The last time George had contacted the system was right before he had left the Kuwait International Airport. Mohsen was with him, then nothing. He was going to be crushed if George didn’t make it through the ordeal. He was so close to getting out.
Sharon strolled in and poked her head through his door. She had a big smile. “Hi, Boss.”
He was startled out of his concentration. “Oh. Hi, Sharon.” He recalled the morning shower and became embarrassed. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. I would like to leave early today to put a deposit on a new apartment.”
He didn’t want to ask any more questions. Her sentence made it plain that she had had enough of Beth. “Sure. I think it’ll probably be slow today.”
“Okay, thanks, Boss. And, Dan, don’t be embarrassed. I may want to take you out again.”
Sheepishly, Dan smiled. He almost felt ashamed about the good time they had.
Getting off the Saratov was the problem. Nick saw absolutely no way of leaving the ship safely until they were in port. The alternative was to sink her. That was easy enough for him. Living past that event was the obstacle.
The ship had settled into a routine. The Saratov remained on autopilot. About every fifteen minutes, Nick would check the depth of the sub and the other gauges. Satisfied that it was running smoothly, he then strolled off to another part of the ship to inspect.
Andri had remained on the bridge the entire time of his watch. He’d either be charting maps, making log entries, or filling in for one of the crew. The latter he didn’t mind. He enjoyed physically controlling his creation almost as much as commanding it. Hours after the launch and between their ultimate destination, Andri was the happiest. His mood relaxed the crew.
On one of his returns to monitor his station, Nick saw that Andri was quietly motioning him to come speak. It wasn’t secretive per se, just private.
“Since you’ve been aboard, you have had ample opportunity to thoroughly inspect the ship. I’m interested in your opinion.” Andri felt strongly that there was something in Nick that bonded the two.
“You have a fine vessel. I could never imagine a ship so well crafted, Captain. It is truly an achievement.”
“Good, Nicholas. I was wondering what your analysis would be after you finished exploring. I have built the perfect vessel. It’s quiet, fast, and powerful. Absolutely no mistakes.”
It wasn’t in Nick’s nature to let someone rave about themselves without putting them in check. “It is very good, Captain. Perfect, I’m not sure.”
“Have you found a problem?” said Andri defensively.
“No. It has nothing to do with the operating of the ship itself, but your escape pod bothers me. I don’t think it will work.”
“How?”
“I don’t see the mechanism it uses to separate it from the ship.”
“I have it held to the Saratov with exploding bolts. Close the hatch, hit the button, and the bolts explode, and the pod is free to rise.” Andri was puzzled that Nicholas couldn’t see such an obvious system.
“I understand that. But won’t the water pressure on the hull hold it against the ship? The deeper we are, the less chance the pod has of detaching from the sub, unless the pressure on the inside of the Saratov is the same as on the outside.”
“The situation assumes a compartment breach. A crewmember may have to sacrifice himself to ensure that.”
It was not the answer Nick wanted to hear. He wasn’t sure now that it was a good idea to criticize the Saratov. He had come to respect Andri and, in some slight way, sympathized with his mission. He didn’t want to hurt anyone. He only wanted his country back. “It is a minor detail, Captain, in the face of astounding thinking.”
“Thank you, Nicholas. Your observation is noted.” The tone of his voice had changed. He had dismissed Nick with the sentence, and Nick quickly obliged.
Walking back to Marina in communications, he didn’t know what effect this would have on Andri. One small comment from him seemed to put off Andri. That was bad because it could get them all killed. Oops, thought Nick.
He startled Sasha when he burst in the room. Marina was crouching against the back wall. She had fire in her eyes, and she was ready to fight to the end. Her nose was bloodied and her clothes torn.
Sasha stood with his back to the door. He was beginning to unzip his pants when Nick appeared. “Leave us, Nicholas,” he said. “Your little whore doesn’t think I’m good enough for a roll.”
Nick’s emotions shot past rage. With one hand, he lifted Sasha off his feet and slammed him against the back wall. “You little bastard. Touch her again, and I’ll castrate you myself.”
The fury was completely unexpected by Sasha. He didn’t know why Nicholas should suddenly have feelings for a woman whom he professed to be a slut. It made no sense that he would protect her since he seemed to object to her being there at all. Though he was being held against the wall and his pants were by his ankles, Sasha was immediately suspicious about the two. Everything they had said began to unwind.
Nick returned him to his feet, and Sasha, somewhat embarrassed, pulled his pants up. Without a word, he moved to the door. One last look, and he left.
They didn’t have to speak to know that they were in trouble.
“Are you hurt?”
Marina shook her head.
“Why was he here? I thought his tastes lay with the men.”
“They do.” She choked as she gained her composure. “This was a dominance thing. He was going to have his way to show me that he was in charge. He was arrogant enough to tell me that.”
“I would have thought that after witnessing the beating you gave the other guy, he wouldn’t have tried.”
“I was asleep.” She buttoned the rest of her clothes, and with a final shake, Marina returned to herself. “I’m all right now. What about Stemovich?”
“Our captain believes that he can restore communism and the faith of the Russian people. He thinks that the government can work if it is run by the right leaders.”
“Who? Him? How will he get to head a government from a submarine?” Marina was disgusted.
“He’s got help — has to. Someone in Moscow, probably. Stemovich is just the persuasive force. He claims that he put the first nuclear missile in an area that was already contaminated by radioactivity. He said no one was hurt.”
Marina mulled it over. “I hope that’s the truth.” She paused. “What about the other missiles?”
“Don’t know. It seems that he doesn’t want anyone to die. But he did sink that freighter.”
“Did he give you any indication where we were going?”
“No. His talk was more to indoctrinate me.”
Marina snorted. “He’s a madman. He wants to plunge my country back into state servitude. He is the criminal.”
There was an uneasy silence between them.
“Okay,” she said. “How do we get off?”
“We have to wait until we surface again. There’s no other way.”
“What about the escape vessel?”
“Won’t work. We’re too deep.”
“What about the reactor? Surely we can sabotage that.” Marina didn’t care so much if they got away. She was more concerned with stopping Andri.
“Don’t be so eager.” Nick always believed that there were options. “Yes, we could go after the reactor, but not now. That’s a last resort. I don’t want to die.”
She came forward and hugged him. “I do not look forward to the end, either, Nicholas, but I see no other way.”
Booker knew that when an unscheduled supply flight was due to arrive on the deck of the Toledo that Sukudo would be in it. He didn’t expect any supplies of any type, nor did he need any. When Kenneth burst through the door of his operations room, no one was surprised.