tc.redstormrising-第42部分

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was　now　circling　their　ship…circling；　they　noted；　at　a　five…mile　distance　and　certainly　inspecting　them　through　binoculars。
〃Amplify；　Doctor　Lykes；　〃　the　voice　ordered　tersely。
〃We're　out　of　New　Orleans；　bound　for　Oslo　with　general　cargo；　Navy。　What's　the　big　deal？〃
〃You're　well　north　of　a　course　to　Norway。　Please　explain；　over。〃
〃Y'all　read　the　damned　papers；　Navy？　It's　liable　to　get　dangerous　out　here；　and　this　big　ole　ship　costs　money。　We　got　orders　from　the　home　office　to　keep　close　to　some　friendly　folks。　Hell；　we're　glad　to　see　ya'；　boy。　Y'all　want　to　escort　us　a　ways？〃
〃Roger；　copy。　Doctor　Lykes；　be　advised　no　submarines　known　to　be　in　this　area。〃
〃Y'all　guarantee　that？〃
This　drew　a　laugh。　〃Not　hardly；　Doc。〃
〃That's　about　what　I　thought；　Navy。　Well；　if　it's　all　right　with　you；　we'll　keep　heading　north　a　ways　and　try　to　stay　under　your　air　cover；　over。〃
〃We　can't　detail　an　aircraft　to　escort　you。〃
〃Understood；　but　you　will　e　if　we　call　you…right？〃
〃That's　a　roger；〃　agreed　Penguin　8。
〃Okay；　we'll　continue　north；　then　turn　east　for　the　Faroes。　Will　you　warn　us　if　any　bad　guys　show　up；　over。〃
〃If　we　find　any；　Doc；　the　idea　is　we'll　try　an'　sink　'em　first；〃　the　pilot　exaggerated。
〃Fair　enough。　Good　huntin'；　boy。　Out。〃

PENGUIN　8
〃God；　do　people　really　talk　like　that？〃　the　pilot　of　the　Orion　wondered　aloud。
〃Never　heard　about　Lykes　Lines？〃　his　copilot　chuckled。　〃They　used　to　say　they　wouldn't　hire　a　guy　'less　he　had　a　Southern　accent。　I　never　believed　it　until　now。　Nothing　like　tradition。　He　is　kinda　off　the　beaten　track；　though。〃
〃Yeah；　but　until　the　convoys　form　up；　hell；　I'd　try　to　bounce　from　one　protected　area　to　another。　Anyway；　let's　finish　the　visual。〃　The　pilot　increased　power　and　headed　in　closer　while　his　copilot　lifted　the　recognition　book。
〃Okay；　we　have　an　all…black　hull　with　'Lykes　Lines'　on　the　side；　midships。　White　superstructure　with　black　diamond；　a　block　L　inside　the　diamond。〃　He　lifted　his　binoculars。　〃Lookout　mast　forward　of　the　superstructure。　Check。　Superstructure　is　nicely　raked。　Electronics　mast　is　not。　Proper　ensign　and　house　flag。　Black　funnels。　Winches　aft　by　the　barge　elevator…doesn't　say　how　many　winches。　Damn；　she's　carrying　a　full　load　of　barges；　isn't　she？　Paintwork　looks　a　little　shabby。　Anyway；　it　all　checks　with　the　book；　that's　a　friendly。〃
〃Okay；　let's　give　her　a　wave。〃　The　pilot　turned　the　yoke　to　the　left；　taking　the　Orion　directly　over　the　barge…carrier。　He　waggled　his　wings　slightly　as　he　passed　overhead；　and　two　men　on　the　bridge　waved　back　at　them。　The　flyers　couldn't　pick　out　the　two　men　tracking　them　with　handheld　SAMs。　〃Good　luck；　fella。　You　might　need　it。〃

MV　JULIUS　FUCIK
〃The　new　paint　scheme　will　make　visual　spotting　difficult；　rade　General；〃　the　air…defense　officer　said　quietly。　〃I　saw　no　air…to…surface　missiles　attached。〃
〃That　will　change　quickly　enough。　As　soon　as　our　fleet　puts　to　sea；　they　will　load　them。　Besides；　if　they　identify　us　as　enemy；　how　far　can　we　run　while　they　call　up　other　aircraft；　or　simply　fly　to　their　base　to　rearm？〃　The　General　watched　the　aircraft　depart。　His　heart　had　been　in　his　throat　for　the　whole　episode；　but　now　he　could　walk　out　to　where　Kherov　stood　on　the　open　bridge　wing。　Only　the　ship's　officers　had　been　issued　American…style　khaki　uniforms。
〃My　pliments　to　your　language　officer。　I　presume　he　was　speaking　English？〃
Andreyev　laughed　jovially；　now　that　the　danger　was　past。　〃So　I　am　told。　The　Navy　requested　a　man　with　his　particular　skills。　He's　an　intelligence　officer；　served　in　America。〃
〃In　any　case；　he　succeeded。　Now　we　may　approach　our　objective　safely；〃　Kherov　said；　using　the　last　word　relatively。
〃It　will　be　good　to　be　on　land　again；　rade　Captain。〃　The　General　didn't　like　being　on　such　a　large；　unprotected　target　and　would　not　feel　safe　until　he　had　solid　ground　under　his　feet。　At　least　as　an　infantryman　you　had　a　rifle　with　which　to　defend　yourself；　usually　a　hole　to　hide　in；　and　always　two　legs　to　run　away。　Not　so　on　a　ship；　he　had　learned。　A　ship　was　one　large　target；　and　this　one　was　virtually　unprotected。　Amazing；　he　thought；　that　anything　would　feel　worse　than　being　on　a　transport　aircraft。　But　here　he　had　a　parachute。　He　had　no　illusions　about　his　ability　to　swim　to　land。

