by Ali Vali
“Go ahead.”
“We need you to do a visual check at these coordinates.” The guy gave Harvey the numbers, and the spot was about twelve miles from the Jefferson’s current position.
“Report back when you get there,” Aidan said.
“Should take less than two minutes.” She dropped altitude again and followed the track Harvey had punched into their system.
“This is it,” Harvey said, and all they saw was open water.
“Jefferson, what am I looking for?” She dropped altitude again and flew over the spot one more time, practically skimming the water.
“We’ve got something on radar, and it should be right there and big enough for you to see something,” Aidan said. “We wanted a flyby to perhaps give us visual confirmation.”
“We’re losing light, but there’s nothing here.”
“Fuck,” Harvey said as she turned toward the right and started climbing.
It wasn’t until she was coming out of her turn that she saw it. “Fuck is right.”
The guided missile had broken the surface and seem to be locked on them. All they could do now was give it a new target, but the only thing around was the Jefferson and the destroyers, so it would come down to a long game of chase.
“Missile in the air,” Harvey said, reporting the situation to the Jefferson. “Repeat, missile fired and locked on us.”
“Cletus, what the hell?” Aidan asked.
“A little busy right now, but your radar blip is well armed and under the water, not on it. They fired on us, so I’ve got a very determined admirer on my ass.”
She led them away from the ships, not wanting to take any chances. The missile didn’t have any problems keeping up, no matter how much she maneuvered, and the fucking thing was gaining.
“Cletus, you want backup?” Vader asked.
“Shit,” Harvey said, his tone truly panicked now. “There’s another one in the air, Cletus.”
“Negative, Vader. We can’t chance any more hardware. Stay clear and keep us in sight.” With two missiles locked, it would be impossible to avoid them forever. Only in the movies did the damn things run into each other, which left her with only one viable option.
She was at fourteen thousand feet—high enough to eject. The damn things had split and were coming from opposite directions. “Junior, get ready, and keep your damn head down.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Harvey sounded eerily calm all of a sudden, which was something to be grateful for. “Whoa, look at that.”
The sub had surfaced, and she suddenly had a bad feeling that this situation had more to it than being fired on. “Jefferson, they’re putting boats in the water, so get to us before these assholes do. I’m a free spirit who won’t do well in captivity.”
“We’ll be right there,” Aidan said. “Keep the chatter up, Junior.”
“Yes, ma’am. We’re on a western path coming closer to you, and—”
* * *
Aidan, like everyone else in the bridge, was staring at the radar. “Cletus,” she said, and her word was followed by silence. “Junior?” The continued silence that followed was like a hot poker through her heart. Berkley wouldn’t answer only if she wasn’t in the sky any longer. It had happened before, but Berkley had warned them the moment they’d ejected. Junior’s interruption midsentence sped her heart rate and her anxiety.
“Mark Cletus’s last location and get boats in the water,” she said and didn’t see the same urgency in everyone else that she was experiencing. “Now,” she yelled. “This is Captain Sullivan,” she radioed the Anchorage.
“Go ahead, Captain,” a man said. “This is Captain Greer.”
“I’m launching planes, but if another missile breaks the surface of the water, I need you to blow the submarine they came from to hell.”
“Do we know who we’re firing on?”
“Start setting your coordinates, Captain. One of our planes has already been shot down, and if they fire on us again, our orders are to sink them. They obviously didn’t give a damn as to who they were shooting at, and I’m giving them the same consideration.” She cut Greer off and ordered Vader into the sky.
“The boats have deployed, ma’am,” one of her men reported.
“Good. I need a clear line to Command.” She stood and waited until the guy she’d spoken to nodded. “Report the second you hear anything.” The sound of jets flying off the deck made her swallow hard.
“Captain,” Carl said, and Aidan kept her eyes on the horizon. “The entire team as well as the FBI director Chapman are present, so go ahead.”
“I need to know what submarines are in the area, and I need to know immediately.”
“We have two Los Angeles-class submarines nearby,” someone not Greenwald said. “Why?”
“A sub just downed Captain Levine without provocation. We have more planes in the air now, and if they’re fired on, I’m going to fire back, and keep firing until I see a visible oil slick on the surface.”
“This is Neil Perry, Captain. I’m President Michaels’s national security advisor. Keep the line open, and don’t fire until I get back to you,” Neil said. “The subs in the area aren’t near enough to have fired those missiles. If the sub belongs to another government, we’ll find out, but stand down.”
“Our planes are in the air, the rest are lined up, and I’ve got boats away. Captain Levine and her backseat are in the water, and we’re going to look for them. I’m not sending anyone out there without backup or handcuffed if they’re attacked.”
“Understandable, Captain. We’re checking,” Greenwald said.
“Vader, I need you to provide cover,” she said, muting the line to Command.
“Yes, ma’am. We’ll start where she went down and work out from there.”
“Don’t take any shit from anyone. You understand me?”
“You got it, ma’am.”
