Operation Black Shark

by Stephen Dando-Collins

  Charlie followed the direction of the arrow. He opened a solid door and walked down a corridor, leaving carpeted floors behind. Here, the deck was practical grey metal. They came to a door marked ‘Infirmary’. When Charlie tried the door, he found it locked. Putting the tip of the Hi Power’s silencer to the lock, he moved Caesar to one side, then pulled the trigger. There was a dull puff sound from the pistol, followed by the clunk of metal hitting the floor on the other side of the door. Smoke curled up from the end of the silencer. Jamming the Hi Power into his belt, Charlie tried the door. It opened with a squeak.

  Charlie led Caesar in through the open doorway and flicked on the light switch. As light flooded the room, Charlie surveyed the scene until his eyes fell on a pair of folded wheelchairs standing against the wall.

  ‘Bingo!’ Charlie murmured, kicking the remnants of the lock to one side.

  Fossicking behind the counter, he found a roll of grey duct tape, which he jammed in one of his pouches. He pulled out a wheelchair, leaving it folded. Bending at the knees, he slipped an arm beneath its armrests, then stood up with the chair resting on his broad shoulder. Flicking off the light, he ushered Caesar outside and closed the infirmary door. They retraced their steps up to Deck 4. Just before they reached the halfway landing, Caesar began to emit a low growl. At the same time, his tail jutted out as firm as an arrow.

  Charlie immediately halted. He slipped the wheelchair from his shoulder and sank down beside Caesar, pulling him close. ‘What is it, Caesar?’ he whispered. ‘Can you hear something?’

  Caesar glanced at him, then continued to look up to the next landing. Long moments passed and then Charlie heard what Caesar had heard – approaching voices. Before long, three patrolling hijackers strolled by at the head of the stairs, all with AKMs over their shoulders. They were laughing and talking about Volcán’s exploit with the RPG and the Cuban customs boat. Without Caesar’s warning, Charlie would have walked right into them. Slowly, Charlie slipped the Hi Power from his belt and put his other hand around Caesar’s snout to prevent him from making a sound. Not one of the bad guys looked down to spot him and Caesar huddled on the landing below. Charlie waited until the trio had gone, taking a lift to a higher deck.

  Charlie and Caesar resumed climbing the stairs. In the Deck 4 forward lobby, Charlie checked the cabin numbers on the wall. Cabin 3034 was only metres away, a short distance from the lobby. Charlie paused outside the door to 3034 and listened for a moment, then gently rapped on the door three times. The door was opened by Ben, who smiled upon seeing them.

  Charlie grinned. ‘Room service,’ he whispered.

  Caesar let out a little whimper, then bounded forward and leapt into Ben’s arms.

  ‘Hello, mate!’ Ben said with a grin, staggering back into the cabin carrying his canine partner.

  Charlie followed them in, closing the door behind them and putting down the wheelchair.

  Josh now awoke. ‘Wow!’ he exclaimed, sitting up. ‘Caesar! Charlie!’

  ‘Is that for me?’ Ben said, nodding to the chair.

  ‘No, for me. You’ll see. What were those explosions beside the ship?’ Charlie asked.

  ‘A Cuban customs boat,’ Ben advised, setting Caesar down and kneeling to pat him as he spoke. ‘The hijackers blew it out of the water.’

  ‘Using what?’

  ‘An RPG.’

  ‘We’ll report that to Shark Catcher. The assault team needs to know the hijackers are armed with an RPG.’ While Ben and Josh made a fuss of Caesar, Charlie took out his mobile and tapped in Liberty Lee’s number. ‘By the way, Ben, how’s your back problem?’

  ‘You know what, Charlie, in all the drama over the last few days, I haven’t given it a second thought. It hasn’t bothered me at all. I think I’m over it.’

  ‘Positive? We need you one-hundred-per-cent fit for what’s about to go down.’

  ‘Good to go,’ Ben assured him.

  ‘What back problem, Dad?’ Josh queried.

  ‘It’s nothing, Josh,’ his father returned.

  Liberty Lee now answered Charlie’s call. ‘Yes?’

  ‘Stingray and EDD have linked up with Orca,’ Charlie reported.

  ‘Thank you, Stingray,’ Liberty replied with relief. ‘I will put Shark Catcher on. Wait one second.’

  ‘This is Shark Catcher,’ Major Jinko said moments later.

