BLACK COBRA (Aaron Quinn thriller series, No. 2)

by John Avery

  He turned to Pankov. “Please reconsider, Captain. As one officer to another ... I’m begging you. Please stop this madness. We’re looking at starting World War III here.”

  Pankov leveled his gun on Fagan. “Goodbye, Commander,” said. “We appreciate your service to your country.”

  “Father, NO!” Katya screamed.

  Aaron reached to cover her mouth, but he was too late.

  Fagan saw his chance and dove for Pankov’s gun. The girls screamed as the two men crashed into the torpedo rack and fought wildly, flying from one side of the small chamber to the other, exchanging punches, kicking, and clawing each other in a desperate, chaotic fight.

  Uri cowered up against a set of valves, the girls screaming and crying, the men smashing each other’s faces, spattering blood around the room. Aaron danced back and forth, searching for an opening through which he could help Fagan — but all he had was his pocketknife, and the struggle was much too violent.

  At last Fagan managed to knock Pankov’s gun free and haul him to the floor where he raised his fist to deliver a knockout blow.

  Pop!

  The silenced bullet entered Fagan’s back through his ribcage, piercing his heart. He went limp and rolled onto the floor, dead.

  ---

  Pankov turned to see Jason Souther standing next to the watertight hatch, a thin stream of smoke curling out his pistol barrel.

  “Having a little problem, Captain?” Jason said. He had heard everything.

  Pankov got to his feet and straightened his rumpled uniform. He was covered in blood, his hair flying wildly about his head, the cuts on his face and lips purple and bleeding.

  “It is dangerous to discharge a weapon aboard a submarine, Jason,” he said calmly, spitting blood.

  “Duly noted, sir,” Jason said.

  Pankov found a rag and wiped most of the blood from his face, and then he picked up his gun and turned it on the three stowaways hiding behind the rack.

  “Come out where I can see you,” he ordered. “Hands in the air.”

  Aaron tucked his knife into his shoe and the three climbed out from behind the rack and stood facing Pankov.

  Pankov looked at Uri, disgusted. “I am so glad I could count on you in a fight,” he said sourly. “I thought you carried a damn sidearm.”

  Uri just stood there looking sheepish. “I do,” he said.

  Pankov found a roll of duct tape and tossed it to him. “Tie them up,” he said. “Then meet me in the Control Center and prepare to dive.”

  “Dive, sir?” Uri said. “But we still have guests on board.”

  “The party is over for them, Captain,” Pankov said. "Even you must know they have heard too much to be set free. The mission begins now!” He turned to leave.

  “What about Ekatarina?” Uri said after him. “She’s your daughter, sir.”

  Pankov stopped and looked back at Uri. “Are you going to follow orders, Captain? Or are you going to stand there looking like an idiot?”

  Uri looked at the hostages, and for a moment he chose the latter, thinking that under the circumstances it was his best option. But as an experienced military officer he knew it would be safer to follow orders.

  “Yes, sir, Comrade Captain,” he said, standing straight.

  He glanced at Fagan's body. “But we are severely undermanned now, sir.”

  Pankov took a deep breath in through his nose and exhaled out his mouth. “I am aware that we are down a man, Uri," he said. "What would you have me do? Call off the mission? Is that what you are asking me to do?”

  “N-no, sir,” Uri said stupidly.

  Katya looked at Pankov with fear, disbelief, and tears in her eyes. He had become an evil stranger now, her mortal enemy, a dark shadow of the man who had raised her. “Why are you doing this, Father?” she said. “What’s happened to you?”

  Pankov ignored her and turned to Jason. “I am grateful there is someone in this room whose loyalty need not be questioned.”

  “Yes, sir,” Jason said. He saw Brandy looking at him, and for a moment he looked back at her, but the overwhelming sadness in her eyes made him look away.

  Pankov turned to Uri and said, “We’ll be in the Control Center. Report there when you are finished. And do something about that body. We will need all the fresh air we can get.”

  He and Jason ducked out through the watertight hatch.

  ---

  “You heard the man,” Uri Ruden said. “Let’s go.” He indicated the starboard torpedo rack with a wave of his duct tape.

