She needed to confirm his sincerity. “That’s a huge decision. Are you committed to it?”
“Damn it, yes. But I am hedging my bet. Jake will be using slow-kill weapons modified to deploy just one bomblet each.”
She knew of the slow-kill weapons that served as Renard’s calling card, but the details of their behavior eluded her. “What’s the significance of that?”
“I’m trying to hit the engine room without hitting the adjacent MESMA plant. Flooding both compartments might overwhelm and sink the Goliath.”
“Might or will?”
“With Terry and his crew, I’d expect him to manage the damage control and fight to the surface. With these rogues running my ship, I fear the worst.”
“Alright then. How much time do you need?”
“Half an hour.”
“I’ll call the vice admiral and see what I can do.”
She hung up and analyzed her position. Seeing no way to portray Renard’s attack against his own ship as anything but a response to a hijacking, she resigned herself to candor as she called the waiting naval officer.
“Miss McDonald?”
“Yes, sir. I talked to Renard. He’s confided in me that someone hijacked the Goliath. He’s going to cripple it with one of his submarines.”
His tone became accusatory and belittling. “I assumed as much. The Specter just moved half a mile behind the Goliath and opened three of its outer doors. Is there anything you can tell me that I don’t already know?”
She offered what little she could for her dying dignity. “Yes, sir. You’re aware of his slow-kill weapons?”
“If you mean his modified Black Shark torpedoes that attach small charges to targeted hulls, then yes.”
“That’s what I mean. He’s found a way to reduce the yield to one charge per torpedo, and he’s going to try to force the Goliath to surface by flooding the port engine room. He already flooded one engine room, and taking out the port room would cripple the ship.”
He grunted. “That explains why one propeller is idle.”
“Yes, sir. Can you give Renard thirty minutes?”
“He’ll need to better than that. He has twenty-three minutes from right now. I had to draw the line, and I drew it. A heavyweight weapon will hit the Goliath if it reaches exactly ten miles from Iranian waters. I’ve already given the order.”
“Can’t you give him time to finish this?”
“You’re in no position to negotiate. I know where the Iranian submarines are right now, and you don’t. I can’t risk any complexities beyond my present order. My decision is final.”
The monster knew to stop negotiating time and to focus elsewhere to give Jake a chance. “I understand. But will you rescind your order if Pierre’s ship forces the Goliath to surface?”
“Yes. But don’t look to me for help in extracting the Goliath from the Iranians if they decide to attack it. And God help you if they try to commandeer it if you make it surface. I’ll have it destroyed before I let that happen.”
“Of course, sir. I appreciate your candor.”
“Good luck, Miss McDonald.”
The line went silent, and she dialed the Frenchman.
“Yes? What news?”
“The vice admiral says he’ll sink the Goliath with a heavyweight weapon ten miles from Iranian waters.”
“That’s twenty-two minutes from now. That’s a challenge, but Jake may be able to succeed.”
“He has to, Pierre.”
She saw her career crashing in a fire of shame followed by a desperate effort to avoid imprisonment during the ensuing witch hunt. Nobody stood out as a possible sacrifice in her place. It was her private fleet for her private use, and she derided herself for overcommitting to it.
In contrast, the Frenchman remained confident. “If anyone can do it, he can.”
“How can you be so calm? Weren’t you rattled when this started?”
“Rattled? Of course. It’s only human nature. But I’ve felt calmer as this morning has unfolded. Indeed, the sun is already rising here in the Gulf of Oman.”
His optimism inspired a nervous laugh, which escaped through her nose. “The world’s ending for both of us, and still, you’re so damned sure of yourself.”
“Sure of myself? No. Sure of Jake? Yes. Remember, young lady, that I recruited him, and I only recruit those who are charmed.”
“I hope you’re right. Get it right, Pierre.”
After hanging up on the Frenchman, she called her mentor.
Rickets skipped the pleasantries. “Yes. Go ahead.”
“Stand by, Gerry. One of two things is going to happen in the next half hour. Either Renard gets the Goliath back, or the U.S. Navy blows it up.”
“I know how to handle the former outcome. But if it’s the latter, this is going to hurt your chances of seeing that appointment to your next position. A lot.”
CHAPTER 18
Jake’s heart raced. “How long do I have?”
Renard sounded neutral, like he recognized the enormity of the task but considered his team capable. “Eighteen minutes.”
“Couldn’t you buy me more time?”
“It wasn’t my negotiation, and Olivia had no leverage. I’m afraid there’s a swarm of Iranian submarines dead ahead of you.”
The news flustered Jake. If he magically detected every threat, and if he launched a perfect full launch salvo at each one, he’d still face an impasse of Persian firepower. “And there’s an American submarine watching them, watching the Goliath, watching me, Dmitry, you… watching everything. And it’s ready to shoot.”
“Indeed.”
“Then I need to tighten my launch window. I’ll send all three weapons out a minute apart.”
“Agreed. You must make haste.”
Jake thought of his Russian colleague on the Wraith who had raced ahead of him and scouted the perilous forward waters. “Is Dmitry in danger?”
“Yes, unfortunately. I don’t know where the Iranian submarines are, but he’ll be close enough to be heard at eight knots. So, I’ve mitigated his risk by ordering him to six knots and having him launch a second drone to bolster his search.”
Looking at the tactical display, Jake estimated the Wraith’s new speed meant the Goliath would overrun it in eighteen minutes. He realized his French boss had perfected Volkov’s logistics. “What about the dolphins?”
“I’m letting Dmitry decide. He knows better than I do how to use them. I trust him to protect himself.”
“He went deep before you knew that half the Iranian fleet was lying in wait, though.”
“Mind your own battle, Jake. Trust Dmitry and the information I’ve shared with him.”
“Right. Got it.”
“Back to your haste. You have seventeen minutes.”
Jake corrected his focus and looked at his mechanic. “Henri, what’s the status of tubes one through three?”
“Tubes one through three are loaded with modified slow-kill weapons, mated to the Subtics system, and flooded. Ready to shoot tubes one through three.”
“Antoine, who controls weapons one through three?”
The toad-head twisted. “I have weapon one. Julien has weapon two. Noah has weapon three. All weapons are ready to launch.”
“Presets?”
“Floor of one hundred meters. No ceiling. Torpedo speeds will remain at twenty knots throughout their runs.”
Remembering his tight time constraints and discounting his torpedoes’ fuel economy and range, Jake altered a tactic. “Change the initial speed to sixty knots for the first five hundred yards for each weapon. Then set them to slow to twenty knots automatically.”