Chapter 30
“Return to Grand Turk?” Nic’s brows furrowed.
“Corporate just called. Siren of the Seas has received a bomb threat.”
In the blink of an eye, the bridge became a beehive of activity. Nic and the other officers gathered at the table to take the call from corporate.
Millie was too far away to hear what was being said, only occasionally catching a word or phrase.
She felt the ship shudder, signaling the Azipods engaging. As if in slow motion, they turned back toward the port.
Charlie, Charlie, Charlie. All passengers, please report to your muster stations.
Millie’s countless hours of training kicked in. This was no drill, but an actual emergency.
She ran to Nic’s side. “I need to report to my station. Scout…”
“Can stay with me. I’ll get him off the ship.”
Millie rushed down the steps and into the corridor. The cabinet filled with crew members' life jackets was already open. A team member stood handing them out.
She slipped one on while jogging to her assigned location. Organized chaos ensued with passengers frantically trying to reach their stations. Many seemed confused, unable to remember where they were supposed to go.
Working as quickly as possible, Millie directed as many as she could.
“Hey!” Danielle fought her way through the crowd. “You made it back on board just in time.”
“For a bomb threat.”
“Bomb threat?” Danielle’s eyes grew round as saucers.
“I was on the bridge when the call came in. We’re turning around and going back to Grand Turk.”
Millie, with Danielle standing on the other side of the stairs, directed passengers, instructing them on where to go, doing their best to keep everyone calm and moving in the right direction.
With all her muster station passengers checked in, the wait began. Ten, fifteen, twenty minutes passed. At the half-hour mark, Millie felt the ship shudder again. Because of her location, she wasn’t able to see out the windows, but prayed this meant they had reached shore.
All the while, her radio blared with security crew members checking in from various locations. She almost wept with relief when Suharto announced that the ship was secured and the gangway in place.
Station by station, musters were called and passengers escorted off the ship.
It took what seemed like forever before Millie and Danielle’s number was called. Following procedure, she took the lead while her friend brought up the rear.
They descended the steps. Another five minutes passed before her muster group reached the exit and walked down the gangway.
From her vantage point, Millie continued watching passengers exit with their muster leaders. All the while, she prayed…prayed it was a false alarm. Nic and the other officers would remain on board until every passenger and crew member was safely off the ship.
Whoo…eee…whoo…eee. Sirens blared. A slew of police vehicles and vans arrived. The stream of passengers turned into a trickle, and she breathed a sigh of relief when Oscar confirmed that all passengers, crew members and officers were off the ship.
The police vans stopped near the gangway. Dogs sprang from the back and were escorted on board.
“Bomb-sniffing dogs?”
Millie turned to find Danielle standing behind her.
“It appears so.”
The sun had started to set, offering relief from the sweltering Caribbean heat. Crew members began making rounds, offering chairs to those who had difficulty standing, cold drinks, and even placing a row of tents to shade passengers who were becoming overheated.
Meanwhile, Millie’s radio blared nonstop with snippets of updates. The bomb-sniffing dogs had worked their way from the top of the ship to the bottom.
Nic and the other officers stood monitoring the situation at a safe distance. Finally, the port authorities and dogs reappeared.
Instead of returning to the van, the dogs sniffed the side of the ship before circling back toward the security checkpoint. After finishing, the police made their way over to Nic and the other officers. Finally, they climbed into their vehicles and drove off.
All Clear for Boarding, Millie’s radio blared.
Danielle lifted her hand, giving her a celebratory high five. “Looks like we won’t be sleeping on the hard concrete.”
Additional instructions, a reminder about the order each station would board, ensued, basically a reversal of how they’d originally disembarked. When their muster number was announced, Millie and Danielle led their group to the gangway.
As soon as they cleared security, she went directly to the bridge. Hushed voices. Soft tones. Donovan, Staff Captain Vitale, First Officer McMasters, and Nic sat at the conference table communicating with corporate via conference call.
“…from a local number, a 649 number,” the man on the other end of the line stated.
“Do you have a name?” Dave Patterson asked.
“No. We do know it appears the caller used a burner phone.”
“Meaning we’ll have to jump through hoops to find out who purchased the phone and placed the call,” Nic said.
“Correct. We’re already working on it.”
“When will Siren of the Seas be cleared for departure?”
A brief silence ensued on the other end.
“Two hours, perhaps a little longer. PATCI, the port authority, is requesting the ship remain docked until they conclude their investigation.”
“Understood,” Nic replied. “We’ll be on standby until we receive clearance.”
Millie waited for the call to end. “The bomb threat was called in from a local number.”
“Possibly a burner phone purchased by someone on board,” Patterson said. “I can’t imagine a local calling in a bomb threat.”
“So…we wait. Meanwhile, whoever it is could very well be on this ship.”
Nic began shaking his head. “I see your wheels already spinning.”
“Cockburn Town is the only decent size town on the island. I wonder how many stores sell burner phones.”
“A few, I’m sure,” Nic said. “Why?”
“Because Cat is friends with a shop owner in Grand Turk.” Millie glanced at the clock. “Corporate said we have a couple of hours.”
Patterson placed a light hand on her shoulder. “I know where you’re going with this.”
“It can’t hurt to do a little poking around.”
“I agree, which is why I’m going with you.”
“That’s a surefire way to guarantee my wife doesn’t get left behind,” Nic teased. “Again.”