North Cape

The U.S.S. Robert F. Kennedy came around on a course that would bring them to bear directly on the submarine and settled into the waves. Larkin himself took the conn and rapidly closed the gap between the two vessels. So far it appeared that the submarine had not seen the RFK, and Larkin doubted that, with her more limited equipment, they would be able to break through the ECM shield around the battle cruiser. They would be having troubles enough to spare much time for surveillance in any event. Larkin stood in as close as he dared until only fifty miles separated the two ships. His own detection equipment was excellent and there was no sense pushing his luck. For twenty minutes they watched the submarine as it changed course to run in under the lee of the Porsangerfjord, much as Larkin had expected. He was sure from the way the submarine was being handled that the Russian commander knew these waters well. Fjords are tricky places to take a submarine into. The complex currents between the narrow walls and the convolutions of the rock sides and bottom create a maze of conflicting sonar reports so that the underwater gear becomes almost useless for anything other than short-range work. The Russian commander was clearly over-running his sonar and Larkin wondered how many times the Russian had done this before. It made sense when he thought about it. This section of the Cape was practically deserted, with the exception of a few fishing villages. The only military installation on this end of the Cape was the coast guard base, placed there to protect the fishing fleet, not to conduct coastal surveillance. Other than that, there was only the Norwegian-manned NATO base on the far side of the Cape.

To neutralize the NATO base if war should occur, a head-on attack would be suicidal. But a sufficiently large force in regiment strength, complete with vehicles, could be landed in Porsangerfjord and strike overland to take the base from the rear. With the NATO base in their hands the Soviet sub fleet would have free access to the Barents and Norwegian seas, and from there could move into the North Atlantic with little or no opposition.

Approximately twenty minutes went by before the radar operator called Larkin's attention to the radar scope again and interpreted the puzzIe of dots in the growing pattern on the screen.

It looks like they are surfacing, sir. More.of the sail is out — of the water and the decks are coming into view." A few moments later he said, "Now she's heaving to… about two miles off the beach, I make it, sir."

"Probably doesn't dare go in any closer. In those seas I don't know as I blame him," Larkin commented.

"Even inside the fjord, she must be rolling through forty degrees. I pity her crew," Bridges murmured over Larkin's shoulder as he _watched the screen. Larkin nodded. "They will have a devil of a time getting a boat off the deck and manned. That's one operation I would like to see. It would do you good as well, Mr. Bridges. Those new-fangled life spheres don't call for much of a knack in launching. Swing her over the side and cut her loose. Couldn't sink one if you tried." '

Bridges made a skeptical noise and Larkin grinned.

"According to the charts, there is a small cove directly in from where the sub is lying," Bridges pointed out. "But there sure isn't any shelter there. It faces north, into the winds."

"Even so, they might get the boat in… but, I sure wouldn't want to be in it." On the screen a small shape detached itself from the bulk of the submarine and headed toward the shore. As soon as the boat was away the sub began to submerge. have engine noises, very faintly, sir," said the sonar operator. "At fifty miles?" Larkin asked incredulously.

"Yes, sir. It might be due to the temperature of the water. I've had it happen before, although never this far away from the source."

"I'll be damned. What do they seem to *be doing now?" The sonar operator pressed the phones tightly to his head. "As… as near as I can tell… they have just submerged, probably to periscope depth to watch the lifeboat. They don't seem to be going anywhere."

"Keep a sharp sonar watch. All engines to stop. Switch to silent running." Larkin shifted restlessly in his high seat. "If we can hear them, they just may be able to pick us up as well." The quiet murmuring died throughout the ship as the mechanical gear shut down.