possessed suddenly by supernatural strength, and he shook him as though
he were a child. He shook him so his head snapped back and forth and
his teeth rattled in his head.
You bloody idiot, he shouted in Duncan's face. Don't you understand the
storm will resume again in minutes? He jerked Duncan's body out of the
grip of the two seamen and dragged him bodily to the windows overlooking
the tank deck.
Can't you see this monster you have built is finished, finished! There
is no propeller, her back is broken, the superstructure will go minutes
after the wind hits again. He dragged Duncan round to face him, their
eyes were inches apart.
It's over, Duncan. We will be lucky to get away with our lives. We'll
be luckier still to save the cargo., But don't you understand - we've
got to save the hull without it, Duncan started to struggle, he was a
powerful man, and quickly he was rousing himself, within minutes he
would be dangerous - and there was no time, already Warlock was swinging
up into her position on Golden Dawn's port beam for tank transfer.
I'll not let you take off - Duncan wrenched himself out of Nicholas
grip, there was a mad fanatic light in his eyes.
Nicholas swivelled; coming up on to his toes and swinging from the
shoulders he aimed for the point of Duncan's jaw, just below the ear and
the thick sodden wedge of Duncan's red-gold sideburns. But Duncan
rolled his head with the punch, and the blow glanced off his temple, and
Golden Dawn rolled back the other way as Nicholas was unbalanced.
He fell back against the control console, and Duncan drove at him, two
running paces like a quarter-back taking a field goal, and he kicked
right-legged for Nicholas'lower body.
I'll kill you, Berg/he screamed, and Nicholas had only time to roll
sideways and lift his leg scissoring it to protect his crotch. Duncan's
kick caught him in the upper thigh.
An explosion of white pain shot up into his belly and numbed his leg to
the thigh, but he used the control console and his good leg to launch
himself into a counterpunch, hooking with his right again, under the
ribs - and the wind went out of Duncan's lungs with a whoosh as he
doubled.
Nicholas transferred weight smoothly and swung his left fist up into
Duncan's face. It sounded like a watermelon dropped on a concrete
floor, and Duncan was hurled backwards against the bulkhead, pinned
there for a moment by the ship's roll. Nicholas followed him, hobling
painfully on the injured leg, and he hit him twice more.
Left and right, short, hard, hissing blows that cracked his skull
backwards against the bulkhead, and brought quick bright rosettes of
blood from his lips and nostrils. As his legs buckled, Nicholas caught
him by the throat with his left hand and held him upright, searching his
eyes for further resistance, ready to hit again, but there was no fight
left in him.
Nicholas let him go, and went to the signal locker. He snatched three
of the small walkie-talkie radios from the radio shelves and handed one
to each of the two seamen.
You know the pod tank undocking procedures for a tandem tow? he asked.
