Bagley, Desmond - The Spoilers Page 19

  'I hope you can make it stick,' said Abbot. He looked at the torpedo. They got hold of this thing in jig time -- I wonder how they were able to lay their hands on it so fast. It strikes me that this is an efficient mob. I think well have to watch how we go very carefully.' He looked up at the Arab speculatively.

  'I wasn't kiddin' when I said I was tired,' said Parker. 'An' I want to get out o' this bloody monkey suit -- it's killin' me. Let's go to bed, for God's sake!'

  Once provided with his list Eastman moved fast. Within two days most of the equipment needed was installed, and while this was being done the torpedo was removed so that no workman would see it. All that was being done, as far as they were concerned, was the establishment of a small machine-shop.

  Then the work began on the torpedo itself. Abbot was astonished at the complexity of it and his respect for Parker increased. Any man who could master such a complicated instrument and treat it with the casual insouciance that Parker did was worthy of a great deal of respect.

  They took out the lead-acid batteries -- fifty-two of them -- and piled them in a corner of the shed. 'I'll be needin' those to test the motor later,' said Parker. 'There's no point in usin' the expensive ones. But then they'd better be taken out to sea an' dumped. Any naval man who caught sight o' those would know what they are, an' that might give the game away.'

  Eastman made a note of it and Abbot privately thought that Parker was entering into the spirit of things a little too wholeheartedly. He said as much when they were alone and Parker grinned. 'We have to make it look good, don't we? Every little helps. Eastman is gettin' quite matey an' that could be useful.' Abbot had to agree.

  Parker took out the motor for cleaning. 'It's in good nick,' he said, and stroked it 'almost lovingly. 'A beautiful job. Ninety-eight horsepower an' only that big. A really lovely bit of work an' designed to be blown to hell.' He shook his head. 'It's a bloody funny world we live in.'

  He stripped the torpedo meticulously while Abbot did the fetching and carrying and the cleaning of the less important pieces. He demanded -- and got -- special oils and greases to pack the glands, and expensive wiring for his redesigned circuits, while his new mercury batteries cost a small fortune in themselves. He preached like an evangelist, and the word he preached was 'perfection.'

  'Nothing is too good,' he proclaimed flatly. This is goin' to be the best torpedo that ever took water.'

  And it was very likely so. No service torpedo ever had such undivided and loving attention, and Abbot came to the conelusion that only a prototype fussed over by nervous boffins prior to service tests could be compared with this lone torpedo.

  Eastman got the point very early in the game under Parker's needling attitude. He saw that Parker was really putting up a magnificent effort and he co-operated wholeheartedly to give him everything he needed. And' that was not really to be wondered at thought Abbot, when you considered that riding in the warhead would be dope worth $25,000,000.

  Parker spent most time on the guidance system, clucking over it like a mother hen over an errant chick. If this things packs in you've lost the lot,' he said to Eastman.

  'It had better not,' said Eastman grimly.

  'It won't,' said Parker in a steady voice.

  'What does it do?'

  'It keeps her running straight -- come what may,' said Parker. 'When I quoted you a figure for accuracy o' three inches in a hundred yards I was allowin' meself a bit o' leeway. In the hands of a good mechanic a Mark XI is damned near as accurate as a rifle bullet -- say, an inch in a hundred yards. O' course, the ordinary Mark XI has a short range, so even at maximum the point o' strike wouldn't be more than six feet out if she ran well. But this beauty has to run a hell of a long way so I'm aimin' to beat the record. I'm tryin' for a half- inch error in a hundred yards. It's damn' near impossible but I'm tryin' for it.'

  Eastman went away very happy.

  'You're putting in a lot of time and sweat on something that's going to be sabotaged,' observed Abbot.

  Parker shrugged. 'Every torpedoman gets that feelin' from time to time. You take a lovely bit o' mechanism like this an' you work on it to get a performance that even the designer didn't dream of. Then you slam it against the side of a ship an' blow it to smithereens. That's sabotage of a kind, isn't it?'

  'I suppose it is if you look at it that way. But it's what torpedoes are for.'

