Blindfold Game

by Dana Stabenow

  She swallowed hard and sat down, and was instantly aware of the feeling of relief emanating from the other officers. The U.S. Coast Guard was the closest thing the U.S. military had to an egalitarian service, but when all was said and done, Hugh was right. They wanted to be led. With that expectation came the added burden of the appearance of leadership.

  “You would have woke me up if communications had come back on line,” she said to Ops, “so I’m guessing it hasn’t.”

  He shook his head. “No, ma’am. We finally got Sparks up the mast to the communications array. The sat dish is literally in pieces, it’s going to have to be replaced. The antennas-you’d think they’d been aiming straight for them, because they’re wrecked, too. We managed to raise a fishing vessel south of St. George on the VHF, but we lost ‘em again before we could yell for help. And,” he said, looking at Hugh, “someone made the suggestion that it might not be wise to broadcast our location over a channel everyone in the Bering Sea stands by on.”

  Which would very probably include the Star of Bali. “Good point. How are the wounded?”

  “Maintaining. Doc’s shot them full of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories and I forget what else, and he says they should hold until we get to port. Well.” He looked at her. “Depending.”

  “Depending,” she said, nodding. She didn’t ask about the helo because there was no way they could have received word. She wondered if the aviators had been able to raise anyone on their radios before they reached Cape Navarin. If they had reached Cape Navarin. “What about damage to the ship other than the fatal injuries to communications?”

  “The portside small boat got torn up. We’re patching it up.”

  “EO?”

  Nate McDonald pushed his glasses up his nose and blinked owlishly at Sara. “The generators and the engines are good for another thousand miles, if we need them, ma’am. Nothing came anywhere near them.”

  Lucky for the pirates, Sara thought, because if anything had happened to the engines or the EO’s best beloved Caterpillar generators, the EO would have swum to the Agafia under his own steam and slit all their throats. Which reminded her. “How is Ryan holding up?”

  “He said fine, until the Agafia dropped out of range of the handhelds.”

  “No working radios on board the Agafia, I suppose.”

  “They were all destroyed when she was taken.”

  “Pretty thorough, our pirates.” Yes, ma am.

  She turned back to McDonald. “How are we on fuel?”

  “We’ve got enough to get us to Melbourne and back, Captain.”

  “Just get us to Seward, EO.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Wooster came through the door with a plate so overloaded it was dripping sausage gravy all around the edge. He set it down hastily in front of her, and produced flatware and a handful of napkins. “Be careful, ma’am, it’s hot.”

  “Thanks, Wooster.”

  He beamed. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Thanks, Wooster,” Ops said. “Dismissed, and close the door behind you, please.”

  “Aye aye, sir.”

  Wooster left the room, the door closing gently behind him.

  “Where are we?” Sara said, tucking in.

  “Thirty miles west of Unimak,” Ops said.

  “We made good time, and against the wind, too,” Sara said. “Well done, EO. Given even a little luck, we just might catch them.”

  “We’re about due for some luck,” Ops said.

  “Hear, hear.”

  “What do we do if we do catch them, ma’am?” This from Ensign Ostlund, a serious young man who would go on to flight school in June, if they all survived. A dedicated planner, Ostlund never made a move without knowing what was going to happen next.

  “I don’t know,” Sara said. “Let’s discuss that, shall we?” She gestured with her fork. “To recap. Mr. Rincon seems to think they’re carrying a mobile missile launcher on board, armed with a chemical warhead. How certain are we that this is the case, Mr. Rincon?”

  Hugh, seated at the foot of the table, said, “I’d give my right hand if I could show you statements from witnesses to the bomb being built and loaded on board. It’s a gut thing, Captain, based on circumstantial evidence and eyewitness accounts.” Before the chief could say anything he added, “Which are not always reliable, I admit, but taken all together, plus the attack by the Agafia, I find pretty convincing. That attack was a deliberate feint, designed to draw attention away from the Star of Bali and their real mission.”

