Hunter Killer

by Geoffrey Jenkins

  radio and television station in the world.'

  Tap-tap. Tap-tap. The DNI let my words fall dead. Peace stared into his brandy.

  I was conscious of Mam'zelle Adele's eyes on me.

  Then the DNI looked up and hooked his thumb into the eyesocket of the fossil. He said, MKG goes alone. No publicity. You, John, and Geoffrey, and Mam'zelle Adele—

  apart from a handful of experts—will be the only people present at the launch.'

  44

  Sirius's send-off from Cape Kennedy with the two American moon astronauts aboard had been one of the most spectacular shows the world had seen to date. Now the DNI was talking of a secret launch Of the Vice-President with a handful of men and one woman!

  You're talking in riddles,' I said shortly.

  Peace inclined his head slightly towards the DNI as if he, master-brainwasher that he was, should explain. The measure of rapport between them was plain to see.

  You see,' began the DNI, MKG is a Navy man . .

  I realized—the sea The DNI had moulded the great new Royal Navy with Peace as its star ; MKG was the Navygraduated supreme technocrat of the space age. The common bond which held them together was the sea.

  Man is the sea,' the pedantic voice said softly. He tapped

  the fossil skull. This creature was the remote ancestor of Old Fourlegs, the coelacanth fish that science asserted had been extinct in these very waters of Limuria for millions of years. Today the coelacanth still swims among the drowned peaks of Limuria. Man came from the sea. He must find his salvation again—in the sea. The ultimate weapon in his hand must be—from the sea.'

  Peace ,saw what I was thinking. SNAP was to power the ultimate weapon.'

  That is what MKG and his team had been working on,'

  observed the DNI. The ultimate weapon. It was to be fired from the sea.'

  ' And,' I said slowly. Congress threw it out.'

  There was a rasp in his voice. The Pentagon has a Military Liaison Committee which works with the Atomic Energy Commission. They were all for it. But it was the Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic Energy, drawn from the Senate and the House, which put paid to it. They, like their experts, were blinded by the moon landing. They hold the purse-strings. It wasn't Congress, but this joint committee which killed it. They threw away the ultimate weapon which MKG and his team had developed in favour of a modified Sirius rocket. SNAP-a small, magnificently ingenious machine, was to have provided the power for the new weapon. The power plant was the one thing in which American genius had not quite succeeded. SNAP, the Briton, was to be married to the American, Little Bear'

  Little Bear!'

  The DNI smiled thinly. Yes, that's its name—Little Bear. You would have thought the Americans would have learned from their past experience over the nuclear submarine and

  45

  the Polaris missile, both of which in a previous epoch nearly underwent the same fate as Little Bear. The most underrated and under-publicized breakthrough in the whole history of modern armaments was the Polaris missile. The Americans, for all their publicity-consciousness, did it less than justice. The first crude Polaris, fired from a submarine submerged hundreds of feet down, introduced a completely new concept into war.' The voice became schoolmasterish. Up

  to then, all war had been a battle of refinements. But Polaris was the untraceable missile fired from an untraceable source, a submerged submarine, a minute pinpoint in the ocean deeps beyond the power of any tracking device to

  locate! Polaris was crude, but the concept was right.'

  Crude!' I exclaimed. Jesus Christ!' I gulped down my brandy.

  I don't mean the weapon itself,' went on the DNI. There were fantastic refinements of guidance, pioneer work on

  solid fuel, blast-off in the confined space of a sub's hull—I mean the principle was crude. Polaris was dependent on extraneous factors: the vulnerability and complexity of the submarine, the human factor of the men in her—no, the

  concept needed simplifying to be fully effective.'

  The Sirius rocket—' I began.

  The DNI picked up his punch and tiny hammer and inched it round a sliver of bone.

  Tap-tap. Tap-tap. It was as inexorable as Chinese watertorture. The DNI became more emphatic. ' Sirius, a liquid-fuelled rocket, put two men on the moon. It is useless for anything else. It has no strategic concept. Tactical, yes. But it is simply an old artillery-piece, super-refined.'