  ‘Be advised that the hostiles have just sunk a small Cuban customs boat, using an RPG,’ Charlie said. ‘No casualties that we know of.’

  ‘Copy that,’ Major Jinko replied. ‘And I have intel for you, Stingray. The CIA advises that Ricardo Ramos, the man who led the prison outbreak in Havana, escaped to the United States from Cuba as a boy. In his teens he worked for a company in Miami, where he was trained by the owner to use explosives to blow up anything from old buildings to shipwrecks. He returned to Cuba in his twenties and was drafted into the Cuban army. He probably used explosives there, too. So, if it is Ramos who is leading the hijack, he knows what he is doing with explosives. He may be prepared to go through with his threat to blow up the ship.’

  ‘Copy that,’ Charlie said. ‘Good thing we have Caesar with us.’

  ‘Roger that, Stingray. Be advised that Barracuda is in the air.’

  A little after dawn, the black conning tower of the USS Jimmy Carter broke through the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea. Pushing along at ten knots, the massive 138-metre-long nuclear submarine gradually surfaced. Displacing 12,000 tonnes underwater, she was twice the size of a destroyer and even larger than a cruiser. Reducing speed, the sub cleaved through the low swell as if it were soft butter.

  Hovering several hundred metres away were two grey Seahawk helicopters from the USS Wasp. As crewmen appeared on the sub’s stern deck, one of the choppers slowly moved closer. It was soon hovering directly above the moving vessel, keeping pace with it. Lines dropped down from both sides of the helicopter. These were grasped by submariners, and five men in black with bulky packs on their backs rappelled down to the sub’s stable deck in quick succession. The Seahawk crept off, reeling in the lines. At the same time, its companion moved into position and dropped rappelling lines. Another five men in black slid expertly down to the deck of the Jimmy Carter, before the second heelo also banked away. Duke Hazard and his team had been successfully transferred to the submarine.

  As the Seahawks buzzed east to rejoin the Wasp, Duke and the rest of the GRRR team descended through a hatchway in the sub’s stern deck and clambered down a metal ladder. As soon as the hatch was closed above them, the Jimmy Carter began to slide back beneath the waves. The GRRR operatives were taken down to a lower deck, to an empty officers’ mess, where a USN lieutenant awaited them.

  ‘Welcome aboard the Jimmy Carter, gentlemen,’ said the lieutenant. ‘We are on our way to the Cleopatra and should be in a position to maintain a visual and comms watch on her in around two hours. The insertion process we have agreed with Shark Catcher aboard Wasp is as follows. At 1930 hours, after sundown, your first group of six men will take their positions aboard a submersible in the MMP. The submersible will take that group to the surface alongside the cruise ship. That first group will covertly board the Cleopatra at 2000 hours. Once they are aboard, the submersible will return to the Carter to embark your last four men. Any questions?’

  ‘Affirmative, sir,’ Hazard said. ‘Any info on the status of Stingray, our recon man aboard Cleopatra?’

  The lieutenant sifted through several written messages in his hand, before reading one of them aloud. ‘“Stingray and EDD have linked up with Orca.” Does that answer your question, Sergeant?’

  Hazard produced a tight smile. ‘Roger that, sir.’

  ‘Charlie and Caesar have hooked up with Ben,’ Baz said with satisfaction.

  ‘Aye, I bet that clever doggie is pleased to see his master again,’ Angus said.

  ‘And on this op we won’t have to yomp countless clicks to reach our target,’ Baz said. ‘The US Navy is delivering us right to the
door. Now, that’s what I call service.’

  In the operations centre aboard the Wasp, Liberty and Captain Valenti were sitting in chairs on either side of Jinko as he surveyed the screens in front of him. One screen had been set up to show the location of Cleopatra in relation to the Jimmy Carter and the Wasp.

  ‘The sub will have a visual on the Cleopatra before long,’ Jinko said, pointing to the screen, where the marker for the Jimmy Carter was almost next to the one for the Cleopatra, with the Wasp shown some distance away. ‘From periscope depth, the sub will be able to listen in on any radio and mobile-phone traffic to and from the Cleopatra.’

  Liberty nodded. ‘We are fortunate to have the use of the submarine.’ She paused as a thought occurred to her. ‘Major, the next time you communicate with the Jimmy Carter, do not forget to inform Sergeant Hazard that we suspect the hijackers may have someone aboard the Cleopatra working with them.’

