The Good Spy by Jeffrey Layton

Author:Jeffrey Layton [Layton, Jeffrey]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2016-01-12T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 51

“Where is it?” asked Captain Borodin.

“Amidships, port, sir,” reported the sonar tech. “It’s close in—a few meters at most.”

Borodin took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He’d been on the edge for the last ten minutes.

Even in its degraded state, the Neva’s passive sonar detected the high-pitched whine of the ROV’s thrusters as it struggled on its return voyage to the submarine. The flooding current taxed its propulsion system.

Borodin faced the sonar watch stander.

“Is it still heading toward the bow?”

“Yes, sir. Coming up on it right now.”

“Xoróšij!” Good.

* * *

“Okay, what do you want me to do now?” asked Laura as she stared at the video display.

“Ascend three meters,” Yuri said.

It was 6:37 A.M. The ROV redeployed twenty minutes earlier. During a previous attempt, after modifying Little Mack, the camera had broadcast static only. It took over an hour to locate the corroded cable connector.

“Three meters—ten feet, okay.” Laura eased back on the joystick while keeping her eyes on the hazy video image of the underside of the Neva’s rounded bow.

“Better slow up,” Yuri warned as the tip of the bow approached.

“Right.” Laura backed off the control and Little Mack hovered.

“Can you bring it in a little closer?”

“I think so but the current’s still a problem.”

“You’re almost there.”

“I can see it.”

Laura maneuvered the ROV opposite torpedo tube five.

“That’s it, perfect!” Yuri said.

“I’m just about maxed out here with the current. I have to do it right now.”

“Go ahead.”

Laura rotated her right wrist and Little Mack crabbed into the current. Two seconds later, she backed off one thruster, letting the current swing the camera end of the ROV into alignment. She powered up all thrusters and Little Mack squirted into the torpedo tube.

“We’re in!” Laura shouted while backing off the power.

Little Mack hovered inside the opening of the 25.5-inch-diameter cylinder. The outer bow cover or shutter had sheared away from its mount. The torpedo tube’s muzzle door that normally would have sealed the tube from the sea had also disappeared.

Both Yuri and Laura stared at the video display. The camera and its supporting lights probed deep into the tube.

Laura commented, “I see him.”

A pair of black fins and dry suit–encased lower legs filled the camera’s view.

Yuri didn’t respond. He’d had several hours to prepare but remained distressed. Warrant Officer Viktor Skirski had been his diving partner and friend.

Laura faced Yuri. “What should I do?”

“Let me do this.”

Laura stood and stepped to the side, allowing Yuri to take her place.

“I want to see what happens if we push forward.” His right hand rested on the joystick.

“Let me help you,” Laura said. She placed her hand over his and rotated the joystick forward.

Little Mack crawled down the tube until the modified pipe frame guarding the camera lens was about a foot away from the right fin.

“I’ve got him,” he said.

Laura took her hand away.

Yuri added thrust and the camera slipped past the fin, riding up onto the leg. The lights above the camera scraped against the metallic lining of the tube.

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