Stabenow, Dana - Blindfold Game (v1

by Blindfold Game(lit)

  The man gave a very European shrug. “I would have thought it was obvious.

  “It isnt. Please explain it to me. Hugh was only half paying attention to their conversation. He didnt know what Sara was going to try next, but he knew Sara and he knew something was coming and that it would be big and bad. Sara didnt do redundant. And she would be operating on the assumption that he was dead, so she would not be constrained by fear for his safety, and she would be highly motivated for revenge. Hugh wanted off the Star of Bali, and he wanted off now. If Ja offered him the chance to jump overboard hed take it and thank him.

  Ja considered. “Why not? There is time, and you have come so far.

  He had Hugh hoisted up over the side of the container. There wasnt a lot of room inside because it was mostly filled with the missile and its launcher. Men hunched over the controls.

  “Why do this? Hugh said. It had bought him time before and he liked to go with what worked. “Who do you work for?

  “Myself.

  “You trained with al-Qaida in Afghanistan.

  Ja raised an eyebrow. “Youre remarkably well informed for a member of the United States Coast Guard.

  What the hell. “I work for the CIA.

  Jas eyebrows raised. “Do you, he said after a moment. Then, amazingly, he smiled. “It took you long enough to catch up with me. Didnt I leave enough clues?

  With a groaning of gears, the head of the missile began to rise.

  ON BOARD THE SOJOURNER TRUTH

  “WERE JUST COMING UP on the northern point of the island, Captain.

  “Are they in sight yet?

  Everyone on the bridge strained to look. “No.

  Sara hoisted herself into the captains chair to see if height would give her an advantage. The dark green seas were whipped into whitecaps by the winds howling up out of the southwest, but the swell was way down, and what was left of it was pushing them north.

  It would also be pushing the Star of Bali north.

  “Lets kill the lights, she said.

  Ops nodded. The ships lights went out, inside and out. Sara got down and walked out onto the starboard wing and looked back. Even their running lights were out. They were as indistinguishable from the dark green water as a two-hundred-and-eighty-four-foot white hull with an orange stripe down both sides and a big white square retractable helo hangar could be. She wondered where Laird and Sams were, if they were alive and safe.

  Probably not, because if they had been they would have been able to yell for help, and if they had been able to yell for help there would have been no need for the task in hand. She hoped yet again that she was doing the right thing. She hoped she wouldnt lose any more of her crew.

  Sara had heard all the cliches about command, but she had never understood until now the definition of the word “lonely. She turned and saw Mark Edelen looking at her, and thought she saw condemnation in his eyes.

  She squared her shoulders and went back inside, this time climbing into the captains chair without thinking about it.

  They were coming up Eldorado Narrows all ahead full, as fast as the EO could push all four generators. Fox Island, a series of three mountain pillars connected by two ridges, was passing by on their left. The ridges were high enough that they couldnt see the Star of Bali, presumably passing up the outside of the island as the Sojourner Truth was passing up the inside. Which meant that the ridge concealed the Sojourner Truth from the Star of Bali as well.

  Cape Resurrection, on their right, had been succeeded by a series of sheer cliffs contorting themselves into a sinuous convolution of coastline that was mostly bare rock dropping into eighteen, twenty-nine, thirty-seven fathoms of water. Ahead, a narrow spit thrust out from Fox Island to the northeast, a rude gesture of land thickly crusted with trees, most of them dead and bare of limb. An old fishing boat was tossed up among them, its wooden sides as gray as the dead tree trunks.

  “Getting kind of skinny through here, XO, the chief said.

  Sara looked at him. He was sweating. “Maintain course and speed, she said.

  The Sojourner Truth seemed to have been swallowed alive by the encompassing walls of land. The sky looked very narrow above, and the throb of the engines echoed back at them. Sara saw a group of sea lions hauled out on a rock dive back as the cutter passed by. In the next moment the cutters wake rolled over their rock in a cold green wave.

  She knew what the chief was feeling. She was feeling it herself. The channel was three hundred yards wide from land to land and only two hundred of that was navigable due to shoals and rocks and reefs protruding from the shore on either side. They were an hour away from low tide, and the Sojourner Truth was making the better part of eighteen and a half knots.

