Kirov (44 page)

Churchill
chewed on his cigar, nodding. “Yes, but at what price, Sir Dudley? We gave up
Hood
to get at that demon, and now this. What do you make of this new rocket weapon
the Germans appear to be using.”

“It’s
rather confounding, sir. I can’t say as we’ve heard anything much about it. Bletchley
Park seems to have missed something.”

“That
they have,” said Churchill. “Well now… Let me put it this way. How many of these
rockets can this ship have? If we press her she’s bound to run out, and then
we’ll run up on her, take her by the throat, and throttle the life out of her.”
He clenched his fist to make the point.

“I’m
afraid the Americans suffered rather badly.”

“Yes,
but as tragic as this attack was from the American standpoint, it was just the
sort of dastardly deed that will enrage them. If Roosevelt allows this to
stand, he’s not the man I think he is. This changes everything, gentlemen. I’m
convinced the Americans will join us now after this. In this grave hour we’ll
stand shoulder to shoulder and let the sinking of this new German ship be the
first shot we fire as allies in this war. It was bound to happen sooner or
later. The sooner the better, as far as England is concerned. The sooner the
better.”

“Right,
sir,” said General Dill. “We would welcome full support from the Americans. In
fact, the Admiral here tells me that they’ve a considerable naval presence in
and around Newfoundland at the moment. Jerry’s picked the wrong time to take a
sucker punch at the U.S. Navy. Frankly, I can’t imagine what went through their
minds, attacking a neutral country in such a blatant and grievous manner.
You’re quite correct, sir. The Americans won’t let this stand. We’ve got word
that Roosevelt is pressing on to Newfoundland.”

“Then
we won’t be late either,” said Churchill. “I’ll want to get a cypher off to
Parliament soon as well. If Roosevelt decides to declare war against Germany,
then it’s very likely Japan will throw in on the other side. In that event, I
want to be fully prepared to make an immediate declaration of war on Japan. In
fact, I think our plan to send
Prince of Wales
and
Repulse
on to
the Pacific after the conference is right on track.”

“
Repulse
will need some patching up first,” said Pound. “She’s still seaworthy, and
there’s nothing wrong with her guns, but the Germans poked a couple of holes in
her side armor that will have to be mended.”

“Yes,
and they poked a few into,
Furious
as well.”

“
King
George V
brushed them off, sir. We’ve nothing to worry about on that
account.”

“That’s
a comforting thought, Admiral. Because I fully intend to catch and sink this
German ship. And if I can fish her captain out of the sea after we’re done with
it, I’ll see that he hangs.”

Chapter
26

Fedorov
slipped out of his quarters and
made his way to the sick bay as fast as he could. Thankfully, there was no line
outside the doctor’s office, and no chance Orlov would see him as he edged
through the door, relieved to see Zolkin sitting at his desk.

“Yes,
Mister Fedorov, how may I help you?”

“How
is the Admiral, doctor?”

“Everyone
wants to know how the Admiral is. Did you bring flowers? He is doing much
better, but I have him sleeping in the next room.”

The
navigator shifted uncomfortably, as if hesitating over what he wanted to say. Zolkin
gave him a long look, seeing more there than met the eye. Yet he also noticed
Fedorov had a bruise mark on his upper cheek, and stood up, walking around to
the examination table.

“Over
here,” he slapped the table with the palm of his hand, and Fedorov eased
himself to a sitting position on the table.

“Where
did you get this?” Zolkin nudged his chin to one side, reaching for some
antiseptic and a gauze as he did so.

“It
was nothing,” Fedorov said quietly.

“Oh,
I think it was something more,” said the doctor. “I think it was Chief Orlov’s
bad temper, yes?”

Fedorov
sighed, nodding a quick affirmative. “You know what’s been happening since the
Admiral fell ill,” he said. “The Captain…”

Zolkin
gave him a long look, then dabbed the antiseptic on his cheek. “Karpov has been
somewhat aggressive, it seems.”

