72
THE TWO SHIPS HAD ENTERED THE GAILLARD CUT, the canal’s most dangerous section. Nine miles long, it sliced through the continental divide and had presented the most difficult challenge for the engineers who built the canal. A herculean excavation effort gouged out a trench more than two hundred fifty feet deep in some places, using manual labor and finicky steam shovels. Untold thousands lost their lives, some due to accidents and mudslides, but most from yellow fever and pneumonia.
The magnitude of the feat was obscured when the canal waters were released in 1914, flooding the deep cut. A tranquil appearance belied its tricky currents that made the narrow passage a challenge to navigate.
Pitt stormed into the cut, ignoring a channel marker that indicated a speed limit of six knots for large vessels. He occasionally felt the effects of the currents, as the stern drifted one way or another. But he refused to slow his pursuit. He had a clear bead on the Salzburg, having closed to within a half mile.
Though Pablo had ordered the captain to increase speed, it took precious time for the Salzburg to increase its pace. Peering back at the faster Adelaide, he realized he would have to take the offensive.
When Pitt noticed a few men congregating on the Salzburg’s forward deck, he passed the helm to Dirk.
Just for the record,” Dirk said, “I’ve never piloted a vessel this size before.”
She’s easier to handle than a Duesenberg,” Pitt said. “Just keep her off the bank. I’ll be right back.”
As they drew closer to the Salzburg, Dirk could see three men on her bow manipulating a tall object that looked like a large radar dish. The men rolled the dish alongside some shipping containers on the portside rail and positioned it so it aimed rearward—at the Adelaide.
Pitt appeared on the bridge a moment later. Dirk did a double take at seeing his father dressed in the reflective silver coating of a Level A hazardous materials protective suit. “What’s with the Buck Rogers outfit?”
We brought them along for protection when we came aboard,” Pitt said. “Bolcke’s ships are outfitted with a microwave device called ADS that’s used for crowd control, only theirs is lethal. They likely have one aboard the Salzburg.”
Dirk pointed forward. “You mean that dish on their bow?”
Pitt saw the Active Denial System aimed directly at them and tossed Dirk an extra suit. “Quick, get this on.”
Dirk was starting to slip on the Hazmat suit when he felt a burning sensation on his back. “They must have it cranked up,” he said, quickly zipping the suit up.
Pitt felt the same sensation on his face and pulled on the matching hood with faceplate, and stepped to the helm.
Stay behind the bulkhead,” he said to Dirk, his voice muffled by the hood.
He jammed the helm control to starboard, feeling a hot sensation on his chest and arms. Standing before the shattered bridge window, he was in the device’s direct line of fire. The Hazmat suit provided some protection but didn’t block the full effect.
Positioned on the Salzburg’s bow, the system had to fire along the ship’s port side to strike the Adelaide. Pitt could avoid the weapon’s beam by sailing to the far right of the channel and tucking in behind the leading ship. Within a few minutes, he did exactly that.
Bolcke watched as the Adelaide suddenly altered course. “She’s veering to the bank. I think you got her.”
The operator reports he had a clear strike on the bridge,” Pablo said.
Then they saw the Adelaide straighten its heading. The pursuer still maintained a slight speed advantage and continued to creep closer to the Salzburg’s stern.
I think they might try and ram us,” Bolcke said.
Pablo looked at the navigation monitor and saw they would soon be approaching the first set of locks at Pedro Miguel. “We need to dispose of them before we are in sight of the locks.” He had a few words with the captain, then departed the bridge.
Bolcke remained where he was, glued to the rear window, watching the pursuing vessel.
Pitt maintained a safe buffer with the ship ahead. He had hoped to pull alongside the Salzburg and force her into the bank, but the appearance of the ADS on the port rail had nixed that plan. He was contemplating his next move when the Salzburg heeled over in front of him.
At Pablo’s command, the captain had turned the Salzburg hard to port. The ADS operators immediately aimed the beam at the Adelaide’s bridge. Pitt felt the familiar tingle on his skin, but it was what he saw next to the weapon that made his hair stand on end. It was Pablo and another man at the rail, shouldering rocket-propelled grenade launchers. An instant later, they fired the weapons.
Off the bridge!” Pitt yelled as the grenades flew toward them.
With no time to flee, he dove to the floor, kicking the rudder to port as he fell.
Standing across the bridge, Dirk jumped into the side companionway.
The first grenade struck the steel face of the Adelaide’s superstructure just beneath the bridge. It fell to the deck and discharged harmlessly atop a hatch cover.
Pablo had fired the second RPG, and his aim was on the mark. The grenade burst through the shattered window just above Pitt’s head. Its high angle of entry sent it careening off the ceiling to the rear bulkhead, where it detonated. The entire structure shook from the explosion, which incinerated the bridge in a fiery cloud of smoke and flame.
Watching from the deck of the Salzburg, Pablo smiled to himself. No man could have survived the inferno.