Black Wind (24 page)

Before Summer could respond, Tongju spun on his heels and walked away, replaced by two commandos who stepped forward with their assault rifles drawn and aimed.

“Come on, sister,” Dirk muttered. “There's no use arguing with a psychopath.”

*  *  *

D
IRK AND
S
UMMER
threaded themselves back into the
Starfish
, then were roughly jostled into the air by the crane operator. As they were prepared to be let go, Dirk watched through the acrylic bubble as Morgan was roughly manhandled to the stern hold and forcefully pitched down into the container. A commando on a stern deck crane hoisted up the massive steel hatch and positioned it over the rear hold before lowering it in place. Secured over the hold, the hatch imprisoned the entire ship's crew in darkness below.

With a violent splash, the
Starfish
was crudely dropped into the moon pool a second later and released from the ship's cable.

“He means to sink the
Sea Rover
,” Dirk said to Summer as they began their slow descent to the bottom.

“With the entire crew locked in the hold?” she asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

“I think so,” he said somberly. “Unfortunately, there's not much we can do in the way of calling for help.”

“Our underwater communication system won't do any good, and any surface calls we might try wouldn't have the range to reach anybody in this region except a few Chinese fishermen.”

“Or the cable ship that is evidently supporting these characters,” he added, shaking his head.

“Our intelligence heads apparently underestimated this Japanese Red Army,” Summer said. “Those guys didn't look like a rogue band of ideological extremists with dynamite strapped to their backs.”

“No, it's apparent they are well-trained military professionals. Whoever's running their operation is obviously skilled and well funded.”

“I wonder what they intend to do with the bombs?”

“An attack in Japan would figure. But there's obviously more to this Japanese Red Army than meets the eye, so I wouldn't want to wager on what their intent is.”

“I guess we can't worry about that for now. We've got to figure out a way to save the crew.”

“I counted eight commandos, and there was no doubt a few more on the bridge and elsewhere on the ship. Too many to overpower with a couple of screwdrivers,” Dirk said, examining the contents of a small toolbox mounted behind his seat.

“We'll need to quietly get some of the crewmen out of the hold to help us. If we had enough people, maybe we could overpower them.”

“I don't relish the thought of going unarmed against an AK-74, but there might be a chance in numbers. Getting the lid off that storage hold is the problem. I'd need a couple of uninterrupted minutes on the stern crane, but I don't think our friends in black would be too obliging.”

“There must be another way out of that hold,” Summer wondered.

“No, unfortunately, there isn't. I'm sure it matches the
Deep Endeavor
, where it was designed strictly as a storage hold and is blocked off from any entry amidships by the moon pool.”

“I thought Ryan had run a power cable down there once from someplace other than the open hatch cover.”

Dirk thought hard for a moment, trying to jog his memory. After a long minute, a light finally clicked on.

“You're right. There's a small venting hatch that opens on the bulkhead just aft of the moon pool. It's really more of an air vent, designed to release the buildup of noxious gases if chemicals are stored in the hold. I'm pretty sure a man could squeeze through it. The problem for Morgan and the crew is that it's sealed and locked from the outside.”

“We've got to figure out a way to unlock it,” Summer willed.

Together, they worked through several contingency plans, finally settling on an order of attack based on their opportunities once aboard the
Sea Rover
. It would take timing, skill, and a dose of daring to pull off. But mostly it would take luck.

27

D
IRK AND
S
UMMER FELL SILENT
as their minds conjured up gruesome images of the
Sea Rover
sinking with all hands, their friends, and coworkers trapped in the airtight hold. Then the specter of the
I-411
suddenly rose up in the blackness before them and they washed the images from their minds. With the clock ticking, they went about their business of retrieving the final two canisters of death.

Dirk maneuvered the submersible into the hangar as before, setting the
Starfish
down within easy reach of the remaining ordnance. As Summer began manipulating the mechanical arms by sight through the acrylic bubble, Dirk observed the video camera feed on the monitor, which recorded every moment of the recovery. He watched while Summer gently lifted the first canister and was placing it in the recovery basket when he suddenly powered up
Snoopy
and grabbed the remote vehicle's controls. In an instant, he nudged the ROV out of its cradle just a few inches, then spun the tiny machine around until its nose was pressed against the submersible's skid plates and applied full thrusting power. The tiny ROV went nowhere, but its water jets stirred up a thick cloud of muck and sediment in front of the
Starfish
. In a flash, the water visibility went to zero amid a cloud of brown.

