Seawitch

by Alistair MacLean

  Roomer’s face went very still. ‘I don’t look forward to the prospect of having a mentally retarded person as a sister-in-law.’

  She was shocked and the shock showed. Her voice was a whisper. ‘I don’t really know you, do I?’

  ‘No. We’re the men who walk down the dark side of the streets. Somebody has to look after the people on the dark side. We do it. Do you know how much your father offered us to take you home?’ Roomer smiled. ‘I’m afraid I’m not much good in that department at the moment, but Mike will take care of it.’

  ‘How much did he offer you?’

  ‘Whatever we wanted in the world. A million dollars to take you home? A hundred million if we’d asked for it? Sure.’

  ‘How much did you ask for?’ Her face wasn’t registering much in the way of expression.

  Roomer sighed, which, in the low physical state he felt, wasn’t too difficult. ‘Poor Mike. To think that he regards you as the pot of gold at the foot of the rainbow. Maybe he’d better get off that rainbow–insubstantial things at the best of times. Poor me, too. I’m going to have to live with you too, even at second hand. Let’s be corny. Your father loves you. We love you. To pile cliché upon cliché, there are some things that can’t be bought. Pearls beyond price. Don’t make yourself an artificial pearl, Marina. And don’t ever again insult us in that fashion. But we have to live on something, so we’ll send him a bill.’

  ‘For what?’

  ‘Ammunition expended.’

  She crossed to his cot-side, knelt and kissed him. Roomer seemed too weak to resist. Dr Greenshaw was severe. ‘Lady Marina, he’s not only having a blood transfusion, there’s also the factor of blood pressure.’

  Roomer said: ‘My blood pressure is registering no complaints.’

  She kissed him again. ‘Is that apology enough?’ Roomer smiled and said nothing. ‘“Berserker”, you said. Can anyone stop him when he’s like that? Can I?’

  ‘No. Some day, yes.’

  ‘The one person is you. Yes?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘You didn’t.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘They carried guns.’

  ‘You carry guns.’

  ‘Yes. But we’re not evil people who carry guns to do evil things.’

  ‘That’s all?’

  ‘No.’ He looked across at Melinda. ‘You see?’

  ‘Please.’

  ‘If Kowenski and Rindler hadn’t been such damned lousy shots, she’d be dead.’

  ‘So you let Michael loose?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘You’re going to marry her?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Have you asked her?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘You don’t have to. Sisters talk.’

  ‘Mike?’

  ‘I don’t know, John. I’m a running coward, running scared.’

  ‘Well?’

  ‘He kills.’

  ‘I’ve killed.’

  ‘He’ll kill again?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘John.’

  He reached out, took a lock of her gleaming black hair, picked out a single thread. ‘That.’

  ‘You mean?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I have to see.’ She kicked off her high-heeled shoes.

  ‘So much to learn. Sit.’

  She sat on his bed. Dr Greenshaw rolled his eyes heavenwards. She was wearing navy-blue jeans and a white blouse. Roomer reached up and undid the top button of her blouse. She looked at him and said nothing. Roomer said: ‘You do the rest. Navy or black jumper.’

  She was back in thirty seconds, wearing a navy polo. She looked enquiringly at Roomer, who nodded. She left the sickbay.

  In Lord Worth’s living-room he and Mitchell were seated in adjacent armchairs. The wall-speakers were on. When Marina came in Mitchell waved her to urgent silence.

  Over the speakers Durand’s unmistakable voice sounded testy. ‘All I know is that the deck lights went out some minutes ago and came back on a minute ago.’ Marina glanced at Mitchell, who nodded. ‘But you’ve all the light you need to hand.’

  ‘Have you neutralized the radar scanner yet?’

  Marina had never heard the voice before, but the tightening of Lord Worth’s lip showed that Cronkite’s voice was no stranger to him.

  ‘It hardly seems necessary now.’

  ‘It was your idea. Do it. We’ll leave in ten minutes, then there’ll be about fifteen minutes’ flying time.’

  ‘“We’ll leave”? That mean you’re coming too?’

  ‘No. I’ve more important things to do.’ There was a click: Cronkite had ceased to transmit.

  Lord Worth said uneasily: ‘I wonder what that devious devil means by that?’

