Deep Six - Part 1 (Novel by Clive Cussler)

Richard deep-six by Clive Cussler this book consists of a prelude and 76 chapters and is 432 pages long the following material appears on the dust jacket of the book Clive Cussler reputation as a master storyteller has been confirmed by such best-selling successes as raised the Titanic and night probe in deep six he has surpassed himself with a brilliant and timely novel that pits his hero Dirk Pitt against the sinister and monstrous plan of a great Asian shipping family only to find that behind it is an even deeper and more dangerous Soviet plot to turn the President of the United States to their own designs by means of mind-control deep-six is full of action like all Cussler's bestsellers but beyond the action is a plot so fast paced taut and highly charged that the reader is left breathless whether it's at the mystery of a sunken ship with no name that unleashes a deadly tide of poison into the ocean waters or the disappearance of the President of the United States on board his own yacht in the Potomac River or the search for some of the most senior figures in the United States government on board a Soviet cruise ship on the high seas like James Bond Dirk Pitt is a swashbuckling adventurer with a taste for the ladies and away with violence but in deep six as in his other novels hustler has created a novel of compelling originality and rich detail that remains totally believable with a huge cast of characters and a plot that takes the reader from the bottom of the sea to the most secret byways of power in Washington and Moscow deep-six his grand adventure and major fiction about the author Clive Cussler was born on July 15th 1931 in Aurora Illinois but spent his childhood and most of his early adult years in Alhambra California after school at Pasadena City College he enlisted in the Air Force during the Korean police action and worked as a mechanic flight engineer afterward he entered the field of advertising where he became copy director and later creative director - two of the nation's largest agencies he began writing in 1965 and published his first novel with his continuing hero Dirk Pitt in 1973 this was titled the Mediterranean caper and was followed by iceberg raised the Titanic vixen Oh three night probe and Pacific vortex hustler is also an internationally recognized shipwreck Authority having discovered 33 historically significant underwater wreck sites a noted collector of classic automobiles he owns 22 of the finest examples of European coach work to be found anywhere dedication to Tubby's Bar and Grill in Alhambra rands round up on Wilshire Boulevard the black night in Costa Mesa and shan'er x-bar' in Denver gone but not forgotten prelude the San Marino July 15th 1966 the Pacific Ocean the girl shaded the Sun from her brown eyes and stared at a large petrel gliding above the ship's after cargo boom she admired the birds soaring grace for a few minutes then growing bored she rose to a sitting position revealing evenly-spaced red bars across her tan the back edged thereby the slats of an ancient steamer chair she looked around for signs of the deck crew but they were nowhere in sight so she shyly shifted her breasts to a more comfortable position inside the scoop neck bra of her bikini her body was hot and sweaty from the humid tropical air she moved her hand across her firm stomach and felt the sweat rising through the skin she sat back in the chair again soothed and relaxed the throbbing beat of the old freighters engines and the heavy warmth of the Sun coaxing her into drowsiness the fear that churned inside her when she came on board had faded she no longer lay awake to the pounding of her heart or search the crew's faces for expressions of suspicion or waited for the captain to grimly inform her that she was under ship's arrest she was slowly closing her my to her crime and beginning to think about the future she was relieved to find that guilt was a fleeting emotion after all out of the corner of her eye she caught the white jacket of the Oriental mess boy as he stepped from a companionway he approached apprehensively his eyes staring down at the deck as if he was embarrassed to look at her nearly nude figure excuse me miss Wallace he said captain masters respectfully requests you please dine with him and his officers tonight if you're feeling better that is Estelle Wallace was thankful her deepening tan covered her blush she had feigned illness since embarking in San Francisco and had taken all her meals alone in her stateroom to avoid any conversation with the ship's officers she decided she couldn't remain a recluse forever the time had come to practice living a lie tell captain masters I feel much better I'll be delighted to dine with him he'll be glad to hear that the mess boy said with a broad smile that revealed a large gap in the middle of his upper teeth I'll see the cook fixes you something special he turned and shuffled away with a gait that seemed to Estelle a trifle too obsequious even for an Asian secured in her decision she idly stared up at the three deck high midship superstructure of the San Marino the sky was remarkably blue above the black smoke curling from the single stack contrasting starkly with the flaking white paint on the bulkheads a stout ship the captain had boasted when he led her to a stateroom he reassuringly ticked off her history and statistics as if Estelle were a frightened passenger on her first canoe ride down the rapids built during 1943 to the standard Liberty ship design the San Marino had carried military supplies across the Atlantic to England making the round-trip crossing 16 times on one occasion when she had strayed from the convoy she was struck by a torpedo but she refused to sink and made it under her own power to Liverpool since the war she had tramped the oceans of the world under the registry of Panama 1 of 30 ships owned by the Manx Steamship Company of New York why in and out of backwater ports measuring 441 feet in length overall with a raked stem and Cruiser Stern she plotted through the Pacific swells at 11 knots with only a few more profitable years left in her the San Marino would eventually end up as scrap rust streaked her steel skin she looked as sorted as a Bowery hooker but in the eyes of Estelle Wallis she was virgin and beautiful already Estelle's past was blurring with each revolution of the warned engines the gap widened between Estelle's drab life of self-denial and an eagerly sought fantasy the first step of art Acosta Leo's metamorphosis into Estelle Wallace was when she discovered a lost passport wedged under the seat of a Wilshire Boulevard bus during the Los Angeles evening rush hour without really knowing why artist slipped it into her purse and took it home days later she had still not returned the document to the bus driver or mailed it to the rightful owner she studied the pages with their foreign stamps for hours at a time she was intrigued by the face in the photo although more stylish Lea made up it bore a startling resemblance to her own both women were about the same age less than eight months separated their birthdays the brown shade of their eyes matched and except for a difference in hair styles and a few shades of tint they might have passed for sisters she began to make herself up to look like Estelle Wallace an alter ego that could escape mentally at least to the exotic places of the world that were denied timid mousy Artic as eligio one evening after closing hours at the bank where she worked she found her eyes locked on the stacks of newly printed currency delivered that afternoon from the Federal Reserve Bank in downtown Los Angeles she had become so used to handling large sums of money during her four-year tenure but she was immune to the mere sight a lassitude that afflicts all tellers sooner or later yet inexplicably this time the piles of green printed tender big milder subconsciously she began to picture it as belonging to her arta went home that weekend and locked herself in her apartment to fortify her resolve and plan the crime she intended to commit practicing every gesture every motion until they came smoothly to her without hesitation all Sunday night she lay awake until the alarm went off bathed in cold sweat but determined to see the act through the cash shipment arrived every Monday by armored car and usually totaled from six to eight hundred thousand dollars it was then recounted and held until distribution on Wednesday to the bank's branch offices scattered throughout the Los Angeles basin she had decided the time to make her move was on Monday evening while she was putting her money drawer in the vault in the morning after she showered and made up her face artoo donned a pair of pantyhose she wound a roll of two sided sticky tape around her legs from mid-calf to the top of her thighs leaving the protective outer layer of the tape in place this odd bit of handiwork was covered with a long skirt that came almost to her ankles hiding the tape with inches to spare next she took neatly trimmed packets of bond paper and slipped them into a large pouch style purse each displayed a crisp new $5 bill on the outer sides and was bound with genuine blue-and-white Federal Reserve Bank wrappers to the casual eye they would appear authentic artists stood in front of a full-length mirror and repeated over and over artic as eligio no longer exists you are now Estelle Wallis the deception seemed to work she felt her muscles relaxed and her breathing became slower shallower then she took a deep breath threw back her shoulders and left for work in her anxiety to appear normal she inadvertently arrived at the bank 10 minutes early an astounding event to all who knew her well but this was Monday morning and no one took notice once she settled behind her tellers counter every minute seemed an hour every hour a lifetime she felt strangely detached from the familiar surroundings and yet any thought of forgetting the hazardous scheme was quickly suppressed mercifully fear and panic remained dormant when six o'clock finally rolled around and one of the assistant vice presidents closed and locked the massive front doors she quickly balanced her cashbox and slipped quietly off to the ladies room where in the privacy of a stall she unwound the tapes out her lair from around her legs and flushed it down the toilet she then took the bogus money packets and fixed them to the tape stamping her feet to make certain none would drop off as she walked satisfied everything was ready she came out and dawdled in the lobby until the other tellers had placed their cash drawers in the vault and left two minutes alone inside that great steel cubicle was all she needed and two minutes alone was what she got swiftly she pulled up the skirt and with precise movements exchanged the phony packets for those containing genuine bills when she stepped out of the vault and smiled a good evening to the assistant vice president as he nodded her out a side door she couldn't believe she'd actually gotten away with it seconds after entering her apartment she shed the skirt stripped the money packets from her legs and counted them the tally came to fifty one thousand dollars not nearly enough disappointment burned within her she would need at least twice that sum to escape the country and maintain a minimal level of comfort while increasing the lion's share through investments the ease of the operation had made her heady did she dare make another foray into the vault she wondered the Federal Reserve Bank money was already counted and wouldn't be distributed to the branch banks until Wednesday tomorrow was Tuesday she still had another chance to strike again before the loss was discovered why not the thought of ripping off the same Bank twice in two days excited her perhaps Article II geo lacked the guts for it but Estelle Wallis required no coaxing at all that evening she bought a large old-fashioned suitcase at a secondhand store and made a false bottom in it she packed the money along with her clothes and took a cab to the Los Angeles International Airport where she stored the suitcase overnight in a locker and purchased a ticket to San Francisco on an early evening Tuesday flight wrapping her unused Monday night ticket in a newspaper she dropped it in a trash receptacle with nothing remaining to be done she went home and slept like a rock the second robbery went as smoothly as the first three hours after leaving the Beverly Wilshire Bank for the last time she was recounting the money in a San Francisco hotel the combined total came to 128 thousand dollars not a staggering prize by inflationary standards but more than ample for her needs the next step was relatively simple she checked through the newspapers for ship departures and found the San Marino a cargo freighter bound for Auckland New Zealand at 6:30 the following morning an hour before sailing time she mounted the gangplank the captain claimed he seldom took passengers but kindly consented to take her on board for a mutually agreed fair which Estelle suspected went into his wallet instead of the steamship company's coffers Estelle stepped across the threshold of the officers dining saloon and paused uncertainly for a moment facing the appraising stairs of six men sitting in the room her coppery tinted hair fell past her shoulders and nearly matched her ten she wore a long sleek pink t-shirt dress that clung in all the right places a white bone bracelet was her only accessory to the officers rising to their feet the simple elegance of her appearance created a sensation captain Irwin masters a tall man with graying hair came over and took her arm miss Wallace he said smiling warmly it's good to see you looking fit I think the worst is over she said I don't mind admitting I was beginning to worry not leaving your cabin for five days made me fear the worst with no doctor on board we would have been in a fix if you needed medical treatment thank you she said softly he looked at her in mild surprise thanked me for what for your concern she gave his arm a gentle squeeze it's been a long time since anyone worried about me he nodded and winked that's what ship captains are for then he turned to the other officers gentlemen may I present miss Estelle Wallace who was gracing us with her lovely presence until we dock in Auckland the introductions were made she was amused by the fact that most of the men were numbered the first officer the second officer even a fourth they all shook her hand as if it were made of delicate China all except the engineering officer a short arc shouldered man with a Slavic accent he stiffly bent over and kissed the tips of her fingers the first officer motioned at the mess boy who was standing behind a small mahogany bar miss Wallace what's your pleasure would it be possible to have a daiquiri I'm in the mood for something sweet absolutely the first officer replied the san marino may not be a luxurious cruise liner but we do run the finest cocktail bar in this latitude of the Pacific be honest the captain had Mohnish good-naturedly you neglected to mention we're probably the only ship in this latitude a mere detail the first officer shrugged Lee one of your famous daiquiris for the young lady Estelle watched with interest as the mess boy expertly squeezed the lime and poured the ingredients every movement came with a flourish the frothy drink tasted good and she had to fight a desire to down it all at once Lee she said you're a marvel he is that said masters we were lucky to sign him on Estelle took another sip of her drink you seemed to have a number of Orientals in your crew replacements masters explained ten of the crew jumped ship after we docked in San Francisco fortunately Lee and nine of his fellow Koreans arrived from the maritime hiring hall before sailing time all damned queer if you ask me the second officer grunted masters shrugged crewmembers jumping ship in port has been going on since cro-magnon man built the first raft nothing queer about it the second officer shook his head doubtfully one or two maybe but not ten San Marino was a tight ship and the captain here was a fair skipper there was no reason for a mass exodus the way of the sea masters side the Koreans are clean hard-working seamen I wouldn't trade them for half the cargo in our holes that's a pretty stiff price muttered the engineering officer is it improper Estelle ventured to ask what cargo you're carrying not at all the very young fourth officer offered eagerly and San Francisco our holds were loaded with the titanium ingots captain masters cut in eight million dollars worth added the first officer lying the fourth sternly once again please Estelle said handing her empty glass to the mess boy she turned the back to masters I've heard of titanium but I have no idea what it's used for when properly processed in pure form titanium becomes stronger and lighter than steel an asset that puts it in great demand by builders of jet aircraft engines it's also widely used in the manufacture of paints rayon and plastics I suspect you even have traces of it in your cosmetics the cook an anemic looking oriental with a sparkling white apron leaned through a side door and nodded at Lee who in turn tapped the glass with a mixing spoon Dino ready to be served he said in his heavily accented English while flashing his gap-toothed smile it was a fabulous meal one Estelle promised herself never to forget to be surrounded by six handsomely uniformed and attentive men was all that her female vanity could endure in one evening after a demitasse captain masters excused himself and headed for the bridge one by one the other officers drifted off to their duties and Estelle took a tour of the deck with the engineering officer he entertained her with tales of sea superstitions eerie monsters of the deep and funny tidbits of scuttlebutt about the crew that made her laugh at last they reached the door of her stateroom and he gallantly kissed her hand again she accepted when he asked her to join him for breakfast in the morning she entered the tiny cabin clicked the lock on the door and switched on the overhead light then she closed the curtain over the single porthole pulled the suitcase from under the bed and opened it the top tray contained her cosmetics and carelessly jumbled under things and she removed it next came several neatly folded blouses and skirts these she also removed and set aside to later steam out the wrinkles in the shower gently inserting a nail file around the edges of