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He’d impressed himself. But then hadn’t he always maintained that helicopters were very dangerous things, and that people should learn to duck more?
They’d been bickering since scrambling up onto the rock. It was helping them keep their minds off their predicament, if not actually solve it.
‘Surely someone will have seen the explosion?’
This was not the first time Ben had pointed this out. This time, Aleksey suddenly remembered something. ‘I saw a lifeboat. Possibly from St Mary’s.’
Ben craned around to look at him. ‘What! And you just mention this now? When did you see it?’
‘Yesterday.’
‘Oh God! One of these days, Nikolas! One of these bloody days…’
‘But not today?’
Ben hugged him tighter. ‘No, not today.’
They passed a few minutes in silence until Ben pointed out, again, not an original thought, ‘So, you have to swim for the island.’
‘No.’
‘You could see it if you climbed to the very top of this rock.’
‘Well, there you go. I cannot climb the rock, so I cannot swim either.’
Ben sighed and tightened his grip. ‘Perhaps they got a mayday off before they sank?’
‘Possible, but I don’t think they would have had time. The helicopter snagged the fuel line and then hit the tanks. The explosion split the hull and that was that, glug, down it all went. It was exceptionally quick.’ Andspectacular.
‘Well wouldn’t they know where that boat was—someone will report it…disappeared? You were studying that fucking map online with them all on!’
‘Do not swear at me. I suspect he had his satellite identification turned off.’
‘So, there is no other choice. You swim, and then you get help and come back for me. I’ll stay here. I’ll count waves. Do a bit of mental maths to pass the time, maybe.’
‘One and one equals two. I worked that out fifteen years ago.’
‘You’ll come back for me. I can’t fucking swim that far, Nik! You know I can’t. Don’t make me admit it. Fuck.’
‘I thought SAS could do everything…’ He was only trying to lighten the mood, which was ridiculous really. He knew Ben couldn’t make the swim. The awful truth was, he couldn’t either. But he knew this, and Ben did not. Ben’s unalterable faith in his infallibility would have been extremely pleasant had Aleksey not known it to be entirely misplaced. In more than just this swimming thing, he supposed. But he couldn’t do it, and so he wasn’t leaving Ben, for Ben would then die a long and lingering death alone on the rock, waiting for him…
‘Even if I did get to the island, what then? We have no phone signal and no boat.’
‘Ah hah! We have the canoes, remember? You use one of them to get to St Mary’s. Or even just out into the main shipping lane, I suppose. Flag someone down, and come back for me!’
Aleksey wrinkled his nose. He’d forgotten them, or he wouldn’t have used this argument. He countered slyly, ‘Well, who would be better canoeing, you or me? I could then stay on the island andyoucould do yourSAS thingand rescue me. Perfect. We both go.’
‘I’ll slow you down, Nik. Swimming. Youknowthis!’
‘Aleksey.’ It seemed to him that as they were about to die, Ben better get his name right for once.
‘You have to go.’
‘No.’
‘Oh, God. Please! At least you’ll have a chance. You can go on with your—’
‘If you are about to say that I can go on with my life I will push you into this fucking ocean and drown you myself.’