  Sara looked around the table and didn’t see a lot of skepticism, which surprised her. After the boarding of the Agafia and the big zero they had found there, she had expected to have to lean on her officers to listen to Hugh ever again. So far as she could tell, they weren’t even thinking about how Hugh Rincon and Sara Lange were husband and wife, and that in and of itself was a minor miracle. It was amazing how being shot at cleared your head of extraneous detail.

  “Since our gunnery officer is on detached duty at present, Mr. Rincon, tell us about Scud missiles in general, and anything you know about this one in particular.”

  He stood up, swayed a little with the motion of the ship, and went to the dry board. “The original Scud, the R-17, was based on the V-2 rocket built by German scientists and captured by the Russian army at the end of World War II. It’s simple, reliable, and easily mass-produced. They call it the AK-47 of the missile world. Even the Russians don’t know how many they built, and nobody knows how many were built by others ripping off the original design. The original Scud and subsequent models are known to have been exported to Afghanistan, Hungary, Romania, Vietnam, Egypt, Iran, Iraq-” He stopped. “Actually, it’d probably take less time to list the countries the Russians haven’t sold Scuds to.

  “Specifically, a Scud’s purpose is to bombard enemy positions, staging areas, and cities, anywhere the enemy is grouped together into a big enough target. The Scud isn’t exactly a precision instrument, but then, with a maximum seventy-kiloton nuclear warhead, it doesn’t have to be.”

  “We’re not talking about a nuclear warhead in this case, however, Mr. Rincon.”

  “No. I believe this Scud is equipped with a quantity of cesium-137, a radioactive isotope used in radiology for medical and industrial purposes. Packed into the warhead with some dynamite, upon detonation it will disperse and cause a widespread epidemic of radiation poisoning. It’s got a half-life of thirty years. Yes, it will kill you. Eventually.”

  “How much did these terrorists of yours buy, Mr. Rincon?”

  “Fifty kilos.”

  Ops carried the one and blurted out, “Jesus Christ! That’s like a hundred and ten pounds!”

  “Yes. Which leaves room in the warhead for eighteen hundred pounds of dynamite.”

  “There are two hundred and forty thousand people in Anchorage,” Sara said into the stunned silence. “Also Elmendorf Air Force Base, and Fort Richardson. Also the port of Anchorage, through which is shipped most of what the state of Alaska eats, wears, and drives, which would include Eielson Air Force Base outside Fairbanks and our own base in Kodiak.”

  She let that sink in, and deliberately met Chief Mark Edelen’s frowning gaze. “I believe Mr. Rincon is right in his assessment of this situation. I believe that the Star of Bali is carrying a group of terrorists armed with a Scud missile armed with a WMD, and that their target is Anchorage.”

  Ostlund stirred. “The master told us that their next port of call is Seward, Alaska.”

  “Which is less than a hundred air miles from Anchorage. Mr. Rincon says the Scud’s range is just under two hundred miles. All they have to do is put it into the air over Anchorage and light it off.”

  “Captain,” Chief Edelen said respectfully but firmly, “I still say we should head for Dutch Harbor. These people on board the Agafia almost took out our entire bridge crew. They did take out all our comm systems. I doubt that the ones on board the Star of Bali will be less well armed. We don’t help their
prospective target by getting ourselves killed.”

  “Noted, Chief. Anybody else got anything to add?”

  Ostlund looked around the table. “XO?”

  “Yes?”

  “Are we the only ones who know?”

  Sara looked at Hugh. He raised his shoulders and spread his hands. “Yes, Ensign. I believe we are.”

  Ostlund swallowed hard. “Then we have to stop them.”

  Sara took a deep breath, let it out. “Agreed.”

  The chief stirred, opened his mouth, and closed it again.

  “All right,” she said, pushing back from the table and getting to her feet. They followed suit. “I want every ounce of speed you can get out of the engines, EG*. Ops, keep working on getting us some way to talk to shore over a secure line. I would just love to be able to call up an F-15 out of Elmendorf and paint a target on these guys. Failing that, Mr. Ostlund, we’re minus our helo and our law enforcement officer, not to mention our gunnery officer. We’re going to need a plan if we decide to board her. You up for that?”

  “You bet I am, ma’am.”