the false bottom of the suitcase she pried it up then she sat back and sighed with relief the money was still there stacked and found in the Federal Reserve Bank wrappers she had hardly spent any of it she stood up and slipped her dress over her head daringly she wore nothing beneath and collapsed across the bed hands behind her head she closed her eyes and tried to picture the shocked expressions on her supervisors faces when they discovered the money and reliable little article egao missing at the same time she had fooled them all she felt a strange almost sexual thrill at knowing the FBI would post her on their list of most-wanted criminals the investigators would question all her friends and neighbors searched all her old haunts check a thousand and one banks for sudden large deposits of consecutively numbered bills but they would come up dry arta alias Estelle was not where they'd expect her to be she opened her eyes and stared at the now-familiar walls of her stateroom oddly the room began to slip away from her objects were focusing and unfocus into a blurry montage her bladder signaled a trip to the bathroom but her body refused to obey any command to move every muscle seemed frozen then the door opened and Lea the mess boy entered with another oriental crewman Lee wasn't smiling this can't be happening she told herself the mez boy wouldn't dare intrude on her privacy while she was lying naked on the bed it had to be a crazy dream brought on by the lavish food and drink a nightmare stoked by the fires of indigestion she felt detached from her body as if she were watching the eerie scene from one corner of the stateroom Lee gently carried her through the doorway down the passageway and onto the deck several of the Korean crewmen were there their oval faces illuminated by bright overhead floodlights they were hoisting large bundles and dropping them over the ship's railing abruptly one of the bundles stared at her it was the ashen face of the young fourth officer eyes wide in a mixture of disbelief and terror then he too disappeared over the side Lee was leaning over her doing something to her feet she could feel nothing only a lethargic numbness he appeared to be attaching a length of rusty chain to her ankles why would he do that she wondered vaguely she watched indifferently as she was lifted into the air then she was released and floated through the darkness something struck her a great blow knocking the breath from her lungs a cool yielding force closed over her a relentless pressure enveloped her body and dragged her downward squeezing her internal organs and a giant vise her eardrums exploded and in that instant of tearing pain total clarity flooded her mind and she knew it was no dream her mouth opened to emit a hysterical scream no sound came the increasing water density soon crushed her chest cavity her lifeless body drifted into the waiting arms of the abyss ten thousand feet below part one the pilot town chapter 1 July 25th 1989 Cook Inlet Alaska black clouds rolled menacingly over the sea from Kodiak Island and turned the deep blue green surface to lead the orange glow of the Sun was snuffed out like a candle flame unlike most storms that swept in from the Gulf of Alaska creating 50 or 100 mile-an-hour winds this one bred a mild breeze the rain began to fall sparingly at first then building to a deluge that beat the water white on the bridge wing of the Coast Guard Cutter Catawba Lieutenant Commander Amos Dover peered through a pair of binoculars I straining to penetrate the downpour it was like staring into a shimmering stage curtain visibility died at 400 meters the rain felt cold against his face and colder yet as it trickled past the upturned collar of his foul weather jacket and down his neck finally he spat a waterlogged cigarette over the railing and stepped into the dry warmth of the wheelhouse radar he called out gruffly contact 650 meters dead ahead and closing the radar operator replied without lifting his eyes from the tiny images on the scope Dover unbuttoned his jacket and wiped the moisture from his neck with a handkerchief trouble was the last thing he expected during moderate weather seldom did one of the fishing fleet or private pleasure craft go missing in mid-summer winter was the season when the Gulf turns nasty and unforgiving chilled arctic air meeting warmer air rising from the Alaska Current detonated incredible winds and towering seas that crushed holes and iced deck structures until a boat grew top-heavy rolled over and sank like a brick a distress call had been received by a vessel calling herself the Amy Marie one quick SOS followed by a Loren position and the words think all dying repeated calls requesting further information were sent out but the radio on board the Amy Marie remained silent an air search was out of the question until the weather cleared every ship within a hundred miles changed course and steamed full speed in response to the emergency signals because of her greater speed Dover reckoned the catawba would be the first to reach the stricken vessel her big Diesel's had already pushed her past a coastal freighter and a halibut long liner golf boat leaving them rocking in her wake Dover was a great bear of a man who had paid his dues in sea rescue he'd spent 12 years in northern waters stubbornly throwing his shoulder against every sadistic whim the Arctic had thrown him he was toughened wind warned slow and shambling in his physical movements but he possessed a calculator like mind that never failed to awe his crew in less time than it had taken to program the ship's computers he had figured the wind factor and current drift arriving at a position where he knew the ship wreckage or any survivors should be found and he'd hit it right on the nose the hum of the engines below his feet seemed to take on a feverish pitch like an Unleashed hound the catawba seemed to pick up the scent of her quarry anticipation gripped all hands ignoring the rain they lined the decks and bridge wings 400 meters the radar operators hang out then a seaman clutching the bow staff began pointing vigorously into the rain Dover leaned out the wheelhouse door and shouted through a bullhorn is she afloat buoyant as a rubber duck in the bathtub the seaman bellowed back through cupped hands Dover nodded to the lieutenant on watch slow engines engines one-third the watch lieutenant acknowledged as he moved a series of levers on the ship's automated console the Amy Marie slowly emerged through the precipitation they expected to find her half awash in a sinking condition but she sat proud in the water drifting in the light swells without a hint of distress there was a silence about her that seemed unnatural almost ghostly her decks were deserted and Dover's hail over the bullhorn went unanswered a crabber by the look of her dover muttered to no one in particular steel hull about a hundred and ten feet probably out of a shipyard in New Orleans the radio operator leaned out of the communications room and motioned to Dover from the board of register sir the Amy Marie's owner and skipper is Karl Keating home port is kodiak again Dover hailed the strangely quiet crab boat this time addressing Keating by name there was still no response the catawba slowly circled and Hove to a hundred metres away then stopped her engines and drifted alongside the steel cage crab pots were neatly stacked on the deserted deck and a wisp of exhaust smoke puffed from the funnel suggesting that her diesel engines were idling in neutral no human movement could be detected through the ports or the windows of the wheelhouse the boarding party consisted of two officers ensign Pat Murphy and lieutenant Marty Lawrence without the usual small talk they donned their exposure suits which would protect them from the frigid waters if they accidentally fell into the sea they had lost count of the times they had conducted routine examinations of foreign fishing vessels that strayed inside the Alaskan 200-mile fishing limit yet there was nothing routine about this investigation no flesh-and-blood crew lined the rails to greet them they climbed into a small rubber Zodiac propelled by an outboard motor and cast off darkness was only a few hours away the rain had eased to a drizzle but the wind had increased and the sea was rising an eerie quiet gripped the Catawba no one spoke it was as though they were afraid too at least until the spell produced by the unknown was broken they watched as Murphy and Lawrence tied their tiny craft to the crab boat hoisted themselves to the deck and disappeared through a doorway into the main cabin several minutes dragged by occasionally one of the searchers would appear on the deck only to vanish again down a hatchway the only sound in the Catawbas wheelhouse came from the static over the ship's open radio phone loudspeaker turned up to high volume and tuned to an emergency frequency suddenly with such unexpected abruptness that even Dover twitched in surprise Murphy's voice loudly reverberated inside the wheelhouse catawba this is Amy Marie go ahead Amy Marie Dover answered into a microphone they're all dead the words were so cold so terse nobody absorbed them at first repeat no sign of a pulse in any of them even the cat bought it what the boarding party found was a ship of the dead skipper Keating's body rested on the deck his head leaning against a bulkhead beneath the radio scattered throughout the boat in the galley the mess room and the sleeping quarters were the corpses of the Amy Marie's crew their facial expressions were frozen in twisted agony and their limbs contorted in grotesque positions as though they had violently thrashed away their final moments of life their skin had turned an odd black color and they had gushed blood from every orifice the ship's Siamese cat lay beside a thick wool blanket it had shredded in its death throes Dover's face reflected puzzlement rather than shock at Murphy's description can you determine a cause he asked not even a good guess Murphy came back no indication of struggle no marks on the bodies yet they bled like slaughtered pigs looks like whatever killed them struck everyone at the same time stand by Dover turned and surveyed the faces around him until he spotted the ship's surgeon Lieutenant Commander Isaac Thayer doc fear was the most popular man aboard the ship an old-timer in the Coast Guard service he had long ago given up the plush offices and high income of Shore medicine for the rigors of sea rescue what do you make of it doc Dover asked faier shrugged and smiled looks as though I better make a house call Dover paste the bridge impatiently while doc Thayer entered a second zodiac ins motored across the gap dividing the two vessels Dover ordered the helmsman to position the catawba to take the crab boat in tow he was concentrating on the maneuver and didn't notice the radio operator standing at his elbow a signal just in sir from a bush pilot airlifting supplies to a team of scientists on augustine island not now Dover said brusquely it's urgent captain the radio operator persisted ok read the guts of it scientific party all dead then something unintelligible and what sounds like save me Dover stared at him blankly that's all yes sir I tried to raise him again but there was no reply Dover didn't have to study a chart to know Augustine was an uninhabited volcanic island only 30 miles northeast of his present position a sudden sickening realization coursed through his mind he snatched the microphone and shouted into the mouthpiece Murphy you there nothing Murphy Lawrence you read me again no answer he looked through the bridge window and saw doc faier climb over the rail of the Amy Marie Dover could move fast for a man of his mountainous proportions he snatched a bullhorn and ran outside dock come back get off that boat his amplified voice boomed over the water he was too late faier had already ducked into a hatchway and was gone the men on the bridge stared at their captain in comprehension written in their eyes his facial muscles tensed and there was a look of desperation about him as he rushed back into the wheelhouse and clutched the microphone doc mrs. Dover can you hear me two minutes past two endless minutes while Dover tried to raise his men on the Amy Marie even the ear splitting scream of the Catawbas siren failed to draw a response at last there's voice came over the bridge with a strange icy calm I regret to report that ensign Murphy and Lieutenant Lawrence are dead I can find no life signs whatever the cause it will strike me before I can escape you must quarantine this boat do you understand Amos Dover found it impossible to grasp that he was suddenly about to lose his old friend do not understand but we'll comply good I'll describe the symptoms as they come beginning to feel light-headed already pulse increasing to 150 may have contracted the cause by skin absorption pulse 170 they are paused his next words came haltingly growing nausea legs can no longer support intense burning sensation in sinus region internal organs feel like they're exploding as one everybody on the bridge of the Catawba leaned closer to the speaker unable to comprehend that a man they all knew and respected was dying a short distance away pulse over two hundred pain excruciating blackness closing vision there was an audible moan tell tell my wife the speaker went silent you could smell the shock see it in the widened eyes of the crew standing in stricken horror Dover stared nomally at the tomb named the Amy Marie his hands clenched in helplessness and despair what's happening he murmured tonelessly what in God's name is killing everyone chapter two I say hang the bastard Oscar mind your language in front of the girls they've heard worse it's insane the scum murders for kids and some of a judge throws the case out of court because the defendant was too stoned on drugs to understand his rights God can you believe it Carolyn Lucas poured her husband's first cup of coffee for the day and whisked their two young daughters off to the school bus stop he gestured menacingly at the TV as if it were the fault of the anchorman announcing the news that the killer roamed free Oscar Lucas had a way of talking with his hands that wore little resemblance to sign language for the deaf he sat stoop-shouldered at the breakfast table a position that camouflaged his lanky six-foot frame his head was as bald as an egg except for a few graying strands around the temples and his bushy brows hovered over a pair of oak brown eyes not one to join the Washington DC blue pinstripe brigade he was dressed in slacks and sport coat in his early forties Lucas might have passed for a dentist or bookkeeper instead of the special agent in charge of the presidential Protection Division of the Secret Service during his 20 years as an agent he had fooled many people with his nice neighbor next door appearance from the president's whose lives he guarded to the potential assassins he'd stonewalled before they had an opportunity to act on the job he came off aggressive and solemn yet at home he was usually full of mischief and humor except of course when he was influenced by the 8 a.m. news Lucas took a final sip of coffee and rose from the table he held open his coat he was left-handed and adjusted the high ride hip holster holding a Smith & Wesson 357 Magnum model 19 revolver with a 2 and a half inch barrel the standard-issue gun was provided by the service when he had finished training and started out as a rookie agent in the Denver field office investigating counterfeiters and forgers he had drawn it only twice in the line of duty but had yet to pull the trigger outside a firing range Carolyn was unloading the dishwasher when he came up behind her pulled away a cascade of blonde hair and picture on the neck I'm off don't forget tonight is the pool party across the street at the Harding's I should be home in time the boss isn't scheduled to leave the White House today she looked up at him and smiled you see that he doesn't I'll inform the president first thing that my wife rounds on me working late she laughed and leaned her head briefly on his shoulder six o'clock you win he said in mock weariness and stepped out the back door Lucas backed his leased government car a plush Buick sedan into the street and headed downtown before reaching the end of the block he called The Secret Service central command Office over his car radio crown this is Lucas I'm on route to the White House have a nice trip a metallic voice replied already he began to sweat he turned on the air conditioner the summer heat in the nation's capital never seemed to slacken the humidity was in the 90s and the flags along Embassy Row on Massachusetts Avenue hung limp and lifeless in the muggy air he slowed and stopped at the checkpoint gate on West executive Avenue and paused for a few moments while a uniformed guard of the service nodded and passed him through Lucas Park to the car and entered the West executive entrance on the lower level of the White House at the SS command post codenamed w16 he stopped to chat with the men monitoring an array of electronic communication equipment then he took the stairs to his office on the second floor of the East Wing the first thing he did each morning after settling behind his desk was to check the president's schedule along with advance reports by the agents in charge of planning security Lucas studied the folder containing future presidential movements a second time consternation growing across his face there had been an unexpected addition big one he flung down the folder and irritation swung around in his swivel chair and stared at the wall most presidents were creatures of habit ran tight schedules and rigidly adhered to them clocks could be set by Nixon's comings and goings Reagan and Carters seldom deviated from fixed plans not the new man in the Oval Office he looked upon the Secret Service detail as a nuisance and what was worse he was unpredictable as hell to Lucas and his deputy agents it was a 24-hour game trying to keep one step ahead of the man guessing where he might suddenly decide to go and when and what visitors he might invite without providing time for proper security measures it was a game Lucas often lost in less than a minute he was down the stairs and in the West Wing confronting the second most powerful man in the executive branch chief of staff Daniel Fossett good morning Oscar Fawcett said smiling benignly I thought you'd come charging in about now there appears to be a new