Sopocko said nothing.
“And look at your vessel,” Sieinski said pointedly. “Can you survive another day out here?”
“What is it you want, Josef? Absolution? Okay. I say it, now. Your sins are forgiven, your sins from the past, the sin you are about to commit.”
Sieinski recoiled as if struck. “I thought I could at least talk with you,” he hissed. “Of all my friends, I thought you would understand the logic of it.”
“That the war is lost?” Sopocko’s laughter echoed over the water. “Of course it is lost. You fool. It was lost five years ago. And now brave men are dying. Did I tell you that my father is in Switzerland? Yes, that patriot left a week ago. He didn’t tell my brother, who is an officer in the cavalry, or me. How do you think my brother and his men are doing against the German tanks? Horseflesh versus steel. If it weren’t so horrific, so personal, I would laugh despair. I suppose the old man kept quiet because he knew what we would say. And now the sound of my last name makes me sick. Imagine that?”
Sieinski reached out, grabbed the sleeve of Sopocko’s jacket. “The army—your brother—they have no choice,” Sieinskihe said fiercely. “We do. We have other options to continue the struggle. By ourselves, it is a lost battle. But with the French, we could fight on. Think about it? That’s why the chief of staff sent those destroyers away. He knew…. he knew….” Sieinski’s words ended in a near shriek. He glanced nervously at the gun crew below, wondered if they heard what he had said.
Sopocko shook his sleeve free of Sieinski’s clutches, and nodded without conviction. “Perfect sense. I agree. And so you want me to say it? Will it make it easier for you? Okay, I say it. You go, then. Take the Eagle and your men and race to France as fast as you can. And you can believe that no one will think ill toward you. As you pointed out, we have already sent some of our destroyers away for safety. My father has left. Why not a submarine or two?”
Sieinski’s Adam’s apple bobbed with a swallow. “Yes,” he choked. “My thinking, exactly.”
“Beautiful, aren’t they?” Sopocko said, waving his arm at the canopy of stars above his head. “On some nights I have often wished that we could sail to the horizon, skip over the edge, and continue on, up there. Imagine what it must be like? They say there are a billion stars out there. I wonder if… ” He swept his gaze over the vast expanse, and then stopped at the eastern sky. It was already beginning to show faint hints of light. “Ah, dawn soon. A last dawn, I think, for me and my men.” He saw Sieinski wince. “Is that too harsh for you, my dear Józef? So be it. But I think it will be the most precious dawn of my life. I will squeeze every last second from it—cherish it like no other. Out here, we cannot hide during the day like you, and the Luftwaffe, I fear, will be at us by mid-morning like flies on the ass of a cow. Time to be off, I think. Give my best to your officers and men,” Sopocko said. “Good luck whatever you decide.”
Sieinski held out his hand. “Goodbye, Wictor.”
Sopocko stared at Sieinski’s hand, and then shook his head in refusal. “Not that, I think,” he said softly. “You can still change your mind, you know. You have some good men…. But never fear, I will tell no one. I will die with it this day. Or tomorrow. You never should have taken this command, you know.” And with those last words, he disappeared over edge of the conning tower. A moment later, the M10 moved off into the night.
Sieinski stood there, sick with shame and rage, watching until the vessel disappeared. There was the faint sound of tapping from the gun crew below. He wondered how much they had heard. Probably nothing. No one had heard a thing. Who did he think he was? Talking to him that way. To think that over the years, all those parties, he thought Sopocko a friend. He should have expected as much. Just a motorboat captain. With all his father’s influence, that was the best he could do? There must have been something lacking in his character to warrant a command such as that. Sieinski, on the other hand, was captain of the most deadly boat in the Polish fleet, and not just because of his father’s help.
Sieinski grabbed the side of the conning tower as a wave of dizziness and nausea swept over him. When it was past, he took a deep breath, scanned the sky. Indeed, dawn would not be far off. Soon it would be time to dive for safety. His men wouldn’t like it, but the decision was clear.
And they would obey orders.
He spoke into the speaker tubes. “Lookouts and officers to the bridge.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Stefan lay on his bunk, eyes closed. He was desperately tired, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the meeting on the bridge. Why the secrecy? What was so important that the second in command of a vessel had to be excluded? Was it something to do with him? Didn’t Sieinski trust him? Even worse, was he planning something that he knew Stefan would not approve of?
Stefan’s thoughts began to take even wild turns. Before they could go far, he growled with frustration, rolled off his bunk, and made his way to the officers’ wardroom. Food and coffee. Since he couldn’t sleep, that’s what he needed.
He found Kate, Reggie, Eryk and Squeaky huddled around the table that dominated the small room. A plate piled with meat, cheese, bread and sliced fruit sat in the center of the table. Everyone had mugs of coffee. Bookshelves were along one wall. A narrow counter along the other. Photographs of Hollywood starlets filled out the rest of the decorations.
“Pull up a chair, commander,” Reggie said cheerfully. “You look like hell.”
Stefan grunted. “Under the circumstances, I’ll take that as a compliment. How go your interviews?” he said to Kate.
“Interesting,” Kate said. “I didn’t realize that your crew was so young. Is that typical?”
Stefan nodded, his mouth already filled with a slice of meat.
Eryk answered for him. “Yes. You’ll find submariners tend to be a young lot. But they’re good boys, smart, quick learners. Navies around the world find that younger men tend to stand up to the rigors of the duty better than older ones.”
“What about him?” Kate said, pointing at Stefan.
“He’s an aberration,” Squeaky said, stifling a laugh.
“Careful with those big words,” Stefan said, eyes glittering. “Might get yourself into trouble.”
“Oh, I think we’re in enough trouble. What do you think about that powwow upstairs?” he asked cautiously.
Stefan didn’t take the bait. He shrugged, reached for a plate of fruit.
“I thought something was different,” Reggie said. “We’re not moving. Oh, I see. You mean, we’ve met another ship?”
Eryk nodded, kept his eyes on the bread in his hand.
Kate noticed the change right away. “Not a happy ship,” she said to herself in English. “Just our luck.”
“What’s that?” Stefan asked.
“I was just wondering if they might like a couple of passengers,” Kate said, slipping easily back into Polish.
Stefan shook his head. “You don’t want to be on that boat.”
“Why, something wrong with the captain?”
Stefan stared hard at her for a moment, Eryk and Squeaky were looking at her, as well, food paused halfway between their mouths and the plate. Stefan’s face reddened and then he exploded with laughter, Eryk and Squeaky joined in.
When they finally quieted down, Stefan wiped his eye and said, “No, nothing wrong with Sopocko. Hell of a man, good captain, too, from all I heard. I suppose you could ask about a ride. But his motorboat is not the place to be.”
Eryk and Squeaky had turned suddenly serious, their faces blank.
“What do you mean?”
“How do you think it will be for them tomorrow? We will spend the day hiding on the bottom, but they have nowhere to go. They can motor close to shore and hope the coastal batteries provide them some protection, but …” He twirled his hand over his head. “Sopocko is no coward. He will not run for cover, he will fight…” He let that hang in the air.