  Sara was glad the chief was scared. It would keep him sharp.

  Everyone on the bridge seemed to hold their breath as the cutter flashed between spit and headland, and then they were through.

  Sara let out the breath she didnt know shed been holding. “Well done, Chief, helm.

  Mark pulled off his cap and wiped his forehead on his forearm. His hair was soaked. He saw Sara watching and resettled the cap on his head. “Helm, steer three-zero-zero.

  “Steering three-zero-zero, aye.

  The bow of the Sojourner Truth swung to port and the northern point of Fox Island.

  ON BOARD THE KENAI FJORDS

  “HOW HERES SOMETHING Y0U dont see everyday, ladies and gentlemen. The fifty-foot cruise ship slowed down until it was almost dead in the water as the passengers lined up on the port rail. “Weve got two pods of orcas, also known as killer whales, in sight. The one closest to us is a resident pod. The one farther off is a transient pod.

  “Mom, look!

  “I see, honey. Lilah blew her nose and tucked her hands back into her pockets, leaning against the rail to steady herself against the roll of the boat.

  The captains mellow voice continued over the loudspeaker. “The residents reside right here in Resurrection Bay. The transients, the ones farther off, they travel all over Prince William Sound. The resident orcas eat fish. The transient orcas eat everything, including sea mammals like sea otters and sea lions. The two pods speak different languages, and they dont interbreed.

  Eli tugged at her hand. “Mom! Boat! Big boat!

  Lilah looked up and saw a freighter pass them en route to the dock in Seward. Men were at work in one of the containers stacked on deck. She squinted at the name on the bow. The Star of Bali. Such a pretty name for such an ugly ship.

  “If youll look up on the cliff above us, youll see a couple of bald eagles-

  ON BOARD THE STAR OF BALI

  “ITS VERY SIMPLE, REALLY, Ja said, watching the nose of the missile point toward the sky. “My nation is in serious need of an invasion. Your government used the bombings in New York and your capital to launch a war in the Middle East. If I detonate this weaponhe patted the undercarriage of the Scud“in an area with a military presence responsible for protecting most of the North Pacific Ocean, your nation will take this as an act of war. Especially when they learn that North Korea is behind the attack. Which they will, as your people discover the evidence I have left behind.

  Ja smiled at Hugh. “And you have thirty-seven thousand very conveniently placed soldiers just over the border, ready to lead the charge. I imagine it wont take long.

  “Why do this? Hugh said. “Why not take it into the heart of Kim Jong Ils palace in Pyongyang and blow him to bits? Hes your problem, not us.

  “We will need help in rebuilding, Ja said.

  “You certainly will, Hugh said, “and were just the folks to do it. Look how well were doing in Iraq.

  Ja continued to regard him with a tranquil expression. “When did you find me out?

  Hugh saw no reason not to tell him. The longer they spent talking, the longer Hugh stayed alive. “Last October I got word of your meeting with Fang and Noortman. Ive been tracking you since then.

  Ja gave him an approving smile. One of the men said something to hi
m. “Fire when ready, he said almost casually.

  “No! Hugh said, and stumbled forward to do something, anything.

  “Help me, Ja said to one of the men, and they took Hugh by the hands and feet and tossed him out of the container. Hugh landed hard and awkwardly. He heard something crack, and he didnt think it was anything hed landed on.

  Over the wind and the waves he could hear men shouting. Over the shouting he could hear the engine of the missile ignite. “No! he shouted, and grabbed something to haul himself to his feet.

  He was on the starboard side of the Star of Bali and was the first on board the freighter to see the Sojourner Truth bearing down at flank speed, cutting through the green swells like a juggernaut.

  He couldnt be sure, but he thought he heard screaming over the ships loudspeaker in what he thought was Mandarin. “We surrender! U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Coast Guard, we surrender! I am a citizen of Hong Kong! I demand asylum! Take me with you!

  Now there was screaming and swearing from the container. A man appeared in front of him with a very large weapon he didnt recognize, but then hed never been much of a one for firearms. The man raised the weapon to his shoulder.

