BLACK COBRA (Aaron Quinn thriller series, No. 2) (16 page)

“Did they say anything else?” Harness asked.

“I don’t know ... They were all pretty hammered by then.”

Harness shoved another $50 across the bar.

The bartender scooped up the bill and glanced around the empty club, and then he leaned toward Harness, as if he were going to divulge a national secret. Holt leaned in as well.

“Here’s where it started getting really weird,” the bartender said in a near whisper. “The guy you’re looking for? The guy in the picture? He started going off about a plot to assassinate some high-level official in the United States government.”

“What?” Harness said. “He had to be bullshitting.”

“How the hell should I know?” the bartender said. “But he was talking about
torpedoing
the son-of-a-bitch.”

“Yeah, right,” Holt said. “Where’s the guy gonna get a torpedo? Fucking Walmart?”

“He mentioned an old Russian submarine that’s part of some museum in San Diego,” the bartender said.

“
Cobra
,” Harness said to Holt. “She’s moored at the MMSD. But she barely
floats
.” But he knew better than to underestimate his adversary’s resourcefulness.

“Just telling you what I heard,” the bartender said.

“His companions,” Harness said. “Were they in on it?”

“It was hard to tell … they were pretty fucked up. But I doubt it. It was a one-sided conversation at that point, and the guy didn’t seem to care if they were listening or not.”

“The redhead,” Harness said. “What did she look like?”

“She was hot,” the bartender said.

“That’s it? A hundred bucks and I get ‘She was hot’?”

“What do you want from me?” the bartender said, annoyed now. “Beautiful face, long, flaming red hair, smokin’ body ... You’re the
detective ..
.
You
describe her.”

“Okay, okay, I get it. She’s hot,” Harness said. “No need to get your panties in a bunch. Did they say anything about a day and time? For the assassination, I mean.”

The Bartender paused for a moment. “Friday night, I think.”

Harness turned to Holt. “What day is today?”

“How the fuck should I know?” Holt said.

“Today
is
Friday, come to think of it,” the bartender said.

“Damn it!” Harness said. “How long does it take to get from here to San Diego on a motor-yacht?”

“San Diego? Under power? Oh, I’d say two or three days tops — assuming the weather holds, and including stopping for fuel.”

Harness checked his watch and looked at Holt. “It’s 6:00 p.m. If they left here Tuesday, they could be there by now.”

He turned back to the bartender. “How long’s a flight from here to San Diego?”

“Two hours and ten minutes.”

Harness thought maybe he could get a call off to Naval Command in Point Loma. “Do cell phones work here?” he asked.

“Not necessarily. You’d have to arrange that with your provider, and the dialing out is different here. And you need to understand basic Spanish because the operator recordings are —”

“Do you have a house phone?” Harness demanded.

“Yes, but it’ll only handle local calls,” the bartender said.

Harness couldn’t believe his luck. Here he was, stuck down in Cabo San Lucas while Jason Souther attempted to bring America to its knees. He asked the bartender to call a taxi.

“Drink up, Holt,” he said, sliding his nearly full glass of beer in his direction. “I think our problems just got a lot more serious.”

Naval Base Point Loma

San Diego

Chapter 40

The Executive Officer checked his watch. 7:00 p.m. The final security arrangements had been made, and now he had the privilege of escorting the President of the United States and his four secret servicemen on board the 362-foot nuclear submarine USS
Hampton
, joining its standard complement of 12 officers and 98 crewmen. He unhooked the maroon-velvet rope guarding the gangway.

“Are you ready, sir?” he asked.

“It’s that time already?” the President said.

“You seem nervous, sir,” the XO said.

The President
was
a bit apprehensive about riding along on the Emergency Nighttime Surface Drill, but he wasn’t sure why. “Just some pre-cruise jitters, is all,” he said.

“There’s no reason to worry, Mr. President,” the XO said. “Tonight’s is just a routine drill on board a technological marvel, commanded by one of the finest officers in the Navy.”

