Operation White Out, page 25
I was happy to see they had resolved the problem and that Joey would get some drive time. I followed the three through the escape trunk into Mystic. Senior Chief Abelé closed the upper escape hatch behind him. As he climbed into Mystic’s Mid Sphere, he opened his jacket to show me a standard issue .45 nestled in a shoulder holster. He gave me a knowing smile. I patted my left side with a slight nod. We understood each other.
Deckhart got us underway and turned Mystic due east. Joey sat beside him in the right seat. About a minute later, Joey pointed to the forward-looking sonar screen.
“There she is! I can see Hi Bào!”
“How far?” Deckhart asked.
Joey checked and then said, “Four hundred yards and closing.”
“Okay,” Deckhart said, “you drive it until we are above Hi Bào and DIW.”
I watched the young female officer concentrate all her attention on the job at hand. Deckhart looked at me with a grin. “Doin’ okay,” he said, as Joey slowed Mystic to a full stop above the Taiwanese submarine. “I got it,” Deckhart said, and Joey lifted her hands from the controls.
“Hi Bào, this is Mystic. We are over your escape hatch, ready to settle to your mating ring, over.”
“Roger that, Mystic. Mate when ready.”
Deckhart settled onto the ring and said, “Pump the skirt, Senior Chief.”
When the skirt was dry, Abelé opened the DSRV hatch and pounded on Hi Bào’s with a hammer. Hi Bào’s hatch cracked open with a slight hiss and then opened into the skirt. A smiling Li Wei greeted me. He climbed into Mystic, followed by four technicians. Abelé directed them to the Rescue Sphere.
When everyone was settled, but before we got underway, I quietly asked Li Wei, “Is there any chance this problem could be linked to one of your crew members?”
“Virtually impossible,” he answered. “We vetted the crew back to three generations. Each is exceedingly loyal to China as embodied by Taiwan. I would put my life in the hands of any crew member.”
“High confidence,” I said. “Something I expected. Who, then?”
“It would have happened during construction. We examined everything with, as you say, a fine-toothed comb. We found nothing out of the ordinary, nothing at all.”
“And yet, the signal is being produced,” I said. “It’s for real.” I paused. Deckhart was looking at us expectantly through the hatch between the Control Sphere and the Mid Sphere. “I am reluctantly drawn to one conclusion,” I said quietly. “Qiántng Yóuchuán Èr has a stowaway.”
Li Wei nodded assent. “A dedicated saboteur could carry it off, but there is no water nor any sanitary facilities inside the vessel.” He shook his head. “It would be most difficult. We need to enter the tanker with extreme caution. I will go first, but you please be ready to back me up.”
I gave Deckhart a thumb’s up, and he let Joey run through the procedure for lifting off Hi Bào.
Just 100 yards separated us from the tanker that loomed large on Mystic’s sonar. Joey handed the controls to Deckhart, who eased the little DSRV along the port flank of the massive tanker. Once we reached the bow, Deckhart took us up until we were alongside the DSRV-like hull that contained the operating machinery. Li Wei stuck his head into the Control Sphere.
“The hatch is one-third back from the bow. It has a standard rescue ring.”
The hull upper surface was about fifteen feet below the water. Mystic’s TV cameras showed lots of light from a bright noon sun. Deckhart maneuvered Mystic over the hatch, keeping as close as possible to the hull since there were only about four feet of water above the DSRV. Anyone on the cliffs towering above their location would easily see both the DSRV and tanker.
He eased Mystic tight against the ring and said, “Okay, Senior Chief, pump the skirt.”
When the skirt was dry, Abelé cracked open the DSRV hatch. Li Wei stepped over and said, “Senior Chief, let me take it from here.”
Abelé looked at me and I nodded assent. He stepped back and let the Taiwanese officer take over. Li Wei leaned down and opened our hatch. Abelé handed him a hammer that he used to pound the tanker hatch. We didn’t expect a response, and there was none. Then he drew a weapon from inside his jacket and undogged the tanker hatch. It opened with a hiss, and Li Wei swung it up into the skirt. The hull interior was dark.
