The Sum of All Fears.pdf - Delta Force

negotiations. Japan could be a fun place to visit, though rather expensive.
Under the watchful eyes of the First Officer, gantry cranes lifted the logs from
trucks and lowered them into the built-for-the-purpose holds. The process was
remarkably speedy. Automation of cargo-loading was probably the most important
development in the commercial shipping business. George M could be fully loaded
in less than forty hours, and off-loaded in thirty-six, allowing the ship to
return to sea very rapidly, but denying her crew the chance to do very much in
whatever port they might be visiting. The loss of income for waterfront bars and
other businesses that catered to sailors was not a matter of great concern to
the shipowners, who did not make money when their hulls were tied alongside the
pier.
'Pete, got the weather,' the Third Officer announced. 'Could be better.'
The First Officer looked at the chart. 'Wow!'
'Yeah, a monster Siberian low forming up. Gonna get bumpy a couple of days out.
It's gonna be too big to dodge, too.'
The First Officer whistled at the numbers. 'Don't forget your 'scope patch,
Jimmy.'
'Right. How much deck cargo?'
'Just those boys over there.' He pointed.
The other man grunted, then picked up a pair of binoculars from the holder.
'Christ, they're chained together!'
'That's why we can't strike 'em below.'
'Outstanding,' the junior man observed.
'I already talked to the bosun about it. We'll have them tied down nice and
tight.'
'Good idea, Pete. If this storm builds like I expect, you'll be able to surf
down there.'
'Captain still on the beach?'
'Right, he's due back at fourteen hundred.'
'Fueling complete. ChEng will have his diesels on line at seventeen hundred.
Depart at sixteen-thirty?'
'That's right.'
'Damn, a guy hardly has time to get laid anymore.'
'I'll tell the captain about the weather forecast. It might make us late in
Japan.'
'Cap'n'll love that.'
'Won't we all?'
'Hey, if it screws up our alongside time, maybe I can . . .'
'You and me both, buddy.' The First Officer grinned. Both men were single.
***
'Beautiful, isn't it?' Fromm asked. He leaned down, staring at the metallic mass
through the Lexan sheeting. The manipulator arm had detached the plutonium from
the spindle and moved it for a visual inspection that wasn't really necessary,
but the plutonium had to be moved for the next part of the finishing process
anyway, and Fromm wanted to see the thing close up. He shone a small, powerful
flashlight on the metal, but then switched it off. The reflection of the
overhead lights was enough.