The sabotage of Titanic

"If you have found this then I am no longer with the living. I have lived with this guilt for many years. I hope that by chronicling the truth, my eternal soul will find peace and rest".

We were bound by silence while we lived, now in death we beg that the world may forgive us for what we have done. Please read the truth and make it known as you see fit.. At the time of the reading of this story my sister operatives and I will have gone to our final rest. I am the only one still alive at this time, and I sincerely hope that everyone will understand the reason why all this happened".

This account of the infamous and undisclosed true story of Titanic's demise was found in a diary hidden in the walls of the home of the agent after she passed away in 1971.

I am agent 65, and you were all dead wrong about the events surrounding the sinking of the ship, The Titanic, on April 15, 1912. I shall endeavor to recount the events as they truly happened during those eventful five days of the voyage.

We were a group of female agents working for a covert secret organization, we never actually knew who they were, but we were aware that they were powerful people who always got what they wanted. They were unseen faces and well connected voices. We were known as Operatives 65, 66 and 67. Being women during this male centered time in history rendered us invisible and non existing. We were shadows and we were valuable yet expendable. I was the leader of the group, known only as Agent or Operative 65.

We three were rebellious in our teenage years. We were different, yet same in nature and temperament . When we turned eighteen we secretly dressed as men and refused to do needlepoint, be just wives, be governesses or housekeepers, we refused to conform to male ideas of how we should be. Nights in Portsmouth would find us out seeking adventures. One night we got into really serious trouble and were arrested. The police thinking that we were men, hauled us off to jail. We had to confess to being women or risk being thrown in with drunken and lecherous men.

You have to understand the plight of women back then. We were not free to dress how we wanted, make intelligent personal choices or just be who we wanted to be. There were standards, limitations on our freedom and mind boggling reasons given why women had to stay in their place and be dictated to.

Things got interesting when, instead of locking us up, we were ushered into a darkly lit room occupied by a very cloak and dagger character who offered us a choice, women's prison or workhouse, or become covert agents for his organization. He sat in a dark corner of the room, face hidden and speaking in a strange accent. We were extremely intrigued and listened keenly to his offer. It was right up our alley. A chance to buck the status quo and get paid for it.

"I have been searching for unusual persons who are non-conformists ladies, when I got the call about ladies pretending to be men, dressed like men, my interest was peaked". He stood up and walked over to the window, his back was now to us. It seemed he was searching the streets below for something. The daylight was being replaced by shadows. We were all at a loss for words. What a great opportunity for us all, we were all thinking.

Finally, a forward thinking male figure, actually accepting that a woman is quite capable of expanding her mind and intelligence to far beyond the dictated boundaries. A whole new world was being opened up for us.

"We can begin your training tomorrow, if you are all willing to accept". His furtive looks out the window were a little disconcerting. He was a strange character, dressed all in black and delightfully mysterious.

"Yes, I am".

"Quite definitely".

"That sounds so exciting".

All three of us answered as one. We could not refrain from giggling a little.

"Bon!, was that French, how odd would that be, this is England. " Your families will be notified, arrangements will be made"! he replied rather cryptically, "Someone will be here for you shortly, you will rest well tonight, tomorrow we begin". He motioned us out with a wave of his hands. We were quickly ushered out by a policeman, whom we later discovered was really a woman, and an operative, and who delivered us to a brand new Model T Ford Car waiting to carry us where, we had no idea. All this mystery and intrigue seemed very impressive and exciting.

A man and a woman were seated in the front. Blindfolds were given to each of us and we drove off. After a rather lengthy drive we stopped and our blindfolds were removed. We were on a very large estate, a quick glance showed beautifully kept gardens and green open spaces as far as we could see. We were hurriedly ushered inside. Later we found out that we had been taken to London. The blindfolds were necessary they said, we could not inform anyone of where we were until they were sure of our loyalty.

We trained for six months. They taught us how to defend ourselves, how to beguile, infiltrate, steal, kill if we had to, mainly in self defense, among many other spy and agent undertakings. We adored this world into which we had been accidentally catapulted. One of our favorite tasks was the wearing of disguises, we excelled in this area.

Our assigned handler was 'Operative 1', a veteran of the organization, all of our assignations were channeled through her.

