The Einstein Code

by Tom West

  Another burst of sound, louder this time. It ricocheted around the walls. A terrifyingly squeal like a thousand fingernails scraping down a blackboard crashed into their headsets.

  ‘Kate? Lou? Come in.’ Ester Lamb sounded desperate. ‘You have to get to the PAT.’

  Lou dragged himself upright and helped Kate to her feet. ‘You OK?’

  She nodded then spoke through her external comms. ‘Commander. How bad?’

  ‘My sensors are screaming at me! The sub is close to breaking up. You have to—’

  ‘Understood, Commander. We’re heading back into the control room.’

  Kate led the way, pulling herself forward as fast as she could go, using the struts of the bunk beds to help her along. In a moment, they were back in the control area. Taking a side each, they searched under seats, behind pipes and in every crevice of the sub’s infrastructure. Lou pushed Captain Jacobs’s body to one side and searched around his seat. He could find nothing resembling papers, or a case of any sort.

  ‘Shit!’ he exclaimed. ‘Come on.’

  Another crunch, a scream of metal grinding against rock. The sub lurched. A steel box came free from its support straps a foot above Lou’s head. It started to shake free.

  ‘Lou!’ Kate screamed through her comms.

  He glimpsed the box and slid aside as it smashed to the floor a foot away.

  Gradually the squalling faded, the shaking subsided.

  ‘Go!’ Lou shouted.

  It took only a few seconds to reach the room below the conning tower. They stumbled over to the body of the first dead sailor they had seen. The sub started to rock again.

  This time the movement was almost soporific.

  ‘Kate? Lou? The sub is caught in a resonance wave. The structure won’t hold. The oscillations will keep building . . . Get out . . . Now!’

  ‘We’re going,’ Kate gasped and dived into the opening of the PAT. ‘Lou . . .’

  He looked away, scouring the room.

  ‘Lou! Now!’

  Kate pulled him towards her and crouched down, keeping her eyes on him. Shifting to her left, she started to crawl. Lou lowered himself and swivelled round, to get through the portal. He turned, cursing with frustration as he scanned the room beneath the conning tower one last time. He saw something.

  Bracing herself against the sides of the PAT as it swayed with the movement of the sub, Kate started to move a few feet back towards JV3. She glanced back and saw Lou stop, crane his head and start to move back towards the stricken vessel.

  ‘No!’ she bellowed through her comms. ‘Lou . . . stop!’

  58

  North Sea. 9.30 a.m.

  Commander Ester Lamb exhaled heavily, cut the comms and buried her head in her hands. ‘Bloody scientists!’ she hissed.

  She had a throbbing headache and a ball of anxiety in her stomach. On her screens she could see parts of Phoenix breaking away from the main body of the sub. Along the port side a gash at least six feet long had appeared. A vortex of water slithering inside the hole flooding the sealed-off chambers towards the stern. The hull could crumble at any moment. JV3’s sensors did not lie.

  She pushed the comms button on her control panel. ‘Gladstone? Come in, Gladstone.’

  Nothing but static.

  ‘Gladstone? This is JV3. Do you copy?’

  Hiss and noise.

  ‘Damn it!’ She slammed a hand down on the edge of the panel.

  A buzzing sound came through the speaker below the monitor. A light shone red, blinked. Lamb ran her fingers over the controls, clicking pads. A small monitor among the LEDs and controls lit up. A green trace appeared in the top left corner of the screen.

  ‘What is that?’

  Lamb changed the uplink to the external cameras. The image of the Phoenix vanished. Two other camera angles flicked on, then off. A third image from the external cameras slid into view. It showed the seabed and the expanse of water directly behind JV3. The commander stared at the screen in disbelief.

  ‘Good God!’ she breathed, her voice trembling.

  59

  ‘Sir . . . comms with JV3 have just gone down.’

  Windsor and Derham strode across the bridge of Gladstone to a tech at the comms desk.

  ‘Sir, I’m picking up something,’ a second operative at the deep-sea sonar said.

  ‘What sort of something?’

  ‘Look, Captain.’ The man pointed at the flat screen. ‘Just came into range. A mini-submarine.’

