Jack Ryan 4 - The Hunt for Red October (57 page)

The
Dallas

“Sonar, give me two low-powered pings for the boomer. I don't want anybody else to hear this, Chief.”

“Aye.” Chief Laval made the proper adjustments and sent the signals out. “All right!
Conn
, sonar, I got her! Bearing two-zero-three, range two thousand yards. She is not, repeat not, on the bottom, sir.”

“Left fifteen degrees rudder, come to two-zero-three,” Chambers ordered.

“Left fifteen degrees rudder, aye!” the helmsman sang out. “New course two-zero-three. Sir, my rudder is left fifteen degrees.”

“Frenchie, tell me about the boomer!”

“Sir, I got . . . pump noises, I think . . . and she's moving a little, bearing is now two-zero-one. I can track her on passive, sir.”

“Thompson, plot the boomer's course. Mr. Goodman, we still have that MOSS ready for launch?” “Aye aye,” responded the torpedo officer.

The
V. K. Konovalov

“Did we kill him?” the zampolit asked.

“Probably,” Tupolev answered, wondering if he had or not. “We must close to be certain. Ahead slow.”

“Ahead slow.”

The
Pogy

The Pogy was now within two thousand yards of the Konovalov, still pinging her mercilessly.

“He's moving, sir. Enough that I can read passive,” Sonar Chief Palmer said.

“Very well, secure pinging,” Wood said.

“Aye, pinging secured.”

“We got a solution?”

“Locked in tight,” Reynolds answered. “Running time is one minute eighteen seconds. Both fish are ready.”

“All ahead one-third.”

“All ahead one-third, aye.” The Pogy slowed. Her commanding officer wondered what excuse he might find for shooting.

The
Red October

“Skipper, that was one of our sonars that pinged us, off north-north-east. Low-power ping, sir, must be close.”

“Think you can raise her on gertrude?”

“Yes sir!”

“Captain?” Mancuso asked. “Permission to communicate with my ship?”

“Yes.”

“Jones, raise her right now.”

“Aye. This is Jonesy calling Frenchie, do you copy?” The sonarman frowned at the speaker. “Frenchie, answer me.”

The
Dallas

“
Conn
, sonar, I got Jonesy on the gertrude.”

Chambers lifted the control room gertrude phone. “Jones, this is Chambers. What is your condition?”

Mancuso took the mike away from his man. “Wally, this is Bart,” he said. “We took one midships, but she's holding together. Can you run interference for us?”

“Aye aye! Starting right now, out.” Chambers replaced the phone. “Goodman, flood the MOSS tube. Okay, we'll go in behind the MOSS. If the Alfa shoots at it, we take her out. Set it to run straight for two thousand yards, then turn south.”

“Done. Outer door open, sir.”

“Launch.”

“MOSS away, sir.”

The decoy ran forward at twenty knots for two minutes to clear the
Dallas
, then slowed. It had a torpedo body whose forward portion carried a powerful sonar transducer that ran off a tape recorder and broadcast the recorded sounds of a 688-class submarine. Every four minutes it changed over from loud operation to silent. The
Dallas
trailed a thousand yards behind the decoy, dropping several hundred feet below its course track.

The Konovalov approached the wall of bubbles carefully, with the Pogy trailing to the north.

“Shoot at the decoy, you son of a bitch,” Chambers said quietly. The attack center crew heard him and nodded grim agreement.

The
Red October

Ramius judged that the ensonified zone was now between him and the Alfa. He ordered the engines turned back on, and the Red October proceeded on a north-easterly course.

The
V. K. Konovalov

“Left ten degrees rudder,” Tupolev ordered quietly. “We'll come around the dead zone to the north and see if he is still alive when we turn back. First we must clear the noise.”

“Still nothing,” the michman reported. “No bottom impact, no collapse noises . . . New contact, bearing one-seven-zero . . . Different sound, Comrade Captain, one propeller . . . Sounds like an American.”

“What heading?”

“South, I think. Yes, south . . . The sound's changing. It is American.”

“An American sub is decoying. We ignore it.”

“Ignore it?” the zampolit said.

