Passage by Night (v5) (17 page)

'So he informed me,' Morrison said. 'He's quite a guy, that Russian.'

'An understatement,' Manning said.

He moved into the galley as Anna came out of the forward cabin. Her face was white and strained and there were dark circles under her eyes.

'You look terrible,' he told her. 'You ought to get some sleep.'

She poured coffee into a cup for him. 'I heard Morrison and Sergei talking. I know what you're going to do. You mustn't.'

He frowned. 'I don't understand.'

'Can't you see?' she said desperately. 'You're making a personal issue out of this. She fooled you, that woman, and now you're going to risk your life again because your stupid vanity's been hurt.'

She was close to tears and he shook his head slowly. 'She doesn't mean a thing to me, not any more. As far as I'm concerned, Maria Salas was drowned off the Blackstone Reef five days ago.'

She turned abruptly and fled into the cabin, shutting the door after her. Manning finished his coffee, went back into the saloon and stretched out on one of the bench seats.

Five days ago.
Was that all? What was time, but events turning endlessly in a circle that brought one to an ending that was ordained from the beginning of time. He closed his eyes and plunged into the dark waters of sleep.

20
Into an Indigo Dusk

The dawn came grey and cold with mist rolling in heavy patches across the water and the sea heaved in an oily swell. Seth was at the wheel and Manning stood beside him drinking hot coffee.

Under his denim pants and heavy sweater, he was dressed for diving, a heavy cork-handled knife at his belt, pressure gauge and compass strapped to his wrists. He put down his cup, picked up a pair of binoculars and looked ahead.

'Not a damned thing. This would have to happen.'

Morrison came along the deck wearing an old duffle coat, his face grey. 'I thought they were supposed to be the sunny Bahamas?'

'So they are at the right time. Whoever saw a tourist up this early in the morning?'

The American glanced at his watch. 'Five
A.M.
I'd forgotten there was such a time.' He peered out anxiously into the grey mist. 'Ten hours to zero.'

Manning turned to the chart, worked out their dead reckoning based on miles logged and course sailed, and threw down the pencil.

I'd say we're no more than a couple of miles south-southwest of Lyford Cay. Cut the engines, Seth.'

He went out on deck as Anna and Orlov came up from the saloon. She was wearing one of his heavy sweaters, the sleeves rolled back. The Russian wore swimming shorts and a windcheater.

'Why have we stopped?' Anna said. 'Are we there?'

Manning nodded. 'Everybody quiet. Let's see if we can hear anything.'

The boat lifted on the swell and then subsided and he stood at the rail listening intently. A seagull flew low over the deck and skimmed the water with a shrill cry and somewhere in the distance there was a rumble like thunder.

'What's that noise?' Orlov asked.

'Sea breaking over the reef closer to the cay,' Manning told him.

Morrison was standing a few feet away, the binoculars to his eyes. He gave a startled exclamation and pointed ahead excitedly.

'I think I saw something. The mist seems to clear for a moment. About a half-mile ahead.'

Manning took the glasses and climbed on top of the wheelhouse. The wind was beginning to freshen, thinning the mist considerably in places. It would probably clear completely within an hour.

On the crest of a wave, he thought he saw a spar. The
Grace Abounding
dipped into a great hollow and then lifted high on the swell. As he focused the binoculars, the boat jumped at him through the ragged hole in the mist, the red band above the waterline contrasting vividly with the cream-painted hull. He took a rough fix with his wrist compass and jumped to the deck.

'She's there all right.' He looked into the wheelhouse and gave Seth the new course. 'Half-speed till I give you the word. When we get close, let her have everything she's got and kill the engines as we drop across their stern.' He turned to Morrison and Orlov. 'We'd better get ready.'

They went down into the saloon. Papa Melos was sitting at the table drinking coffee, his right arm in a sling. Manning opened the chart drawer, took out a box of .38 cartridges and tossed it across to Morrison.

'You take the Smith and Wesson and stay in the wheelhouse with Seth in case things turn sour.' He glanced at Orlov. 'What about the other guns?'

'A couple of good bursts left in each, that's all.'

