Chapter 52
Pru took the submarine within a mile of the island and brought the vessel up to a depth of twelve feet.
After aligning the sub with the current, she set the power to maintain directional control while letting the sub drift smoothly.
Activating a hydraulic switch, she raised a twenty-foot metal post that was attached to the outside of the hull.
It rose upward like a flagpole, extended out of the water, and locked into place.
A pair of cameras mounted at the top of the mast acted like periscopes.
One gave a wide-angle view; the other could be zoomed and directed.
The images they captured appeared on a screen in between the two seats.
She and Joe had front-row seats. Kurt and Rand huddled around them to get a better view.
At first the images revealed nothing but darkness.
“Did you guys forget to take the lens cap off?” Kurt said.
“It’s called nighttime,” Pru snapped back.
It was two hours after midnight. The moon hadn’t come up yet, but the thousands of stars created a slightly bluish backdrop in the night sky. As Pru adjusted the contrast, the island appeared like a dark curtain in front of them.
Tapping away at the keyboard, she enhanced the image further still. The image brightened, the sky turned green, the island remained black.
“We have night vision,” she said, “or thermal imaging.”
With the touch of another button the image changed once more. The sky went from green to black. The island changed from black to gray, with white tones where the rocky terrain radiated leftover heat.
“This works,” Kurt said.
The image showed what they already knew to be true: Siabat Island was a mostly flat landmass, with only a single elevated section on the right side, which corresponded to the northeastern end.
It looked dry and scrubby and appeared to be completely devoid of trees.
As spartan and forsaken as Rand’s estate was lush.
“Not much to it,” Joe said.
“That’s what enticed your country to build an air base on it fifty years ago,” Pru said.
The air base was a relic from the Cold War. At this point it had been abandoned for twelve years.
“How do we approach it?” Kurt asked.
“There’s a channel just before the promontory,” Pru said. “It leads to a sheltered gap where we would off-load our deliveries.”
“There’s a road leading from the cove,” Rand said, jumping in.
“It’s more of a trail really, hardscrabble and unfinished, but it leads from the water back overland to what’s left of the air base.
If Ahab’s on the island, that’s where he’ll be.
He’s made himself a base of sorts in the old, rusted hangars. ”
Joe grinned. “Sounds like someone else we know. Any chance he has a classic car collection?”
Rand didn’t get the reference. “As far as I know he’s not into cars. But I heard a jet engine idling once when we were there.”
Kurt checked the time, four hours till dawn. If they were going to get onto the island, this was the time to do it. He glanced down at Pru. “Can you get into the channel in the dark?”
She looked up at him and smiled. “Do you think we make our deliveries in broad daylight?”
Kurt laughed. “Good point. Let’s go. I want to see what Ahab is up to before morning reveille.”
Using a GPS position tracker and the thermal cameras, Pru was able to navigate toward the channel with meticulous precision.
They entered the channel at periscope depth and then rose another five feet.
Moving slowly and steadily, they sailed past a rocky outcropping that acted as a natural barrier to the waves and found themselves in a large V-shaped cove filled with calm waters.
Halfway toward the narrow point of the cove, Pru brought the sub to a halt and released a pair of anchors.
One fell from the bow, the other from the stern, the idea being they would keep the sub from twisting in the current.
Opening a manual valve and pressing one of the rubberized buttons, she switched on a pump. A low hiss of air followed, accompanied by soft rumbling as water was drawn quietly out of the ballast tanks and replaced with compressed air.
The submarine rose slowly. It broke the surface with the stealth of a crocodile emerging from a dark jungle river.
Shutting off the valve and switching off the pump, Pru sat back. The submarine went silent, the tension rose. “Now what?”
Kurt replied, “Joe and I will take some of those weapons you don’t smuggle and go ashore to find Ahab.”
Rand nodded. “Sounds good,” he said. “Any chance you might be willing to leave us a nicely worded letter of reference, proving how helpful we’ve been? You know…just in case things don’t quite go as planned.”
Kurt laughed at him. “No,” he said bluntly. “But I will allow you to come with us, so you can lend even more assistance to the cause. That way Joe and I can be sure this submarine will be here when we get back.”