tc.redstormrising-第14部分

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〃You　always　were　nice　and　modest；〃　Toland　noted　with　a　grin。　〃That's　all　right；　Ed。　How　long　you　had　her？〃
〃Two　years。　She's　big；　she's　pretty；　and　she's　mine！　You　should　have　stayed　in；　Bob。　The　day　I　took　mand…hell；　it　was　like　the　day　Jimmy　was　born。〃
〃I　hear　you。　The　difference；　Ed；　is　that　I　always　knew　you'd　have　your　ship；　and　I　always　knew　I　wouldn't。〃　In　Toland's　personnel　jacket　was　a　letter　of　admonishment　for　grounding　a　destroyer　while　he　had　the　deck。　It　had　been　no　more　than　bad　luck。　An　ambiguity　on　the　chart　and　adverse　tidal　conditions　had　caused　the　error；　but　it　didn't　take　much　to　ruin　a　Navy　career。
〃So；　doing　your　two　weeks？〃
〃That's　right。〃
〃Celia　is　off　visiting　her　parents；　and　I'm　baching　it。　What're　you　doing　for　dinner　tonight？〃
〃McDonald's？〃　Toland　laughed。
〃Like　hell。　Danny　McCafferty's　in　town；　too。　He's　got　the　Chicago；　tied　up　at　Pier　22。　You　know；　if　we　can　scare　up　a　fourth；　maybe　we　can　play　a　little　bridge；　just　like　the　old　days。〃　Morris　poked　his　friend　in　the　chest　〃I　gotta　head　along。　Meet　me　in　the　O…Club　lobby　at　1710；　Bob。　　Danny　invited　me　over　to　his　boat　for　dinner　at　1830；　and　we'll　have　an　hour's　worth　of　Attitude　Adjustment　before　we　drive　over。　We'll　have　dinner　in　the　wardroom　and　a　few　hours　of　cards；　just　like　old　times。〃
〃Aye；　aye；　mander。〃

〃Anyway；　there　I　was　on　Will　Rogers；　〃　McCafferty　said。　〃Fifty　days　out　on　patrol　and　I　got　the　watch；　right？　Sonar　says　they　have　a　goofy　signal；　bearing　zero…five…two。　We're　at　periscope　depth；　so　I　put　the　search　scope　up；　train　it　out　to　zero…five…two；　and　sure　enough；　there's　this　Gulfstream36　sailboat；　moving　along　at　four　or　five　knots　with　the　autosteering　set。　What　the　hell；　it's　a　dull　day；　so　I　flip　the　scope　to　hi…power；　and　guess　what？　The　captain　and　the　mate…there's　one　gal　who'll　never　drown！…are　on　top　the　deckhouse；　horizontal　and　superimposed。　The　boat　was　maybe　a　thousand　yards　away…just　like　being　there。　So　we　turn　on　the　scope　TV　camera　and　get　the　tape　machine　running。　Had　to　maneuver　for　a　better　view；　of　course。　Lasted　fifteen　minutes。　The　crew　ran　the　tape　for　the　next　week。　Great　for　morale　to　know　just　what　you're　fighting　for。〃　All　three　officers　laughed。
〃Like　I　always　told　you；　Bob；〃　Morris　noted。　〃These　sub…drivers　are　a　nasty；　sneaky　bunch。　Not　to　mention　perverts。〃
〃So　how　long　you　had　the　Chicago；　Danny〃　Toland　asked　over　his　second　cup　of　after…dinner　coffee。　The　three　had　the　submarine's　wardroom　to　themselves。　The　only　officers　aboard　were　either　standing　watch　or　asleep。
〃Three　busy　months；　not　counting　yard　time；〃　McCafferty　said；　finishing　off　his　milk。　He　was　the　first　skipper　for　the　new　attack　sub；　the　best　of　all　possible　worlds；　a　captain　and　a　〃plankowner。〃　Toland　noted　that　Dan　had　not　joined　him　and　Morris　for　〃attitude　adjustment〃　at　the　base　officers'　club；　during　which　they'd　tossed　down　three　stiff　drinks　apiece。　It　wasn't　like　the　McCafferty　of　old。　Perhaps　he　was　unwilling　to　leave　his　sub；　lest　the　dream　of　his　career　somehow　end　while　he　was　away　from　her。