The agent with the carnation gave him a look that said,
You better not be bullshitting, asshole ..
.

“If you would follow me, gentlemen?” the XO said, and they proceeded up the gangway.

---

The captain of the submarine, Commander Adam Byrd, greeted the President on the bridge. “Welcome aboard, sir,” he said.

“Thank you, Commander,” the President said, shaking his hand. “I hear I’m in for quite a treat tonight.”

“That you are,” Commander Byrd said.

An ensign walked over holding a small bundle of nylon webbing. “The ride may be a little rough, Mr. President,” he said. “This is a safety harness for you to wear. I’ll let you know when it’s time to hook up.”

This didn’t exactly fill the President with confidence, but he did as requested and stepped into the rig.

The agent with the flower looked at the ensign indignantly, wondering why he and his Secret Service team didn’t rate safety gear of their own.

THE PARTY

San Diego Waterfront

Chapter 41

Uri Ruden was first to arrive at the party. It had started to rain, and the framework holding the stretched plastic structure covering b-39 strained against an increasingly strong wind.

 He ducked through the opening in the plastic and crossed the temporary wooden gangplank onto the submarine’s deck then he powered up a couple of the construction crew’s work lights to illuminate the area for the benefit of the other guests.

Uri was pleased to see that all of the safety handrails, walkways, ramps, and stairs that the museum had installed for visitors had been removed, and the holes repaired. He would perform a hull-pressure test later to confirm that the welds met his specifications.

---

 He entered the submarine through the fin hatch and climbed down the ladder to the Control Room. It was from there in Compartment Three that they would be piloting the submarine. He went over the procedures in his mind and re-familiarized himself with the helm controls, and then he headed to the Forward Torpedo Room.

---

Uri Ruden inspected the torpedoes. The red and white one was on the rack, and the green one was still loaded into tube 5.

He reviewed the launch procedure in his mind. The shot would be at close range, so they would not be using the fire-control system. They would simply aim the sub straight at the target using the attack periscope, and fire the torpedo from the bow tube, hoping for the best.

Satisfied that everything was in order, he closed tube 5’s inner hatch cover and returned to the Control Room.

---

Next to arrive were Jason and Brandy. They met Uri Ruden in the Control Room, and Jason introduced him to Brandy.

“If I’d known there would be beautiful women at the party I would have dressed up a little,” Uri said.

Brandy noticed that Uri was in full dress uniform and she smiled. They shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

“Why don’t we head down to the galley and make ourselves some drinks?” Uri said.

Brandy had no problem with that. She could use a stiff drink about now.

“Sounds good,” Jason said, and they ducked through the watertight hatch leading to Compartment Four.

---

Jason and Uri were too tall to stand comfortably in the tiny galley, so Brandy had the honor of mixing the drinks. When she was ready she joined them in the corridor and they touched paper cups, toasting nothing in particular.

Uri looked at his watch and said, “Will you excuse us, Brandy? I have something to discuss with Jason. If you need us, we’ll be two doors down, there in the Midshipmen’s Cabin, just beyond the pantry.”

“No problem,” Brandy said. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

The men turned and walked down the corridor.

“Pour me another Scotch, will you, Brandy?” Jason said over his shoulder. “We’ll only be a minute.”

He followed Uri into the Midshipmen’s Cabin and closed the door.

Left with nothing to do, Brandy downed her drink, mixed two more, and then headed down the corridor toward the Engine Room to explore the rest of the sub.

Chapter 42

A light rain continued to fall as Aaron dropped Katya off at the dock. She kissed him and then ran inside the gift shop to change. Aaron motored across to the
Cayman Jewel
to do the same.

---

They met back at the dock a few minutes later.

“You look amazing,” Aaron said, at the sight of Katya’s dress.

Katya beamed. “You don’t look so bad yourself.” She had never seen him in long pants before. She kissed him hard on the lips, and then hand in hand they walked down to the submarine.

