I shook my head. Peace was laying his ship open to the gravest risk, making a 50-mile corkscrew through shoal waters which have a traditionally evil reputation among sailors rather than following a straight course to the rendezvous. I started to object, but he shrugged off my words and said to Adele, ' You'll take this cabin.' He opened the door which led into the shower, decorated with gay, flame-proof curtains. `
Toilet. Shower. John and I will shack down on the other side, in Bob Peters's cabin. We share the facilities. He'll have to hot-bunk somewhere.' He swept the coverlet from the bunk as he gathered up some papers. Looks like a damn' geisha's kimono,' he snapped.
There was a knock at the door and a rating handed Peace a signal. He read it through quickly and dismissed the man, who looked grey with fatigue. Adele glanced at me and said. `
Commander Peace, that signalman looked dead on his f e e t – '
This is a secret mission,' he replied curtly. ` Twenty-four hour shifts. Too bad if he can't stand up to it.'
It's my field, code and communications,' she went on impulsively. ' I'll gladly take a shift-'
Peace's reaction astounded me. You'll stay right here,' he snapped. ` Don't fiddle with the phones-you might cause a crisis. You'll be quite comfortable. You may not go beyond the Control Centre without my express permission.'
The colour flushed her face and she turned to me, hurt, puzzled, wanting my support. Peace turned away and picked up a phone, dialling 0'. I reached out and touched her arm. Despite my anger at his harshness, I almost blessed Peace for that momentary unmasking of her heart. ood?' asked Peace. Commander here. All calls to me in future to be directed to the Exec's cabin.' He laughed shortly. ` Yes, your cabin, Bob-John and I are taking it over. What's the score'
I heard Peter's formal reply, distorted through the instrument. Very deep, sir. We've crossed the eighteen-hundredfathom curve. Sounding is now nineteen-hundred-fifty fathoms corrected.'
Peace raised his eyebrows to me. ` Very well. Plane down to six hundred feet. Echo range and take soundings continuously. Where do you reckon we'll cross the continental shelf?'
Can't rightly say, sir, but NAVDAC estimates about eighteen hundred GMT.'
Call me at sixteen hundred. Earlier, if there's anything.' Aye aye, sir.'
` What's NAVDAC?' I queried.
' Navigational Data Assimilation Centre. It's a very sophisticated device to pinpoint our position-the sort of thing we would have used for finding Little Bear's blast-off position had we followed the original plan-we've got three SINS computers and we flood the bloody things with their readings, plus data from the radio direction finders, the star trackers and the " magic box ", which is really a radio telescope in m i n i a t u r e. ' H e s m i l e d. I b r o u g h t y o u a l o n g t o m a t c h a l l that with your skill.'
I relaxed slightly. He picked up, the blue-bound u.s. Navy
Code, and said: Ultra-top-secret. The DNI's parting gift.'
Adele was about to speak, then bit her lip and turned away. I w o n d e r e d w h e t h e r P e a c e e v e n n o t i c e d. I ' m s a c k i n g down,' he said. Been up all night. Come on.'
He led the way to Peters's cabin on the other side of the bathroom without a look at Adele. The cabin was a replica of his own, except that it had two bunks. I remained silent. Away from Adele, the hurt to her seemed magnified in my mind.
Peace lit a cigarette. He seemed eager to talk. Smoke? The carbon dioxide scrubbers and gas analyser take care of all that here. We make our own fresh air from sea-water:
I took one and, lit up, not replying.
Peace paced three steps each way. He stopped in front of me. What's eating you, John?'
I met his eyes. Was the brush-off to Adele really necessary, Geoffrey? She's a code and cipher expert-you have the DNI's word for it.'
He blew a smoke-ring with careful deliberation. She was just too keen, that's all.'
What in hell do you mean?'
Nice girl, very affectionate.'
I felt slightly embarrassed.
At dinner that night at the DNA,' he went on. Remember what she said about guns?'
' Y e s, ' I r e p l i e d. I r e m e m b e r c l e a r l y. S h e s a i d a C o l t Python was better than a. 38 Detective Special.'
H e l o o k e d h a r d a t m e. H a n d – g u n s, n o t g u n s, s h e s a i d. Colt Python. Cadillac among guns. No one but an American speaks of hand-guns. In England they're pistols, revolvers, small arms, but never hand-guns. Her entire metaphor was American.'
The implication of what Peace said knocked me back.
You're suggesting she's a double agent?' I said slowly. don't know,' he replied carefully. ' I'm just careful, with so much CIA around. And then-so soon after finding out that I intend making for the Saya de Malha she volunteers for radio duty. Radio-whom?'
I don't believe it,' I retorted emphatically. I don't believe Adele is tied up with the CIA intruder!'
He came and clapped me gently on the shoulder. I hope for your sake not. But there's such a thing as softening up the opposition, you know.' He grinned lop-sidedly. You're a man who takes some softening up, too. Adele is another good reason for the Saya de Malha.'
He did not give me time to reply, but started pacing up and down the tiny cabin again.
His uneasiness communicated itself to me. What's up,
Geoffrey?'
This ship is an electronic marvel,' he said, choosing his words carefully. Every marvel aboard her has a back-up marvel-in other words, there are two of everything, in case one goes wrong. There are not, on our assignment.' He crushed out his cigarette impatiently. It is-was-all too bloody tailor-made: take one nuclear sub and meet another eight hundred miles away, one that's been practically out of touch with everything for over a month under the sea. Cruise down a well-charted ocean highway. Pick up the VicePresident of the United States. Rendezvous with Semittante, an old tramp which has been at sea for God knows how long out of New Orleans. Shoot off the bastard in super-missile, practically untried, untested. Mission accomplished.'
It's already out of gear,' I observed dryly.
The sea, John, the sea! That's the great imponderable!'
The Jesus factor,' I added.
He nodded. We haven't allowed for the safety margin of the sea. You know it, I know it. The Dm-he doesn't know what it is to love a hunk of metal filled with machines. computers and other electrical wonders, something that takes you and brings you out on the other side. He's cold. For him, Devastation, Willow track, Little Bear are all expendable.'
Us, too.'
Us, too,' he echoed sombrely. He swung on his toes and started to pull the sweater over his head, the muscles apparent in his chest and arms. Like to see the ship?' he asked. ' Get a dosimeter from the hospital orderly to check your exposure to radio-activity – but I can tell you now, there's less aboard Devastation than you get every day in London or New York.'
I'd like to see the missiles,' I ventured.
He held up a small key which hung on a gold chain round his neck. I could start a nuclear war with this. It unlocks 67
Devastation's Polaris A-4's. You're free to go into Sherwood Forest.' He made an expressive loop with his arms. ' Big sevenfoot steel tubes from keel to deck, like trees-Polaris silos. Our Little Bear is experimental, but these Polaris missiles are operational. Better get Bob to take you round. Only officers and operating ratings are allowed in Sherwood Forest.'
Sherwood Forest itself was a disappointment. I felt my heart quicken as Bob Peters-a short, cheerful, sandy-haired man with quiet, shrewd eyes-unlocked the main door. The compartment consisted merely of double columns of circular tubes wrapped in canvas, painted an artistic green. There was nothing to show that these were the deadliest missiles afloat. In the keel's ' mushroom factory' at the base of the missiles, I had the same feeling of clinicism rather than power. Under each Polaris A-4 was a big steel ball like an enclosed, outsized kaffirpot. These were the compressed-air flasks which tossed the deadly birds to the surface. The same sort of thing was built into the casing of Little Bear for the initial take-off.