5Authors note: Hello. Haven't quiet decided if I'm going to do a whole bioshock story or maybe a collection of short stories. I'll just see how this goes and how well it's received. Please read and review and let me know if you'd like to see more of this story. Also there are a few things from the bioshock book in here (such as one of Fontaine's old names) but don't worry if you haven't read it these things wont throw you off the story. But if have read the book and you do notice them then awesome :)
Chapter One: Arrival
Atlantic Ocean December 2nd,1955
The small transport ship rocked on the ocean waves as it steadily sailed to its destination. One by one all the lights on the ship went out. The gray-haired grizzled Captain stood on the deck looking at his watch then up at the midnight moon. "Calm night," he said, flicking a cigarette butt into the ocean. "We're getting close to the meeting point and we should be clear of any prying eyes now." He turned to his first mate, a short gaunt man in a black overcoat, and ordered, "Wake the passenger and have her meet me at the lifeboats." The man gave him a nod and darted below deck.
Mina was sleeping soundly on her cot in her cabin shortly after having conquered the feeling of sea sickness when she heard a sharp rap at her door. "Miss Binetti, the captain says for you to come to the lifeboat. It's time," a timid voice called from the other side of the door.
Mina stirred and slowly opened her eyes. "Damn," she muttered.
"Miss Binetti, do you hear me," the man repeated.
"Yes, I do," she said. "I'll be right up."
She got out of bed, stretched and walked over to the mirror. She never thought herself a looker but many times she had been told different. She was twenty years old but smarter beyond her age. Her skin was soft and from the shade of it anyone could see the Italian in her. She could notice the dark circles forming under her tired blue eyes and her dark hair was a mess from tossing and turning on the cot. She took a blue ribbon from her bag and quickly tied it up.
Upon seeing her clothes were misaligned, she straightened her white blouse and dusted off her dark blue skirt. "There," she smiled in the mirror. "Pretty as a picture." She grabbed her coat and bag, opened the door to her cabin, climbed up the stairs to the top deck out into the cold winter sea air.
There weren't many sailors on the ship and they all kept mostly quiet. She didn't know any of their names and all they knew of her was her last name. But she could feel them watching her with prying eyes and she could only imagine what thoughts they had. They were smugglers and not good men. They were doing a job to get paid and that was it. With that in mind she was very aware of when a tall sailor in a wool coat and flat cap had just grabbed her left buttock.
In one swift movement she turned and let him have it. The man stumbled back, rubbing the right side of his face with his hand. She could see his face turned blood red with anger in the lighting of the full moon. He bawled up his fist and brought his arm back but was quickly stopped by a firm grip. He turned to see the captain gripping his hand.
"You hurt the cargo and we don't get paid you damn fool," the captain growled and shoved the man back. He turned to Mina and ordered her to get in the lifeboat and without a word she did. She just wanted all of this over as quickly as possible.
As she got in so did the captains first mate then the lifeboat was slowly lowered down into the water and he began to row them away from the ship. Part of her thought that her adventure was about to end before it began. This man was going to put a bullet through her brain, dump her in the ocean and they were all going to go back to New York to collect the other half of their money. But that didn't happen. He just kept rowing until they were a good distance away from the ship.
"Three minutes now," he muttered looking at his pocket watch in the moonlight.
Three minutes seemed so much longer as they waited. But finally, there was a loud splash and a small submarine breached the surface. As it bobbed in the water the first mate rowed them in closer. The hatch flew open and a middle-aged unshaven man in a green sweater and khakis stuck his upper body out. The first mate rowed up next to the sub and tossed the man Mina's bag. Mina knew it was her turn. She carefully stood up in the lifeboat and stepped onto the top of the submarine carefully keeping her balance. She climbed down the hatch and the man in the green sweater shut it behind her.
Once in the belly of the sub she saw all sorts of flashing lights, radar and a steering apparatus. The nose of the sub was all made of special clear glass allowing them to see directly ahead. Her driver took the controls and the sub began its dive. She watched as the sub dropped below the surface, diving down deeper and deeper with the only source of light coming from the outside on the nose. She was finally going to see Rapture and she was finally going to find her father.
Her father.
A man she never knew and all she knew of him she had learned from her mother before she passed. Even that was very little. But she had wanted a way out of New York and she wanted to find the man. He was the last family she had. All she had to go on was a name, the little information from her mother and a faded photo.
Her good friend Boris Petrov, who helped watch over her since she was a kid, was an old business partner of her fathers. It took a good bit of money for him to arrange her being smuggled into the city along with a forged I.D. and citizenship records placed in the Rapture Archives but they both managed it.