  ‘We’ll just have to find out the hard way.’ Mitchell looked at Marina. ‘Where are your shoes?’

  She smiled sweetly. ‘I’m a quick study. Shoes make too much noise out on the platform.’

  ‘You’re not going out on any platform.’

  ‘I am. There are gaps in my education. I want to see how killers operate.’

  Mitchell said in irritation: ‘I’m not going to kill anyone. Go get your bag packed. You’ll be leaving soon.’

  ‘I’m not leaving.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Beacuse I want to stay with Daddy–and with you. Don’t you think that natural?’

  ‘You’re leaving if I have to tie you up.’

  ‘You can’t tie my tongue up. Wouldn’t the law just love to know where the guns stolen from the Mississippi armoury are?’

  Lord Worth looked slightly stunned. ‘You’d do that to me? Your own father?’

  ‘You’d tie me up and force me aboard that helicopter–Your own daughter?’

  ‘Talk about logic.’ Mitchell shook his head. ‘With respect to Lord Worth, he appears to have fathered a nutcase. If you think–’

  The wall-speakers crackled again. It was Cronkite’s voice. ‘Well don’t just hang around. Stop that radar.’

  ‘How?’ It was Aaron and he sounded aggrieved. ‘Do you expect me to climb that damned drilling rig–’

  ‘Don’t be stupid. Go to the radar room. There’s a red lever switch just above the console. Pull it down.’

  ‘That I can do.’ Aaron sounded relieved. They heard the sound of a door closing. Mitchell kicked off his shoes, turned off the light in the living-room and eased the door open a crack. Aaron, his back already to them, was heading for the radar room. He reached it, opened the door and passed inside. Mitchell moved after him, pulling out his silenced gun and held it in his left hand. A soft voice behind him said: ‘I thought you were right-handed?’

  Mitchell didn’t even bother to curse. He said in a resigned whisper: ‘I am.’

  Aaron was just pulling the red lever when Mitchell made his soundless entrance. He said: ‘Don’t turn round.’

  Aaron didn’t turn round.

  ‘Clasp your hands behind your neck, then turn and come here.’

  Aaron turned. ‘Mitchell!’

  ‘Please don’t try anything clever. I’ve already had to kill three of your friends tonight. A fourth isn’t going to give me a sleepless night. Stop right there and turn again.’

  Aaron did as he was told. Mitchell withdrew his right hand from his coat pocket. The braided leather strap attached to his wrist by a thong was no more than five inches long, but when it struck Aaron with considerable force and accuracy above and behind the right ear it was apparent that five inches was quite long enough. Mitchell caught him as he fell and eased him to the deck.

  ‘Did you have to do that?–’ Marina choked and stopped speaking as Mitchell’s hand clamped itself none too gently over her mouth. She flinched as he shook the strap before her eyes.

  ‘Keep your voice down.’ The whisper was intentionally savage. He knelt over Aaron, removed and pocketed his gun.

  ‘Did you have to do that?’ she said in a low voice. ‘You could have tied him u
p and gagged him.’

  ‘When I require advice from ignorant amateurs I’ll turn to you immediately. I haven’t time for folde-rols. He’ll just have a half-hour’s peaceful rest, and then all he’ll need is an aspirin.’

  ‘And now?’

  ‘Durand.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Ninny.’

  ‘I’m getting tired of people calling me “ninny”. John just called me that. He also said I was mentally retarded and an artificial pearl.’

  ‘No shrewder judge of character than our John,’ Mitchell said approvingly. ‘If Aaron doesn’t return Durand will come looking for him. Then he’ll get on the radiophone and stop the helicopter flight.’

  ‘Well, that’s what you want, isn’t it?’

  ‘No.’

  He switched off the light and walked away, Marina following. Mitchell stopped outside the entrance to Lord Worth’s sitting-room.

  ‘Get inside. You’re both an irritation and a liability. I can’t function properly with you around. Heroines I can do without.’

  ‘I promise you I won’t say a word. I promise–’

  He caught her by the arm and thrust her forcibly inside. Lord Worth looked up in mild surprise. Mitchell said: ‘I will hold you personally responsible, Lord Worth, if you allow this pesky daughter of yours outside that door again. More, I’m dimming the deck lights. Any unauthorized person seen moving around the platform will be shot on sight. That is my promise, and you’d better believe it. This is no place for children who want to play games.’ The door closed behind him.

