Read Online The Passenger by F. R. Tallis - Free Book Online Page A

made him profoundly uncomfortable. ‘Good luck.’ Lorenz did not betray his feelings. His voice was firm and steady. ‘I hope that someone finds you soon.’ And with that, he turned and began walking back to the tower. He heard the lifeboat casting off, oars striking the hull and producing gong-like reverberations.
    Another cloud of smoke, perhaps produced by the final detonation, rolled across the water. It was thick, and advanced in collapsing folds. Within seconds, Lorenz couldn’t breathe. Each inhalation seemed to excoriate his windpipe and fill his lungs with tar. The smoke was all around him and impenetrable. Ahead, the conning tower was no longer visible and the gun was fading. He found himself isolated and benighted, choking on foul, bitter smuts. He needed to escape asphyxiation but he quickly became disoriented and couldn’t decide which way to run. There seemed to be someone standing ahead of him, an outline in the obscurity. It was odd that Lorenz could see anything at all, because in all other respects he was blind. Somehow, a shaft of moonlight must have penetrated the murk because the figure was faintly luminous.
    â€˜Falk?’ Lorenz spluttered into his hand. ‘Is that you, Falk?’ Even as he repeated the first watch officer’s name he did so without conviction. Falk hadn’t been wearing a long coat. A short delay—filled with mounting disquiet—was followed by the recognition of further peculiarities. Why hadn’t the man made any noise? And why was he seemingly immune to the effects of the polluted air? There was something challenging about his stance, as if he meant to hinder Lorenz’s progress.
    â€˜Who’s there?’ Lorenz demanded. ‘Speak, damn you!’ But there was no reply. Smoke made Lorenz’s eyes sting and everything became distorted. The figure became a grey-blue smear against the roiling darkness. Another gust of wind pushed the smoke across the deck and out onto the water on the other side of the boat. The smear of luminosity seemed to become enfolded in the turbulence, and when Lorenz regained his focus the figure had disappeared. Lorenz supposed that the poisons he had inhaled had been the cause of some kind of hallucination. A scarcely perceptible breath of warning had passed through his ribcage. The sensation was subtle and it had vanished before he had had the opportunity to ascertain its significance.
    Falk appeared from behind the gun and came forward.
    â€˜Did you say something, Herr Kaleun?’
    â€˜I told you to stay up there.’ Lorenz pointed at the bridge.
    â€˜Kaleun: the smoke came over and we couldn’t see what was happening.’ Lorenz nodded, and their eyes locked. ‘I bet they were grateful,’ Falk added, smiling.
    â€˜Grateful?’ Lorenz sighed. ‘For torpedoing their vessel and killing their comrades? I doubt it.’
    â€˜I meant for the food,’ said Falk.
    â€˜Ah yes, the food.’ Lorenz wiped some moisture from his eyes. ‘They were delighted. They couldn’t thank me enough. Indeed, they expressed particular satisfaction when they discovered the tinned chicken. It was as much as they could do to stop themselves from ripping the cans open and devouring the lot there and then.’ The first watch officer appeared dispirited. ‘How long have you been loitering there, Falk?’
    â€˜I’ve only just gotten here, Kaleun.’
    â€˜And you’re on your own?’
    â€˜Yes.’
    â€˜There’s no one else?’
    Falk, puzzled, looked around. ‘No, sir—just me.’
    There was a monstrous creaking sound followed by rusty screeches. The stern of the tanker rose out of the water, and for a moment the ship held an almost vertical position, as steep as a cliff. Then, with a great roar, it dropped beneath the waves, and the sea closed over it.
    â€˜We’d better get going,’ said Lorenz.
    On the bridge,