excursion in the schedule Lucas set his tone businesslike sorry about that but a big vote is coming up on aid to the Eastern Bloc countries and the president wants to work his charms on senator Larimer and Speaker of the House Moran to swing their support for his program so he's taking them for a boat ride why not every president since Herbert Hoover has used the presidential yacht for high-level conferences I'm not arguing the reason Lucas replied firmly I'm protesting the timing Fawcett gave him an innocent look what's wrong with Friday evening you know damn well what's wrong it's only two days away so for a cruise down the Potomac with an overnight layover at Mount Vernon my advance team needs five days to plan security a complete system of communications and alarms has to be installed on the grounds the boat must be swept for explosives and listening devices the shores checked out and the Coast Guard requires lead time to provide a cutter on the river as an escort we can't do a decent job in two days Fawcett was a feisty eager individual with a sharp nose a square red face and intense eyes he always looks like a demolition expert eyeing a deserted building don't you think you're making this into an overkill Oscar assassinations take place on crowded streets or in theaters whoever heard of a head of state being attacked on a boat it can happen anywhere anytime Lucas said with an uncompromising look have you forgotten the guy we stopped who was attempting to hijack a plane he intended to crash into Air Force One the fact is most assassination attempts take place when the president is away from his customary haunts the president is firm on the date Fossett said as long as you work for the president you'll do as you're ordered same as me if he wants to roll a dinghy alone to Miami that's his choice Fossett had struck the wrong nerve Lucas face turned rigid and he moved until he was standing toe-to-toe with the White House chief of staff first off by order of Congress I don't work for the president I worked for the Treasury Department so he can't tell me to bug off and go his own way my duty is to provide him with the best security with the least inconvenience to his private life when he takes the elevator to his living quarters upstairs my men and I remain below but from the time he steps out on the first floor until he goes back up again his ass belongs to the Secret Service Fawcett was perceptive about the personalities of the men who worked around the president he realized he'd overstepped with Lucas and was wise enough to call off the war he knew Lucas was dedicated to his job and loyal beyond any question to the man in the Oval Office but there was no way they could be close friends professional associates perhaps reserved but watchful of each other since they were not rivals for power they would never be enemies no need to get upset Oscar I stand reprimanded I'll inform the president of your concern but I doubt if he'll change his mind Lucas I'd we'll do our best with the time left but he must be made to understand that it's imperative for him to cooperate with his security people what can I say you know better than I do that all politicians think they're immortal to them power is more than an aphrodisiac it's a drug high and alcoholic haze combined nothing excites them or inflates their ego like a mob of people cheering and clamoring to shake their hand that's why they're all vulnerable to a killer standing in the right place at the right time tell me about it said Lucas I've babysat for presidents and you haven't lost a one faucet added I came close twice with Ford once with Reagan you can't predict behavior patterns accurately maybe not but after all these years in the protection racket you develop a gut reaction that's why I feel uneasy about this boat cruise force it stiffened you think someone is out to kill him someone is always out to kill him we investigate 20 possible crazies a day and carry an active caseload of 2000 persons we consider dangerous or capable of assassination Fawcett put his hand on Lucas shoulder don't worry Oscar Friday's excursion won't be given to the press until the last minute I promise you that much I appreciate that then besides what can happen out on the Potomac maybe nothing maybe the unexpected Lucas answered a strange vacancy in his voice it's the unexpected that gives me nightmares Megan Blair the president's secretary noticed Dan Fossett standing in the doorway of her cubbyhole office and nodded at him over her typewriter hi Dan I didn't see you how's the chief this morning he asked his daily ritual of testing the water before entering the Oval Office tired she answered the reception honoring the movie industry ran past 1 a.m. Megan was a handsome woman in her early 40s with a bright small-town friendly Ness she wore her black hair cropped short and was 10 pounds on the skinny side she was a dynamo who loved her job and her boss like nothing else in her life she arrived early left late and worked weekends unmarried with only two casual affairs behind her she relished her independent single life Fawcett was always amazed that she could carry on a conversation and type at the same time I'll tread lightly and keep his appointments to a minimum so he can take it easy you're too late he's already in conference with Admiral sandecker who Admiral James sandecker director of the National underwater and marine agency a look of annoyance crossed faucets face he took his role as the guardian of the president's time seriously and resented any intrusion on his territory any penetration of his protective ring was a threat to his power base how in hell had sandecker sneaked around him he wondered Meghan read his mood the president sent for the Admiral she explained I think he's expecting you to sit in on the meeting pacified to a small degree faucet nodded and walked into the Oval Office the president was seated on a sofa studying several papers strewn on a large coffee table a short thin man with red hair and a matching Van Dyke beard sat across from him the president looked up Dan I'm glad you're here you know Admiral sandecker yes sandecker rose and shook his hand the Admirals grip was firm and brief he nodded wordlessly to Fossett curtly acknowledging his presence it was not rudeness on sand Decker's part he came across as a man who played straight ball and casing himself in a cold tensile shell bowing to no one he was hated and envied in Washington but universally respected because he never chose sides and always delivered what was asked of him the president motioned Fawcett to the sofa patting a cushion next to him sit down Dan I've asked the Admiral to brief me on a crisis that's developed in the waters off Alaska I haven't heard of it I'm not surprised said the president a report only came to my attention an hour ago he paused and pointed the tip of a pencil at an area circled in red on a large nautical chart here a hundred and eighty miles southwest of Anchorage in the Cook Inlet region an undetermined poison is killing everything in the sea sounds like you're talking oil spill far worse replied sandecker leaning back on the couch what we have here is an unknown agent that causes death in humans and sea life less than one minute after contact how is that possible most poisonous compounds gain access to the body by ingestion or inhalation sandecker explained the stuff we're dealing with kills by skin absorption it must be highly concentrated in a small area to be so if you call a thousand square miles of open water small the president looked puzzled I can't imagine a substance with such awesome potency faucet looked at the Admiral what kind of statistics are we facing a Coast Guard Cutter found a Kodiak fishing boat drifting with the crew dead two investigators and a doctor were sent aboard and died to a team of geophysicists on an island 30 miles away were found dead by a bush pilot flying in supplies he died while sending out a distress signal a few hours later a Japanese fishing trawler reported seeing a school of nearly a hundred gray whales suddenly turned belly-up the trawler then disappeared no trace was found crab beds seal colonies wiped out that's only the beginning there may be many more fatalities that we don't have word on yet if the spread continues unchecked what's the worst we can expect the virtual extinction of all marine life in the Gulf of Alaska and if it enters the Japan current and is carried south it could poison every man fish animal and bird it touched along the west coast as far south as Mexico the human death toll could conceivably reach into the hundreds of thousands fishermen swimmers anyone who walked along a contaminated shoreline anybody who ate contaminated fish it's like a chain reaction I don't even want to think what might happen if it evaporates into the atmosphere and falls with the rain over the inland States Fossett found it almost impossible to grasp the enormity of it Christ what in hell is it too early to tell sandecker replied the Environmental Protection Agency has a computerized mast data storage and retrieval system that contains detailed information on 200 relevant characteristics of some 1,100 chemical compounds within a few seconds they can determine the effects a hazardous substance can have when spilled its trade name formula major producers mode of transportation and threat to the environment the Alaskan contamination doesn't fit any of the data in their computer files surely they must have some idea no sir they don't there was one slim possibility but without autopsy reports it's strictly conjecture I'd like to hear it the president said sandecker took a deep breath the three worst poisonous substances known to man are plutonium dioxin and the chemical warfare system the first two don't fit the pattern the third at least in my mind is a prime suspect the president stared at sandecker realization and shock on his face nerve agent s he said slowly sandecker nodded silently that's why the EPA wouldn't have a handle on it the president mused the formula is ultra secret faucet turned to the president I'm afraid I'm not familiar nerve agent s was an ungodly compound the scientists at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal developed about twenty years ago the president explained I've read the report on the tests it could kill within a few seconds of touching the skin it seemed the ideal answer to an enemy wearing gas masks or protective gear it clung to everything it touched but its properties were too unstable as dangerous to the troops dispersing it as to those on the receiving end the army gave up on it and buried it in the Nevada desert I fail to see a connection between Nevada and Alaska Fawcett said during shipment by railroad from the Arsenal outside Denver sandecker enlightened him a boxcar containing nearly a thousand gallons of nerve agent s vanished it is still missing and unaccounted for if the spill is indeed this nerve agent once it's found what is the process for eliminating it sandecker shrugged unfortunately the present state of the art in containment and cleanup technology and the physical chemical characteristics of nerve agent s are such and once it enters the water very little can be done to ameliorate the penetration our only hope is to cut off the source before it releases enough poison to turn the ocean into a cesspool devoid of all life any lead on where it originates asked the president in all probability a ship sunk between Kodiak Island and the Alaskan mainland replied Sam Dekker our next step is to back-trace the currents and off a search grid the president leaned over the coffee table and studied the red circle on the chart for a few moments then he gave sandecker an appraising stare as director of Numa Admiral you'll have the dirty job of neutralizing this thing you have my authority to tap any agency or Department of the government with the necessary expertise the National Science Board the army and Coast Guard the EPA whoever he paused thoughtfully then asked exactly how potent his nerve agent as in seawater sandecker looked tired his face drawn one teaspoon will kill every living organism in 4 million gallons of seawater then we better find it said the president a touch of desperation in his voice and damn quick Chapter three deep beneath the murky waters of the James River off the shoreline of Newport News Virginia a pair of divers struggled against the current as they burrowed their way through the muck packed against the rotting hull of the shipwreck there was no sense of direction in the black dimensionless liquid visibility was measured in inches as they grimly clutched the pipe of an airlift that sucked up the thick use and spit it onto a barge 70 feet above in the sunlight they labored almost by Braille their only illumination coming from the feeble glimmer of underwater lights mounted on the edge of the crater they'd slowly excavated over the past several days all they could see clearly were particles suspended in the water that drifted past their face masks like windswept rain it was hard for them to believe there was a world above sky and clouds and trees bending in a summer breeze in the nightmare of swirling mud and perpetual darkness it hardly seemed possible that five hundred yards away people and cars moved on the sidewalks and streets of the small city there are some people who say you can't sweat under water but you can the divers could feel the sweat forcing its way through the pores of their skin against the protective constriction of their dry suits they were beginning to experience the creeping grasp of weariness yet they had only been on the bottom for eight minutes inch by inch they worked their way into a gaping hole on the starboard bow of the Hulk the planking that framed the cavern like opening was shattered and twisted as though a giant fist had rammed into the ship they began to uncover artifacts Ashu the hinge from an old chest brass calipers tools even a piece of cloth it was an eerie sensation to touch man-made object that no one had seen in 127 years one of the men paused to check their air gauges he calculated they could work another 10 minutes and still have a safe supply of breathable air to reach the surface they turned off the valve on the air lift stopping the suction while they waited for the river current to carry away the cloud of disturbed silt except for the exhaust of their breathing regulators it became very still a little more of the wreck became visible the deck Timbers were crushed and broken inward coils of rope trailed into the murk like mud and crusted snakes the interior of the hull seemed bleak and forbidding they could almost sense the Restless ghosts of the men who had gone down with the ship suddenly they heard a strange humming not the sounds made by the outboard motor of a small boat but heavier like the distant drone of an aircraft engine there was no way of telling its direction they listened for a few moments as the sound grew louder magnified by the density of the water it was a surface sound and did not concern them so they reactivated the airlift and turned back to their work no more than a minute later the end of the suction pipe struck something hard quickly they closed off the air valve again and excitedly brushed away the mud with their hands soon they realized they were touching not wood but an object that was harder much harder and covered with rust to the support crew on the barge over the wreck site time seemed to have reversed itself they stood spellbound as an ancient PBY Catalina flying boat made a sweeping Bank the West lined up on the river and kissed the water with the ungainly finesse of an inebriated Goose the Sun glinted on the aquamarine paint covering the aluminum hull and the letters Numa grew larger as the lumbering sea plane taxied toward the barge the engines shut down the copilot emerged from a side hatch and threw a mooring line to one of the men on the barge then the woman appeared and jumped lightly onto the battered wooden deck she was slim her elegant body covered by a narrow falling tan over shirt worn long and loose held low on the hip by a thin sash over tapering pants in green cotton she wore moccasin style boater shoes on her feet in her mid-40s she was about five foot seven her hair was the color of Aspen gold and her skin a copper tan her face was handsome with high cheekbones the face of a woman who fits no mold but her own she picked her way around a maze of cables and Salvage equipment and stopped when she found herself surrounded by a gallery of mail stairs registering speculation mixed with undisguised fascination she raised her sunglasses and stared back through plum brown eyes which one of you is Dirk Pitt she demanded without preamble a rugged individual shorter than she was but with shoulders twice the width of his waist stepped forward and pointed into the river you'll find him down there she turned and her eyes followed the protruding finger a large orange boy swayed in the rippling current it's cable angling into the dirty green depth about 30 feet beyond she could see the divers bubbles boil to the surface how soon before he comes up another five minutes I see she said pondering a moment then she asked is Albert Jordi no with him he's standing here talking to you clad only in shabby sneakers cutoff jeans and torn t-shirt Jordi knows tacky outfit was matched by his black curly windblown hair and a two-week beard he definitely did not fit her picture of numa's Deputy Director of Special Projects she seemed more amused than taken aback my name is Julie Mendoza Environmental Protection Agency I have an urgent matter to discuss with the two of you but perhaps I should wait until mr. Pitt surfaces Geordi no Shrugged suit yourself he broke into a friendly smile we don't stock much in the way of creature comforts but we do have cold beer loved one thank you Geordi no pulled a can of Coors from an ice bucket and handed it to her what's an EPA man a woman doing flying around in an Ummah plane a suggestion of Admiral sandecker Mendoza didn't offer more so Geordi no didn't press what project is this Mendoza asked the Cumberland a Civil War ship wasn't she yes historically very significant she was a Union frigate sunk in 1862 by the Confederate ironclad Merrimack or the Virginia she was known to the south as I recall she went down before the Merrimack fought the monitor making her the first ship ever destroyed by one that was armored you know your history said Geordi know properly impressed and