Li Wei dropped down the ladder and turned on the lights. He looked up and said, “Send my team down, please.”
I motioned to the four Taiwanese technicians, and they dropped into the tanker hull. I looked at Abelé.
“We may be dealing with a stowaway down there. Close the hatch after I descend, and stay alert!”
I dropped down into the tanker operation center. The space was tight. The four technicians crowded around the Stirling engine and generator, poking and prodding with their test instruments. Li Wei stood back to one side, watching them but also scanning the rest of the confined space. I saw no place capable of storing food and water for an extended stay, nothing to indicate a stowaway had been active in the operation center. It dawned on me that my expectation of a stowaway came from my conversation with Li Wei. What if he were a ChiCom agent? What if one or more of his technicians were ChiCom agents? They could “discover” the signal source, pretend to fix it while adjusting its parameters, and I would be none the wiser.
While I watched, one technician shouted and held up a component. He said something in Chinese to Li Wei, who translated, “This is the culprit. This board has a modified circuit that causes the signal transmission.”
The technicians consulted together and then approached Li Wei with the board. “We need to replace this with an unmodified board,” one of them said in English for my benefit.
Li Wei nodded and looked at me. “Can we return to Hi Bào to pick up a replacement board?”
“Shouldn’t be a problem,” I said, heading up the ladder.
Once inside Mystic, I asked, “May I see that board?”
The technician holding it handed it to me. “This circuit here,” he said, outlining a section of the board with his finger.
“Jim,” I said to Deckhart, “take us back to Hi Bào. We need to replace a circuit board.”
A half hour later, we were underway again for the tanker. The same four technicians were with us. The one who pointed out the culprit circuit on the board asked if he could look into the Control Sphere. I took him forward and introduced him to Deckhart and Joey. He watched them for a couple of minutes and then returned to his place in the Rescue Sphere, thanking me as he passed.
When we arrived and docked, Li Wei and the technicians entered the tanker control space. Just as I was about to drop down the ladder, Joey spoke up.
“Mac, wait. Would you please stick your head in here?” As I did, she handed me a crumpled piece of paper.
I spread it out. It was a circuit diagram of the affected board, with the added elements identified. Across the bottom were the words: The board we install is same as the original one. Still produces signal. Check lifejacket under my seat in Rescue Sphere.
I handed the note to Abelé. “Check this out, Senior Chief, while I go below.”
I dropped into the operations center, where one of the technicians, not the one who passed the note, installed the replacement board. He looked up with a smile, nodding his head.
“That should do it,” Li Wei said. “That should rid us of our tail.”
On the way back to Hi Bào, the technician who passed the note glanced at me quizzically. I shifted my glance to Abelé, and he grinned and patted his jacket pocket. No one seemed to notice.
After we dropped Li Wei and his people off and lifted free of Hi Bào, Abelé handed me a circuit board. It was like the one we had removed, but without the added circuit.
“Double-time it back to Teuthis,” I ordered Deckhart.
USS TEUTHIS—AUCKLAND ISLAND, THE GENERAL GRANT WRECK SITE
I stopped in Dive Control on my way to see the skipper. Ham had divers in the water, and a full bathymetric/magnetometer Fish survey was underway.
“Let me bring you up to date,” Ham said. “I pressed divers down waiting for the Fish to give us a hit. Borysko showed up, so I let them into the water. You can imagine the joyful greeting. The big Orca was as happy as I have ever seen him.
“Right about then, two right whales showed up—talk about big—they totally dwarfed Borysko. That didn’t bother him at all. He went into attack mode. Orcas feed on right whales, you know. Anyway, Ski placed himself between Borysko and the right whales, that stupid fuck! Borysko tried to maneuver around him, but Ski kept himself between. Finally, Borysko gave up and approached Ski for some bonding.
“Strange thing is, Borysko ignores the right whales now. He acts as if they weren’t even there.
“No hits yet from the Fish. We’re about halfway through. I’ll let you know if something comes up.”