  ‘Copy that.’

  Liberty’s mobile phone now began to ring. Answering, she found her caller was UN Secretary-General Dr Park Chun Ho.

  ‘Captain Lee,’ said the Secretary-General, ‘I have been able to convince the Cayman Islands bank to pretend to receive the two hundred million dollars on the condition that it is not made public. They do not wish their cooperation with us to get out.’

  ‘Excellent news, Secretary-General,’ Liberty said. A smile spread across her usually impassive, businesslike face. ‘How did you convince them?’

  ‘I explained that, in the event of their unwillingness to help, the United Nations would have no choice but to inform the world that the bank had refused to cooperate with us in this humanitarian crisis,’ the Secretary-General replied. ‘Their reputation would be very badly damaged as a result.’

  ‘You blackmailed them into helping, sir?’ Liberty said, mildly surprised.

  The Secretary-General chuckled. ‘Oh, I would not say that it was blackmail, Captain Lee. I merely pointed out the negative outcome of their refusal to cooperate.’

  Again, Liberty smiled, wider this time. ‘Yes, Secretary-General. Now the hijackers can be fooled into leaving the ship.’

  ‘Or so we hope,’ he replied, sounding guardedly optimistic. ‘With so many lives at stake aboard the Cleopatra, Captain Lee, I would prefer to terminate this crisis without resorting to force.’

  ‘Of course. But, if it is necessary to send in GRRR, Secretary-General, they will be in position to launch the assault on the ship at eight o’clock this evening, local time. We already have two men and Caesar aboard the Cleopatra to gather information.’

  ‘Then I will inform the Kaiser Line that they should tell the hijackers that they are paying the ransom at six o’clock tonight. Will that give you sufficient time to activate GRRR if the hijackers do not release the ship immediately?’

  ‘Ample time, sir,’ Liberty said.

  ‘To speed matters along, I will suggest they give the hijackers a brief window in which to accept the ransom money.’

  ‘Very well, sir.’

  ‘Thank you, Captain Lee. Good luck to us all.’

  In the early-morning light, Ricardo answered the ringing telephone on the ocean liner’s bridge. ‘This is the Cleopatra,’ he said. ‘Who is calling?’

  ‘This is Spiros Naxos, Chairman of the Kaiser Line in Athens,’ came a heavily accented voice. ‘Who are you?’

  ‘I am the leader of the Black Shark’s Seventh Company and I am in control of your ship.’

  ‘I wish to advise that at six o’clock this evening, Western Caribbean Time, my company will be transferring two hundred million dollars into the account you have nominated at the Caribbean Worldwide Bank in the Cayman Islands.’

  Ricardo slapped his knee with glee. ‘Good,’ he said. ‘And what of our demand that the entire Cuban Government resigns?’

  ‘I know nothing of that. I must also tell you that, if you have not released the Cleopatra by eight o’clock this evening, Western Caribbean Time, the bank will have instructions to transfer the money back to the Kaiser Line.’

  ‘You cannot do that!’ Ricardo shouted. ‘That is not possible! Once money is in a bank account, it can only be transferred out of it with the authority of the account holder.’

  ‘It can be transferred by anyone with your password,’ Naxos countered. ‘And the bank knows your password. The bank is being very cooperative with us.’

  Ricardo flushed red in the face. ‘We demand that the Cuban Government steps down!’ he raged. ‘You had better deposit that money at six this evening and leave it there, or we will sink your ship!’ He flung the handset against the wall.

  ‘A problem, Ricky?’ Ana-Maria asked anxiously.

  ‘That man thinks he can give me deadlines!’ Ricardo growled. He paused, allowing his rage to ebb away. ‘But I am much too smart for him.’ He smiled at his companions. ‘They are transferring the money at six this evening.’

  Consuela sighed with relief and smiled at her son.

  ‘We are rich!’ Ana-Maria declared, embracing Ricardo.

  ‘Yee-ha!’ Volcán exclaimed.

  ‘Patience. We are not yet rich,’ Ricardo cautioned, pushing Ana-Maria away. ‘But soon we will be. Very soon.’

  ‘And our demand that the Cuban Government steps down?’ Volcán asked. ‘What of that?’

  ‘They will never do it,’ Ricardo responded with a shrug. ‘What do the communists care about a shipload of wealthy foreign tourists?’

