bullet could destroy the sub and potentially detonate some of its massive weapons—and blow up half the Atlantic seaboard.
No wonder the 616 guys were being so quiet, Crash thought.
They were probably saying their prayers.
* * *
“ABOUT ONE MINUTE to visual contact,” Elvis announced, bent over the Sea Shadow’s control panel. “If that sub is where we think it is, we should see its scopes pretty soon.”
The six of them were now dressed in both scuba gear and battle gear. Because they would be in the lockout chamber less than two minutes, they carried small air reservoirs attached to their belts, not the usual, full-size scuba tanks. They also wore diving masks and gloves but no flippers or wet suits. Instead, they were in camo fatigues, boots and helmets. The 616 guys also had their M4 weapons, flash grenades and a sidearm, all packed in waterproof casings. There was no weapon aboard for Crash, but that was OK with him. He had his knife—and in the environment they might be entering, fighting an unknown enemy among a forest of 800-kiloton nuclear missiles, a sharp blade might prove to be the best weapon of all.
They got a visual read on the Wyoming just when Ghost said they would. Using their night vision equipment, they saw it was traveling due north, barely twenty feet underwater. Its speed was down to ten knots, possibly because it was entering an area off the Florida coast with a lot of sea traffic. This speed was key, though, as it was within the range of the SDV mini-sub, meaning a hookup while underway was at least theoretically possible.
It would still be the equivalent of an aerial refueling, though—the mini-sub’s speed would have to perfectly match the sub’s speed, and they would have to pray the sub didn’t change course, even a little, while they were hooking on.
* * *
WITHIN TWO MINUTES, Ghost had brought the Sea Shadow up alongside the sub, steering on a course parallel to it and matching its speed.
They were able to see it through their night scopes, but just barely. Still, it looked like a gigantic sea serpent plowing through the thick blue water. And it was huge!
Now came the tricky part.
Ghost booted the Sea Shadow’s speed back up to fifty knots. Meanwhile the main hatch on the SDV mini-sub, dangling between the vessel’s two hulls, was opened and the vessel made ready for deployment.
According to Beaux, Plan 6S-S called for a full complement of SEALs. This meant the entire 616 team would go on board, along with Crash. To do this, they would have to climb into the mini sub while the Sea Shadow was on autopilot and then disconnect from it.
Ghost drove the stealth vessel to a point about five miles ahead of the sub, and then dramatically reduced its speed to barely five knots. He put the ship on autopilot, and they all went out the bottom hatches and hastily piled into the SDV mini-sub. The mini-sub quickly unhooked from the Sea Shadow, leaving the empty stealth ship to drift, its ultimate fate unknown. But considering the circumstances, at the moment that was not important.
The mini-sub slipped beneath the waves, and now they waited until the huge sub caught up to them. Once they saw it coming, Ghost steered the SDV down toward the great, gray hull, and keeping pace, eased into a position parallel to its starboard side lockout chamber.
Then, with the skill of a fighter pilot, he steered the SDV to the left, trying to get positioned above the reconstructed access tube. It took a few tries, and a lot of finesse, but he finally attained the desired position and came down on top of the submarine’s starboard side lockout chamber. Almost immediately, their connection light blinked on.
They’d done it! They were hooked to the sub.
Not a second later, they could hear the rush of water filling the empty missile tube. The water pressure equalizer light came on inside the mini-sub connection collar and started flashing red. Once it turned green, it would mean the pressure inside the lockout chamber was at a point where the SEALs could safely open the married hatch and enter the chamber.
But then what? The SEALs weren’t sure.
And neither was Crash. Obviously, someone inside the sub knew they had hooked on. And someone had started the water filling the lockout chamber.
So, was this someone trying to help them get onboard? Or was it an enemy ready to kill the rescue team before it