  ‘Sir?’

  Windsor spun round towards the comms officer at a control module. ‘The mini-sub has just sent a transmission to the Chinese Shang class submarine on the surface. Must be through a set of signal boosters.’

  ‘It was the same transmission code the Shang used to send its warning to us earlier.’

  ‘What’s the surface comm situation?’ Windsor asked.

  The tech fell silent for a few moments as he concentrated on his screen and tapped a series of keys. ‘Yes!’ he declared and turned to Windsor, a small smile on his face.

  ‘Sir, Ark Royal has blocked the Chinese interference.’

  ‘Blocked their block?’

  ‘In a manner of speaking.’

  ‘But still nothing between us and JV3?’ Derham said.

  The tech turned back to his screen again. ‘No, sir, nothing.’

  ‘Well it’s something,’ Derham said and turned to Windsor. ‘Perhaps we should talk to the prime minister again, Captain.’

  ‘Agreed,’ Windsor said. ‘Get me the prime minister’s office.’

  ‘Sir?’ It was the sonar tech. ‘The unidentified mini-sub is closing in on JV3.’

  ‘Let me see,’ Derham said.

  He studied the monitor. ‘How fast is that thing moving?’

  The tech typed in parameters. The image shifted, a set of numbers and symbols skittered across the screen.

  ‘Around thirty knots, Captain. Looks to me like it’s on an attack course.’

  60

  Lamb saw the streak of white shimmer across her monitor and a momentary flash of grey as the torpedo passed six yards off JV3’s bow, shot past the port side and came within a whisker of Phoenix. JV3 rocked from the shockwave.

  ‘Holy . . . !’ Lamb stabbed at the controls and split the view screen so she could see the PAT. She let out an audible sigh of relief. The tunnel was intact.

  She threw herself back in her seat and tried Gladstone again. ‘Mayday . . . Mayday.’ She had her finger on the comms button but all she could hear was static. ‘Hell!’ She flicked a switch. ‘Mayday . . . Mayday. Lou? Kate? Get out now. We are under attack. Repeat . . . We are under attack.’

  61

  North Sea. 9.31 a.m.

  ‘Captain Windsor, I need precise details.’

  The commander of Gladstone stared at the screen on the wall of the bridge. It was split into two. On the left was the pale face of the British prime minister, Nigel Townscliff; on the right Admiral William Hornbee, commander of Ark Royal. The bridge of Gladstone was preternaturally quiet, the techs and crew concentrating on their screens.

  ‘As I said, Prime Minister, the enemy vessel has launched a mini-submarine and opened fire on JV3. I believe the orders were that Ark Royal must not take pre-emptive action. Is that not correct, Admiral?’

  Townscliff cut across the admiral as the man went to speak. ‘When you say opened fire, precisely what does that mean, Captain?’

  ‘Phoenix is extremely delicate,’ Derham interjected. ‘In fact, it is falling apart. The two scientists, Dr Bates and Dr Wetherall are still aboard. The Chinese mini-sub fired a torpedo across the bow of Phoenix, missing it by a few feet. It has destabilized the old vessel even more. That is the precise situation . . .’ He looked at his watch. ‘. . . as of ninety seconds ago.’

  ‘And there has been nothing more from this mini-submarine?’

  ‘It has moved in close to JV3.’ Windsor glanced at a tech. The man mouthed something. ‘Fifty feet to starboard, captain.
’

  ‘I see,’ Townscliff said. ‘Hornbee? What is your gut feeling?’

  ‘Not good, Prime Minister. We are in an extremely vulnerable position.’

  ‘Explain.’

  ‘The enemy has moved an asset close to the wreck and to our unarmed research vessel, JV3. Both the Shang submarine and the mini-sub are stealth vessels, that’s how they have come so close without being picked up by radar or sonar. It makes me wonder what other tricks the Chinese have up their sleeves.’

  ‘Perhaps none, Admiral.’

  ‘Indeed, that is quite possible. But, the action is over two thousand feet beneath us on the floor of the North Sea. There is nothing we can do to stop the mini-sub.’