  Parker nodded. 'I know this one is goin' to be sabotaged in the end but we still have sea trials to come an' she's got to work.' He looked at Abbot and said seriously, 'You know, I haven't been so bloody happy for a long time. I came out o' the Navy an' got a job tinkerin' wi' other folk's cars an' all the time I missed somethin', an' I didn't know what it was.' He waved at the stripped-down torpedo. 'Now I know -- I missed these beauties.'

  'Don't get too carried away,' advised Abbot. 'Remember that when it comes to the final push this thing must fail.'

  'It'll fail,' said Parker glumly..His face tightened. "But it's goin' to have one bloody good run first.' He tapped Abbot on the chest. 'If you think this thing is easy, Mike, you're dead wrong. I'm working on the edge o' the impossible all the time. A Mark XI was never designed to go fifteen miles an' to get it to travel the distance is goin' to be tricky. But I'll do it an' I'll enjoy doin' it because this is the last chance I'll ever have of handlin' a torpedo. Now, let's get down to it.'

  Every two bits of metal that could be separated were taken apart, scrutinized carefully and put back together with meticulous care. Piece by piece the whole torpedo was reassembled until the time came when it was clamped down for a bench test and Abbot saw the reason for the clamps. Even running at a quarter power it was evident that it would have run wild in the shed had it not been secured.

  Parker professed satisfaction and said to Eastman, 'What about the tube? I've done all I can wi' the fish.' .

  'Okay,' said Eastman. 'Come with me.'

  He took them a little way up the coast to a small shipyard, and pointed to a worn-out coaster of about 3,000 tons. 'That's the ship* -- the Orestes; Greek-owned and registered in Panama.'

  Parker looked at her dubiously. 'Are you goin' to cross the Atlantic in that?'

  'I am -- and so are you,' said Eastman. 'She's done it before and she can do it again; she only has to do it once more and then she'll be lost at sea.' He smiled. 'She's under-insured and we're not even going to press too hard for that -- we don't want anybody getting too nosy about what happened to her. If you're going to install an underwater tube you'll have to cut a hole in the hull. How are you going to do that?'

  'Let's have a closer look,' said Parker, so they went aboard. He spent a lot of time below, up in the bows, then he made a sketch. 'We'll make a coffer dam. Get that made up and have it welded to the outside of the hull as marked, then I can cut a hole from the inside an' install the tube. Once that's done the thing can be ripped off. You'll have to find a diver who can keep his mouth shut -- it isn't a normal shipyard job.'

  Eastman grinned. 'We own the shipyard,' he said softly.

  So Parker installed the launching-tube which took another week. He spent a great deal of time measuring and aligned the tube exactly fore and aft. 'All you have to do is to point the ship accurately,' he said. 'That's it -- we're ready for trials.'

  III. Jeanette Delorme had not been around for some time, and it-worried Abbot because he wanted to have her under his eye. As it was, he and Parker were virtually prisoners and cut off from the rest of the organization. He did not know what Warren was doing, nor could he contact Hellier to tell him what was happening. With such a breakdown of communications things could go very wrong.

  He said to Eastman, 'Your boss doesn' t seem to be taking much interest. I haven't seen her around since that first night.'

  'She doesn't mix with the working slobs,' said Eastman. 'I do the overseeing.' He fixed Abbot with a sardonic eye. 'Remember what I told you about her. I'd steer clear if I were you.'

  Abbot shrugged. 'I'm thinking of the money. We're rea
dy for the trial and I don't think you are authorised to sign cheques.'

  'Don't worry about the dough,' said Eastman with a grin. 'Worry about the trial. It's set for tomorrow and she'll be there -- and God help you if it doesn't work out.' As an afterthought he said, 'She's been over to the States, arranging things at that end.'

  The black Mercedes called early next morning to pick up Abbot, who was wary when he found he was to be separated from Parker. 'Where will Dan be?'

  'On the Orestes,' said Eastman.

  'And me?'

  'Why don't you go along and find out?' said Eastman. He seemed disgruntled.

  So Abbot went with reluctance in the Mercedes to where-ever it was going to take him -- which proved to be the heart of Beirut. As the car passed the office of the Daily Star, the English-language newspaper, he fingered the envelope in his pocket and wondered how he could get in there without undue attention. He and Hellier had arranged an emergency information service, but it seemed as though he was not going to get the chance to use it.

