"Flood tubes." McCafferty watched the weapons-panel operator go through the launch sequence. "Opening outer doors."
"Solution checked and valid," the weapons officer said calmly. "Firing sequence: two, one, three."
"Shoot!" McCafferty ordered.
"Fire two." The submarine shuddered as the powerful impulse of high-pressure air ejected the weapon from the tube, followed by the whoosh of water entering the void. "Fire one... fire three. Two, one, and three fired, sir. Torpedo tube doors are shut, pumping out to reload."
"Reload with Mark-48s. Prepare to fire Tomahawks!" McCafferty said. The fire-control men switched the attack director over to activate the bow-mounted missiles.
"Up scope!" The quartermaster spun the control wheel. McCafferty let it come all the way up. He could see the smoke trail of the last Harpoon, and right behind it... McCafferty slapped the periscope handles up and stepped back. "Helix heading in! Take her down, all ahead flank!" The submarine raced downward. A Soviet antisub helicopter had seen the missile launch and was racing in at them. "Left full rudder."
"Left full rudder, aye!"
"Passing through one hundred feet. Speed fifteen knots," the XO reported.
"There he is," McCafferty said. The pings from the helicopter's active sonar reverberated through the hull. "Reverse your rudder. Shoot off a noisemaker." The captain ordered his submarine back to an easterly course and reduced speed as they dropped through the layer. With luck the Soviets would mistake the noisemaker for the cavitation noises of the submarine and attack it as Chicago drew clear.
"Conn, sonar, we have a destroyer heading in, bearing three-three-nine. Sounds like a Sovremenny-torpedo in the water aft. We have one torpedo in the water bearing two-six-five."
"Right twenty degrees rudder. All ahead two-thirds. Come to new course one-seven-five."
"Conn, sonar, new contact, twin screws, just started with a low-frequency sonar, probably a Udaloy, blade count says twenty-five knots, bearing three-five-one and constant. Torpedo bearing changing, heading aft and fading."
"Very well." McCafferty nodded. "The helicopter dropped on the noisemaker. We don't have to sweat that one. All ahead one-third, make your depth one thousand feet."
The Sovremenny he didn't worry too greatly about, but the Udaloy was another thing entirely. The new Soviet destroyer carried a low-frequency sonar that could penetrate the layer under certain conditions, plus two helicopters and a long-range rocket-boosted torpedo weapon that was better than the American ASROC.
Ba-wah! The sound of a low-frequency sonar. It had hit them on the first shot. Would it report Chicago's position to the Udaloy? Or would the submarine's rubber coating prevent it?
"Target bearing three-five-one. Blade count is down, indicates speed of ten knots," sonar reported.
"Okay, he's slowed to search for us. Sonar, how strong was that ping?"
"Low edge of detection range, sir. Probably did not get a return off us. Contact is maneuvering, bearing now three-five-three. Continuing to ping, but his sonar is search-lighting west-to-east away from us. Another helo is pinging, sir, bearing zero-nine-eight. This one's below the layer, but fairly weak."
"XO, take us west. We'll try to loop around them to seaward and approach their amphibs from the west." McCafferty returned to the sonar room. He was tempted to engage the Udaloy, but could not launch a torpedo this deep without using a dangerously high amount of his reserve high-pressure air. Besides, his job was to kill the command ships, not the escorts. His fire-control team set up a solution anyway in case killing the Russian destroyer became a necessity.
"God, what a mess," the chief breathed. "The depth-charging up north has tapered off some. Bearing is steadying down on these contacts here. Either they've resumed their base course or they're heading away. Can't tell which. Uh-oh, more sonobuoys are dropping down." The chief's finger traced the new dots, in a steady line-heading toward Chicago. "Next one's going to be real close, sir."
McCafferty stuck his head into the attack center. "Bring her around south, and go to two-thirds."
The next sonobuoy splashed into the water directly overhead. Its cable deployed the transducer below the layer and began automatic pinging.
"They got us for sure, skipper!'