  ‘Do either of you have any idea what the hell the Chinese are doing?’

  Derham could think of several answers, each of which would have caused trouble. He glanced at Windsor and said: ‘Thanks to the proximity of Ark Royal just outside Norwegian waters, they are clearly outgunned up here. They are after the same thing as we are and they are going in hard where we can’t reach them.’

  ‘Admiral?’

  ‘I couldn’t have put it better myself.’

  ‘I see. So the question is: what do we do now?’

  ‘Would you like my candid opinion, Prime Minister?’ Hornbee asked.

  ‘I’m sure I won’t like it; but yes, I would.’

  ‘We should fire upon the Shang submarine, NATO designation Alpha564/D.’

  ‘But that would be construed as an act of war.’

  ‘Or self-defence,’ Windsor offered.

  ‘Would it not be considered an excessive use of force? An escalation? After all, the mini-sub only fired across the bow of a wreck.’

  ‘Deliberately endangering lives,’ Hornbee said.

  ‘We have no way of knowing the Chinese are aware how fragile the wreck is.’

  Admiral Hornbee gave the prime minister a hard stare, his silence speaking volumes.

  ‘Admiral Hornbee, Gladstone, hold your positions. Do not. I repeat. Do not open fire unless either of you are fired upon.’

  ‘But, Prime—’

  ‘I will not fire the first shot,’ Townscliff snapped. ‘I will not be responsible for starting a war.’

  His image disappeared from the bridge screen.

  62

  Kate heard Ester Lamb’s Mayday message, but she had no time to respond. She spun in the PAT and headed back the five yards to Phoenix. Lou had disappeared into the darkness of the old sub. All Kate could see were a pair of darting light beams from Lou’s arm and helmet torches bouncing around in the chamber under the conning tower.

  ‘Lou?’ she called through the comms.

  ‘No, Kate. Go back. I got this.’

  She was in the room and could see him crouching down, pulling something from the floor under an unravelled length of rope.

  ‘You’ve found it?’

  The sub shook. Kate glanced anxiously at the opening in the hull and the PAT beyond.

  Lou lifted the object. It was a small attaché case.

  ‘Right. Now we go!’ Kate barked. Lou could see her eyes ablaze through the suit mask as she grabbed his free arm.

  The sub shuddered violently again. All around them reverberated the painful rasp of metal against rock, metal against metal.

  They heard a boom from the starboard side. Phoenix rocked again. A support beam collapsed from the ceiling and smashed to the floor of the room inches from them. They were thrown sideways, Kate tumbling on top of Lou as he collided with a bulkhead.

  ‘Jesus!’ He staggered to his feet.

  Another violent jolt and they were at the opening into the PAT. Through the comms they both heard Ester Lamb. She sounded utterly desperate.

  ‘Mayday. Mayday. Lou? Kate? We are under attack. Repeat, under attack. GET BACK NOW!’

  ‘We’re in the PAT, Commander,’ Kate’s voice broke.

  They crawled as fast as they could along the tunnel. It swayed and groaned under the strain.

  ‘Come on Lou! Faster!’ Kate screamed.

  He ploughed on, propelling himself along the PAT.

  A screech came from the conning tower. They dared not look back.

  Kate dived into the airlock of JV3, spun round and reached out to help Lou. He was two yards away from her outstretched hand.

  Another burst of sound from Phoenix and Kate saw a rip appear in the inner skin of the tunnel. It shot along the barrel of nanocarbon, spreading tendrils ten yards long.

  ‘Lou!’

  Kate felt the tips of his gloved fingers. He half dived, half ran the final few feet and tumbled into the airlock. Kate grabbed the rim of the door and started to pull it back when the far end of the PAT gave way.

  The tunnel slipped away from the hull of Phoenix like a sucker detaching itself. Lou grabbed the door handle and between them they pushed the door back the last few inches. Lou pushed down the locking lever and Kate slammed a bolt into place.

  ‘We’re in, Commander.’

  Water slammed against the ocean side of the door as the PAT was ripped away by the swirling currents around the two submarines.