  I looked at Peace as the DNI returned to his tapping. Peace said, About two years ago we—that is, the sNaP

  team—evolved what we considered a first-class miniaturized

  power plant for missiles. I naturally informed the DNI. I then went to Washington where I met MKG for the first time'

  I knew Geoffrey Peace. That would be fertile soil for a

  friendship.'

  He smiled, easing the tension, and Adele flicked a grateful look at me.

  When MKG heard about SNAP, he indicated that they themselves were working on an exciting new weapon.'

  I, too, met MKG in the United States—a very remarkable man,' said the DNI. At our first meeting I had the temerity to suggest that Polaris—the new Polaris as I conceived it—would rule the world. With me, it was purely an idea, but MKG 46

  revealed that he and his team were, in fact, working in a

  practical way on just such an ultimate weapon. I offered them SNAP. From that 'moment there was no question but that we would go along with them. You know, the President

  has delegated so much of his authority in all things atomic to MKG—and rightly so—that the say-so is virtually his in the maze of committees clustered round all nuclear projects.'

  Except,' Peace put in, in the Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic Energy.'

  The DNI frowned and went on, MKG'S missile had only a code number, but we three, `MKG, Geoffrey and I, decided to keep the generic name Polaris. So we called the new weapon Little Bear, for Polaris, the Pole Star, is the brightest star of Ursa Minor, the Little Bear constellation.' He smiled with grim satisfaction. Little Bear is all hell.'

  I felt the DNI had been carried away. I shrugged. Little Bear is still only a refined Polaris, fired from a nuclear submarine.'

  It is not fired from a submarine,' he replied. ' Little Bear is completely self-contained. It is like a big submersible mine

  —the missile proper fits inside a casing. It is sunk hundreds of feet beneath the sea and is virtually untraceable, since its radio antenna sticks up only a foot or two. It is fired by

  ultra long-wave radio from thousands of miles away. Like

  Polaris, though, a shot of compressed air lifts it to the surface, after which the solid-fuel motor takes over.'

  The ultimate weapon—almost,' I conceded. But it's still

  not wholly independent.'

  Little Bear's inertial guidance system is pre-set on its target,' continued the DNI. Once the missile is down, it cannot be changed until the whole thing is brought to the

  surface again. It's enough, though—Little Bear is fully independent of gantries, crews, tracker teams and all the complicated paraphernalia of the Sirius moon-rocket. It guides itself like the old Polaris. Little Bear is compact, reliable—a killer in the truest sense.'

  The Prime Minister promised full British support for the Little Bear project,' said Peace. You can see what it means to the Navy. It puts us up alongside the Americans.'

  Both of you talk as if Little Bear were a fact. I thought

  you said Little Bear was killed ; dead, finished!' I pointed out.

  The DNI started his unnerving tapping again. Mam'zelle Adele's long fingers tattooed on Nossi Be's head in sympathy. Hers looked like the long fingers of an artist, or a pianist. Where did she fit into this strange project?

  47

  No,' replied the DNI. On paper, Little Bear is finished. But MKG believes, as we do, that Little Bear is the ultimate . weapon which puts the West way out ahead. Officially, Little bear cannot be revived. Bu
t MKG, to prove its worth, will rocket to Santa Fe in Little Bear.'

  Think,' added Mam'zelle Adele, the Vice-President of

  the United States.'

  The nation's darling,' said Peace.

  What about Cape Kennedy . . . I started to say..

  ,

  How?' asked the DNI. How could he use the facilities there for a project which has been axed?'

  I shook my head.

  Peace went on. ' Little Bear was practically complete when

  the axe fell. It was tested in secret. There are just a few Little Bear prototypes in existence. The one which MKG will use to Santa Fe will be readied by a small team—four or five American experts—under Dr Boz Blair, another genius from

  the Naval Research Laboratory at Anacostia, who is coming

  to Limuria for the launch. From our side, it will be us and Captain Trevor-Davis, the top British missileman who was

  with Geoffrey in Washington on the SNAP project. Our mission is, simply, to get MKG safely into space. The American experts will come out in a freighter carrying the missile, and MKG in the Navy's latest sub, U.S.N. Willowtrack.' My mind went back to the intruder. With so many people in

  the know, it is easy to see why the CIA became suspicious.'

