While he says it would be a hundred per cent certain to go up if an atom bomb exploded alongside it, we mustn't over-estimate the effects of a more remote explosive shock, even at a distance of a few miles. After all, those bombs did survive the effect of the explosion in the nose of the bomber and the impact of the plane hitting the water at high speed. Besides, the intervening miles of water ? we hope there will be those intervening miles — should have a powerfully dampening effect.'
There'll be no such effect for those aboard the Angelina.
Curtains. What motivates a man like that, John? Obviously, he's incredibly brave ? but, well, is he all right?'
'If you mean is he off his rocker, then we're all off our rockers. He's as sane as you or I. He's a romantic at heart, a born adventurer; a couple of hundred years ago and he'd have been somewhere on the other side of the world building up the odd empire.'
'That's as may be. But it's still a terrible thought that a man like that should die for us.'
'He won't be dying for all of us. I'm going on the Angelina. So is Vincent Van Gelder.'
Hawkins put down his glass and stared at him. 'Do you know what you're saying? / know what you're saying and I think you've taken leave of your senses. Are you mad? You and Van Gelder? Quite mad?'
'Van Gelder insists on coming along. I insist on going. That's all there is to it.'
'I absolutely forbid it.'
'With the deepest respect, Admiral, you'll forbid me nothing. Did you honestly expect me to leave a job half done? Did you honestly expect me to let him go out there and die alone? I would remind you that I am the captain of this ship and that at sea not even an admiral can take over from me or give orders which I consider to be to the detriment of this vessel.'
'Mutiny!' Hawkins waved a dismissive hand at his lime juice. 'Have we nothing stronger than this?'
'Naturally.' Talbot went to the Admiral's wine cupboard and prepared a drink while Hawkins gazed at a spot on the deck which was about a thousand miles away. 'A large scotch and water. No ice.'
'Thank you.' Hawkins drained almost half the contents. 'Mutiny, forsooth!'
'Yes, sir. Can't hang me from the yard-arm, though. It's my yard-arm. You haven't yet met Angelina — Professor I Wotherspoon's wife, I mean, not the lugger. But you will, I I've invited them aboard for lunch. Young, rather lovely, nice I sense of humour and dotty about her husband. She has to be I — dotty, I mean — to do something she clearly doesn't want I to do, that is to go along from here with her husband and the I bomb on the lugger.'
'I'm sure I shall be delighted to make her acquaintance.' Hawkins took another sip of his drink. 'What's she got to do with the matter in hand?'
'She's not going with the bomb and the lugger. Neither is Wotherspoon, for that matter, or his two crew members. They remain aboard the Ariadne. Wotherspoon, of course, will have to be forcibly restrained, but that's no problem at all. Van Gelder and I will take the Angelina down through the Kasos Strait. Two small medals will suffice.'
Hawkins was silent for quite some time, then said: 'How are you going to pin on a couple of posthumous VCs or whatever when you're circling the earth in a vaporized orbit?' 'One problem at a time. We can't let the girl go.' 'Good God, no. I'll never forgive myself. I never even started to think. I wonder ? '
'Wonder me no wonders, sir. We don't have room for three heroes aboard the Angelina. Someone has to take the Ariadne home again, remember? Well, that's the Angelina. Now, the Kilcharran. I've just been talking to Captain Montgomery. He's just given a couple of experimental tugs on the lifting slings and he reckons the bomber, with the help of the flotation bags, of course, is nearing a state of neutral buoyancy. Twenty minutes, half an hour at the most, and he's going to start to haul away. You won't want to miss that, sir.'
'No, indeed. What did Walter de la Mare say — look your last on all things lovely every hour? This may be the last thing I'll ever see?' 'I rather hope it doesn't come to that, sir. Apart from the lugger and the recovery of the bomber, we have to wait for three other things. The reaction to the message we sent to the President via our embassy in Washington, which might take quite some time, for even the most co-operative of banks, and banks almost by definition are secretive and detest the very thought of co-operation, are going to be very reluctant to disclose any information about their important clients, because important clients don't like that sort of thing. Admittedly, Air Force Generals and Admirals are unlikely to be very important financially, but they are from the point of view of prestige and power and would, I should think, carry a disproportionate amount of clout. I do hope we haven't upset too many people over there. Then, and this I should expect very soon, there should be a reply from Greek Intelligence to our query asking for the complete list of places where Andropulos has conducted business, any kind of business, over the past few years. Then, of course, we await the arrival of this krytron device from America.'
'Which may arrive any old time. I mean, we have no idea, have we? Do the Americans have supersonic planes?'
'Sure they have. But fighters only. And their nearest refuelling point would be the Azores and I'm quite certain no fighter could fly the close on two thousand miles they'd have to travel to get there. Question of fuel capacity. Besides, it's not absolutely essential that we get this device before leaving with the bomb ? always assuming, of course, that we do leave. We could always dump the bomb, drop a marker, warn all shipping to keep clear, wait for the krytron to arrive, return there and detonate the bomb.'
'Much more satisfactory if it could all be done in one fell swoop.' Hawkins thought for a moment, then smiled. 'What's the time in Washington?'
'Four a.m., I think.'
'Excellent, excellent. A short message. Ask them how it's being transported and what's the expected time of arrival.
Give 'em something to do.' Talbot lifted a phone and dictated the message.
'Haven't seen your second-in-command lately,' Hawkins said. 'I understood he was prising secrets loose from Andropulos's niece?'
'Vincent normally carries out his duties with efficiency and dispatch. When the duties involve Irene Charial, it seems to take a little longer.'
'Not so many years ago it would have taken me a little longer myself. Ah!' Van Gelder had appeared in the doorway. 'Just discussing you, young man. A difficult and protracted interview, I take it?'
'One treads delicately, sir. But she told me everything she knew.' He looked reproachfully at Talbot. 'I detect a trace of scepticism in your expression, sir. Unwarranted, I assure you. I believe her, I trust her and I was not bewitched by her green eyes, owing to the fact that I was on duty at the time.'
'Less than admirable though they may be, Vincent, devious-ness and low cunning have their place in the scheme of things.'
'It wasn't like that at all. I told her that you had sent me to try to trap her into making unwary and unguarded statements and unwittingly to betray herself. After that, we got along famously.'
Talbot smiled. 'Just another way of being devious. What does she know?'
'Nothing. I guarantee you'd come to the same conclusion, sir. She doesn't know her uncle, except superficially. She doesn't trust him. She thinks he's a highly suspicious character. She thinks Alexander is a highly suspicious character, although that wouldn't require any great acumen on anyone's part. She knows nothing about his businesses. She's never travelled with him. Her father, whom she obviously dotes on and has the highest respect for, thinks he's a highly suspicious character — he and Andropulos haven't spoken for years. She's convinced that her father knows a great deal about her uncle and his businesses, but Dad refuses to discuss any aspect of the matter.'
'Sounds as if we could do with Dad aboard right now,' Hawkins said. 'I have the feeling we could learn some very interesting things from him.'
'I'm sure we could, sir. One odd thing — she's convinced that her uncle is genuinely fond of her.'
Hawkins smiled. 'I think it would be rather difficult not to be fond of the young lady. However, I would point out in the passing, and apropos of nothing, that mass murderers have been known to dote on tiny tots.'
'I hardly think he's a mass murderer, sir.'
'And she's certainly not a tiny tot.' He looked speculatively at Talbot. 'A passing thought, John?'
'Yes.' Talbot looked out through the window for an unseeing moment, then back at Hawkins. 'How do we know he's not a mass murderer?'