“Thanks, Ham. I gotta see the skipper right away. We’ll talk later.”
I climbed the ladder to the main deck and headed forward to the skipper’s cabin. Once seated with a fresh cup of Joe, I related what had happened and then showed the skipper the circuit board.
“The Hi Bào crewman took quite a risk to get this to me. There is only one conclusion that makes sense.”
“Li Wei is a ChiCom agent, along with at least one of his technicians,” the skipper said. “This is serious, and we’re all at risk.” He sat back, sipping his cooling coffee. “We can’t be wrong with this,” he said. “Is there any chance he doesn’t know about the crew member’s actions?”
“That’s the conundrum. I have no doubt about the involved crew member, and I am certain about the guy who handed me the note.” I looked at the skipper ruefully. “I thought I was certain about Li Wei, but all the facts point directly at him.”
“You need to speak directly with Tiong-hāu Zhang Min; let him make the decision.”
“Exactly how do we pull that off, Skipper?”
We sat in silence, each pondering the problem.
“I have a thought, Sir,” I said finally. “Both Teuthis and Hi Bào are bottomed. A commanding officer normally does not leave his ship, but since we both are bottomed, Tiong-hāu Zhang Min might be willing to visit with you for a final intimate dinner before we get underway for the long journey to Taiwan.” I splayed my hands on my knees. “You can invite him to visit you here, where you both can be served in your stateroom. Li Wei would have to remain on Hi Bào, of course, so you could lay out the facts for his consideration.”
The skipper looked at me with astonishment. “Aren’t you the devious one?” Then he smiled. “What is the status of your survey?”
“About halfway through,” I said.
The skipper thought for a couple of minutes. Then he folded his hands and said, “Okay, here’s what we will do.”
We were two hours into Seth’s watch when I picked up the Secure Gertrude. “Hi Bào, this is Teuthis. Commander Lonie Franken-Ester formally requests that Tiong-hāu Zhang Min join him at eighteen hundred aboard Teuthis for a private farewell dinner before we depart for Taiwan.”
Fifteen minutes later, over the Secure Gertrude Hi Bào said, “Teuthis, this is Hi Bào. Tiong-hāu Zhang Min gratefully accepts Commander Lonie Franken-Ester’s gracious invitation. Hi Bào will be ready to accept Mystic at seventeen thirty.”
We had two hours.
I called Senior Chief Rusty Jackson to join me in the Wardroom. When he arrived, I served him a cup of coffee.
“Rusty,” I said, “you and I have a special task.”
I then outlined what had transpired on the tanker and showed him the circuit board the Taiwanese technician had given me.
“You and your two best technicians will accompany me on Mystic to the tanker. There, you guys will replace the modified board with this one. I cannot tell you exactly which board is the culprit, but I am hoping you three will figure it out. We’re doing this on the sly, although Captain Franken-Ester will have informed their captain by the time we complete the job.” I stood up. “Get your guys together and meet me at seventeen hundred at the DSRV.” As he was leaving, I added, “Tell no one! This must remain absolutely secret.”
At seventeen hundred, we met below the after escape trunk.
“I will accompany Mystic to get their skipper. You guys hang out and be ready to go as soon as I return and take him to the skipper. Any questions?”
Shortly thereafter, I got underway with Mystic. Taggert let Deckhart and Joey make the trip once more, to Joey’s delight. Deckhart timed the transit, so we arrived over Hi Bào’s escape hatch at exactly 1730. When Hi Bào’s hatch opened, Tiong-hāu Zhang Min greeted me with a salute and a smile. I returned both. Twenty minutes later, I accompanied him to the skipper’s cabin in Teuthis.
I returned aft. Jackson and his guys were already in Mystic. “Onward to Qiántng Yóuchuán Èr,” I said as I climbed into the DSRV.
Our transit took a half hour, and forty minutes after I dropped the Taiwanese captain off with my skipper, Jackson, his techs, and I found ourselves inside the Taiwanese tanker control room.
“Here is where they replaced the board,” I told Jackson, pointing to the console.