“What are you doing?” Summer demanded, freezing the mechanical arm controls.

“You'll see,” he said, although there was nothing to see at all. After reaching over and fidgeting with Summer's controls for a moment, he then powered down the ROV's thruster. It took two minutes for the seawater to clear enough that Summer could proceed with seizing the final canister.

“You want to try that trick again?” she asked after depositing the bomb into the basket.

“Why not?” he replied, hitting the ROV thruster again and stirring up another muddy cloud for the camera.

Once the water cleared and both canisters were pinned into the basket, Dirk edged the submersible away from the submarine and they began their slow ascent. Halfway to the surface, they traded positions, squirming over one another so that Summer controlled the submersible's movements while Dirk manned the controls of both mechanical arms.

“Okay, take us on up,” Dirk instructed. “As soon as they drop us onto the deck, I'll need you to create a diversion.” While he spoke, he worked the left mechanical arm away from its locked position on the weapons basket and flexed it straight out to its full extension so that it poked out from the
Starfish
like a lance.

Summer trusted her brother's instincts implicitly, and had little time to argue anyway. The ringed lights of the moon pool soon came into view. Summer steered the
Starfish
to the center of the opening, then they broke surface with a rush of bubbles and foaming seawater. A metallic clank was heard as the lifting hook was attached to the submersible and the diminutive vessel was yanked from the water. Summer peered out at Tongju and a half-dozen other commandos as the submersible swung through the air. Her brother, she noted, was intently watching their forward progress while gently adjusting the mechanical arm's position. When they were crudely dropped to the deck by the inexperienced crane operator, she saw Dirk jam the arm controls all the way forward. The metal claw bounced forward along the deck as they stopped, coming to a halt near the rear bulkhead. Four feet off to the side was the small, sealed venting hatch that led to the storage hold.

“Our boy on the crane came through,” Dirk muttered. “We're in the ballpark.”

“I guess it's showtime,” Summer replied with a nervous look.

Moving quickly, she stripped out of her NUMA jumpsuit, revealing a lean body that was clad in a skimpy two-piece bathing suit covered by a large T-shirt. Reaching under the shirt, she unhooked her bathing top and let it fall to the floor, then grabbed the loose base of her T-shirt and tied a knot with the material just above her navel. The tightened shirt clearly revealed the shapely contour of her full breasts and midriff. Dirk helped open the escape hatch, then quickly returned to the manipulator arm controls as Summer burst out of the submersible.

Tongju was busy talking to the crane operator with his back toward the submersible when Summer crawled out. Seeing him turned away, she hurriedly approached the nearest commando, who stood glaring at her exposed features with a leer. His leer turned to shock as Summer shouted at the top of her lungs, “Get your hands off me, creep!”

Her words were followed by an open-hand slap to the man's face that nearly sent him sprawling. If her bikini and tight shirt hadn't already attracted everyone's attention, then her decking one of their fellow commandos suddenly brought every eye on the ship upon her.

Every eye except Dirk's. Capitalizing on the commotion, he powered the mechanical arm to its full lateral reach, just barely stretching its extended claw to the bulkhead vent hatch. Grabbing the lockdown handle with the claw, he nudged it to the unlocked position and pulled on it just a hair, to ensure the hatch would open. Quickly letting go, he eased the arm back alongside the
Starfish
, then powered it down. Scampering out the submersible's entry hatch, he stood casually in back of the submersible as if he'd been there all along.

“What is this all about?” Tongju hissed as he approached Summer, his Glock pistol drawn and aimed at her midsection.

“This pervert tried to assault me,” Summer screeched, jerking a thumb toward the slack-jawed commando. Tongju let fly a stream of obscenities until the confounded gunman shrank like a wilting violet. The commando leader then turned back to Summer and Dirk, who now stood behind his sister.

“You two, back in the submersible,” he commanded in English, the muzzle of his Glock pointing the way.

