He made his decision. «Okay,» he said, «you bought yourself a show. There'll be hell to pay in Washington; but well worry about that later. Whatever plan you've got, it had better be good.»
Pitt relaxed. «Simply put; we put a trained submarine crew inside the Starbuck and order a squad of marines to shut down Delphi's transmitter before 0500 hours tomorrow.»
«Easier said than attempted,» muttered Hunter. «We've less than fifteen hours.»
For several moments Pitt was silent When he spoke, he sounded cold and grim.
«There's a solution. It'll cost the taxpayers a few bucks. But it has a better than fifty-fifty chance at succeeding.»
Hunter stirred uneasily as Pitt explained his plan. He reluctantly gave his permission, thinking that either the plan was insane, or that Pitt hadn't told him all of it. He guessed the latter.
The ancient Douglas C-54 aircraft sat poised on the runway, aiming its bow down the black asphalt between the bordering rows of colored marker lights. The wings and fuselage quivered in symphony with the four vibrating engines as their prop wash hurled dust and debris under the horizontal stabilizer into the night. Then the plane began to move forward, gathering speed with agonizing slowness as the runway lights reflected off the shiny aluminum surface and flickered across the windows. Finally it lifted off the concrete and swept elegantly over the lights of Honolulu, making a wide left bank over Diamond Head and heading north into the tradewinds. Soon Pitt's hand eased the four-throttle arms back and cocked an ear to the roaring engines as he checked the RPM and torque gauges, satisfied that the shuddering and noisy relic would get him where he wanted to go.
Tve been meaning to ask you, Ace. Have you ever ditched an airplane in the drink?» This from a short, barrel-chested man in the copilot's seat.
«Not lately,» Pitt replied.
The dark, curly-haired little man threw his arms in the air and faked a pained facial expression. «Oh, Lord, why did I let myself get conned into this insane comedy?» He turned and offered Pitt a crooked smile.
«I guess I'm fust so good-natured at heart that everybody takes advantage of me.»
«Don't hand me that crap,» Pitt blurted. I've known you since kindergarten — no one's ever taken advantage of you.»
Al Giordino slouched down in his seat and brushed a straggling lock of black hair from one eye. «Is that so? What about the time I worked for months selling violets on street corners so I could take that gorgeous little blond cheerleader to the high school prom?»
«Well, what about it?»
«God, what gall… well, what about it?» he mimicked. «You bastard. When we got to the dance you told her I had the clap… she wouldn't have anything to do with me for the rest of the evening.»
«Ah yes, now I remember,» chuckled Pitt. «She even insisted I take her home.» He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, reminiscing. «What a soft, cuddly little creature she was. It's too bad you two didn't hit it off.»
Giordino's face registered blank astonishment «Talk about cavalier treatment.»
Pitt and Giordino were close friends; they were classmates in both high school and college. Giordino held his hands aloft and stretched. He was short, no more than five feet four in height, his skin dark and swarthy, and his Italian ancestry clearly evident in his black curly hair. Complete opposites in appearance, Pitt and Giordino were ideally suited to one another; one of the primary reasons why Pitt had insisted that Giordino become his Assistant Special Projects Director. Their escapades, much to the chagrin of Admiral Sandecker, were already legend throughout the ocean-ographic agency.
«Won't Hickam Field's commanding officer be a mite irritated when he finds out we broke his private airplane?» asked Giordino.
«He can't wait. As soon as this old museum piece lands in the drink, the good general will put in a requisition for a new jet transport.»
Giordino sighed wistfully. «Ah, to own your own airplane. I'd like an antique B-17 Flying Fortress with a king-sized bed and a wet bar stocked with booze.»
«And you can paint out the Air Force insignia on the wings and replace it with a pair of bunnies.»
«Not bad,» Giordino said. «Just for that, I might even let you borrow it now and then, for a small fee, of course.»
Pitt gave up. He looked out the side cockpit window at the sea below and spotted the lights of a merchantman headed in a northeasterly direction toward San Francisco. He could discern no whitecaps; the black ocean seemed smooth and unbroken. A calm sea is best for impact, he reflected, but it also makes it difficult to judge height.
