Gunboat Number 14

by Jens Kuhn

  “Now! Take your aim! Fire!”

  The volley crackled raggedly, a few muskets misfiring because of the rain.

  “Reload!” Kuhlin ordered.

  The Russian line staggered, but then moved forward again. An officer shouted an order. And then, the enemy started to charge.

  “Fire at will!” Kuhlin ordered. There was no time for a concentrated volley now, they would have to fire as fast as they could reload. He saw af Klint aiming his pistol, discharging it then throwing it away in order to draw his sword.

  The Russians were about 50 yards away when the beach around them exploded. Sand and gravel pierced the air, then there was another impact further up the beach. The Russians were still unharmed, as the round shots had landed too far up the beach, but still their advance was halted and the soldiers looked bewildered, then realizing what had happened, they turned and ran back towards the shelter of the forest.

  “Take cover” Kuhlin shouted. “Don’t follow!”

  There were popping sounds from seaward now, then a whining in the air, when the case shot from four swivel guns pierced the air and descended on the fleeing Russians. A louder bang again and another round shot landed between them, throwing up pebbles that cut down men like musket balls. Looking towards the sea the bows of two gunboats emerged out of the rain, slowly moving towards the beach. Then it became all quiet, except for the screams of wounded men on the beach.

  As soon as the bows of the two gunboats touched land, Kuhlin gave the order to embark. The men hurried aboard and the boats backed off, before the Russians had time to organize themselves. As they finally did and sporadic musket fire started to erupt from the forest, the gunboats were already well away. Later, they stopped and lay abreast in order for the officers to hold a council of war aboard Gunboat Number 14.

  “You saved us at the very last minute,” lieutenant Kuhlin told Gran when the three officers, had gathered under the canvas cover in the boat’s stern.

  “I’m sorry, Sir. We moved as fast as we could, but in this visibility...”

  “Never mind, Gran. It would have been worse, if you had run aground, would it not?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Now, we have escaped at last, but our mission has become quite a failure. Perhaps, we should never have attempted this snatch party endeavor, but we did and face the consequences we must.”

  “Yes, Sir. Eh...,” af Klint tried to word carefully what he was about to say. “Do we not stand a better chance...I mean, would we not face less blame, if we at least accomplished our original mission, Sir?”

  Kuhlin shrugged. “I guess so. But, the fact is, we have no idea at all where to look for the Wetterstrands, which is what I assume you are referring to.”

  “Well, yes. But I still think we should try.”

  “Having missed most of the action, I happily volunteer to try, Sir,” Gran added.

  “Is this a mutiny?” Kuhlin said but could not resist laughing. “Very well, never you fear, I agreed to giving it one more try and one more try it will be.”

  Eric af Klint felt relieved. Still, the biggest problem remained: they had no idea how to find the Wetterstrands, how to find Anna. They did not even know where to look. He was thus quite surprised when Kuhlin actually had an answer.

  “So, gentlemen,” he proclaimed. “We will go and find us a fishing boat.”

  “What?” Gran exclaimed.

  “Well, I think the most probable place to look for them is the city of Turku itself. If they are alive, and whatever their status may be, as for loyalty or... eh ... clandestineness, they will have made their way, or been taken, into the capital.”

  “I am sure you are right,” af Klint said happily. Of course they would be there. Anna, whose loyalty he did not doubt at all, would have followed the priest there, or if she had been captured, they would have taken her there in order to be questioned. Or held captive until whatever subterfuge the priest was planning had been completed.

  Of course, entering the occupied city with two gunboats was impossible. Even though many Russian ones did look exactly the same as, or were, in fact, captured Swedish boats, they would never be able to pass the crew for Russians. For starters, the Russian crews actually did wear proper uniforms. They also, more importantly, obeyed orders given in Russian, and orders would clearly have to be overheard if a gunboat was to be maneuvered at all. So they would try to find and borrow, or steal if need be, some sort of small sailing vessel, which could enter the capital covertly, manned only by two officers, clad in plain clothes.

