by Giles
“Yessir, ‘bout 400 miles that-a-way.” Frederick Randal drawled pointing straight ahead but not looking up from his plotting board.
“Excellent Fred, precise as ever. Remind me again why you’re here?”
“I’m not certain on that one myself Captain, must be my natural charm. Here’s your course Sir.” The newly commissioned navigator held up a slip of paper, with coordinates and distances upon it. Jerard realized that Mr. Randal was also wearing a uniform, my, my, those tailors were busy last night! Jerard wondered if they had to start from scratch for Fred’s uniforms.
“Thank you so very much Mr. Randal.” Phillips replied feeling any remaining nerves vanish under Fred’s impudent humor. “46 degrees northeast please Mr. Wallace, bring us to cruise speed as soon as we hit a thousand feet.”
“Aye Sir,” the pilot called from behind him.
“Excellent. Maintain that heading for an hour then we’ll go up a bit higher I think. I’ve never seen the Cairngorm Mountains before and frankly I can’t think of a better way to do it than from above, eh Gentlemen?” He offered to the bridge in general.
“Why not go all out Captain Phillips?” Carstares’ voice rang out from the back “This isn’t a sightseeing trip, Sir.” The man declaimed dourly.
Looking around Jerard saw that Miss Smythe-Harris had also joined them on the bridge. The crisp retort he had in mind was suddenly checked by his good manners at the lady’s presence. Jerard was not used to having his orders queried any more than he was used to seeing a woman on the bridge. Such were the perils of a private aircraft it seemed.
“If you mean why not travel at full speed all time Sir. Then I can think of several reasons.” He replied only a little curtly as Carstares joined him forward. “Fuel, for an example; I consider it more efficient to travel in one single trip than refueling at Aberdeen. I further consider it imprudent to cross the North Sea without sizable reserves, which would be eaten into should we take the engines up to their threshold for extended periods, Sir. Sometimes the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, but wisdom is known in her children,” he finished only slightly misquoting the Scriptures.
“I’d feel more comfortable if we were also the swift Mr. Phillips.”
“Perhaps we can oblige you a little Colonel Carstares. How's the height Mr. Wallace?”
“One thousand feet and steady Sir”
“Good level off and brace for acceleration. Mr. D’Arcey engage the auxiliary engine at your discretion.”
“Oui, Captain” The Engineer said and bent over his controls. From the belly of the ship a slight hiss and shuddering vibration began to increase as the secondary Armstrong Klein engine spun up to boost speed. “Fifty knots... fifty five... sixty....”
“Hold at sixty Mr. D'Arcey and cut back when boost reserves are at 20%.” Jerard turned to Carstares, “There Sir we shall be cruising at that speed for twenty minutes or so to satisfy your sense of urgency, but for the record, while you may command the mission overall. May I remind you that the command and disposition of this ship has been given to me. Tell me what you need and my crew and I will accomplish it for you but in the most safe and efficient way I deem practical.”
As the ship vibrated with the boosted power Carstares nodded appreciatively. “As you say Captain. Forgive me I did not mean to imply you and your fine officers did not know their tasks. It’s just that this whole business has been one unmitigated string of frustrations thus far.”
As the man hadn’t pressed his point Jerard was inclined to feel generous “I can imagine that Sir, well this is the last time we shall be chasing our quarry’s tail I can assure you.” Looking over Randal’s navigational notes he added. “We should hit Stavanger in about six hours.” And that’s without straining either man or machine he added inwardly.
Carstares closed his eyes in thought for a second. “That should put us ahead of their sailing vessel by three to five hours. Assuming Mansfield's figures were accurate.”
The Colonel still looked worried at that estimate but Phillips wasn’t about to promise him more speed just yet. Fortunately Miss Smythe-Harris caught the Colonel’s look as well and prevented further debate amidst the bridge crew. “Perhaps we should discuss what happens upon our arrival in the passenger lounge gentlemen?”