“He’s
made a terrible mistake,” said Fedorov, and he told the doctor what had
happened on the bridge, how the American planes had simply been flying a
transit mission, unarmed. “I tried to warn him—reason with him, but he had me
relieved. Then he engaged the American task force as well. I fear there were
very many casualties…”

At
this Zolkin took pause, his manner more solemn, concern evident on his face. “It
looks like the Captain didn’t like his cigar thrown out the window, and threw
out the dog after it,” said Zolkin. He was referring to an old Russian tale,
from Dostoevsky’s
The Idiot
, when the character of General Ivolgin
claimed he had been berthed with a woman on a long train ride who complained
about his cigar and threw it out the window. Ivolgin told his listener that he
was so put off that he threw the woman’s dog out after the cigar in reprisal!
The story was entirely fabricated, a perfect example of Russian
vranyo
,
and the listener in Dostoevsky’s tale claimed he had read about a similar
incident in a Belgian newspaper just days ago. In doing so he broke the time
honored forms of
vranyo
by contradicting the liar, instead of quietly
listening, straight faced and concerned.

Doctor
Zolkin did not know how much was true and how much was manufactured in
Fedorov’s tale, but he stayed in the role of the believing listener, then
asked. “What ships did he fire on? Was it serious?”

“An
aircraft carrier and several smaller escorts were leading the next convoy out
to Iceland. They were not even aware of our presence, sir! He fired a full
battery of Moskit-IIs. Didn’t you hear them when they launched?”

“I
wouldn’t know a Moskit from a mosquito, Mister Fedorov. Everything this ship
fires off sounds the same to me, and it’s all for killing one thing or another,
so I pay no attention to it.”

“It’s
not an exercise any more, Doctor. We’re not on maneuvers. Men died out there
this morning, a great many I fear.”

Zolkin
nodded, quiet for a moment before he said: “That’s the business of a warship.
We spend billions of rubles to build them, pack them with men, missiles, guns
and torpedoes, then put on these nice pressed uniforms and hats to make us feel
better about the dirty business we’re up to. In the end, we are a shark,
nothing more. This ship is a great white shark, and she has very sharp teeth.
Do not be surprised, then, if it ends up doing exactly what a shark would do
when the men commanding this ship become sharks themselves.”

Fedorov
looked down, still upset. “Does the Admiral know?”

“He
should never have stood that last night watch,” said Zolkin. “I suspect that,
even when he was in his cabin, he was too busy reading your book to find time
to sleep. The man was exhausted, and at his age he will not have the stamina to
function as he should without sleep. At least I was able to see that he stayed
here all day and got some much needed rest.”

“What
happened to him?” Fedorov’s eyes were searching, worried.

“BPV.
Benign Positional Vertigo. It will not be serious, and it will pass. Particles
in the fluid of his inner ear went one way, the ship went the other. Throw in
fatigue and stress and he had a case of sudden vertigo. It is not serious.
Another day and I will have him back on his feet—but I want him to rest.” He
held up a finger.

“I
understand, sir…But doctor.”

“Yes,
I knew there would be a ‘but doctor’… what is it Mister Fedorov?”

“The
engagement today…The men are saying we have sunk an American carrier! They
laugh and joke about it, as if we were on maneuvers. But this attack could have
consequences we cannot even imagine now. It will enrage the Americans, just as
the Japanese attack on them at Pearl Harbor roused them to anger, and look what
happened? They built thirty aircraft carriers, another
hundred
smaller escort
carriers, ten battleships, seventy cruisers, over 800 destroyers and escorts
and 200 submarines, not to mention over 400,000 planes!

“They
crushed the Japanese empire and practically incinerated their entire country
with just a third of their war effort. And liberated half of Europe, and all of
Asia
in just four years
. This is not the United States we know from our
time, Doctor. This United States doesn't start with soft words and sanctions.
They don’t move a battalion here, a brigade, a few planes, a carrier steaming
offshore for a week or two. They won’t take ten years fighting a war like the
US did in Iraq and Afghanistan and then leave with nothing in hand when they
are done. No…This United States will stop at nothing to achieve its ends. And
this war is like nothing we could possibly imagine. A hundred thousand will die
on a bad weekend in this conflict. Karpov has stuck his hand into a beehive. We
are one ship. How many missiles does he think we have?”

