Black Rose

CHAPTER 3

The black chop of the East China Sea slapped against the hull of boat. Nick braced himself against the constant, unpleasant motion. A black wool watch cap and thick jacket kept out some of the dank, night chill. Thick fog muffled the sound of their engine. Droplets of moisture lay like the touch of an obsessive lover over every surface of the boat.

The boat was old and slow. A tall, open wheelhouse did nothing to protect from the tendrils of fog reaching everywhere. Tiny streams of water trickled down the glass faces of the dimly lit gauges on the control console. The old style helm was slick and his left hand ached from gripping the wheel. The last two fingers had been broken by a sadistic Cuban policeman and continued to give him trouble. Nick tried to see through the fog and hoped they didn't run into one of the Chinese patrol boats that moved in these waters.

They had succeeded in grabbing Kim Jung-Hun in Hong Kong but it had been messy, with three of Kim's minders dead. By now all of China's security services were looking for the mouse-like man shivering in the cabin below. The Chinese and North Koreans would do everything they could to get Kim back. If they couldn't get him back, Nick was certain they'd settle for killing him.

Lamont came up from below deck and joined Nick in the wheelhouse. He scanned the impenetrable fog with night vision binoculars.

"Can't see a damn thing," Lamont said. The fog sucked up the sound of his voice. He put the binoculars down.

"How's our guest?" Nick said.

"Seasick. Barfing in a bucket. It stinks down there. I had to get some fresh air."

"They'll have figured it out by now," Nick said. "Someone will be out here looking for us."

Lamont grunted. There wasn't any point in worrying about all the things that could go wrong.

"Better get the RPG ready just in case," Nick said. The grenade launcher lay in an open box on the floor of the wheelhouse.

Lamont pulled it out of the box, loaded a round.

"All set," Lamont said. "Let's hope we don't need it. Not a lot of use against a patrol boat."

"Better than nothing."

"Yeah."

For a few minutes both men were silent, the only sound the muffled rhythm of the engine and the water against the hull.

"The fog is starting to thin," Nick said. "I don't think we'll have cover much longer."

"How far to the extraction point?" Lamont asked. They were headed for a rendezvous with a helicopter from an American Wasp class amphibious assault carrier.

"Another ten minutes," Nick said.

The fog clung to the gauges. Nick wiped droplets away with his right hand.

"Still plenty of fuel."

They both heard the sound at the same time.

"Engines. Big ones," Lamont said.

Nick cut the throttle and they drifted on the black water. Wisps of fog swirled around them. The sound seemed close.

"Maybe it's a fishing boat," Lamont said.

Nick pointed. "I don't think so," he said.

The sharp prow of a patrol vessel emerged from the gray as both boats entered a clear patch in the fog bank. The Chinese boat was long and lethal looking and bristling with guns. Nick rammed the throttles forward. A bright searchlight found them as they fled back into fog.

"Just our luck," Lamont said.

"That's a Shanghai II class," Nick said. "Obsolete, but she can do thirty knots. Dual 37s and 25s for the big stuff and heavy machine guns. They decide to start shooting, they can turn this tub into toothpicks in about ten seconds."

Nick steered deeper into the fog and throttled down.

Behind them they could hear shouts and alarms blaring, then silence.

The two vessels drifted in the fog.

"I never did like playing hide and seek," Lamont said.

"Get our guest up here. We may have to get off fast. I'll see if our ride is here yet, " Nick said. He adjusted his headpiece and turned on the transponder that identified him as friendly. Now that they'd been spotted, there was no need to stay dark.

"Raven One, this is Tango. Do you copy? Over."

His headpiece crackled.

"Tango, this is Raven One. We've got you. Looks like you've got company. What is your status?"

"Raven One, we've got a Chinese patrol on our ass. They've got anti-aircraft guns. Watch yourself."

"Copy, Tango. No problemo. Stay alive for five."

"Copy that."

Lamont went down to the tiny cabin and emerged a moment later with their charge. He was a small man, dressed in a shapeless brown suit. He clutched a briefcase in his hands and looked frightened. Nick couldn't blame him. If the North Koreans managed to get their hands on him, they would feed him alive to a pack of hungry dogs.

They drifted out of the thinning fog. Ahead, the sea was clear and dark. Stars shone overhead. Seconds later the Chinese boat emerged from the fog bank a bare thirty yards away. Their engines throttled up. A searchlight swung across the black water and pinned them in a bright, white glare. Nick watched the guns coming to bear.

"Lamont."

"I'm on it."

Lamont lifted the launcher and fired. The round struck the bridge and detonated in a bright, orange burst of flame. The Chinese craft slewed to port. Nick pushed the throttles ahead and spun the wheel to turn back toward the fog bank. Maneuverability was the only advantage he had. They churned to the right as cannon fire found the spot they'd just been. The patrol boat was burning where the grenade had hit. Lamont loaded another round and fired again, striking forward of the gun crews. Two bodies hurled into the air. The 25mm cannon on the foredeck hammered away at them, sending gouts of water into the air.

The Chinese machine guns opened up. Nick and Lamont hit the deck. Bullets stitched across the boat, smashed the control console and marched across the chest of Kim Jung-Hun. His briefcase slid across the deck as he fell. Nick reached up and spun the wheel. Shells from the 25mm gun struck aft and pieces of the trawler flew into the air. The engine screamed and shook itself apart and died with a final sound of tortured metal. The boat began to settle fast by the stern.

Nick heard the sound of rotors through the heavy explosions of the Chinese guns. An SH-60B Seahawk appeared, coming in low and hot a hundred feet off the water. The Chinese gunners swung around and began to fire, rows of bright tracers streaming toward the chopper. As Nick watched, two hellfire missiles shot from the aircraft.

The missiles lifted the Chinese ship partway out of the water and broke it in two. A thick column of water shot into the night sky. Nick grasped the railing of their sinking vessel as water rained down on him. The wave from the blast washed over the trawler. The patrol boat was gone from sight in less than a minute.

Kim lay dead on deck, his chest shredded and bloody from the bullets. His eyes were open. His face looked as though he'd seen something that had shocked him. Nick picked up the briefcase.

The stern was underwater, the boat listing to the side. Lamont stepped over the edge into the sea and began swimming away. Nick dove in after him. The boat turned bow up and slid under the roiling surface, trying to pull them in after it.

Overhead, the blades of the Seahawk beat patterns in the water. A circle of light found them. A hatch opened and a rescue basket descended.

Nick hoped they hadn't started a war.