  The car took him to the yacht harbour where he was met by a trimly dressed sailor. 'Mr Abbot?' Abbot nodded, and the sailor said, 'This way, sir,' and led him to a fast-looking launch which was moored at the steps.

  As the launch took off smoothly, Abbot said, 'Where are we going?'

  The yacht -- the Stella del Mare.' The sailor pointed. 'There.'

  Abbot studied the yacht as they approached. She was a rich man's toy of the type typically to be found in the Mediterranean. Of about two hundred tons, she would be fully equipped with every conceivable comfort and aid to navigation and would be quite capable of circumnavigating the world. But, also typically, that she would not do -- these boats were usually to be found tied up for weeks at a time at Nice, Cannes, Beirut and all the other haunts of the jet-set -- the floating mansions of the wealthy. It looked more and more as though heroin smuggling was profitable.

  He was met at the top of the companionway by another floating flunkey dressed in a sailor suit and escorted to the sun deck. As he climbed a ladder he heard the clank of the anchor chain and the vibration of engines. It appeared that the Stella del Mare had been waiting for him.

  On the sun deck he found Jeanette Delorme. She was stretched supine, adding to her tan, and was so dressed that the maximum amount of skin got the benefit; her bikini was the most exiguous he had ever seen -- a small triangle at the loins and two nipple covers. He hadn't seen anything like it outside a Soho strip joint, and he doubted if the whole lot weighed more than an eighth of an ounce; certainly less than the dark glasses through which she regarded him.

  She waved her hand lazily. 'Hello, Mike; this is Youssif Fuad.'

  Abbot reluctantly looked away from her and towards the man sitting near by. The bald head, the brown lizard skin and the reptilian eyes certainly made a change for the worse. He nodded in acknowledgment. 'Morning, Mr Fuad.' He had seen Fuad before. This was the Lebanese banker with whom Delorme had had lunch, and whom he had written off as being too respectable. It just went to show how wrong you could be. Fuad was certainly not taking a sea voyage on the day of the torpedo trial for his health.

  Fuad gave a quick and birdlike jerk of his head. He said petulantly, 'What is he doing here?'

  'Because I want him here,' said Jeanette. 'Take a seat, Mike.'

  'I thought I said I was not to be brought into . . .' Fuad stopped and shook his head again. 'I don't like it.'

  Abbot, who was in a half-crouch preparatory to sitting down, straightened again. 'I know when I'm not wanted. If you whistle up that launch again, I'll be going.'

  'Sit down, Mike,' said Jeanette with a whip-crack in her voice that automatically bent Abbot's knees. 'Youssif is always nervous. He's afraid of losing his respectability.' There was mockery in her voice.

  'We had an agreement,' said Fuad angrily.

  'So I've broken it,' said Jeanette. 'What are you going to do about it?' She smiled. 'Don't be so worried, Youssif; I'll look after you.'

  There was something going on between them that Abbot did not like. Apparently he was not supposed to know about Fuad, and Fuad did not like to have his cover broken. Which made it dicey for Mike Abbot if Fuad decided to bring things back to normal. From the look of him he would not bat a lizardlike eye at murder. He looked back towards Delorme -- a much more rewarding sight -- and had to remind himself that she would not, either.

  Jeanette smiled at him. 'What have you been doing with yourself, Mike?"

  'You know bloody well what I've been doing,' said Abbot baldly. 'Or else Eastman's been wasting his time.'

  'Jack has told me as much as he knows," she agreed. 'Which isn't much -- he's no technician.' Her voice sharpened. 'Will this torpedo work?'

  'I'm no technician, either,' said Abbot. 'But Dan Parker seems confident.* He rubbed the side of his jaw. 'I think you'll owe us a hundred thousand dollars before the day's out.'

  'Youssif has the cheque ready. I hope he'll give it to you -- for your sake.'

  This clear warning of the penalty for an unsuccessful trial made the sweat break out on Abbot's forehead. He thought of what Parker had said about working on the edge of the impossible, took a deep breath and forced himself to say lightly, 'Where are we going? What's the drill?' He turned I his head and looked towards the receding land, more to avoid Jeanette's hidden gaze than out of interest. In a comparison of these two it was obvious that the female of the species was more deadly than the male.

