did get dissolved,' said Chris nervously, 'by some kind of new biological weapon. A gas or airborne virus that eats human flesh…'
'Uh-oh, she's dropped her bag of cookies again,' muttered Alex.
'What are you talking about, Chris?' asked Paul.
'I think this place is a secret government germ warfare establishment. It ties in with those big models of chromosomes we kept finding in the labs. They were creating illegal biological weapons with genetic engineering. And one of them got out of control…'
'But this is an American-owned rig,' said Linda.
Chris shrugged, 'So the American government are behind it. It would be typical of them to set up a dangerous weapons establishment right on another country's doorstep.'
'Hey, hold it,' protested Alex, 'that's my crowd you're slandering there. The greatest country in the world.'
'Any country that can produce both Charles Manson and you, Alex, I have sincere doubts about,' said Linda sweetly.
Alex scowled at her. 'One of these days I'm going to take that smart mouth of yours, Linda, and make it look like your asshole's twin sister.'
'Okay, cool it,' warned Paul. Then, 'Actually Chris might be half-right. This place could be some sort of clandestine genetic engineering establishment. One thing's for certain - it hasn't been used for oil drilling for a long time, if it ever was at all. Right where we're standing now should be full of drilling and pumping equipment, storage tanks and other stuff. This platform is just a shell, a clever piece of camouflage for all the labs…'
'Which means,' said Linda, 'that whatever they do in here is definitely illegal.'
'Yes,' agreed Paul, 'and that's probably why whoever it is who's been left to look after this place is staying out of our way. They don't want to answer any embarrassing questions.'
'Fine. That's settled then,' said Rochelle, yawning, 'now let's go get some sleep.'
'Good idea,' said Paul, 'we can resume the search in the morning.'
'I don't like to think there's someone prowling around while we sleep,' said Chris.
Alex hefted his M16 in a menacing fashion. 'Nothing to worry about on that score. Nobody's gonna mess with us. We got guns and plenty of ammunition.'
Chris pointed at the piles of empty clothing. 'So had they.'
FOUR
They chose three cabins near to the kitchen where they'd eaten. The cabins each had four bunks but all three couples wanted to be on their own. It was the first opportunity for anything approaching privacy since they'd left Morocco. On the yacht they'd been obliged to share the vessel's one large cabin and, of course, since the sinking the situation had been much worse.
As a result the foremost thing on Alex's mind as he closed the door of his cabin was getting laid. It had been nearly two weeks since he and Rochelle had made love and for him that was a record he intended he would never beat.
He locked the door then turned and wrapped his muscular arms around her, squeezing so hard she grunted with pain.
'Okay Ro,' he said, 'we got a lot of catching up to do so let's get goin'...' He ground his pelvis hard against hers then started to push her backwards towards the nearest bunk. He stopped when she suddenly brought her right knee up sharply into his groin.
' Cunt …' he hissed as he let go of her and doubled up, his face white from the pain.
She regarded him calmly. She was never frightened of him, no matter how aggressive he became. She was confident she could always handle him. 'I'm tired, Alex. Very tired. I'm going to sleep right now.' She began to undo her shirt. 'You're going to have to wait until morning.'
'I should break your jaw,' he gasped.
'Yeah? You just try, mate. I'd make you regret it for the rest of your life. So just shut up and go to bed like a good