Crescent Dawn (Dirk Pitt 21)

“Excuse me if I don’t welcome you aboard, Lieutenant,” Pitt replied drily.

“My apologies for the intrusion, but we require your assistance on a sensitive mission. I have been assured that sources in your government at the highest level have approved your cooperation.”

“I see. If that is the case, then were the midnight theatrics really necessary?”

“We are operating in Turkish waters without authorization. It is essential that we maintain our secrecy.”

“Okay, Lieutenant, put down your guns and tell me what this is all about.”

The commando reluctantly lowered his weapon, indicating for his partner to follow suit.

“We have been ordered to effect the rescue of the crew of the Israeli tanker Dayan. It has been reported that you are familiar with the facility where the ship is being held.”

“Yes, the cove north of the Dardanelles. Is she still there?”

“Intelligence reports within the last ten hours confirm as much.”

“Why not use diplomatic channels to get their release?” Pitt asked, baiting the man.

“Your government has provided information that there may be a connection between the hijackers and the recent attack on the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. The report of an explosives stockpile at the facility has our intelligence specialists fearing another attack.”

Pitt nodded, understanding that pursuing Celik through official channels might entail a dangerous delay. The Turk was clearly up to no good, and Pitt would like nothing more than to put him out of business.

“Very well, Lieutenant, I’ll be happy to help.” He turned and faced the second officer. “Rogers, please inform the captain that I’ve left the ship. By the way, Lieutenant, how did you get aboard?”

“We have a small inflatable tied up off the starboard flank. Our departure will be made easier if your vessel can temporarily slow.”

Rogers obliged the request, then stood on the bridge wing and watched Pitt and several shadows slip over the rail and quietly vanish into the night. A few minutes later, the helmsman called him over to the radar scope.

“She’s disappeared,” the man said, gazing at the screen.

Rogers looked at the empty blue radar screen and nodded. Somewhere on the open sea, Pitt had disappeared from the surface along with the mystery vessel. It was, he fervently hoped, only a temporary vanishing act.

59

THE TEKUMAH WASTED NO TIME RETURNING TO THE stealthy depths. A Dolphin class submarine built at the HDW shipyards in Kiel, Germany, she was one of only a handful of subs operated by the Israeli Navy. Diesel-powered and relatively small in size, she was nevertheless packed with a sophisticated array of electronics and weaponry that made her a formidable underwater foe.

The inflatable had barely touched the side of her hull when waiting crewmen hoisted Pitt and the commandos onto the deck and hustled them down a hatch while the inflatable was stowed in a watertight compartment. Pitt had just taken a seat in the sub’s cramped officers’ mess when the dive command reverberated through the vessel.

Lazlo secured his weapons, then brought a pair of coffees to the table and sat down opposite Pitt. Reaching into a nearby folder, he laid out a satellite photo of Celik’s shipping facility, similar to the one Pitt had received from Yaeger.

“We’re going in with two small teams,” the Israeli explained. “One will search the tanker and the other the shore facilities. Can you tell me about the buildings?”

“Provided I can go in with you,” Pitt replied.

“I don’t have authorization for that.”

“Look, Lieutenant,” Pitt said, staring coldly at the commando. “I didn’t come along with you just to take a joyride on a submarine. Celik’s men killed two of my scientists and kidnapped a third. His sister abducted my wife at gunpoint. And sitting inside his compound is enough high-grade explosives to start World War Three. I understand that you want the Dayan’s crewmen back, but there’s potentially a lot more at stake here.”

Lazlo sat silent for a moment. Pitt was not the man he expected to find aboard the research vessel. Far from being some nebbish egghead scientist, Pitt was all substance.

“Very well,” the commando replied quietly.

Pitt took the photo and carefully explained the layout of t

he two warehouses and the stone administrative building.

“Can you tell me about any security elements?” Lazlo asked.