Deep Six

Giordino ran up behind him. “Jesus, whose was it?”

“Mine,” said Pitt, his features twisted in bitterness as he stared at the remains of the once beautiful Talbot-Lago.

Part III

The Leonid Andreyev

45

Loren was greeted by Captain Yakov Pokofsky when she boarded the Leonid Andreyev. Pokofsky was a charming man with thick silver hair and eyes as round and black as caviar. Though he acted polite and diplomatic, Loren sensed he wasn’t actually thrilled at having an American politician snooping about his ship, asking questions about its management. After the usual niceties, the first officer led her to a celebrity suite filled with enough flowers for a state funeral. The Russians, she mused, knew how to accommodate a visiting VIP.

In the evening, when the last of the passengers had boarded and settled down in their staterooms, the crew cast off the mooring lines and the cruise ship steamed out of Biscayne Bay through the cha

Loren stripped off her clothes and took a shower. When she stepped out and toweled, she struck an exaggerated model’s pose in front of a full-length mirror. The body was holding up quite well, considering thirty-seven years of use. Jogging and ballet classes four hours a week kept the centrifugal forces at bay. She pinched her tummy and sadly noted that slightly more than an inch of flesh protruded between her thumb and forefinger. The lavish food on the cruise ship wasn’t going to do her weight any good. She steeled her mind to lay off the alcohol and desserts.

She slipped on a mauve silk damask jacket over a black lace and taffeta skirt. Loosening the businesslike knot at the top of her head, she let her hair down so that it spilled over her shoulders. Satisfied with the effect, she felt in the mood for a stroll around the deck before di

The air was so warm she dispensed with a sweater. On the aft end of the sun deck she found a vacant deck chair and relaxed, raising her knees and clasping her hands around her calves. For the next half-hour she let her mind wander as she watched the half-moon’s reflection dash across the dark swells. Then the exterior deck lights abruptly went out from bow to stern.

Loren didn’t notice the helicopter until it was almost over the fantail of the ship. It had arrived at wavetop level, flying without navigation lights. Several crew members appeared from the shadows and quickly laid a roof over the boat-deck swimming pool. Then a ship’s officer signaled with a flashlight and the helicopter descended lightly onto the improvised landing pad.

Loren rose to her feet and stared over the railing. Her vantage point was one deck above and forty feet distant from the closed-over swimming pool. The area was dimly lit by the partial moon, enabling her to observe most of the action. She glanced around, looking for other passengers, but saw only five or six who were standing fifty feet further away.

Three men left the aircraft. Two of them, it appeared to Loren, were treated roughly. The ship’s officer placed the flashlight under his arm so he could have both hands free to brusquely shove one of the men into an open hatchway. For a brief instant the un-aimed beam caught and held on a paper-white face, eyes bulging in fear. Loren saw the facial details clearly. Her hands gripped the deck rail and her heart felt locked in ice.

Then the copter rose into the night and turned sharply back toward shore. The cover over the pool was quickly removed and the crew melted away. In a few seconds the ship’s lights came back on. Everything happened so fast, Loren wondered for a moment if she had actually witnessed the landing and takeoff.

But there was no mistaking the frightened creature she saw on the pool deck below. She was positive it was the Speaker of the House, Congressman Alan Moran.

On the bridge Captain Pokofsky peered at the radar-scope. He was of medium height and portly. A cigarette dangled from one corner of his mouth. He straightened and smoothed the jacket of his white dress uniform.

“At least they waited until we were beyond the twelve-mile limit,” he said in a guttural voice.

“Any sign they were followed?” asked the officer of the watch.

“No aerial contacts and no craft approaching by sea,” answered Pokofsky. “A smooth operation.”

“Like the others,” the watch officer said with a cocky smile.

Pokofsky did not return the smile. “I’m not fond of taking deliveries on short notice under moonlit skies.”

“This one must be a high priority.”

“Aren’t they all?” Pokofsky said caustically.

The watch officer decided to remain quiet. He’d served with Pokofsky long enough to recognize when the captain was in one of his moods.

Pokofsky checked the radar again and swept his eyes across the black sea ahead. “See that our guests are escorted to my cabin,” he ordered before turning and leaving the bridge.

Five minutes later the ship’s second officer knocked on the captain’s door, opened it and ushered in a man wearing a rumpled business suit.

“I’m Captain Pokofsky,” he said, rising from a leather reading chair.

“Paul Suvorov.”

“KGB or GRU?”[1]

“KGB.”

Pokofsky gestured toward a sofa. “Do you mind informing me of the purpose behind your unscheduled arrival?”

Suvorov gratefully sat down and took the measure of Pokofsky. He was uncomfortable with what he read. The captain was clearly a hardened seaman and not the type to be intimidated by state security credentials. Suvorov wisely chose to tread lightly.

“Not at all. I was instructed to smuggle two men out of the country.”

“Where are they now?”

“I took the liberty of having your first officer lock them in the brig.”

“Are they Soviet defectors?”

“No, they’re American.”

Pokofsky’s brows raised. “Are you saying you’ve kidnapped American citizens?”

“Yes,” said Suvorov with an icy calm. “Two of the most important leaders in the United States government.”

“I’m not sure I heard you correctly.”

“Their names do not matter. One is a congressman, the other a senator.”

Pokofsky’s eyes burned with sudden belligerence. “Do you have any idea of the jeopardy you’ve placed my ship in?”

“We’re in international waters,” Suvorov said placidly. “What can happen?”

“Wars have started for less,” Pokofsky said sharply. “If the Americans are alerted, international waters or not, they wouldn’t hesitate for one instant to send their Navy and Coast Guard to stop and board this vessel.”

Suvorov came to his feet and stared directly into Pokofsky’s eyes. “Your precious ship is in no danger, Captain.”

Pokofsky stared back. “What are you saying?”

“The ocean is a big dumping ground,” Suvorov said steadily. “If the situation requires, my friends in the brig will simply be committed to the deep.”

46

Talk around the captain’s table was dull and inane, as could be expected. Loren’s dining companions bored her with long-drawn-out descriptions of their previous travels. Pokofsky had heard such travelogues a thousand times before. He smiled politely and listened with feigned courtesy. When asked, he told how he had joined the Russian Navy at seventeen, worked up through the officers’ ranks until he commanded a troop transport, and after twenty years’ service transferred to the Soviet state-subsidized passenger line.

1

Soviet Military Intelligence.