---

Through the rain they saw that the big plastic tarpaulin had already been completed and that it covered the entire sub. The gangway was gone, replaced by a simple temporary wooden gangplank that led through a narrow opening in the tarp.

“I wonder why they had to do
that?”
Aaron said as they ducked inside.

---

 All of the tourist handrails and walkways were missing. And as they walked up on deck they saw that the bow and stern stairways leading down into the submarine were gone as well, and the openings welded shut.

Aaron figured it was all part of the restoration project and decided not to dwell on it.

They entered the submarine through the fin hatch and climbed down the ladder to an empty Control Room.

---

Just as she stepped off the ladder, Katya remembered that she had forgotten to lock up the gift shop.

“I’m such a space head,” she said. “I think I forgot to lock up.”

“Two days on the job and you’re the one who locks up?”

She held the key up like a trophy. “My father had to pull some strings to get me this job, and I don’t want to screw it up.”

“While you’re gone I think I’ll check out the Captain’s Cabin. Can you find your own way out?”

“Of course, silly,” Katya said. “I’m not
incompetent
.”

Aaron laughed. “Go on then,” he said. “I’ll be in Compartment Two, right through there.” He pointed to one of the two watertight hatches leading out of the Control Room, the one near the helm controls. “Last door on the left, I think. You can’t miss it.”

“I’ll find it,” Katya said. “Back in a flash.” She gave him a peck on the cheek and then climbed back up the ladder exiting the submarine.

---

The Captain’s Cabin was a tiny room, the width of the bunk against the back wall, with a small writing desk on the left. The Maritime Museum had outfitted the room with period pieces for the benefit of the tourists: a Soviet Captain’s jacket, some playing cards, and an old, framed photograph of Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Some of the playing cards had spilled on the floor, and Aaron considered picking them up; then he figured the museum had placed them there to add authenticity, so he left them alone.

---

Katya returned from the gift shop and made her way back down the ladder to the Control Room.

She ducked through the hatch leading to Compartment Two, looking for the Captain’s Cabin, but there
was
no Captain’s Cabin ...

In her confusion, Katya had gotten completely turned around, and instead of Compartment Two, she was in Compartment Four, and she had run out of cabins. The only room left in the compartment was the galley, and beyond that a dark space that led to the Engine Room.

She tried calling Aaron on her cell phone, but there was no service, so she turned and headed back down the corridor toward the Control Room.

When she came to the door with the small sign that read MIDSHIPMEN’S CABIN, she stopped, thinking maybe Aaron had gotten the cabin name wrong. But as she went to knock, she overheard two men talking inside — and neither of them sounded like Aaron.

Either he’s being really quiet, or he’s not in there
, she thought. Then she held her head up to the door and listened ...

---

“I met with Commander Fagan and Captain Zaane today,” Jason said. “The President’s VIP cruise is all set. The USS
Hampton
will head out at 9:00 p.m. tonight as scheduled. The
Neau Islander
will depart the dock at 8:15, and hit the main channel by 8:30. By 8:35 Cobra should be beneath her wake as she escorts us to Ballast Point before heading out to sea.”

“That’s great news,” Uri said. “We should be hiding under the bait barges no later than 8:55.”

“Fagan told me you were in charge of Cobra’s weaponry,” Jason said. “Can you tell me what type of bomb we’re packing?”

“I’ve armed Cobra with a conventional, high-explosive torpedo with enough fire power to cut the
Hampton
in half,” Uri said. “The President will never know what hit him.”

Katya clutched the front of her dress.
Oh my God,
she thought. She had heard rumors of a Presidential visit to San Diego, but this plot to assassinate him sounded too absurd to be true.

“I wish we could nuke the bastards,” Jason said. “Just to be sure. But I suppose the collateral damage would be unacceptable — not to mention suicidal.”

“You’re right,” Uri said. “It would be suicidal.”

Katya suddenly felt an urgent need to find Aaron. She headed back to the Control Room to try again.

Chapter 43

Katya managed to find her way back to the Control Room, but as she looked around at the confusing array of hardware, she feared that she may still be lost.