he briefed them. He knew that none of them could really comprehend the threat of confronting the armed hijackers. They wouldn’t be able to get beyond the dangers of the journey to the platform and the subsequent climb. He couldn’t blame them: this type of manoeuvre was one of the most perilous tasks the SBS undertook, even without the threat at the other end of an enemy with lethal intent. He suspected that despite agreeing to come on the jolly old operation they were now filled with doubt as to whether they could actually pull it off.
Jason hid his fears better than the others and would probably be the first to overcome them. He had to be frightened in some way. He wouldn’t be normal otherwise. But his eyes gave nothing away, except for an occasional look at Stratton as though to assess the operative’s nerve. No doubt the man knew that his ambitious plans for MI16’s operational future hung in the balance.
Binning looked nervous but he seemed to be driven by something, as if his life depended on getting onto the platform. Stratton suspected an element of competion with his boss. And perhaps for more than just his job, judging by the way he eyed Rowena.
Smithy was the main concern. He seemed on the verge of snapping, no longer able to make a decision on his own, watching to see what the others were doing before he took the step himself. He could become a liability - if he didn’t back out at the last minute. Stratton wondered what effect it would have on the team’s morale if he ordered the man to stand down. Jason must surely be aware of the problem. The operative decided not to step in: too many variables to worry about.
Jackson appeared to be in control of his nerves, cool enough. Stratton had the distinct feeling that the man had some previous military experience. He’d let slip a fair amount of jargon, especially when he’d been talking to the crewman, and he knew his way around the equipment. With a faulty torch from the equipment box, for instance, he’d immediately unscrewed the base, removed the first battery, reversed it and replaced the base - and it had worked. A classic soldier’s trick to prevent a torch from accidentally coming on.
Rowena was the interesting one. She was nervous but didn’t allow it to get in her way. She didn’t seem to share Jason’s enthusiasm or even agree with MI16’s taking the task on.Yet she’d stayed with the team. Stratton doubted that she was there just to be alongside her lover. She was far too mature for that. He couldn’t see what was keeping her on track. Stratton assumed the affair was a secret between them. They hardly acknowledged each other when there was anyone about. If he hadn’t seen them embrace so passionately he wouldn’t have guessed it. He wondered if Binning knew. If not, that helped to explain his sometimes overt interest in her.
‘Stratton!’ a voice shouted from the back of the cabin. George gave the team leader the thumbs-up and followed this gesture by raising one finger. They had a minute before the release.
Stratton stood at the top of the ramp and looked down at the rolling black water. The peaks were rising to foaming white plumes and the swell was enormous, fifty to sixty feet. In the right gear you could float on the surface, rising and falling from peak to trough. With breathing apparatus you could slip beneath the surface and the storm would disappear. All well and good. The dangers came when a person in such a heavy sea came into contact with a rigid mass, such as a quayside, a ship, a submarine, or an oil platform. Bodies had a tendency to get slammed against surfaces. Like an egg dropping onto a stone floor. Nothing about the next few hours was going to be easy.
Stratton pulled on his fins and tightened the straps. ‘Close up,’ he shouted, tightening the thin neoprene gloves around his fingers.
The team shuffled forward in their fins.
‘Stratton,’ George shouted, holding one side of his headset tight against his ear. ‘You have to go! Charlie’s having trouble holding it. Says we’ll all bloody join you if we don’t dump this lot and get out of here.’
Stratton gave him a firm thumbs-up and the crewman ducked down to remove the blocks that held the sub in position on rollers fixed to the cabin deck. He gave the