'Then we'll have to make sure they count. When we hit, you go over for'ard. I'll jump from the stern.'

He picked up his submachine gun. As he turned, Anna laid a hand on his arm. 'What about Papa and me?'

'You stay down here,' he said. 'And I mean that. We've got enough to worry about up top.'

She waited for a word, some sign, but he gave her none. The fingers that gripped his arm so tightly relaxed and she turned away.

'Don't worry about us, son,' Papa Melos said. 'We'll be fine.'

Manning went up the companionway quickly and passed along the deck to the wheelhouse. The sound of the engines was only a muffled gentle throbbing as they moved steadily forward.

He altered course a half-point and stood at Seth's shoulder, his eyes straining into the opaque mist. He was aware of a sudden gust of wind through the shattered window, the boat heeled a little and the grey curtain was snatched away.

The Cuban boat was a couple of hundred yards to starboard, her colours standing out vividly against the grey morning. Behind her, the sea heaved over the reef, breakers and white water stretching into the mist. Manning slapped Seth on the shoulder.

The whole boat shuddered and lifted suddenly as he took her forward at full power. The noise of the engines deepened into a steady roar and Manning ran along the deck to the stern, his submachine gun ready.

A sailor in a black jersey stood in the waist of the Cuban ship, coiling a rope. As they emerged from the mist, he glanced over his shoulder and cried out in alarm. He ran along the deck and started to climb the short ladder to the wheelhouse.

Manning was aware of Orlov crouching at the rail, his machine-pistol ready, and then the gap seemed to shorten rapidly. Seth cut the engines and the
Grace Abounding
veered sharply to starboard as he swung the wheel, grazing the stern of the other vessel.

Manning went over the rail, slipped on the wet deck and stumbled to one knee. At the same moment, Charlie emerged from the companionway firing a machine-pistol from the hip. Manning caught him with a full burst that drove the native backwards into the cabin.

The engines coughed once as the man in the wheelhouse desperately tried to start them. Orlov ran along the windows with two short bursts. There was a terrible cry and the man collapsed in the doorway, one arm dangling down to the deck.

Manning approached the head of the companionway and called in Spanish, 'Better come out.'

Orlov joined him and stood on the other side of the door. 'Last warning,' Manning called.

A stream of bullets splintered the edges of the doorway and he jumped back out of harm's way. Orlov turned and vaulted over the rail onto the deck of the
Grace Abounding.
He dropped to his stomach, waited till the two vessels bounced a few feet apart in the heavy swell and emptied his machine-pistol through one of the saloon portholes. There was a sharp cry and the firing stopped abruptly.

He jumped for the deck of the Cuban ship and rejoined Manning. 'Somehow I get the impression that's it.'

'Which means we're too late,' Manning said. 'They're already on their way.' He handed the submachine gun to the Russian. 'Cover me. I'm going down.'

Charlie sprawled across the last half-dozen steps, his fingers hooked into talons. There was blood everywhere and Manning stepped across him into the saloon.

Viner lay on his face, his jacket charred and still smouldering, blood soaking steadily through. He had obviously received Orlov's final burst full in the back.

When Manning turned him over, the eyes were wide open and staring as if the German found difficulty in focusing properly. He moistened his lips and said faintly. 'I told her she should have killed you before we left.' He shook his head, an expression of wonderment on his face. 'I can't believe it. Survival's become something of a habit with me since the war.'

'Until Maria took a hand in the game,' Manning said deliberately.

'The point hasn't escaped me.' The German closed his eyes in pain for a moment and then opened them again. 'She's gone under the reef with Hans and three Cubans. There's a red buoy fixed in the channel on the other side where the yacht will anchor this afternoon. They're going to fix a charge to it.'

'To the buoy? But how will they detonate it? She said they wouldn't even be here when it happened.'

'Radio beam from the boat's transmitter. Detonate it electronically from fifty or sixty miles away.' Viner shook his head, an expression of puzzlement on his face. 'What a way to go after all these years. Is there an answer, Harry?'

'Have a cigarette,' Manning said. He lit one quickly but as he took it from his mouth, the German's eyes closed and all that was left of life escaped from his body in a gentle sigh.