  Sub-lieutenant Gran, who eagerly volunteered for the task, however, was turned down.

  “I must do this myself,” Kuhlin said. “The whole mission is my responsibility altogether, and if there is any chance to turn this into somewhat less of a failure, I must take it. And I need you to command the boats – a most important task, as you need to understand.”

  The boats were to be hidden in a small cove, Kuhlin pointed it out on the chart. They were only to move if there were friendly forces approaching – after all, landing operations had been planned and might be carried out soon, or if Kuhlin’s party returned.

  “If you meet a landing force, you are to seek out its commanding officer and warn him about the possibility of treachery that may lie ahead.”

  “Aye aye, Sir.”

  Anna lay on her back on the bed, her eyes closed, but she did not sleep. She was covered only by a blanket, slightly shivering in the occasional gust of breeze from the open window. Her dress was folded neatly over the back of the chair next to the table. The stage was set, and she was waiting. She hoped, this was not going to get too complicated. Although she had done things like this many times before, and in fact she did quite enjoy it most of the time, she felt slightly troubled. Thinking about this gunner far too often. She knew, that she could not let her feelings for him soften her, this was the way she fought this war, and it was the only means she had. Involuntarily, she moved her right hand softly over her breasts, then further down over her belly. Her heartbeat increased and she felt her face blushing. She did not shiver anymore.

  There was no knock at the door, before he entered. The young Russian officer closed the door behind him and stood, watching her carefully. Anna smiled and lifted her blanket slightly, to show him a glimpse of her naked body, invite him in.

  “No tricks, this time, Nikolai,” she said in a low voice.

  She wondered how old he might be. Merely a boy, definitely less than twenty years old. She might very well be the first one for him. He hesitated, watching her, but then decided that there wasn’t anyone trying to knock him out this time, or if it was, then it probably was worth it anyway. He took off his hanger and put it carefully on the table, moved over to the bed and sat down next to her.

  “I’m all yours if you’ll have me.” Anna lifted her hand and stroked him lightly over the face, looking into his eyes. Passion overwhelmed him then, and he threw himself over her, oblivious of anything else, except her scent, the taste of her lips and her soft flesh, her delicate movements against him, and the sensual moans and sighs that escaped her throat.

  Later, they lay close together, resting, his slim body following her curves, his face buried between her breasts.

  “Darling,” she whispered then. “Will you tell me something?”

  The boy sighed, burying his face yet deeper into the bliss of her flesh.

  “Please?”

  She lifted his head gently with her hand, made him look at her.

  “I’m not really supposed to tell you anything, you know.”

  She kissed him softly. “I won’t ask you to betray any of your countrymen, my dear. It’s the priest I want.”

  The Russian hesitated, looking down, trying to evade her gaze. Then he gasped, when Anna put her other arm around him, and pulled him more tightly towards her body, one hand against the hollow of his back. She felt his body tremble in response as she parted her legs, moving against him. When he entered her again, she knew
that she would get her answers.

  However, being in possession of the intelligence itself wasn’t of any use as long as she was held captive. Anna’s next move had thus to be escape from the Russian held town. She doubted that she was able to persuade her young Russian lover to help with this endeavor. He was clearly only prepared to aid her up to a certain degree, and physical actions of any kind was not inside his comfort zone. He was comfortable enough by now to tell her all he knew about the Russian defenses, and more importantly, the role Wetterstrand played in that context.

  But how was she to get out of here? The house where she was held captive, was mostly used as a temporary dwelling for Russian officers on the move. It was not extremely well guarded, but well enough for her to not even consider escape by force. There were always two guards at the main door, and the only other exit could only be reached through the main dining room and the kitchen. And the dining room was almost never empty, with always some officers having arrived late, or making an early start. Anna had asked Nikolai how long he thought she would be held here, and the answer had surprised her. It had been in the morning, and he was already dressed and about to leave.