“Jeez, a guy can't even stretch his legs around here,” Dirk complained as if it were his biggest concern at the moment. As they made their way back into the submersible, they noticed for the first time that the Japanese cable-laying ship was heaving to alongside the
Sea Rover
. Though little longer than the NUMA vessel, the Japanese ship had a much higher superstructure and seemed to tower over the
Sea Rover
. The
Baekje
was hardly alongside a minute before a huge crane on her stern deck swung over the
Sea Rover
's side rail trailing a cable with an empty pallet that spun lazily in the breeze. From inside the submersible, they watched as the pallet was dropped to the deck beside them. A trio of black-clad commandos then rolled several storage containers out of the
Sea Rover
's auxiliary laboratory and secured them to the pallet. Each container, they knew, held one of the biological bombs encased in a cushioned sheath.

The
Baekje
's crane operator quickly transferred the pallet back and forth several times in the predawn darkness until all of the bomb containers were aboard the Japanese ship. The empty pallet then became a bus, ferrying the commandos to the ship a handful at a time. From belowdecks, a black-clad gunman appeared and conversed briefly with Tongju. Dirk noticed Tongju break into a thin smile, then pointed toward the submersible and barked out an order. The cable hook was released from the pallet and attached to the
Starfish
.

“Guess we're changing rides,” Dirk commented when the cable was pulled taut.

This time the submersible was hoisted smoothly into the air. Dirk rapidly jabbed the mechanical arm out and rapped three times on the rear bulkhead with the claw before being pulled up and off the deck. He and Summer watched the
Sea Rover
fall away beneath them as they were carried over the water and deposited on a high stern deck of the
Baekje
. Climbing out of the submersible, they were welcomed by a pair of armed thugs, who prodded them toward the ship's railing with their guns.

“I've had about enough of the assault rifle hospitality,” Dirk muttered.

“I bet they feel naked when they don't have a gun in their hands,” Summer replied.

From their vantage point, they watched as the remaining commandos were ferried over on the pallet, Tongju riding with the last batch.

“Dirk, is it my eyes or is the
Sea Rover
sitting lower in the water?” Summer asked with alarm in her voice.

“You're right,” he agreed, studying the ship. “They must have opened the sea cocks. She's listing a little to starboard as well.”

The pallet carrying Tongju swung to the deck and the commando leader jumped off, landing lightly on his feet. He immediately approached the two captives.

“I suggest you say good-bye to your ship,” he said without feeling.

“The crew is trapped in the hold, you murderous swine!” Summer cried out.

Charged by emotion, she took a lunging step toward Tongju in anger. The trained killer reacted instinctively, launching a vicious right kick to Summer's midsection, sending her sprawling backward. But his trained reflexes were not swift enough to ward off the unexpected quickness of Dirk, who sprang forward and threw a solid left hook just as Tongju regained his footing. The crushing blow landed on Tongju's right temple, sending him dropping to one knee, where he teetered on the verge of blacking out. The nearby gunmen immediately jumped on Dirk, one of them ramming an assault rifle into his stomach as two others held back his arms.

Tongju gradually regained his senses and rose to his feet, then stepped purposely over to Dirk. Thrusting his face close to Dirk's chin, he spoke in a calm voice dripping with menace.

“I shall enjoy watching you die in the manner of your shipmates,” he said, then brusquely turned and walked away.

The remaining commandos roughly herded Dirk and Summer down a side stairwell and along a narrow corridor before shoving them into a small cabin berth. The cabin door was slammed shut behind them and locked from the outside, where two men remained on guard.

Dirk and Summer quickly shook off the pain from their blows. Staggering past two twin beds wedged into the tiny cabin, they pressed their faces against a small porthole on the outside bulkhead.

“She's lower in the water,” Summer observed with dread in her voice.

Through the porthole, they could see the
Sea Rover
still floating alongside the
Baekje
, the seawater creeping inexorably closer to the tops of her gunwales. No sign of life appeared on the decks, and the big research vessel had all the appearance of a listing ghost ship. Dirk and Summer searched for signs of movement aft of the moon pool but saw nothing.

“They've either relocked the vent hatch or Morgan can't get to it,” Dirk cursed.

“Or he doesn't know it exists,” Summer whispered.

Beneath their feet, they heard then felt an increased rumbling as the
Baekje
's engines were engaged and the big cable ship slowly pulled away from the sinking NUMA vessel. The predawn light had yet to edge over the black night sky and it took just a few minutes before the sight of the
Sea Rover
fell away into a fuzzy grouping of twinkling lights.

Dirk and Summer strained to watch the NUMA ship as the
Baekje
increased speed and distance. The twinkling lights eventually dissolved beneath the horizon until they could see nothing more of their ship and comrades.