Jackson and his people are as good as they get, which is why they were chosen for this mission. After fifteen minutes of poking around in the console, Jackson held up a circuit board.
“This is the fucker,” he said with a grin, handing it to me.
It looked exactly like the one I had examined earlier where the technician pointed out the suspect circuit. Five minutes later, Jackson brushed his hands together.
“We’re done here, Commander.”
They hustled into Mystic. I took one last look around to ensure nothing had been left behind, then I mounted the ladder into the DSRV.
“Take us home, Jim,” I said.
After we docked, I went straight to the skipper’s cabin and knocked on the door.
“Enter,” the skipper said.
I opened the door to see a nicely laid out repast of steak and bakers, mostly consumed.
“Come in, Mac,” the skipper said warmly. “We were just talking about you and your counterpart on Hi Bào.”
“I have something to show you both,” I said, handing the modified circuit board to Tiong-hāu Zhang Min.
“This is from the Stirling control circuitry?” he asked.
I nodded and pointed to the section the Taiwanese technician had shown me. “This circuit was added to the board,” I said. “When your technicians and Siáu-hāu Li Wei pulled the tampered board, they replaced it with an identical board, this one, Sir. Your technician, who made me aware of this, was incredibly brave. He risked his life to ensure I knew what was going on.”
“Commander, you have done me and my government a great service. Because of the sensitive nature of our mission, we may never be able to give you the recognition you truly deserve.”
I looked at the skipper and then at the Taiwanese captain. “It was my honor to help, Sir. I do not desire praise or recognition. It is sufficient to know that my actions have helped make our world safer.” I really meant it. I saluted them both and did a military about-face.
Before I could leave, Tiong-hāu Zhang Min stood and said, “I need to return to Hi Bào. I have some urgent business to attend to.”
After he departed, I checked in with Ham.
“Has the Fish located anything?” I asked.
“Yes. Sir,” he said and handed me a heavy gold bar. “There’s plenty more where that came from.” He grinned widely. “We placed a transponder at the location. Here are the activation codes.” He handed me a card.
“Have you told anyone about the gold bar?”
“Not yet, Sir. I figured I’d let you make that decision.”
Teuthis, Hi Bào, and Qiántng Yóuchuán Èr transit from Auckland Island to the Solomon Islands.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Solomon Islands
USS TEUTHIS—TASMAN SEA
We got underway from Auckland Island in the third hour of Wilbur’s watch on day eighty-three of our mission. We configured ourselves as before, Hi Bào in the lead with Qiántng Yóuchuán Èr between us. An hour later, Omaha checked in on the Secure Gertrude.
“Teuthis, this is Omaha. We have Chángzhēng three a hundred miles north and a hundred miles east of your position. She is DIW. We think she is trying to acquire one of you. Haddo has placed herself between Chángzhēng three and you. If she gives any indication of having picked you up, Haddo will go active to frighten her off.”
“This is Teuthis, Roger, thank you,” Wilbur transmitted back.
For three days and nineteen hours, we maintained course and speed, except for minor course changes to conform to the great circle route and baffle clears every hour or so. At the end of this leg, we were a few miles south of a line connecting the cities of Auckland and Sydney—about the middle of the Tasman Sea.
During the journey, we had zero incidents, although we acquired several freighters crossing our path between Australia and New Zealand. At least they gave Sonar something to do. Occasionally, we picked up Omaha for a few minutes when she put on some speed to move to another location along our route. Other than that, it was one of those long, boring passages.
Seth took advantage of the down time to complete his final exam with another perfect score. When Teuthis returned to the States, he would be eligible to receive his Master of Science in Math. I was proud of him.
Ahead lay another 1,250 nautical miles of subtropical water—six and a half days. Once we passed the northern tip of New Zealand, surface traffic picked up, keeping Sonar busy. A vast panorama of islands lay ahead of us, most populated and served by medium to small freighters of all types. For the most part, the water between the islands was deep; the islands were mountain tips projecting up from the ocean floor. We pushed ahead as before, advancing just under 200 nautical miles a day.