  Aaron searched Uri’s eyes for a moment, hoping to find a glimmer of compassion. But there was nothing there, so he turned toward the rack, feeling the barrel of a pistol jam into his lower back.

  Uri directed the three hostages to sit together on the floor, and then he used the tape to tie them securely to the rack.

  ~ PART III ~

  THE MISSION

  Chapter 52

  Ashley Quinn had heard what sounded like the terrifying, muffled sounds of fighting. Not knowing what else to do, she had stayed where she was, glued to her seat at the chart table in the Control Room, waiting nervously for her boyfriend to return.

  She jumped when Jason and Pankov entered the compartment.

  “Who are you?” Pankov said to her, not really expecting an answer. He stood at the helm and proceeded to go over his checklist.

  Ashley had never seen Pankov before, and she was shocked by his battered and bleeding appearance.

  “I-I’m Martha,” she said. “I’m with Richard Fagan.”

  She looked at Jason. “Have you seen him?”

  Jason glanced at Pankov, wondering how to answer that question.

  “Commander Fagan is dead,” Pankov said coldly.

  Ashley’s hand went to her throat. “What did you just say?” She looked at Jason in disbelief, but his expression confirmed that it was true.

  “His emotions got the better of him,” Jason said.

  Ashley stared at him, incredulous, and then her vision went dark and she dropped to the floor.

  Pankov looked at her as if she were a piece of discarded meat. “Whose idea was it to have a party tonight anyway?” he said.

  “Commander Fagan thought of it, sir,” Jason said.

  “That worked out well.”

  “Yes, sir,” Jason said.

  “Put her in with the others,” Pankov ordered. “And while you’re at it, see what’s taking Uri.”

  ---

  Jason scooped Ashley up off the floor and draped her over his shoulder, finding her surprisingly thin and frail. Her perfume was subtle but perfectly suited to her, and he found himself slightly aroused.

  He carried her to the Forward Torpedo Room and peered in through the watertight hatch. Uri was just finishing tying Aaron, Katya, and Brandy to the torpedo rack with a tangle of duct tape.

  “Give me a hand here, will you, Uri?” Jason said through the hatch.

  Uri was surprised to see Jason carrying Martha over his shoulder. He helped him lift her through the tight opening, and they flopped her down next to Katya.

  Aaron saw who it was, and that she was unconscious. “What did you do to her?” he demanded. “If she’s hurt, I swear to God I’ll —”

  “Tie her up with the others,” Jason said to Uri, ignoring Aaron. “Then report to the Control Room. Pankov’s anxious to get moving.”

  “Can you at least give me a hand with Fagan? We don’t want to be tripping over him.”

  “Okay, but let’s hurry it up,” Jason said.

  Uri quickly tied Ashley up with the other hostages, and then he and Jason moved Fagan’s body the length of the sub to Compartment Seven, the Aft Torpedo Room, where they shoved the corpse into a corner before heading back to the Control Room to join Pankov.

  Chapter 53

  Aaron looked over at his mother, but she was still unconscious. The four of them were alone in the Forward Torpedo Room, and Aaron knew he had to work fast. Brandy and Katya looked at him, h
oping for a miracle.

  He analyzed Uri’s tie job and concluded that the man wasn’t very good with duct tape. He easily worked a hand down to his shoe and retrieved his pocketknife.

  He cut the tape on his wrists and legs and freed himself, and then he stepped out from behind the torpedo rack and walked over to torpedo tube 5 and opened the inner hatch cover.

  “What about us?” Brandy said.

  “We’re not leaving here just yet,” he said. “The timing’s not right.”

  He used the gantry crane and pulley systems to remove the forest green, nuclear-warhead torpedo from the tube, replacing it with the red and white dummy torpedo.

  Then he sat down next to the girls and taped himself to the rack in a way the made him appear to be securely tied, when he really wasn’t. He kicked the duct tape away with his foot and tucked his pocketknife into his right hand.

  “What do we do now?” Brandy asked.

  “Now, we wait,” Aaron said.

  Chapter 54

  Back in the Control Room, Pankov went over the mission plan with Uri and Jason one more time. He was counting on Jason’s advice. With Richard Fagan dead, Jason’s local knowledge would be critical to the success of the mission.