  She sat up suddenly, and adjusted the minimal bra which had sagged dangerously under the stress of her movement. 'We are going to join the Orestes. She is out there -- away from the shipping routes. We have some fast boats too, to make sure we are not disturbed. This is like a naval exercise.'

  'How long will we take to get out there?'

  'Maybe two hours -- maybe longer.'

  'Say three hours each way,' said Abbot. 'And God knows how long for the trial. This is going to take all day. I'm beginning to feel seasick already. I never have liked ships.'

  The tip of her tongue played along her top lip. 'I have a certain cure for seasickness,' she said. 'Infallible, I assure you. I don't think you will have time to be seasick, Mike Abbot.'

  She put her hands behind her head and pushed her breasts at him, and he believed her. He glanced at Fuad who was also watching her with his lizard stare, but there was no hint of lust in those dead, ophidian eyes.

  Not far over the horizon the Orestes lumbered through the calm morning sea on her way to the rendezvous. Parker climbed the ladder to the bridge and made the thumbs-up sign. 'Everything's under control. I'm bringin' the batteries up to heat now.'

  Eastman nodded, then jerked his head towards the officer with the mildewed braid on his battered cap. The skipper's not too happy. He says the ship's cranky in her steering.'

  'What would he expect with a bloody big hole cut off-centre in the bows?' demanded Parker. 'He'll get used to it.'

  'I guess so,' Eastman was thoughtful. 'Would it help to cut another hole on the other side?"

  'It might,' said Parker cautiously. 'It would equalize things a bit.'

  'What's this about warming up the batteries? I didn't know you did that.'

  'A warm battery, delivers power quicker an' easier than a cold one. A difference o' thirty degrees Fahrenheit can increase the range by a third -- an' we want all the range we can get.' Parker took out his pipe. 'I've set her to run at twelve feet. Any less than that an' she's likely to porpoise -- jump in an' out o' the water. An instability like that could throw her right off course. At the end of her run she'll bob up nice an' easy like a cork, an' her Holmes light will go off so you can see her.'

  'You'll be there to find the torpedo.'

  'I thought you wanted me here to check the firing.'

  "You can do both,' said Eastman. There'll be a boat waiting to take you to the other end of the course.'

  Parker struck a match. 'You'll need a hell of a fast boat to .outrun a torpedo.'

  'We've got one. Is f
orty-five knots fast enough?'

  That's fast enough,' admitted Parker, and blew out a wreath of blue smoke.

  Eastman sniffed distastefully and moved up wind. 'What's that you're smoking? Old socks?'

  Parker grinned cheerfully. 'Feelin' queasy already?' He drew on the pipe again. 'Where did Mike go this mornin'?'

  Eastman stared at the horizon. The boss wanted to see him,' he said morosely.

  'What for?' asked Parker in surprise.

  'I'll give you three guesses,' said Eastman sarcastically. 'The little bitch has hot pants.'

  Parker clucked deprecatingly. 'That's no way to talk of your employer," he observed. 'You think ... er ... that she an' Mike are . . . er . . . ?'

  'I'll bet they're both in the sack now,' said Eastman savagely, and thumped the rail.

  'Why, Jack! I do believe you're jealous." Parker chuckled delightedly.

  The hell with that,' said Eastman in a hard voice. 'I'm immune to anything that chick does with her flaunty little ass -- but she shouldn't mix pleasure with business. It could get us all into trouble. She shouldn't have . . .'

  He broke off, and Parker said innocently, 'She shouldn't have what?'

  'Nothing,' said Eastman brusquely, and walked away across the bridge where he talked in a low voice to the skipper.

  Abbot buttoned his shirt and leaned across the tousled bed to look through the port. The things I do in the line of duty, he thought, and checked his watch. They had been at sea for just over two hours. From the' compartment next to the cabin he heard the brisk splash of water as Jeanette showered, and presently she appeared, naked and dripping. She tossed him a towel. 'Dry me,' she commanded.

  As he rubbed her down vigorously he was irresistibly reminded of his boyhood when he had haunted his grandfather's stables and had been taught the horseman's lore by old Benson, the chief groom. Automatically he hissed through his teeth as Benson had done when currying a horse, and wondered what the old man would have thought of this filly.