Ice Station Zebra

13

"Clever clever counter-espionage, Carpenter," Dr. Jolly murmured. "How swiftly the fortunes of war change, old boy. But you shouldn't be surprised really. You haven't found out anything that actually matters, but surely you should have found out enough to realize that you are operating out of your class. Please don't try anything foolish. Ki

He delicately patted his still bleeding mouth with a handkerchief, rose, went behind me, and ran his hands quickly down my clothes.

"My word," he said. "Not even carrying a gun. You really are unprepared, Carpenter. Turn round, will you, so that your back is to Ki

I turned around. He smiled pleasantly, then hit me twice across the face with, all his strength, first with the back of his right hand and then with the back of his left. I staggered but didn't fall down. I could taste the salt of blood.

"Can't even call it regrettable loss of temper," Jolly said with satisfaction. "Did it deliberately and with malice aforethought. Enjoyed it, too."

"So Ki

"Wouldn't want to take all the credit, mate," Ki

"«You» were the one who went out with the monitor to find the capsule," I nodded. "That's why you got your face as badly frost-bitten."

"Got lost," Ki

"Jolly and Ki

"Be quiet," Jolly ordered. "Ki

"You're becoming too ambitious, Jolly," Swanson said calmly. "You can't hijack a submarine."

"Ki

Swanson half raised a hand in acknowledgment of defeat, crossed to the wall phone, gave the necessary orders, hung up and came back to stand beside me. He looked at me without either respect or admiration. I looked around at all the other people in the room. Jolly, Hansen and Rawlings standing, Zabrinski sitting on a chair by himself with the now disregarded copy of the «Dolphin Daze» on his knees, all the others sitting around the table, Ki

"Hijacking a nuclear submarine is an intriguing prospect, and no doubt would be a highly profitable one, Commander Swanson," Jolly said. "But I know my limitations, No, old top, we shall simply be leaving you. Not very many miles from here is a naval vessel with a helicopter on its after deck. In a little while, Commander, you will send a wireless message on a certain frequency giving our position: the helicopter will pick us up. And even if your crippled engine would stand the strain, I wouldn't advise you to come chasing after that ship with ideas about torpedoing it or anything of that dramatic sort. Apart from the fact that you wouldn't like to be responsible for triggering off a nuclear war, you couldn't catch it anyway. You won't even be able to see the ship, Commander — and if you did, it wouldn't matter, anyway. It has no nationality markings."

"Where are the films?" I asked.

"They're already aboard that naval vessel."

"They're «what?»" Swanson demanded. "How in hell's name can they be?"

"Sorry and all that, old boy. I repeat that, unlike Carpenter here, I don't go around shooting off my mouth. A professional, my dear captain, «never» gives information about his methods."

"So you get off with it," I said bitterly. My mouth felt thick and swollen.

"Don't see what's to stop us. Crimes don't always come home to roost, you know."

"Eight men murdered," I said wonderingly. "Eight men. You can stand there and cheerfully admit that you are responsible for the deaths of eight men."

"Cheerfully?" he said consideringly. "No, not cheerfully. Fm a professional, and a professional never kills u

"That's the second time you've used the word 'professional,'" I said slowly. "I was wrong on one theory. You weren't just suborned after the Zebra team had been picked. You've been at this game a long time — you're. too good not to have been."

"Fifteen years, old lad," Jolly said calmly. "Ki

"You admit to all those murders?" I asked.

He looked at me in sudden cold speculation. "A damned fu

"And do you, Ki

He looked at me in bleak suspicion. "Why ask?"

"You answer my question and I'll answer yours." At the corner of my range of vision I could see Jolly looking at me with narrowed eyes. He was very sensitive to atmosphere, he knew there was something off-key.

"You know damn well what I did, mate," Ki

"So there we have it. In the presence of no less than twelve witnesses, you both confess to murder. You shouldn't have done that, you know. I'll answer your question, Ki

"What rubbish is this?" Jolly asked contemptuously. But there was worry under the contempt. "What last-minute despairing bluff are you trying to pull, Carpenter?"

I ignored his question. I said: "I've been on to Ki

"Don't fall for it, old lad," Jolly said to Ki

"When I knew you were one of the killers," I said to Jolly, I was almost certain Ki

"By the same token, young Grant, the assistant radio operator, was in cahoots with you — or he wasn't. If he wasn't, he would have.to be silenced. He wasn't. So you silenced him. After I'd caught on to the two of you, I had a good look at Grant. I went out and dug him up from where we'd buried him. Rawlings and I. I found a great big bruise at the base of his neck. He surprised you in something, or he woke when you knifed or shot one of Major Halliwell's men, and you laid him out. You didn't bother killing him: you were about to set the hut on fire and incinerate him, so killing would have been pointless. But you didn't reckon on Captain Folsom here going in and bringing him out — alive.