When Manning turned, Orlov and Morrison were standing in the entrance. 'Did you get all that?'

Morrison nodded. 'One thing puzzles me. He said they'd gone under the reef. What did he mean?'

They turned and went up on deck. 'I know this place well,' Manning said. 'They call the reef "The Cathedral." It stretches for several miles to the south. A great passage cuts through for about three hundred yards, arched like a nave. On the other side in the channel, the reef slopes for a while and then goes down deeper than I've ever been.'

They jumped for the deck of the
Grace Abounding
and started to strip.

'How long do you figure it'll take us to get round to the other side in the boat?' Morrison demanded.

'At least a half hour, it's tricky navigating,' Manning said. 'We'll be quicker if we go after them through the reef. Seth can take the boat round the long way and pick us up at the buoy.'

Seth brought the aqualungs up on deck quickly and they struggled into them. One of Manning's straps twisted at the back. He tried to reach it and failed and Anna came across.

As he tightened his chest strap, she did the same for him at the sides. She picked up his diving mask and handed it to him. Her face was quite calm, the eyes steady. For a moment only, her fingers touched his and stayed there, and then she turned and joined her father who had come up on deck and now stood beside the wheelhouse with Seth.

Manning and Morrison had a spear gun each and Orlov had lashed one of the spare harpoons to the end of a six-foot boat hook, making it into a crude spear.

When they were ready, Manning nodded to Seth. 'Allowing for the mist, you should reach the buoy in about a half hour. We'll see you there.'

There was somehow a comfort in making such a definite statement and he went over the rail quickly and sank down into the cold waters.

In the dawn light, the sea was a place for grey-green shadows and he waited for the others and then swam forward into a milky phosphorescent mist. The current sucked them in towards the reef and he dived with a quick flick of his fins, sliding smoothly down towards the great arched opening they called The Nave.

It stretched into infinity, light slanting through the coral, shading already into different colours, adding to the illusion that they were swimming through some great submerged cathedral.

There was as yet no sign of their quarry, but already the water was beginning to change colour and a few minutes later, he was aware of the turbulence of conflicting currents and they passed out into the channel.

When he surfaced, he saw the buoy at once, a red blob in the sea some three hundred yards away. He took a quick fix with compass and submerged again. Morrison and the Russian were waiting for him and he waved them on and took the lead.

The sea change was startling. Already, the greyness was fading and the range of visibility through the clear green water was excellent. The reef slanted away beneath them to the left and he moved on through that strange, silent world, fish scattering to avoid him.

He saw them as if through the wrong end of a telescope, and yet quite clearly. The chain of the buoy dropping down to the sloping surface of the reef, the five figures grouped around it just below the surface.

He moved on at the same steady pace, his spear gun ready, Orlov and Morrison on either side. A moment later, they were seen. Immediately, three of the figures detached themselves from the group and swam towards them.

Manning had eyes only for the one in the middle. He resisted the temptation to fire too early and waited for him. The man paused, treading water, perhaps unnerved by the relentless approach. He discharged his spear gun in a cloud of silver bubbles and Manning jackknifed to avoid it and fired his own as he passed underneath.

The harpoon penetrated the man's belly and his body bucked in an agony so violent, the gun was pulled from Manning's grasp. He was aware of Morrison struggling hand-to-hand with the man on his left, of Orlov thrusting at his adversary with his crude spear. He hesitated and then drove on towards the buoy.

Maria and Hans were clamping a bulky package into place. Her long hair floated around her in a dark cloud and undulated like a living thing when she glanced over her shoulder and saw him coming.

Hans drew a knife from the sheath at his belt and came driving on. Manning had his ready in his left hand. For a moment, it seemed they must collide and then he turned to one side, narrowly avoiding the clumsy thrust the German made at him.

He broke through to the surface and jack-knifed immediately. The German floated six feet below him, his head turning frantically from side-to-side. Manning came down on top of him. His right arm encircled the neck and he pushed the knife in under the ribs, penetrating the heart immediately.

The German bucked, his arms thrashing the water, giving the whole terrible scene an air of night-marish horror. When Manning released him, the body dipped down towards the reef, twisting over onto its back.