Numa is going to raise her Geordi no shook his head too costly we're only after the RAM RAM a hell of a battle Geordi no explained the crew of the Cumberland fought until the water came in their gun barrels even though their cannon shot bounced off the Confederates case-mate like golf balls off a Brinks truck in the end the Merrimack rammed the Cumberland sending her to the bottom flag still flying but as the Merrimack backed away her wedge-shaped ram caught inside the frigate and broke off we're looking for that Ram what possible value can an old hunk of iron have maybe it doesn't put dollar signs in the eyes of people like treasure from a Spanish galleon but historically it's priceless a piece of America's naval heritage Mendoza was about to ask another question but her attention was diverted by two black rubber helmeted heads that broke water beside the barge the divers swam over climbed a rusty ladder and shrugged off their heavy gear water streamed from their dry suits gleaming in the sunlight the taller of the two pulled off his hood and ran his hands through a thick mane of Ebony hair his face was darkly tanned and the eyes were the most vivid green Mendoza had ever seen he had the look of a man who smiled easily and often who challenged life and accepted the wins and losses with equal indifference when he stood at his full height he was three inches over six feet and the lean hard body under the dry suit strained at the seams Mendoza knew without asking that this was Dirk Pitt he waved at the barge cruise approach we found it he said with a wide grin Geordie no slapped him on the back delightedly nice going pal everyone began asking the divers a barrage of questions which they answered between swallows of beer finally Geordi no remembered Mendoza and motioned her forward this is Juli Mendoza of the EPA she wants to have a chat with us Dirk Pitt extended his hand giving her an appraising stare Julie mr. Pitt if you'll give me a minute - one suit and dry off I'm afraid we're running late she interrupted we can talk in the air Admiral sandecker thought the plane would be faster than a helicopter you've lost me I can't take the time to explain we have to leave immediately all I can say is that you've been ordered to a new project there was a huskiness in her voice that intrigued Pitt not masculine exactly but a voice that would be at home in a Harold Robbins novel why the mad rush she asked not here are now she said glancing around at the salvage crew tuned into the conversation he turned to Geordi no what do you think al Geordi no faked a bemused look hard to say the lady looks pretty determined on the other hand I found a home here on the barge I kind of hate to leave Mendoza flushed an anger realizing the men were toying with her pleas minutes count mind telling us where we're going Langley Air Force Base where a military jet is waiting to take us to Kodiak Alaska she might as well have told them they were going to the moon pit looked into her eyes searching for something he wasn't sure he'd find all he could read was her dead seriousness I think to be on the safe side I'd better contact the Admiral and confirm you can do that on the way to Langley she said her tone unyielding I've seen to your personal affairs your clothes and whatever else you might need for a two-week operation have already been packed and loaded onboard she paused and stared him squarely in the eye so much for small talk mr. Pitts while we stand here people are dying you couldn't know that but take my word for it if you're half the man you're reported to be you'll stop screwing around and get on the plane now you really go for the jugular don't you lady if I have to there was an icy silence Pitts took a deep breath then blew it out he faced Geordie no I here Alaska is beautiful this time of year Geordi no managed a faraway look some great saloons in Skagway we should check out pitt gestured to the other diver who was peeling off his dry suit she's all yours charlie go ahead and bring up the mera max Ram and get it over to the conservation lab I'll see to it Pitt nodded and then along with Geordi no walked toward the Catalina talking between themselves as if Julie Mendoza no longer existed I hope she packed my fishing gear said Geordi no with a straight voice the salmon should be running I've a mind to ride a caribou pit carried on her gel they can outrun a dogsled as Mendoza followed them the words of Admiral sandecker came back to haunt her I don't envy you riding herd on those to Devil's pit in particular he could con a great white shark into becoming a vegetarian so keep a sharp eye and your legs crossed chapter four james sandecker was considered a prime catch by the feminine circles of Washington society a dedicated bachelor whose only mistress was his work he seldom entered into a relationship with the opposite sex that lasted more than a few weeks sentiment and romance the qualities women thrive on were beyond him in another life he might have been a hermit or some suggested Evan easer Scrooge in his late 50s and an exercise addict he still cut at trim figure he was short and muscular and his red hair and beard had yet to show a trace of gray he possessed an aloofness and coarse personality that appealed to women many cast out lures but few ever put a hook in him Bonnie Cowen an attorney for one of the city's mo respected law firms considered herself fortunate to have wrangled a dinner date with him you look pensive tonight Jim she said he did not look directly at her his gaze drifted over the other diners seated amid the quiet decor of the company inkwell restaurant I was wondering how many people would dine out if there were no seafood she gave him a puzzled stare then laughed after dealing with dull legal minds all day I'll confess it's like inhaling Mountain air to be with someone who wanders an aimless circles his stare returned over the tables candle and into her eyes Bonnie Cowan was 35 years old and unusually attractive she had learned long ago that beauty was an asset in her career and never tried to disguise it her hair was fine silken and fell below her shoulders her breasts were small but nicely proportioned as were the legs that were amply displayed by a short skirt she was also highly intelligent and could hold her own in any courtroom sandecker felt remiss at his inattentiveness and that's a damn pretty dress he said making a feeble attempt at looking attentive yes I think the red material goes well with my blonde hair a nice match he came back vaguely you're hopeless Jim sandecker she said shaking her head you'd say the same thing if I were sitting here naked hmm for your information the dress is brown and so is my hair he shook his head as if to clear the cobwebs I'm sorry but I warned you I'd be poor company your mind is seeing something a thousand miles away he reached across the table almost shyly and held her hand for the rest of the evening I'll focus my thoughts entirely on you my promise women are suckers for little boys who need mothering and you are the most pathetic little boy I've ever seen mind your language woman Admirals did not take kindly to being referred to as pathetic little boys all right John Paul Jones then how about a bite for a starving deckhand anything to prevent a mutiny he said the smiling for the first time that evening he recklessly ordered champagne and the most expensive seafood delicacies on the menu as though it might be his last opportunity he asked Bonnie about the cases she was involved with and masked his lack of interest as she relayed the latest gossip about the Supreme Court and legal maneuverings of Congress they finished the entree and were attacking the pears poached in red wine when a man with the build of a Denver Bronco linebacker entered the fly a stared around and recognizing sandecker made his way over to the table he flashed a smile at Bonnie my apologies ma'am for the intrusion then he spoke softly into sand Decker's ear the Admiral nodded and looked sadly across the table please forgive me but I must go government business he nodded silently oh well she said resignedly at least I had you all to myself until dessert he came over and gave her a brotherly kiss on the cheek and we'll do it again then he paid the bill asked the maitre d to call Bonnie a cab and left the restaurant the Admirals car rolled to a stop at the special tunnel entrance to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts this book is continued on disc two you disk to the admiral's car rolled to a stop at the special tunnel entrance to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts the door was opened by a sober faced man wearing a formal black suit if you will please follow me sir Secret Service yes sir sandecker asked no more questions he stepped out of the car and trailed the agent down a carpeted corridor to an elevator when the doors parted he was led along the tear level behind the box seats of the Opera House to a small meeting room Daniel Fawcett his expression the consistency of marble simply waved an offhand greeting sorry to break up your date Admiral the message emphasized urgent I've just received another report from Kodiak the situation has worsened does the president know not yet answered fawcett best to wait until the intermission if he suddenly left his box during the second act of Rigoletto it might fuel too many suspicious minds a Kennedy Center staff member entered the room carrying a tray of coffee sandecker helped himself while Fossett idly paced the floor the Admiral fought off an overwhelming desire to light a cigar after a weight of eight minutes the president appeared the audience applause at the end of the act was heard in the brief interval between the opening and closing of the door he was dressed in black evening wear with a blue handkerchief Natalie tucked in the breast pocket of his jacket I wish I could say it was good seeing you again Admiral but every time we meet we're up to our butts in a crisis seems that way Sen Decker answered the president turned to faucet what's the bad news Dan the captain of an auto ferry disregarded Coast Guard orders and took his ship on its normal run from Seward on the mainland to Kodiak the ferry was found a few hours ago grounded on Marmot Island all the passengers and crew were dead Christ the president murdered what was the body count 312 that tears it said Sam Dekker all hell will break loose when the news media get the scent nothing we can do Forsyth said helplessly word is already coming over the wire services the president sank into a chair he seemed a tall man on the TV screens he carried himself like a tall man but he was only 2 inches over sandecker his hairline was recessed and graying and his narrow face wore a satin solemn expression a look rarely revealed to the public he enjoyed tremendous popularity helped immensely by a warm personality and an infectious smile that could melt the most hostile audience his successful negotiations to merge Canada and the United States into one nation had served to establish an image that was immune to partisan criticism we can't delay another minute he said the entire Gulf of Alaska has got to be quarantined and everyone within 20 miles of the coast evacuated I must disagree sandecker said quietly I'd like to hear why as far as we know the contamination has kept two open waters no trace has shown up on the mainland evacuation of the population would mean a time-consuming and massive operation Alaskans are a tough breed especially the fishermen who live in the region I doubt if they'd willingly leave under any circumstances least of all when ordered to by the federal government a hard-headed lot yes but not stupid the fishermen's associations have all agreed to restrict their vessels to port and the canneries have begun burying all caches brought in during the past 10 days they'll need economic assistance I expect so what do you recommend the Coast Guard lacks the men and ships to patrol the entire Gulf the Navy will have to back them up that mused the president presents a problem throwing more men and ships in there increases the threat of a higher death toll not necessarily said sandecker the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter that made the first discovery of the contamination received no ill effects because the fishing boat had drifted out of the death area what about the boarding crew the doctor they died the contamination had already covered the decks the railings almost anything they touched on the exterior of the vessel in the case of the ferry its entire center section was open to accommodate automobile the passengers and crew had no protection modern naval ships are constructed to be buttoned up in case of radioactivity from nuclear attack they can patrol the contaminated currents with a very small acceptable degree of risk the president nodded his consent okay I'll order an assist from the Navy Department but I'm not sold on dropping an evacuation plan stubborn Alaskans are not there are still women and children to consider my other suggestion mr. president or request if you will is a delay of 48 hours before you initiate the operation that might give my response team time to find the source the president fell silent he stared at sandecker with deepening interest who are the people in charge the on-scene coordinator and chairman of the regional emergency response team is dr. Julie Mendoza a senior biochemical engineer for the EPA I'm not familiar with the name she's recognized as the best in the country on assessment and control of hazardous contamination in water sandecker said without hesitation the underwater search for the shipwreck we believe contains the nerve agent will be headed by my special projects director Dirk Pitt the president's eyes widened I know mr. Pitt he proved most helpful on the Canadian affair a few months ago you mean saved your ass sandecker thought before he continued we have nearly 200 other pollution experts who have been called in to assist every expert in private industry has been tapped to provide the experience and technical data for a successful cleanup the president glanced at his watch I've got to cut this short he said they won't start the third act without me anyway you've got 48 hours Admiral then I order an evacuation and declare the area a national disaster faucet accompanied the president back to his box he seated himself slightly to the rear but close enough so they could converse in low tones while feigning interest in the performance on stage do you wish to cancel the cruise with Moran and Larimer the president imperceptibly shook his head no my economic recovery package for the Soviet satellite countries has top priority over any other business I strongly advise against it you're waging a hopeless battle for a lost cause so you've informed me at least five times in the past week the president held program over his face to conceal a yawn out of the vote stack up a wave of nonpartisan conservative support is gaining ground against you will need 15 votes in the house and five maybe six to pass the measure in the Senate we've faced bigger odds yes Fawcett muttered sadly but if we're defeated this time your administration may never see a second term chapter five the dawn was creeping out of the east as a low dark line began to rise above the horizon through the windows of the helicopter the black blur took on a symmetrical cone-shaped feature and soon became a mountain peak surrounded by the sea there was a three-quarter moon behind it the light altered from ivory to indigo blue and then to an orange radiance as the Sun rose and the slopes could be seen mantled in snow Pitt glanced over at Jordie no he was asleep a state he could slip in and out of like an old sweater he had slept from the time they left Anchorage five minutes after transferring to the helicopter he promptly drifted off again Pitts turned to Mendoza she sat perched behind the pilot the look on her face was that of a little girl eager to see a parade her gaze was fixed on the mountain in the early light it seemed to pit her face had softened her expression was not so businesslike and the lines of her mouth held a tenderness that was not there before Augustine volcano she said unaware that Pitts attention was focused on her and not out the window named by Captain Cook in 1778 you wouldn't know to look at it but Augustine is the most active volcano in Alaska having erupted six times in the last century Pitt regretfully turned away and stared below the island seemed devoid of any human habitation long swirling floes of lava rock spilled down the mountains sides until they met the sea a small cloud drifted above the summit very picturesque he said to yawning might have possibilities as a ski resort don't bet on it she laughed at clouds you see over the peak is team Augustin is a constant performer the last eruption in 1987 surpassed Mount st. Helens in Washington the fall of Ash and pumice was measured as far away as Athens Pitt had to ask what's its status now recent data confirmed the heat around the summit is increasing probably forecasting an impending explosion naturally you can't say when naturally she shrugged volcanoes are unpredictable sometimes they become violent without the slightest warning sometimes they take months to build up to a spectacular climax that never happens they sputter Rumble a little and then go dormant those earth scientists I told you about who died from the nerve agent they were on the island to study the impending activity where are we settling down about 10 miles off the shore she replied on the Coast Guard Cutter Catawba the Catawba he repeated as if reminiscing yes you know of her said a copter on her flight pad myself a few years ago where was that North Atlantic near Iceland he was gazing beyond the island now he sighed and massaged his temples a good friend and I were hunting for a ship embedded in an iceberg did you find it he nodded a burned-out Hulk barely beat the Russians to it later we crashed in the surf on the icelandic coast my friend was killed she could see his mind was reliving the events the expression on his face took on a faraway sadness she changed the subject we'll have to say goodbye temporarily I mean when we land he shook off the past and stared at her you're leaving us you and I will be staying on the Catawba to search for the nerve agents location I'm going to the island where the local response team has set up a data base and part of my job is to send water samples from the ship to your