The Faithful Spy by Jeffrey Layton

Author:Jeffrey Layton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2018-05-15T16:27:09+00:00

Chapter 46

“Up periscope depth,” ordered Captain Petrovich.

The watch officer echoed the command and ten seconds later the mast rose eight feet above the surface of the Yellow Sea.

Petrovich and the entire attack center team viewed the dark waters and even darker night sky. Four-foot-high swells rolled in from the northeast. Like the American Virginia class, the Novosibirsk employed photonics instead of optics. The high-definition video camera mounted to the periscope mast transmitted crisp images to an outsized flatscreen panel display mounted to a forward bulkhead.

“Switch to night vision, Captain?” asked the executive officer.

“Not yet.” Petrovich used a joystick hand control connected to his pedestal-mounted captain’s chair to rotate the camera lens to the port. After it traveled about thirty degrees of arc, smudges of light appeared in the video image. He next worked the focus control until the shore lights sparkled in crystal clarity. Petrovich swiveled in his chair to face the two observers who stood on the starboard side of his command station. “Well, gentlemen, there’s your target.”

“How far out are we now, sir?” Yuri asked as he took in the lights of Qingdao.

“Twenty-two kilometers.”

“Any chance we can come in a little closer?” Tumanov asked.

“No. We’ve been lucky so far—no submerged contacts and just routine commercial traffic on the surface.”

For the past six hours, Petrovich had followed an inbound container ship using the vessel’s noisy propeller to further mask the Novosibirsk’s miniscule sound print as it transited the shallow sea.

“The entire fleet must be docked by now,” Yuri said.

“That’s consistent with what Vladivostok reported.”

Yuri checked his wristwatch: 2157 hours. It was set to local time. “Sir, we should get underway now. We need all the dark we can get.”

“Agreed. You men head aft and prepare for separation at 2230 hours.”

Kirov and Tumanov left the attack center, heading aft with Tumanov in the lead.

When they entered a narrow passageway, Tumanov stopped and turned to face Yuri. “I sure wish he’d launch us closer in.”

“He’s being careful.”

“I know, but if we have problems inside the bay, twenty-two kilometers is a long way to get back here.”

“Yakov, just follow your training and you’ll be fine.”

“I understand, sir. But what really bothers me is our passengers.”

“What do you mean?”

Tumanov made a quick check of their surroundings. They were in a corridor that bypassed the reactor compartment. It was vacant. Most personnel chose not to linger in that section of the ship. “Have you noticed how guarded they are about their equipment?”

“It’s highly classified.”

“I know. But just the same, I find them standoffish. I think they’re hiding something.”

Yuri frowned. “They’re spooks—like me.”

Tumanov looked confused.

Yuri realized he used the English word. “They’re with the GRU. Spies, like me.”

Lieutenant Tumanov altered his stance. “Well, sir, with all due respect, I still believe they aren’t being upfront with either of us.” He reached into a pocket of his jumpsuit and produced a plastic item about the size of a credit card. Yuri recognized the dosimeter. Everyone aboard was required to carry one. It recorded radiation exposure. Both Yuri and Tumanov had similar cards clipped to the chest pockets of their jumpsuits.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.