  ‘Well!’ Marina sat down and gripped her hands together. ‘What kind of husband do you think he would make?’

  ‘A perfectly splendid one, I should imagine. Look, my dear, one of Mitchell’s outstanding assets is a hair-trigger reaction. You blunt it. And you know damn well how he feels about you–your presence just constitutes an additional worry at a time when he can least afford either. A wife doesn’t accompany her husband down a coal mine or on a wartime bombing mission. And Mitchell is much more of a loner than such people are.’

  She attempted something between a glower and a scowl, but her beautiful face really wasn’t made for it, so she settled for a rueful smile, rose and replenished his glass of malt whisky.

  Mitchell removed the gun and two large keys from the pockets of an unconscious Durand, made his way to the main entrance to the Oriental quarters, opened the door and switched on the corridor lights.

  ‘Commander Larsen,’ he called out. ‘Palermo.’

  Doors opened and the two men were with him in a few seconds. Larsen said: ‘Mitchell! What the hell are you doing here?’

  ‘Just a harmless seismologist taking his constitutional.’

  ‘But didn’t you hear the broadcast warning–anyone seen on the platform to be shot on sight?’

  ‘That’s past. One piece of bad news, two of good. Bad first. Roomer and Miss Melinda didn’t hear the warning–those quarters are sound-insulated. So they took a walk. Both were hurt quite badly. Melinda has a shattered left shoulder, Roomer was shot through the neck and chest. The doctor thinks the bullet is lodged against his spine. We must get them to hospital and quick. Who’s Lord Worth’s personal pilot?’

  ‘Chambers,’ Larsen said.

  ‘Get one of your men to have him refuel his machine. The good news: Durand is in the radio room, his number two, fellow called Aaron, is in the radar room. Both are unconscious.’ He looked at Palermo. ‘When they come to–it’ll be some time yet–could you have them looked after with loving care and attention?’

  ‘Our pleasure.’

  Larsen said: ‘Durand had three other men.’

  ‘They’re dead.’

  ‘You?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘We didn’t hear any shooting.’

  Mitchell gave them a brief sight of his silenced .38. Larsen looked thoughtful. ‘Lord Worth talked quite a bit about you. I used to think he was exaggerating.’

  ‘The other bit of good news. Cronkite is sending some reinforcements by helicopter–not many, I believe, eight or nine–and they should be taking off about now. A fifteen minutes’ flight, I gather, so I reckon that Cronkite’s boat is just somewhere below the horizon, below our radar sweep.’

  Palermo brightened. ‘We blast this chopper out of the sky?’

  ‘My original thought, I must admit. But let’s try to play it clever and lull him into some sort of sense of false security. I suggest we let them land, then take them. We’ll have their leader report to Cronkite that all is well.’

  ‘What if he refuses? Or tries to shout a warning?’

  ‘We’ll write out his script. If he deviates one word I’ll shoot him. Silencer. Cronkite will hear nothing.’

  ‘He could hear the man scream.’

  ‘When a .38 enters the base of your skull and travels upwards at forty-five degrees you don’t tend to scream much.’

  ‘You mean you’d kill him?’ While not exactly incredulous, Larsen was obviously taken aback.

  ‘Yes. Then we’d line up number two. We shouldn’t have too much trouble with him.’

  Larsen said with some feeling: ‘When Lord Worth talked of you he didn’t tell me the half of it.’

  ‘Another thing. I want that helicopter. We’ll fake up a tale that the engine failed above the helipad, crash-landed and will take some hours to repair. Always useful to have another helicopter around but, more importantly, I want to deprive Cronkite of the use of his.’ He looked at Palermo ‘I take it that the reception committee can be safely left in your hands.’

  ‘You sure can. Any suggestions?’

  ‘Well, I’m a bit diffident about lecturing an expert like yourself.’

  ‘You know me?’

  ’I used to be a cop. The rig is loaded with portable search-lights. They’ll head for the administration buildings. I’d keep in hiding, switch off the deck lights and turn on the search-lights when they are, say, thirty yards away. ‘They’ll be blind and won’t be able to see you.’