“Comrade, if you were heading north and were torpedoed, would you then head south? Yes, you would—but not Marko. It is too obvious. This American is decoying to try to take us away from him. Not too clever, this one. Marko would do better. And he would go north. I know him, I know how he thinks. He is now heading north, perhaps northeast. They would not decoy if he was dead. Now we know that he is alive but crippled. We will find him, and finish him,” Tupolev said calmly, fully caught up in the hunt for Red October, remembering all he had been taught. He would prove now that he was the new master. His conscience was still. Tupolev was fulfilling his destiny.

“But the Americans—”

“Will not shoot, Comrade,” the captain said with a thin smile. “If they could shoot, we would already be dead from the one to the north. They cannot shoot without permission. They must ask for permission, as we must—but we already have the permission, and the advantage. We are now where the torpedo struck him, and when we clear the disturbance we will find him again. Then we will have him.”

The
Red October

They couldn't use the caterpillar. One side was smashed by the torpedo hit. The October was moving at six knots, driven by her propellers, which made more noise than the other system. This was much like the normal drill of protecting a boomer. But the exercise always presupposed that the escorting attack boats could shoot to make the bad guy go away . . .

“Left rudder, reverse course,” Ramius ordered.

“What?” Mancuso was astounded.

“Think, Mancuso,” Ramius said, looking to be sure that Ryan carried out the order. Ryan did, not knowing why.

“Think, Commander Mancuso,” Ramius repeated. “What has happened? Moskva ordered a hunter sub to remain behind, probably a Politovskiy-class boat, the Alfa you call him. I know all their captains. All young, all, ah, aggressive? Yes, aggressive. He must know we are not dead. If he knows this, he will pursue us. So, we go back like a fox and let him pass.”

Mancuso didn't like this. Ryan could tell without looking.

“We cannot shoot. Your men cannot shoot. We cannot run from him—he is faster. We cannot hide—his sonar is better. He will move east, use his speed to contain us and his sonar to locate us. By moving west, we have the best chance to escape. This he will not expect.”

Mancuso still didn't like it, but he had to admit it was clever. Too damned clever. He looked back down at the chart. It wasn't his boat.

The
Dallas

“The bastard went right past. Either ignored the decoy or flat didn't hear it. He's abeam of us, we'll be in his baffles soon,” Chief Laval reported.

Chambers swore quietly. “So much for that idea. Right fifteen degrees rudder.” At least the
Dallas
had not been heard. The submarine responded rapidly to the controls. “Let's get behind him.”

The
Pogy

The Pogy was now a mile off the Alfa's port quarter. She had the
Dallas
on sonar and noted her change of course. Commander Wood simply did not know what to do next. The easiest solution was to shoot, but he couldn't. He contemplated shooting on his own. His every instinct told him to do just this. The Alfa was hunting Americans . . . But he couldn't give in to his instinct. Duty came first.

There was nothing worse than overconfidence, he reflected bitterly. The assumption behind this operation had been that there wouldn't be anybody around, and even if there were the attack subs would be able to warn the boomer off well in advance. There was a lesson in this, but Wood didn't care to think about it just now.

The
V. K. Konovalov

“Contact,” the michman said into the microphone. “Ahead, almost dead ahead. Using propellers and going at slow speed. Bearing zero-four-four, range unknown.”

“Is it Red October?” Tupolev asked.

“I cannot say, Comrade Captain. It could be an American. He's coming this way, I think.”

“Damn!” Tupolev looked around the control room. Could they have passed the Red October? Might they already have killed him?

The
Dallas

“Does he know we're here, Frenchie?” Chambers asked, back in sonar.

“No way, sir.”
Laval
shook his head. “We're directly behind him. Wait a minute . . .” The chief frowned. “Another contact, far side of the Alfa. That's gotta be our friend, sir. Jesus! I think he's heading this way. Using his wheels, not that funny thing.”

“Range to the Alfa?”

“Under three thousand yards, sir.”

“All ahead two thirds! Come left ten degrees!” Chambers ordered. “Frenchie, ping, but use the under-ice sonar. He may not know what that is. Make him think we're the boomer.”

“Aye aye, sir!”

The
V. K. Konovalov

“High-frequency pinging aft!” the michman called out. “Does not sound like an American sonar, Comrade.”

