around at the scientists as he pondered these choices and he felt suddenly horrified. Out of all of them, theirs seemed to have the best chance of success in the time-frame. Yet it was rife with obstacles.
London would not go for it, of course, so he would have to begin with subterfuge. The first step was to get on board the waiting helicopter and convince the crew to continue the task with the new team. But even if he could get them airborne, keeping them in the air and heading towards the objective was another big obstacle.
Unable to think of a solution, he moved on to the next major problem: getting this lot onto the platform. It would be putting them at too great a risk. These arrogant nutters were no doubt capable of much but learning to climb an oil rig for the first time in operational conditions was madness.
He had to be mental for even considering it. But as soon as he tried to put the idea from his mind, Jordan was there instead, looking at him, waiting for him to come and pay him back. That was one image Stratton could not delete so easily. The answer was to use what he had available to get as close to the platform as he could and then go it alone. If the scientists were crazy enough to try, he would use them to his advantage. How, he was not yet sure.
Jason realised Stratton was staring at him and with a strange look in his eyes. Binning saw the same thing.
Stratton went over the Poole options once again just in case he had missed anything. He imagined arriving in Dorset that night, and also the airlock opening to free Chaz. In both cases he heard Mike saying he could not be a part of any team because he was not ‘operationally fit’. The thought of it made him angry.
The only option that had any hope lay with the nutters. Even then, it didn’t have much chance of success but it looked like it was all he had. He thought fast. Equipment. What did they need? MI16 had dry-bags, and the chopper would already hold nearly everything else they’d want in the team’s boxes. One step at a time, he reminded himself. Up until the point of no return.
‘I’ll do it,’ Stratton said.
The other men stopped talking to each other and looked at him.
Rowena turned in her chair to face Stratton, her eyes not filled with expectation like those of the others but with suspicion. ‘What changed your mind?’ she asked. ‘Five minutes ago I’d have said there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of you going along with it.’
‘I don’t particularly care,’ Jason said, jumping in. ‘We can’t get the operation going without him.’
‘You trust him so easily, don’t you?’ Rowena flashed Mansfield a look. ‘You’re really that naive?’
Jason resented the dig but respected her point and faced Stratton in the hope of an explanation.
‘Tell us. Why the change of heart?’ Rowena asked the operative again. ‘It would have to be an exceptional reason. Let’s face it, you’d need to be insane to even attempt the operation with this lot.’
Her directness required a response.
Stratton suddenly found himself in the most bizarre position of having to convince them. He ran his fingers through his hair as he pondered the answer. The truth was more convincing than any story he could come up with. He saw no harm in telling them. ‘One of the men they’re threatening to execute on the Morpheus is an old friend.’
‘The one on the far end?’ Rowena asked, remembering how Stratton had looked at that hostage.
‘Yes.’
‘That’s it?’ She did not believe him.
‘I owe him my life. Call it an unpaid debt.’
Rowena studied him, still unconvinced. She turned back to the computer keyboard and began tapping away.
Jason appeared to believe him, whether from desperation on his part or not. ‘You’re serious, aren’t you, about doing it?’
‘I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t.’
Binning’s energy soared at the prospect of going on the adventure and he immediately began to plan ahead. ‘Is there anything else we can bring? We have a few items that your service is unaware of that might be useful.’
Stratton didn’t want them bringing anything else along. But neither did he want to dampen their enthusiasm. ‘The final approach will probably entail a surface swim followed by a climb. Trust me when I say that climbing a caving ladder out of a heavy swell is not