Nikandrov’s skull.
The Russian’s words stopped, and he stiffened. “Put the telephone down” McGarvey said softly. Someone shouted something in the phone, but Nikandrov carefully replaced the handset on its cradle. McGarvey reached around and took the Russian’s gun, and tossed it onto the bed. “Zalenin is dead, and we do not have much time, Comrade Nikandrov”
“The police are on their way” Nikandrov said, his voice steady. “So you will give me the answers I need very quickly or I will kill you”
“You are here to kill me anyway”
“That’s possible” McGarvey said. “You rented the cruiser Zenzero from a leasing firm in Naples. Who was the boat for, besides Arkady Kurshin” Nikandrov said nothing. McGarvey jammed the gun hard against the man’s neck. “Valentin Baranov will not mourn at your funeral”
“Nor yours”
“Yours will come first, I can guarantee it. We have the boat, and we have two of the nerve gas canisters. We know that one of our nuclear submarines is missing. I’m telling you this because I want you to know how important this business is to us”
“I don’t know anything”
“How many men besides Kurshin” McGarvey said.
“Five seconds. Four … three … two He began to squeeze the trigger.
“Six” Nikandrov suddenly blurted. “Who were they”
“I don’t know their names. They came into Rome on Monday night. I put them up at a small hotel
“Navy”
“Yes. But one of them was a doctor, I think. An alcoholic. “Where are they headed”
“I don’t know. In this you must believe me. There is nothing else. I was told nothing else”
“But you knew about the nerve gas and about the submarine”
“The gas, yes. One of our people brought it over nearly a year ago. But I swear to you I know nothing about any submarines”
“What else was put aboard the Zenzero, besides the gas and the Morse code transmitter”
“Food” Nikandrov said. “Weapons”
“Nautical charts”
“Yes, for the coast off Naples. No others” In the distance they could hear sirens. It was time to get out. McGarvey stepped back away from the Russian. “When you talk to Baranov tonight, give him greetings from McGarvey. He’ll know who I am”
“Fuck you” Nikandrov swore. McGarvey stepped back into Zalenin’s room, then turned and rushed out into the corridor and down the stairs. He should have killed Nikandrov. But the man had cooperated, and he wanted the message to get back to Baranov. The KGB chairman would understand exactly what he meant. Besides, he had never killed a man in cold blood.
Nor would he ever do so … except for Baranov. With that one, there were no rules. None whatsoever.
The Indianapolis hovered twenty meters above the bottom, her helm and diving planes locked on a course nearly due south with a down angle of a few degrees. The bottom sloped at a slightly sharper angle here to well over three thousand meters so that there was no chance the boat would ground herself before her hull imploded from the water pressure. It had taken the KGB crew of the MV Stephos nearly two hours to find the two-ton missile and send divers down to it. They had lifted it carefully up to the surface where under the cover of darkness they had loaded it aboard the ship. It was well after two in the morning. The others had already locked out and had swum to the surface using the British designed emersion suits which were good to around six hundred feet. Only Kurshin and Captain Makayev were left aboard. They faced each other across the control room. “All the internal compartments are open” Kurshin asked. Makayev nodded. “Except for the reactor spaces.
I don’t want to risk a leak from the core, no matter what the prize we’re seeking, Comrade Colonel” II It would have made it impossible for their rescue vehicles to approach the hull for a lot of years to come”
“Insanity” Makayev said sharply. “This is war.” the’yes, this is war.
But not against the sea, Comrade Colo’even a man such as yourself must understand common decency” The captain looked away through the open hatches down the length of the boat, gloomy in the red light, the odor of death much stronger now that all the hatches were open. “Every man who wears a uniform understands contingencies such as these. And so do the families of these boys” He turned back and looked Kurshin in the eye. “We will sink this boat to hide the evidence of what we have done, Comrade Colonel. But I will not contaminate the sea with radiation poisoning, nor will I make it impossible for the Americans to discover the final resting place of this crew” Makayev was weak like the others.
Kurshin wanted to kill him, but at this moment it simply wasn’t practical. He needed the captain to set the boat on its final dive, and he needed the cooperation of Makayev’s missile man. “You’re correct, of course” Kurshin said with an apologetic smile. He shook his head. “It’s just that … it’s the enormity of the thing. I wasn’t thinking straight” Makayev seemed relieved that he wasn’t going to have to fight about the issue. “I know, it’s gotten to all of us”
“I’m sorry about Dr. Veranov”
“He was affected most of all” Makayev said, softening even more. “But there was nothing else to be done, Arkasha. He could have killed us all”
Kurshin’s jaw tightened. No one on this earth had ever called him Arkasha except for Baranov. No one. It was everything he could do not to kill this bastard here and now. But again he forced a tired smile. “I appreciate Your understanding, Niki. I really do”
“Just so, II makayev said. “The lockout chamber has been recycled and is ready for us”
“Yes”
“Good. Go forward then and fill up your suit. We won’t have much time to get free of the boat before she accelerates to a dangerous speed, She could drag us down with her. II Kurshm hesitated, searching the other man’s eyes for some hidden purpose. But with Makayev, he suspected, what you saw was what you got. It was why he was always in trouble. He did not know how to play the political game so important for survival in the Soviet Union. He did not know how to hide his true feelings, his real intent. “Don’t be long”
“I won’t be, believe me”
The five-man lockout chamber was just forward of the conning tower.
Kurshin had donned his hooded emersion suit and had filled it with compressed air which would give him enough buoyancy and breathing air to reach the surface. Suddenly the Indianapolis shuddered and began to move at a down angle.
A few seconds later Makayev showed up on the run, and Kurshin helped him with his suit, filling it with air even as the captain was closing the lower hatch, and seawater began to rise above their knees.
The boat was already going very fast by the time the pressure inside the lockout chamber had been equalized and the outer hatch opened. Kurshin was about to suggest they slow the boat down when Makayev bodily shoved him out the hatch. The burbling water slammed his body up against the conning tower, and then he was tumbling end over end with absolutely no idea which way was up. Something grabbed at his left arm, and he looked down as the submarine slid below them, the prop wash again tumbling him end over end.
Makayev was beside and slightly above him, and gradually Kurshin realized that they were rising toward the surface, and he had to remember to force himself to breathe regularly lest he get an embolism m his lungs. He raised his head to look up, but couldn’t see anything at first. The water all around them was pitch-black. Gradually ‘ however, he was able to see a dark bulk off to the left. It would be the hull of the Stephos. And then they were on the surface, only a light chop bobbing them in the waves. Kurshin pulled a small flashlight from his pocket and flashed it twice. Immediately they could hear the sound of a small outboard motor, as a rubber raft headed toward them. He yanked his hood off and breathed deeply of the fresh night air, the smells of the sea and the nearby Greek coast pure and wonderful after the confinement of the submarine. Makayev had pulled off his hood and he swam over to Kurshin. “That was very close” he said. Kurshin looked at him. “I suppose you saved my life” Makayev said nothing. “Thank you, Comrade”
Kurshin said as he thought about when the time would be best to kill the man.
