. It appeared that Lucy's estranged husband would kill her less than four months after she reached New York, in a fit of drunken anger." He picked up his wine glass, adding: "You see if Lucy died on the Titanic, then her husband would not have committed suicide, but would have married his long time mistress and raised their son together. The boy was the problem, under his father's influence and with his inherited wealth, he entered politics and would have ran for President in 1960 instead of Jack Kennedy - and he would have won!"
"Bugger!" exclaimed Owen and swigged his wine; "What did happen to the boy?"
"In the current Time-Line, he fell out with both his mother and step-father. He left home at sixteen without finishing school or college and joined the Navy. He was killed at Pearl Harbour." Jericho sipped his wine and smiled a little at Alex; "Angel Margret was really quite pleased with the outcome, considering the assignment took a couple of shitty twists!"
Owen shrugged his shoulders and raised his glass; "To the fat lady singing."
"This mission was considered a success because it prevented the birth of a Dark Angel, who would have been a formidable foe, when it became an adult. It also prevented a serious change to the current human timeline; the replacement of President Kennedy in 1960 would have simply changed everything. But the temporal detectives changed that outcome back to the original history, by their actions. Angel Margret was most pleased with her Team. Alex couldn't complain about her short sea voyage: she received first class service!"NOTE: Please remember that names have been changed to protect the innocent!
David Gray had died at the age of 26 years, two years previous to the Titanic
sinking. His body had been stolen and re-animated by a minion of the Dark
Prince. No soul was collected from the disaster for David. The identity of the
demon remains unknown.
Thomas Smith, the sailor holding the tiller in the lifeboat that Lucy sat, had
only been with the 'White Star' line for three weeks. He survived the sinking
and returned home to Liverpool. He was killed in 1941 during a bombing raid on
the docks there. His soul was collected and processed.
Mrs. Elizabeth Gray had been made a widow for a second time with the sinking
but married for a third time in 1917 and moved to Washington DC. Where her new
husband - also a David - worked for the Navy Department. She died in 1928 in an
automobile accident in Delaware. Her soul was collected and processed.
Mrs. Alice Cassiter was a widow from New York City, returning home after visiting English relatives of her late husband in Liverpool. She survived the sinking, but not the 'Spanish Flu' epidemic in 1919. Her soul was collected and processed.
John Crawford killed Lucy [and with her, the little 'Dark Angel' in the making] and then killed himself. His soul was collected and processed. His was quarantined until 2150.
Mrs. Doris Edgeware married her sea captain, and all was fine until her son grew up. He argued constantly with her and his stepfather, dropped out of college and was eventually killed at Pearl Harbour. Doris died within weeks of his death [now a widow] and her soul was collected and processed.
A real turn up happened when Mark Roberts [the officer in the lifeboat that Jericho spoke to about David Gray] who had survived the sinking, was killed in 1917, when the merchant ship he was on, was torpedoed by a German U-Boat off the coast of Ireland. No soul was collected. Temporal Inspector Stella Longstreet Team's is investigating the incident. It does throw a dark light onto what he told Jericho back in 1912, about seeing David Gray killed. There is no resolution to the case; yet.
"It should be noted that Jericho made a rare error on this mission – one that could have proved disastrous – in that, knowing that the demon had impregnated Lucy Crawford, he should have called for a Knight; only the ultra-powerful Tier One demons can impregnate human women. Oscar is only a Guardian and would have been unable to deal with such an entity. Strangely enough, Oscar should have also pointed this important fact out. Alex did ask about this oversight and really, received no satisfactory explanation from either Jericho or Oscar. That incident remains the real outstanding mystery of this particular mission."