“Just doing our job,” Harrison replied. “But it looks like you’ve got your work cut out for you.” Tolbert followed Harrison’s gaze as he surveyed the gutted consoles.
“Do you know where everything is?” Tolbert asked.
“There are two shipments topside,” Harrison answered. “I’ll send the PRM to the surface to retrieve your equipment.”
“Thanks,” Tolbert said.
The submarine’s Executive Officer, Lieutenant Commander Sites, plus the Chief of the Boat, Master Chief Murgo, arrived in Control, joining Tolbert and the SEALs. They were discussing how to quickly and safely reinstall the equipment when an excited report came over the speakers.
“Captain to the Torpedo Room!”
Tolbert and Harrison headed to lower level, followed by the XO and COB, stepping over a dead Spetsnaz at the base of the ladder.
The Torpedo Division Chief was there to greet them. “We got a problem,” he said as he led them to the forward end of the room and pointed to the nearest torpedo. A glance across the Torpedo Room revealed all twenty-four torpedoes were wired with explosives.
Harrison examined the explosive material, which was C-4, connected to a detonator. There was probably a master detonator, with the others slaved to it, which was either on a timer or awaiting a remote signal. He glanced around the Torpedo Room, his eyes settling on the dead Spetsnaz. There was something in his grip. Harrison hustled over and opened his hand, revealing a remote detonator, the red light blinking. It’d been activated, but there was no indication of how much time was left.
Harrison sprinted back to the first torpedo, examining the detonator again. A thin wire connected the detonator to an initiating tube, inserted into the C-4.
“We need to disarm the explosives,” he said to Tolbert. “This is what you need to do.”
Harrison grabbed the end of the initiating tube and pulled it from the C-4, then broke the wiring to the detonator. He moved to the next torpedo while the other men assisted, each man choosing a different torpedo. They moved from one torpedo to the next, until there was only one weapon remaining. Harrison was the first to come free, and as he approached the torpedo, he noticed its detonator was different. It displayed the time, which was counting down.
Additionally, it was placed atop the C-4, with its initiator apparently protruding from the bottom. Harrison had to remove the detonator, but worried about its design. Advanced detonators included motion sensors, which would send a signal if someone tried to remove them. The other four men gathered around Harrison as he evaluated his options, eliminating all but one.
He reached for the detonator.
86
Inside the command hut, Brackman conferred with McNeil and Verbeck, receiving updates on repairs and on McNeil’s SEALs. McNeil had lost six men during the Spetsnaz attack on Harrison’s squad and the counterassault. With sixteen men aboard North Dakota, that left ten able-bodied SEALs, plus McNeil at Ice Station Nautilus. The ten SEALs had donned the white outer layer of Arctic gear stripped from dead Spetsnaz, as had McNeil, and were standing guard along the perimeter of Ice Station Nautilus, in case the Russians got another bright idea in the middle of the Arctic night.
Verbeck had contacted the appropriate commands, relaying what had occurred at the ice station. Commander Steel was supervising his men as they pored over the rescue equipment, repairing the leaks in the manway and damage to the port decompression chamber. To rescue Dolgoruky’s entire crew, they would likely need both chambers operational.
It was a few hours before sunrise, but the cooks were already busy. One of the cooks, Sally Firebaugh, stopped by the command hut, letting everyone know food would be ready soon. She noticed the blood on Christine’s face, then after being assured she was okay, returned with a wet towel. It was then that Brackman noticed the tension in Christine’s shoulders and the look on her face.
Christine had uncharacteristically declined to participate in the conversation with Verbeck and McNeil, and had moved to the far corner of the command hut. She was leaning against the edge of a table, her arms folded across her chest and her eyes fixed on the floor. It didn’t take Brackman long to realize what she was worried about. There had been no word since the platoon of SEALs descended toward North Dakota.
Brackman broke away from McNeil and Verbeck and went to her.
When Christine looked up, he said, “He’ll be okay.”
“Is it that obvious?’ she asked.
“No,” Brackman replied. “But I know you well enough to pick up a cue or two.”
“Good.” Christine said. “Don’t tell anyone. Especially Jake.”
“I’m pretty sure he already knows.”
His assurance didn’t ease the pain on her face, and she tightened her arms across her chest. He was only trying to help, but had somehow made the situation worse. Christine’s relationship with Harrison was complicated. After they ran into each other on Michigan last year, Brackman could tell her feelings for him had resurfaced. The problem was — Harrison was married now.
Brackman stepped close to Christine and lowered his voice so no one overheard. “You’re a smart, beautiful woman, Christine, with a personality a hell of a lot more pleasant than Hardison’s.”
Christine laughed at Brackman’s jab at the president’s chief of staff, her White House nemesis. “That’s not saying much,” she replied.
“My point,” Brackman added, “is that you can have almost any man you want. Don’t dwell on Harrison. You need to move on.”
“I know,” Christine said. She forced a weak smile. “Thanks.”
A squawk on Verbeck’s radio interrupted their conversation. They listened as Commander Steel informed Verbeck that North Dakota had been secured with no casualties, and the PRM was on its way up with Harrison and fifteen dead Spetsnaz. Steel added that the Spetsnaz had wired North Dakota’s torpedoes with explosives, but the detonators had been disarmed in time. Brackman watched the relief wash over Christine.
The PRM returned to the surface, and after an update from Harrison on North Dakota and its crew, Brackman sent the PRM down with the first load of North Dakota’s equipment while Commander Steel’s men continued their repairs. On the next trip up, the PRM would bring the platoon of SEALs, then return with the final load of North Dakota’s electronics. By then, the flexible manway repairs should be complete, so the PRM could descend to Dolgoruky and return while pressurized.
The fifteen SEALs returned to the surface, and not long thereafter, Commander Steel arrived at the command hut, approaching McNeil and Brackman.
“The manway has been repaired, but we’re still working on the port decompression chamber. Some of the electrical interconnects were damaged in the firefight and we don’t have enough spares. We’re splicing the damaged cables together, which will take a while. However, we don’t need the port chamber right away. The first two groups from Dolgoruky can go into the starboard chamber.”
Steel finished his update with, “We’re ready to commence rescue ops.”
Christine zipped up her parka and stepped outside. There was an orange glow on the horizon. Dolgoruky’s last report stated the air in Compartment One would become toxic just before sunrise.
87