Alex leaned casually against the doorframe facing the captain. “I think you should be telling me don’t you? After all you’re the one attempting to betray this operation!” Alex’s tone became harder, the revolver pointed steadily at the captain’s stomach. “But of course you cannot tell me who your controller is, because you don’t know who he is, do you!” Alex seemed to weigh the gun in his hand. “Let me see now, what did they promise you? "First the return of your ship and then a substantial share of the gold. Yes?”
The captain slumped back into his chair.
“Not just for me you understand but for the engineer too” he confessed, defeated.
“You bloody fool. You of all people should know they would never keep such a promise. Damn it man, you know too much. You’ve just signed your own death warrant!”
There was a sound outside. Alex turned. The engineer and Greg stood at the entrance.
“What have you done man?” the old engineer said as he moved across to his captain and only friend.
“I’m afraid I didn’t think very clearly and I’ve given our position away to my controller; he promised to return the ship and a big share of the gold if I cooperated!” He was close to tears.
The old engineer placed a gnarled hand on the captain’s shoulder. “ Don’t worry Cap. It’ll be OK, you’ll see.”
“Greg I want you to lock him in his cabin.” Alex turned to the old engineer. “So what do we have to do about you then?”
“Don’t worry about me boss — you see I’m not that greedy, but it’s up to you?” He shrugged his skinny shoulders.
Alex thought for a minute and picked up the microphone.
“OK boys it seems as though we are to receive unwelcome visitors. So let’s get ourselves ready to repel boarders!” he commanded over the ship’s intercom system.
Then he slapped the old engineer lightly on the back.
“Let’s see if we can save something to argue over eh?”
Alex slipped across to the tug, where Big J and the deck crew were busy preparing to send the dive bell back down to collect Hal’s team.
“Hold that for a minute please. J, I need a quick chat before that goes back down.”
It was almost twenty minutes later before the bell finally started its decent to collect the other divers; but it was not empty. John’s face grinned from the tiny pressure window; he gave the OK sign as it vanished into the water. Attached to the bell were three of the special depleted uranium magnetic mines.
Johns job was to place the mines strategically on the submarine ensuring that “any uninvited visitors receive a warm welcome”, as Alex had put it.
John clamped the first of the mines at the bow of the submarine, adjacent to the protruding torpedo and hopefully he calculated, near the other ordnance inside the torpedo room. The second he placed on opposite side of the hull, near to where Hal and the other divers were still feverishly working. The last one he intended to place as close to the stern of the wreck as he could get.
Hal’s divers had finally made a big enough opening in the outer hull and attached the lifting chains to the heavy lump of gold. Satisfied that it was well secured, Hal called to Greg on the surface.
“OK to take the weight on the derrick now.” There was no response. “Wake up you buggers,” Hal called again frustrated.
It was Marion’s trembling voice they eventually heard as she responded to Hal’s frustrated calls.
“We’ve been boarded by dozens of armed men. I don’t know what to do. Alex and Oscar have disappeared and the rest of the crew are on deck under guard. I don’t know what to say but be careful; they’ve launched one of their submersibles. I’ll try to find someone who knows what to do.”
Marion had taken a tray of steaming mugs of coffee to the control room and was surprised to find it empty. The unfamiliar shouting on deck attracted her attention to the small control room porthole, where she watched unnoticed as the drama on deck unfolded.
She had not seen the other dive boat, escorted by one of the high-powered motorboats, as they banged roughly alongside the tug disgorging about fifteen armed men who had been hidden below their bulwarks. The other two motorboats pulled alongside the outboard side of La Vielle.
Armed men swarmed all over the two vessels. Big J and his unarmed crew had no option but to surrender. Big J was immediately identified as the tug’s captain by the thin faced Japanese who swaggered across the deck to face him; in spite of the fact that Big J towered at least a foot above him, the thin faced Japanese stood arrogantly hands on hips.
“So, you must be the leader of this project yes?” He didn’t wait for Big J to answer. “You can see that I have twenty-five armed men who are very keen to test their weapons and there are more in the other two motor launches.” As if it were needed he indicated their presence with a casual sweep of his hand. “First thing to remember, they all hate westerners. Secondly they are seriously upset of by the loss of their promised new weapons. So I thought it might help to sharpen their interest if I were to tell them exactly who was responsible for the loss of their toys.” The thin-faced man looked towards the derrick, its slack cable swinging gently in the light swell. His head snapped back to glare at Big J. “So you will tell me what you have found and co-operate fully, then there will be no trouble. Otherwise I will let my men loose, is that clear?”
Big J should have been an actor, for he played his part with professional style. He looked about the deck and at his nervous crew.
“OK. I have no plans to endanger my crew or my vessels.” He looked at some of the men as if asking for their blessing before continuing. No one spoke they just looked at he floor in apparent fear. Big J looked back at the thin-faced man. “So far, after searching about twenty other locations, we believe that we may have finally found the wreck of the cargo submarine. To date we have recovered only a few gold ingots. But we are convinced that the bulk is still down there.” He looked again at the others than back at the thin faced Japanese.
Big J took a step towards the ship’s rail, beckoning the man as he moved.
“Now look, I’d be quite prepared to work with you, but you must make it worth my while?” he said in a lower but perfectly audible tone.
“You bloody traitor,” one of the despondent crew shouted out.
The thin-faced Japanese swaggered to the side and looked into the black water between the tethered vessels. “
Well Captain, perhaps we could come to some kind of arrangement.” He looked up at Big J, “And how much gold do you think there is still down there?”
“I’d say about thirty tonnes, Big J replied quietly. His face lit up into a cheeky smile. “Enough for you and me!” he said, then followed in a serious tone, “especially if it only has to be divided in two.”
The thin-faced man looked at Big J and smiled.
“I think you and I should talk but somewhere a little more private yes?” He looked about. “Where do you suggest?”
“The bridge.” Big J pointed and moved forward, leading the way.
Big J and Alex had already agreed that the only way to avoid a frontal firefight was to let their enemy on board and then gradually neutralise them, using stealthy guerrilla tactics.
Mo and Alex, wearing breathing gear, had slipped unseen into the sea, just before the first armed men climbed aboard. Each carrying two of the depleted uranium limpet mines, they swam under the vessels to the enemy powerboats and carefully attached a mine to each one.
Oscar was waiting for them at the underwater hatch in the tug.
“How did you get on?” he asked excitedly as they pulled away their masks.
“I think you can say that we have control of that situation. Now what’s happening here?” Alex asked anxiously.