  “Until the Swedish landing force is repelled.”

  “Oh. And how long will you be here yourself?”

  He had looked at her then, his eyes almost a little moist, his voice unsteady. “Do you really care?”

  “I do, a little,” she had said softly. And it was true, this young man quite affected her, he was so innocent and passionate with everything he did. He had smiled at her then, before opening the door to leave. “A while longer, I think.”

  Chapter 19 - Resolve

  The small sailing boat ghosted quietly up the Aura River, towards the city of Turku. It was a dark night for once, the moon only temporarily visible behind the low clouds that announced yet another rain front from the southwest. The air wasn’t warm any more either, it being September. Still, at least the nights were longer now, making covert operations like this one easier.

  Lieutenant Kuhlin wrinkled his nose. The boat was reeking of fish and the coat he wore did not smell much better. They had found the boat abandoned, near a fishing cottage on one of the smaller islands off Turku, while they had borrowed their coats from some of their own crew, men who were not at all happy to give up the only warm garment they possessed, even though it was temporary. Both Eric af Klint and Kuhlin had only changed their coats, keeping the rest of their uniforms on underneath. In case of being discovered, they would at least still be able to claim that they were officers and had to be treated accordingly. As for weapons, they had a pistol each, and a heavy seaman’s knife. Fishermen did not carry swords, so those had to be left behind. In any case it wasn’t likely they would have to do much fighting, deep inside enemy territory they would have no chance of winning anyway.

  “Where do we start searching, Sir?” Eric af Klint looked warily around, not seeing very much in the dark.

  “At the docks. We’ll try to find some cheap inn, ask some questions...try to get some grip on the situation here.”

  “Oh well. It’s not much of a plan is it, Sir?”

  Lieutenant Kuhlin shrugged.

  On both sides of the river the docks were littered with Russian gunboats, galleys and other kinds of small warships. There was not much activity around them at this time, though. Some fires were burning ashore and they could see the movements of some guards, but most men were probably asleep after a good meal and a reasonable amount of vodka.

  “Do you think we should try counting them?” Eric af Klint wondered.

  “I don’t think so, Eric. It’s too dark really.”

  “It’s a lot of ships.”

  Lieutenant Kuhlin grunted in reply. Sure, there was a lot of boats. The Russians had had the advantage of numbers all the time since the fall of the fort at Svensksund. And even though most shipyards on the mainland now were building gunboats as fast as they could, there would still not be enough by spring to even out the numbers completely. But then again, it wasn’t at all sure that there would be anything left of Finland’s archipelago to defend the following summer. The gunboats would then have to protect the Swedish side of the archipelago instead, the entrance to the very capital itself. Stockholm. Kuhlin thought about the beautiful city, built on several islands just where the Baltic Sea meets the freshwater lake Mälaren. Where his wife lived, Charlotte. He wondered what she was doing now. Sleeping of course. Hopefully, he thought.

  They went ashore on the northern riverbank, just a little outside of the city center. There were some inns here, but most seemed to be closed and those that were not seemed mostly be frequented by Russian sailors. The two officers moved carefully towards the first of the bridges connecting the two parts of the town. Halfway across they encountered a half-drunk man who was leaning over the edge. Fortunately he was Swedish and eager to volunteer information as for places where a visiting priest might stay.

  “I thought it a good idea to go for Wetterstrand first,” Kuhlin explained later. “If we are lucky, Miss Anna will be somewhere near him, and if not, he still might know where she is.”

  Eric af Klint agreed reluctantly. For his own part, he was not very interested in Wetterstrand’s whereabouts, but he realized that they would have to find them both anyway, and it was probably easier to find him. As a priest, he would certainly move somewhat predictably, something that could scarcely be said about the woman.

  “Nikolai, darling,” Anna said softly, her mouth only inches away from his ear. “Have I not been exceptionally co-operative, do you think?”

