Gorsky appeared on the bridge and asked, “What is happening?”
Petrov replied, “We will wait here.” He added, “There are two patrol boats in the area.”
“There will be more later.”
Petrov did not respond.
Gleb shut off the one radio they had left on to monitor the police frequencies. “We are now deaf and blind. But so are they. We have disappeared.”
Gorsky looked at Petrov. “What is your plan?”
“To wait.”
“For what?”
“For the right time.”
Gorsky did not reply, but Petrov knew that Gorsky—and Gleb—must have realized that the escape plan was either no longer possible, or at best very difficult.
An easier escape plan, however, was possible and obvious, and Gorsky said, “We are already at the pier we planned to escape to. So we should reset the timer clock for an hour from now and leave this ship and go to our car, and to the airport—”
Gleb said, “The Americans will soon be closing all airports.”
Gorsky looked at Petrov. “We can drive to our residence. Or even to Tamorov’s.”
Petrov saw that Gorsky, like Gleb, was becoming concerned. Viktor wanted to live to kill again. Petrov said, “We wait here.”
Gleb said, “I like Viktor’s plan.”
Petrov looked at both of them. “I did not come all this way to destroy a few abandoned piers and a recycling center.”
Neither Gorsky nor Gleb replied.
Petrov said to them, “It is obvious from what we saw on the radar and what we heard on the radio that the Americans are concentrating their search on the sea. They have no indication that we are already here, and they wish us not to be here, so they continue their search on the ocean, substituting hope for intelligence. They continue to look for our radiation, but they will not detect it.” He concluded, “Soon they will institute a desperate defensive plan and use all their available craft to block The Narrows. They will look out to sea, but we are already behind them. We are in the goal zone.”
Gleb glanced at Gorsky, but neither man had anything to say to Colonel Petrov, who now seemed distant and remote.
Petrov stared through the windshield into the darkness, then said, “We can pick the time when we wish to move, and nothing can stop us from sailing the last few kilometers to Manhattan Island—to the financial heart of the beast.” He added, “And then we return home to glory and gratitude and with pride.”
Neither Gorsky nor Gleb inquired about the escape, but each man was thinking similar thoughts: Colonel Petrov’s plan did not include an escape.
Petrov changed the subject and said to Gorsky, “I assume you did not find the deckhand.”
“I did not.” He added, “He must have gone overboard earlier.”
“Or,” Petrov said, “he has eluded you.”
Gorsky had no response, but he went to the security screen and switched from camera to camera, looking at the images of the lifeless ship. He stopped at the tender garage, where he could see Urmanov tied to the dock, his chin resting on his chest.
Gleb said, “You should be kind and put him out of his misery.”
Petrov replied, “I would have done just that, but he tried to betray the mission and the Motherland.”
Gleb understood that this was a message meant also for him, and he did not reply. He deeply regretted having gotten involved with the SVR, but no one else was offering him two million Swiss francs for captaining a ship. He put his hand in his pocket and felt his gun, which gave him some comfort.
Colonel Vasily Petrov seemed at ease now. He had seen the towering skyscrapers of Manhattan. And soon, if all went well, he would see them again. And that would be the last thing he saw on this earth. Most importantly, no one on this earth would ever see those skyscrapers again.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
After about ten minutes at sea, Conte asked me, “What do you have in mind?”
I didn’t know where The Hana was, but I knew where it was going. “New York Harbor.”
Sergeant Conte informed me from the captain’s chair, “I am not authorized to cross jurisdictional lines.” He made sure I understood, “We are not going to New York Harbor.”
I anticipated that response and reminded him, “You are authorized to cross jurisdictional lines when you are in hot pursuit.” I assured him, “That’s the law.”
“I know the law, Detective. I just don’t see the hot pursuit.”
He had a valid point, so I tried another approach. “I am a Federal law enforcement agent, and Ms. Faraday is a Federal intelligence officer. We have no jurisdictional boundaries in the war on terrorism.”
“I need to speak to a supervisor.”
“Call Captain Kalish.”
He reached for his radio, but I suggested he use his cell phone so the rest of the world couldn’t hear the conversation—or hear that I was on the SAFE boat.
He got Kalish on the phone and explained why he was calling, then handed me his cell phone.
Kalish asked me, “What the hell are you doing?”
“I thought Sergeant Conte just explained that.”
“Look, I’ve already stuck my neck out for you—”
“I appreciate that and I hope you took credit for my theory about how the radiation is being hidden—”
“And if what you think is going to happen actually happens, then neither you nor my officers want to be there when it happens.”
“We’re going to the harbor to make sure it doesn’t happen.”
“I assure you, this operation can proceed without you.”
“I lost my surveillance target, Scott. Now I need to find him.”
“Get over it. And put Conte back on.”
I looked at Sergeant Conte, who was dividing his attention between piloting the boat and trying to decipher my end of the conversation about going to the harbor to make sure something didn’t happen. Officer Andersson, too, seemed all ears.
Tess was looking at me, and I couldn’t tell if she approved of a trip to nuclear ground zero. Maybe I should have asked her.
Kalish said, “John? Put Conte on.”
“Scott, let me explain the situation to Pete and Nikola and put this to a vote.”
“A vote? We don’t vote. I vote. And I vote no.”
Time to pull rank. Or call in a favor. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any rank to pull, and Scott and I were even on favors. So I appealed to his sense of duty. “Look, Scott, you understand how important—”
“Please put Sergeant Conte on or I’ll radio him and everyone can hear what I have to say.”
Tess asked me for the phone, and since I didn’t want Kalish on the radio, I handed it to her.
She said, “Captain Kalish, this is Tess Faraday. I’m putting the phone on speaker.”
“Good.” He said, “Conte, turn the unit around.”
Sergeant Conte called out, “Roger that.” He reduced his speed and began a wide starboard turn.
Tess said to Kalish, “Captain, we believe this event is not going to happen until eight forty-six A.M. or nine oh-three A.M., and I think you agree with that.”
“I might agree, but I’m not going to bet anyone’s life on it. So you and Detective Corey and my officers can run search patterns out in the ocean all night.” He added, “That’s an order.”
The SAFE boat was heading east now, back toward where we started.
Tess went on in a calm and reasonable tone of voice, “I’d like to explain the situation to Sergeant Conte and Officer Andersson, and see if they will agree to take us to the harbor.”