The challenge lay beyond the Bering Strait. Andy Reed anticipated the Soviet hunter/killer (HUK) group somewhere ahead of them. Houston moved out on the point. Being considerably smaller, she could dive, even in the shallow Chukchi waters, and act as a forward listening post for Imperator. The four submarines communicated freely by radio while cruising on the surface. It was understood that Snow would continue to operate independently although Reed desperately hoped he could locate the Soviets before Imperator was able to go deep. The advantage, as in almost any encounter, would go to the boat able to initiate an attack. Once they both were aware of each other, it would become a cat-and-mouse game.
As Imperator navigated the thickening ice of the Bering Strait, Andy Reed spent much of his time at the computer. Everything available on Danilov and his three submarines had been relayed by satellite during their surface transit. There was little difficulty in selecting the most obvious route for a submarine departing Polyarnyy. He was uncertain only when they would arrive in the vicinity.
In analyzing Abe Danilov’s character and career, Reed found even more that was similar to his own. Their strong family ties seemed to follow the same pattern. Danilov was aggressive, as ruthless as Reed had been when he sank the two Soviet subs the previous day, and he was cunning. It was a mistake to take any competitor for granted. Reed’s assumptions were reinforced by the computer.
Danilov’s submarines wouldn’t surface. That was obvious. They would remain invisible in the safe confines of deep water far enough off the continental shelf. It also would be senseless for the three Soviet submarines to stick together. If the decision was Reed’s, he would leave one along the Alaskan coast in deep water and position two well apart to prevent Imperator from racing due north toward the pole.
The ice became thick to the north. Floe ice was heavy beyond the Bering Strait and totally impassable that time of year well into the Chukchi Sea. There was no way the Americans would be able to use aircraft to locate the Russians either with sonobuoys or magnetic detectors, nor could satellites pierce the icepack. It would be a simple case of submarine against submarine.
Reed’s intent was to confuse the Russians initially. He ordered a variety of time-delay noisemakers dispersed along and well ahead of their route. Where openings appeared in the ice, they were dropped by aircraft. The capabilities of these new noisemakers were unknown to the Russians. They were small, self-propelled units that would take off at high speed once in the water. As their fuel became exhausted, their engines fell to the bottom. The noisemakers remained motionless, suspended at a preset depth. Then, at a predetermined time, they would employ almost every natural sound that existed in that part of the ocean until their batteries died. They were so sophisticated that it would be impossible for all but the best sonar operator to distinguish between the natural and the man-made sound. This tactic would initially offer a confusing, protective sound barrier and would prevent Danilov from recording and analyzing Imperator too soon. Reed intended to make it a pursuit of the unknown for as long as possible.
Snow was tired. Though Carol Petersen had insisted that the computer could navigate the Bering Strait with better eyes than any man, he remained on the bridge. He was imbued with the tradition of generations. The night was black and there was very little water under the keel. A captain must remain on his bridge in such a situation…
The Bering Strait was anything but busy at that time of year because, floe ice was still thick. Caesar plotted the paths of occasional fishing craft long before Snow saw any of them. Whenever he marked one with the radar cursor and punched a locator number into the computer, the response was instant. At one point, out of curiosity, Snow requested a pictorial surface-situation report. Instantly, an accurate display of the area appeared with Imperator in the center, and the narrowest part of the strait just ahead of them. Fairway Rock lay a couple of miles on the port beam and Cape Prince of Wales, the westernmost point of Alaska, stood to starboard. Little Diomede Island, just two-and-a-half miles from Russian territory, lay off the port bow. Ahead, the waters opened onto the Chukchi Sea. Andy Reed’s three submarines were still clearly evident.
The air picture was quite the opposite. There were no landmarks but the sky was crowded — with friendly aircraft. The consortium was taking no chances. Choke points were attack points, and the Bering Strait was the most obvious place to stop Imperator. Sheer logic demanded that she be protected from any further threat. It was worth forcing an international incident if the Russians attempted to stop her.
From this point, they would follow a course allowing as little of the submarine above the surface as was safe. Once they were in deeper water, Imperator would dive and remain submerged.
As the American submarines headed north, a meeting was taking place on the top floor of a high-rise along the Potomac in Alexandria, Virginia. There, not only were the rooms secure but there was less chance of certain members of the group being recognized than if they had met at the Pentagon. Before the chairman convened the meeting, a videotape of comments from various commentators on each network was shown. The network analyses were not unpleasant, for there was little information to work from. But the atmosphere they created was heavy with innuendo, leaving an inference that once again the White House might be involved with a project bearing future military implications without congressional knowledge.
The consortium was a small, intimate group. All were male. The civilians dressed in expensive suits, while the military members were resplendent with gold and stars. No junior staff members from the military were present, nor had any of them ever been to one of these meetings. Decisions were reserved for what the media would call power brokers. Such meetings were held only when circumstances demanded instant decisions.
On the previous day, their strategy had been frustrated by an Eskimo and a scientist in a skin boat. The eventual announcement of Imperator’s existence had been carefully planned. But perfect orchestration of the media had evaporated on the day they planned to hand out smoothly designed press releases. Exposure of the unknown had automatically generated suggestions of mistrust. Therefore, the logical response was to reveal nothing. When questioned at a news conference, the president’s press secretary said only that the report was being investigated.
There was nothing to be gained by Moscow’s reporting their version of Imperator’s true mission. The limited details provided by a scientist and an Eskimo bobbing about the Bering Sea in a skin boat provided little to refute. Imperator, regardless of the extent the consortium might eventually reveal about the submarine and its mission, would remain a contradiction.
Kremlin leaders focused on one clear objective. No matter what was or was not acknowledged about Imperator, their singular goal was to ensure that the submarine would never again surface once she dived under the icecap. With the head of Service A (the KGB’s directorate controlling disinformation) recently relieved, the reliability of any propaganda efforts remained at a low ebb. Let the world think what it might concerning the American submarine. Let the world ponder the facts after Imperator was at the bottom!
As silence echoed through Kremlin hallways, the civilian power structure in Washington grew increasingly confused. While they were angered at being the foils of a well-kept secret, they were equally concerned with the speed of the Soviet buildup on the Northern Flank. It was difficult to sort out the most critical concern facing them. Was it at home or within the Kremlin? They were shocked at the alert of Soviet polar commandos. When that factor sank in, it took little time to evoke a similar response from Washington. Force would match force.