We finished our training, were assigned many different jobs in different parts of the world and after two years we were assigned to the Titanic. We had been separated and were to approach from different locations to avert suspicion of being seen together. We did not have a great deal of luggage, just enough to avert suspicion should we be observed. We would not see our handler until our job was finished and we were to regroup with her in New York.

THE ASSIGNMENT

The day was a little overcast as I neared the Titanic, it's massive frame outlined against the backdrop of the ocean. She would be transporting passengers, tons of sacks of mail, and three of Britain's most intelligent and talented secret agents. As the thunderclouds threatened rain, we searched the crowd for signs of the four men that held the secrets that would damn the son of the British royal family to death, and bring disgrace to the crown. We were to retrieve this information at any cost.

The four ghostly smokestacks of the ship loomed eerie as phantoms, obscured by the haze and fog. Our job would not be an easy one. We would be searching for needles in a haystack, having no idea what these men looked like.

As the large crowd jostled and vied for their turn to board the ship, it became almost impossible to make a proper identification of anyone an easy task. Our passages on the ship had been pre-booked and arrangements made to have us each on a different cabin level of the ship. We were not to be directly associated with each other, at least not too overtly so . This made for choices in the event of any questions being posed if problems arose. We planned to reconnoiter amidst the crowd and cabins and meet later at a suitable location.

Titanic was so beautifully decorated and offered so many enjoyable distractions that we had no trouble doing our jobs. We dressed as men or women depending on the occasion's requirement and managed to work undetected. On day one, I lounged by the pool on first class and just observed.

Forgive me if don't go into details about the luxurious layout of Titanic, the glamour of first class, the comfort of second class and a third class that passed muster if compared to other ships of the time. We had to give all of our attention to the matter at hand.

Down in second class 66, dressed as a man and hung out in the smoking room, and mainly where men would consort and make devious plans. 67 was keeping an eye on things in third class. She had been given a key to the locked gates in third class, procured by whom, we had no idea. She could move about the ship as she needed. Luck was with her, towards evening she overheard this conversation, quite by accident, whispered between two men.

"Pierre, where is the carpetbag. I would feel much better if we had it down here with us, less suspicious down here".

"Quiet Tom, I don't know for sure right now, but I am sure it is safe with Rafael and Peter".

Nothing more of interest was said between them, but during the night 67 saw them leave by opening the gate, did they have the same plans that we had. Divide and conquer. That was a queer coincidence. She followed them, as a woman this time and saw them meet in second class cabin's dining facility. She then left to relay the information to 66, who immediately went to the dining room, sitting within earshot but no too close to the men.

"Has anyone noticed any funny business, anything or anyone out of the ordinary, is it possible we are being watched"?, asked one man.

"Not so far, but we have to operate under the assumption that we are, let's all be careful".

"We should not all meet like this again. Get our plans together now and only meet for emergencies". The fourth man was furtively looking around.

They spoke in low whispers now, 66 ate her food and departed, she could no longer follow their conversations. At least now we knew who these men were. We watched them closely for the next two days, planning the next step to retrieve the carpetbag and neutralize the men. We knew that the two men in third class did not have it. So who did?

Days two and three found us observing all four men closely. Our disguises were impeccable, no one suspected our presence. We found out exactly where each had their cabins. Although we had been apprised of the nature of the assignment, we were never told what the bag contained, it had been made elaborately with a sophisticated locking mechanism. Only a special key could open it. We were told that one man would have the key and the other the bag.

We passed children running around playing gleefully, parents watching them tussle and frolic. Everyone enjoying the delights of Titanic, blissfully unaware of the other story being played out on this wonderful palatial ship.

DAY FOUR

We all managed to meet in cabin of 66 for a brief meeting after a quick supper. The plan was to search the first and second class rooms of these two men, obviously one of these had the key and the other the bag. This time we donned the disguises of ship's stewards to avert suspicion. 66 went in to Raphael's cabin first, followed by each of us as soon as it was safe to do so.

"Hurry, we don't have much time, they usually dine at this time" I whispered.

"Where would we hide a key, if we were him, they must be smart to be doing this particular job" 67 pondered.

"Maybe I would take it with me. It is too valuable to leave unattended".

The sound of approaching footsteps made us pause our search, someone was entering the room. We quickly hid behind a large sofa.