lab yes by measuring trace levels of the contamination we can direct you toward the source like following breadcrumbs that's one way of putting it after we find it what then once your salvage team brings up the drums containing the nerve agent the army will dispose of it by deep well injection on Island near the Arctic Circle how deep is the well 4,000 feet all neat and tidy the open for business look returned to her eyes it happens to be the most efficient method open to us you're optimistic she looked at him questioningly what do you mean the salvage it could take months we can't even afford weeks she came back almost vehemently you're treading in my territory now Pitt said as if lecturing divers can't risk working in water where one drop on their skin will kill them the only reasonably safe way is to use submersibles a damned slow and tedious process and submersibles require highly trained crews with specially constructed vessels as work platforms I've already explained she said impatiently presidential authority gives us carte blanche on any equipment we need that's the easy part continued despite your water sample directions finding a shipwreck is like looking for a coin in the middle of a football field in the dark with a candle then if we get lucky and make contact we may find the hole broken in sections and the cargo scattered or the drums too corroded to move Murphy's Law can hit us from every angle no deep sea recovery operation has ever cut and dried Mendoza's face reddened I'd like to point out don't bother pit cut her off I'm the wrong guy for a gung-ho speech I've heard them all before you won't get a chorus of the Notre Dame fight song from me and save your breath for the countless lives hang in the balance routine I'm aware of it I don't have to be reminded every five minutes she looked at him annoyed with him for his arrogant charm feeling that he was testing her somehow have you ever seen someone who came in contact with nerve agent s no it's not a pretty sight they literally drown in their own blood as their internal membranes burst every body orifice bleeds like a river then the corpse turns black you're very descriptive it's all a game to you she lashed out it's not a game to me he didn't reply he simply nodded downward at the catawba looming through the pilots windshield we're landing the pilot noted that the ship had turned one to the wind from the fluttered ensign on the halyards he eased the helicopter over the stern hovered a few moments and set down on the pad the rotor blades had hardly swung to a stop when two figures dressed from head to toe in astronaut lookin suits approached while unfolding a circular plastic tube about five feet in diameter that looked like a huge umbilical cord they secured it around the exit door and gave three knocks Pitts undid the latches and swung the door inward the men outside passed him cloth hoods with see-through lenses and gloves best put them on command of the muffled voice Pitts prodded Geordi no awake and handed him a hood and the pair of gloves what in hell are these Geordi no mumbled emerging from the cobwebs welcome gifts from the Sanitation Department two more crewmen appeared in the plastic tunnel and took their gear Geordi no still half-asleep stumbled from the helicopter Pitts hesitated and stared into Mendoza's eyes what's my reward if I find your poison in 48 hours what do you want it to be are you as hard as you pretend harder mr. Pitt much harder then you decide he gave her a rakish smile and was gone Chapter six the cars that made up the presidential motorcade were lined in a row beside the South portico of the White House as soon as The Secret Service detail was in position Oscar Lucas spoke into a tiny microphone whose wire looped around the watch on his wrist and ran up the sleeve of his coat tell the boss were ready three minutes later the president accompanied by Fawcett walked briskly down the steps and entered the presidential limousine Lucas joined them and the cars moved out through the Southwest gate the president relaxed into the leather of the rear seat and idly stared out the window at the passing buildings faucets sat with an open attache case on his lap and made a series of notes inside the top folder after a few minutes of silence he sighed snapped the case shut and set it on the floor there it is arguments from both sides of the fence statistics CIA projections and the latest reports from your Economic Council on communist bloc debts everything you should need to sell Larimer and Moran on your way of thinking the American public doesn't think much of my plan does it the president asked quietly to be perfectly honest no sir Fawcett replied the general feeling is to let the red stew in their own problems most Americans are cheering the fact that the Soviets and their satellites are facing starvation and financial ruin they consider it proof positive that the marxist system is a pathetic joke it won't be a joke if the Kremlin leaders backs against an economic wall strike out in desperation and march through Europe your opposition in Congress feel the risk is offset by the very real threat of starvation which will undermine Russia's capacity to maintain its military machine and there are those who are banking on the eroding morale of the Russian people to crystallize an act of resistance toward the ruling party the president shook his head the Kremlin is fanatical about its military buildup they'll never slack off in spite of their economic dilemma and the people will never rise up or stage mass demonstrations the party's collar is too tight the bottom line said Fawcett is that both Larimer and Moran are dead set against taking the burden off Moscow the president's face twisted in disgust Larimer is a drunk and Moran is tainted with corruption still there is no getting around the fact you have to sell them on your philosophy I can't deny their opinions the president admitted but I am convinced that if the United States saves the Eastern Bloc nations from almost total disintegration they will turn away from the Soviet Union and join with the West there are many who see that as wishful thinking mr. president the French and Germans see it my way Jorund why not they're playing both ends of the field relying on our NATO forces for security while expanding economic ties with the East you're forgetting the many grass roots American voters who are behind my aid plan too said the president his chin thrust forward at his words even they realize its potential for defusing the threat of nuclear holocaust and pulling down the iron curtain for good Fawcett knew it was senseless to try to sway the president when he was in a crusading mood and passionately convinced he was right there was a kind of virtue in killing your enemies with kindness a truly civilized tactic that might move the conscience of reasonable people but Fawcett remained pessimistic he turned inward to his thoughts and remained silent as the limousine turned off M Street into the Washington Naval Yard and rolled to a stop on one of the long docks a dark-skinned man with the stony facial features of an American Indian approached as Lukas stepped from the car evening George hello Oscar how's the golf game sad shape answered Lucas I haven't played in almost two weeks as Lucas spoke he looked into the piercing dark eyes of George black owl the acting supervisor and advanced agent for the president's movement black owl was about Lucas height five years younger and carried about ten pounds of excess weight a habitual gum chewer as jaws worked constantly he was half Sioux and was constantly kidded about his ancestors role at the Little Bighorn Safety Board asked Lucas the boat has been swept for explosives and listening devices the frogmen finished checking the hull about 10 minutes ago and the outboard chase boat is manned and ready to follow Lucas nodded a hundred and ten foot Coast Guard Cutter will be standing by when you reach Mount Vernon then I guess we're ready for the boss Lucas paused for nearly a minute while he scanned the surrounding dock area detecting nothing suspicious he opened the door for the president then the agents formed a security diamond around him flacco all walked ahead of the point man who was directly in front of the president Lucas because he was left-handed and required ease of movement in case he had to draw his gun walked the left point and slightly to the rear faucet tailed several yards behind and out of the way at the boarding ramp Lucas and black owl stood aside to let the others pass okay George he's all yours lucky you black owl said smiling you get the weekend off first time this month heading home from here not yet I have to run by the office and clear my desk first there were a few hitches during the last trip to Los Angeles I to review the planning they turned in unison as another government limousine pulled up to the dock senator Marcus Larimer climbed out and strode toward the presidential yacht followed by an aide who dutifully carried an overnight bag Larimer wore a brown suit with a vest he always wore a brown suit with a vest it had been suggested by one of his fellow legislators that he was born in one his hair was sandy colored and styled in the dry look he was big and rough cut with the look of a HOD carrier trying to crash a celebrity benefit he simply nodded to black owl and threw Lucas the standard politicians greeting nice to see you Oscar you're looking healthy senator nothing a bottle of scotch won't cure Larimer replied with a booming laugh then he swept up the ramp and disappeared into the main salon have fun Lucas said sarcastically to black owl I don't envy you this trip a few minutes later while driving through the Naval Yard gate onto M Street Lucas passed a compact Chevrolet carrying congressman Alan Moran going in the opposite direction Lucas didn't like the speaker of the house not nearly as flamboyant as his predecessor Moran was a Horatio Alger type who had succeeded not so much from intelligence or perception as from stowing away in the congressional power circles and supplying more favors than he begged once accused of masterminding an oil leasing scheme on government lands he had greased his way out of the impending scandal by calling in his political I o use he looked neither right nor left as he drove by his mind lucas deduced was grinding on ways to pick the president influential pocket not quite an hour later as the crew of the presidential yacht were preparing to cast off vice-president Margolin came aboard with a garment bag draped over one shoulder he hesitated a moment and then spied the president seated alone in a deck chair near the stern watching the Sun began to set over the city a steward appeared and relieved Margolin of the garment bag the president looked up and stared as though not fully recognizing him Vince sorry I'm late Margolin apologized but one of my aides misplaced your invitation and I only discovered as an hour ago I wasn't sure you could make it the president murmured obscurely perfect timing Beth is visiting our son at Stanford and won't be home until Tuesday and I had nothing on my schedule that couldn't be shoved ahead the president stood up forcing a friendly smile senator Larimer and congressman Moran are on board too they're in the dining salon he tilted his head in their direction why don't you say hello and rustle up a drink a drink I could use Margolin bumped into faucet in the doorway and they exchanged a few words the president's face was a study in anger as much as he and Margolin differed in style and appearance the vice president was tall and nicely proportioned not a bit of fat on his body with a handsome face bright blue eyes and a warm outgoing personality they differed even more in their politics the president maintained a high level of personal popularity by his inspirational speeches an idealist and a visionary he was almost totally occupied with creating programs that would be of global benefit 10 to 50 years in the future unfortunately for the most part they were programs that did not fit in with the selfish realities of domestic politics Margolin on the other hand kept a low profile with the public and news media aiming his energies toward more domestic issues his stand on the president's communist blockade program was that the money could be better spent at home the Vice President was a born politician he had the Constitution in his blood he had come up the hard way through the ranks beginning with his state legislature then governor and later the Senate once entrenched in his office in the Russell building he surrounded himself with a powerhouse staff of advisers who possessed a flair for strategic compromise and innovative political concepts while it was the president who proposed legislation it was Margolin who orchestrated its passage through the maze of committees into law and policy all too often making the White House staff appear like bumbling amateurs a situation that did not sit well with the president and caused considerable internal backstabbing Margolin might have been the people's choice for the presidency but he was not the party's here his integrity and image as a shaker and doer worked against him he too often refused to fall in line on partisan issues if he believed in a better path he was a maverick who followed his own conscience the president watched Margolin disappear into the main salon irritation and jealousy burning within him what is vince doing here faucet asked him nervously damned if I know snapped the president he said he was invited faucet looked stricken Christ somebody on the staff must have screwed up too late now I can't tell him he's not wanted and two please leave faucet was still confused I don't understand neither do i but we're stuck with him he could blow it I don't think so regardless of what we think about Vince he's never made a statement that tarnished my image that's more than a lot of presidents could say about their VP's faucet resigned himself to the situation there aren't enough staterooms to go around I'll give up mine and stay on shore I appreciate that then I can stay on the boat until tonight and then bunk at a nearby motel perhaps under the circumstances the president said slowly it would be best if you remained behind with Vince along I don't want our guests to think we're ganging up on them I'll leave the documents supporting your position in your stateroom mr. president thank you I'll study them before dinner then the president paused by the way any word on the Alaskan situation only that the search for the nerve agent is under way the president's eyes reflected a disturbed look he nodded and shook Fossett's hand see you tomorrow later Fawcett stood on the dock among the irritated Secret Service agents of the vice president's detail as he watched the aging white yacht cut into the Anacostia River before turning south toward the Potomac and not began to tighten in the pit of his stomach there had been no written invitations none of it made any sense Lucas was putting on his coat about to leave his office when the phone linked to the command post buzzed Lucas mrs. Love Boat replied George black owl giving the codename of the movement in progress the call was unexpected and like a father with a daughter on a date Lucas immediately feared the worst go ahead he said tersely we have a situation this is no emergency I repeat no emergency but something's come up that isn't in the movement Lucas expelled a sigh of relief I'm listening Shakespeare is on the boat said black owl giving the code name for the vice-president he Square Lucas gasp Margolin showed up out of nowhere and came on board as we were casting off dan Fawcett gave him his stateroom and went ashore when I queried the president about the last-minute switch in passengers he told me to let it ride but I smell a screw-up where's rineman right here with me on the yacht put him on there was a pause and then Hank rineman the supervisor in charge of the vice-president security detail came on Oscar we've got an unscheduled movement understood how did you lose him he came charging out of his office and said he had to attend an urgent meeting with the president on the yacht he didn't tell me it was an overnight affair he kept it from you Shakespeare is tight mouthed as hell I should have known when I saw the garment bag I'm sorry as hell Oscar a wave of frustration swept Lucas God he thought the leaders of the world's leading superpowers were like kids when it came to their own security it's happened said Lucas sharply so we'll make the best of it where is your detail standing on the dock answered rineman send them down to Mount Vernon and back up black holes people I want that yacht cordoned off tighter than a bass drum will do at the slightest hint of trouble call me I'm spending the night at the command post you got a line on something Ryan and asked nothing tangible Lucas replied his voice so hollow it seemed to come from a distant source but knowing that the president and the next three men in line for his office are all in the same place at the same time and scares the hell out of me Chapter seven we've turned against the current its voice was quiet almost casual as he stared at the color video screen on the Klein hydro scan sonar that read the seafloor increased speed about two knots dressed in bleached Levi's Irish knit turtleneck sweater and brown tennis shoes his brushed hair laid back under an uma baseball cap he looked cool and comfortable with a board indifferent air about him the wheel moved slowly under the helmsman's hands and the catawba lazily shoved aside the three foot swells as she swept back and forth over the sea like a lawn mower trailing behind the stern like a tin can tied to the tail of a dog the side scan sonar sensor pinged the depths sending a signal to the video display which translated it into a detailed image of the bottom they took up the search for the nerve agent source in the southern end of Cook Inlet and discovered that the residual traces rose as they worked westward into Chemosh AK Bay water samples were taken every half hour and ferried by helicopter to the chemical lab on augustine island amos dover philosophically compared the project to a children's game of finding hidden candy with an unseen voice giving warmer or colder clues as the day wore on the nervous tension that had been building up on the catawba grew unbearable the crew was unable to go on deck for a breath of air only the epa chemists were allowed outside the