Harris looked uncomfortable. ‘We’ve not been able to track it via satellite sir. Cetus is smaller than a regular submarine. It’s also built with stealth technology borrowed from the air force. It uses electric engines for propulsion so it’s almost impossible to track, either under, or above the water.’
‘In the meantime what do you recommend we do about the British sub?’
‘Well Robert, basically we have two choices. You can call the British PM, offer your condolences and explain that we have a rogue sub which attacked their boat. You can say that we’re very sorry that it was responsible for damaging their state-of-the-art submarine and causing so many casualties. You can tell him that we’re doing our best to search for the rogue sub, but we don’t know where it is and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that it’s not going to cause any more damage before we get it back.’ Harris paused for breath.
‘Or you can just keep quiet.’
Chapter 16
As Sean followed Natasha he thought about her resilience. Over the last few days she had suffered the loss of her boyfriend, had been hunted in the streets where she lived and fired on at the funeral. He was not surprised that Natasha might want to break out.
Wherever she was going Sean felt she knew something she hadn’t told him. Perhaps she knew why Ben had been killed? Perhaps she had found out whatever Ben had found out before his murder? Whatever it was the only way Sean was going to find out was to stick to her like a leech.
Sean plugged in his ear-piece and called Lomax.
‘Natasha’s on the move, travelling north. I’m following but I’ve no idea where she is headed just yet.’
‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you’ replied Lomax. ‘That woman’s trouble.’
‘You’re starting to repeat yourself’ replied Sean dryly.
‘DD’s found out she’s the liaison person for the National Security Agency.’
‘Understood’ responded Sean.
‘Putting you through now Prime Minister.’
The PM waited a second before speaking. ‘Good morning Robert. I hope you are well?’
‘Hi Terrence, never felt better. How’s the family?’ replied the President breezily.
‘Fine’ replied the PM, referring to his notes. ‘I hope you don’t mind the intrusion but I heard some disturbing news recently. I hope you might shed some light on it.’
‘Glad to help in any way I can, Terrence’ replied the President.
Those around the table saw the PM wince at the President’s use of his full first name for the second time. No-one in the cabinet, let alone the country, used his first name in full.
‘I’ve been told there’s a project called White Shield. It’s a fleet of NATO ships sailing from the Caribbean to Gibraltar as part of an exercise.’
‘Sorry, the name doesn’t ring a bell. But please carry on.’
‘Bear with me Robert. One of our submarines was accompanying the fleet and had to surface quickly. She came up because she thought she was under attack.’
‘Did you say “thought she was under attack”? How come you’re not sure?’
‘Well it wasn’t like any other attack – you know – torpedoes, depth charges or anything like that. The boat was subjected to a massive vibration that started to shake it apart. If the Commander hadn’t taken the emergency action he did the hull would have split and ninety eight people would have died.’
The PM paused. ‘Thankfully all 98 crew were rescued but there were a number of casualties. Some of the men came into contact with radiation.’
‘Good grief Terrance. Just remind me of the name of your boat.’
‘Astute, Robert. HMS Astute.’
‘Right, thanks. I’ll get someone onto this immediately. Were any other ships harmed?’
‘None that we are aware of. The fleet continued after the men were successfully rescued.’
‘OK, gotcha. Were there any other non-friendly ships in the area?’
‘That’s why I’m ringing you. I hoped you would be able to tell me.’
‘Well, I’m afraid I’m very light on details. But I can find out for you. I appreciate how you must feel about your boat. I’m glad that no lives were lost. As I recall Astute is an expensive piece of kit.’
‘Quite right, Robert. But I’m more concerned about who carried out this unprovoked attack.’
The PM waited for the President to respond.
‘Terrance, I wondered if you have considered the most obvious cause of the accident?’
‘What’s that?’
‘Well you say that the boat suffered from vibrations and that there were no other ships or submarines in the area.’
‘Correct - as far as we know, apart from the fleet, the Astute was alone.’
‘Well it would seem obvious to me’ continued the President. ‘If there was no sign of another ship in the area, the vibration came from the Astute.’
Quiet fell as the PM and people around the table thought about that.
‘Terrance – are you still there?’
‘Yes, we’re all still here. Just considering your suggestion.’
The PM looked around at the baffled set of faces.
‘We’re not sure what you mean Robert. How could the vibrations be coming from the boat itself?’
The President could be heard talking to an aide. ‘You may know I served on a few surface boats in my time’ he continued. ‘My first posting was Ensign on the USS Garcia. She’s an old-style frigate. The propeller shaft came out of alignment on my second berth. The stresses resulted in damage to the struts and the hull. The noise was incredible and because no-one realised what was happening in time, the shaft bearings went. That caused the engine shaft assembly to go and by that time the external seals were compromised and we started to take on water.’
‘Oh’ said the PM, quite taken aback with the President’s technical knowledge. ‘We’ll bear that in mind.’
‘Well the noise from the vibration was unbelievable’ replied the President. ‘If you still want to, I’ll get my staff to pass on all the reports we received. This might help you collate your information and get a better idea of what happened out there.’