  “We must allow plenty of time to navigate the shallow water near the docks without incident,” Jason said. “Even at high tide, which we’ll have, the water here near the Maritime Museum is only about twenty feet deep, so we won’t be able to fully submerge until we reach the main channel, where the bottom drops off closer to fifty feet.”

  “We’ll submerge the boat just enough to slip out from under the tarpaulin,” Uri said. “Then we’ll head for the channel.”

  “Agreed,” Pankov said.

  “There's a U.S. Coast Guard base just to the northwest,” Jason said. “So we’ll have to be very quiet, running silently on electric motors alone.”

  “Cobra’s batteries are fully charged,” Uri said.

  “There’s a shoal just west of the Coronado Ferry Landing and east of the carrier basin on the Coronado side of the bay,” Jason said. “And another between the #1 green buoy and the amphibious base southeast at the entrance to Glorietta Bay. They can be trouble for large skimmers on average tides and even to smaller vessels at low tides. For us they would spell disaster on any tide.”

  “Understood,” Pankov said. He rigged out one of the periscope’s handles and rested his hand on it. “We will have no Navigator or Quartermaster, so I’ll be guiding us using the attack periscope with whatever light is available. Jason, you will be my first officer. I’ll need you by me at the helm and possibly in the Engine Room when Uri is otherwise occupied. Can you handle that?”

  “Yes, sir,” Jason said confidently. He was well trained in all aspects of submarine warfare.

  Uri was disappointed. He had assumed that because of his and Pankov’s long history together, he would be First Officer. But apparently his standing with Pankov had slipped down a notch after the Richard Fagan fiasco.

  “Uri, you will act as Torpedo Officer and Diving Officer,” Pankov said.

  Uri was well qualified at those positions and had anticipated this. “Yes, sir,” he said.

  “Including myself, and with Fagan dead, we have three men with which to crew this boat,” Pankov said. “I am aware that this will be nearly impossible, but I am left with no choice. It is not necessary for me to remind you that we have no medical officer. So keep your wits about you. I need able-bodied men, not casualties of war.”

  “Yes, sir,” Uri said.

  Jason didn’t respond. As a ranking officer, he had always considered it a waste of time to be lectured about safety.

  “Once submerged we will head southeast to the Coronado Bridge,” Pankov said, “where we will remain hidden at periscope depth while we wait for the Neau Islander. Are there any questions?”

  “No, sir,” the men said.

  “All right then," Pankov said. “Our time has come, Gentlemen. Let us get underway.”

  ---

  Uri's first task as Diving Officer was to monitor the hull opening indicator lights. Once the green lights showed all hull openings closed, he bled compressed air into the ship. When the internal air pressure remained constant, he knew that watertight integrity was assured.

  "Depth below keel?” Pankov said.

  “Two-and-a-half meters, sir,” Jason said. “We’ll have to belly crawl our way out of here.”

  “Shift to battery,” Pankov ordered. "Close fin hatch and open motor room doors and air locks. Port and starboard motors slow reverse.”

  Jason engaged the electric motors and Pankov slowly backed Cobra out from under the white tarpaulin.

  ---

  Aaron felt the sub lurch backward and he glanced around the Forward Torpedo Room. “I think we’re moving,” he said, keeping his voice low. The girls looked at each other in agreement.

  Aaron’s throat went dry as suddenly his escape plan was thrown out the window.

  Just then Ashley jerked awake, looking around. “W-what happened?” she said groggily. Aaron looked at her hopefully, but she still didn’t know him from Adam.

  ---

  “Prepare to dive,” Pankov ordered. “Close snorkel ... close diesel exhaust valve. Sound dive alarm and dive to one-and-a-half meters; 5 degree trim on bow, course 180 degrees. Up periscope.”

  Jason and Uri scrambled to keep up with Pankov’s rapid fire orders.

  I knew we couldn’t do this with three crewmen, Uri thought bitterly.

  “Port and Starboard motors slow forward,” Pankov said. “Open Kingston Valve Bow and Stern Group Ballast Tanks. Open Ventilation Valve Bow and Stern Group Ballast Tanks. Open Kingston Valve Middle Group Ballast Tanks. Open Ventilation Valve Middle Group Ballast Tanks. Extend Forward Dive Planes.”

