Silence.
‘Base to Storm Flight. I repeat we have non-combatants on the base. Do not attack. We have comprehensive video of the base. Any action you make will be filmed. This conversation is also being recorded. Do not attack!’
‘Commander. Sentinel squadron are on an interception course. They report that Storm Flight has split, one section going north, the other south. Looks like they are attempting to circle the base.’
The commander thought for a moment. ‘No missiles fired?’
‘No sir.’
‘Right. Pull back Sentinel. They are to resume duties to protect and defend. But be prepared!’
The commander clicked the button on the microphone. ‘Base camp to Storm Flight. You should be aware icebreaker LK-80’s nuclear reactor is no longer stable. Any interference with LK-80 will not only halt the rescue process, but may also create a nuclear incident. I repeat, a nuclear incident. This conversation is being recorded. Please acknowledge.’
Silence.
‘Wait!’ Sean dashed to the door and stood outside, gazing into the sky.
‘You hear that!’
Most of the party regarded him in puzzlement, but Major Pierce was already nodding in agreement. He knew what Sean was thinking.
‘Look up there!’ Sean pointed to the American warplanes, hurtling high above them. ‘Just a few well aimed bombs from them would sink the ship a lot faster than we ever could.’ He glanced at the Captain for confirmation, but Grigori’s face held a horrified expression.
‘We need a radio. Grigori — a radio!’ Sean grabbed him. ‘Show us where!’
‘There’s one on the bridge,’ said Pierce.
‘Let’s go.’
They raced up the companionway and burst through the doors. Pierce pointed to the radio room behind, and they ran through. The set looked like it had been salvaged from a tanker decades ago, but it still worked.
‘What frequency do we contact them on?’ asked Sean.
‘We don’t. We have to communicate with base, and they issue the instructions.’
‘OK.’
Pierce set the frequency, and flicked the microphone switch. ‘LK-80 to base. Major Pierce here. Acknowledge immediately. This is urgent. Respond immediately.’ There were several seconds of static before they caught a faint voice.
‘Base to LK-80. What is the issue?’
Pierce briefed the base about the reactor meltdown and the consequences if the resultant explosion occurred on the surface. ‘We need to sink the ship urgently. A detonation on the seabed will be better contained. Divert two of your aircraft to bomb the ship!’
A burst of static caused the response to be lost.
‘Say again base, I’m losing you.’
‘Ah, LK-80 we have our hands full here. We’ve been joined by Russian fighters.’
Major Pierce squinted at Sean. ‘At times like this I wish I wasn’t in the military.’ He turned to the mike. ‘Write this down, this is important. Bombers are to avoid mid-ships. Otherwise you will make the problem worse.’
‘Base to LK-80, please say again. Reception is very bad.’
Pierce repeated the instructions. ‘Put two aircraft up from reserve. We need time to stop the rescue module and clear the ship.’
‘About 30 minutes?’ He checked Sean’s reaction.
Sean nodded agreement.
‘LK-80 to base. Commence bombing run at 13:37 precisely. Please acknowledge.’
The sound of static filled the room.
President Donahue and President Duskin entered the ante-room at the pre-arranged time, some fifteen minutes before the meeting with the British Prime Minister was due.
‘Have you any idea what Ashdown wants from us, Pavla?’
‘No, none. But he is cunning and crafty. I feel he has something more up his sleeve that he is not telling us.’
‘He is also extremely well informed. I imagine he’ll want the air crews from your two bombers released.’
‘Why would he want that?’
President Donahue shrugged. ‘I think he wants to use the incident as a lever of some kind.’
‘Did you know about the deception using fake GPS signals?’
Donahue paused before replying. ‘No, I didn’t.’
‘You looked surprised when Ashdown mentioned it. I guessed you didn’t.’
‘We have a few more minutes.’ President Donahue gestured to a chair and they both sat. He chose his next words carefully. ‘Khostov made some claims about corruption you had a hand in. Were they true?’
‘No.’ The denial was flat and immediate, brooking no argument.
‘I see.’
‘Tell me Robert, is this all a big bluff?’
Donahue pretended to consider the question, but felt it was uttered simply to divert attention from his previous query. He shrugged. ‘Who knows? But if it is a bluff, right now Ashdown holds the upper hand.’
‘We are both being forced to play his game, and we don’t understand what the stakes are.’
‘Doesn’t it strike you as odd that the PM is holding us to account? I mean, it’s not like his country is in the same league as ours.’
‘You know Robert, there is an old Russian saying: a bad peace is better than a good quarrel.’
President Donahue smiled. ‘That reminds me of an old Yiddish phrase: a bad peace is better than a good war.’
‘Well I suppose we should get down to business,’ Duskin said, indicating a change of mood. ‘Why did you occupy our vessel?’
‘To rescue the sailors trapped on the bottom of the sea,’ replied Donahue testily. ‘It was our only option. Remember the incident was first caused by your ship ramming our submarine.’
‘Robert. This was not a deliberate sinking, but an accident. And you snubbed our offer of a rescue. To make matters worse your military established a camp nearby and are patrolling the area with war planes.’ President’s Duskin’s voice rose. ‘Why should we take this lying down?’
‘The presence of Russian war planes are hampering the rescue work,’ replied Donahue heatedly. ‘American fighters were ordered to ensure they are protected while transferring the crew from the submarine.’
Both men rose to their feet, facing each other. At that moment the door opened and the British Prime Minister entered the room.
‘Gentlemen, I’m glad to see you are getting on so well. Shall we go in?
‘They want to speak to you.’ The XO handed the set to Captain White. While the Captain talked to the program manager on the surface, the XO glanced round the inside of the rescue module. Five body bags lay stacked two deep on the floor. Around the cramped interior the Captain and Thomas were the only two living ones aboard. They had lifted away from the USS Montana some twenty minutes ago. Thomas was looking forward to breathing fresh air again — even if it was going to be thirty below zero.
The Captain hung up the handset, his face ashen.
‘What’s the matter Captain? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.’
The Captain’s shoulders slumped. ‘There’s a major problem with the reactor on board the ship. It’s gone into meltdown. They want to sink the ship to prevent the fallout.’
‘OK Captain, but how does that affect us?’
‘They have to do it now.’
‘You mean, before we’ve got off?’ Thomas was incredulous.
Captain White laid a hand on his XO’s shoulder. ‘I’m sorry Thomas.’
‘But we’re ten minutes away from the surface! Surely they can wait that long!’
The Captain lowered his head. ‘It’s fifteen minutes Thomas, and they can’t wait.’