tc.redstormrising-第145节

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inute。
〃Target　is　turning　east；　her　blade　count　shows　thirty…one　knots。　Sir；　I'm　getting　a　funny　signal　slightly　aft　of　the　target。　Target　bearing　is　now　three…five…eight。　The　new　signal　is　three…five…six。〃
〃Noisemaker？〃
〃Doesn't　sound　like　that。　Sounds　like　something　different　。　。　。　not　a　nixie；　but　something　like　that；　sir。　Target　is　continuing　to　turn；　sir；　bearing　now　three…five…seven。　I　believe　she　may　be　reversing　course。〃
〃Take　her　up　to　two　hundred　feet；〃　the　captain　said。
〃What　the　hell's　he　doing？〃　the　exec　wondered　as　the　submarine　rose　again。
〃Sir；　that　new　signal　has　masked　the　target；〃　sonar　announced。
〃The　fish　is　now　pinging；　sir。〃
〃If　he　has　a　decoy　deployed…he　put　it　between　himself　and　the　fish；〃　the　captain　said　quietly。　〃Fire…control；　I　want　another　fish　on　target　Sierra…2；　and　update　the　solution　for　Sierra…l。〃
Range　and　bearing　figures　were　re…input　into　the　puter。
〃Set　for　tube　three　on　target　Sierra…2　and　tube　two　for　target　Sierra…I。〃　The　submarine　passed　through　three　hundred　feet。
〃Match　bearings　and　shoot。〃　McCafferty　gave　the　order　quietly；　then　took　his　submarine　down　again。　〃That　pod　on　the　Victor…III　that　we　thought　was　a　towed…array　housing；　what　if　it's　a　decoy　like　our　nixie？〃　We　don't　use　them　on　submarines；　McCafferty　thought；　but　Ivan　does　things　his　own　way。
〃The　fish　might　still　ignore　it。〃
〃He　doesn't　think　so。　He　thinks　it'll　work…then　he　can　turn　behind　the　noise　of　the　explosion　and　get　one　off　at　us。〃　McCafferty　walked　over　to　the　plot。　The　other　new　fish　was　running　toward　what　was　probably　another　Victor…class。　The　second　target　was　maneuvering　east　now。　The　Alfa　was　also。　The　obvious　tactical　move：　clear　the　danger　area；　turn；　and　begin　your　own　stalk。　While　both　were　turned　away；　their　sonar　would　be　ineffective　along　the　route　of　the　advancing　torpedo。　Sonar　called　out。
〃Captain；　I　have　an　explosion　bearing　three…five…four。　We　have　lost　contact　with　target　Sierra…2。　I　don't　know　if　the　fish　hit　her　or　not。　The　other　two　fish　seem　to　be　running　normally。〃
〃Patience；〃　the　captain　breathed。
〃Conn；　sonar；　we　show　some　sonobuoys　dropping　aft。〃　The　bearings　were　plotted。　They　were　in　a　north…south　line　two　miles　aft　of　Chicago。
〃One　of　the　other　boats　got　a　message　out　to　his　friends；〃　the　exec　suggested。
〃Good　bet。　These　cooperative　tactics'll　be　a　cast…iron　bitch　if　they　ever　figure　out　how　to　do　it　right。〃
〃Sierra…2　is　back；　sir。　I　have　a　Type…2　machinery　signature　at　three…four…nine。　Some　possible　hull…popping　noises。　Sierra…2　is　changing　depth。〃
The　weapons　officer　manded　one　of　the　running　torpedoes　to　turn　left　a　few　degrees。　McCafferty　picked　up　a　pen　and　started　chewing　on　it。
〃Okay；　probably　his　sonar　is　a　little　messed　up。　I'll　bet　he's　trying　to　get　an　antenna　up　to　tell　his　friends　where　we　fired　from。　All　ahead　two…thirds。〃
〃Torpedoes　in　the　water　bearing　zero…three…one！〃
〃Do　we　have　anything　else　on　that　bearing？〃
〃No；　sir；　I　show　nothing　else。〃
McCafferty　checked　his　plot。　It　was　working；　by　God。　He'd　spooked　the　Russians　into　moving　east　toward　Todd　Simms　in　the　Boston！