  “No, Hugh said, this time to more purpose, and threw himself at the man. This yo-yo was not going to get any free shots at Sara. They crashed to the deck in a horrible tangle.

  But Sara had provided for that, too, as he heard the distant chatter of an automatic weapon and heavy thuds began sounding in the containers all around him. The man beneath him tried to club him with the stock of his weapon but it was too long to maneuver between them. Hugh, trying to pull away before the two ships hit, was helped when whoever was at the wheelFang? It would explain the Mandarinyanked at the rudder in an attempt to get out of the cutters way. The deck listed to starboard and Hugh let gravity do the rest, breaking into a stumbling run between the containers toward the port side of the ship.

  He was knocked off his feet when three thousand tons of Coast Guard cutter crashed into the Star of Bali. It was louder than any 747 hed ever heard on takeoff. It shook like the biggest earthquake hed ever been in.

  Time seemed to proceed in slow motion. The ship shuddered. Metal tore and screeched and groaned. A man fell from above, and then another. The man with the weapon had chased Hugh to the port rail. He lost his balance and his back hit the railing. Momentum flipped him over the side.

  He let go of the weapon in a frantic attempt to grab something to halt his fall. What he grabbed was the front of Hughs Mustang suit, pulling Hugh halfway over the railing.

  Hugh tried to fight free but the various beatings hed taken in the last hour were catching up with him. He was overcome by a wave of dizziness and followed the man over the side.

  JANUARY

  ON BOARD THE KENAI FJORDS

  MOM!“ GLORIA POINTED. NEXT to her Eli watched, his eyes wide, his hand clutching hers. I saw, honey,“ Lilah said, pale. Theyd all seen, an almost front-row seat, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter, apparently deliberately, ram a freighter in the middle of Resurrection Bay. The boat was listing to port as everyone on board leaned against the port rail and stared, most of them with their mouths open.

  “There are people going into the water, Lilah said, and turned to wave frantically at the bridge where the skipper stood with his mouth open. “There are people going into the water! We have to pick them up!

  ON BOARD THE SOJOURNER TRUTH

  “BULLS-EYE, CAPTAIN, OPS CALLED out, “dead amidships.

  There was no cheering on board the bridge of the Sojourner Truth.

  They could clearly see the nose of the missile pointing skyward from the container. They could also see the smoke from the fuel pouring out of the opposite end of the container.

  “We werent in time! Mark Edelen shouted.

  There was a groan. “No, someone said. “This isnt happening.

  All they could do now was watch.

  The momentum of the freighter continued forward, dragging the cutter down the freighters starboard hull. The skin of the other ship punctured and peeled back.

  “There goes another compartment, someone said.

  “And another.

  The force of the strike had pushed the freighters starboard side down. “Shes shipping water, the chief said.

  “That missile is launching! Ops shouted.

  Sara, hands clenched on the arms of her chair, watched with dread.

  And then the weight of all the water that had been pouring into the gaping wound in the freighters side began to move. The Star of Bali began to roll to the left, slowly at first, through vertical and then heavily to port. The containers on deck began to break loose and fall off. The one with the missile in it clung stubbornly to its fastenings.

  “Helm amidships, emergency full astern! Sara shouted.

  “Helm amidships, emergency full astern, aye, Cornell said imperturbably. The engines of the Sojourner Truth paused for a moment and then started again, grumbling at first, then opening into a full-throttle roar.

  Sara leaped from her chair and ran out onto the starboard wing. The freighters natural stability was trying to regain the vertical. The weight of the water she had shipped through the holes torn in her side wouldnt allow it, pushing her over on her starboard side again. The weight of the steel in her hold increased the speed and violence of the roll.

  The missile launched, with the Star of Bali starboard side down, the momentum of the roll giving impetus to the launch, like a kid throwing a rock with a sling.

  “Come on, the chief muttered behind her. “Come on.

  “Oh my God, Tommy said steadily and clearly, “I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins

  Sara rounded on Ops with such a ferocious expression that he backed up a step. “Its got an internal gyroscope, right? It can correct its own course?

