Though Guan was far from being an expert in such tactical matters, he knew that the fleeing enemy vessel was well within range of their torpedoes. And when Lee continued to show no sign that such a launch was even imminent, Guan dared to voice his concerns.
“Captain, let’s release our torpedoes and be done with this! Don’t forget, we still have the Polk to eliminate.”
Madness flashed from Lee’s dark eyes, as he looked downward to meet Guan’s fear-filled glance. “This is how a true warrior wreaks vengeance on his enemy, Comrade Commissar! Our attack must be sure; his destruction guaranteed!”
“But what about the Way, sir?” countered Guan.
“The Way be damned!” cursed Lee Shao-chi, with such force that the candle’s flickering flame was abruptly snuffed out, causing a veil of crimson red to descend upon the Lijiang’s control room.
45
“Conn, sonar,” reported Brad Bodzin into the intercom handset. “Sierra Six has just broken through the thermocline, Captain! We’ve got a firm lock on them, on bearing two-four-one, range seventy-five hundred yards.”
“Snapshot, tubes one and two, fire!” ordered the amplified voice of Benjamin over the sonar room’s intercom speakers.
Bodzin and his fellow technicians alertly pushed back their headphones as these torpedoes were released into the sea with two powerful jolts of compressed air. The deck shuddered, and Bodzin reported to the control room that both weapons were running true and headed straight toward their exposed target.
All three of the Folk’s sonar operators knew that the Man’s life expectancy could be counted off in seconds now nothing short of a miracle could save them. Jaffers refocused his scan to the dramatic scene taking place in the waters above them.
“I don’t believe it, but the Talent’s still going for it,” Jaffers observed, wonder struck
“It sounds to me like they really do intend to take that fish right on the chin. Those Limeys are nuts!”
“Or, more likely, incredibly brave,” offered Bodzin, who flinched when a succession of three separate explosions sounded from the nearby waters.
As expected, the Lijiang was the victim of two of these blasts. The Wan-class vessel was hit directly amidships and its hull instantly ripped open. Inside the Folk’s sonar room, the distinctive crackling sound of an imploding submarine filled their headphones for the third time that day.
There was no time to celebrate, as all attention was now locked on the plight of the HMS Talent. Sonar indicated they’d been spared a direct hit, and a rushed underwater telephone conversation soon proved the Talent had only been struck a glancing blow that shattered equipment and broke many a bone, but which would enable the pride of the Royal Navy to limp home on its own power. The last the Polk heard from them was when Comdr. Mark Eastbrook personally got on the line to wish the men of SEAL Team Two good luck in their midnight endeavor.
46
Richy Patton started to have second doubts about his rash decision to leave the relatively safe confines of the Security Room the moment he stepped onto the Quarter Deck from the E Stairway. This put him around the corner from the Library, where the two men he hoped to release were being detained. Barely aware of the pitching deck beneath him, Ricky halted on the landing, and debated whether to return to Two Deck. By instigating this daring plan, he was jeopardizing his life and that of his father. But by doing nothing, and taking the coward’s way out, they could very well lose out on their only real chance to retake the ship from the terrorists.
Ricky supposed that it could do no harm to peek around the corner and see exactly what he was up against, and he cautiously inched his way forward. The passageway outside the glass-walled Library was well lit — he could see several dozen members of the crew inside. There didn’t appear to be a sentry on duty. As he continued his approach, Ricky spied a key protruding from the Library door’s lock. This was all he needed to see to realize that fate had already made his decision for him.
Without hesitation, he made his way to the door and turned the key. The lock opened with a loud click. He pushed open the door and stepped inside. Most of the detainees were Philippine crew members, with both Tuff and Thomas seated at a table, reading.
The atf. agent didn’t seem surprised when he saw Ricky and discreetly informed Tuff of his presence. Ricky joined them, and accepted a concerned greeting from Tuff.
“So they decided to put you in detention with the rest of us after all.”
“It’s nothing like that,” informed Ricky. “I saw your capture on one of the security monitors, and used the key you gave me to see if I could help spring you. Would you believe there wasn’t a guard at the door, and that I walked right in here?”
Tuffs glance went to the Library’s entryway. Upon verifying that the sentry was still absent, he looked at Thomas and winked. “Time’s a-wasting, Special Agent. Shall we get on with it?”
Thomas stood alongside Tuff. Before making good his exit, he left Ricky with a single piece of advice. “It’s best if you return to security before they miss you. Give us a minute’s head start … and thanks again for risking your life like this.”
Before Ricky could reply, Thomas and Tuff were out the door. Ricky noted the curious stares of the other prisoners, none of whom took advantage of the unlocked doorway to make his own escape. Proud of his newfound courageousness, he decided to take Thomas Kellogg’s advice and return to the Security Room. He ducked out the entryway and turned to relock the door before continuing down to Two Deck.
“Going somewhere, comrade?” asked an icy voice from behind.
Ricky felt the hard barrel of a rifle poke into his back. He let go of the key and slowly turned his head. A black clad, Asian sentry with a disdainful smirk on his pockmarked face shook his head and chastised him as if he were a naughty schoolboy.
“Why don’t you be a good boy and go back into the Library where you belong? I’m so seasick right now that I don’t even feel like shooting you.”
Kristin had been in the midst of a thorough video scan of the ship when she chanced upon the person she was searching for standing outside the Library. It appeared that Ricky had been captured by one of her associates, and she watched as he was escorted at gunpoint into the Library and locked inside.
Her new friend was very fortunate that he hadn’t been shot. Kristin wondered how he had gotten free of the cuffs and why he would have risked his father’s life by escaping. She supposed that it would do him no harm to remain in detention. This would keep him out of further trouble, and away from the threatening presence of her father.
There was something very disturbing about her father’s recent change in temperament. He was getting increasingly irritable and prone to frequent fits of uncontrollable rage. Kristin was well aware of the tremendous pressure he was under. She could only hope that he would be able to center himself before his blind anger caused him to do something that he’d later regret — like killing one of the heads of state.
She had a bird’s-eye view of these very individuals, on the center video screen. They remained seated around their table, with several of them slumped over, sleeping. With disheveled tuxedos and beard-stub bled faces, they were beginning to look like the mortals they really were.
This lesson alone was worth their effort. Kristin couldn’t wait until the first photograph of this motley group was released to the world.
A burst of static on her two-way radio diverted her attention from the console. The gruff voice of her father broke from the speaker and ordered her to report at once to the ship’s Radio Room.