“Miss Smythe-Harris is correct Captain, we will need to sit down and discuss our options.” Carstares admitted as he looked out the window at the Scottish countryside drifting by below them. “Oh by the way Captain, the nearer mountain range to us is the Grampians, the Cairngorms are somewhat further north.”
“I see. Thank you for that Colonel. As for our discussion, you go on ahead Sir, Ma’am.” Phillips demurred. “I need to be here, for a while at least.”
“Of course Captain, you have a ship to run after all.” Miss Smythe-Harris added obviously in support of Jerard.
Jerard wanted to cheer, the woman clearly didn’t care for the Colonel’s attitude either. Tipping his hat to Miss Smythe-Harris he sat back on his stool and began to make notes in the flight log.
An hour or so later Jerard made his way to the lounge on ‘B’ deck. The mountains were swathed in mist and while picturesque not quite the sight he had hoped for. Before leaving the bridge he had taken the Discretion up to two and a half thousand feet and stayed while the gas pressure equalized from the reduced air pressure. Mr. D’Arcey had reported that the Discretion had vented about 4% hydrogen and was flying sweet and stable.
The door to the lounge was open when he arrived. Miss Smythe-Harris and Colonel Carstares were sitting by the window both heads bent over a large chess board. The Indian manservant, Gopal, rose and made a slight bow to Jerard.
“May I offer you tea Captain Phillips?”
“You’re very kind Gopal, yes, yes thank you.” Neither Carstares or Miss Smythe-Harris had so much as glanced up at his arrival, so he added sotto vocce to Gopal: “So, who’s winning over there?”
“Alas Sir, I have not been paying enough attention to the game to be certain. I believe Miss Smythe-Harris may have the upper hand and I suspect the good Colonel may be discovering that as well Captain.” Gopal handed him a china teacup with some exquisitely made Assam swirling gently within it.
With a nod of thanks and a grin of appreciation for the Indian’s understated candor Jerard strolled to the site of the battle and pulled up a chair. He was near enough to watch the game yet not so near as to be considered a rude interruption. Sipping his tea he studied the board first and, then the people playing at it. The good Colonel was a study in intense concentration, a slight furrow upon his brow marked a man taking things quite seriously. Miss Smythe-Harris on the other hand was as unreadable as an alabaster statuette. Finally Carstares glanced in his direction and moved his bishop.
“Are you sure about that Colonel?” Miss Smythe-Harris said gently as the piece came to rest in its new station. Phillips hunched forward to observe the new configuration on the board, while the Colonel’s fingers froze just shy of releasing the chess piece.
“I think she’s got you old boy.” Jerard commented, mentally plotting the next few likely moves out in his head. “Mate in four I think.” he concluded.
“Three.” Miss Smythe-Harris corrected with deceptive sweetness.
Reluctantly Carstares dragged the Bishop back to its starting position and sat back staring at his dainty looking opponent, then at the sanguine Phillips. “Hrummph, perhaps we could adjourn this game Miss Smythe-Harris till later as the good Captain is now with us.”
“Certainly,” Tash replied sitting back and flashing Carstares a charming smile. “So how are we doing Captain?” She asked addressing Phillips directly for the first time.
“We’re well under way Ma’am. We’ve just passed over Perth now and in less than two hours we’ll leave Scotland at Stonehaven and be over the Sea.”
“How long will the sea crossing take captain?” Carstares interjected. “I admit we’re cutting things a little finer than I would have
liked, as I said before.”
Phillips sipped his tea again and then answered, “And as I said Colonel the entire trip should take about six hours. We have been in the air an hour, it will be approximately another ninety minutes until we reach the coast. This leaves us about three to three and half hours over the ocean. Colonel you have to understand these are just estimates. It is the best we can do at this point and these estimates are based on the lack of any significant weather fronts.
“Forgive me Captain, you did tell me this. It's just that there is something about this whole business that I can’t quite put my finger on Sir and Madam” Carstares said. “I dislike being in the dark, things are muddled enough in Norway as it is.”
