"You will comply!" the Soviet captain bellowed.
Heido smiled. He reached up and flipped the channel selector to the international distress frequency. "Mioshi says you have gotten rid of the suitcase?"
Carter nodded.
Heido turned back to the microphone. "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. This is the Japanese fishing vessel Tiger Lily, in international waters, calling Mayday."
Almost immediately the Japanese Coastal Safety Service came back: "Fishing vessel Tiger Lily, say your exact position and the nature of your emergency."
The Soviet gunboat suddenly peeled off to the west where a couple of hundred yards away she stopped, her guns at the ready. It was clear §he meant simply to block any further progress.
"Let's go back," Carter said.
Heido was clearly relieved. "A very wise decision, Carter-san, considering the circumstances."
"Tiger Lily, say again your position and the nature of your distress," the radio blared.
Heido turned the wheel over to Mioshi, and as they headed back toward Hokkaido, he got on the radio and apologized to the Coastal Safety Service operator, thanking them for their vigilance but reporting that their flooding was now under control and for the moment they were in no need of assistance.
Carter stepped out of the wheelhouse into the cold wind and looked back at the Soviet gunboat. These were international waters, and the Soviet captain did not want to risk an incident. Not here. It was the Russian's error, though. Had the captain let them get closer to the coast, he would have had a good case for boarding them.
Svetlaya, at least by sea, was impossible, Carter thought. But there would be another way. There had to be. His only concern was time. Sooner or later all the Petrograd-class subs would have been deployed from Svetlaya. They would be at sea. By then it would be far too late to do anything about them.
Heido came out on deck. Carter gave him a cigarette and they both smoked in silence for a while as the Russian gunboat faded into the distance.
"You will not give this up, I suspect, Carter-san," Heido said.
"No, it's too important."
Heido nodded.
Kazuka and the girls were waiting for them at the dock when they returned that evening just after dark. They had monitored the Soviet exercise broadcasts in the early morning and then the exchange between Heido and the Soviet gunboat captain.
"What about the carrying case?" Kazuka asked when they were tied up.
"It's gone. I tossed it overboard when we thought the Russians might board us. We're going back to Tokyo tonight."
"Svetlaya is out?"
"For the time being, and so are you," Carter said. They started back up to the house. Kazuka wasn't very happy with his decision.
"Tokyo is still my station, Nicholas."
"It's going to get a little hairy back there once I show up. Especially if the Russians spot me. I want you to go up to your uncle's house for a while. At least until things settle down."
Kazuka stopped him. In the dim light she looked up into his eyes. "Your concern is touching, Nicholas. But I am an AXE chief of station. And Tokyo is my city."
"They tortured you, for crissakes!"
"And they broke your ribs," she flared. "Are you going back to Washington until you mend?"
Heido came up behind them. He was laughing. "Carter-san is a Western man. He has not yet learned about the resiliency of women."
Carter finally shook his head in defeat. Kazuka reached up and kissed him on the cheek.
"That's better," she said.
They walked up to the house, and while the girls went to get the car, Carter and Kazuka went into Heido's communications room, hidden across from the rock garden just off the central core of the house. Powerful receivers scanned several dozen Soviet military channels, while big tape decks recorded everything. Every twelve hours his daughters reviewed what was taped, calling to their father's attention anything that seemed important.
He had a secure link with the AXE office in Tokyo, with an automatic link from there by satellite to Washington.
It took only a minute or so for the connections to be made and for Hawk's telephone to ring. Kazuka left to speak with Heido and to pack their bags.
"It's me," Carter said when Hawk came on the line.
"Are you at Ishinomari's on Hokkaido?"
"Yes, sir. We tried for Svetlaya last night."
"Was anyone hurt?"
"No, sir, nor was the mission compromised. But it won't be possible to get there from here."
The line was silent for a long time.
"Sir?" Carter prompted.
"I spoke with the President again. The Japanese government has lodged a protest with us as well as with the Soviets. But listen to me, N3. We think that the Russians are getting set to move their Petrograd submarines out of Svetlaya in the very near future — probably within the next few days."
"We have to get to them first. Once they're out, we'll never catch up with them."
"Exactly, so we're going to have to move fast. How are you — still fit? There was some trouble at an airstrip, I understand."
"Fit enough, sir," Carter said. It wasn't exactly a lie, but he was not going to be pulled off this assignment now. "What do you have in mind?"
"I'm still working on it. When will you be back in Tokyo?"
"By about six A.M. local, sir. And I was thinking that if it were possible to get me to Vladivostok, I might be able to make a try from there."
"It's going to be more complicated than that, I'm afraid. This time it's out of my hands."
"Sir?"
"The CIA is going to be in on this," Hawk said tiredly. Carter could hear the strain in his voice.
"No way around it?" Carter asked. He had a great deal of respect for the Central Intelligence Agency; it was just that their operations tended to be very large, very expensive, and often very messy. AXE operations, on the other hand, were almost always small, fast, and clean.
"Sorry, Nick. President's orders."
The Vice-President had been a former CIA chief. The decision wasn't very surprising to Carter.
"When you get back to Tokyo I want you to report to Arnold Scott. He's a good man."
"Yes, sir. We've already met."
"You're not working for him or the Company, Nick. But neither are they working for you. This is going to be a joint operation."
"We'll be needing another carrying case."
"Two others were made. They're on their way out to you, along with Tom Barber, another Company man who'll be tagging along."
Carter was almost afraid to ask if there was more.
"Miss Akiyama and our Tokyo office are going to have to act as bait for the Russians as well as the Japanese. You're dead. And that's the official line. So you're going to have to keep out of sight in Tokyo."
"Yes, sir," Carter said glumly. It meant Kazuka was not only going to be exposed out in the open again, it also meant that all of Tokyo's AXE operations would be in jeopardy. The submarine's computer chip was extraordinarily important.
"Get the chip, Nick," Hawk said. "You have to."
"I'll do my best."
Carter broke the connection and went back into the main section of the house as Heido and Kazuka were saying their good-byes.
"Ah, Carter-san," Heido said. "You are ready to leave now?"
Carter nodded. "Thank you for your help, Heido."
"I am sorry it did not result in the ends you desired. But I believe you made a wise decision this morning."
Carter brought his hands together and bowed deeply.
During the hour-and-a-half drive to the airport outside Haboro, Carter explained to Kazuka what Hawk had told him. She wasn't very happy about the situation, but she understood that her part in keeping the Russians and the Japanese busy and distracted would help ensure the ultimate success of the mission.