Dex picked it up, immediately feeling its mass. The box, perhaps ten inches long and half as deep, was well-machined… and heavy, and quite possibly air and water-tight. Carefully, he slipped it into his sample bag. Then, scouring the inner walls of the file drawer with his torch beam, he saw nothing else of interest.
“Hey, this might be something…” said Tommy.
He was still scanning the storage area where the Captain’s clothing had been kept.
“What’d you find?”
“I dunno, looks like some clips and some medals.” He held them out in his hand, pinned them there with his Ikelite.
“Yeah, grab any of that kind of stuff you find. It’s all that’s left from the clothes, but it might tell us something.”
“Okay,” said Tommy.
“This place looks pretty empty,” said Dex. “But the seawater could’ve eaten everything. No way to tell.”
“Piece of his shoes,” said Tommy. “There were little scraps and pieces in the locker. That was all that was left of this guy’s shoes.”
“I remember reading somewhere that the German sailors used to put their names in their shoes — that it was a good way to ID a ship by checking the guy’s name on naval registries.”
“Not this time,” said Tommy.
A soft beeper sounded, synched up with the LED on Dex’s Princeton Tec. The device was telling him it was just about time to go.
“Hey, you about ready?” he said to Tommy as he gestured toward the ceiling.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Kevin, Andy…? How’s it going in there?”
“Not much around. This place looks like they picked it clean.” said Andy. “We’re heading towards the aft torpedo room.”
“Be careful. Get samples of anything that looks interesting,” said Dex. “Tommy and I are heading up. You copy that Don?”
“I hear you.”
“What about Doc and Mike?”
“Ready to hit the water,” said Doc. “On your mark, Boss.”
“Any time you’re ready,” said Dex. “We’ll see you on the safeline. On our way up.”
Nodding to Tommy, Dex gestured to his dive-mate to get moving.
He felt a pulse of excitement jump through him as he anticipated going through the stuff they’d just found. Good chance they’d ID the sub for sure now, and that might just be the beginning.
Chapter Fourteen
The next several hours passed with the deceptive calm of typical U-boat operations. Erich’s experience warned him to never accept a lack of peril as an indication of safety. A ship that traversed under the sea was always in danger. Period.
As the 5001 continued its path along the coast of Greenland, Erich used the time to get Manny up to speed on what they would be doing, and how they would do it. They spoke openly in the privacy of the Captain’s quarters.
After going over the sealed instructions on how to gain access to Station One Eleven, Erich leaned back in his chair, opened his hands as if to say any questions?
His Exec did not disappoint him.
“How long have you know about this secret base?”
Erich shrugged. “Not long. Six months, perhaps. Only since the time I was selected for this current mission.”
“Everything on a need-to-know basis.”
“True,” said Erich. “But, as you can imagine, there are always rumors flying. The most obvious assumption is that our scientists are working on special weapons projects. Although I’ve heard this is not the only such base.”
“Really?”
Erich grinned. “There is talk of a ‘Station Two Eleven’ located in the Antarctic.”
“Someone in High Command has a preference for cold weather.”
“Inaccessible locations seems to be the priority.” Erich poured more black coffee from his thermos, sipped it absently. “Even if the enemy discovers the existence of such bases, they will be difficult, if not impossible, to attack.”
“What about our boat? How hard for us to get into the Station?”
Erich tapped the now unsealed orders and directions. “You have read the briefing. We have a precise map of the underwater passage, but it will require skill and some luck, as usual.”
Manny smiled. “Of course. How much do we tell the crew?”
“That will be to our discretion. Since this is an emergency mission, we may include them in whatever will ensure success, would not you think?”
Erich felt strongly about that, believed he owed his men a high level of honesty for their trust in him.
Manny nodded as he checked his wrist watch. “I agree. The more they know, the more well-equipped to deal with the unanticipated.”
Erich stood up, reached for the cabin door. “It is time,” he said softly.
As he entered the control room, he saw Bischoff hunched over his funkmaat console, hands pressing his headphones ever closer to his ears. He looked up to address his captain.
“All quiet, sir.”
“Herr Ostermann,” said Erich. “An update on our position.”
“We are approaching the entrance coordinates. We should be able to get a visual any time now.”
The helmsman was standing by, waiting for the command to take additional action.
Turning, Erich directed his attention through the viewing port, past the pale, ghostly reach of a single searchlight. He paused as something began to define itself in the murky water.
“Helmsman,” he said. “All ahead one quarter. Zero bubble.”
“I see a darker space,” said Manfred, whispering. “Is that it? The entrance.”
“We need to get a little closer.” Erich trusted the data from the sealed briefing. He was certain they were on track, but a solid confirmation would make him feel even better.
As the boat surged forward, her bow level, the details of the ice-shelf, which formed the cruel, undersea shoreline of Greenland, revealed themselves.
“That looks like the opening we are looking for. Right there.” Manny pointed dead ahead.
Erich squinted ineffectually through the thick glass of the viewport. He silently cursed the visibility, at the same time realizing how innovative and helpful it was to even have a viewport. Having spent all of his undersea time sailing “blind,” he should be happy to be able to see anything.
Visibility gradually improved, but with excruciating slowness. Meter by meter, the boat closed the distance between itself and the opening in the shelf. Erich could almost feel the weight of all the ice over their heads.
A little farther. A little more, and—
“It is a cavern,” said Manfred, still whispering so only Erich could hear him. “Look!”
“Affirmative. Helm, approach with caution on current heading. Slip speed.”
Waiting patiently for a clearer view, Erich could see they were slowly knifing through a natural geologic opening, perhaps a fault that had been there a long time.
Closer and closer, the U-5001 approached and Erich could now appreciate the size of the yawning chasm in front of them. Even allowing for distortion and lack of proportion, the opening appeared capacious, ready to swallow up their bulk like a minnow.
“Steady as she goes,” said Erich.
Like the open maw of an enormous sea creature, the submerged entrance to the secret base filled the viewing port with a vast, hollow darkness. It was like the entrance to an undersea hell, to a place of nightmare and the ending of all light forever. Terrifying, yet comforting in a way he had not expected, Erich tried to estimate its true dimensions.