«How much further to your mysterious playground?» asked Giordino.
«Another five hundred miles,» Pitt replied.
«At the rate you're pushing this old whale, we should be there in less than two hours.» Giordino propped his feet on the instrument panel «We're already at twelve thousand feet. When do you want to start your descent?»
«In about an hour and forty minutes,» Pitt answered. «I want to take the last leg on the deck. I'm not taking any chances on detection until we set this baby right on the front porch.»
Giordino let out a low whistle. «Sounds like well have to pick a winner on the first pass.»
«We won't get a second chance.»
Giordino leaned over and tapped a wide dial in the middle of the instrument panel. «We might do it so long as that underwater position marker keeps beeping away.»
Pitt glanced at the homing device and adjusted his course until the needle behind the circular glass settled between the proper markings.
«The signal should become stronger the closer we get»
«Just get us within five hundred yards,» Giordino said hopefully. «And Selma Snoop will take us the rest of the way.» He nodded toward a small blue watertight box, a battery-operated radio direction finder tightly strapped to the arm of his seat
«You sure Selma is checked out?» Pitt said.
«She works,» Giordino said patiently. «Like I said, put us down within five hundred yards of the beeper and ni put us down on the Starbuck»
Pitt smiled. In spite of his indolent attitude, Giordino was a perfectionist who rose to every occasion with a style that always amazed Pitt He motioned silently to Giordino and lifted his hands from the control column. Giordino nodded, and took over command of the aircraft as Pitt unreeled from the cramped pilot's seat, left the cockpit, and moved aft into the passenger section of the fuselage.
Seated in the plush comfort of the general's private transport were twenty men — probably, Pitt mused, twenty of the most resigned men on the face of the earth. They were resigned to death; there was no other way to describe it. True, they volunteered, but the prospect of adventure had overridden their desire for a long and fruitful life. Each man was incased in a black rubber wet suit with the zipper pulled open to allow cool air to evaporate the sweat oozing from his skin. Behind them, lashed to cargo rings on the floor, rested an assortment of equipment and variously shaped bundles. And toward the rear of the fuselage was a row of air tanks, firmly secured and shielded to prevent them from hurtling across the compartment during the touchdown.
The nearest diver, a blond man with Scandinavian features, gazed up at Pitt's arrival. «Madness, sheer madness.»
Lieutenant Commander Samuel Crowhaven was definitely a very unhappy man. «A promising career in the submarine service and I have to throw it away by smashing into the ocean in the middle of the night.»
«No great danger. It's really no different than driving a car into a garage,» Pitt said soothingly. «I wouldn't worry too much…»
Crowhaven was genuinely surprised. «Like driving a car into a… you've got to be kidding.»
«Easing this bird down on the water is my responsibility, Commander. If I were you, I'd worry about what comes next.»
«I'm an engineering officer on a submarine,» Crow-haven said morosely. I'm not cut out to play commando.»
«I promise not to murder you and your men on landing,» Pitt said q
uietly. «And Giordino will get you to the Starbuck. After that, it's your show.»
«Are you sure she's dry?»
«Except for the forward torpedo compartment, she was dry when I left her.»
If nothing's been touched, I can have the torpedo room pumped clean and the sub underway inside of four hours.»
«The schedule allows for four and a half. That only leaves you a safety margin of thirty minutes.»
«Not much time.»
«It's all you've got.»
Crowhaven shook his head sorrowfully. «Suicidal, that's what it is.»
«You realize, of course, that you may have to fight your way into the sub.»
«As I've said, I'm no commando. That's why I invited those steely eyed killers from the SEAL's.»
Pitt looked at tibe five men Crowhaven jerked his thumb at. Members of the Navy's select security force. There was no denying that they were a hard-looking lot They sat off by themselves, constantly checking and rechecking their equipment and weapons— big, silent, purposeful-looking men, highly trained for fighting on land or underwater. Pitt turned back to Crowhaven.