〃Can't　you　tell　from　the　pale；　pasty　look　mon　to　cave…dwellers　and　submariners？〃　Morris　joked。　〃Not　to　mention　the　faint　glow　associated　with　nuclear　reactor　types〃〃　McCafferty　grinned；　and　they　waited　for　their　fourth　to　arrive；　He　was　a　junior　engineer；　just　about　to　e　off　reactor　watch；　Chicago's　reactor　wasn't　operating。　She　was　drawing　electrical　power　from　the　dock；　but　regulations　demanded　a　full　reactor　watch　whether　the　teakettle　was　working　or　not。
〃I　tell　you　guys；　I　was　a　little　pale　four　weeks　ago。〃　McCafferty　turned　serious…or　about　as　serious　as　he　ever　got；
〃How　so？〃　Bob　Toland　asked。
〃Well；　you　know　the　kinda　shit　we　do　with　these　boats；　right〃〃
〃If　you　mean　inshore　intelligence　gathering；　Dan；　you　ought　to　know　that　that　electronic　intelligence　stuff　you　collect　es　to　my　office。　Hell；　I　probably　know　the　people　who　originate　a　lot　of　the　data　requests　that　generate　your　op…orders。　How's　that　for　a　revolting　thought！〃　Bob　laughed。　He　fought　the　urge　to　look　around　too　obviously。　He'd　never　been　aboard　a　nuclear　submarine　before。　It　was　cold…nuclear　subs　have　nuclear…powered　air　conditioning…and　the　air　was　heavy　with　the　smell　of　machine　oil。　Everything　he　could　see　sparkled　both　from　being　almost　new；　and　from　the　fact　that　McCafferty　had　undoubtedly　made　sure　that　his　crew　had　gotten　things　looking　especially　good　for　his　friends。　So；　this　was　the　billion…dollar　machine　that　gathered　all　that　ELINT　data。　。　。
〃Yeah；　well；　we　were　up　in　the　Barents　Sea；　you　know；　northeast　of　the　Kola　Fjord；　trailing　a　Russian　sub…an　Oscar…about；　oh；　ten　miles　back　of　her…and　all　of　a　sudden　we　find　ourselves　in　the　middle　of　a　friggin'　live…fire　exercise！　Missiles　were　flying　all　over　the　damned　place。　They　wasted　three　old　hulks；　and　blasted　hell　out　of　a　half…dozen　target　barges。　〃
〃Just　the　Oscar〃〃　Morris　asked。
〃Turned　out　there　was　a　Papa　and　a　Mike　out　there；　too。　That's　one　problem　with　us　being　so　quiet　in　these　babies。　If　they　don't　know　we're　there；　we　can　find　ourselves　in　the　middle　of　some　really　unpleasant　shit！　Anyway；　sonar　starts　screaming　'Transients！　Transients！'　from　all　the　missile　tubes　being　flooded。　No　way　we　could　be　sure　they　weren't　getting　ready　to　put　some　real　torpedoes　in　the　water；　but　we　stuck　up　the　ESM　and　picked　up　their　periscope　radars；　then　I　saw　some　of　the　things　whipping　over　our　heads。　Damn；　guys；　for　about　three　minutes　there　it　was　just　a　little　hairy；　y'know？〃　McCafferty　shook　his　head。　〃Anyway；　two　hours　after　that；　all　three　boats　crack　on　twenty　knots　and　head　back　to　the　barn。　Your　basic　out…and…in　live…fire。　How's　that　for　a　lively　first　deployment？〃
〃You　get　the　feeling　that　the　Russians　are　doing　anything　out　of　the　ordinary；　Dan？〃'　Toland　asked；　suddenly　interested。
〃You　didn't　hear〃〃
〃Hear　what〃〃
