the whereabouts of one of the British battleships, the Prince. Yes, the Prince of Wales. I want to know of its movements, but first and foremost, I want you to find me that Russian battlecruiser. Put everything you have on that.”
“You can rely on me, sir.”
Chapter 36
Tovey stared at the radio, realizing the situation was very grave. He had never met the man he would be speaking to, the Russian officer that had been involved in a mutiny, and the man who was most likely responsible for those reports he read in the file boxes Turing had found.
It was this man, he thought. He was the reason this ship put fear into our souls, for with men like Volsky and Fedorov at the helm, Kirov became a bulwark for the defense of the realm. Then it really wasn’t the ship I supposedly set a watch on, establishing that secret group within the Royal Navy, it was this man. He put the darkness in the shadow this ship became for us, and the fear. Karpov… And here he is again, like some rough beast, his hour come round at last. Yeats was in his mind as he thought this, a poem called The Second Coming.
Here he is, unknowing, still thinking he is sailing in his own time, unaware of what has happened to him and his ship. The danger here is measureless. This man could undo all the careful planning and cooperation I’ve worked to achieve with the Russians. He could become the deadly foil that ship was when we first encountered it, events I stand at the edge of this very moment, yet things I can literally read my own hand on, as I documented the whole affair once before!
What to do here? The key thing now is to diffuse any potential conflict in the immediate local area of this ship. I must get a message off to Wake-Walker, and tell him to hold the Dervish convoy at Iceland. He’ll need to pull in his cruiser screens, and I’ll also have to get hold of Vian and rein him in as well. He’s up there with Force K off the Norwegian coast. Yet how to speak with this man, here and now. He’s standing by, and every moment of delay attenuates the thin rope we may now be dangling from.
Think Tovey, he chided himself. What would they be doing now on that ship? I’m told there was some sort of accident. That was what sent them here in the first instance. So they will be somewhat disoriented, perhaps investigating what may have happened, and each and every bit of evidence they uncover will seem an impossibility. It’s likely that this is what created the tension and conflict on that ship, and led to this attempted mutiny. So I must do everything possible to tamp things down here…
Tovey narrowed his eyes, and then made his call.
“HMS Invincible to BCG Kirov, this is Admiral Tovey. Come back.”
“BCG Kirov reading you loud and clear. We Copy, HMS Invincible. Over.”
“Invincible here. This message is for the Captain. It appears we have a situation on our hands here, and I am presently giving orders that all Royal Navy ships in your vicinity should immediately withdraw. Should you require any assistance, we will, of course, be happy to lend a hand. Otherwise, in the interest of peace, orders will be transmitted immediately to any British ship in the Norwegian Sea to withdraw to friendly ports. We wish no hostilities. Over.”
There was a good long wait before a message came back. “We copy your message, HMS Invincible. All Royal Navy ships will withdraw to friendly ports. No assistance required, and no interference with the investigation we are presently conducting will be tolerated. Do you copy? Over.”
“Message received. No interference contemplated. We will stand by on this channel should you wish any further communication. HMS Invincible, over and out.”
The Admiral turned to the others, a concerned look on his face. “Well, he said. It appears we’ve just struck our first bargain with the devil. He may be exactly that, this Captain Karpov, or he may be something more, a guardian angel, as this ship was for us in our hour of greatest need. I suppose only time will tell which it will be. If they keep to their maintenance schedule, then the ship may only be here ten more days. Yet, in that time, it managed to sink and damage many ships, kill thousands of men, and loosed