  “Depth one and a half meters, sir,” Jason said.

  “Close Ventilation Valves,” Pankov said. “Maintain present depth. Down all masts.”

  Navigating by periscope, Pankov sailed Cobra slowly away from the docks, arcing around the Midway Aircraft Carrier and out into the main channel of San Diego Bay.

  “Depth below keel?” Pankov said.

  Jason was relieved to finally see some water under them. “Nine meters, Captain.”

  “Open Ventilation Valves,” Pankov said. “Dive to seven meters, 5 degree trim on bow, come left 15 degrees.”

  His skeleton crew did as ordered and Cobra submerged for the first time in twenty years.

  ---

  “I hope she holds up, Captain,” Uri Ruden said as they dropped below the surface. The creaking of corroded steel and the appearance of numerous small leaks made him wonder.

  Pankov rested his hand fondly on one of Cobra's steel bulkheads. “She may be old, Uri, but she’s sturdy,” he assured him. “Jason, what is the sounding?"

  “Five meters below keel, Captain."

  "Increase speed to one-third. Come left 30 degrees and level off at periscope depth. Adjust fore-and-aft trim."

  Pankov steered Cobra southeast toward the Coronado Bridge, where he instructed his crew to turn the sub 180 degrees, facing them north, toward the cruise ship Neau Islander.

  “All stop!” he ordered.

  ---

  “Aaron?" Katya asked, startled. "Am I imagining things, or is there more water in here than there used to be?”

  Aaron saw that she was right. There was a sizable crack somewhere in the pressure hull, and seawater was flooding in. They had to get the hell out of the Forward Torpedo Room, and soon.

  Chapter 55

  Captain Zaane stood in Neau Islander’s wheelhouse checking his watch. 8:09 p.m.

  “All right, gentlemen,” he said to his officers. “Let’s be underway.”

  The First Officer gave the order.

  ---

  PHOOOOOOOOOOT!

  Even at that distance, and at periscope depth, Pankov could hear that Captain Zaane was preparing to sail. He checked his watch. 8:10 p.m.

  Within a
few minutes he heard the ship’s horn sound again.

  PHOOOOOT! PHOOOOOT! PHOOOOOT!

  The triple blast indicated that the huge cruise ship was backing away from the dock. Pankov put his eye to the periscope and waited until he spotted Neau Islander heading slowly out past the Midway Aircraft Carrier.

  He checked his watch. 8:25 on the nose. Very impressive, Captain Zaane, he thought, smiling to himself.

  A rush of adrenaline surged through him, a rush he hadn’t felt since the Cuban Missile Crisis back in 1962. This was where he was happiest, here surrounded by skilled officers, working together to achieve a common goal. This was where Captain Vtorak Borisovich Pankov of the Soviet Navy belonged.

  “All ahead one-third,” he ordered.

  Chapter 56

  Pankov skillfully maneuvered Cobra beneath Neau Islander’s tremendous prop-wash. The turbulence shook the old submarine like a rubber duck in a Jacuzzi, as new leaks popped up all around him.

  “Steady at periscope depth,” Pankov said as they followed Captain Zaane west toward the nuclear submarine base near the mouth of the harbor.

  “There are shoaling waters to starboard, Captain,” Jason cautioned. “Be especially careful when nearing the southern tip of Shelter Island. Stay directly behind the cruise ship and keep us off the bottom.”

  ---

  As they neared Ballast Point, Pankov spotted the bait barges through the scope, followed by the large security floats surrounding the nuclear submarine base.

  He gave the order to slow, and the turbulence stopped as Zaane and his Neau Islander continued on out of the harbor and into the Pacific Ocean.

  Maintaining periscope depth, and constant visual contact with the submarine base, Pankov slid Cobra under the long row of bait barges.

  He checked his watch. 8:55 p.m.

  “Gentlemen,” he said. “Prepare to fire.”

  Chapter 57

  Uri Ruden ran to the Forward Torpedo Room to prepare tube 5 for firing. He ducked through the watertight hatch and was alarmed when his feet splashed into a foot of rising water. He froze for a moment, knowing he should inform Pankov immediately.