carried no illusions that he was an expert at this particular skill. Ten minutes after that, he had the tow cable threaded though all of them. Over the very tip of the cable he clamped in place a steel box about the size of a paperback book. The box served as the belay point for the cable while inside was an explosive charge. A signal from the Oregon would detonate the small amount of plastique, and the box would disintegrate, freeing the cable so it could be yanked away from the ship. The only evidence left behind was the eight pad eyes. Chances were, they wouldn't survive what Juan had planned.
No sooner had he returned to the Nomad and closed the outer hatch over himself than Linda powered her up and they were under way.
Operation Crack-the-Whip is on, he said when Eddie helped him off with the helmet.
Any problems?
Smooth as silk.
More good news, Linda said. Eric's tracking a storm headed our way. Should hit tomorrow at what passes for dawn in these parts.
Call Eric back and have him pull the ship off beach a bit. Also, tell him to drain the starboard ballast tanks but leave the port side flooded. That should give the old girl a convincing list. Juan had an anticipatory gleam in his eye. I hope the Argentines have enjoyed their time ruling this part of world because it's about to end.
By five that afternoon, the Chinese survey boat had motored past the Oregon where she lay just off the beach. She was still close enough in that an occasional large wave would cause her hardened bows to slam against the bottom. There was little doubt they would report the Norego had unbeached herself and was starting her soulless wanderings once again. An hour later, an exhausted and frozen Max Hanley returned with his team and their grisly cargo.
That sucked, Hanley proclaimed when the RHIB was winched inside the boat garage along the ship's side. Not only is it colder than a brass monkey's you know what out there, but that cemetery would creep out Stephen King. The headstones are all carved whale bones, and there's a fence around it made up of ribs as tall as me. The arched gate is built of skulls the size of Volkswagens.
Any problem recovering the remains?
Do you mean besides the eternal damnation of my soul for desecrating holy ground?
No.
In that case, everything went fine. The graves were only about a foot deep, and the men were laid to rest in canvas bags sewn from sails. I was surprised to find they had mostly decomposed.
The ground would have been too frozen to bury them in the winter, and in spring it's just warm enough for bacteria to do their thing.
So now what?
You get yourself warmed up. Mike Trono and his gang just took off back to the wreck. By the time they return and we get the Nomad prepped again, it'll be showtime.
Weather coming in?
Eric said it's going to be a bitch out there come dawn.
It isn't exactly skittles and beer now.
As the saying goes, 'yYou ain't seen nothing yet.'
The Silent Sea
Chapter TWENTY-SEVEN
MAJOR ESPINOZA LAID THE WEATHER REPORT BACK ON Luis Laretta's desk. The small office, with its obligatory picture of Generalissimo Ernesto Coraz+|n on one wall and a poster of a scantily clad girl on the other, was thick with their cigar smoke.
This storm would be perfect cover for an American Special Force strike. They'll be expecting us to sit down here all snug in our bunks while they sneak around and place explosives all over the camp. He brooded for a moment. I'm going to push out the perimeter patrols another couple of miles. If they're here, they would have parachuted in well back from the coast and would need to come overland.
Surely you don't think they'll attack, Laretta said, waving his Cohiba airily.
Espinoza stared at him flatly. I am paid to be prepared, if they do. I don't have the luxury of opining.
We each have our jobs, the facility director replied, thinking it was better the soldiers freeze out there than his people.
There came a knock on the door.
Come, Laretta bellowed.
In walked Lee Fong, the head of the Chinese search team. He was grinning ear to ear.
Fong, how are you? Luis greeted.
Most excellent. We found the Silent Sea.
The director came halfway out of his chair. So soon? That's wonderful. Here, have one of my cigars. When he sat back down, he retrieved a bottle of brandy and some paper cups from his bottom drawer.
I don't normally smoke, the soft-spoken engineer said, but under the circumstances . . .
Are you sure about your find?
Lee pulled out his PDA and clicked through to a picture. He handed the small device to Espinoza. After we got a solid sonar return, I sent down a camera. I admit the resolution is poor, but you are looking at the stern of one of the biggest junks ever built.
To Jorge, the picture just looked like a dark blur. I'll have to take your word for it.
Trust me. It's the Silent Sea. Tomorrow we will dive on the wreck and bring back irrefutable proof. I tried to report this when we were out there and have you send a boat with divers right away, but we couldn't seem to transmit. He accepted a drink from Laretta.
Espinoza declined. I'm on duty.
Your loss. The director saluted him, then toasted Lee Fong. Congratulations. From this moment, there can be no questioning our rights to this land and the riches off her coast. I've got to be honest with you guys. Ever since we started construction, I've always been afraid our operation would be discovered and we'd be booted out. Well, no more. We are here to stay.
Have you contacted you superiors? Espinoza asked Lee.
Yes, just now. They are most pleased, he beamed. My immediate boss says I will be awarded a medal and that our company will be guaranteed a lifetime of government contracts.
Hold out for a big raise, Laretta told him, pouring more brandy into his glass. Make them know you're worth it.
I might just do that. Oh, I forgot. The ship on the beach.
What about it, Espinoza asked sharply. He'd been suspicious about that boat, and even seeing with his own eyes that she was a derelict didn't allay his concerns.
She's off the beach and starting to float away.
You didn't see any engine smoke?
Oh, no. And she's leaning heavily to one side. I think she will flip over soon.
Espinoza was regretting his moment of earlier charity. He should have let Sergeant Lugones lay some charges and blow her to pieces. It wasn't too late. He could ask the captain of the Guillermo Brown to sink the old scow with a missile, but he could think of no valid reason why the Navy would waste such expensive munitions on his paranoia. With any luck, the storm would either sink her or blow her so far away that he wouldn't have to worry about her presence any longer.
Mr. Laretta, might I have some more of your brandy?
It would be my pleasure, Luis slopped some more into Lee's paper cup.
The Major stood abruptly. Something wasn't right. It wasn't instinct but the cold tickling of premonition that was setting his nerves on edge. The Americans would come. Tonight or tomorrow, when the storm picked up, and they would lay waste to what these two men were so smugly proud of.
Gentlemen, I needn't remind you that until the world formally recognizes the Antarctic Peninsula as sovereign Argentine territory, we are at risk.