The PM was fully aware the UK depended heavily on the communications facilities provided by American satellites and AWACs systems. The offer was no doubt given in the expectation that Britain would reciprocate at some later point.
‘Thanks, very much appreciated Robert.’ The Prime Minister replaced the receiver and looked round the table again for reactions. His minister of defence was the first to speak.
‘Sounded very accommodating to me Prime Minister. And he did offer all their info to us.’
‘I suppose we should be grateful for small mercies’ replied the PM. ‘Pity though - he was lying through his teeth.’
‘Lomax?’
‘Yep, receiving strength ten.’ Lomax thought DD sounded tired.
‘Got a bit of a breakthrough. London’s been helping me trace Langham’s phone calls. There’s a couple of pointers to an outfit called AMA - Advanced Marine Agency. They’re located near the Naval Undersea Warfare Centre at Newport.’
‘OK, what do you know about them?’
‘Next to nothing.’ DD checked his notes. ‘It’s almost impossible to find out who they are. Ownership is via a complicated structure of offshore companies.’
‘Let London take care of that one’ advised Lomax. ‘Anything else?’
‘I’ve tried breaking into their network. It’s as tight as a drum.’
‘Well keep trying.’
‘I have been trying for the last two days.’ DD sounded exasperated. ‘There’s only one other way I can think of - accessing their Wi-Fi network.’
‘Well do what you can. And get some rest - you sound exhausted.’
Lomax ended the call. Five minutes later he snatched the phone and dialled back, but there was no answer. He had made a mistake. Asking DD to try and access AMA’s Wi-Fi network meant he would have to get into
range of the company’s buildings. Damm! He fervently hoped DD had taken his advice and was resting, but he needed to make sure. Lomax dashed to the car.
As he drove north he saw DD’s car coming towards him. Lomax flashed his lights but DD was too intent on the road to take any notice.
Lomax slammed on the brakes as DD passed by. Lomax smacked his hand against the wheel. What a cock-up. This was the last time he would involve DD in a mission he was controlling. The man was a disaster. Short of overtaking the car and forcing him to stop Lomax had no way of getting through to him. He executed a U-turn and put his foot to the floor.
After several anxious minutes Lomax caught up close enough to see the car. DD was heading for Newport. Lomax lost sight of him briefly at the outskirts but by the time he found him again the car was parked. There was no sign of DD.
Lomax parked nearby and made a quick search of the area on foot. He spotted DD’s figure about a hundred yards away. Lomax assumed DD was homing in on AMA. It looked like DD was listening to music because he was wearing a set of ear buds and holding an iPod. Lomax started towards him.
DD looked around. Nearly all companies used Wi-Fi alongside their computer networks and they had a tendency to leak outside onto the street. But he wasn’t expecting to access Advanced Marine’s network right away, knowing just how tightly they guarded their non Wi-Fi networks.
He would need to record the traffic passing in the air for a while and take it away to analyse. To collect enough data he would have to return with the car and park in the vicinity of the building. The car would give the necessary camouflage and protection while he made the recording.
Then the MP3 player he was holding was snatched from his hand. DD’s first thought was that he was being mugged. Next he felt two arms under his shoulder. Two men, one on each side, lifted him effortlessly and carried him quickly to a waiting van. In seconds he was forced inside.
DD saw a man waiting in the back. The man forced him to sit while a bag was shoved over his head. The van took off rapidly.
The speed of the kidnap shocked and surprised him. DD flicked his tongue around his mouth and started to yell. A massive blow to the side of his head rocked his body to the floor where he lay. A man tied his hands together behind his back. It made it very awkward to sit up while the van was moving at such a high speed but eventually he managed to squat on the floor without receiving any more blows.
‘Hello’ DD ventured, cringing in readiness for the next strike. ‘Hello, I just want to talk?’
He should have known better he thought as the next blow sent him crashing back. For half an hour he sat, tensing himself against the turns and changes in speed of the van. Eventually they ascended a ramp and soon he felt a rocking motion as if they were on a boat. The van was stationary because the engine wasn’t running. He stayed where he was, feeling very weak and powerless. From the small conversations around him he thought there were at least two men in the front with the driver and one man in the back with him. He didn’t have much hope about his chances for escape.
At last his training took over and he tried to determine the general direction they were going. Thoughts of an old Hitchcock movie flitted through his memory. The victim listened to various sounds along the route, such as the chimes of a particular clock and had been able to retrace his route by remembering when they occurred.
DD felt the right side of his face becoming more painful as the bruise swelled. He guessed they were on the boat for around twenty minutes. Then he heard the sound of the engine starting. The van slowly moved off and DD could feel it descending a short slope, presumably the ramp as it came off the ferry.
The van continued for thirty minutes or so before it stopped and the engine was turned off. A few seconds later the back doors were pulled open and he was brought out into semi-darkness. He was escorted by one man on each arm through a door and into a room.
He was made to stand with his legs apart and arms stretched wide while he was searched by an expert. His watch, mobile, belt, wallet and pocket contents and rucksack were taken from him. He was pushed roughly into a chair. Someone grabbed his arms and tied them to the sides and his ankles were tied to the legs.