  The DNI looked uneasy, but retorted, ' No one could undertake a project of this magnitude without outside help. The U.S. Navy's in the know because they appreciate, as we do, the enormous implications of this ultimate of weapons. The

  Navy was quite willing, for the sake of a man of MKG's status and prestige, to detach a nuclear sub to bring him to Limuria. The Navy also feels pretty sore about the Sirius rocket—

  you must realize how bitter inter-Service rivalries are in the United States. The Air Force is now completely cock-a-hoop

  about Sirius and billions are coming its way for future moonshots. The Navy is solid behind MKG.' The Vice-President isn't only a man, he's a vital cog in

  the American constitutional system,' I objected. I don't see a Vice-President simply chucking everything overboard in order to be shot off secretly into space. Any man who acted so irresponsibly wouldn't be fit to hold the office of VicePresident.'

  It was a big decision to take,' replied the DNI thoughtfully, and it could not have been done without the fullunofficial—endorsement of the President. The President, like 48

  MKG and ourselves, appreciates the value of Little Bear. America will be supreme in a military sense for at least a

  decade by virtue of Little Bear. The President is taking a

  calculated risk. He's deputed Willowtrack with an S special Gold Crew to bring MKG out. Her skipper is Revs Tyler, and you know what that means.

  Revs Tyler was the man who rose to fame and earned his

  nickname by taking a nuclear sub 1,000 feet under the ice of the South Pole to prove to the sceptics that a deep-water

  channel existed between the two halves of the Antartic continent, cut by a seasonal warm current. Tyler made the run at full speed, dodging ice projections the size of a skyscraper at 40 knots, knowing that one touch would have sent him and his crew to instant death. More revolutions, he demanded throughout this amazing voyage, always more revs.

  ' Is Revs in on the secret too?' I asked.

  Up to a point only,' replied Peace. He and his crew naturally know they have the Vice-President aboard, but they believe he is to conduct firing tests on a new secret missile. After all, there's nothing unusual in that, except that it's so far away from home. Don't forget, either, that MKG'S a trained astronaut.'

  •

  There's a sword of Damocles over this whole mission,'

  said the DNI gravely. It's something you must not lose sight of.'I watched Peace's mouth go taut as the DNI said it and the cruel, ruthless lines assert themselves. Little Bear was not only a personal matter with him ; the future of the new Royal Navy depended on it.

  Willowtrack has orders to make the voyage submerged,'

  went on the DNI. But both the President and MKG were adamant that there should be a daily signal from Willow- track to the White House in code.' He smiled slightly. I suggested twilight every evening—as the U-boats used to do, when the light makes it the most difficult time of day to spot a sub on the surface.'

  A nuclear sub doesn't have to surface,' I said.

  I know, I know,' he replied impatiently. But it is a good

  time. Willowtrack will simply stick up a radio antenna and signal the White House. In order to preserve maximum security, no other signals or reception will be permitted. And if Revs Tyler's in command, he'll keep to that—he won't even listen to a newscast.'

  Peace's face was bleak. I wanted full radio silence.'

  The DNI went on: If, for any reason whatever in the

  intricate complex of the American political system, it is

  49

  necessary for MKG to return to the United States, the mission will be called off. MKG'S first duty is to the American nation. not to Little Bear, the Royal Navy, or ourselves.' He turner on Peace, his voice very quiet. Do I make myself clear?'

  Peace said nothing.

  The DNI picked up the hammer and punch.

  Tap-tap.

  The prim voice was in deadly earnest. Unless I have a categorical undertaking from you, Geoffrey, the Little Bear mission is off—now.'

  Peace looked down at his hands, the hands which had sent so many men to their deaths, turned the palms inwards and the

  knuckles outwards again, a strange, sinister gesture. He nodded. Adele's face was pale. Like me, she realized what it must

  have cost Peace to put a halter and bridle on a mission so

  close to his heart.