  ‘You can’t cater for nutcases.’

  ‘I’ll bet you can.’ Mitchell smiled briefly at him, cop to crook. He said to Larsen: ‘I have a feeling that Lord Worth would like to confer with his rig boss.’

  ‘Yes.’ They walked away as Palermo was already giving rapid instructions to his men. ‘Lord Worth know what you’re up to?’

  ‘I haven’t had time. Anyway, I wouldn’t tell Lord Worth how to make a billion out of oil.’

  ‘A point.’ They stopped briefly by the radio room. Larsen gazed at the crumpled form of Durand, half in appreciation, half in regret. ‘What a beautiful sight. Wish it had been me, though.’

  ‘I’ll bet Durand–when he awakes–doesn’t. Plastic surgeons come high.’

  They made their next brief stop at the sickbay. He looked at a still comatose Melinda and a wideawake Roomer, and his massive fists clenched. Roomer smiled. ‘I know. But you’re too late. How deep’s the water here?’

  ‘Nine hundred feet.’

  ‘Then you’d require a diving-bell to get your hands round the throats of those responsible. And how are things with you, Commander Larsen? You can see how things are with us.’

  ‘I’ve been resting. Mitchell here has been rather more active. Apart from the three men at the bottom of the Gulf, he’s also deprived me of the pleasure of beating the living daylights out of Durand. Aaron isn’t feeling too well either.’

  Roomer said apologetically: ‘He doesn’t go in much for diplomacy. So the Seawitch is in our hands?’

  ‘For the moment.’

  ‘For the moment?’

  ‘Do you see a man like Cronkite giving up? So he’s lost five men and is probably about to lose another eight or nine. What’s that for a man with ten millions to play about with? And don’t forget his vicious personal vendetta with Lord Worth. If achieving his intent involves the crippling or even the destruction of the Seawitch, including all aboard it–well, Cronkite isn’t going to be conscience-ridden
for all his days–or even for a minute if it comes to that.’ He turned to Dr Greenshaw. ‘I think it’s time you got busy with the stretchers. Could you spare four of your drilling crew, Commander, to help have them transferred to the stretchers and then carried across to the helicopter? I’m afraid, John, that you’re going to have some very unpleasant company on the trip. Durand and Aaron. Trussed like chickens, of course.’

  ‘Well, thank you very much.’

  ‘I can–occasionally–be as leery as you. I wouldn’t put it past Cronkite to gain access to the Seawitch. How he would do it I haven’t the faintest idea, but with a devious mind a highly-motivated man can accomplish almost anything he wants. Should he succeed. I don’t want Durand and Aaron pointing accusing fingers at me. I should like to remain an inconspicuous and harmless seismologist.’

  Larsen gave a few orders on the phone, then he and Mitchell went through to Lord Worth’s room. Lord Worth was on the phone, listening and scowling. Marina looked at Mitchell with an expression as forbidding as her father’s.

  ‘I suppose you’ve been littering the platform with a few more dead men?’

  ‘You do me a grave injustice. There’s no one left to kill.’ She gave what might have been a tiny shudder and looked away.

  Larsen said: ‘The ship is in our hands, Lady Marina. We’re expecting a little more trouble in about ten minutes, but we can take care of that.’

  Lord Worth replaced his receiver. ‘What’s that?’

  ‘Cronkite is sending some reinforcements by helicopter. Not many–eight or nine. They’ll have no chance. He’s under the impression that Durand is still in charge here.’

  ‘I take it he’s not.’

  ‘He’s unconscious and very securely bound. So is Aaron.’

  A yearning look came over Lord Worth’s face. ‘Is Cronkite coming with them?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘How very unfortunate. And I’ve just had some more bad news. The Torbello has broken down.’

  ‘Sabotage?’

  ‘No. The main fuel supply line to its engine has fractured. Just a temporary stop, though it may take some hours to repair. But there is no cause for worry and half-hourly reports on the state of repairs should be forthcoming.’

  Another disturbing point had arisen. No major marine insurance companies or Lloyd’s of London had ever heard of the existence of the Questar. Even more disturbing, however, was that the Marine Gulf Corporation had reported the disappearance of its seismological survey vessel from Freeport. It was called the Hammond.