Part 20 (1/2)

”Excellent. Teh1 them to go due north for twenty miles and stay there.” This was done. Unfortunately for Cronkite, his view to the west was blocked by the shattered building behind him and he could not see that the Roomer was already proceeding steadily to the south.

38O.

Cronkite smiled. ”Well, Worth, it's the end of the road for both you and the Seawitch.” He dug into a pocket and produced a black pear-shaped metal container. ”This is a radioactive detonating device. Note this small switch here. It's supposed to be good for sixty minutes, but I have already run off ten minutes of it. Fifty more minutes and poof: the Seawitch, you, Worth, and everyone aboard will be vaporized. n.o.body's going to feel a thing, I a.s.sure you.”

”You mean you intend to kill all my innocent employees aboard the rig? Cronkite, you are stark raving mad.”

”Never saner. Can't have any witnesses left to identify us. Then we destroy two of the helicopters, cripple your derrick crane, smash your radio room and take off in the other two helicopters. You could, of course, figure on jumping into the Gulf, but your chances of survival would be about the same as a suicide jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge.”

Mitch.e.l.l nudged Marina. She said in a faint voice: ”May I go to the ladies' room?”

Cronkite was joviality itself. ” 'Course. But make it snappy.”

Fifteen seconds later the deck lights went out.

In the end it was Mitch.e.l.l, with his extraordinary capacity to see in the dark, who ran round the corner of the shattered building, retrieved the two Schmeissers-he didn't bother about the grenades-returned and thrust one 281.

into La.r.s.en's hands. In eight seconds two men with submachine guns can achieve an extraordinary amount of carnage. La.r.s.en was firing blind but Mitch.e.l.l could see and pick out his targets. They were helped in a most haphazard fas.h.i.+on by Dr. Greenshaw, who flung grenades at random, inflicting even more damage on the already shattered building but not actually injuring anyone.

The lights came on again.

There were still seven people left alive-Cron-kite, Mulhooney, Easton, Gregson and three of his men. To those seven Mitch.e.l.l said: ”All right, drop your guns.” Shattered and stunned though the survivors were, they still had enough wits left to comply at once.

Marina arrived back and was promptly sick in a very unladylike fas.h.i.+on.

Mitch.e.l.l put down his Schmeisser and advanced on Cronkite. ”Give me that detonating device.”

Cronkite removed it slowly from his pocket and lifted his arm preparatory to throwing it over the side. Whatever else, it would have meant the destruction of the Seawitch. Cronkite screamed in agony as the bullet from MitchelTs .38 shattered his right elbow. Mitch.e.l.l caught the detonating device even before it could reach the deck.

He said to La.r.s.en: ”Are there two absolutely 282.

secure places, with no windows and iron doors, which can be locked without any possibility of opening them from the inside?”

”Just two. Safe as Fort Knox vaults. Along here.”

”Search these guys and search them thoroughly. Make sure they haven't even got a penknife.”

La.r.s.en searched. ”Not even a penknife.** He led them to a steel-reinforced cell-like structure and he and Mitch.e.l.l ushered them inside.

In spite of his agony, Cronkite said: ”You're not going to leave us in here, for G.o.d's sake!”

”Same as you were going to leave us.” Mitch.e.l.l paused, then added soothingly: ”As you said, you won't feel a thing.” He closed the door, double-locked it and put the key in his pocket. He said to La.r.s.en: ”The other cell?”

”Along here.”