The one called Raphael entered. We had not found the carpetbag so he must have the key. Signaling our intention to each other, we sprang from behind the sofa, took the opportunity to grab him in the brief moment of shock paralysis, gagged and tied him up. We had been trained to make people talk. 67 was an expert, she knew all about pressure points and pain thresholds and threats of bodily harm. We knew how to retrieve information by any means necessary. She was very convincing. It took quite a while. Luckily no one bothered us. He was weeping by the time he finally gave in.

67 was pleased with her work. One down and one to go. That one really put up a fight, he had injured her pretty badly when she bent to his shoe. The key was in a tiny compartment built into the shoe. He had kicked her in the stomach, cracked a rib, she thought. It had happened too fast to stop him. We were no stranger to pain. We cleaned the place up in case anyone came looking. He was double hog tied, given a sleeping draught and shoved behind the sofa.

So, Peter had the infernal bag. It was no ordinary bag, it was built with three compartments, it would take the key, and a coded number system to get in. You get the code after it is opened with the key.

It was now Operative 65's time to go to work. Peter, he was actually quite a handsome chap, had to be beguiled. She had placed herself in the position the day before to allow flirting and veiled promises to the entire group, leaving them all in an ego competitive, may the best man win, with promised insinuations of moonlit walks. Dressed as her demure, delicate female self, she chose and approached Peter. He had been on his way to Raphael's cabin.

Gently clasping the crook of his arm, she steered him away, knowing that his cabin was on first class, she suggested a brief walk to her cabin to procure a shawl for an evening walk on the Promenade. On the way there she swooned outside his door and had to be ushered in. Once inside, his first glance was towards the top left side of the bed. The bag was in that general area. Always a dead give away. A person's instinct to preserve something valuable never fails to escape the first glance.

Forgive me for speaking in the third person, roles can tend to merge and blur in our line of work. Peter offered a small draught to calm her nerves, it would not do for a lady to be seen in the cabin of a single gentleman, but she assured him that it was fine, she was no ordinary lady. Intrigued, he fetched two glasses and poured them both a small drink. As he turned to put the decanter away she flicked open a tiny clasp on her ring, and dusted a fine powder into his glass. He was out in a few minutes.

65 quickly searched the bed and the area around where he had glanced. There was dust on the floor beneath the wall by the bed. Tracing her finger along the smooth wall she felt a strange bulge. Hurriedly removing her hair clasp, she dug along the wall. A secret compartment. She quickly dug along the groove and succeeded in prying a sizable part of the wall open. There was the elaborately made carpetbag. It had a very unusual look to it, it must indeed have been made especially for something secret.

Tucking the bag beneath the bed, 65 carefully exited the cabin, hurrying in search of 66 and 67. She almost knocked over 67 who appeared quite winded.

"The two men are dead. Someone killed them". She took my arm and steered me towards my cabin.

"What happened, did you see anyone"?

"No, I didn't. I had not seen them for a while so I went and checked, I was dressed as a steward to avert suspicion. They are both in their own rooms. Dead. I think they were poisoned. They are both blue and trussed up n bed as if asleep.

"Someone else is on the ship. Where is 66, do you think that they know about us"?

"Is it possible that we are being watched"? 67 asked.

"I found the bag, it is in cabin 22. Let us get it and 66 and find a new hiding place for it."

Dressed as a cook, 65 managed to camouflage the bag and hide it in a remote cupboard in the galley that was hidden and unused.

Agent 66 was nowhere to be found. 67 had the key. 65 had hidden the bag. Where was 66. Was she alive?

This was all very strange. No one else knew about us.

We searched everywhere. Please, we beseeched the universe, let her be alive. Finally, with the dark setting in we decided to wait in her cabin, hoping beyond hope that she would show up.

NIGHT FIVE

Alas, she has not shown up.

We had just about given up hope when the door to the cabin slowly opened. A strange man entered. Getting ready to defend ourselves, we were surprised when the person spoke.

"Please sit down".

"66"! We both echoed. "Where have you been"?

"67, please hand over the key"!

"What? I don't understand".

65 reached over and touched my arm. "Don't you see 67, she killed those men", 65 said somberly, she was always astute and quick to theorize and surmise . "I don't have to ask why, you have always been ambitious. What did they offer you. Money, power, position. I hope it is worth it, to sell your soul to the devil for riches and glory. 67 was speechless with disbelief.

66 reached into her coat and produced a pistol. We both gasped and took a step back instinctively.

"The key please"!

