Durand was on his heels. “Weapon ready!”

“Shoot on generated bearings,” Joe Glass ordered. Again the roar of high-pressure air signaled an ADCAP torpedo on its way. “Cut the wires and close the outer doors, tubes one and two. Open the outer doors, tubes three and four.”

Zillich’s voice boomed again over the announcing circuit. “Incoming weapons bearing three-five-five and three-five-zero. Own ship’s first fired weapon in active search.”

The two enemy torpedoes were out ahead of them and coming fast. One of them was on a zero bearing rate. It was driving directly at them. The first ADCAP torpedo fired by Toledo was out there now, and it was actively searching for its target. The twenty-kilohertz active sonar and advanced computer controls on board the ADCAP would find and destroy any target it found in a large patch of water.

“Skipper, both signal ejectors are reloaded and ready,” Wallich yelled.

“Shoot both signal ejectors. Reload and shoot again,” Glass shot back. “I want as much noise in the water as we can make!”

Toledo was still going all out, making a run for the open sea. In the confines of the narrow fjord, there wasn’t any room for error. At this speed, the slightest twitch would result in seven thousand tons of racing steel slamming into the unyielding granite wall of the waterway. The crew would have the barest instant to register what had happened before the frigid Barents filled their tomb with tons of seawater.

“Incoming weapons bearing three-five-five and three-five-two. Both still active. Own ship second fired weapon in active search.”

The race was still on. The second ADCAP they shot was awake and looking for something to annihilate.

“Tubes three and four ready in all respects,” Pat Durand called out. “Reloading tubes one and two.”

The lights on the fire control panel blinked on. They showed that the outer doors for tubes three and four were open. Glass had two more torpedoes to use. They wouldn’t do anybody any good sitting there in their tubes.

“Snapshot, tube three on the second Grisha, then tube four on the Udaloy.”

“Solution ready on the Grisha. Solution ready on the Udaloy.”

“Two more incoming weapons,” Zillich sang out with just the hint of a tremble in his voice. “Coming from astern. Best bearings two-six-zero and two-seven-zero. Both in active search.”

Jesus! The problem had just gotten markedly more complicated. One of the frigates had sent two torpedos spinning their way as well. The narrow fjord was now filled with hurtling underwater ordnance.

“Weapons ready, tube three assigned to the Grisha. Tube four to the Udaloy.”

“Shoot tube three first, then tube four.”

Durand punched the launch button for tube three. Its weapon was still roaring down the tube when he punched the button for tube four. Two more fish were on their way.

“Incoming weapons bearing three-five-five and three-five-seven. One is range-gating.”