ELUDING DESTINY
Chapter Ten
"A mite too cold out there
for ye, eh?" Tommy Ryan laughed, catching the eye of several of his cabin
mates as they entered the third class common room, their cheeks and hands
chapped and red with cold. It had been warmer out earlier, but the day had
become overcast and the wind stronger, making the temperature drop steadily.
Now, mid-afternoon, the room was crowded with steerage passengers who had been
turned inside by the bitter wind and cheerless day.
"I'll say." Derek
O'Malley shook his head ruefully. "It's enough to turn the bravest man
indoors." Derek also was Irish, and he and Tommy got along quite well.
Derek was in his late twenties, a typical Irishman with dark red hair and a
face covered with freckles. His ruddy cheeks now matched his hair as he slid
into the hard-backed chair opposite Tommy and rubbed his hands together,
shivering.
"Maybe some spirits to warm
you up," Tommy suggested, offering a flask, which Derek accepted
gratefully. The two men sat in silence for a few minutes, surveying the action
around them.
It’s really an incredible
scene, Tommy reflected. People
of all nationalities thrown together into this small, cramped room, and yet
somehow having fun together.
A good example of that is
Fabrizio and the blonde he's been chasing after, Tommy thought with amusement, noticing his
friend across the room with her. Fabrizio gestured animatedly, his mouth going
a mile a minute, and it was obvious the blonde didn't understand a word he was
saying, but she nodded and smiled, tapping her foot to a tune that someone was
banging away on the piano.
The noise in the common room had
risen to a dull roar, and Tommy found it hard to make out the piano above the
blending of voices and languages. He frowned in concentration, and soon could
begin to hear a beat...
And then something happened. He
could suddenly hear the tune quite well, because the room had suddenly hushed,
as quickly as one snuffs a candle. The piano player looked up, startled, and
the piano music ceased abruptly.
Tommy turned his head towards the
doorway, and he felt his jaw slacken. Two men stood there,
shoulder-to-shoulder, but it was obvious from the way they were dressed and the
arrogance of their stares that they held first class tickets. One stood to the
side; he looked strong and grim, not someone to cross. The other was not quite
as intimidating physically, but there was something about his sneering face
that unnerved Tommy.
Then the sneering, dark-haired
man stepped forward, and cleared his throat.
"Ladies and gentlemen,"
he said in a pleasant voice that somehow wasn't pleasant at all, "I'm very
sorry to have disturbed you. But I must ask for your help. I have a...situation
that I must contend with, and I'd be very grateful if you could be of any
assistance to me." He smiled charmingly.
Tommy's eyes narrowed. He had no
idea who the two men were or what they were doing there, but he knew
immediately that it had something to do with Rose, the red-haired princess that
Jack was so smitten with.
Across the room, Fabrizio's dark
eyes met his. He knows, too, Tommy realized. They tensed, waiting.
"I am looking for a
man," he continued. "His name is Jack Dawson and he holds a third
class ticket. He is about my height. Young, probably twenty, with blond hair.
And an artist; he carries around a sketchbook. Probably quite the ladies’
man."
You mean your lady's man, Tommy thought sarcastically. He stared
coolly at the intruder. Hell if he was going to say anything. He'd not known
Jack Dawson for very long, but he was a friend, and he liked both him and the
girl from first class. He met Fabrizio's eyes again, and knew that Fabrizio
would let himself be hanged before he turned Jack in.
No one spoke. Many of the people
were staring at the dark-haired man in confusion. Probably they had no idea
what he was saying because they didn't speak English. Just as well, Tommy
thought.
The silence thickened. The man
made an impatient movement, glancing toward the door. The other man lifted his
eyebrows. Then the dark-haired man sighed, as though this was suddenly much too
hard for him to contend with, and reached into his pocket. "Of course, if
you do have any information, I'd be more than happy to...compensate you for
your troubles," he added, producing a pocket watch. It glittered in the
dim lights, and Tommy figured it was solid gold. Probably worth more money than
all the men in this room had ever had put together.
Fabrizio scowled at the
dark-haired man, crossing his arms over his chest in a gesture of defiance. The
man appraised him, and walked slowly towards where he sat. The blonde girl
edged away, pulling her shawl closer around her. The men sitting with Fabrizio
glared. The women pulled their children closer to them, frowning.
The dark-haired man stopped.
"Could you, perhaps, help us, sir?" he asked, his voice low, polite,
but deliberate. The gold watch swung back and forth, back and forth in front of
Fabrizio's eyes. Fabrizio stared at the watch for a moment as though hypnotized.
Then he spoke, his eyes sliding
past the watch. "No, sir," he said quietly. His dark eyes were
malevolent, and he refused to look up at the dark-haired man. "I could
not."
Tommy felt relief rush through
him like a breath of fresh air. He stood slowly and edged toward the other
exit. The dark-haired man was still staring at Fabrizio. The other man was
watching him. Nobody but Derek was watching Tommy.
Holding his breath, Tommy slid
noiselessly out the door, leaving the tension of the common room behind. He had
to find Jack and warn him before someone else found him first.
Unfortunately, he had not the
slightest idea where to look.