“Indeed,” Miss Smythe-Harris broke in. “King Charles of Sweden is making a bit of an ass of himself and not endearing the people. The Norwegian members of parliament Mr. Starblower contacted for his expedition seemed very eager to show they were capable of making decisions without reference to “any Swede” as I recall was the phrase that was used.
“Most interesting Miss Smythe-Harris, I was not aware of that,” Carstares commented. “Such a political climate makes it easier for our felons to evade the local authorities I think...”
“Ahem. If I may...” Jerard interrupted. “I was never clear as to why these German agents chose to take such a circuitous route back to their homeland. Surely it would have been simpler to smuggle the good Doctor across the channel and through France to Germany?”
“In terms of distance, yes, that would have been much simpler. However with the growing tensions between France and Germany over the Spanish succession, perhaps their first line of retreat was cut off.”
“Do you think it will be actual war in Europe Colonel Carstares?” Miss Smythe-Harris asked.
“Very possibly Madam, it would only take one more diplomatic spark to touch it off I fear. However that is not my area of concern as of now, Dr. Nordstrom’s safety is.” He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers as he regarded Tash and Jerard. “Before we left I cabled ahead of us to some friendly contacts Her Majesty’s government has in Norway. As Miss Smythe-Harris so eloquently pointed out things are tense in Norway right now and it seems that certain elements are keen to gain the favor of the British Empire as a whole. As a result the local police and coast guard will be alert to our target vessel and others like it. If all goes to plan they will either have a list of sightings for us or perhaps even have made an arrest at sea. But I suspect the quietest way to deal with the whole business is for the Discretion to apprehend the blackguards on the high seas out sight of land.”
“Now that is a fascinating development, Mr Carstares!” Tash quipped. “I presume you think the sight of my employer’s airship descending upon them will so overawe these villains that they will throw up their hands in surrender at first glance? This state of shock will further prevent them from either shooting holes in us or threatening the good Doctor’s life for their safety. I can see you’ve thought this through.” Sarcasm coated her words like snake venom.
Having been on the end of one of Miss Smythe-Harris’s outbursts it was actually amusing to Jerard to observe another man being on the receiving end of her ire this time. He was not about to open his mouth and become a target even if he did agree with her. Jerard watched Carstares shift uncomfortably in his seat and attempt to face the incensed woman down.
“Madam please. The kidnappers at no point have shown any desire to do Dr. Nordstrom or anyone lasting harm, the chance of violence is acceptably small. I feel confidant that once they see the ‘jig is up’ they will be amenable to an offer of a deal, by which we gain the Doctor back safely and they are returned to Germany.”
“Surely Her Majesty’s intelligence wouldn’t let them go scott free Sir!” Phillips objected, forgetting his intention to remain silent.
“No indeed captain. But the concessions we could wring from Germany for this breech would be all the greater if we agreed to keep the incident from the French and the international community in general. But that is not you concern Sir, nor mine, we must focus on the retrieval of Doctor Nordstrom.”
“On behalf of Mr. Starblower I must ask again what assurances you can give that they will not simply shoot us out of the air Colonel!” Miss Smythe-Harris demanded once more.
“Actually Miss Smythe-Harris it would be exceptionally difficult to down an airship the size of the Discretion with hand held arms.” Phillips answered. “Contrary to popular opinion a bullet will pass through the hull and gas bags without doing more than causing a slight, and easily fixed I might add, leak.” As Miss Smythe-Harris turned her blazing blue eyes upon him Jerard realized he had made a mistake in inserting himself in this discussion and engaged in some mental cursing.
“Why thank you for that reassurance Captain,” she began with ominous sweetness. “That is highly reassuring for those of us that never intended to make a career out of being shot at as you and the Colonel have.”
“In the unlikely event of violence madam we would merely need to pull back to a safe height and await the Norwegian coastal police. With the Discretion overhead there would be no practical way for the kidnappers to evade capture.” Carstares broke in, rescuing Phillips before Miss Smythe-Harris could get up a full head of steam.