“You
know your history well, Mister Fedorov.” The Doctor finished up with a little
antiseptic ointment on his cheek. “I think it would be wise if you stay clear
of Mister Orlov for a while. As for the Admiral, I'll have a little chat with
him.”

“We
need more than a little chat, Doctor. I'm afraid the Captain has his mind set
on something involving the Atlantic Charter conference. It’s just a few days
from now, and as soon as the ship's engines are certified for high-speed
rotations again he will hasten on his way, and he will strike at anything in
his path.”

Zolkin
nodded gravely. ”What exactly
is
in his path?”

“At
the moment, another US surface action group. The battleship
Mississippi
,
two cruisers, five destroyers, and four transports. And behind them there will
be much the same escorting their president to Argentia Bay. He will engage
these ships if he spots them. We’re jamming all their radar frequencies now.
They can’t see us, and he’ll shoot down any plane that comes near us. We can
fire at five times their range and hit them before they even know we are here.
It’s not warfare, doctor, it’s murder. Our only weakness is the fact that we
have a limited weapons inventory, and I'm afraid that when our missiles begin
to run low…”

The
Doctor knew what Fedorov was angling toward. He scratched his chin, his head to
one side as he thought. “I understand,” he said. “I'll do what I can, Mister
Fedorov.”

“Thank
you, sir. Anything you can do to get the Admiral back on his feet might help.”

Zolkin
smiled. “That's what doctors are for. The admirals and captains and generals
send men out to fight, and we doctors, we try to put them back together again
when they fall apart. In the meantime, I suggest you get some sleep as well.
The Chief Engineer was in here an hour ago. It may comfort you to know that I
told him to take his time working on the engines. In fact I was rather
insistent.” He winked at Fedorov again, removing in one gesture some of the
loneliness and isolation the young navigator had carried on his shoulders for
days now.

“Now
then,” said the Doctor. “Sleep! Doctor’s orders! I will summon you to sick bay
at 1800 hours for your prescription.”

“What
prescription, sir?”

Zolkin
just smiled, and Fedorov knew he had found an ally.

~
~ ~

On
the bridge
the
excited flush of victory was well savored. Karpov ordered the KA-226 to scout
out toward the position of the American task force and send back live video,
and this time he trusted what he saw. The scene was still shrouded with smoke
and burning oil, though the sole remaining American destroyer had limped away
to the south, her decks laden with every man she could pull out of the sea. All
too many were left there, either dead before they hit the water, or dead within
the hour.
O’Brien
lingered as long as she could, but after CV
Wasp
leaned over and finally began to sink, her skipper felt it would do no good to
the survivors if another attack came in and blew his own ship apart. He sped
south, back towards the
Mississippi
in TF 16, which was hurrying north
to render any assistance possible.

The
four troop and cargo transports were immediately ordered to turn about and
return to Argentia Bay. Two destroyers went with them, the remaining three
hastening north at full speed to pick up the last of the survivors. Behind them
came the heart of the task force, cruisers
Quincy
and
Wichita
,
and the battleship
Mississippi
. But at 16:00 hours a signal came in
ordering the ships to hold position, then turn about and steam for Argentia Bay
as well. Apparently the Admirals wanted to get all their eggs in one basket,
count them well, and then hatch some plan of attack against this lethal, unseen
German raider.

Karpov
studied the footage, watching the movements of the three destroyers closely,
then assured himself that they were there only to rescue the fallen. Before
long they, too, turned and steamed south leaving only the still burning flotsam
on the oily sea. The men on the bridge gathered round the video monitor, their
eyes alight at first, until the helo zoomed in on the floating bodies of
sailors adrift in the wreckage. They saw the arm of one man raise up, as if he
was trying desperately to call back one of the destroyers. Then exhausted or
stricken by the cold, he slipped from the spar of a mast he had been clinging
to, and was taken by the sea.