Read Online Santorini by Alistair MacLean - Free Book Online Page B

had not perhaps addressed yourself to the problem on hand. But you have, and in some style and quite some time before I arrived. Two questions.'

    'The aircraft and Andropulos?' Hawkins nodded. 'At 43,000 feet, the pilot didn't have to bother to notify anyone about his presence. He knew he was alone in the sky. But once he started descending, it was a different matter entirely. He wouldn't be too keen on bumping into anyone, especially not with the cargo he had on board. And, of course, he would require permission to land.'

    'But why Greece?'

    'Because the flight path he was following when we first located him would have taken him to Ankara in Turkey, or some place pretty close by. Now, even although Turkey is - nominally, at least - a member of NATO, I'm sure the Americans have no air bases at, or near, Ankara. I don't even know if they have any air bases at all in Turkey. I'm certain they have no missile launching bases. In Greece, the Americans have both. So, Greece. As for Andropulos, several of my officers and I think he's a leery customer and a suspicious one. Not one thing that could be proved in a court of law, of course. We suspect that he may know something about the downing of this plane that we don't know he knows, if you follow me. He says the Delos was sunk as the result of an explosion. But it's the old question of did he fall or was he pushed? In other words, was the explosion accidental or deliberate? If we could hoist the Delos to the surface we might well find out.'

    'We might well indeed. Still, first things first.' Hawkins looked briefly at the signals again. 'Seem to fit the task admirably. I'll gladly sign.' Hawkins produced a pen, signed and handed the papers to Talbot. 'As you had all this figured out quite some time, I suspect, before I left Rome, why didn't you send those signals yourself?'

    'Lowly commanders don't give the instructions to Rear-Admiral Blyth. I haven't the authority. You have. That's why I asked you to join us as soon as was possible. Thanks for the signing, sir. That was the easy part. Now comes the difficult part.'

    'Difficult part?' Hawkins said warily. 'What difficult part?'

    'Have we the moral right to ask the crew of the salvage vessel or lifting vessel, not to mention the divers, to join us, in Lieutenant Denholm's elegant phrase, in drifting through the stratosphere in vaporized orbit?'

    'Ah. Yes. A point, of course. What do you think?'

    'Again, not a decision for lowly commanders. Admirals only.'

    'Dear, oh dear. Then, if things go wrong, you'll have nothing on your conscience and everything in the world to reproach me with.'

    'If anything goes wrong, sir, I don't think we'll be having too much to say to each other when we're in vaporized orbit.'

    'True. Mine was an unworthy remark. No one likes to bear the responsibility for such decisions. Send the signals.'

    'Very good, sir. Lieutenant Denholm, ask Myers to come here.'

    Hawkins said: 'I understand  --  I'm not making comparisons  --  that the President of the United States was faced with a problem similar to the one you've just confronted me with. He asked the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff if he should pull out the Ariadne which they knew, of course, was sitting over the crashed plane. The Chairman said, quite rightly, that that wasn't his responsibility, the old and honoured American tradition of passing the buck. The President decided that the Ariadne should stay.'

    'Well, I could come all over bitter and say that's very noble and gallant of the President, especially as there's no chance of his being blown out of his seat in the Oval Office when this little lot goes up, but I won't. It's not a decision I would care to have to make. I assume he gave a reason for his decision?'

    'Yes. The greatest good of the greatest number.'

    Myers came in. Talbot handed him the two messages.

    'Get these off at once. Code B in both cases. To both messages add "Immediate, repeat Immediate, confirmation is