«And the others?»
«Submariners,» Crowhaven said proudly. «Not many to operate a submarine the size of the Starbuck, but if anyone can bring it back to Pearl Harbor, they can. Providing one of the reactors is doing its thing. If we have to start cold, well never get her clear in time.» «You'll have a reactor,» Pitt said confidently. He put up a calm front. In truth, there was no way of knowing whether the sub was still there, or if the port reactor was still pounding its atoms. Wait and hope: the phrase crossed his mind again. There was little else he could do except face the obstacles when the time came. «But if you have problems, get your men out of there by 0430.»
«I'm no hero,» Crowhaven said dolefully. Pitt patted him on the shoulder, turned, and walked back to the cockpit
Admiral Hunter glanced at his watch for the twentieth time in the last hour. He mashed out the cigarette he'd been nervously puffing, rose from his chair, and crossed the busy operations room to peer at the huge map covering the wall. Behind him Denver was slouched in a stiff-backed chair, his feet balanced on the back of another chair. Denver didn't fool Hunter for a moment with his display of indifference. When the message came on the progress of the aircraft, he jerked upright almost instantly.
«Big Daddy, this is the Kid. Do you read? Over.» Pitt's voice crackled through the amplifier mounted over the radio set.
Hunter and Denver were both leaning over the operator before he acknowledged.
«Big Daddy here, Kid. Go ahead. Over.»
«Prepare crew for pit stop. Am going for the checkered flag. Over.» It was Pitt's signal that he was descending to wave top level and beginning his final dash prior to ditching the plane in the water over the seamount
The operator answered in the microphone. «Trophy awaits winner. Over.»
«See you in the winner's circle, Big Dad.»
The voice over the speaker stopped in midword.
Hunter snatched the microphone. «Come in, Kid. This is Big Daddy. Over.»
There was a pause. Then the voice came in stronger with a slight change in tone. «Sorry, Big Daddy, for the delay. What are your instructions? Over.»
«Instructions?» asked Hunter slowly. «You request instructions?»
«Yes, please comply.»
As if in a trance, Hunter set the microphone down and switched off the transmission switch.
«Dear God, they're onto us,» he said mechanically.
Denver couldn't hide his shock. «That wasn't Pitfs voice,» he said incredulously. «Delphi's transmitter must have invaded the frequency.»
Hunter slowly sunk into a chair. 1 should have never gone along on this insane scheme. Now there's no way Crowhaven can communicate with us once he's entered the Starbuck.»
«He could transmit in code through the communications computers,» Denver offered.
«Have you forgotten?» Hunter said impatiently. The communications computers weren't installed in time for the Starbuck's sea trials. The radio can only be operated on standard frequencies. Until the marines move in on Delphi's transmitter, he'll be monitoring every open frequency on the air. Even if Delphi isn't wise to our exact plans as of this moment, hell know he's been had the instant Crowhaven begins sending…»
«And attack the Starbuck or blow it to pieces,» Denver finished.
Hunter's voice dropped until it was barely distinguishable. «God help them,» he murmured. «He's the only one who can now.»
Pitt ripped off his earphones and hurled them on the cockpit floor. «The bastard's cut us off,» he snapped. «If Delphi guesses what we're about, he'll lay a trap sure as hell.»
«A wonderful feeling knowing that Tve got friends like you,» Giordino said with a sarcastic smile.
«You are lucky.» There was no answering smile on Pitt*s face. «Chances are, Admiral Hunter is praying we'll abort the mission.»
«No way,» Giordino said seriously. «You people overestimated this big yellow-eyed clown. Bet you a case of good booze we get in and out before it dawns on him that he's been hit by the two greatest submarine thieves in the Pacific.»
«If you say so.»
«Face it,» Giordino said loftily. «Nobody in their right mind would voluntarily ditch an aircraft in the sea during the dead of night — except you, that is. This Delphi guy probably thinks we're only on a reconnaissance flight. He won't suspect anything before daylight.»
«I like your optimism.»
«Mom always said I had a way with words.»