She sat with a ramrod-straight back, resenting that she had to be here instead of out looking for Cletus. This was like the type of nightmare you had that only progressed to something more horrible instead of the relief of waking. Berkley was probably treading water, pissed that she’d been sucker-punched again, but that wasn’t going to stop her from worrying.
“Ma’am,” Vader said.
“Go ahead, Vader,” she said and linked him to the command communication.
“We have a sub on the surface, and Cletus was right. They appear to be putting boats in the water and heading in the direction she went down,” Vader said.
“Commander, provide a description,” Greenwald said.
“It appears to be a Russian Akula-class sub, sir,” Killer said.
“Vader, continue the search, and we’ll keep our thumb on these guys.”
“Eyes open, everyone,” Killer said.
“The Russians deny anything in the area,” Neil said, but the video feed coming from Vader’s plane was damning.
“From what I’m looking at, I say Commander Gorham is correct. That’s a Russian Akula-class sub, and if it fires another thing I’m going to send it to the bottom,” Aidan said, and she meant every word. “Send their people the feed. It’s hard to deny something that’s right there.”
“Captain, I’m asking you to hold your fire,” Neil said as he held another phone to his ear. “We don’t need to escalate this situation any more than we have to.”
“Did you miss the part where the damn thing fired and hit Captain Levine?” Carl said, saving Aidan the breath of having to form the words.
“They’re diving, ma’am,” Vader said, and Killer confirmed. “Are we free to fire if fired upon?”
“Try to make radio contact with the idiots,” Aidan ordered.
“This is the USS Jefferson,” her communications officer said. “Please return to the surface and open your hatches. If you do not comply, you will be fired on.”
“Mr. Perry?” Aidan said, giving the suit one more chance before she defied a direct order. She was willing to put her ca
reer on the line if it meant keeping her crew safe. “Mr. Perry, we don’t have a lot of time if they intend to fire, and as you can see, they’re not interested in dialogue.”
“The Russians confirm it is an Akula-class, but it’s not theirs,” Neil said, and Aidan cut him off.
“Fire at will,” she told her pilots.
“Aye, ma’am,” Vader said.
“Get Washington and Greer in on this conversation,” Aidan said of the destroyer captains.
“We’re listening, and we’re taking evasive action in case they get tired of shooting straight up at all the cool planes. We got your back, Jefferson, and the Anchorage will cover the boats we’ve deployed as well. They’ve disappeared from radar, which means a rapid descent.”
“Thanks, Captain Washington,” Aidan said to the Arlington’s captain. “If they dove and left some of their crew topside, they’re not going whale hunting.”
“I don’t know. Cletus is a pretty big fish in our book, but we were thinking the same thing. If they fire on us, their ass will be in a tight spot, and they better pray they can hold their breath for a really long time.”
“Ma’am, they’re back on radar and changing course. They’re closing on us,” her head radio operator reported. “They’re fourteen miles out.”
“You down that thing before it does any more damage,” Carl said forcefully.
“Let’s see if we can’t send them running home to mama,” Gary said. “Starboard guns.” He painted a target on their radar, and his operator filled in the coordinates. The spot hit close enough for the sub to veer away from them and toward the Anchorage. “Heads up, Captain Greer.”
“I can get my own dates, thank you,” Kevin Greer said, and Aidan smiled. Berkley had mentioned that dangerous situations didn’t mean you had to lose your sense of humor, and these guys were definitely friends of hers. “Port guns,” Kevin said and hesitated until the sub had reached the target area he’d put on radar.
The near miss changed the sub’s course again, only now it was headed for the small rescue boats they had in the area. Before the damn thing could target them directly, Kevin and Gary shot again within seconds of each other, and the rogue vessel stopped moving. The two captains had aimed to the front and back, and the charges stopped the sub cold.
“They’re going deeper,” she said and watched the descent on radar.
“They’re trying to get out of range,” Gary said. “Anchorage and Jefferson, what’s the ETA on the rescue boats?”
Aidan had her people radio the crewman leading their team. “We were about to call, ma’am. We have Captain Levine and Lieutenant Whittle’s life-vest beacons on our radar.”
“They’re in the water?” The steadiness of her voice surprised her.
“They seem to be, ma’am. We’re still quite a few miles out, but they’re holding steady.”
“Radio when you spot them.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
How many close calls with death would they get before fate finally caught up with them? The question made her not want to reach the point where it would need a definite answer. “Command, we need more information on how someone acquired an Akula-class sub if it didn’t belong to the Russians. Those are still in service, and if I’m not mistaken, you can’t order one on Amazon.”
“We’re on it, and we’re redirecting our subs to join the party and stick close to you,” Carl said. “They’re better equipped to find and monitor this thing.”
“Thank you, General. We’ll stay on the line until we’re clear.”
“Good. Our communications people will keep tabs with your second. Go see to your people.”
“Vader and Killer, monitor and patrol until I get all these boats back on board.”
“Yes, ma’am, and we put Poncho’s group with the rescue teams, so we’re covered.”
“Roger that.” She sat back down and slowed their speed to keep their group relatively together, accepting a cup of coffee from Devin. “This shit’s getting old.”
“While all this was going on, we might’ve had a breakthrough,” Devin said, sitting next to her.