  Lou and Kate were thrown backwards as JV3 accelerated away. They clambered through the tiny connecting passage, up a ladder and scrambled into the control room, grasping at any hold they could find as the submarine zigzagged. Pulling off their oxygen packs, they slid into the passenger seats, yanked over the safety belts and locked themselves in.

  A few feet ahead, they could see Lamb. She was running her hands frenziedly over the control panel, her gaze flitting between the monitors and the array of LEDs and keypads.

  And when it happened, they were all taken by surprise. In the half-light from the JV3’s headlamps, they saw the Phoenix break free from the rocky cradle it had resided in for so many years. It rose a few yards, aft fins scraping the outcrop of stone. A few yards more and it started to crumple, dissolving like a soluble aspirin.

  63

  They saw the torpedo before they felt the shockwave. It streaked past the bow of JV3 and exploded in a vortex of water a hundred yards to port.

  The surge of water from the blast hit them.

  ‘Holy shit!’ Lou exclaimed as Commander Lamb swung the tiny sub hard to starboard.

  For a few moments it felt as though JV3 was completely out of control.

  The engines squealed and the turbulence made the vessel shake from bow to stern. Lou and Kate could do nothing but watch Commander Lamb struggle with the controls.

  ‘I can’t believe this is happening,’ Kate shouted above the noise. She turned to see Lou’s face pale as death.

  ‘Gladstone, come in please,’ Lamb called into the comms. ‘Come in.’

  Nothing.

  A third torpedo came into view, heading straight for them.

  Lamb yanked the control column hard left, then right. JV3 jolted, the engines roaring. The torpedo slipped past, almost scraped the hull and disappeared behind them. The crunch from the shockwave came two seconds later.

  ‘Jesus Christ!’ Lou exclaimed. ‘That was fucking close.’

  ‘Commander? Do we have a plan?’ Kate yelled over the noise.

  Lamb didn’t take her eyes from the controls and monitors.

  ‘Nope . . . unless you have some ideas, doctor. I’m just dodging the torpedoes!’

  The boom ricocheted around the control room; then came a shrill pulse like a beast vainly resisting death.

  Silence.

  ‘The engines have died,’ Lamb said. The matter-of-factness in her voice was terrifying.

  64

  London. 9.34 a.m.

  ‘Prime Minister, we must attack the Chinese . . . now!’

  The Right Honourable Nigel Townscliff glared back at the images on his monitor. The screen was again split into two showing the commander of Ark Royal and Captain Windsor on Gladstone.

  ‘Must we, Admiral? There are always alternatives. Always.’

  ‘With respect, sir,’ Windsor interjected, �
��I think that is an exaggeration. This is a time when there are no alternatives left. Unless, of course . . .’

  ‘Unless what, Captain?’

  ‘Unless you are happy to let our three submariners die and allow the material from Phoenix to fall into Chinese hands.’

  Townscliff said nothing, lowered his head and rubbed his temples. Those on the bridge of the aircraft carrier and the small research vessel could hear the British prime minister breathing heavily.

  ‘And you are absolutely sure . . .’ Townscliff said, ‘the Chinese mini-sub has actually opened fire on our vessel down there?’

  ‘It has, sir. We have detected three torpedoes. JV3 has been taking evasive action.’

  ‘I see.’

  ‘Sir?’ A tech to Windsor’s left turned, his eyes wide. ‘The heat image of JV3 has changed.’

  Captain Derham was standing on the bridge next to Windsor and turned away from the faces on the video screen. ‘What does that mean exactly, Lieutenant?’ He strode over to the tech and stared at an infrared image of JV3 showing the heat distribution through the vessel.

  ‘It means the engines are down, sir. JV3’s a sitting duck.’

  65

  North Sea. 9.36 a.m.

  The Chinese mini-sub filled half the screen.

  ‘One hundred and twenty yards and closing,’ Lamb said.

  Lou gripped Kate’s hand. Both of them knew that any instant their lives could end. They would barely have time to register the firing of a torpedo from the sub before JV3 was obliterated.

  ‘One hun—’

  The unimaginable was happening. They could all see it on the screen over the control panel . . . the Chinese sub turning starboard, moving at high speed out of view and away from them.