Kirov (51 page)

“Don’t
worry about that, Brind. Speak your mind, man.”

“Well
sir, this might not be a German ship at all…”

~
~ ~

Events
were
running on,
as the ships, American, British and from parts unknown plied through the
sea on courses that all seemed to be converging on Newfoundland. The British
were worried that the raider would simply turn east and head out into the
Atlantic, but a small fishing trawler out of Newfoundland spotted a lone ship
on a course due south of the location where
Wasp
had sunk. Apparently
this German captain seemed convinced of his invulnerability, and came boldly
on, albeit at a more cautious rate. The trawler estimated the contact speed at
twenty knots.

At
the time Tovey was some 225 miles to the south, and the American Task Force 16
was 150 miles northwest of his position. Somerville was an equal distance
south, and the three forces, steaming for Newfoundland, formed a slowly
compressing wall of steel as their courses converged. Then a further report
came in from the PBY: amazingly, the enemy ship changed course in a direction
no one expected, not east or southeast into the Atlantic, but southwest on a
heading that would put it off the coast of Newfoundland in another twenty four
hours.

“The
gall of that ship,” Tovey exclaimed. “Do they think the Royal Navy has just
turned tail and run home?”

“More
than likely they’ve got other ideas,” said Brind. “They may have even got wind
of this secret meeting.”

“What
could they possibly be up to with that heading?” Tovey shook his head.

“It
could be a fuel situation,” Brind suggested. “Perhaps they have a tanker hidden
away that the Americans failed to spot. The weather has been somewhat grim.
Then again…If they do know about the Prime Minister’s meeting, that ship is on
a course that will put it in firing range of Argentia Bay given the range of
these rockets.”

Tovey
raised his eyebrows at that. “Damn,” he said. “Could the Germans have known
about this meeting all along? I only learned the details but a few days ago.”

“True,
sir, but there it is. The raider would be here tomorrow morning if it holds its
present course and speed.” Brind pointed to the map off the northeast cape of
Newfoundland. He took up a pair of calipers and neatly drew a circle. “That’s
the range we’ve observed on these rockets.” The arc of fire covered the whole
of Argentia Bay.

“We’ll
have to do something about this, Brind. We can’t very well have Jerry taking
pot shots at the Prime Minister, can we? Look here… If we put out the word and
make all the speed we can, perhaps we can cover that coastline and herd this
raider into the Sea of Labrador. All we have to do is form a line and then
sweep north.” Tovey moved his arm, as if stroking a tennis ball and knocking
the German ship halfway to Greenland. “We’ve enough ships to cover well over
200 miles. We’ve got her now, Brind. She’s stickling her neck out with this
maneuver, and right into our jaws of steel.”

The
Admiral could see an opportunity here, and he immediately asked the Prime
Minister if he would consider transferring to a fast cruiser, and sail on
ahead, well screened and protected by all the ships now gathering in the region.
That way he could keep
Prince of Wales
in hand for the battle he hoped
was just hours away now.

Churchill,
balked, at first, hoping to stay at sea for the action. “Giving me the bums
rush, Admiral?” he complained. “I was hoping to actually see you get your teeth
into this German ship.” He was eventually persuaded that this would be most
unwise, and the early arrival of the Americans and FDR at Argentia proved a
sufficient lure. That decided, the Prime Minister was ferried over to the
cruiser
Devonshire
and, thankfully, Admiral Pound went along as well.
Tovey detached three destroyers with them,
Echo
in the van, and
Eclipse
and
Escapade
to either side. Designated Task Force C, the group sped
away at all of 34 knots, hastening on toward their fateful rendezvous at Argentia
Bay.

This
allowed Tovey to take the rest of Home Fleet, including
Prince of Wales
,
northwest on a course that would eventually put him just east of the American
Task Force 16. Being informed of the American order of battle, he reasoned that
together they would then have sixteen ships, including three battleships, a
battlecruiser, five cruisers and seven destroyers—a wall of steel stretching
from the coast of Newfoundland some 200 miles out to sea, in a good position to
find and smother this enemy raider when they turned north.

~
~ ~

That
was not all. With FDR safely
ashore, the Americans were now free to reinforce their fleet with the addition
of the battleships
New York
,
Arkansas
, three or four fast
cruisers and double that number of destroyers in
Desron 7
. Admiral
Starke convinced King that this was, indeed, a job for the cruisers.

“Leave
the battleships behind,” he suggested. We can use their AA guns to beef up air
defense in the bay here in the event the Germans try lobbing some of these new
glide bombs and rockets our way.” He also wanted FDR in the best armored ships
he had, and the cruisers and destroyers had the speed required for a hunt at
sea. He put it in terms King quickly understood and embraced. “Release the hounds,
Rey. Let’s get the dogs out after this bastard and run it down. The old battleships
will just get in the way and, if need be, you’ve got
Mississippi
out
there already, though I suggest you make her the goalie in this game.”

King
agreed that this was a much better plan, and so the venerable WWI battleships
New
York
, the “Lady Broadway,” and
Arkansas
, “Old Arky,” hove to in
Argentia Bay, with FDR and all the remaining brass eagerly awaiting the arrival
of Churchill. The fast cruisers left hours later,
Brooklyn
,
Nashville
,
Augusta
, and
Tuscaloosa
, all eager to get out to sea and into the
hunt. There was an empty berth back home where
Vincennes
once anchored,
and they had a score to settle.

When
Marshall brought up the fact that the US was still technically neutral King
bristled at the notion. “You tell that to John Reeves and the rest of his crew
on
Wasp
,” he said.

