“I see your point, Captain.” Jack gave Carl a knowing look. Everett, for his part, was assisting Jenks and Charlie Ellenshaw with their equipment check. They had lost some gear and were worried they wouldn’t be able to make their analysis of the Russian ship with what they had left. Carl shook his head slightly at Jack, indicating the trouble. “What is the current situation? Over.”
“Well, if that rust bucket over there had radar, you would be able to see a most disturbing sight. We have a Kirov-class missile cruiser and her escort bearing down on us. They are currently sixty miles out and closing at flank speed. No more ordnances have been popped off, but I don’t expect the situation to hold. I have my orders also, over.”
Jack and the others knew what those orders were. If for any reason they could not secure the vessel, it would be sunk as a hazard to navigation. That was a polite euphemism for “If we can’t have it, you can’t either.”
“With the loss of some of our equipment, it looks like we can start leaning in that direction. Do we have time for a general inspection of her power plant? Over.”
“Unless the Red Baron up there starts shooting, I would say you have about three hours, over.”
Collins was about to respond when a voice broke into their secure channel. The uninvited intruder was even clearer than the straight line-of-sight signal from Shiloh.
“To the illegal boarding party currently aboard the Simbirsk, this is Colonel Leonid Salkukoff. You are committing an act of international piracy, and the Russian government asks you to stand down and return to us Russian state property.”
Collins heard the voice of the Russian and responded, “I am sure I don’t have to stand here and explain to you the finer points of international law governing the open seas of the world. This ship is a derelict and unmanned. It is also a hazard to free navigation. By right of salvage, NATO has claimed this vessel.”
“Who am I speaking to please? Over,” came the accented voice. Jack knew that whoever it was, it was coming from the circling helicopter over their heads due to the heavy sound of rotors heard in the background.
A quick look at Carl and a smirk. He clicked the transmit button. “This is Dynamo, over.”
“Ah, we can play this game all day, Colonel Collins. We will play until the whistle sounds, and still, the inevitable outcome will not have changed one iota. Over.”
Most of the men on the deck of Simbirsk heard Jack’s real name being uttered by the Russian. They all stopped and listened as the situation had suddenly just changed direction.
“Okay, Colonel, you know who I am. Your dramatic and revealing moment has passed, and here we are with the same dilemma we had just a second ago.”
“Colonel, we can have this discussion all day, but at the moment, our missile cruiser Peter the Great has been tracking a submerged target in her area. May I suggest you tell your submarine to back down until we can come to some form of understanding? Over.”
Collins acknowledged the dreaded news by the look on his companions’ faces. Everett, the navy man, along with Ryan, saddled up closer to hear the exchange. They knew an attack on a submarine would be devastating. It was in the calmer waters underneath the waves while Peter the Great was on the surface with a clear sonar signal to pick up on, where, because of the high seas, Houston would have trouble getting a fire solution. The Russian had the advantage. Jack grimaced when he saw the choices in front of him.
“A temporary stay only, Colonel, nothing more. Let us communicate without the specter of a massacre threatening your sailors. Over.”
“Captain Johnson.”
“Shiloh, here.”
“Captain, on my authority, order Houston to stand down. Further orders later. Over.”
Just two clicks sounded on the radio informing Collins that the captain understood.
“Now you see, Colonel, cooperation between nations can be a simple achievement. We have—”
“You fired on a United States ship of war, Colonel. That is what—”
“We fired upon common pirates. Can we skip your game of American dodgeball, Colonel? I suggest a cease-fire until we can have a discussion in person. My forces will stand down in a joint effort at the cooperation I mentioned a moment ago. Over.”
Jack looked around him. The ancient Russian ship. The towline leading to another vessel full of young men. And then he looked across at the Dutch ship, whose sailors even now lined her outer railing watching with anticipation. Then his eyes rose to the swirling cage of the hurricane they found themselves in. The black wall swirled around them like a tube of evil darkness. His eyes fell to Carl, who only nodded at Jack that they had no other choice at the moment.
“Agreed.”
“How many men do you currently have aboard, Colonel? Over.”
“We have thirty-six officers and men aboard. All fully armed, Colonel.”
“Coincidentally, we have almost the same number. And we are armed also. So, we have an agreement; all forces will stand down until we can have a civilized discussion on our differences of opinion. Over.”
Jack lowered his eyes and his radio as he quickly thought. He looked up and caught Ryan’s attention.
“Mr. Ryan, take a few of these marines and stash some weapons in a few of the companionways. I don’t care much for liars, and that is just what we have here.”
“Colonel, my patience wears thin. I do not care for flying all that much. I understand you have the same affliction. Over.”
“Okay, this is getting downright creepy, Jack. How in the hell does he know that? No one in our own department has a clue but us,” Carl said as he knelt beside Collins.
“We’re not going to find out by not letting the bastard board.” Jack angrily clicked his radio to life and stood as the helicopter swung low once more over the deck. “Permission granted to land aboard Shiloh for transfer to Simbirsk. Over.”
“Oh, I think we can manage something a little more time friendly, Colonel.”
Collins heard the scream of the Russian-made navy helicopter as it came low toward them. It rose and then settled beyond the high radio mast of the cruiser, toward the stern. It vanished.
“Damn it!” Jack cursed as he was tossed an M4 automatic weapon. “Mr. Ryan, get Jenks and Charlie into the wheelhouse after you get some weapons in other locations and wait. Carl, get a squad of marines, and let’s greet our guest.”
It took Jack, Carl, and sixteen of the Royal Marines three minutes to cover the seven hundred feet of deck to the stern of the old cruiser. When they arrived, the last man rappelling from the helicopter was seen as his booted feet struck the deck just aft of the number-three gun turret. The man allowed the rubberized rope to fly free as he quickly unzipped his body armor to allow cooler air to enter. He looked around the stern of the Simbirsk, and then he spied the two Americans and their greeting party of sixteen Royal Marines. He smiled and gave the men a jaunty salute.