Jake pointed to his position on the tactical display.
“We’re here,” he said. “The surface fleet blocks our movement to the west. The Turkish coast and the minefield by the Bosporus block our escape to the south. They think I won’t risk going north because they believe I laid a minefield there.”
“Okay. I see that.”
“The Kilo is coming from the east. Even though we’re hidden for now, the Russians have us pinned down within twenty miles in any direction. I think that Kilo isn’t coming to play as a team member of the Russian fleet. I think it’s coming for me, one on one.”
He stared at the screen as the situation’s geometric constraints shaped his theory.
“The Russians are allowing a mission of vengeance?”
“It’s possible,” Jake said. “They know they’ll lose pilots and aircraft to Terry with an air strike, but a submarine can beat us with no further loss.”
“I see.”
“But maybe it’s a renegade commanding officer. Authorized or not, I think that’s where ego comes into it. I bruised the ego of that ship’s captain and crew badly, and they’re afraid to spend the rest of their lives with their lasting memory of me being mortal terror and humiliation.”
“How could they hope to win? You damaged their ship.”
“They don’t know that Terry found them. They think that I’m completely distracted by the surface fleet and the threat of the air attack. They probably think I wrote them off hours ago and forgot about them, too. And to be honest, I did, until Terry found them.”
The priest frowned.
“I imagine that you’ll use this knowledge to our advantage to defeat the Kilo,” he said. “But that doesn’t solve the seemingly insurmountable challenge from the sky.”
“No, it doesn’t. And it wouldn’t get us out of the Black Sea, either, now would it?”
“This sounds dire. Why do you look like you just received divine inspiration?”
Jake smiled.
“Because I just received divine inspiration. There’s a plan taking root in my mind, and you need to remind me to thank you if it gets us out of here alive with our ships.”
“Okay, I’m glad I helped, whatever I did.”
“I’ll explain later. Just keep our conversation and especially Pierre’s video confidential.”
He dismissed the priest, walked to the central navigation chart, and summoned Henri and Remy to his side.
“What is it?” Henri asked.
“I’m going to draw out a plan on the chart. While I do that, I need you guys to watch Pierre’s video to understand the background. I’ve just released it for both of you to watch with your login identities. I don’t want anyone else watching, and I want you guys to keep the information confidential.”
“You looked ghastly ten minutes ago,” Henri said. “Now you’re almost giddy. What happened?”
“Watch the video to know why I was upset.”
“We will, but what about your plan? Give me something to keep my spirits up while I’m watching this depressing video.”
“Terry’s trailing the Kilo and has determined that it’s coming for us.”
“That Kilo has enough of a head start on Terry that he can’t help,” Henri said. “If that Kilo’s coming for us, we’ll need to deal with it ourselves. I’m not seeing anything yet to support your enthusiasm.”
“I know it sounds bad. Call me crazy, but I think I can turn this to our advantage.”
“You mean to buy us time to survive through the night?”
“No,” Jake said. “I mean to save the day and get us the hell out of here.”
CHAPTER 17
Jake tapped the icon that started the tactical system’s depiction of his plan. Images of ships moved around the display, demonstrating his intent with the Kilo.
“It might work,” Henri said.
“It adds danger that we don’t need,” Remy said. “I don’t like that we’re trying this with damage to our conning tower from the Grisha’s guns. I still haven’t had a chance to analyze the impact of that to our acoustic signature.”
“And that Kilo has a dozen holes punched into it from my torpedo,” Jake said. “We have the advantage. I don’t want the usual conservative Antoine for this. I want the superhero, gutsy Antoine.”
“I don’t recall having a twin. Where have you ever seen that fictional version of me?”
“I dream of him from time to time.”
“I can’t promise you an especially brave version of myself.”
Henri tapped his fingernail against the icon of the Goliath.
“This fails if Terry doesn’t learn of it,” he said. “Without his confirmation of support, we won’t know if we’re wasting our time. And if he transmits to confirm his support, he risks ruining everything by revealing his position. It’s a self-defeating proposition, unless you want to work on blind faith that Terry will do his part.”
“He might be able to respond with a delayed communications buoy,” Jake said. “Worst case, if this doesn’t work out, I’ll just put another torpedo into that Kilo.”
“What type?” Henri asked.
The question surprised Jake.
“Are you going to make me decide now?”
“I think it’s best that you do. Decide now so that you don’t have to under stress later.”
Jake wanted to avoid turning the Kilo into a mass grave, but the slow-kill weapon had demonstrated its limits.
“Heavyweight,” he said. “Decision made.”
“It’s good to make a decision,” Remy said. “But be careful that you don’t send a heavyweight into Terry.”
“You’d never let me do that,” Jake said. “You can tell the Goliath from the Kilo.”
“No matter how good your teams are, two friendly submarines in the same water hunting a hostile boat is dangerous.”
“We’ll have satellite coverage of the Kilo’s snorkel mast.”
“Provided we’re both at snorkel depth.”
“You saw Pierre’s video, right?”
“Yes.”
“Do you see anything else we can do? Would you prefer to wait and see what happens with negotiations and then, you know, do what Pierre suggested?”
Jake scanned the control room and verified that the cramped confines prevented him from a conversation of complete privacy.
“I know his final order was extreme,” Remy said. “Of course, I don’t want it to come to that.”
“Extreme, but necessary if the world falls apart like he thinks it will. But if my idea with the Kilo works out, we can avoid it.”
“There are so many unpredictable factors that have to be resolved favorably for this to work,” Henri said. “And the required precision pushes the limits of feasibility.”
“But consider if my plan breaks down,” Jake said. “We could still fight our way out of it and proceed as Pierre ordered. I’m giving us a fighting chance for something better.”
The Frenchmen fell silent, and their hesitance bothered him.
“I don’t promise a democratic outcome, but I invite your votes, to know where you stand,” he said. “Antoine?”
The toad-head shook.
“No. I don’t like the chances of us shooting Terry by accident or vice versa. It’s too dangerous for a supposed upside that might even get us into more trouble.”
“I figured,” Jake said. “That’s why I asked you first. Henri?”
“May vote neutral? I see a balance of positives and negatives. It’s one of those scenarios where I’m grateful that the burden of the decision is yours.”