Deep Six (Dirk Pitt 7)

The stewardess came out of the bathroom and said something to the first officer. The only word Pitt made out was "nyet."

"Sorry to have troubled you," said the first officer courteously.

"Any time," replied Pitt.

As soon as the door lock clicked, Pitt rushed to the bathroom.

"Everybody stay just as you are," he ordered. "Don't move." Then he reclined on a bunk and stuffed his mouth with caviar on thin toast.

Two minutes later the door suddenly popped open and the stewardess burst through like a bulldozer, her eyes darting around the cabin.

"Can I help you?" Pitt mumbled with a full mouth.

"I brought the towels," she said.

"Just throw them on the bathroom sink," Pitt said indifferently.

She did precisely that and left the cabin, throwing Pitt a smile that was genuine and devoin of any suspicion.

He waited another two minutes, then opened the door a crack and peered into the passageway. The search crew was entering a cabin near the end of the passageway. He returned to the bathroom, reached in and turned off the water.

Whoever coined the phrase They look like drowned rats must have had the poor souls huddled together in that pocket-sized shower in mind. Their fingertips were beginning to shrivel and all their clothing was soaked through.

Giordino came out first and hurled his sopping wig in the sink.

Loren climbed off his back and immediately began drying her hair.

Pitt helped Moran to his feet and half carried Larimer to a bunk.

"A wise move," said Pitt to Loren, kissing her on the nape of the neck. "Asking for more towels."

"It struck me as the thing to do."

"Are we safe now?" asked Moran. "Will they be back?"

"We won't be in the clear till we're off the ship," said Pitt.

"And we can count on their paying an encore visit. When they come up dry on this search, they'll redouble their efforts for a second."

"Got any more brilliant escape tricks up your sleeve, Houdini?" asked Giordino

"Yes," Pitt replied, sure as the devil. "As a matter of fact, I do."

THE SECOND ENGINEER MOVED ALONG a catwalk between the massive fuel tanks that towered two decks above him. He was running a routine maintenance check for any trace of leakage in the pipes that transferred the oil to the boilers that provided steam for the Leonin Andreyev's 27,000-horsepower turbines.

He whistled to himself, his only accompaniment coming from the hum of the turbo-generators beyond the forward bulkhead.

Every so often he wiped a rag around a pipe fitting or valve, nodding in satisfaction when it came away clean.

Suddenly he stopped and cocked an ear. The sound of metal striking against metal came from a narrow walkway leading off to his right. Curious, he walked slowly, quietly along the dimly lit access.

At the end, where the walkway turned and passed between the fuel tanks and the inner plates of the hull, he paused and peered into the gloom.

A figure in a steward's uniform appeared to be attaching something to the side of the fuel tank. The second engineer approached, stepping softly, until he was only ten feet away.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

The steward slowly turned and straightened. The engineer could see he was Oriental. The white uniform was soiled with grime, and a seaman's duffel bag lay open behind him on the walkway. The steward flashed a wine smile and made no effort to reply.