A Dangerous Affair

"Stephanie, Stephanie, get up!"

The words cut through her consciousness but she was unable to move. Her whole body felt cold and she could feel the floor in contact with her head, shoulder and hip. With immense effort she turned her head and took in a huge gasp of air, only to gag in shock as she felt herself choking. She lifted her head then, scrambling to pull herself upwards as she spluttered and fought to get breath into her lungs. Panic rose in her as she was unable to breathe in enough air to cough up the water in her throat. She held on to a nearby chair, gasping for air and trying desperately to calm herself enough to bring her breathing back to normality.

Slowly she was able to make sense of her surroundings.

"Get up Stephanie. Come on, we’ve got to get out of here."

She was in the small lounge again and Tom was stood at the far end. She clambered onto the chair and realized that she was completely soaked. The entire floor was flooded and water was rolling and slopping against the furniture and walls as the boat rocked. She jumped up and clambered towards Tom.

“What happened?" she asked in confusion.

"Listen Stephanie, we're in trouble. There was an explosion and by the looks of things the boat is flooding. You’ve got to find the key to these." He held out his hands and she saw that he had been handcuffed to a pole.

Stephanie looked at him in horror. "Where is it?"

"The guy dropped it in the struggle. It must be on the floor somewhere."

Stephanie looked down under the layer of water, kicking aside the books and other objects that had fallen into it. "I can't see it, where exactly should I be looking?"

"On the floor somewhere." Tom raised his voice.

"I know that, but where exactly?" Stephanie yelled back. She paced the room, dipping down to feel the floor or push aside the debris.

"It's there somewhere," Tom called.

She could feel how quickly the water was rising as it began to chill her stomach and arms. Renewed alarm began to fill her then as she hopelessly went over old ground, wading in the water and searching for the key whilst the water level rose, gushing in under the door.

"Damn it Tom, I can't find it! There’s too much water." She went back to him. "Can't you get them off?" She looked at the handcuffs.

"How do you propose I do that eh Steph?"

"I don't know, loosen them."

He tugged violently at the handcuffs and the loud clattering sound reverberated around the room.

"I'll find something to help us get them off." Stephanie stood in the centre of the room in the water, scanning it with her eyes for something to help them. With reluctance she realized that she was going to have to leave the room to search for something but the water was rising so quickly that she turned to Tom with concern. The water was already up to his chest.

"I'm going to go and find something, or get help. Tom, will you be okay?" she asked. He stared at her then in silence. She shouted, louder this time. "Will you be okay?" He still failed to answer her."Damn it Tom, answer me!"

"Go."

"What do you mean?"

From the look on his face a sudden terror hit her and her conscious mind refused to acknowledge what she feared he was saying.

"You can't come back, there's too much water flooding in here and there isn’t enough time anyway."

"Don't be so bloody stupid, I'm not leaving you here!"

"You have to Stephanie, simple as that."

"No I bloody well won't!" She screamed at him.

He stopped then, searching her face with a frown. "Okay, go and find something to get these off."

Her mind was in utter turmoil, if she left him now would she be able to get back to him? Deep in her sub consciousness she suspected that if she left it would be the last time that she ever saw him and her mind could not cope with that. If she stayed, she may be able to keep his head above water in the vague hope that help would soon arrive. "No, like you said there's too much water, you'll drown by the time I get back."

"Well get the hell out of here then!" he bellowed at her.

“We’ll wait for help together,” she said quite calmly.

His eyes widened. “Are you out of your mind? Help isn’t coming here in time!”

She grabbed for the handcuffs then, shaking them and trying to pull his hands out.

"It won't work Steph," he said, looking down at the handcuffs.

"Shut up Tom! Shut up!" She continued pulling at both his hands and the chain. "Damn!" The boat gave a jolt then and she was thrown backwards into the water. She scrambled back to him.

"Go now Stephanie!" Tom shouted in panic.

Tears began to stream down her face then. "No, I'm not going. I'm getting you out of here."

She held onto the cuffs to stop herself from being flung back again by the movement of the boat.

Tom took hold of her arm firmly and forced her to look up at him. "For God sake Stephanie, get out of here will you!"

As she struggled with her inner turmoil she began to sob in earnest. "But you only got involved in this to protect me. You wouldn’t leave me so I can’t leave you!"

Fear rose in him then to match her own and he growled, pulling away from her in frustration. "I want you to go! I don't want a woman in here fussing over me and making things worse."

She frowned at him, a hurt look on her face.

"Damn it Stephanie I never wanted to do this story with you. It was all Brick’s idea for me to protect you,” he lied. “Don’t kid yourself that there’s anything special between us or that I’d stay here for you!”

She stared at him in shock and horror. "You're lying to me. Don't say that, not now."

"I'm not lying, do something right for once and get out of here."

"Tom stop it! Please don't say that. Don’t do this to me Tom. I can't leave you like this!" She put shaking hands on his shoulders, trying to pull herself closer to him through the water.

He put his head down then, making a sound deep in his throat. When he looked up she could see the emotional toll on his face.

"Come here," he said lifting his cuffed hands up. She ducked under them into the circle of his arms. He looked deep into her eyes then. "Listen Stephie, you're a really special lady and you know I think we could have had something really good, if I'd have had time to get through that stubborn streak of yours," he said with a wry smile. "Don't let work take over your entire life sweetheart, you're way too special for that," he said brushing wet strands of hair from her face.

She closed her eyes. "It sounds as though you're saying goodbye to me." Then she was staring up at him with a look of appeal on her face, trying desperately to sound positive. "Come on, we can think of a way to get you out of here, you and I, we can come up with a way."

"No Stephie, there is no way."

Panic began to set in again. "Don't give up Tom. You’re not the kind of guy to give up so why now?"

"Because you'll end up dead with me!" he said with bitterness. "Hey, it isn’t as if I haven’t cheated death before you know. I’ve had my fair share of situations like these and escaped from them but this time I just got unlucky." He continued adamantly. "But you’re not dying with me Stephie! This is you’re lucky escape. Make sure you don’t need another one!"

She put her head on his chest. "Don't leave me, please. I don't want you to die. I was wrong about you Tom. I assumed that I wouldn’t like you but I do, I really do! And I want you alive! Besides how can I just leave you here?" She looked up at him with pleading eyes but knew she was fighting a loosing battle.

"Hey, I'll be okay. I'll be remembering that dance of ours," he grinned.

She put a trembling hand up to his face and ran her fingers over his wet eyes and cheeks. He pulled her closer then and put his forehead against hers, their eyes locked. "Ignore what I said before. I care for you Stephanie. Don’t forget that." Then in a sudden movement he lifted his arms and before she knew what was happening he had disappeared under the water.