“We need to answer,” Cahill said.
“I know. Patch Doctor Tan through the radio.”
“He’s patched through,” Cahill said.
A glance to the nodding Henri confirmed the link.
“Terry, write down what I say for Doctor Tan. Doctor Tan, take your time to listen to my words and read Terry’s writing as you speak to make sure you get it right. There’s no room for error.”
“I understand,” Tan said.
“How did they identify themselves?” Jake asked.
“They didn’t,” Tan said. “They just demanded a response.”
“How did they identify us?”
“They called us the vessel at our coordinates, heading on our course and at our speed.”
“Okay, tell them this is the vessel at our coordinates, course, and speed. We acknowledge their hailing, and we request to know their location and intent in hailing us.”
As Cahill scribbled notes and whispered to Tan, Jake looked to his sonar expert.
“Antoine,” he said.
“Yes?” Remy said.
“Assign the slow-kill weapon in tube five to the closest Chinese warship. Assign the slow-kill weapon in tube six to the other warship.”
“I’m assigning the weapons,” Remy said. “Tubes five and six are assigned.”
Jake confirmed the targeting on his monitor as he heard Doctor Tan speak his response.
“You’re not planning to shoot, are you?” Cahill asked.
“No, but I need to be ready. The slow-kill weapons would cause enough damage to slow them down so we could get away.”
“Or just piss them off.”
“I’m not firing unless they’re already pissed off.”
“You sure the weapons will work if you launch from your height in me bed?”
“I can only guess,” Jake said. “They’d fall about five meters, hit the water, and hopefully dive below our exoskeleton. But they’re the only weapons we have that don’t ruin our camouflage.”
“Me cannons will work with just a few holes in our shell.”
“Sure. Get them warmed up, too. Target their propulsion.”
The Chinese warship responded, the angst having ebbed but the voice’s authority strong.
“He’s asking us to identify ourselves, our cargo, and our destination,” Tan said.
“Did he identify himself?”
“No.”
“Did he at least state his location?”
“No.”
“Tell him we will identify ourselves after he states his location. Tell him we are concerned about collision and want to verify his location for safety.”
As Tan obeyed, Jake noticed that the warships approached his horizon.
“Terry, send Liam over to man my bridge. They’ll expect someone to be able to confirm visual on them. I want eyes up there.”
“Right. He’s on his way.”
The warships’ spokesman answered the translator.
“He identified his location,” Tan said. “He said that he can see some sort of green light and demands that we identify ourselves.”
“That’s our starboard running light,” Jake said. “They can already see us. Go ahead and give him our name, and tell him we’re transporting electronics to the Black Sea.”
Tan translated Jake’s message, and then Cahill reported that his railguns were ready.
“What the heck do you think he wants, Terry?”
“No idea. He has no reason to suspect us unless he’s been tipped off.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. But let’s resolve this with a conversation, if possible.”
He looked to Andrew, who sat at a console. The priest met his stare with an expression that Jake deemed approving.
The warships’ verbal response came, and Tan translated.
“He identified himself as representing two warships from the People’s Republic of China and demands to know why we are not using our surface search radar.”
“Well, shit. It’s because I don’t want to be found.”
“That’s the wrong answer,” Cahill said.
“No shit, but I suck at lying. How about you?”
“Not too bad. Let me see. Uh, let’s say that our third mate is on watch, he’s an idiot, and he forgot to turn it on?”
“What the heck? Go with it. Tell him we’ll have it on soon.”
As Tan translated, Jake ordered Henri to raise and energize the Specter’s commercial Furuno surface search radar.
The spokesman for the Chinese warships reminded the occupants of the Goliath-Specter tandem to respect international safety rules of navigation, and then they changed course.
Heaving for breath, Walker entered the control room.
“What did I miss?”
“Sorry, Liam,” Jake said. “Technically, you missed nothing. False alarm.”
Two weeks later, Jake watched the display show the Goliath-Specter tandem in the western end of the Gulf of Aden. The Pakistani corvette that had escorted him across the Indian Ocean bid him farewell as the narrow Bab al-Mandab Strait between Djibouti and Yemen compelled the warship back.
As he entered the Red Sea, he hailed his mentor over a satellite link.
“I appreciate your old friends covering me for so long.”
“Admiral Khan may be retired, but he still has enough clout to loan me a small warship from time to time,” Renard said. “But the attention of a Pakistani warship in the Red Sea would defeat any further support it might offer you.”
Walker stopped at the elevated conning platform and interrupted.
“I’m heading up to the bridge, Jake. Okay?”
“Yeah, go ahead. Keep us from hitting islands or anything else, for that matter.”
The Goliath’s executive officer disappeared.
“You’re on your own until you reach the Suez,” Renard said. “You should be fine, but make sure you’re there before Thursday’s four o’clock departure time. I’ve assured your place in the convoy.”
“Are any of the other ships in the convoy yours?”
“The yachts ahead and behind you will be my agents, as will your pilots before and after the Great Bitter Lake. Visas, crew list, certificate of registration, fees, and bribes are all handled.”
“Bribes? Really?”
“Yes. I’ve spared you the culture shock, and to avoid any discomfort or risk, I’ve been quite generous.”
Half a week later, Jake stood on the bridge with Walker and the Russian-Arabic translator. Darkness covered the calm waters as he heard the former surface warfare officer navigate the Goliath-Specter tandem behind the stern lights of a two-hundred and fifty foot yacht facing the channel.
He stepped to the port bridge wing and looked at the running lights of the yacht behind him. The door clicked open.
“I can’t wait to see what that beauty looks like in daylight,” Walker said. “Do you know what one of those costs?”
“No idea,” Jake said. “Somewhere in the fifty to a hundred million dollar range, I guess.”
“I’m sure they’ll look impressive in a few hours when we can see them. They look lovely now just with their deck lighting.”
“Maybe that’s the point. If I know Pierre, they’re going to be gorgeous and serve as distractions to prevent anyone from giving us a second look as we pass by.”
“That bloke’s thought of everything.”
Ten hours later, Jake woke from a nap and climbed to the bridge. The sun shone through the windows as he reached the deck, and the priest’s tennis shoes tapped the metal rungs below him.
“You didn’t have to join me up here,” Jake said. “The chance of me going on a weapon-shooting rampage in the Suez is slim.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” Andrew said. “But I thought I’d enjoy the nice weather.”