SUNNYVALE；　CALIFORNIA
〃There　goes　another　one；〃　the　chief　master　sergeant　said。
It　was　almost　boring　now。　Never　in　the　colonel's　memory　had　the　Soviets　had　more　than　six　photographic　reconnaissance　satellites　in　orbit。　There　were　now　ten；　plus　ten　electronic…intelligence　gatherers；　some　launched　from　the　Baikonor　Cosmodrome　outside　Leninsk　in　the　Kazakh　S。S。R。；　the　other　half　from　Plesetsk　in　northern　Russia。
〃That's　an　F…type　booster；　Colonel。　Burn　time　is　wrong　for　the　A…type；〃　the　sergeant　said；　looking　up　from　his　watch。
This　Russian　booster　was　a　derivation　of　the　old　SS…9　ICBM；　and　it　had　only　two　functions…to　launch　radar　ocean　reconnaissance　satellites；　called　RORSATS；　that　monitored　ships　at　sea　and　to　loft　the　Soviet　antisatellite　system。　The　Americans　were　watching　the　launch　from　a　newly　launched　KH…11　reconnaissance　satellite　of　their　own；　sweeping　over　the　central　region　of　the　USSR。　The　colonel　lifted　the　phone　to　Cheyenne　Mountain。

USS　PHARRIS
I　should　be　sleeping；　Morris　told　himself。　I　should　stockpile　sleep；　bank　it　away　against　the　time　when　I　can't　have　any。　But　he　was　too　keyed　up　to　sleep。
USS　PHARRIS　was　steaming　figure　eights　off　the　mouth　of　the　Delaware　River。　Thirty　miles　north；　at　the　piers　of　Philadelphia；　Chester；　and　Camden；　ships　of　the　National　Reserve　Defense　Fleet　that　had　been　held　in　readiness　for　years　were　getting　ready　to　sail。　Cargo　holds　were　loading　with　tanks；　guns；　and　crates　of　explosive　ordnance。　His　air…search　radar　showed　the　tracks　of　numerous　troop　transports　lifting　out　of　Dover　Air　Force　Base。　The　Military　Airlift　mand's　huge　aircraft　could　ferry　the　troops　across　to　Germany　where　they　would　be　mated　with　their　prepositioned　equipment；　but　when　their　unit　loads　of　munitions　ran　out；　the　resupply　would　have　to　be　ferried　across　the　way　it　had　always　been；　in　ugly；　fat；　slow　merchant　ships…targets。　Maybe　the　merchies　weren't　so　slow　anymore；　and　were　larger　than　before；　but　there　were　fewer　of　them。　During　his　naval　career；　the　American　merchant　fleet　had　fallen　sharply；　even　supplemented　by　these　federally　funded　vessels。　Now　a　submarine　could　sink　one　ship　and　get　the　benefit　it　would　have　achieved　in　World　War　Il　by　sinking　four　or　five。
The　merchant　crews　were　another　problem。　Traditionally　held　in　contempt　by　Navy　sailors…a　truism　in　the　U。S。　Navy　was　to　steer　well　clear　of　any　merchantman；　lest　he　decide　to　liven　up　his　day　by　ramming　you　…the　average　age　of　the　crews　running　the　ships　was　about　fifty；　more　than　double　that　in　any　American　naval　vessel。　How　would　those　grandfathers　take　the　stress　of　bat　operations？　Morris　wondered。　They　were　quite　well　paid…some　of　the　senior　seamen　made　as　much　as　he　did…but　would　their　fortable；　union…negotiated　salaries　devalue　in　the　face　of　missiles　and　torpedoes？　He　had　to　erase　the　thought　from　his　mind。　These　old　men　with　kids　in　high　school　and　college　were　his　flock。　He　was　the　shepherd；　and　there　were　wolves　hiding　under　the　gray　surface　of　the　Atlantic。
Not　a　large　flock。　He　had　seen　the　figures　only　a　year　ago：　the　total　number　of　privately　owned　cargo　ships　in　operation　under　the　American　flag　was　170　and　averaged　about　eighteen　thousand　tons　apiece。　Of　those；　a　mere　103　were　routinely　engaged　in　overseas　trade。　The　supplemental　National　Defense　Reserve　Fleet　consisted　of　only　172　cargo　ships。　To　call　the　situation　a　disgrace　was　to　describe　gang　rape　as　a　mild　social　deviation。
They　couldn't　allow　even　one　to　be　lost。
Morris　wandered　over　to　the　bridge　radarscope　and　looked　down　into　the　rubber　eyeshield　to　watch　the　aircraft　lifting　out　of　Dover。　Each　blip　contained　three　to　five　hundred　men。　What　would　happen　when　they　ran　out　of　shells？
〃Another　merchie；　skipper。〃　The　officer　of　the　dock　pointed　to　a　dot　on　the　horizon。　〃She's　a　Dutch　container　boat。　I　expect　she's　inbound　for　military　cargo。〃
Morris　grunted。　〃We　need　all　the　help　we　can　get。〃

SUNNYVALE；　CALIFORNIA
〃It's　definite；　sir；〃　the　colonel　said。　〃Tha