  Ops was pale. “If it gains enough height

  The contrail of the exhaust seemed to twist and turn on itself.

  “because I dread the loss of heaven

  Sara raised the binoculars she had thought to snatch on her way outside. The mountains behind the missile loomed large. Were they large enough? “Thumb Cove, she said. “Thumb Cove, how high are the mountains in back of it? Too late to go check, too late

  For agonizing seconds the missile looked as if it would clear the land-mass. Sara tried to think what it could hit, and how she could warn them. Valdez, and the oil terminal? Cordova? Would it go inland? Or could it still self-correct its course in midair? If it did, did it have enough fuel to still make Elmendorf and Anchorage? Would it fall short? If it did, where would it fall?

  “and the pains of hell

  Then it hit, the very tip of the tallest mountain in its way. The jagged corner of the peak crumbled like a too-dry Christmas cookie. A huge fireball flared and vanished, followed by an even huger cloud of snow. Avalanche, Sara thought, and then realized shed said the word out loud.

  “Glacier, Ops said, and backed up to lean against the bulkhead next to the hatch. “Theres a bunch of glaciers in back of Thumb Cove.

  “But most of all, Tommy said, “because I thought you werent watching. I was wrong. Thanks, God.

  The sound of the impact reached them then, a thunderbolt that echoed across Resurrection Bay. Lilah and Gloria and Eli heard it on board the Kenai Fjords. A crew of fishermen heard it on board the Moira P., trolling for white kings off the Iron Door. The prisoners at Spring Creek Correctional Facility heard it, and in Seward it brought people out of their homes and offices to look south and wonder. The deafening blast rolled up Resurrection Bay in a mighty wave that crashed against the bowl of mountains and triggered massive avalanches of snow. Birds launched themselves into the air, crying in alarm, and every otter, seal, and sea lion sought shelter beneath the surface of the water.

  “Captain! Ops shouted, pointing. “The freighter!

  The bridge crew turned as one to look.

  The thrust of the missiles propulsion system had put the Star of Bali down
by the stern, her taffrail awash.

  “Whats happening, captain? Tommy said, coming out on the wing to watch.

  “Shes got two million gallons of water sloshing around inside her, pushing her back and forth, Sara said quietly.

  The chief looked almost sorrowful. “Shes got all that steel in her hold, too. And with all the boxes broken off she doesnt have any weight left on deck, so no help there.

  Some of the containers that had broken off were floating away, some were crashing against the sides of the freighter. The Sojourner Truth was pulling away at her maximum speed in reverse, a lofty four knots.

  Not quick enough not to watch the Star of Bali slide backward into the sea, though, her engine pushing the hull around in a semicircle. The bow slipped beneath the water with a resigned sigh.

  They watched, mesmerized, as air bubbled up. The remaining containers broke off and bobbed up to the surface one and two and three at a time. Life rafts self-inflated and exploded twenty feet in the air, smacking down again.

  “There are people in the water, XO, Ops said, looking through binoculars.

  “Theyre alive? Sara said. “How could they still be alive after this long in the water?

  The lieutenant looked at her. “Its only been ninety seconds, Captain.

  Sara looked at the clock. He was right.

  “Damage control, report, she said into the handheld.

  “Damage control reporting, Captain! Chief Moran yelled over the handheld with the sound of rushing water in the background. “The bows all torn up! The portside bow is buckled all the way back to the collision bulkhead! Well shore it up, slow down the flooding, but she wont last long, especially in heavy seas!

  “Understood, Sara said. “Carry on.

  “Aye aye, Captain!

  She went back into the bridge and got on the pipe. “All hands, all hands, this is the XO. Brace for collision, I say again, brace for collision. We have sustained serious damage to the bow and were going to put her ashore so we can keep our feet dry. This is the last time, folks, I promise. Grab hold and hang on, it wont be long.

  She went back out on the starboard bridge wing. They were proceeding in reverse back down Resurrection Bay and into the cove formed by the middle and northern peaks on Fox Island. There was a good beach there, made of nice, solid gravel with a steep incline that Sara hoped would serve to adequately ground the Sojourner Truth and keep her from sinking altogether.