Nobody moved. Slowly, still in disbelief, and with a gun pointed at her face, 67 retrieved the key from her pocket and handed it to 66. The pistol swiveled around to my face. "Please go get the bag 65, I will wait here with 67". She was always the best shot of us all. I let go of 67's arm and slowly left the room.

I returned with the bag. There was no one to turn to for help. We could not jeopardize our status or our organization. 65 handed over the bag, and 66 beckoned for her to join 67.

"I had no wish to hurt either of you. But you have no idea who I represent or how high this conspiracy goes. I have no choice. I have to consider my future after all this is over. I am sorry".

"Don't you see, THEY, cannot risk anyone knowing about this ugly situation. It has to look like an accident. There are people on this ship, rich and powerful people who are behind this plot, and need to be eliminated. I have my orders, I am sorry. Please forgive me".

"What do you mean 66, what has to look like an accident"? 65 asked, sounding worried.

67 took a quick unexpected step towards us, raised her hand, swung it twice and everything went dark.

We awoke to the sounds of screaming, music and shouting outside the door. Our heads hurt from the force of the pistol that almost cracked our skulls.

"That does not sound good 65", 67 said, massaging her head.

"I wonder what is happening, 66 must have done something terrible, come , let's go find out".

Pandemonium greeted us. People were running everywhere. The ship was creaking and groaning. We saw the families trying to reach safety and the crew shouting directions. Water was seeping everywhere.

"What do you think 66 did. She must have sabotaged the ship. We know very well how to do that, remember our first mission, the wealthy ship owner whose ship she rigged".

66 had sabotaged the engine, causing the reactor to melt, and gunpowder was placed into it's running boiler, she could have done a lot of damage below deck, pretending to be working so no one would suspect what she was doing. Once the water started filling up on the lower deck, there was nothing anyone could do if it were not caught soon enough, and she would ensure that no one saw it coming. Try as they would, at the point when they hit the iceberg, it would have been much too late to save the Titanic. She had already been doomed.

66 had done it again. The ship did not stand a chance.

"Where do you think she would be right now"?

"Getting on the first lifeboat, that's what I would do. Dressed like an innocent maiden".

"We have to find her before she gets lost in the melee".

Heading for the top deck, we tried our best to help some of the families usher the children to safety. The children had been yanked out of bed, their crying added to the immense pandemonium, it was past midnight and there was so much confusion, we felt like all this was our fault.

We could hear the captain and crew trying to radio for help. He had ordered the lifeboats to be lowered and filled.

How could we justify sinking a ship full of people to hide the dirty secrets of one man. How could anyone live with such a thing on their conscience. It appears some people can do anything and feel no remorse.

The men in the two other cabins had disappeared, we did not know if they were dead or alive. 67 tried to find her key to the third class gate, people were trapped down there, that was gone too, 66 must have taken it to do her dirty deeds.

We worked our way up still rendering assistance to people trying to reach the lifeboats, 67 saw some of her fellow passengers from third class, apparently some managed to get out, including the quiet men, I think they were Chinese, they had been quite pleasant, but they hardly understood English. She was happy to see them, we felt badly enough about the whole situation.

We got to top deck and saw 66 with a strange man, obviously a wealthy man, he was allowed into the lifeboat. We had changed back to being women. as much as it pained us, we had to survive. We had to make 66 pay for what she had done. She had betrayed us. We did our best to render help, we owed everyone that much.

We had waited until the last minute to get into the lifeboat, helping where we could with the children especially. Out hearts were heavy. What had we done.

We sat and watched the ship slowly sinking, people jumped overboard trying to save themselves, some of the men trying to get to their families, clung to debris, but the cold water was too much. Most of them sank into the depths of the sea. Some froze just hanging on to anything that they could.

We were all crying. 67 and I cried for the guilt eating at our hearts, we had done this, maybe not with our own hands, but we were just as guilty. Our quest for adventure carried a very heavy price.

The ship sank while we watched. Hundreds died that early morning before help finally arrived. Too late to be of help to those who needed it most.

Poor 65 and 67, they were inconsolable, we were inconsolable.

The mistake was made that there was one black person on the ship.

Actually, there were two. One man in second class, the other, Agent 65 , Agent 67's best friend.

Agent 66 was never found. The secret of the royal family remained secret.

The friendship of 65 and 67 endured and strengthened.

I am finally at peace, please tell the story, although no words can really atone for the unhappiness that we caused.

We are truly sorry.

N.A.

Fiction.