“Good news?” she asked, and he nodded. “Hell. I might not know how to take it,” she said and enjoyed laughing for the first time in what felt like days.
* * *
Berkley had been maneuvering as best she could, trying to lead the bastard shooting at her away from the ships, when the third missile made her eject sooner than she’d have liked. They were lucky not to get riddled with pieces of the plane after it was destroyed just past them. As they floated down, they saw what appeared to be rafts being placed in the water. These fuckers were incredibly motivated. She had to give them that.
“Junior,” she yelled, and he raised his hand. “Release before you hit the water,” she said, trying everything she could to avoid capture.
“Just tell me when,” Harvey yelled back.
They needed for the parachutes to float away from them, if the wind was cooperative. She turned into it, looking to make sure Harvey did the same and glad when he did. This would bring them closer to their potential captors, but when she was about thirty feet from the water she released, and the parachute caught the wind and kept going.
“Either I’m your lucky charm or a hex,” Harvey said when he swam close to her.
She activated the beacon on her vest and laughed. “As long as I walk away from all these dramatic war landings, I’m okay with that. Don’t worry. I’m keeping you, Junior.”
“Good. Now tell me who the hell shot us down.”
“Good question, and I only glimpsed this thing, but it didn’t appear to be one of ours. It’s a bonus if it wasn’t.”
They both had to kick hard to navigate the swells that were picking up with the late-afternoon winds. “What kind of bonus?” Junior asked.
“Not everyone in the armed forces is trying to kill us. That has to count for something.” She was especially glad she’d put Preston’s compass in a waterproof bag. “You okay?”
“My ducking has gotten loads better, so I’m fine. Thanks for keeping us in one piece.”
“No problem. We both need to be healthy for the upcoming events, and really, there’s no better way to enjoy the last of the sunset than from water level. All we’re missing is a mai tai and hula girls.”
He gazed at her and laughed. “If we had drinks and girls, that might change my mind, but I’d much rather enjoy the deck view of that scene. That I’m still breathing and can move all my extremities is nice too. As for the other thing, will you take me with you? We haven’t practiced any bombing runs, and it makes me believe that’s not what we’re doing.”
“No more North Korean tours for you, Junior, so pick someplace different. Trust me. You’ll be much more comfortable on the boat.”
“I can’t watch your ass if I’m not with you.” He swam closer and spoke with conviction.
“I catch you watching my ass, and I’m going to chum the water with you,” she said, and he shoved some water at her.
“I’m being serious. Wherever you go, I’m supposed to go so we can take care of each other. I might not be your best friend, but I am your friend, and I want you to be okay.” He stopped and lowered his head slightly. “You don’t have to tell me, but I know you have plenty to live for.”
“Thanks, man, and—” She didn’t quite know how to finish.
“This is a weird time to talk about it, but I’d never be an asshole and mess things up for you. I only wanted you to know that I’ll always have your back, and hers too. We’re a team, right?” Harvey smiled and held his hand out to her.
“I’m glad you said that, and later on, once we’re done with all this crap, I’ll need you to stand up for me. I really was going to ask but was waiting on my retirement papers before I popped the question.”
“I’ll be proud to do that, and I’m happy for you. You think you could do something about all this water?” Harvey moved his arms back and forth to stay afloat. “I know we�
��re navy men, but being a wet navy man for hours is going to suck, and Captain Sullivan isn’t going to be thrilled either.”
“Be more specific.” She glanced all around them to make sure no hostiles were headed in their direction. “If we catch a ride with the wrong people, it won’t bode well for any future kids you want to have.”
“Why?” he asked, moving next to her.
“I can’t be sure, but hooking those electrodes to your family treasures might fry all your swimmers. They were putting boats in, but I doubt it was to find us and apologize for blowing us the hell out of the sky. At least they didn’t appear to be as fast as the ones our rescue teams put in.”
“Shit. That’s just great.”
“Breathe. We have time.” She moved until their arms were touching. “Here.” She yanked the locator beacon off his lifejacket and gave it to him. “Put this in an inside pocket of your flight suit and try to hang on to it. If the boat that picks us up aren’t our guys, take your jacket off.” She repeated the removal and placed it in her pocket. “I don’t want them to notice we took these out.”
“I’ll follow your lead.” Harvey hung on to the strap of her jacket as the sun started to set.
“Do that, and stick to me.”
“Don’t worry. They’ll have to pry me off you.”
Berkley grabbed his jacket and pulled him until they were shoulder to shoulder. “Okay. We’ve got maybe ten minutes before the sun has completely gone down, and when it does, this is going to be like a deprivation chamber since there’s no moon. If we float apart I’ll never find you.”
“At least I’ll have another story to tell my parents. My father was sitting with his mouth open the whole time I told them about our last adventure.”
“Any more of this and he’s not going to let you come out and play with me,” she said, and they laughed. “I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of ejecting out of planes. I don’t want that to become our thing. If we do it again, I’m afraid all they’ll let us do is clean the windshields.”
“Three missiles was overkill, so I’m cutting us some slack.”