exterior bulkheads and they were protected by airtight encapsulating suits anything yet Dover asked peering over Pitts shoulder at the high-resolution screen nothing man-made Pitt answered bottom terrain is rugged broken mostly lava rock good clear picture Pitt nodded yes the detail is quite sharp what's that dark smudge a school of fish maybe a pack of seals Dover turned and stared through the bridge windows at the volcanic peak on Augustin Island now only a few miles away better make a strike soon we're coming close to shore lab to ship Mendoza's feminine voice broke over the bridge speaker Dover picked up the communications phone go ahead lab steer zero seven zero degrees trace elements appear to be in higher concentrations in that direction Dover gave the nearby island an apprehensive eye if we hold that course for twenty minutes we'll park on your doorstep for supper come in as far as you can and take samples Mendoza answered my indications are that you're practically on top of it Dover hung up without further discussion and called out what's the depth the watch officer tapped the dial on the instrument console 140 feet and rising how far can you see on that thing Dover asked a bit we read the seabed 600 meters on either side of our hull then we're cutting a swath nearly two-thirds of a mile wide close enough Pitt admitted we should have detected the ship by now Dover said irritably maybe we missed it no need to get uptight Pitt said he paused leaned over the computer keyboard and fine-tuned the image nothing in this world is more elusive than a shipwreck that isn't ready to be found deducing the murderer and an Agatha Christie novel is kindergarten stuff compared to finding a lost derelict under hundreds of square miles of water sometimes you get lucky early most of the time you don't very poetic Dover said dryly Pitt stared at the overhead bulkhead for a long and considering moment what's the visibility under the water surface the water turns crystal 50 yards from shore on the flood tide I've seen a hundred feet or better I'd like to borrow your copter and take aerial photos of this area why bother Dover said curtly semper paratus always ready is not the Coast Guard's motto for lapse he motioned through a doorway we have charts showing three thousand miles of Alaskan coastline in color and incredible detail courtesy of satellite reconnaissance Pitts nodded for geordie know to take his place in front of the hydro scan as he rose and followed the Catawbas skipper into a small compartment stacked with cabinets containing nautical charts Dover checked the label inserts pulled open a drawer and rummaged inside finally he expected a lar chart marked satellite survey number 24 30 a south shore of augustine island then he laid it on a table and spread it out is this what you have in mind pit leaned over and studied the bird's-eye view of the sea off the volcanic islands coast perfect got a magnifying glass in the Shelf under the table pit found the thick square lens and peered through it at the tiny shadows on the photo Survey Dover left and returned shortly with two mugs of coffee your chances are nil of spotting an anomaly in that geological nightmare on the sea floor a ship could stay lost forever in there I'm not looking at the seafloor Dover heard Pitts words all right but the meaning didn't register vague curiosity reflected in his eyes but before he could ask the obvious question the speaker above the doorway crackled skipper we've got breakers ahead the watch officer's voice was tense the fathometer reads 30 feet of water under the hull and rising damn fast all stop Dover ordered a pause then no reverse engines until speed is zero tell him to have the sonar sensor pulled in before it drags bottom Pitt said offhandedly then I suggest we drop anchor Dover gave Pitt a strange look but issued the command the deck trembled beneath their feet as the twin screws reversed direction after a few moments the vibration ceased speed zero the watch officer notified them from the bridge anchor Aweigh Dover acknowledged then sat on a stool cupped his hands around the coffee mug and looked directly at Pitt okay what do you see I have the ship we're looking for it said speaking slowly and distinctly there are no other possibilities you were mistaken in one respect Dover but correct in another mother nature seldom makes rock formations that run in a perfectly straight line for several hundred feet consequently the outline of a ship can be detected against an irregular background you were right though in saying our chances were nil of finding it on the sea floor get to the point Dover said impatiently the target is on Shore you mean grounded in the shallows I mean on shore as in high and dry you can't be serious pit ignored the question and handed over the magnifying glass see for yourself he took a pencil and circled a section of cliffs above the tide line Dover bent over and put his eye to the glass all I see is rock look closer the projection from the lower part of the slope into the sea Dover's expression turned incredulous oh Jesus it's the stern of a ship you can make out the fantail and the top half of the rudder yes yes and a piece of the afterdeck house Dover's frustration was suddenly washed away by the mounting excitement of the discovery incredible she's buried bow on into the shore as though she were covered by an avalanche judging from the cruiser stern and the balanced rudder might say she's an old liberty ship he looked up a deepening interest in his eyes I wonder if she might be the pilot town sounds vaguely familiar one of the most stubborn mysteries of the northern seas the pilot town tramped back and forth between Tokyo and the west coast until ten years ago when her crew reported her sinking in a storm a search was launched and no trace of the ship was found two years later an Eskimo stumbled on the pilot town caught in the ice about 90 miles above Nome he went aboard but found the ship deserted no sign of the crew or cargo a month later when he returned with his tribe to remove whatever they could find a value it was gone again nearly two years passed and she was reported drifting below the Bering Strait the Coast Guard was sent out but couldn't locate her the pilot town wasn't cited again for eight months she was boarded by the crew of a fishing trawler they found her in reasonably good shape then she disappeared for the last time I seem to recall reading something Pitts paused yes the magic ship that's what the news media dubbed her dover acknowledged they described her disappearing act as and now you see it now you don't routine they'll have a field day when it gets out she was drifting around for years with a cargo of nerve agent no way of predicting the horror at the all had been crushed in an ice pack or shattered on a rocky shore creating an instant spilled over added we've got to get in her cargo hold said it contact Mendoza give her the position of the wreck and tell her to airlift a team of chemists to the site will approach from the water Dover nodded I'll see to the launch throw in acetylene equipment in case we have to cut our way inside Dover bent over the chart table and stared solemnly at the center of the marked circle I never thought for a minute I'd stand on the deck of the magic ship if you're right said Pitt staring into his coffee mug the pilot town is about to give her last performance chapter 8 the sea had been calm but by the time the Catawbas launch was a quarter mile from the lonely forbidding coast a 20 knot wind kicked up the water the spray tainted by the nerve agent struck the cabin windows with the fury of driven sand yet where the derelict lay beached the water looked reasonably peaceful protected as it was by jagged pinnacles of rock that rose up a hundred yards offshore like solitary chimneys from burned-out houses far above the turbulent waters Augustine volcano seemed calm and serene in the late afternoon Sun it was one of the most beautifully sculptured mountains in the Pacific rivaling the classic contour of Mount Fuji in Japan the powerful launch surfed for an instant on a white capped swell before diving over the crest pit braced his feet gripped a railing with both hands while his eyes studied the shore the wreck was heeled over at a 20 degree angle and her stern section blanketed in brown rust the rudder was canted in the full starboard position and two barnacle-encrusted blades of the propeller protruded from the black sand the letters of her name and homeport were too obscured to read Pitts Geordie no Dover the two EPA scientists and one of the Catawbas junior officers all were garbed in white encapsulating suits to protect them from the plumes of deadly spray they communicated by tiny transmitters inside their protective headgear attached to their waist belt where intricate filter systems designed to refine beam breathable air the see around them was carpeted with dead fish of every species a pair of whales rolled lifelessly back and forth with the tide United in rotting decay with porpoises sea lions and spotted seal Birds by the thousands floated amid the morbid debris nothing that had lived in the area had escaped Dover expertly threaded the launch between the threatening offshore barrier of projecting rock the remnant of an ancient coastline he slowed waiting for a momentary lull in the surf biding his time while carefully eyeing the depth then as a wave slammed onto the shore and its backwash filled against the next one coming in he aimed the bow at the small bit of sand formed around the base of the wreck and pushed the throttle forward like a horse bracing for the next hurdle at the Grand National the launch rose up on the wave crest and wrote it through the swirling foam until the keel dropped and scraped onto the spit a neat bit of handiwork Pitt complimented him all in the timing dover said the grin visible behind his helmets facemask of course it helps if you land at low tide they tilted back their heads and stared up at the wreck towering above them the faded name on the stern could be deciphered now a tread pilot town almost a pity Dover said reverently to write finish to an enigma the sooner the better Pitt said his tone grim as he considered the mass death inside within five minutes the equipment was unloaded the launch securely moored to the pilot towns rudder and the men laborious Lee climbing the steep slope on the port side of the stern Pitt took the lead followed by Geordie know and the rest as Dover brought up the rear the incline was not made up of solid rock but rather a combination of cinder ash and mud with the consistency of loose gravel their boots struggled to find a foothold but mostly they slid back to steps for every three they gained the dust from the ash rose and clung to their suits coating them a dark grey soon the sweat was seeping through their pores and the increasingly heavy rasp of their breathing became more audible over the earphones inside their helmets pit to halt at the narrow ledge not four feet wide and just long enough to hold all six men wearily Geordi no sank to a sitting position and readjusted the straps that held the acetylene tank to his back when he could finally pant a coherent sentence he said how in hell did this old rust bucket Jam herself in here she probably drifted into what was a shelving Inlet before 1987 replied Pitt according to Mendoza that was the year the volcano last erupted the explosion gases must have melted the ice around the mantle forming millions of gallons of water the mud flow along with the cloud of ash poured down the mountain until it met the sea and buried the ship funny the stern wasn't spotted before now not so remarkable it answered so little is showing it was next to impossible to detect from the air and beyond a mile from shore it blends into the rugged shoreline and becomes nearly invisible erosion caused by recent storms is the only reason she's uncovered now Dover stood up pressing his weight against the steep embankment to maintain his balance he unraveled a thin knotted nylon rope from his waist and unfolded a small grappling hook tied to the end he looked down at Pitt if you'll support my legs I think I can heave the hook over the ship's railing Pitt grasped his left leg as Geordi no edged over and held the right the burly Coast Guardsman leaned back over the lip of the ledge swung the hook in a widening arc and let it fly it sailed over the stern rails and caught the rest of the ascent took only a few minutes pulling themselves upward and overhand they soon climbed onto the deck heavy layers of rust mingled with ash flaked away beneath their feet what little they could see of the pilot town looked a dirty ugly mess no sign of Mendoza said Dover nearest flat ground to land a copter is a thousand yards away Pitt replied she and her team will have to hike in Geordi no walked over to the railing beside the corroded shaft of the jackstaff and stared at the water below the poison must be seeping through the hole during high tide probably stored in the after hold said over the cargo hatches are buried under tons of this lava crap Geordi now said and discussed we'll need a fleet of bulldozers to get through you familiar with Liberty Ship spit ask Dover should be I've inspected enough of them over the years looking for illegal cargo he knelt down and began tracing a ship's outline in the rust inside the aft deck house we should find a hatch to an escape trunk that leads to the tunnel holding the screw shaft at the bottom is a small recess we might be able to cut our way into the hole from there they all stood silent when Dover finished they should all have felt a sense of accomplishment at having found the source of the nerve agent but instead they experienced apprehension a reaction pits opposed that stemmed from a letdown after the excitement of the search then also there was a hidden dread of what they might actually find behind the steel bulkheads of the pilot town maybe maybe we better wait for the lab people one of the chemists stammered they can catch up it said pleasantly but with cold eyes Geordi no silently took a pry bar from the tool pack strapped on Pitt's back and attacked the steel door to the afterdeck house to his surprise it creaked and moved he put his muscle to it the protesting hinges surrendered and the door sprung open the interior was completely empty no fittings no gear not even a scrap of trash looks as though the movers have been here observed Pitt odd it was never in used over mused the escape trunk this way Dover led them through another compartment that was also barren he stopped at a round hatch in the center of the deck Geordi no moved forward pried open the cover and stepped back dover aimed a flashlight down the yawning tunnel the beam stabbing the darkness so much for that idea he said dejectedly the tunnel recess is blocked with debris what's on the next deck below the steering gear compartment Dover paused his mind working then he thought aloud just forward of the steering gear there's an after steering room a holdover from the war years it's possible barely possible it might have an access hatch to the hold they went after then and returned to the first compartment it felt strange to them to walk the decks of a ghost ship wondering what happened to the crew that abandoned her they found the hatchway and climbed down the ladder to the steering gear compartment and made their way around the old still oily machinery to the forward bulkhead Dover scanned the steel plates with his flashlight suddenly the wavering beam stopped son of a he grunted the hatch is here but it's been welded shut you're certain we're in the right spot it asked absolutely Dover answered he wrapped his gloved fist against the bulkhead on the other side is cargo hold number five the most likely storage of the poison what about the other holes asked one of the EPA men to far forward to leak into the sea okay then let's do it it said impatiently quickly they assembled the cutting torch and connected the oxygen acetylene bottles the flame from the tip of the torch hissed as Geordi no adjusted the gas mixture blue flame shot out and assaulted the steel plate turning it red then a bright orange white a narrow gap appeared and lengthened crackling and melting under the intense heat as Geordi no was cutting an opening large enough to crawl through Julie Mendoza and her lab people appeared packing nearly 500 pounds of chemical analysis instruments you found it she stated straight from the shoulder we can't be sure yet it cautioned but our test sample showed the water around this area reeks with nerve agent has she protested disappointment comes easy said Pitts I never count my chickens until the check clears the bank further conversation broke off as Geordi no stood back and snuffed out the cutting torch he handed it to Dover and picked up his trusty pry bar stand back he ordered this thing is red hot and it's damned heavy he hooked one end of the bar into the jagged glowing seam and shoved grudgingly the steel plate twisted away from the bulkhead and crashed to the deck with a heavy clang and spray of molten metal a hush fell over the dark compartment as Pitts took a flashlight and leaned carefully through the opening staying clear of the superheated edges he probed the beam into the bowels of the darkened cargo hold sweeping it around in a one at 80 degree arc it seemed a long time before he straightened and faced the bizarrely clad faceless figures pressing against him well Mendoza demanded anxiously it answered with one word Eureka Chapter nine four thousand miles and five hours ahead in a different time zone the Soviet representative to the World Health Assembly worked late at his desk there was nothing elaborate about his office in the Secretariat building of the United Nations the furnishings were cheap and Spartan instead of the usual photographs of Russian leaders living and dead the only piece of wall decor was a small amateurish watercolor of a house in the country the light blinked and a soft chime emitted from his private phone line he stared at it suspiciously for a long moment before picking up the receiver they seized Lugovoy who Alexei Lugovoi is really there asked a voice heavy with the New York City accent that all was grated on Luger boy's ears there is no Willie here look a voice said brusquely you must have the wrong number then he abruptly hung up Lugovoy face was expressionless but a faint pallor was there that was missing before he flexed his fists inhaled deeply and