Tupolev was suddenly puzzled. Was it an American to seaward? The other one on his port quarter was certainly American. It had to be the October. Marko was still the fox. He had lain still, letting them go past, so that he could shoot at them!

“All ahead full, left full rudder!”

The
Red October

“Contact!” Jones sang out. “Dead ahead. Wait . . . It's an Alfa! She's close! Seems to be turning. Somebody pinging her on the other side. Christ, she's real close. Skipper, the Alfa is not a point source. I got signal separation between the engine and the screw.”

“Captain,” Mancuso said. The two commanders looked at one another and communicated a single thought as if by telepathy. Ramius nodded.

“Get us range.”

“Jonesy, ping the sucker!” Mancuso ran aft.

“Aye.” The systems were fully powered. Jones loosed a single ranging ping. “Range fifteen hundred yards. Zero elevation angle, sir. We're level with her.”

“Mancuso, have your man give us range and bearing!” Ramius twisted the annunciator handle savagely.

“Okay, Jonesy, you're our fire control. Track the mother.”

The
V. K. Konovalov

“One active sonar ping to starboard, distance unknown, bearing zero-four-zero. The seaward target just ranged on us,” the michman said.

“Give me a range,” Tupolev ordered.

“Too far aft of the beam, Comrade. I am losing him aft.”

One of them was the October—but which? Could he risk shooting at an American sub? No!

“Solution to the forward target?”

“Not a good one,” the starpom replied. “He's maneuvering and increasing speed.”

The michman concentrated on the western target. “Captain, contact forward is not, repeat not Soviet. Forward contact is American.”

“Which one?” Tupolev screamed.

“West and northwest are both American. East target unknown.”

“Keep the rudder at full.”

“Rudder is full,” the helmsman responded, holding the wheel over.

“The target is behind us. We must lock on and shoot as we turn. Damn, we are going too fast. Slow to one-third speed.”

The Konovalov was normally quick to turn, but the power reduction made her propeller act like a brake, slowing the maneuver. Still, Tupolev was doing the right thing. He had to point his torpedo tubes near the bearing of the target, and he had to slow rapidly enough for his sonar to give him accurate firing information.

The
Red October

“Okay, the Alfa is continuing her turn, now heading right to left . . . Propulsion sounds are down some. She just chopped power,” Jones said, watching the screen. His mind was working furiously computing course, speed, and distance. “Range is now twelve hundred yards. She's still turning. We doin' what I think?”

“Looks that way.”

Jones set the active sonar on automatic pinging. “Have to see what this turn does, sir. If she's smart she'll burn off south and get clear first.”

“Then pray she ain't smart,” Mancuso said from the passageway. “Steady as she goes!”

“Steady as she goes,” Ryan said, wondering if the next torpedo would kill them.

“Her turn is continuing. We're on her port beam now, maybe her port bow.” Jones looked up. “She's going to get around first. Here come the pings.”

The Red October accelerated to eighteen knots.

The
V. K. Konovalov

“I have him,” the michman said. “Range one thousand meters, bearing zero-four-five. Angle zero.”

“Set it up,” Tupolev ordered his exec.

“It will have to be a zero-angle shot. We're swinging too rapidly,” the starpom said. He set it up as quickly as he could. The submarines were now closing at over forty knots. “Ready for tube five only! Tube flooded, door—open. Ready!”

“Shoot!”

“Fire five!” The starpom's finger stabbed the button.

The
Red October

“Range down to nine hundred—high-speed screws dead ahead! We have one torpedo in the water dead ahead. One fish, heading right in!”

“Forget it, track the Alfa!”

“Aye, okay, the Alfa's bearing two-two-five, steadying down. We need to come left a little, sir.”

“Ryan, come left five degrees, your course is two-two-five.”

“Left five rudder, coming to two-two-five.”

“The fish is closing rapidly, sir,” Jones said.

“Screw it! Track the Alfa.”

“Aye. Bearing is still two-two-five. Same as the fish.”

The combined speed ate up the distance between the submarines rapidly. The torpedo was closing the October faster still, but it had a safety device built in. To prevent them from blowing up their own launch platform, torpedoes could not arm until they were five hundred to a thousand yards from the boat that launched them. If the October closed the Alfa fast enough, she could not be hurt.