  “Then get on it. Dismissed, gentlemen. Suppo? Hold up a minute.”

  Warrant officer George Kale said, “Ma’am.”

  “Give us a minute, will you, Mr. Rincon?” Sara said.

  He nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

  “What have you done with the captain, and Seaman Razo?”

  He shifted uncomfortably. Pappy Kale didn’t talk a lot. “We cleaned out one of the freezers. Put them in there in plastic bags.”

  She nodded. “How’s the crew doing?”

  The supply officer, perhaps because of his habitual silence, heard more from and about the crew than the rest of the officers put together. He met her eyes steadily. “They’re okay, ma’am. They’re pretty shook up, but they’re behind you. They know what happened to the captain and Seaman Razo, they want these guys, and they’re ready to do whatever it takes to make that happen. You can count on them, ma’am.”

  JANUARY

  SEWARD

  “HI,” LILAH SAID.

  “Hey,” Kyle said. “I was just going to call. How are the kids?”

  “Ask them yourself.” Lilah put first Gloria and then Eli on the phone with their father. They told him all about the sea otter they had seen out the window of their hotel room every morning.

  “How are you, babe?” Kyle said when Lilah got back on the phone.

  “Bored. Lonely. Horny.”

  He laughed. “I miss you, too.”

  “I’m waiting for the but.”

  Kyle took a deep breath, let it out. “Sara’s cutter is missing.” His wife said nothing. “Lilah?”

  “How can a two-hundred-and-eighty-four-foot Coast Guard cutter go missing?”

  “It’s been out of communications with District for over a full day now.”

  “Did it sink?”

  “They don’t know.”

  They listened to each other think for a while. “Does Sara’s missing cutter have anything to do with why we’re here instead of there?” Kyle took longer to answer this time. “Kyle?”

  “I don’t know for sure,” Kyle said. “But I’m afraid so. Hugh-”

  “Hugh’s here?”

  “No. He’s not here.” Kyle lent a slight emphasis to the last word.

  “Oh,” Lilah said on a note of discovery. “Oh no, Kyle, no.”

  “Yeah,” Kyle said. “Stay there for a few more days, okay, honey?”

  “We’ll stay here,” Lilah said.

  She hung up and stared out the window at Resurrection Bay, a deep fjord walled in by steep, snow-covered mountains. She was not blind to the beauty, but she couldn’t help but wonder what lay buried beneath its wind-whipped surface.

  She very much hoped that Kyle’s two best friends weren’t.

  The phone rang and she snatched it up, hoping it was her reprieve from purgatory. “Kyle?”

  No, instead it was a preternaturally perky young woman who chirped brightly, “No, ma’am, this is Kenai Fjords Tours. Is this Mrs. Lilah Chase?”

  “It is,” Lilah said, voice dull with disappointment.

  “We’re calling to confirm your Resurrection Bay excursion, one adult, two children, departing at noon on January nineteenth.”

  Four interminable days from now. “Yes, that is correct.”

  “You’ll want to check in at our office down in the marina half an hour prior to departure. A hot lunch will be included with your tour.”

  “Yes, I know. We’ve sailed with you before.” Twice in the past week, she thought. Stuck here much longer and they’d have to start repeating cruises.

  “That’s fine, then, ma’am, thank you so much, and we’ll look forward to seeing you on the nineteenth.”

  She replaced the receiver and fought a sudden and irrational up-welling of tears. “Come on, kids, let’s hit the beach.”

  JANUARY 19 GULF OF ALASKA

  ON BOARD THE STAR OF BALI

  THEY WERE UNDER WAY again. From overheard conversations they deduced that the fuel filters on the freighter’s one engine had clogged up, leaving them adrift for almost forty-eight hours. Fang bore a grudging respect for Smith, who had maintained his own calm and order among the men during that time.

  But in truth there had been little danger of the Star of Bali’s crew calling anyone for help. In the schedule-driven world of maritime shipping all that mattered was getting the goods to market on time. The last thing any shipowner wanted was a boarding by the U.S. Coast Guard, which would cause significant delay and who knew how many citations for safety and security violations requiring expensive legal action later on. The hired hands that captained most oceangoing vessels nowadays were well aware of this, and they would do everything in their power to avoid the official attention of authorities on shore.