  ‘It would have been good to get rid of the Castro gang,’ Volcán said unhappily.

  ‘Getting rid of the Cuban Government was always going to be a bonus, Volcán,’ Ricardo consoled him.

  Volcán nodded. ‘I would rather be rich than a revolutionary.’

  Ricardo put his arm around Volcán’s broad shoulders. ‘And you are going to be rich, amigo. You will live out the rest of your days in a beach house in South America someplace, with servants and a new Mercedes automobile and all the money you will ever need. Everything we dreamed about, all those years we shared in prison, it will be ours before long.’

  Volcán beamed. ‘Sí, our dreams will come true, Ricky.’

  ‘Okay. So, now you and Zapata go find Cousin Antony, and the three of you set the timers on the explosive charges for seven-thirty tonight.’

  ‘Is it really necessary to blow up the ship, Ricardo?’ Pedro asked.

  Ricardo scowled at him. ‘Boy, you are beginning to annoy me with your negativity.’

  ‘But he is right, Ricardo,’ Consuela said, coming to her son’s defence. ‘It is not necessary to sink the Cleopatra.’

  ‘We are not sinking it. We will be setting off charges in strategic places. We will only do enough damage to cripple the ship. And while the authorities are concentrating on getting the passengers and crew off, they will not have time to worry about us.’

  ‘Meanwhile, we will slip under their radar,’ Ana-Maria said with a smirk.

  ‘In a manner of speaking,’ Ricardo agreed. ‘So, Volcán, go find Cousin Antony and do what you have to do.’

  ‘Sí, Ricky. Leave it to me,’ the large man said before hurrying away.

  ‘Why does this mysterious Cousin Antony have to be involved?’ Pedro asked.

  ‘Because he knows about such things,’ Ana-Maria snapped.

  ‘He knows exactly where to put the charges,’ Ricardo said impatiently. ‘No more questions, boy. Enough from you!’

  Pedro looked at his mother, who put a finger to her lips.

  ‘Chuppa,’ Ricardo called, ‘get on the radio to Carter and Leroy. Tell them I want them here as soon as it is nightfall.’

  ‘Right away, chief,’ Chuppa responded.

  In Cabin 3034, Ben, Charlie and Caesar were sitting tight.

  ‘Do we tell Nan and Maddie that Caesar and Charlie are here, Dad?’ Josh asked.

  ‘Yes, I’ll give them a call,’ Ben agreed. Buzzing next door, he gave the pair the news and told them not to say anything to anyone. But through the cabin wall he did hear a squeal of del
ight from Maddie.

  Every now and then the voice of one of the hijackers sounded throughout the ship on the PA system, reeling off a list of cabin numbers whose occupants should proceed to breakfast. The time was approaching when it was the Fulton family’s turn to join a group that went up to the dining room.

  ‘I’ll come with you,’ Charlie said. ‘I want to see the faces of as many of the bad guys as possible.’

  ‘Are you sure you’ll get away with it?’ Ben asked. ‘The guards have been getting slack at mealtimes and take little notice of us, but they haven’t seen your face before and could become suspicious.’

  ‘Is it the same guards every time?’

  Ben shook his head. ‘Different hijackers most of the time.’

  ‘Good, that’ll help. So will this.’ Charlie unfolded the wheelchair. ‘Have you noticed how reluctant people are to ask questions of someone in a wheelchair? I can tell you from experience, most people don’t know what to say when you’re wheelchair-bound, so they look away; they’re too embarrassed to even make eye contact. It’s sad but true. Yet people in wheelchairs would love other people to talk to them.’

  ‘Let’s hope the bad guys are as human as most people and don’t pay you too much attention,’ Ben said.

  After hiding his equipment belt under the bed, Charlie proceeded to sit in the wheelchair. Rolling up his baggy trousers, he removed his Zoomers in seconds. At Charlie’s direction, and using the duct tape, Ben taped the two prosthetics beneath the wheelchair’s seat. He then laid a spare blanket from the wardrobe over what remained of Charlie’s legs. They would go unarmed for now, but Ben was, like Charlie, a master of unarmed combat and, if necessary, could take out an armed opponent with just his bare hands.

  ‘What about Caesar?’ Josh asked.

  Caesar, who had been watching Charlie confine himself to the wheelchair, pricked his ears at the sound of his name.

  ‘Are the room stewards coming around to make up the beds when you go to breakfast?’ Charlie asked.