Geoffrey Jenkins: A Ravel of Waters

Tideman's incredulity, backed by the authority of a naval officer, was shattering.

Kay broke the ensuing silence. Her tone said everything. ‘I have never seen so many guns or so many men as there are in the squadron. Group Condor alone must number five or six hundred. Peter, what you propose is totally and wholly impossible.' 'Even if you weren't imprisoned,' added Tideman.

I tried to muster my words calmly despite my excitement. 'Soon every ship will be engaged in refuelling,' I said. 'The fleet will, figuratively speaking, have its pants down. Never will it be more vulnerable. The ships will be surrounded by tens of thousands of hectolitres of highly explosive jellified fuel. Molot Command itself is nervous — no smoking even here aboard Jetwind, kilometres away. No seismic explosions allowed on Trolltunga, either.' 'What's in your mind, Peter?' asked Tideman.

'Molot anchorage is one gigantic, ready-to-detonate bomb. One match would do it.'

'You could escape that way if you had a kamikaze death-wish. But you'd go up in smoke, too,' answered Tideman.

Nevertheless, I thought I detected slightly less scepticism.

'Aboard the pinnace is the scientists' supply of explosive charges,' I went on. 'I intend seizing the pinnace. I will set the charges on a time fuse. I will direct the boat at the fleet. The charges will blow. Up will go the fuel — up will go the fleet.'

'J am not going to stand by and watch you commit suicide,’ protested Kay.

I smiled, despite my tension. 'The pinnace will be unmanned. I will aim her at the fleet by locking the tiller. A bull's-eye isn't called for. A target that size is too big to miss. A flash anywhere near the fuel container will do the trick.'

'It's a good idea, Peter,' said Tideman. 'But it remains only an idea — there are far too many practical steps in-between that it doesn't take account of. The principle is excellent, your logistics are non-existent.' 'What steps?' I guessed what was coming.

'Let us assume for the sake of argument that somehow you managed to escape from the sick-bay — past a guard with an automatic weapon, past another similarly armed on the bridge, past Grohman himself…'

Kay added, 'Grohman brought two extra men back with him from the fleet to reinforce those aboard Jetwind. That makes six guards plus himself.'

'You've got to get from Jetwind to the pinnace. How?' Tideman resumed. 'By boat? Their automatics would cut you and the boat in half before you got clear of the ship. Also, the pinnace is within range of the AK-47 rifles the new guards have — they have the power, even if the UZIs don't. Forget it, Peter.'

'I wasn't thinking of using a boat, and besides they wouldn't dare shoot because of the danger of an explosion.'

‘Please, Peter, this is just talking!' Kay said agitatedly. 'It's simply killing time. Listen to John's advice — forget it.'

I went on. 'I need you two to win control of the bridge for as long as it will take me to climb up to Jetwind's topgallant masts. We'll work out the precise time. Then — ' I addressed Tideman' -1 want you to fire the chicken button on the bridge and blast away Number Two top-gallant mast directly overhead.' 'Ring charges — the ultimate emergency!' he exclaimed.

'That's it,' I replied. 'The ultimate emergency. Those charges are meant to blow away Jetwind’s top-hamper if ever she went over on her beam-ends in a storm. I intend using them for another type of emergency.'

Kay looked horrified. 'And you — where will you be, Peter?'

'Inside the crow's nest — above the site of the charges. The detonations will project the mast and me clear of the ship — the same principle as a pilot's ejector seat. The way the ship's head is lying at present and the direction of the wind will pitch the mast towards the pinnace. The mast is hollow so it'll float for a while. I'll reach the pinnace from it — you know my plan from that point onwards.'

'You'll be killed!' protested Kay. 'The blast inside the confined space will kill you!'

'Self-destruct charges like that are precisely calibrated to do their job and their job only,' I answered. 'In this case, it's to chop off the mast at a given point and throw it clear. The force of the explosion will be directed outward, not inward where I will be. The structure of the crow's nest in itself will be an additional protection.'

'This is plain crazy!' went on Kay. 'I won't let you do it, Peter! No experiments were ever carried out to establish how far the masts would be thrown by the ring charges. It's designed purely as a last-throw emergency!' 'I'll have to take the risk, Kay.'

'I'd like to hear what else you have in mind, Peter,' said Tideman speculatively. 'Before you do so, however, you might remember something else — the sea temperature, especially close to Trolltunga, is close to freezing point. You won't survive for more than a couple of minutes in it after the mast blast-off, even if the rest of your plan succeeds.'

'Deal another round of cards,' I told him. 'Don't either of you look up in surprise when I speak. The next step in my scheme is probably the most crucial of all. It's the way I aim to break out of the sick-bay.'

Kay gathered up the cards like a sleep-walker. Tideman dealt.

'In the sick-bay there's that anti-exposure survival suit for inspecting Jetwind's drop keels and underwater propeller nacelle. We moved it into the cubicle next to Kay's — it's hanging there still. That's what I intend to wear to overcome the problem of the near-freezing water.'

Tideman gave a silent whistle through his teeth. 'You half convince me, man!'

'The anti-exposure visor will protect my face and eyes against flash from the ring charges,' I continued. 'The suit is foam-lined, which will help give me a soft landing when the mast hits the water. I'll swim from the floating mast to the pinnace, fuse the charges, and send the boat on its way to the fleet. Then I can swim back to Jetwind in safety — it's not far.'

'It might just work, Peter — it just could work!' Tideman's sceptical questioning had changed to a vibrant, excited undertone.

'We must be careful not to betray ourselves to the guard by any action or gesture,' I warned.

'He's the joker in the pack.' There was a near-sob in Kay's voice. 'We can't get past him.'

'We can,' I said. 'This is how. Again, the survival suit is the key. I've often accompanied you to your cubicle, Kay. The guard is accustomed to it. Now — as soon as we've finished this discussion, you and I will go there. John will stay here, pretending to be listening to the radio. There's only a curtain between your cubicle and the empty one. We slip next door. You help me into the survival suit. It takes less than a minute, you said, John. Back you go into your cubicle, Kay. Then, after a while, you join John at the radio. I'll be missing. After a time the guard is certain to wonder about me. You can leave your cubicle's outer curtain drawn so he can see for himself that I'm not there. The idea is to draw him into the sick-bay.'

'Where will you be all this time?' asked Kay in an anguished tone.

'Where the survival suit always hangs — up against Number Two cubicle wall,' I said. 'Arms outstretched, just like a suit on a hanger.'

'The guard will see your face — he must!' protested Kay.

'No. Before you leave you will pull the helmet right down over the visor, which normally leaves only the nose and eyes visible. It will restrict my range of vision, but I can't help that. In addition, I'll hang my head. The rest of the suit is so shapeless that the guard won't suspect that it's occupied.' 'Then?' Tideman demanded.

'I'll want your slide-rule dagger,' I said as matter of factly as a man can when thinking of a sudden knife-thrust to an unsuspecting victim's heart. 'The suit is unwieldy so I'll have only one chance to finish the guard in the cubicle. After that it's up to you to grab his automatic and cope with him further, if necessary.'