  The young Russian officer moved slightly against her body, his eyes closed.

  “Hmm.”

  “Never tried to escape, and have I not fulfilled your every wish?”

  Nikolai sighed. She was right of course. She had been very complaisant indeed, satisfied him completely in every way. Of course, he knew why she did it, initially at least, and he had not cared to think about it. However, lately he had sensed some change in her attitude, an ever so slight change, but still a change. He knew that he probably was wrong, there was no reason why she suddenly should actually like him. He opened his eyes and saw her looking at him questioningly?

  “What?”

  “I was wondering what you were thinking about. You had this expression...like you were concentrating so hard.”

  “I was trying to make sense of you, Anna.”

  She laughed. Nikolai tightened his arms around her and pulled her closer.

  “Don’t laugh at me. I really don’t understand you any more.” His mouth was on hers now, feeling her lips part willingly when he kissed her almost desperately. She was so responsive to every single one of his body’s moves, it really felt like she wanted him as much as he wanted her. But could it really be true?

  “Anna, what are we going to do?” He caressed her back, while her head rested on his chest.

  “There are some things I can imagine.” She sighed.

  “Like what?”

  “Like us taking a walk downtown in the autumn sun...”

  “Oh, that would be nice.” Nikolai saw the picture clearly in his head. Walking with her on his arm, like a real couple. Like lovers. His heartbeat increased with the thought.”

  “You do like the idea,” sensing his excitement. “We could just do it?”

  “I don’t know. I am to guard you, remember?”

  “I won’t run away, Nikolai.”

  He really wanted to believe her.

  By dawn, Kuhlin and af Klint had checked several boarding houses which looked promising enough. Most had Russian guards outside, one or two of them, almost asleep on watch. Vigilance was not very high over all in Turku, but that was not surprising considering the Russians having won most battles during this war and the nearest regular Swedish army hundreds of miles away to the north. Of course there was the threat of landings being planned, and Wetterstrand would have told the Russians everything he knew about them by now. Kuhlin wondered
how many Russian troops were garrisoned here and around the town. In any case they were regular troops which the Swedish ones to be landed were not. They were also well trained and had been in battle before. He shuddered. The Swedish conscripts were of no use against regular troops. His own crew had done well enough alright, back at the farm, but it had not been their first fight, and if sub-lieutenant Gran and his boats had not arrived in time, they had never withstood the Russians in hand-to-hand combat.

  They stood in a doorway across the street from another inn, when the carriage arrived. Three Russian officers emerged and walked to the door. They were high ranking according to their uniforms and they looked like they were on their way to a meeting. One of them wore a naval uniform, while the other two were land soldiers, probably cavalry and infantry.

  “Interesting,” Kuhlin said. “We’ll stay here for a while and see what’s happening.”

  Anna had her breakfast in her room, as usual. It was brought up by one of the guards who glanced at her cleavage as he usually did, but said nothing and left the room quickly. Anna had been thinking of trying to seduce him, but sensed that Nikolai had made it clear to him that he would at least lose his head if he as much as talked to her. She smiled for herself. Nikolai was clearly learning the game. Not fast enough, though. Poor boy. She had taken a liking to him, admitted it freely now. She might actually have become far too emotional for this kind of game lately. It was of course Eric’s fault. He had softened her considerably, almost to such a degree that she could not rule out the possibility of being in love. Which was a concept utterly strange to her. She had never wanted to be that dependent on a man. But then again, she had never felt so empty when she wasn’t near him.

  Nikolai was a completely different matter of course. She did not love him, but due to her softened state of mind, she had opened herself to admit that she liked him. And that made it yet easier to lead him into the direction she wanted, because he felt her affection and, being in love with her, he chose to feel loved back. On the other hand, she felt a little guilty because she knew that she finally had to disappoint him. And that was a new feeling for her as well. She had never cared very much about how the men she used felt afterwards.