saw-toothed hunting knife, a small aerosol canister of oven cleaning spray and some strong nylon cord. She’d already chopped this into lengths suitable for tying a person up.
Everything fitted into her pockets, except the rope. She stared at herself in the mirror over the sink, breathing deep and trying to think calming thoughts. In ten minutes’ time, Dana knew she’d either have taken control of the boat, or she’d be dead.
*
James, Lauren and Rat had been locked in the nursery for almost two hours. The space had its own bathroom, with little sinks barely half a metre off the ground and kiddie-sized toilets. For some reason the stall nearest the rear wall was the only spot in the whole nursery where James could get a decent signal on his radio. There were no locks on the doors, so Rat had to stand with his back against the bathroom door to stop the little kids from coming in and seeing what he was up to.
‘Chloe,’ James whispered. ‘Any news?’
‘Negative,’ Chloe said. Her next sentence disintegrated into static.
‘Sorry, can you repeat that.’
‘I said the first reinforcements should be landing within an hour. More will be coming by road and it looks like the media have caught on to the story as well. One of the TAG commanders wanted me to ask if you have any idea what’s going on inside the towers?’
‘Afraid not,’ James said. ‘We’re totally isolated here. Georgie’s been in and out a few times, but she never tells us anything. Why, what do you think’s going on?’
‘The commandos are looking into the turrets with heat-sensitive cameras. It looks like the Survivors are moving out a lot of weapons, maybe even abandoning the turrets altogether.’
‘Is it the same in all of them?’
‘We think so, yes.’
‘So are you getting any idea of what the TAG units are planning?’
‘They’re—’
‘Sorry, Chloe, you dropped out again.’
‘Everyone here is in shock: the TAG units lost a quarter of their manpower when that chopper went down. The commander, who wouldn’t even listen to me earlier, knows he’s messed up and he’s running around like a headless chicken. Nobody’s prepared to make any decisions. They’re flying in a hostage negotiation team to take over the show, but they’re not due here for another three or four hours.’
‘The Survivors down here are totally hardcore,’ James said. ‘They’d sooner starve than leave the Ark. It’s hard to see a happy ending.’
‘I know this is a bad situation, James. I wish I could be of some comfort, but I feel the same way you do. Keep in touch and do let me know if you get any information about what’s going on inside the turrets.’
‘OK Chloe, over and out.’
As soon as James pocketed the radio, Rat let in six-year-old Joseph, who’d been thumping on the door. He wore a set of faded pyjamas that were way too small for him.
‘What are you doing?’ Joseph asked angrily, rubbing his tired eyes.
‘Just messing around,’ Rat said, as the kid stepped up to a urinal and started peeing.
Joseph looked around at Rat. ‘What are you staring for?’
‘Hmm?’ Rat blinked. ‘Oh, nothing.’
James led Rat back out towards Lauren, who sat on the carpet with her back propped against a beanbag. Three-year-old Annabel and her four-year-old brother Martin were cuddled alongside her, fast asleep with their heads resting in her lap.
‘Sewage,’ Rat grinned cryptically, as Joseph ran between them and leapt noisily into one of the little beds set against the back wall. ‘Something just occurred to me. A way out, maybe.’
‘Really?’ James said.
‘I wanna see what Lauren thinks, too. I’m not going through it twice.’
James stepped up to his sister and tapped her cheek. She wasn’t asleep, but her eyes were shut.
‘Come over here a minute,’ James said.
Lauren shuffled out, gently shifting the two warm little bodies on to the beanbag, trying not to wake them up. Annabel took a sudden breath and opened her eyes.
‘Where are you going?’
‘Not far,’ Lauren answered gently. ‘Go to sleep. I’ll be back in a minute.’
‘You’re nice, Lauren,’ Annabel said, smiling as the need for sleep overpowered her and her eyes rolled shut.
Lauren looked back at the two kids as she walked over to James and Rat. ‘They’re SO cute.’
‘Sewage,’ Rat said again, clearly excited by something. ‘You know when you asked me if there are any other exits apart from the turrets? When I saw Joseph peeing, I remembered something from a few years back.
‘All of the Ark’s drains feed down into one big sewage tank. A