DARRYL STEPPED onto the bridge, glaring at the Captain. “Why haven’t we caught the yacht?”
“She’s more slippery than a sea serpent.”
“I don’t want to hear stupid excuses. I want results. The dawn is breaking. I wanted to be boarding her by now. What’s the holdup?” The tone in his voice sounded worse than a thunderstorm.
“There’s a slight delay due to the fact one of the fuel tanks has a small amount of sea water in it. After you ordered the engine to be started last night, the engine has been misfiring for the past hour. I ordered the mechanic to put it back to idle.”
“We have slipped too far back. My daughter and the monster are alone. I want the engine back at full revs. If you don’t see to it, I’ll replace you.”
The Captain stood military style in front of Darryl. “The problem has been corrected. We are now gaining.”
“Good. How far away is the yacht?”
The Captain swiveled an ocean map around, placing it under his nose.
“We’re one hundred nautical miles behind. Our instruments are showing we are gaining fast. We will have her soon.”
“What time?”
“Provided there are no more hiccups and the yacht we are chasing stays at her constant slow speed I estimate about three or four hours.”
“Which is it, three or four?”
The Captain shrugged a shoulder.
Darryl glared at the man, snorted and marched off the bridge.
The Captain shook his head, watching the man disappear down the ladder. He stepped over to the duty officer. “Is the engine giving us some grief again?”
“None I’m aware of.”
“Are you sure?” questioned the Captain.
The duty officer fell silent, listening to the reverberating noise of the engine. “I can’t hear anything amiss, Sir,” he reported.
“You should have your ears checked.”
“Yes, Sir. Your statement is duly noted. The moment we dock in Melbourne I’ll make an appointment to see the doctor.”
“Good. I distinctly heard the revs falter on number two engine.” The Captain leaned over the controls of both engines. He touched the idle button. The revs dropped.
“I heard the noise this time, Sir,” reported the duty officer. “What do you recommend we do?”
“Cut the engine. Go check out the fuel. I’m positive Darryl won’t want to be stuck out here one hundred nautical miles from Melbourne. I will go and inform Darryl of the news. I’ll say due to unforeseen circumstances we are running slightly behind in our scheduled rendezvous. Whoever his daughter has teamed up with I’m sure they won’t want a surprise visit too early in the morning.”
The duty officer nodded. He reached out, pushing the off button which cut the fuel to the number two engine. “I’ll go check out the problem.”
“Thank you.”
The man looked the Captain in the eyes. “Sir, off the record, doesn’t Wade Mackenzie own the yacht we are chasing?”