  Fang listened to the engine, which it seemed to him was still running a little rougher than it had before it quit. It was running, however, which was preferable to the alternative. The two days adrift had not been enjoyable, with the ship at the mercy of the heavy seas.

  Fang turned his head to see that Smith was watching the digital readout on his GPS. Everyone else was watching him.

  “How long?” Fang said, voicing the thought that was on everyone’s mind.

  “Soon now.”

  Fang looked around at the men, swinging in hammocks, huddled in sleeping bags. They’d run out of fuel for the stove and the lanterns the night before. This morning they’d eaten dry noodles for breakfast. Everyone looked as cold as he felt. He wondered how well everyone would be moving when Smith finally set the plan in motion. Although one benefit of the cold was that the smell was much less noticeable.

  He wondered, not for the first time, what they were doing here, and rued, perhaps for the last time, the greed that had led him to this place.

  Smith said something. Fang stared at him, uncomprehending.

  “One hour,” Smith repeated.

  “One hour till what?”

  “We take the ship,” Smith said, and held up the GPS. Fang took it and squinted at it. “Here,” Smith said, and pushed a button which lit up the display. “When we hit fifty-nine degrees forty minutes north latitude, we take the ship. If we wait any longer, they’ll call for the pilot.”

  “Pilot?” one of Smith’s men said.

  “Every ship needs a pilot to get them into port. Someone who knows the local waters.” To Fang he said, “Tell your men to get ready.”

  Fang was still squinting at the GPS. Fifty-nine degrees thirty minutes latitude, one hundred forty-nine degrees and thirty minutes longitude. He tried to imagine the nearest port to that location and came up with Anchorage, Alaska. What the hell were they doing here?

  “Get ready,” Smith said, more sharply this time, holding his hand out.

  Fang gave him the GPS and went to get his men suited up.

  GULF OF ALASKA

  ON BOARD THE SOJOURNER TRUTH

  “BEST SPEED CA
H7 BE more than twelve knots, XO,” Ostlund said. “She’s only got one engine. We’ve got six knots on her.” The Sojourner Truth’s top speed was eighteen knots.

  “We’ve lost her,” Chief Edelen said.

  Sara ignored him. “What’s our location, Tommy?”

  “South-southwest of Rugged Island, XO.”

  “Mr. Rincon?”

  Hugh was leaning over Tommy’s shoulder, staring intently at the readout on the Transas. “Pan up a little, Tommy, would you? Thanks.” He pointed. “Right here. What’s that?”

  Tommy pointed and clicked. “Caine’s Head.”

  “What are those, feet or meters?”

  “Feet.”

  “So the point’s a little under seven hundred feet high, and the mountain in back of it?”

  “Fifteen hundred.”

  Hugh stood up and looked at Sara. “They’ll want a straight shot right up the valley. My guess is they’ll light it off when they’ve cleared this point.”

  “Caine’s Head?”

  Hugh nodded.

  “EO?” Sara said.

  “We’re peddling as fast as we can, XO.”

  “Vessel in sight!”

  PO Barnette’s shout caused a surge toward the windows.

  It was indeed the Star of Bali, gaining on the southern end of Rugged Island.

  “Yeah,” Sara said, binoculars trained on the ship, “that’s our baby all right. Well done, everyone.”

  “I think she’s got engine problems, XO,” Barnette said, eyes still glued to his binoculars. “She’s barely making way.”

  “Mr. Ostlund, assemble your team.”

  “Aye aye, Captain.”

  When Hugh started to follow him Sara, said, “Hold up, Mr. Rincon. Anything from the Agafia, anyone?”

  “No, ma’am,” Ops said.

  “Pull one of the emergency VHF radios from the lifeboats and start trying to raise her.”

  “Those radios only have a reach of two miles, ma’am.”

  “I know, Ops, but she’ll be on our tail, and I want to know as soon as she’s within reach.” Yes, ma am.