eyed the phone waiting the light blinked and the phone chime de gehen Lugovoy you sure Willie ain't there Willie ain't here he replied mimicking the caller's accent he slammed the receiver onto the cradle Lugovoy sat shocked still for almost 30 seconds hands tightly clasped together on the desk head lowered eyes staring into space nervously he rubbed a hand over his bald head and adjusted the horn-rimmed glasses on his nose still lost in thought he rose beautifully turned out the lights and walked from the office he exited the elevator into the main lobby and strode past the stained glass panel by marc chagall symbolizing man's struggle for peace he ignored it as he always had there were no cabs at the stand in front of the building so he hailed one on First Avenue he gave the driver his desk nation and sat stiffly in the back seat too tense to relax Lugovoy was not worried that he might be followed he was a respected psychologist admired for his work in mental health among the underdeveloped countries his papers on thought processes and mind response were widely studied during his six-month in New York with the United Nations he had kept his nose clean he indulged in no espionage work and held no direct ties with the undercover people of the KGB he was discretely told by a friend with the embassy in Washington that the FBI had given him a low priority and only performed an occasional almost perfunctory observation Lugovoy was not in the united states to steal secrets his purpose went far beyond anything the American counter spy investigators ever dreamed the phone call meant the plan that was conceived seven years earlier had been put into motion the cab pulled to a stop at West and Liberty streets in front of the Vista International Hotel Lugovoy paid the driver and walked through the ornate Lobby into the concourse outside he paused and stared up at the awesome towers of the World Trade Center Lugovoy often wondered what he was doing here in this land of glass buildings uncountable automobiles people all was rushing restaurants and grocery stores in every block it was not his kind of world he showed his identification to a guard standing by a private express elevator in the South Tower and took it to the 100th floor the doors parted and he entered the open lobby of the Bougainville maritime lines incorporated whose offices covered the entire floor issues sank into a thick white carpet the walls were paneled in a gleaming hand-rubbed rosewood and the room was richly decorated in oriental antiques curio cases containing exquisite ceramic horses stood in the corners and rare examples of Japanese designed textiles hung from the ceiling an attractive woman with large dark eyes a delicate oval asian face and smooth amber skin smiled as he approached may I help you sir my name is Lugovoi yes mister Lugovoy she said pronouncing his name correctly madam Bougainville is expecting you she spoke softly into an intercom and a tall raven haired woman with Eurasian features appeared in a high arched doorway if you will please follow me mr. Lugovoy Lugovoy was impressed like many Russians he was naive in Western business methods and wrongly assumed the office employees had stayed late for his benefit he trailed a woman down a long corridor hung with paintings of cargo ships flying the Bougainville maritime flag their boughs surging through turquoise seas the guide knocked lightly on an arched door opened it and stepped inside Lugovoy crossed the threshold and stiffened in astonishment the room was vast mosaic floor in blue and gold floral patterns massive conference table supported by ten carved dragons that seemed to stretch into infinity but it was the life-size terracotta warriors in armor and prancing horses standing in silent splendor under soft spotlights and alcoves that held him in awe he instantly recognized them as the tomb Guardians of China's early Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi the effect was dazzling he marveled that they had somehow slipped through the Chinese government's fingers into private hands please come forward and sit down mr. Lugovoy he was so taken aback by the magnificence of the room that he failed to notice a frail oriental woman sitting in a wheelchair in front of her was an ebony chair with gold silk cushions and a small table with a teapot and cups Madame Bougainville he said we meet at last the matriarch of the Bougainville shipping dynasty was 89 years old and weighed about the same number of pounds her glistening gray hair was pulled back from her temples in a bun her face was strangely unlined but her body looked ancient and frail it was her eyes that absorbed Lugovoy they were an intense blue and blazed with a ferocity that made him uncomfortable you are prompt she said simply her voice was soft and clear without the usual has a station of advanced age I came as soon as I received a coded telephone call are you prepared to conduct your brainwashing project brainwashing is an ugly term I prefer mind intervention academic terminology is irrelevant she said indifferently my staff has been assembled for months with the proper facilities we can begin in two days you'll begin tomorrow morning so soon I've been informed by my grandson that ideal conditions have turned in our favor the transfer will take place tonight Lugovoy instinctively looked at his watch you don't give me much time the opportunity has to be snatched when it arrives she said firmly I made a bargain with your government and I'm about to fulfill the first half of it everything depends on speed you and your staff have ten days to finish your part of the project ten days he gasped ten days she repeated that is your deadline beyond that I will cast you adrift a shiver ran up Lugovoy spine he didn't needed a tailed picture it was plain that if something went wrong he and his people would conveniently vanish probably in the ocean a quiet muffled the huge boardroom then Madame Bougainville leaned forward in the wheelchair would you like some tea Lugovoy hated tea but he nodded yes thank you the finest blend of Chinese herbs it cost over $100 a pound on the retail market he took the offered cup and made a polite sip before he set it on the table you've been informed I assume that my work is still in the research stage my experiments have only been proven successful 11 times out of 15 I cannot guarantee perfect results within a set time limit smarter Minds than yours have calculated how long White House advisors can stall the news media Lugovoy is eyebrows rose my understanding was that my subject was to be a minor American congressman whose temporary disappearance would go unnoticed you were misled she explained matter-of-factly your general secretary and president thought it best you should not know your subjects identity until we were ready if I'd been given time to study his personality traits I could have been better prepared I shouldn't have to lecture on security requirements to a Russian she said her eyes burning into him why do you think we've had no contact between us until tonight unsure of what to answer Lugovoy took a long swallow of the tea to his peasant taste it was like drinking watered-down perfume I must know who my subject is he said finally mustering his courage and returning her stare her answer burst like a bomb in the cavernous room reverberating in Lugovoy brain and left him stunned he felt as though he'd been thrown into a bottomless pit with no hope of escape chapter 10 after years of buffeting by storms at sea the drums containing the nerve agent had broken the chains holding them to wooden cradles and now they lay scattered about the deck of the cargo hold the one-ton standard shipping containers as approved by the Department of Transportation measured exactly eighty one and a half inches in length by 30 and a half inches in diameter they had concave ends and were silver in color neatly stenciled on the sides in green paint were the army code letters GS I make the count twenty drums said pit that tallies with the inventory of the missing shipment Mendoza said the relief audible in her voice they stood in the holes depths now brightly lit by floodlights connected to a portable generator from the Catawba nearly a foot of water flooded the deck and the sloshing sounds as they waited between the deadly containers echoed off the rusting sides of the hole an EPA chemist made a violent pointing motion with his gloved hand here's the drum responsible for the leak he said excitedly the valve is broken off its threads satisfied Mendoza it asked her you bet your sweet ass she exclaimed happily Pitt moved toward her until their face plates were most touching have you given any thought to my reward reward our bargain he said trying to sound earnest I found your nerve agent 36 hours ahead of schedule you're not going to hold me to a silly proposition I'd be foolish not to she was glad he couldn't see her face redden under the helmet they were on an open radio frequency and every man in the room could hear what they were saying you pick strange places to make a date what I thought it continued was dinner and Anchorage cocktails chilled by glacier ice smoked salmon elk Remington Baked Alaska after that that's enough she said her embarrassment growing are you a party girl only when the occasion demands she replied coming back on even keel and this is definitely not the occasion he threw up his arms and then let them drop dejectedly a sad day for Pitt a lucky day for numa wine Ummah the contamination is on dry land no need for an underwater salvage job my crew and I can pack up and head for home her helmet nodded imperceptibly a neat sidestep mr. Pitts dropping the problem straight into the Army's lap do they know he asked seriously Alaskan command was alerted seconds after you reported discovering the pilot town a chemical warfare disposal team is on its way from the mainland to remove the agent the world applauds efficiency it's not important to you is it of course it's important it said but my job is finished and unless you have another spill and more dead bodies I'm going home talk about a hard-nosed cynic say yes thrust parry lunge he caught her on an exposed flank she felt trapped impaled and was annoyed with herself for enjoying it she answered before she could form a negative thought yes the men in the hole stopped their work emit enough poison to kill half the Earth's population and clapped muted gloves together cheering and whistling into their transmitters she suddenly realized that her stock had shot up on the Dow Jones men admired a woman who could ramrod a dirty job and not be a later Dover found pit thoughtfully studying a small open hatchway shining his flashlight inside the glow diminished into the darkness within reflecting on dull sparkles on the oil flicked water rippling from the cargo hold got something in mind Dover asked but I do a little exploring Pitts answered you won't get far in there where does it lead enter the shaft tunnel but it's flooded nearly to the roof you'd need air tanks to get through it swung his light up the forward bulkhead until it spotlighted a small hatch at the top of a ladder how about that one should open into cargo hold for it merely nodded and began scaling the rusty rungs of the ladder closely followed by Dover he muscled the dog latches securing the hatch swung it open and clambered down into the next hold again followed by Dover a quick traverse of their lights told them it was bone empty the ship must have been traveling in ballast it speculated out loud it would appear so said Dover now we're up one more ladder to the alleyway that runs between the freshwater tanks into the ship storerooms slowly they made their way through the bowels of the pilot town feeling like grave diggers probing a cemetery at night around every corner they half expected to find the skeletons of the crew but there were no bones the crews living quarters should have looked like an anniversary sale at Macy's close personal belongings everything that should have been strewn about by a crew hastily abandoning ship instead the pitch-black interior of the pilot town looked like the tunnels and chambers of a desert cavern all that was missing were the bats the food lockers were bare no dishes her cups lined the shelves of the crew mess even the toilets lacked paper fire extinguishers door latches furnishings anything that could be unbolted or was of the slightest value was gone mighty peculiar muttered Dover my thought 2-bit said she's been systematically stripped scavengers must have boarded and carried away everything during the years she was adrift scavengers leave a mess it disagreed whoever was behind this job at a fetish for neatness it was an eerie trip their shadows flitted on the dark walls of the alleyways and followed alongside the silent and abandoned machinery Pitt felt a longing to see the sky again incredible mumbled over still awed by what they'd found or rather not found they even removed all the valves and gauges if I was a gambling man said pip thoughtfully I'd bet we've stumbled on an insurance scam wouldn't be the first ship that was posted missing for a Lloyds of London payday Dover said you told me the crew claimed they abandoned the pilot town in a storm they abandoned her all right but they left nothing but a barren worthless shell easy enough to check out send over two ways to scuttle a ship at sea open the seacocks and let her flood or blow out the bottom with explosive charges how would you do it flooding through the sea-cocks could take 24 hours or more time enough for a passing ship to investigate I opted for the charges quick and dirty put her on the seafloor in a matter of minutes something must have prevented the explosives from detonating it's only a theory next question Pitts persisted where would you lay them cargo hold engine room most any place against the hull plate so long as it was below the waterline no sign of charges in the after hold said bit that leaves the engine room and the forward cargo hold we've come this far Dover said we might as well finish the job faster if we split up I'll search the engine room you know your way around the ship better than I do the forward cargo holds it is Dover said anticipating him the big Coast Guardsman started up a companionway whistling the Notre Dame fight song under his breath his bear-like gate and hulking build silhouetted by the wavering flashlight in his hand grew smaller and finally faded Pitt began probing around the maze of steam pipes leading from the obsolete old steam reciprocating engines and boilers the walkway gratings over the machinery were nearly eaten through by rust and he treaded lightly the engine room seemed to come alive in his imagination creaks and moans murmurings drifting out of the ventilators whispering sounds he found a pair of sea their hand wheels were frozen in the closed position so much for the sea theory he thought an icy chill crept up the back of Pitts neck and spread throughout his body and he realized the batteries operating the heater in his suit were nearly drained he switched off the light for a moment the pure blackness nearly smothered him he flicked it on again and quickly swept the beam around as if he expected to see a spectre of the crew reaching out for him only there were no specters nothing except the dank metal walls and the worn machinery he could have sworn he felt the grating shudder as if the engines looming above him were starting up Pitts shook his head to purge the Phantom's in his mind and methodically began searching the sides of the hull crawling between pumps and asbestos covered pipes that led into the darkness and nowhere he fell down a ladder into six feet of greasy water he struggled back up out of the seeming clutches of the dead and evil and ugly build his suit now black with oil out of breath he hung there a minute making a conscious effort to relax it was then he noticed an object dimly outlined in the farthest reach of the light beam a corroded aluminum canister about the size of a five gallon gas can was wired to a beam welded on the inner hull plates Pitt had set explosives on marine salvage projects and he quickly recognized the detonator unit attached to the bottom of the cannister an electrical wire trailed upward through the grating to the deck above sweat was pouring from his body but he was shivering from the cold he left the explosive charge where he found it and climbed back up the ladder then he began inspecting the engines and boilers there were no markings anywhere no manufacturer's name no inspectors stamped date where ever there had been a metal ID tag it was removed wherever there had been letters or numbers stamped into the metal they were filed away after probing endless nooks and crannies around the machinery he got lucky when he felt a small protrusion through his gloved hand it was a small metal plate partially hidden by grease under one of the boilers he rubbed away the grime and aimed the light on the indented surface it read pressure 220 pounds per square inch temperature 450 degrees Fahrenheit heating surface 5017 square feet manufactured by the alhambra iron and boiler company Charleston South Carolina serial number three eight eight seven four Pitt memorized the serial number and then made his way back to where he started he wearily sank to the deck and tried to rest while suffering from the cold dover returned in a little under an hour carrying an explosive canister under one arm as indifferently as if it were a jumbo can of peaches cursing fluently and often as he slipped on the oily deck he stopped and sat down heavily next to Pitt there's four more between here and the forepeak Dover said tiredly I found another one about 40 feet aft Pitt replied wonder why they didn't go off the timer must have screwed up timer the crew had to jump ship before the bottom was blown out trace the wires leading from the canisters and you'll find they all meet at a timing device hidden somewhere on the deck above when the crew realized something was wrong it must have been too late to reboard the ship or they were too scared it would go up in their faces is that it agreed so the old pilot town began her legendary drift a deserted ship in an empty sea how was a ship officially identified what's on your mind just curious Dover accepted that and stared up at the shadows of the engines well ID can be found most anywhere lifejackets lifeboats on the bow and stern the name is often bead welded now lining the painted letters this book is