〃They've　cut　back　their　diesel　sub　patrols　up　north；　quite　a　bit；　too。　I　mean；　normally　they're　pretty　hard　to　hear；　but　mostly　over　the　past　two　months　they　just　ain't　there。　I　heard　one；　just　one。　Wasn't　like　that　the　last　time　I　was　up　north。　There　have　been　some　satellite　photos　of　them；　a　lot　of　diesel　boats　tied　up　alongside　for　some　reason　or　another。　In　fact；　their　patrol　activity　up　north　is　down　across　the　board；　with　a　lot　of　maintenance　activity　going　on。　The　current　guess　is　that　they're　changing　their　training　cycle。　This　isn't　the　usual　time　of　year　for　live…firing。〃　McCafferty　laughed。　〃Of　course；　it　could　be　that　they　finally　got　tired　of　chippin'　and　paintin'　those　old　'cans；　and　decided　to　use　'em　up…best　thing　to　do　with　a　'can　anyway。〃
〃Bubblehead；〃　Morris　snorted。
〃Give　me　a　reason　you'd　have　a　bunch　of　diesel　boats　out　of　service　all　at　once；〃　Toland　said。　He　was　wishing　that　he'd　passed　on　the　second　and　third　rounds　during　Happy　Hour。　Something　important　was　flashing　lights　inside　his　head；　and　the　alcohol　was　slowing　his　thinking　down。
〃Shit；〃　McCafferty　observed。　〃There　isn't　any。〃
〃So　what　are　they　doing　with　the　diesel　boats？〃
〃I　haven't　seen　the　satellite　photos；　Bob；　just　heard　about　them。　No　special　activity　in　the　drydocks；　though；　so　it　can't　be　too　major。〃
The　light　bulb　finally　went　off　in　Toland's　head。　〃How　hard　is　it　to　change　batteries　in　a　sub？〃
〃It's　a　nasty；　heavy　job。　I　mean；　you　don't　need　special　machinery　or　anything。　We　do　it　with　Tiger　Teams；　and　it　takes　something　like　three　or　four　weeks。　Ivan's　subs　are　designed　with　larger　battery　capacities　than　ours；　and　also　for　easier　battery　replacement…they're　supposed　to　go　through　their　batteries　faster　than　Western　subs；　and　they　pensate　for　it　by　making　replacement　easier；　hard…patches　on　the　hull；　things　like　that。　So　for　them　it's　probably　an　all…hands　evolution。　What　exactly　are　you　getting　at；　Bob？〃
Toland　related　the　story　about　the　four　Soviet　colonels　who　had　been　shot；　and　why。　〃Then　I　bear　this　story　about　how　the　supply　of　batteries　in　Russia　has　dried　up。　No　batteries　for　cars　and　trucks。　The　car　batteries　I　can　understand；　but　the　trucks…hey；　every　truck　in　Russia　is　government…owned。　They　all　have　mobilization　uses。　Same　sort　of　batteries；　right？〃
〃Yeah；　they　all　use　lead…acid　batteries。　The　factory　burn　down？〃　mander　Morris　asked。　〃I　know　Ivan　likes　One　Big　Factory　rather　than　a　bunch　of　little　ones。〃
〃It's　working　three　shifts。〃
McCafferty　sat　back；　away　from　the　table。
〃So；　what　uses　batteries？〃　Morris　asked　rhetorically。
〃Submarines；〃　McCafferty　pronounced。　〃Tanks；　armored　vehicles；　mand　cars；　starter　carts　for　planes；　lots　of　stuff　painted　green；　y'know？　Bob；　what　you're　saying…shit；　what　you're　saying　is　that　all　of　a　sudden　Ivan　has　decided　to　increase　his　readiness　across　the　board。　Question：　Do　you　know　what　the　hell　you're　talking　about？〃
〃You　can　bet　your　ass　on　it；　Danny。　The　bit　on　the　four　colonels　crossed　my　desk；　I　eyeballed　that　report　myself。　It　was　received　on　one　of　our　ferret　satellites；　Ivan　doesn't　know　how　sensitive　those　Hitchhiker　birds　are；　and　he　still　sends　a　lot　of　stuff　in　the　clear　on　surface　microwave　nets。　We　listen　in　to　voice　and　telex　transmissions　all　the　time…you　guys　can　forget　you　heard　that；　okay？〃　Toland　got　nods　from　the　others。　〃The　thing　about　the　batteries　I　picked　up　by　accident；　but　I　confirmed　it