A light started flashing on the dash board of control and the green sweatered man picked up a radio. "It's Russ," he spoke in a gruff voice. "I'm making my approach now so be ready for us Freddy."
"Oh…um, ok Russ," a nervous voice replied. "And everything's good here."
"Good here too. Ain't showed up on Ryan's radar so we're in the clear."
"Alright, I'll meet you and the girl at the dock," the man on the radio replied.
Russ hung up the radio and continued to focus on piloting the sub.
In the distance they could see lights approaching. Mina moved closer to the glass and what she saw as they got closer took her breath away. An entire city at the bottom of the sea. All the buildings were alight and neon business signs dotted the buildings. It was beautiful, a modern-day Atlantis. She could clearly see one of the neon signs that read "Plasmids" and wonder to herself what that even meant. They passed schools of fish as they approached and, in the distance, she could hear the sound of a whale. She had heard what to expect upon seeing Rapture and she didn't believe it at first but now she certainly does.
"Oh my god, it's amazing" she said in wonder.
"Yeah sure is somethin', ain't it toots," Russ grinned.
While she was distracted Russ reached into his pocket and slid out a small hypodermic syringe. He quickly stuck the needle into her neck and pressed the small plunger. "What the hell," she managed to cry out before she lost consciousness.
Russ chuckled, "Can't have you seein' my hideout now can I sweetheart?"
He had soon approached a cave in the bedrock and piloted the sub inside. He waited for a few seconds until nearby he could see a red flare appear in the darkness. He stopped over the flare and the sub began to rise up until it surfaced at a makeshift dock inside of an undersea cave. As he docked a timid man in overalls and a wool cap came up to the sub. Russ opened the hatch of the sub and waved at him. "Good to see yah Freddy," Russ smiled.
"You too I guess," he said, nervously. "Is the girl, ok?"
"Sleepin' like a babe."
"Good. We'll take her to the bathysphere and drop her off somewhere safe."
"Fine by me. Fontaine still in the dark about this job?"
The name sent a shiver down Freddy's spine. "Ye-yes," he stuttered nervously. "And I hope it will stay that way. You know what he'll do if he finds out we smuggled this girl in behind his back on top of the other things we've brought in on our own."
"Ah yah worry too much," Russ smiled. "If he finds out the worst thing that'll happen is he demands a cut of the cash and with our little home away from home he'll never see what we're doin'."
"If you say so."
"I do say so," Russ replied. "Now come here and help me with this girl."
Russ and Freddy soon had Mina out of the sub. Russ carried her while Freddy carried her bag. The cave led to a maintenance tunnel that came out at the wharf near Fontaine Fisheries. The place was practically empty since all the men at the fisheries had gone home for the night or what counts for night down in Rapture. Russ carried Mina as quickly as he could to Port Neptune's bathysphere with Freddy closely behind them. Everything was going great until the securis door to the bathysphere station opened up and there stood Peach Wilkins with a big scowl on his face.
"What the hell are you doing down here this late," he demanded. "No fish being gutted this time of day."
"Yeah, sorry Peachy, me and Freddy here came in to do some maintenance on one of the conveyor belts on the processing line," Russ said.
Freddy stood behind him clutching Mina's bag and nodding his head in affirmation.
"Well, who's that," he said pointing to Mina.
"I got no clue," Russ lied. "She stumbled in drunk off her ass, bag in hand, and passed out on the floor. I'm takin' her back to Artemis Suites. Her I.D. address says that's where she's from."
Peach eyeballed them for a moment then sighed, "Fine. Do your good deed for the day then go home boys. I'll see you two tomorrow. And Russ…call me Peachy again and I'll break your goddamn nose." Russ nodded in reply and Peach let the men pass by.
They hurried into the bathysphere, pressed the button for Apollo Square and Russ pulled the lever. "That was too close," Freddy said, pulling a handkerchief from his overall's pocket and wiping the sweat off his face.
"Aw, everthin' went smooth a silk," Russ reassured him, pulling a pack of smokes from his pocket. "I had Peach under control. Now we just take her somewhere safe, put her forged I.D. and a couple days' worth of cash in her bag. Then tomorrow we go collect our money from Butch and ol' Fontaine is none the wiser." He offered one to Freddy who refused and so he took one for himself, snapped his fingers and a spark of fire rose to light it.
"You don't think Butch will ask questions when we come for the money do you," Freddy nervously asked.
Russ exhaled, smoke trailing out of his nostrils. "He never has before even when it is actual work for Fontaine. All he'll do is just think it's another job and we've come to collect. It's easy money brother. Easy money."