Geoffrey Jenkins - Hunter Killer

What you are doing is not only madness, but criminal,' I said heatedly. For four days now the President of the United States has been critically ill. Suppose he dies? He may be dead already. You know as well as I do that quick continuity is vital in the Presidential succession. When John F. Kennedy was shot, Lyndon Johnson was sworn in within an hour and a half.'

I'm glad you mention President Johnson,' Peace replied. He was sworn in in a plane; there is no reason why MKG cannot be sworn in at Space Station One, if need be. Where the foot of the American President treads, that is American soil.'

I turned helplessly to Adele and looked into her troubled eyes.

Mac,' Peace said crisply, I want you to fetch the Remington and the Colt and get the sand out of them. Get 'em in good working order-soon as hell.' He spoke to us. If the

President dies, the Speaker of the House can act until the new President is sworn in.'

This is no argument-' I began, but he waved me quiet.

' I'm not interested in arguments. If Tyler and Thornton don't catch up with us, I intend MKG to be shot to Sante Fe. I also intend to have your silence-at any cost.'

Mac had reappeared with the two weapons. Andre was engrossed in examining the boat.

There was a long pause. I mean, at any cost,' Peace repeated. This is madness,' I said.

Are you prepared to keep quiet?' he demanded, ' Two days-that's all I ask.'

I shrugged and turned to Adele, who made a hopeless gesture.

Good,' said Peace. Mac or I will be watching you all the time. Now get the radio going.'

Mauritius Radio came through:

The White House announces that the Seventh Fleet in the

Sea of Limuria has resumed its intensive search for the person of Marvin K. Green, Vice-President of the United States, and the missing French freighter Semittante. Admiral Thornton's heet has been strengthened by two more carriers from the United

States Eastern Fleet. Long-range vr-5 maritime reconnaissance aircraft will fly southwards from the Seychelles tomorrow in co-operation with the Seventh Fleet. Fears for the safety of Semittante have been expressed in view of the violence of the cyclone, which was the worst recorded this century at the meteorological stations at Chagos and St Brandon. The cyclone is, however, now moving eastwards out of the search area. Captain du Plessis, the shanghaied master of the Semittante, is rendering all possible assistance in the search and is at present aboard Admiral Thornton's flagship. Meanwhile, as anxiety about the President's condition deepens, the United States is torn with the biggest constitutional crisis in its history. As listeners already know, the Speaker of the House, Mr. Donald Langley, was sworn in as pro forma President until some clarification has been received regarding the whereabouts of Marvin K. Green. Speaker Langley has appealed publicly to the kidnappers to hand over the popular Vice-President, with the promise of a full pardon. There has been no response to this appeal. There was a violent scene in Congress last night when a group of Southern senators sought to bring in a motion applying the disability clause to Marvin K. Green, whose popularity with the manin-the-street now appears to be higher than it ever was. The Congress reaction is stated by observers to be a reflection of the nation's state of nerves. Commerce has reported a serious decline in trade and Wall Street has fallen to its lowest level in twenty years. Speaker Langley has appealed to the nation to remain calm in this time of crisis.'

Peace had been scribbling while the broadcast progressed. 195

What are you doing?' asked Adele.

I'm faking a broadcast for MKG'S benefit,' he said brutally. It'll be quite harmless. Routine sort of thing. None of this.'

We remained silent.

Try the Seventh Fleet,' he ordered.

The waveband was crowded with traffic.

… Grid position E-7 negative,' said an American voice.

Will commence search Grid position E-8. Over.'

One of the carrier search planes,' muttered Peace. ' I wish I knew where Grid position E-7 was.'

Weather clearing rapidly from east and north,' reported another plane.

Then came a code signal, which Adele deciphered.

GIG to combined Red and Blue Force x carrier aircraft and helots to search area between Saya de Malha and Agalega according to predetermined grid pattern x VP-5's ex Seychelles will carry out similar grid search south and south-east from Seychelles to St Brandon x all surface ships to take part x report contacts immediately x The heat is on,' said Peace. They're coming at us from the east and the north.'

As he spoke MKG, Boz and the other scientists came up the slope towards us.

Adele,' Peace commanded, 'ask Andre what hope there is of his fixing the cutter?'

He says it is badly damaged,' she replied. ' Two bottom planks must be completely replaced before she will float. He has an axe, but, as you can see for yourself, there is no timber. If there were but one tatamaka tree or one bois mangue to be found, we could do something.'

What about those coconut stumps?' Peace demanded.

We use coconut for making oars,' replied Adele. The cutter is of best tatamaka, which is hard. The stumps will be useless, he says.

The general gloom on the faces of the scientists indicated that their hunt for timber had been unsuccessful. Peace handed mica the faked newscast. He read it without interest. Why not simply rip off some of the cutter's decking and patch the planks?' I asked.

When Adele had passed it on, Andre went and fetched the axe. He stood with his feet apart and went through the gestures of chopping, shaping, fitting. He shook his head.

The deck is bois mangue, not tatamaka like the hull,' she explained. He is very proud of his boat. Even Chepe, who is a master shipbuilder, admires it. He explains that he shaped every piece of decking with an adze so that they all 196 fit-each one has its own particular place and will be useless elsewhere. Becides, the decking is much too short for the hull, even if he reshaped it.'

Axe,' corrected MKG. He shaped the planks with an axe.'

No,' replied Adele. R is an adze, a shipbuilder's tool. It looks like-a garden hoe. They stand on a log and chop towards their toes. The adze is as sharp as a razor. But

Andre says that the axe will do for a patch-if we had some timber.'

Andre gestured towards the spit of sand, now looming whiter as the sky cleared and the wind dropped.

He wants to walk over to the western side of the island where there used to be a small pocket of bois mangue, but he warns you, it is most likely to have disappeared in the storm.'

The radio began with Morse and Adele decoded while the rest of us waited around. Peace looked anxious. She handed him the signal first, and he read it out:

' Interrogation Captain du Plessis of French freighter Semittante now complete x helos to search grid pattern east and west of Semittantes last estimated position in Grid E-10 x estimates place Semittante west of this position following cyclone x'

As the signal had come in, I noticed Mac move up unobtrusively with the Remington, pretending to clean it with a scrap of cloth. The move was not lost on Adele, either.

As Peace explained the earlier search messages to MKG and the others, Andre, Adele and I set off. We stumbled through the sand piled high in drifts at the base of VingtCinq Coups; farther away the gale had stripped away the topsoil down to the coral bedrock.

Of the pocket of timber, nothing remained but a few untidy sockets in the earth. Andre gestured hopelessly and then indicated the low northern slope of the island. Adele and I walked hand in hand.

Adele said, I thought Geoffrey Peace was your friend. We're virtually prisoners. And that awful engineer!' She shuddered.