〃Conn；　sonar；　torpedo　in　the　water　aft；　bearing　two…eight…six！〃
〃Make　your　depth　twelve　hundred　feet；〃　the　captain　said　instantly。　〃Right　full　rudder；　e　to　new　course　one…six…five。　Our　friend　the　Victor　got　word　out　to　his　airedale　friends。〃
〃Sir；　we　lost　the　wires　to　both　fish；〃　Weapons　reported。
〃Estimated　range　to　Sierra…2
〃The　fish　should　be　about　six　thousand　yards　out；　it's　programmed　to　start　pinging　in　another　minute。〃
〃Mr。　Victor　made　a　mistake　this　time。　He　should　have　covered　his　ass　before　he　went　topside　to　radio　the　airplanes。　Sonar；　what's　the　position　of　the　torpedo　on　our　stem？〃
〃Bearing　changing…sir；　I'm　losing　sonar　performance　due　to　flow　noise。　Last　bearing　on　the　Russian　fish　is　two…seven…eight。〃
〃All　ahead　one…third！〃　McCafferty　brought　his　submarine　back　to　slow；　quiet　speed。　In　two　minutes　they　realized　that　the　air…dropped　torpedo　was　well　clear　of　them；　and　that　their　second　shot　at　the　Victor　was　close　to　its　target。
By　this　time　the　sonar　display　was　totally　confused。　Target　Sierra…2　had　picked　up　the　ining　fish　late；　but　was　racing　directly　away　from　it　at　full　speed　now。　Their　shot　at　the　other　Victor　was　still　running；　but　that　target　was　maneuvering　to　avoid　another　fish　from　Boston。　The　Alfa　was　at　full　power　heading　due　north；　another　Mark…48　in　pursuit。　Two　more　Russian　torpedoes　were　in　the　water　to　the　east；　probably　heading　after　Boston；　but　Chicago　didn't　have　her　sister　ship　on　sonar。　Five　submarines　were　racing　around；　four　of　them　chased　by　smart…weapons。
〃Sir；　I　have　another　decoy　deployed　on　Sierra…2。　Sierra…I　has　one　deployed　also。　Our　fish　is　pinging　on　…2。　Somebody's　fish　is　pinging　on　…1；　and　one　of　the　Russian　fish　is　pinging　at　zero…three…five…sir；　I　have　an　explosion　at　bearing　three…three…nine。〃
Dad　wanted　me　to　be　an　accountant；　McCafferty　thought。　Maybe　then　I　could　keep　all　these　damned　numbers　straight。　He　walked　over　to　the　plot。
The　paper　plot　wasn't　much　clearer。　The　pencil　lines　that　designated　sonar　contacts　and　running　torpedoes　looked　like　electrical　wire　dropped　at　random　on　the　chart。
〃Captain；　I　have　very　loud　machinery　noises　at　bearing　three…three…nine。　Sounds　like　something's　broke；　sir；　lots　of　metallic　noise。　Getting　some　air　noise　now；　he's　blowing　tanks。　No　breakup　noises　yet。〃
〃Left　full　rudder；　e　to　new　course　zero…one…zero。〃
〃We　didn't　kill　the　Victor？〃
〃I'll　settle　for　a　small　piece　of　him；　if　it　sends　him　home。　We'll　score　that　one　as　a　damage。　What's　going　on　with　the　other　two？〃
〃The　fish　after　Sierra…　I　is　pinging；　and　so's　Boston's…I　guess　it's　from　Boston。　〃
The　slight　abatement　of　the　confusion　lasted　ten　minutes。　The　second　target　put　her　stem　on　both　torpedoes　and　ran　northwest。　More　sonobuoy　lines　appeared　across　Chicago's　path。　Another　air…dropped　torpedo　was　detected　to　the　west；　but　they　didn't　know　what　it　had　been　dropped　on…just　that　it　wasn't　close　enough　to　worry　about。　The　torpedo　they'd　put　in　pursuit　of　the　second　Victor…class　sub　was　struggling　to　catch　a　target　running　directly　away　as　fast　as　it　could　go；　and　another　fish　was　angling　in　from　the　opposite　direction。　Possibly　Boston　had　fired　at　the　Alfa　too；　but　the　Alfa　was　racing　away　at　a　speed　almost　as　great　as　the　torpedo's。　McCafferty　reestablished　sonar　contact　with　Providence　and　continued　north。　Chaos　worked　in　his　favor；　and　he　took　maximum　advantage　of　it。　He　hoped　Boston　could　evade　the　torpedoes　that　had　been　launched　in　her　direction；　but　that　was　out　of　his　hands。
