Zavala slowly shook his head. “You do have a talent for present- ing the possibility of a horrible death in a lighthearted way.”

“My death wish isn't any stronger than yours. You told me the Sea Lamprey is built like a brick outhouse.”

“Okay, I was bragging. Structurally, she's extremely sound. Op- erationally, she could do better.”

“On balance, how do the odds of a successful mission stack up?”

“About fifty-fifty. I can jury-rig some repairs to increase the odds slightly in our favor.”

“I'm not pushing you, Joe.”

“You don't have to. I'd never sleep again if we didn't try to help these guys. But we've still got to get the submersible to that Danish cruiser. You've figured it out, haven't you, you old fox?” Zavala said, noting Austin's grin.

Maybe,“ Austin replied. ”I've got a few details to work through with Vlasov."

Since I'm about to risk my life on a typical spur-of-the-moment Austin scheme, I wonder if you could tell me whats cooking under that prematurely silver-gray hair of yours?"

-Not at all/5 Austm said. “Do you recall what Vlasov said about Soviet gigantism?”

“Yeah, but-” “Think - Austin said, heading for the door. -Think real big.”

NUMA 4 - White Death

4

KARL BECKER RESTLESSLY paced the deck of the Dan- ish research vessel Thor. Shoulders hunched, hands thrust into the pockets of his great coat, the navy bureaucrat looked like a large wingless bird. Becker wore several layers of clothing, yet he shivered as his thoughts went back to the collision. He had been shoved into a lifeboat, only to be thrown into the freezing water when the over- loaded craft capsized during launch. If a Faroese trawler had not plucked his semiconscious body to safety, he would have been dead within minutes.

He stopped to light a cigarette, cupping his hands around the name, and leaned on the rail. As he stared bleakly at the red plastic sphere that marked the grave of the sunken cruiser, he heard his name being called. The Thor's captain, Nils Larsen, was striding across the deck in his direction.

Where are those damned Americans?" Becker growled.

“Good news. They just called,” said the captain. “They expect to be here in five minutes.”

"About time, Becker said.

Like his colleague on the LeifErifsson, Captain Larsen was tall and blond with a craggy profile. “In all fairness,” he said, “it's only been a matter of hours since the cruiser went down. The NATO response team needed a minimum of seventy-two hours to place a mother ship, crew and rescue vehicle on site. The NUMA people have lived up to their pledge to get here within eight hours. They deserve some lee- way.”