“I knew there was more to you than what Sasha let on. I could see it. You enjoy these ships. You understand them. I believe that we will work well together.”
“I think so, too, Captain,” replied Nick.
Andri slapped him on the back before he left. He was confident that he had found someone upon whom he could rely.
Nick went the other way and soon stumbled into the communications room and Marina. He looked around to make sure no one else was present before he began speaking. “Can you believe this thing? There is crap on this sub that the United States is only developing right now.”
“Keep quiet, Nicholas. We can’t be too careful.” Marina was somewhat subdued. She heard the torpedo sink the freighter and the other detonate. It was not an ideal situation for her. She was confined and underwater, truly out of her element.
“I’m saying that this is one fucking dangerous weapon.”
“I know. He fired upon the ship.”
Nick had forgotten about the freighter, and the reality of the events came floating back to him. “Yes, he did, and I can understand why. We will all be sought after now, not just Andri. It assured him that the crew would stay in for the long haul. We’re now all criminals.”
“Nicholas! Remember, we are here to prevent this. We can’t let him sell this ship to the Arabs. It could mean the end of my country.”
“He’s not going to sell this thing. He didn’t even allow the Arabs on board. Andri has a different agenda, and it has nothing to do with the Middle East.”
Marina felt especially helpless. She couldn’t even leave her cabin to find out the plan, and Nick seemed to be enjoying the adventure. “This is bad. We have to find out what he is up to. You, Nicholas. You have to find out what is his real intent.”
Nick wrestled with how that was going to happen.
Marina spoke again. “This bastard is capable of starting a nuclear war. If we can’t stop him, then no one can. We may even need some help, and there is none around. “
“You’re wrong,” he replied. “Help is out there, somewhere, following us. Of that I’m sure.” Nick took some comfort in the thought of Mikhail and the War Eagle.
“Don’t get your hopes up, Nicholas. The US Navy would sink us as soon as they could. We are the only ones left to stop this lunatic. The only questions are how and when.”
Marina showed signs of desperation, and it flowed over to Nick. “There will be a time, Marina. It will come.”
Nick returned to the bridge and found himself the last one to take his place. Andri was in his position, looking like the austere captain of such an important vessel.
“Planesman,” ordered Andri. “Dive at a twenty-degree angle to three hundred and fifty meters.”
Nick pushed forward on the column, and the Saratov began her descent. At 350 meters, he leveled her out and continued on course.
“Fuck!”
Jim heard the word resonate from the RRCC. He knew it was Josh’s voice, and it was confirmed by his appearance in the CIC.
“She dove, Cap. ODIS lost her when she hit her first thermal. There’s no way to track her until she comes back.”
“Is ODIS set to scan?”
“Already working.”
“Okay then, it’s a game of hide-and-go-seek. Flank speed, Mr. Dowl.”
“Flank speed, sir,” Linc replied.
“Mikhail!” Jim knew he was close.
“I’m right here,” he said from behind Hickman.
“Mik. I want to know every wild, harebrained scheme this Stemovich son of a bitch may have in mind. I want to hear all of them before we get to the coordinates where we last saw him.”
It was easy for Sharon to see that Dan was more than agitated when he walked in the office. She followed and sat across his desk from him. “You didn’t have a very good day.”
“You can say that again.”
“Anything I can help with?”
“I don’t think so. Unless you know how to replace the president.”
The comment caught her off guard, and she didn’t know what to make of it. “Anything other than that?”
“Things aren’t going as well as I had hoped.”
“Maybe you need a nice night to relax. I can take you to dinner. Tell you how well the secret campaigning for the director’s chair is going for you.”
“Jesus. I’d forgotten that you’d been up in arms about that. Many people on my side?”
“Everyone. They won’t stand to have Levi promoted to the job. What do you think?”
“I think now we have an opportunity.” Dan knew he had some chance because the operation fouled on Levi. Levi had done an excellent job saving his ass, but he was still wrong about the events. It was to Dan’s benefit no matter what happened.
“Then let me buy you a drink.”
He felt the sudden urge to shed all his responsibility for one night. He had to go somewhere where he didn’t have to think about work for a few hours. “I’ll take you up on the dinner.”
“Okay then,” perked Sharon. “Let me just call my girl…”
The statement was somewhat embarrassing for both, and each blushed.
“Go ahead. I understand,” said Dan. Beth Rudnick, he thought. That was someone whom I had forgotten all about.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Idle Hands
The last several days hadn’t been good ones for Levi. He sat in the darkness of his office and tried to relax. He knew he was playing the biggest game of his life. More was on the line now than ever in his career. The military-industrial complex was expecting him to deliver one last time. After that, he wouldn’t be bothered by it ever again. That drove him to see his plan through. This one success and he would rule the world’s most complex intelligence organization without constraint.
He was still surprised at how easy it was to plant the seed in the president. He laughed to himself as he remembered how the leader of the free world had seized on his idea. He could almost envision the president’s thoughts as he sowed the dangerous seeds. As long as the US stays clean, there would be no problem, only prosperity. The rest happens on the other side of the world. No need to get caught up in other people’s affairs. At least not until asked. If Levi hadn’t been so cold-blooded, he, too, might have even been disgusted by the president’s inaction.
Dan Archer — he was another problem. Anthony had remarked on their walk out of the White House that if it weren’t for Dan they would all have been finished. Luckily for Levi, Dan had hooked up with Sukudo and kept an eye on the situation. Anthony was ready to jerk the op from Levi except for the fact that he seemed to be in the president’s favor by the end of the meeting. Dan hadn’t damaged his position for the big chair — not much, anyway. That was the most annoying thing of all. Levi knew he couldn’t continue working in the CIA if Dan received the promotion. He’d have to retire before he reached his single personal goal. Unthinkable. He picked up his phone and dialed Beth. She answered, crying.
“Beth? What’s the matter?”
“Levi, why the fuck did you have to call now? I don’t want to talk to you.”
He wasn’t sure what to make of this. “Then don’t pick up the phone when you see my number. Who were you expecting?”
“You know who. I’m sure you called to rub it in.”
“What, Beth? Tell me, and I’ll see if I can help.”
Beth knew her father all too well. She knew he was a manipulating ass, yet she needed to talk, and he was the only one on the line. “You can help by killing that bastard, Dan Archer.”
This did surprise him. Levi wasn’t expecting that to drop from his daughter’s mouth. “Why?”