  The DNI went on quickly, trying to obliterate the tension. The original plan called for Geoffrey to go to St Brandon in H.M.S. Devastation, our newest nuclear sub, and rendezvous there with Willowtrack and MKG. The two subs would then go to a remote island called Love-Apple Crossing. Willow-track would receive her onward briefing at St Brandon. Tyler doesn't know where the test-fire is scheduled from. As an additional security measure, we chartered a French freighter called the Semittanté, trading to these waters, to carry Little Bear. Boz Blair and the scientists are signed on as ordinary members of Semittantes crew.'

  Semittanté-that was the name of one of Napoleon's frigates,' Mam'zelle Adele exclaimed.

  Peace smiled for the first time. Not this Semittanté-just an old battered tramp grown rusty humping guano and

  coconuts from Limuria to whoever wants them anywhere in the world.'

  I said to Peace, ' I wondered why you took Bellatrix past LoveApple Crossing on our way to the Seychelles.'

  Mam'zelle Adele smiled her strange smile. Another strange name !'

  Love-Apple Crossing is a speck on the map (and most maps of Limuria are old) about 50 miles east of the beautiful twin island of Agalega, which is situated almost exactly halfway between St Brandon and the Seychelles. From Mahe it was. about 400 miles. East again of Love-Apple Crossing is a great collection of shoals and shallow banks, over 10,000 square

  miles each in extent, where the ancient peaks of Limuria project above the sea.

  50

  You say, original plan—what is the new one?' I asked. Peace glanced across at the DNI. The news of the firing of Little Bear has leaked out.'

  The DNI added quickly, À partial leak only.'

  I looked from one to the other. The CIA man at the coffin?'

  It proved what we suspected,' said the DNI, and it doesn't make us any easier in our minds. Somebody in the United

  States has been asking what MKG is up to. The President considered that it would be quite safe for him to be missing from the public scene on the grounds that he was carrying

  out secret work. He's a bachelor, as you know, so we don't

  have to worry about home security. But how would your mind work, if you were in the CIA or connected with it, or had confided in it, if suddenly both MKG and Peace were missing?'

&n
bsp; ` Where Peace was, MKG might be,' I replied.

  We made no secret about Geoffrey coming to the Seychelles—after all, it's the biggest missile launch site outside the United States. You don't have to be a genius to work out that MKG might be here, too—if you had the right clue to start with. Therefore,' the DNI went on quickly, I—we--had to convince the world that Geoffrey Peace was dead. All suspicions had to be stifled. They had to see him go to his grave. Hence the funeral build-up.'

  Remember that stethoscope,' I said. ` The CIA wasn't one hundred per cent convinced. I'm glad I didn't give him time enough to find out you were alive in the coffin, Geoffrey.'

  Peace said warmly, We owe you a big debt of gratitude for that, John. I always could count on you in a tough spot.'

  It worries me that he went free,' said the DNI. Maybe we should change the plan again

  ' Not now,' broke in Peace. ' John, we want your navigational skill.'

  How?' I asked.

  I've said, the original plan was for Willowtrack and Devastation to meet at St Brandon and go together to the firingpoint at Love-Apple Crossing. Actually, it's not the island itself, but a spot at sea near by. Using a nuclear sub's gadgets, you can't go wrong in pinpointing a minute spot like that.

  Now we've had to change all that. We feel certain that any unusual movement of subs in these waters is being watched. Love-Apple Crossing is right in the middle of the missile firing-range. Nuclear subs give off electrical emissions. T w o a n d t w o m a k e — '

  Little Bear,' said Mam'zelle Adele. 51

  ` The plan for the two subs to rendezvous at St Brandon

  still stands,' said the DNI, taking up Peace's explanation. Willowtrack's daily sunset signal is to and from the White House only. It's at a fixed time and as brief as they can make it, for obvious reasons. But we've decided to change the whole plan from the St Brandon rendezvous onwards.

  ' You, John, will take Bellatrix to St Brandon. Geoffrey goes to Devastation. Bob Peters, Devastation's Number One, is in the plot, and the officers know no more than that Peace is not dead but involved in some hush-hush British-American experimental missile-firing project. They're all top men, they won't talk. Little Bear is being carried in Semittanth under the guise of a new coconut-oil plant for the islands.'