DD’s heartbeat started to trip hammer. He wasn’t panicking just yet but he guessed what was coming. He remembered the sick feeling he had had during training when he was the centre of a mock interrogation. Though he knew it wasn’t for real then, he still couldn’t stop the sweating and the fear.
The bag was removed from his head. He blinked in the harsh light from two bare bulbs hanging from the rafters of the barn. There were two men in the room. One sat opposite behind a metal desk and another stood a few feet away facing him. There were puddles of water on the bare stone floor.
The man behind the desk cleared his throat. He was not wearing a balaclava and DD feared the worst. If he could see his face he could identify him later. DD knew that he couldn’t be allowed to leave the building alive. Now was the time he reminded himself, to follow the lessons he had been taught. Nothing else but his own wit and cunning could possibly get him out of this predicament. A grim thought flashed through his head that he had already broken one of the first rules he had ever been taught - always tell the executive before going anywhere. He deserved his fate he thought grimly.
‘Your name?’ the man behind the desk enquired. He had a sharp hooked nose and deep powerful voice. He could be middle-European, or even Eastern.
DD’s throat was dry and his mouth felt like the Gobi desert. ‘I’m Daniel Davies. People call me DD. Look, I don’t know what I’m doing here. You’ve got the wrong guy…’ DD babbled on until he was stopped by the man behind the desk.
‘Just answer the question I ask. I don’t need anything more than that. If you do that you will not be harmed. Do you understand?’
‘Yes, yes’ responded the frightened DD. ‘But I shouldn’t be here. If its money you want…’
DD felt something like a sledgehammer strike him in the stomach. He shut up straight away. The man who delivered the blow stood back and DD was mildly surprised to see he carried nothing in his hand. If he can do that to me just with his fist what would he be like with a baseball bat, thought DD. Then the pain kicked in and he doubled over, retching. When he had finished the man behind the desk began again as if nothing had happened.
‘Tell me what you were doing on the street.’
DD thought furiously. It would be obvious to them what he was doing since they had his rucksack and all his Wi-Fi detection hardware. During training DD was taught that it was OK to let the opposition know what they knew already. The trick was to find a story that would provide them with the facts yet hide the true purpose of his reconnaissance.
‘Snooping on Wi-Fi networks.’ DD decided to follow the man’s advice and to only answer the question he was asked.
The man appeared to accept this answer. ‘Why were you doing that?’
‘Because it’s what I do. I’m a bit of a computer hacker. I do this stuff all the time - it’s a hobby.’ DD lurched back with the force of the blow.
It looked like they weren’t going to accept his story.
Chapter 17
Sean checked his mobile - it was Lomax. ‘Yep’.
‘DD has been taken outside the offices of Advanced Marine Agency in Newport. I’ve got him in sight now and I’m following the van they used. Two men lifted him straight off the street.’
‘Where are you headed?’ asked Sean.
‘West on 195.’
‘Did he have his mobile with him?’ Sean enquired.
‘Don’t know, the silly bastard wasn’t answering. But I know what you’re thinking. As soon as I stop I’ll do a check through GPRS.’ Each of their mobiles had additional circuitry which transmitted its location once a special encrypted request was sent to it.
‘How come he was on the street - what was he doing, shopping?’ asked Sean.
‘It looked like he was carrying an MP3 player and listening to music, b
ut I think he was checking out AMA’s Wi-Fi network.’
‘Hmm.’ Sean didn’t know quite what to say. ‘Do you know anything about the company?’
‘Only what the kid told me. London traced some of Langham’s contacts to AMA. Then DD just took off from the safe house and drove to their offices.’
‘Well look after the kid - we can’t afford to lose him’ said Sean.
‘Just wait until I catch up with the bugger. If there’s anything left of him, I’ll bloody well finish him off’ said Lomax crossly.
Sean grinned. ‘You’ll have to catch him first.’
Lomax took out a large scale map of the area and unfolded it on the passenger seat. He keyed a pin number into his mobile and navigated the tracking menu, selecting the locate option. Keying in DD’s mobile number, he waited while his mobile sent a request to DD’s phone for a location report. Even if DD’s phone was switched off the set was designed to respond to this request. Three minutes later Lomax’s phone vibrated with the arrival of a text. There were no words or explanation, just two strings of eight digits representing the grid reference location of DD’s phone. Lomax peered over his map and worked out the exact spot. It was in the middle of the Vineyard Sound showing DD’s phone was on the Ferry.
The crossing was uneventful and on the other side Lomax went through the location routine again to get another fix. Thirty minutes later he made another location fix and noted that the phone had stopped moving.
Lomax drove half a mile beyond the coordinates and stopped the car. According to his calculations the building where DD was being held was an abandoned farmhouse. There were no other buildings nearby except some outhouses.
He made his way carefully on foot towards the nearest outbuilding and looked around slowly. Squatting on his haunches he listened intently. There could be no doubt where DD was - the unmistakable sound of yelling emanated from an outhouse to his right. Lomax had heard those sounds many times before as some poor human soul was being tortured for information, or sometimes just for sadistic pleasure. Carefully picking his way around the back of the building he looked for a window or another entrance.
Silent Warpath (Sean Quinlan Book 1) Page 14