“What’s up, Cap?”
“Something here really is bothering me.”
O’Neil peered at the screen. “Where are you?”
“The docks in Saint Petersburg.”
“What’s there?”
“That’s what I want to figure out. There’s something not right. I’ve looked at these docks before, and they don’t look the same.” Josh had to keep pulling the lens back to the docks as the satellite flew farther north. His window was closing. “Something fundamental.”
“Cap. Ships go in and out of there all the time. Of course it’s going to change.”
Josh again pulled the lens back. “Maybe you’re right. But most of these ships I remember. Most of these barges were here last time I looked…” Then it hit him. Not offering any more conversation, Josh raced the lens up the docks to where the Saratov’s freighter was supposed to be. The space was empty. He ran the lens all over the port, looking for the ship that carried the modified torpedoes and missiles. It was gone. He turned to O’Neil. “Get your captain. Have him bring Mikhail.”
O’Neil could tell it was serious, and rather than call the captain over the phone, he went and retrieved him personally. Mikhail arrived first, then Jim.
“Got something?” Jim felt the concern in Josh’s mood.
“I don’t like jumping the gun, Captain, but you need to see this.” As Josh spoke, he pushed the lens back as far as he could. It wouldn’t reach the docks anymore. His window over Saint Petersburg had closed. “Fuck.”
“What was it?” asked Mikhail.
“The modified sub that we had tracked from the Gulf of Finland to its dumping in the Barents had its armaments stripped in Saint Petersburg. Those missiles and torpedoes and some other junk were separated and loaded on a single small freighter. Admiral Sukudo and I didn’t panic about the sub heading off because it was unarmed. Harmless. Well, I did a flyby over Saint Petersburg—”
Jim finished the sentence for him. “And the freighter was missing.”
“Right,” confirmed Josh. “It’s gone, and I have no idea where.”
“Was a name or registry picked off it?” questioned Mikhail.
Josh felt like he had dropped the ball. “No. We became too concerned with the sub, and we overlooked the freighter.”
Jim wasn’t going to panic over something he couldn’t control. Plus, he didn’t see it as that big of a problem. “Those armaments were specially designed for one vessel?”
“That’s what we think,” said Josh.
“If we know that the sub is up here, and it’s the one to be pirated, then it would make sense that the freighter follows when it’s time to come up. If it went somewhere else, we won’t worry about it. They could have moved the ship to hide the modified weapons.” His rational diffused the subtle panic in Josh.
“True. There’s nothing we can do about it unless it arrives,” Mikhail said.
Josh wasn’t completely convinced. “Yeah, maybe. Maybe not.” He tapped in a few commands on the keyboard to access a new satellite, and he raced the lens ahead of the satellite’s path toward the Barents. The picture rested in Onega Bay, just southwest of Dvina Bay, near Archangel.
“Our sonar will pick up any movement before you do. I don’t expect you to stay here constantly watching your screen.” Jim wanted Josh to take a break. He wanted to make sure that his head stayed clear so he wouldn’t jump to conclusions. He watched as the lens slowly drifted over the bay and then across land and then into the waters of Dvina Bay. “What are you looking at?”
“White Sea, I think,” replied Josh. “A small port city called Archangel is up here… coming into focus now.” Josh zoomed the lens in on the docks and ran it up and down. “Not much here but some icebreakers.” He pulled the lens back and flipped to thermal. A small red dot glowed in the water as it headed out of the bay into the White Sea. “My mistake,” he said. “There is one ship steaming out.” He flipped back to his normal lens and focused on the boat. Then he zoomed in. “Well, fuck me.”
O’Neil had listened to the whole conversation and butted in without thinking. “What?”
“Our missing freighter.”
Jim was understandably a little skeptical. “Are you sure, Captain Brand? Big coincidence finding your misplaced ship just like that.”
“I’m lucky that way, Captain. I’m sure this is her. Right down to the rust. It’s her.”
Jim still didn’t want to completely take his word.
“Look at her, Captain.” Josh zoomed in to blow up the entire ship in the frame. “What’s odd about this boat?”
“She’s half out of the water,” Mikhail offered. The wheels were turning in his head.
“Is that unusual? There could be many reasons for that.” Jim needed more convincing.
“Coming from Archangel, yes. It is unusual.” Mikhail took hold of the possibility now. “This time of year Archangel restocks for the summer. It accepts more goods than it ships out. Almost all cargo ships and freighters leave empty, riding high. This ship is half-loaded. That’s odd for the time of year.”
Josh looked vindicated.
Jim still had a doubt but didn’t want to risk it.
“We have to take this freighter seriously. It could be the beginning,” offered Mikhail.
When Jim committed, he went all the way. It was one of the best things about him being in command. There was no hesitation. Either go in for the long haul or don’t go in at all. “Can you show me where you figure that souped-up sub is sitting?”
Jim flipped ODIS to infrared and moved the screen to expose more of the Barents. He pointed to a small red glow three hundred and fifty to four hundred miles north of the freighter and fifty miles northwest of the Kolguyev Island.
“We’re looking at two days for that old tub.”
“Thirty-six hours,” replied Mikhail. “That freighter was running at top speed, and it was not even out of the bay yet.”
“Linc!” Jim yelled over his shoulder.
Lincoln Dowl appeared in seconds. “Yeah, Cap?”
“Rig for silent running. All nonessential personal should secure and remain in their quarters. Ahead slow. Take us into Russian waters. I want to be three thousand yards away from this dot (referring to the Saratov’s signature on the screen) in six hours. Maintain your depth.”
“Aye, Captain.” Lincoln began barking orders over his shoulder to the CIC. He then returned briefly. “Oh, Cap. Weather report has a storm coming from the west. Should get here within forty-eight hours.”
Everyone now knew why the freighter was making such haste.
Nick found the freighter to be as poorly maintained inside the hull as outside. It looked something like a ghost ship. Garbage littered the passageways, and the obvious lack of crew suggested that it was operating with minimal personnel. Lighting in the bowels was terrible. The engine echoed throughout, and it sounded like it was ready to blow from the strain of running at flank speed. It definitely was a ship on its last voyage. Expendable was the word that crossed his mind.
Sasha led the rest of the crew along the passageways until he came to the mess hall. In there were twenty-three other men. They were in a jovial mood until Sasha and the others appeared. Then the chatting stopped. “We’re all here now,” said Sasha, taking control of the meeting. “You might as well get to know one another. You’ll be spending quite a bit of time together in the next few weeks.”