An
hour later Roosevelt had drafted and issued a Presidential Order for the U.S. Navy
to find and sink any and all hostile ships within 300 miles of the coast of
Newfoundland. The Americans were edging ever closer to an open declaration of
war, which was nothing more than a formality now. All FDR had to do was make
sure Admiral King realized the British were out there as well, and that they
were
not
hostile ships, in spite of the Admiral’s distaste for the
‘conniving limeys’ as he called them.

As
the clock ticked off the time, an unspoken Zero Hour loomed in the minds of
every man involved, and that same clock was ticking aboard
Kirov
as
well.

~
~ ~

Just
as Karpov
was
pressing Orlov for his support, Zolkin and the Admiral were finishing up their
conversation in the sick bay. “Don’t worry about Karpov,” he said. “If he
starts another battle I’ll carry you up to the bridge myself.”

“That
man is dangerous,” said Volsky. “He claims to have only the interests of the
ship and crew at heart, yet I feel there is something more there.”

“I
agree,” said Zolkin. “There is more to the man than meets the eye. He is
brooding on something, scheming. You can see it in his body language, Leonid.
But understand his situation. He is captain of the ship, but yet not captain as
long as you are aboard.”

“Professional
jealousy?”

“More
than that. It is a kind of adverse reaction to higher authority. In my opinion
he regards his own judgment as unassailable, and resents any interference. He
may accord you the respect your rank deserves, but I think it is mere lip
service and that he views you as an obstacle, or worse, as an interloper aboard
a ship that is rightfully his. I have seen a thousand men like him over the
years. It seems our Mother Russia breeds them in batches. Do you notice how he
closes up physically whenever questioned? He folds his arms defensively. His
eyes narrow, and his expressions clearly register impatience, resentment and
even annoyance.”

“The
man has an ego, most certainly.”

“You
must be cautious with such a man. He can become a dangerous and unpredictable enemy.”

“What
are you suggesting, that Karpov might attempt to subvert my authority?”

“Possibly.
We are not operating under normal circumstances, my friend. Severomorsk is not
a radio message away any longer. The entire chain of command aboard this ship
derives from authority vested in men by a world that no longer even exists! The
men are performing their duties. They say, yes sir; no sir; if I may, sir, but
this is mere protocol, reflexive behavior on one level.”

“I
think I have earned the respect of these men many times over,” said Volsky.

“That
you have, and this is your strongest asset at the moment. Take off the stripes
and uniforms and we are all just men, Leonid, and men do odd things in
situations of extreme pressure. In Karpov’s case, they salute the rank, but I
do not think they salute or admire the man. In your case I think the men
genuinely love and respect you, and would follow you irrespective of your rank.
You are “Papa Volsky,” the Grand Admiral of the Fleet. Some still hold you in
awe, others see you as a father figure. Yet sometimes a father has a wayward
and rebellious son, yes? This is Karpov. And when a man like Karpov feels threatened,
he will seek allies before he acts.”

“Aboard
this ship?”

“Where
else? And you can make a very short list of the men most likely to see things
his way.”

Volsky
was silent for a time, his face pained under those thick brows, eyes furrowed,
distant, as if seeing some inward thing in a far off corner of his mind. “I’m
getting old, Dmitri,” he said sullenly. “I thought I would finish out my days
at home with my grandchildren on my knee and a nice garden. Now here I am with
the fate of the world on my shoulders, and that home I imagine no longer even
exists, just as you say. This is somewhere in the mind and soul of every man
aboard this ship, and younger men are adventurous. They are hungry. They see
the days ahead as something to be discovered, something gained, and not as
something to be settled and given a proper balance, not as a place to find rest
and ease of mind. They have not yet lived, and they are reaching, planning. Me?
I am tired. I want to sit down under a palm tree with a good glass of wine and
read. Yet I do not think any of us will find that island you spoke of once,
with all the pretty Polynesian girls. Things are coming to a boiling point
soon. We cannot sail about taking shots at any ship that comes near us. At some
point this must resolve. It has to be settled.”

“Resolve
to what, Leonid? What are you going to do?”

“This
business at Argentia Bay—the Atlantic Charter. Perhaps I can put some jam and
honey on the table for the Russia that emerges from this war.”

“How?
You mean you intend to go there yourself and speak your mind with Roosevelt and
Churchill after what Karpov has done?”

“I
considered it. Stalin was not invited, but they are bringing all their admirals
and generals. I am Grand Admiral of the Russian Northern Fleet, or so you tell
me.”

“Yes,
I tell you that, but can you tell that to Churchill and Roosevelt? This is
risky, Leonid. Assuming you convince them of who and what we are; where we have
come from—assuming they believe what you tell them, then would they not see you
as a valuable asset?”

“Of
course, that was my hope.”

“But
think…If you were at war in our day, and had a man here who knew the history yet
to come, every battle, every mistake made, would you not keep him close?”

“You
are suggesting I would be taken prisoner?”

“That
is a likely outcome should you place yourself in a situation where you cannot
easily regain your freedom.”

The
Admiral considered this, nodding. “I had come to this reasoning myself some
time ago,” he confessed. “But I just wanted to see what you might think of the
prospect and I think you are correct. A visit with Churchill and Roosevelt
sounds appealing, even exciting. But it would be most unwise. I gave it some
thought, for a long time, perhaps too long.”

“Is
this why you have allowed the ship to remain on this course?” Zolkin questioned
him further. “You were thinking of joining this meeting? I’m afraid that Karpov
may have other thoughts about this situation. Mark my words—he intends a show
of force, and if the Allies gather in strength, he will meet fire with fire.
And so, old man, if you ever do want to sit under that palm tree and read, you
had better get yourself back up to the bridge. I certify you as healthy and fit
for duty. It’s Orlov’s watch now. Karpov has been prowling around below decks,
but I think you should get there soon.”