〃Two　explosions　bearing　zero…zero…three；　sir。〃　That　was　the　last　bearing　to　the　second　Victor；　but　sonar　detected　nothing　more。　Had　the　fish　killed　the　sub；　the　decoy；　or　had　they　homed　in　on　each　other？
Chicago　continued　north；　increasing　speed　to　ten　knots　as　she　zigzagged　through　the　sonobuoy　lines　to　increase　her　distance　from　the　injured　Providence。　The　attack…center　crew　was　emotionally　exhausted；　as　drained　as　their　captain　from　the　frantic　tracking　and　shooting　exercise。　The　technical　aspects　of　the　work　had　been　handled　well　in　pre…war　workups；　but　nothing　could　simulate　the　tension　of　firing　live　weapons。　The　captain　sent　them　in　pairs　to　the　galley　for　food　and　a　half…hour's　rest。　The　cooks　brought　up　a　platter　of　sandwiches　for　the　ones　who　couldn't　leave。　McCafferty　sat　behind　the　periscope；　eyes　closed；　head　back　against　something　metallic　while　he　munched　on　a　ham　sandwich。　He　remembered　seeing　the　cans　loaded　aboard。　The　Navy　had　gotten　a　good　price　earlier　in　the　year　on　canned　Polish　hams。　Polish　hams；　he　thought。　Crazy。
He　allowed　his　crew　to　go　off　battle　stations　an　hour　later。　Half　his　men　were　allowed　to　go　off　duty。　They　didn't　head　for　the　galley　and　a　meal。　They　all　preferred　sleep。　The　captain　knew　that　he　needed　it　at　least　as　badly　as　they。　After　we　get　to　the　ice；　he　promised　himself。　I'll　sleep　for　a　month。
They　picked　up　Boston　on　sonar；　a　ghostly　trace　on　the　sonar　screens　due　east　of　them。　Providence　was　still　aft；　still　cruising　along　at　six　knots；　and　still　making　too　much　noise　from　her　battered　sail。　Time　passed　more　rapidly　now。　The　captain　remained　seated；　forgetting　his　dignity　and　listening　to　reports　of　。　。　。　nothing。
McCafferty's　head　came　up。　He　checked　his　watch　and　realized　he'd　been　dozing　for　half　an　hour。　Five　more　hours　to　the　ice。　It　came　up　clearly　on　sonar　now；　a　low…frequency　growl　of　noise　that　covered　thirty　degrees　on　either　side　of　the　bow。
Where　did　the　Alfa　go？　McCafferty　was　in　sonar　ten　seconds　after　asking　himself　that　question。
〃What　was　your　last　bearing　on　the　Alfa？〃
〃Sir；　we　lost　him　three　hours　ago。　Last　we　had　him；　he　was　at　flank　speed　on　a　steady　northeasterly　bearing。　Faded　out　and　he　hasn't　e　back；　sir。　〃
〃What's　the　chance　he's　hiding　in　the　ice；　waiting　for　us？〃
〃If　he　does；　we'll　pick　him　up　before　he　picks　us　up；　sir。　If　he's　moving；　his　engine　plant　turns　out　a　lot　of　medium…　and　high…frequency　noise；〃　the　sonar　chief　explained。　McCafferty　knew　all　that；　but　wanted　to　hear　it　again　anyway。　〃All　the　low…frequency　ice　noise'll　ruin　his　chance　to　detect　us　at　long　range；　but　we　should　be　able　to　hear　him　a　good　ways　off　if　he's　moving。〃　The　captain　nodded　and　w