“You’ll pardon me if I repeat myself here gentlemen. But I find the idea rather unlikely that such ingenious and unscrupulous men would be overawed into surrender by our mere appearance Sir.” Miss Smythe-Harris snapped back at him.
Carstares refused to be ruffled and looked at the young woman steadily. “None the less madam, I can assure you and Mr. Starblower that there are rules to such international skullduggery even such as this. The German move was bold but kept to certain limits. Herr Bismarck is an able political player however and he would be sure to correctly assess when his men had failed to achieve their goal and cut his losses. Due to the gracious intercession of your employer there will be no international incident here.”
Miss Smythe-Harris looked unconvinced but said nothing, Jerard instead had a question he wanted answered as captain. “Colonel, it is all very well assuming these kidnappers are playing by these ‘international rules’ as you say but as Captain of this ship I can’t simply assume that. If they fire on this vessel I need to know your thoughts on our next course of action ahead of time. You think that simply ascending out of range is all we need to do?”
“I don’t see why not Captain Phillips” Carstares replied. “We’ll be out over the ocean there will be no place for them to hide and we can use your ships wireless to alert the authorities in Stavanger, if they get nasty.”
Miss Smythe-Harris snapped forward in her seat, no doubt with a pithy comment on her tongue but Jerard replied before she could speak. “With all due respect Sir that is incredibly short sighted. Are you not aware that the wireless radio has a range of only about two miles? So we would be in sight of land in such a case, where frankly, they might try and bolt for the shore. If they did so they might well be on land before the local authorities could render us assistance...”
“Not to mention, Colonel Carstares whom do you know in Stavanger with a wireless receiver? You don’t find these things every street corner Sir.” Tash said trying desperately to hold on to her temper.
“Well all I can say at this point is that there is an ‘official’ contact of Her Majesty’s government that possesses one. This contact will be liaising with local police...” Carstares began.
“Then Mr Jones, our radio operator, will need to know his contact details Sir, well ahead of time at the very least.” Jerard stated coolly. Clearly this operation had been acted upon with all due haste and less planning than he liked. Oddly he felt a pang of sympathy for Carstares, the last couple of days had seen Jerard’s own personal situation so radically changed that he could imagine Carstares’s confusion at his new ‘command’. Jerard shook his head, they needed some more direct tactical options than this; just in case. “Colonel, the crew
of their ship are all Scottish yes?”
“Yes, according to the background information I saw Captain. Why do you ask?”
“Well Sir, we are a British ship and fly the colors of the empire; as is right and proper. I suggest that if we personally apprehend the fishing vessel that we hail them by semaphore and order the ship’s crew to stand down and restrain their ‘passengers’ in return for a suitable consideration.”
“What on earth is a suitable consideration Captain?” Tash said, not sure where Phillips was going with this.
“I mean that these Scotsmen have aided; perhaps unknowingly, the kidnapping of a citizen of the Empire, a crime that could carry the death sentence. We could inform them that their immediate cooperation would prove that they themselves were not guilty of this most serious crime. Besides,” Jerard shrugged, “would it not be easier for the Scottish crew to take down the two kidnappers than it would for the Discretion to apprehend the kidnapers and the crew of the fishing boat as well?”
Miss Smythe-Harris began to nod appreciatively. “So are you suggesting we pay these fools to turn over Dr. Nordstrom Captain Phillips?”
“I wasn’t ma’am, but now you mention it, that is a potential option. Paying a reward to citizens who assist in the apprehension of criminals is not unheard of.”
Carstares looked fit to explode now. “Now see here Captain Phillips Her Majesty’s government can’t be seen to be making deals with common criminals! Do you forget that these men are illegally transporting criminals?”
“But it’s fine for them to make deals with kidnapping nations? I see thank you for making that distinction Colonel!” Miss Smythe-Harris retorted, effectively silencing Carstares.
Phillips leaned forward, “All I suggest is that in the event we sight the fishing vessel we try bargaining before making demands.”