After he had chewed on his lower lip for a moment, Zhukov turned his intense stare on Gorov and said, “What’s this?”
Gorov kept his voice low, but he tried not to seem secretive to any crewmen who might be watching. “What is it? I think you can see what it is, Emil. A forgery.”
The first officer didn’t know what to say.
Gorov leaned toward him. “It’s for your protection.”
“My protection?”
Gorov plucked the printout from his first officer’s hands and carefully refolded it. He put it in his shirt pocket. “We’re going to plot a course and set out at once for that iceberg.” He tapped the chart table between them. “We’re going to rescue those Edgeway scientists and Brian Dougherty.”
“You don’t actually have Ministry permission. A forgery won’t stand up to—“
“Does one need permission to save lives?”
“Please, sir. You know what I mean.”
“Once we’re under way, I’ll give you the forged communiqué that you just read. It will be yours to keep, your protection if there’s ever an inquiry.”
“But I saw the real message.”
“Deny it.”
“That might not be easy.”
Gorov said, “I am the only one aboard this ship who knows that you saw it. I will tell any court-martial magistrate that I showed you the forgery and nothing else.”
“If I’m ever interrogated, there’s a chance drugs would be used. Besides, I just don’t like going against orders when—“
“One way or another, you’ll be going against orders. Mine or theirs. Now, listen to me, Emil. This is right. This is the thing we should do. And I will protect you. You do feel I’m a man of my word, I hope?”
“I have no doubt,” Zhukov said immediately and finally broke eye contact, as though embarrassed by the thought that he should ever doubt his captain in any way.
“Then? Emil?” When the first officer remained silent, Gorov said quietly but forcefully, “Time is wasting, Lieutenant. If we’re going after them, then for God’s sake let’s not wait until they’re dead.”
Zhukov took off his glasses. He closed his eyes and pressed his fingertips to them. “I’ve served with you how long?”
“Seven years.”
“There have been tense moments,” Zhukov said.
Like this one, Gorov thought.
Zhukov lowered his hands from his face but didn’t open his eyes. “That time the Norwegian corvette dropped depth charges on us when it caught us in Oslo Fjord.”
“Tense indeed.”
“Or that cat-and-mouse game with the American submarine off the coast of Massachusetts.”
“We made fools of them, didn’t we?” Gorov said. “We’ve made a good team.”
“Never once have I seen you panic or issue orders that I thought were inappropriate.”
“Thank you, Emil.”
“Until now.”
“Not now either.”
Zhukov opened his eyes. “With all due respect, this isn’t like you, sir. It’s reckless.”
“I disagree. It’s not reckless. Not at all. As I told you earlier, I’m quite certain the Admiralty will approve the rescue mission.”
“Then why not wait for the transmission at 1700 hours?”
“We can’t waste time. The bureaucratic pace of the Ministry just isn’t good enough in this case. We’ve got to reach that iceberg before too many more hours have passed. Once we’ve located it, we’ll need a lot of time just to get those people off the ice and aboard with us.”
Zhukov consulted his watch. “It’s twenty minutes past four. We’ve only go to wait another forty minutes to hear the Admiralty’s decision.”
“But on a rescue mission like this, forty minutes could be the difference between success and failure.”
“You’re adamant?”
“Yes.”
Zhukov sighed.
“You could relieve me of my command,” Gorov said. “Right now. You have reason. I wouldn’t hold it against you, Emil.”
Staring at his hands, which were trembling slightly, Zhukov said, “If they deny you the permission you want, will you turn back and continue the surveillance run?”
“I would have no choice.”
“You would turn back?”
“Yes.”
“You wouldn’t disobey them?”
“No.”
“Your word?”
“My word.”
Zhukov thought about it.
Gorov rose from the stool. “Well?”
“I must be crazy.”
“You’ll agree to this?”
“As you know, I named my second son after you. Nikita Zhukov.”