Ryan slowly pulled his flight suit off, and Ellenshaw did the same. He looked at Jenks and smiled.
“Ready for round two, Master Chief?”
Jenks wiped his mouth and then unzipped his flight suit. “What do you mean?”
At that moment, a large hangar door started to slide open. The bright sunshine of the dying evening illuminated an amazing sight as the giant aircraft was rolled out of his hidden lair.
“Oh, shit,” Jenks mumbled. “You flyboys and your damnable toys.”
“Wow,” was all Charlie could manage.
Ryan, disappointed that he wouldn’t be flying on this leg of their journey, was just as stunned as his companions when he saw the supersonic bomber as it rolled free of the hangar. The B-1b Lancer bomber was an evil-looking aircraft if Ryan had ever seen one. Its sleek design made her identifiable to any aggressive nation that this bird meant serious business.
“Gentlemen, our ride awaits. We should be in England in under two hours.”
Over the sound of the Lancer’s engines spooling up, they once more heard Master Chief Jenks as he again dry heaved in anticipation of another record-setting flight — this time over the Atlantic.
The closer Houston got to the hurricane’s eye, the calmer the seas became. That was the break they had been waiting for as Captain Thorne looked at the video screen whose picture was being provided by their own periscope. Technically, he was in command of this maneuver, and he was watching with fear etched on his face as the Aegis battle cruiser USS Shiloh fought the diminishing swells as they battled with the somewhat calmer eye of Hurricane Tildy. He watched nervously as the eight-man rigging team had scrambled aboard the derelict Russian vessel Simbirsk. The team had successfully managed to get the tow cable attached with only one moment of sheer terror involved when one of the Shiloh’s crewmen almost went overboard when one of the larger swells of green sea had swept over the deck of Simbirsk. Thorne exhaled as did most crewmen on the bridge as the two ships were finally mated.
“XO, send out the order again to Captain Johnson on board Shiloh. The riggers are not to enter the interior of the ship. They are to await our team arriving from England.”
“Yes, sir.”
Thorne turned back to the video monitor and spied the activity aboard the Russian ship. It looked as if the cable had been strung and the Shiloh began the slow move from the perimeter of Tildy to its exact center. The eye of the hurricane would protect them well enough if the course of the bad weather didn’t suddenly change. He saw on the monitor the powerful turbines of the Shiloh spring to life. His eyes went to the other two escorts as they took up station in front of and behind Shiloh.
“Okay, let’s button her up and observe. Chief of the Boat, take her down to two hundred and get us on a pace with our surface assets.”
“Aye. Give me ten degrees down bubble and bring her up to four knots.”
The command was passed, and Houston once more went deep. Thorne took the 1 MC mic from the stanchion.
“To all crew, this is the captain. For the duration, we will be running silent. We fully expect company on this little foray, and we don’t need to let them know that we are here. Sonar, conn.”
“Conn, sonar,” came the reply.
“I fully expect any visitor to come from the northeast. They may have a submerged asset accompanying them. Keep your ears sharp, no surprises.”
“Conn, sonar, aye.”
“Chief of the Boat, as soon as we settle in, I want Houston to belly up to the Simbirsk and get real cozy with her underside. I figure it’s a good place to hide. To the rest of the crew, we will be deep for the next hour, so let’s get some hot food in our bellies and some rest.”
As the deck angled sharply downward, the crew of USS Houston knew they wouldn’t have the appetite for the hot food nor the rest the captain had just ordered.
Apprehension of Russian warships bearing down on them through the raging temper of Hurricane Tildy had dulled their sensations of hunger and weariness.
Dr. Niles Compton waited outside the classroom. He looked at the digital clock in the hallway and then felt Will Mendenhall beside him. Niles nodded at Will and then gestured by his nod toward the classroom directly across from the one he was standing next to. Will went, and he too waited.
A soft chime sounded, and the classrooms along the long and winding corridor opened, and associates of the Group exited. The military and civilian personnel smiled and conversed in soft tones until their eyes fell upon the director. It was as if high school students suddenly came upon the principal. Most hurried past with a worried glance back. Will Mendenhall smiled at the effect the director had on the newer people. He was rather intimidating with his eye patch and glasses that covered only his good eye. He was scary before with just the knowledge of his brilliance; now, it was both his appearance and his brain.
Niles waited until the classroom was empty and then strode inside. Sarah McIntire was there putting her teaching materials into a briefcase when she saw the director walk in.
“What brings you down to level eighteen, Doctor? A little brushup on geologic formations?”
Niles placed his hands into his pants pockets and smiled. “Unless it has something to do with the cave system around us caving in, I’ll leave the expert stuff to you.”
Sarah smiled and then snapped the clasps to her case closed.
“You have a minute?”
Sarah tilted her head, and then a curious look crossed her face. “Don’t tell me Jack’s already in trouble,” she said as she left the classroom and stepped into the elevator.
Compton smiled just as both Will and Anya Korvesky stepped inside. Anya was also carrying her teaching aids in a case on her Introduction to Surveillance 101. She looked at Sarah with the question written on her face.
“Level seven, please,” Niles said to the Europa-controlled elevator.
All three waited while Niles watched the digital display of the floors passing by when he suddenly stopped the elevator’s progress. The air-cushioned ride stopped.
“Look, Virginia had to know because of her position as AD, so she was brought in on a loop the president wanted kept to a minimum. I wanted to tell all three of you the truth of what’s happening, both in the North Atlantic and of our suspicions in Russia. Jack and his team have been diverted to the situation I referred to in the Atlantic; reasons will be explained later. I wanted to explain this to you because for the next day or so, I will be working with Dr. Morales on a research assignment ordered directly by the president involving suspicions with our Russian friends. I will not have the time to take with you three asking questions. Yes, the assignment Colonel Collins is on is dangerous. They will be in harm’s way. You’ll just have to trust me when I say it will be explained when this is all confirmed. For now, leave Dr. Morales alone to his work. Bite the bullet. Personal relationships aside, this is business of the most serious time.”