Bluffing or not, the intruder upon his nation’s sovereignty fired back with respectable zeal, leaving Floros to hope that his submarine commanders could match their enemy’s mettle as he planned to place the yoke of responsibility upon them to obliterate the upstart fleet’s flagship.
“Because you can’t know the effects of the damage I took. But I promise you one thing, Captain Floros of the Hellenic Navy. The first torpedo I launch will be aimed at you. If you continue this battle, I will crush the Hydra first.”
CHAPTER 20
Cahill shared a thought he considered strange.
“What if he agrees to the truce?”
“Then we’d know he’s a liar,” Walker said.
“Come on, I made a good argument, and maybe he doesn’t give a damn about defending the old regime. Maybe he just wants to get home to his family and restart his life under the new puppet government.”
“Then we’d go home, too, I guess,” Walker said. “Or, as long as you’re living in a fairy tale, we could first see if the new prime minister will let us tour the islands as his personal guest. We could visit tourist sites in the Aegean Sea on his yacht, and when we go ashore to dance with elves, you can ride his pet unicorn.”
The Frenchman’s voice issued from the console.
“Neither sarcasm nor fantasies become you, Liam,” Renard said. “And he’s not the prime minister yet, although I’m doing all I can to accelerate that.”
“Even if you do push things along, it won’t be in time for him to make this blasted task force stand down against me, will it?” Cahill asked.
“No, it won’t. He’s proven that he can negotiate peace about the oil rig with the Turks, but he’s not entrenched enough yet to order his navy to let a criminal run free.”
Cahill looked to his translator for a reply from the Greek captain, but a shaking head suggested a delay. While he assumed the task force commander digested his offer, he watched for signs of weapons launches and continued talking with his boss.
“Now you call me a criminal? You make it sound like I deserve to be sunk. Should I just give in to guilt and surrender?”
“When you signed up with my fleet, you agreed to be vilified by those we prosecute. However, the praises from my clients for your actions are lofty, and I’m more energized than ever to negotiate your exit.”
Cahill reflected upon his narrow escape from the Russian Navy at the bottleneck exit from the Black Sea.
“More energized than when you saved us from the Russians? I thought you were pretty well energized back then, and you barely got us out in time to keep the Black Sea from being our tomb.”
“I was more desperate then than energized,” Renard said. “What I mean now is that I expect a positive outcome. The political movement in Greece has been more favorable than I had expected, and I anticipate the ultimate approval of our actions from all major stakeholders in our mission.”
Cahill realized his French boss let ambition blind him to the immediacy of the real crisis.
“We’re still out here exposed and vulnerable, but you sound like you’re already declaring victory.”
“I’m declaring a victory for that which we’ve already won,” Renard said. “Credibility. We’ve all won it together as a growing team. After proving our efficacy and our reliability in the Black Sea, we piqued the interest of many wealthy nations. Now, in this campaign, we’ve shown our abilities firsthand to the richest client base. We have a very bright and profitable future.”
Cahill looked again to his translator for a reply to his offer of peace, but the Greek task force’s commander remained silent.
“All well and good for repeat business, mate, assuming you get me ass out of here to repeat it for you.”
“Therein lies the challenge,” Renard said.
“Too bad you can’t just throw down cash on the table and make the problem go away.”
“Never discount bribery when I’m negotiating, but that option’s not available to me quite yet. However, I must admit I overheard you doing a fine job of negotiating with the Hellenic task force commander in your own right. What inspired you to suggest that you have six torpedoes available?”
“I have no idea what made me think about it. I know bloody well they were torn away when we lost our port bow, but I just wanted to sound convincing when I told me translator I had six torpedoes. The truth is, I don’t know why I didn’t flinch. Thankfully, me translator didn’t know enough about the damage to call me bluff on it, and he delivered the message like a champion.”
“But I suspect our adversary saw through the charade,” Renard said. “Just be ready to run when your offer is rejected.”
“Don’t worry, Pierre. I’m ready to slip away as soon as this verbal jousting is done. I have to admit, I hate waiting for the man to flinch. I much prefer action to talking.”
As if prompted by fate’s irony, Captain Floros’ answer issued from the loudspeaker, and Cahill understood its tone before the translator confirmed the Greek officer’s declining of the offer.
“That was gracious of him to finally answer,” Cahill said.
“Despite his delay, I agree,” Renard said. “I think he respected you for offering him the peace, and he’s paying you a gesture of respect by giving you a direct answer. As expected, however, he cannot accept your terms. I suggest that you also respond now with a gesture of respect, but be firm.”
Cahill looked to his translator.
“Tell him that the next time I offer him a peaceful solution, my terms will be less flexible.”
The translator spoke the message, garnering no response.
“I see one missile each departing from three ships,” Renard said. “I missed the launches due to degradation of the thermal imagery under the smoke clouds, but I’ve verified that missiles are flying at you. Check for them on your tactical system and take note that your time on the surface is now limited.”
“Understood,” Cahill said.
He glanced at his boss’ face and saw him looking down from his camera while hearing the audio report flowing through his headset. While Renard’s thoughts drifted away, Cahill set the Goliath into action.
“Find me a target to shoot before I submerge us, Liam. I want to make use of the time up here.”
“The helicopters are still too far away,” Walker said. “I recommend propulsion equipment, starting with the frigate to the east. The return is spotty under chaff and the smoke screen, but we can get some decent shots into its engine room. I recommend ten splintering rounds before we submerge.”
Cahill ordered the suggested attack, and while Walker oversaw the railguns, the Frenchman offered his parting update.
“Interesting,” Renard said. “Jake just reported movement of the Hellenic submarines. It may mean nothing, but I shall forward you the information on the low-bandwidth channel as I receive it.”
“Thanks, Pierre.
“I’ve also ordered Jake north to assist you,” Renard said. “He’s grown quite fond of his new Russian friends and believes he can use them to protect you when you’re within reach of his aid. God willing, that will be soon.”
“Great to know, mate.”
“Ah, and I believe your railgun rounds just hit something incendiary on your targeted frigate. I saw a fire blooming through the smoke cloud from the satellite’s infrared.”
“No more time for talking,” Cahill said. “Got to go.”
He submerged the Goliath below the incoming Harpoon missiles, grasping a rail as the deck dipped. Then he reversed the floor beneath his feet and invoked a fifteen-degree up angle to overcome the port bow’s hydrodynamic disadvantage.