Aw, Boz, don't give the guy a lecture,' said the Texan good-naturedly. All he wants to know is, will the goddam' thing work?'
Boz cut short his technicalities. Sure, sure. I'll operate the VLF transmitter to MKG's marker buoy-Little Bear's marker-and at T minus sixty a red light comes on on his instrument panel-'
But a crated Little Bear is not exactly a Little Bear ready to blast off,' I ventured.
Boz interrupted. The top, which is in fact the capsule, is covered by a plastic membrane which will withstand water pressure up to seven hundred feet, but it ruptures at the thrust of compressed air from the firing-flask-just like the ordinary Polaris. The inertial navigation-sINs-holds the missile continuously vectored on a point in space, in this instance, the Santa Fe staging station… which reminds me; I must check the calibration of the space-docking computer..
' Aw, gee, Boz, quit it, willya ' exclaimed the Texan. The guy's drunk with words, can't you see! How in hell you're going to live without this damn missile once she's on her way, I dunno.'
MKG said, Commander, it's easy to say, tow Little Bear to the launch-point, but what with?'
The cutter,' replied Peace. That's why I wanted her safe. I' ve had a look at the auxiliary engine. It works, although Andre won't use it if he can help it.'
You can't tow a twenty-ton missile out to sea with a cutter's engine,' I objected.
You can,' said Peace. ' Ask Boz here: Little Bear is the finest hydrodynamic and aerodynamic machine man has yet evolved-eh, Boz?'
' Sure,' replied BOZ. You have some damn' original ideas about missiles, Commander.'
Peace grinned back at him. Little Bear is designed to travel-through water, air and space. She offers the minimum resistance to water. Only a few horsepower is enough to pull that pencil-slim shape through the sea. In fact, I think the cutter could do it with all of you at the oars, but I'll spare you that. Blast-off point is not more than a couple of miles offshore.'
He looked enquiringly round the team. Trevor-Davis said, I would have liked a couple of days, not just one, to check her over.'
We pre-set the inertial navigation back home-she's continuously vectored on Santa Fe,' replied Boz. The accelerometers, though-it's been a long voyage-' began Trevor-Davis.
We set 'em also-the gyros and the accelerometers of the stable table,' said Boz.
I'm anxious about the correct toss-off point.' TrevorDavis seemed to find his voice in talking about the abstruse technicalities of the missile.
New jetavators with a simple thrust-reversal system-blowout points explode along the leading edge of the second stage and then thrust backwards, but the capsule flies on..
Trevor-Davis let out a sigh of relief. That takes a load off my mind. I wasn't too happy about the old ones.'
Peace said, It's my turn to break up this fascinating conversation, boys. We've got a lot of work to do. John, go and fix the radio aerial you chopped-I must know if Tyler heard Semittante's call. And Adele, ask Andre before you go if he'd like the job of being permanent helmsman of Semit- She translated and he nodded, pleased. Adele kept close to me. She was pale and quiet. I put it down to the strain of the cutting-out operation.
Tell him to steer zero-seven-zero degrees,' ordered Peace.
Zero-seven-zero!' I exclaimed. ' You're steering right into the arms of Thornton's Blue Force!'
MKG, Boz and the team looked startled.
Peace's answer was again evasive. See if Bellatrix is following us.'
I stepped out on to the bridge wing. The wind ripped at my clothing. A mile or so behind, Bellatrix was in our wake. I went back, thoughtful. Bellatrix can sail rings round this old basket,' I told the waiting group. She has only to stay where she is.'
' Precisely,' replied Peace. ' At this moment her doctored compass reads zero-eight-zero-ten degrees out. When Blue or Red Force catches up with her, she'll report that when last seen Semittante was steering that course-clean away from Love-Apple Crossing. Tonight, when it's dark, we'll give the yacht the slip.'
The admiration in MKG's face was overlaid with doubt. But Tyler, Commander-'
Tyler is smart, bloody smart. I'm doing with Semittante what would be a classic manoeuvre for a sub: I'm breaking away upwind into a heavy sea which will mask the sound of my engines. Once Tyler or Thornton pick up Bellatrix, which is only a matter of time on the course she's steering, they'll bring every Red and Blue sub, destroyer and search plane into that area, which is on the edge of the Saya de Malha. I want Tyler to think I've run for the shoals and banks to use the shallow seas and breaking water to damp the sound of this old tramp's engines. I want them to concentrate the search there. But in fact I'll be hundreds of miles away in the opposite direction, at Love-Apple Crossing.'
Aren't you playing this game a little too cosy, Commander?' asked MKG. Sure, sure, guessing's fine; Tyler will do this, Tyler will do that. But what if he doesn't? What if Tyler out-thinks you, smells the double-cross?'
' We sit at Love-Apple Crossing, waiting.'
What!'
A bunch of fishermen with an island girl-everyday islanders, all of us. We'll have lines over the side of the cutter and big hats on our heads. Adele or Andre will answer any questions in incomprehensible Creole. Under our keel will be Little Bear, also waiting.'
MKG assumed a remote faraway look which was to become more and more frequent in the coming days. He clapped
Peace gently on the shoulder.
Adele said, with a peculiar inflexion, 'John, shall we get the radio going?'
We left the group and went to the radio shack.
As we entered, I started towards the cut aerial, but Adele closed the door sharply. I turned to face her. She was standing with her back to the door, her face dealthy white. She started to pull a scrap of paper from her blouse, but her hands trembled so violently that she could not manage it.
It was a fake!' she choked. I suspected him before, but here's proof-'
A deadly fear spread over me. Peace?'
She nodded, and handed me the scrap of paper. It was simply a jumble of letters. I shook my head at it.
' He forgot this, among the others he faked. You see, the signals pad is carbon-backed-one copy for filing, the other for the captain. This is the copy.'
She took the slip and read out the code:
' President of the United States to Marvin K. Green, via Seychelles x unless you reply personally to this via same channel within six hours I shall assume the kid- napping report of Willowtrack to be correct and that you are no longer a free agent x whatever the circumstances, the Little Bear project is to be called off now x' There was a long silence. I said, The version Peace passed on to MKG read something like this: " You have my personal authorization to continue with the Little Bear mission as planned." '
Adele sat down in the operator's chair, taking a grip on herself. She nodded at the severed wire. 'Fix that first anything may be happening.
It was only a matter of minutes to fix the wire. Adele checked the set. My thoughts were in turmoil.
Do we tell MKG?' she asked, her eyes on me. Perhaps she wondered whether my own loyalty to Peace would prevail. The implications are too colossal to contemplate,' I said. '
No wonder Thornton and Tyler were throwing everything into the search.
`Far from the President recalling the Seventh Fleet, he must be urging them on,' she said, fiddling with the dials. She held up her hand. Wait!'
It was Mauritius Radio:
… an announcement of major importance. The President of the United States announces that an incident has taken place which is without parallel in American history.
The Vice-President, Markin K. Green, has been kidnapped by foreign agents. The White House states that although the circumstances of the abduction are not clear, it appears that the Vice-President was on his way to superintend the testfiring of a secret new American missile in the Indian Ocean when the kidnapping took place. The Vice-President was seized aboard the nuclear submarine Willowtrack and conveyed aboard another submarine, which was then shadowed to a remote atoll barrier reef named St Brandon. Although this submarine has since been located, the Vice-President has disappeared. In view of grave fears being ex175 pressed for the safety of Marvin K. Green, the United States Seventh Fleet in Limuria waters has been deployed under command of Admiral Thornton and is now searching the area.