«What about our passengers?»
«Nobody begged them to come. They're probably back there writing their obituaries anyway. Why disappoint them?»
«Okay, we'll go for it.» Pitt reached around the control column and tapped the altimeter. The small white needles lay idly on the bottom pegs. He turned on the landing lights and watched the water hurtle under the fuselage as the air speed indicator quivered at two hundred seventy knots. Then he pulled on a second set of earphones and listened intently for a few moments. «The signals from the underwater marker are nearing their peak,» he said. «We had best run over the final landing check.»
Giordino sighed lazily, unbuckled his seat belt, moved back to the engineer's panel, and passed the checklist to Pitt «Read it back to me.»
Pitt read off the numbered items on the printed card while Giordino acknowledged.
«Spark advance selector switches?»
«Twenty percent normal,» Giordino answered.
«Mixture levels?»
«Check.»
Pitt droned on through the tedious but necessary routine while diverting a cautious eye every few seconds on the sea a bare fifty feet below. Finally he reached the last item on the card.
«Center wing tank line valve and boost switches?»
«Closed and off.»
«That's it,» Pitt said, flipping the check card over his shoulder onto the cabin floor. «Nobody will need that again.»
Giordino bent over the controls and pointed. «The stars near the horizon straight ahead… they're fading out.»
Pitt nodded. «The fog bank.»
An ominous smudge soon appeared against the black horizon line. Pitt gradually closed the throttles until the air speed indicator read one hundred twenty knots.
«This is the magic moment,» Pitt said quietly. He glanced briefly into Giordino's dark eyes — his friend's face, though unsmiling, was calm and unworried.
«Give me one-hundred-degree flaps,» Pitt said. «Then get back in the main cabin with the others and act like a bored streetcar conductor.»
«Ill entertain them with a series of my best yawns.» Giordino leaned over the copilot's seat and held the ON position of the flaps switch until it registered one hundred degrees. «So long, pal. See you after the bash.» He gave Pitt's arm a gentle squeeze, then he turned, and left the cockpit cabin.
There was a crosswind; Pitt crabbed the C-54 to compensate for
the drift As the plane settled a few feet lower, he could clearly make out the height of the swells in the brilliance from the landing lights.
He silently wished he could have layed her on the surface with no beams showing, but that would have been impossible. Not yet, not yet, he said over and over in his mind. Three more miles. It would take split second timing to ease the plane down short of the marker and the fog and still have momentum left to cany it well into the target area. The air speed was dropping past one hundred five knots. «Easy, baby; don't stall on me just yet» Pitt concentrated on keeping the wings level — if one of the tips dug into a wave crest, the plane would be transformed into a giant cartwheel. He gently nudged the plane lower, dropping behind the rows of waves, attempting to land on the downward side of one, using its slope to slacken the impact The propellers were throwing up huge billows of spray behind the engine nacelles, and die fog was beginning to enshroud the cockpit windshield when the first impact came.
It was like a dap of thunder, only louder. A round, red auxiliary fire extinguisher broke loose from its mounting and sailed over Pitt's shoulder, crashing into the instrument panel Pitt was just recovering from the shock when the plane bounced over the water like a skipping stone and smacked its aluminum belly for the second time. Then the nose dug into the backside of a swell and the C-54 stopped abruptly in the middle of a great splash.
Pitt stared dazedly through the dripping windshield at the mist He did it He had brought her down in one piece. The plane was gently rising up and down with the swells. It would float, maybe for a few minutes, maybe for days, depending on how badly the underbelly was ruptured. He exhaled a tremendous sigh and relaxed, noting with satisfaction that the batteries had survived the impact and were keeping the interior of the cabin bathed in a soft light. He flicked off the ignition switches and the landing lights to conserve the battery cells, tore off his seat belt, and hurried through the door to the main cabin.
He found a far more confident group of men this time. Crowhaven was the first to slap his back. The rest whistled and applauded; all, that is, except for the five SEAL's. They were already efficiently going about their business removing the escape hatch and checking each man's equipment.
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