continued on disk three you disc three well ID can be found most anywhere lifejackets lifeboats on the bow and stern the name is often bead welded outlining the painted letters then you have the builders plates one on the exterior of the superstructure one in the engine room and oh yeah the ship's official number is burned into a beam around the outer base of the hatch covers I'll wager a month's pay that if you could dig the ship from under the mountain you'd find the hatch number burned off and the builders plate gone that leaves one in the engine room missing too I checked along with all the manufacturer's markings sounds devious said Dover quietly you're damn right Pitt replied abruptly there's more to the pilot town than a marine insurance ripoff I'm in no mood to solve mysteries now Dover said rising awkwardly to his feet I'm freezing starved and tired as hell my vote we head back Pitt looked and saw Dover was still clutching the cannister of explosives bringing that along evidence don't drop it it said with a sarcastic edge in his voice they climbed from the engine room and hurried through the ship's storerooms anxious to escape the damp blackness and reach daylight again suddenly Pitt stopped in his tracks Dover walking head down bumped into him why'd you stop you feel it before Dover could answer the deck beneath their feet trembled and the bulkheads creaked ominously what sounded like the muffled roar of a distant explosion rumbled closer and closer quickly followed by a tremendous shockwave the pilot town shuddered under the impact and her welded seams screeched as they split under enormous pressure the shock flung the two men violently against the steel bulkheads Pitt managed to remain on his feet but Dover unbalanced by his heavy burden crashed like a tree to the deck embracing the cannister with his arms and cushioning its fall with his body a grunt of pain passed his lips as he dislocated his shoulder and wrenched a knee he dazed idli struggled to a sitting position and looked up at Pitt what in God's name was that he gasped Augustine volcano Pitt said almost clinically it must have erupted Jesus what next pit helped the big man to his feet he could field over his arm tents through the heavy suit you hurt a little bent but I don't think anything's broken can you make a run for it I'm alright Dover lied through clenched teeth what about the evidence forget it Pitt said urgently let's get the hell out of here without another word they took off through the storerooms and into the narrow alleyway between the freshwater tanks pit slung his arm around Dover's waist and half dragged half carried him through the darkness pit thought the alleyway would never end his breath began to come in gasps and his heart pounded against his ribs he struggled to stay on his feet as the old pilot town shook and swayed from the Earth's tremors they reached cargo-hold number 4 and scrambled down the ladder he lost his grip and over fell to the deck the precious seconds lost manhandling Dover over to the opposite ladder seemed like years Pitt had barely set foot on the scaly rungs when there was a crack like thunder and something fell past him and struck the deck he threw the light beam up at that instant the hatch cover disintegrated and tons of rock and debris cascaded into the hold climb damn it climb he yelled at Dover his chest heaved and the blood roared in his ears with an inner strength he thrust Dover's 220 pounds up the ladder suddenly a voice shouted the light showed a figure leaning through the upper hatch his hands grabbing Dover and pulling him through into the aft hold Pitts instinctively knew it was Geordie know the burly little Italian had a keen sense of arriving at the right place at the right moment then Pitts was at the top and crawling into the hold containing the nerve agent the hatch cover was still intact because the sloping ground above was not as dense near the stern section when he reached the bottom of the ladder willing hands were helping Dover toward the afterdeck house and temporary safety Geordie no gripped Pitts arm we took casualties during the quake he said grimly how bad asked Pitt for injured mostly broken bones and one dead Geordie no hesitated and Pitney Mendoza one of the drums crushed her legs journée no explained his voice more solemn than pit had ever known it she suffered a compound fracture a bone splinter pierced her suit his words died the nerve agent leaked onto her skin pit finished a sense of helplessness and shock flooding through him Geordi no nodded we carried her outside pit found Julie Mendoza lying on the pilot town's Stern deck overhead a great cloud of volcanic ash rose into a blue sky and fortuitously drifted to the northward and away from the ship she lay alone and off to one side the uninjured people were attending to the living only the young officer from the catawba stood beside her and his entire body was arching convulsively as he was being violently sick into his air filter someone had removed her helmet her hair flared out on the rusty deck and glinted Orange under the Setting Sun her eyes were open and staring into nothingness the jaw jutting and rigid in what must have been indescribable agony the blood was hardening as it dried in Sun tinted copper rivers that had gushed from her gaping mouth nose and ears it had even seeped from around the edges of her eyes what little facial skin still showed was already turning a bluish black pits only emotion was cold rage it swelled up inside him as he knelt down beside her and struck the deck repeatedly with his fists it won't end here he snarled bitterly I won't let it end here chapter 11 Oscar Lucas stared moodily at his desktop everything depressed him the acid tasting coffee in a cold cup his cheaply furnished government office the long hours on his job for the first time since he became special agent in charge of the presidential detail he found himself longing for retirement cross-country skiing in Colorado building a mountain retreat with his own hands he shook his head to clear the fantasies sipped at a diet soft drink and studied the plans of the presidential yacht for perhaps the tenth time built in 1919 for a wealthy philadelphia businessman the eagle was purchased by the Department of Commerce in 1921 for presidential use since that time thirteen presidents had paced her decks Herbert Hoover tossed medicine balls while on board Roosevelt mixed martinis and discussed war strategy with Winston Churchill Harry Truman played poker and the piano John Kennedy celebrated his birthdays Lyndon Johnson entertained the British royal family and Richard Nixon hosted Leonid Brezhnev designed with an old straight up-and-down bow the mahogany trimmed yacht displaced a hundred tons and measured 110 feet in length with a beam of twenty feet her draft was 5 feet and she could slice the water at 14 knots the eagle was originally constructed with five master staterooms four baths and a large glass enclosed deck house used as a combination dining and living room a crew of 13 Coast Guardsmen manned the yacht during a cruise their quarters and the galley located forward Lucas went through the files on the crew rechecking their personal backgrounds family histories personality traits the results of psychological interviews he could find nothing that merited any suspicion he sat back and yawned his watch read 9:20 p.m. the Eagle had been tied up at not Vernon for three hours the president was a night owl and a late riser he would keep up his guests lucas was certain sitting around the deck house thrashing out government affairs with little thought given to sleep he twisted sideways and looked out the window a falling mist was a welcome sight the reduced visibility eliminated the chances of a sniper the greatest danger to a president's life lucas persuaded himself that he was chasing ghosts every detail that could be covered was covered if there was a threat its source and method eluded him the mist had not yet reached Mount Vernon the summer night still sparkled clear and the lights from nearby streets and farms danced on the water the river at this stretch widened to slightly over a mile with trees and shrubs lining its weeping banks a hundred yards from the shoreline a Coast Guard Cutter stood at anchor her bow pointing up River radar antenna in constant rotation the president was sitting in a lounge chair on the foredeck of the eagle earnestly promoting his Eastern European aid program to Marcus Larimer and Allen Moran suddenly he came to his feet and stepped to the railing his head tilted listening a small herd of cows were mooing in a nearby pasture he became momentarily absorbed the problems of the nation vanished and the country boy surfaced after several seconds he turned and sat down again sorry for the interruption he said with a broad smile for a minute there I was tempted to find a bucket and squeezes some fresh milk for breakfast the news media would have a field day with a picture of you milking a cow in the dead of night Larimer laughed better yet said Moran sarcastically you could sell the milk to the Russians for a fat profit not as far-fetched as it sounds said Margolin who was sitting off to one side milk and butter have all but disappeared from Moscow State food stores it's a fact mr. president said Larimer seriously the average Russian is only 200 calories a day from a starvation diet the pols and Hungarians are even worse off by hell our pigs eat better than they do exactly my point said the president and a fervent voice we cannot turn our backs on starving women and children simply because they live under communist domination their plight makes my aide plan all the more important to echo the humanitarian generosity of the American people think of the benefits such a program will bring in goodwill from the third world countries think of how such an act could inspire future generations the potential rewards are incalculable I beg to differ said Moran coldly in my mind what you propose is foolish a sucker play the billions of dollars they spend annually propping up their satellite countries have nearly wiped out their financial resources I'll take bets the money they save by your proposed bailout plan would go directly into their military budget perhaps but if their troubles continue unchecked the Soviets will become more dangerous to the US the president argued historically nations with deep economic problems have lashed out in foreign adventures like grabbing control of the Persian Gulf oil said Larimer a Gulf takeover is the threat they constantly dangle but they know damned well the Western nations would intervene with force to keep the lifeblood of their economies flowing no Markus their sights are set on a far easier target one that would open up their complete dominance of the Mediterranean where rumors eyebrows raised Turkey precisely the president answered bluntly but turkey is a member of NATO Moran protested yes but would France go to war over turkey would England or West Germany better yet ask yourselves if we would send American boys to die there anymore than we would in Afghanistan the truth is Turkey has few natural resources worth fighting over Soviet armor could sweep across the country to the Bosphorus in a few weeks and the West would only protest with words you're talking remote possibility said Moran not high probabilities I agree said Larimer in my opinion further Soviet expansionism on the face of their faltering system is extremely remote the president raised a hand to protest but this is far different Marcus any internal upheaval in Russia is certain to spill over her borders particularly in the Western Europe I'm not an isolationist mr. president God knows my record in the Senate shows otherwise but I for one am getting damn sick and tired of the United States being constantly twisted in the wind by the whims of the Europeans we've left more than our share of dead in their soil from two wars I say if the Russians want to eat the rest of Europe and let them choke on it and good riddance Larimer sat back satisfied he had gotten the words off his chest that he didn't dare utter in public though the president perfectly disagreed he couldn't help wondering how many grassroots Americans shared the same thoughts let's be realistic he said quietly you know and I know we cannot desert our allies and what about our constituents Moran jumped back in what do you call it when you take their tax dollars from a budget overburdened with deficit spending and use them to feed and support our enemies I call it the humane thing to do the president replied wearily he realized he was fighting a no-win war sorry mr. president Larimer said rising to his feet but I cannot with a clear conscience support your Eastern Bloc aid plan now if you'll excuse me I think I'll hit the sack me too Moran said yawning I can hardly keep my eyes open are you settled in alright ask the president yes thank you replied Moran if I haven't been seasick by now said Larimer where the half grin I should keep my supper till morning they bid their good nights and disappeared together down the stairs to their staterooms as soon as they were out of earshot of the president turned to Margolin what do you think Vince to be perfectly honest sir I think you're pissing up a rope you're saying it's hopeless let's look at another side to this Margolin began your plan calls for buying surplus grain and other agricultural products to give to the communist world for prices lower than our farmers could receive on the export market yet thanks to poor weather conditions during the last two years and the inflationary spiral in diesel fuel costs farms are going bankrupt at the highest rate since 1934 if you persist in handing out aid money I respectfully suggest you do it here not in Russia charity begins at home is that it what better place also you must consider the fact that your rapidly losing party support and getting murdered in the polls the president shook his head I can't remain mute while millions of men women and children die of starvation a Nobel stands but hardly practical the president's feet became shrouded with sadness don't you see he said staring out over the dark waters of the river if we can show that Marxism has failed no guerrilla movement anywhere in the world will be justified in using it as a battle cry for revolution which brings us to the final argument said Margolin the russians don't want our help as you know i've met with foreign minister Gromyko he told me in no uncertain terms that if Congress should pass your aid program many food shipments will be stopped at the borders still we must try margul inside softly to himself any argument was a waste of time the president could not be moved if you're tired the president said please don't hesitate to go to bed you don't have to stay awake just to keep me company I'm not really in the mood for sleep how about another brandy then sounds good the president pressed a call button beside his chair and a figure in the white coat of a steward appeared on deck yes mr. president what is your pleasure please bring the Vice President and me another brandy yes sir the steward turned to bring the order but the president held up his hand one moment sir you're not Jack Klausner the regular steward no mr. president I'm seaman first class Li Tong seaman klossner was relieved at 10 o'clock I'm on duty until tomorrow morning the president was one of the few politicians whose ego was attuned to people he spoke as graciously to an eight-year-old boy as he did to an 80 year old woman he genuinely enjoyed drawing strangers out calling them by their Christian names as if he'd known them for years your family Chinese Lee no sir Korean they emigrated to America in 1952 why did you join the Coast Guard I love of the sea I guess do you enjoy catering to old bureaucrats like me seaman Tong hesitated obviously uneasy well if I had my choice I'd rather be serving on an icebreaker I'm not sure I like coming in second to an icebreaker the president laughed good-naturedly remind me in the morning to put in a word to commandant Collins for a transfer we're old friends Thank You mr. president seamen tongue mumbled excitedly I'll get your Brandis right away just before Tung turned away he flashed a wide smile that revealed a large gap in the middle of his upper teeth chapter 12 a heavy fog crept over the Eagle smothering her whole and damp eerie stillness gradually the red warning lights of a radio antenna on the opposite shore blurred and disappeared somewhere overhead a gull shrieked but it was a muted ghostly sound impossible to tell where it came from the teak decks soon bled moisture and took on a dull Sheen under the mist veiled floodlight standing above the pilings of the old creaking pier anchored to the bank a small army of Secret Service agents stationed at strategic posts around the landscaped slope that gently rose toward George Washington's elegant colonial home guarded the nearly invisible yacht voice contact was kept by shortwave miniature radios so that both hands could be free at all times the agents wore earpiece receivers battery units on their belts and tiny microphones on their wrists every hour the agents changed posts moving on to the next pre-scheduled security area while their shift leader wander the grounds checking the efficiency of the surveillance network in a motor home parked in the drive beside the old manor-house agent black owls at scanning a row of television monitors another agent man the communications equipment while a third eye balled a series of warning lights wired to an intricate system of alarms spaced around the yacht you'd think the National Weather Service would give an accurate report ten miles from its forecast office blackout groused as he sipped his fourth coffee of the night I said light mist if this is light mist I'd like to know what in hell they call fog so thick you can dish it with a spoon the agent in charge of radio communications turned and lifted the earphones on his headset the chase boat says they can't see beyond their bow they request permission to come ashore and tie up can't say I blame them said black ow tell them affirmative he stood ends massaged the back of his neck then he patted the communications agent on the shoulder I'll take over the radio you get some sleep as advanced agent you should be bedded down yourself I'm not tired besides I can't see crap on the monitors anyway the agent looked up at a large digital clock on the wall zero 150 hours 10 minutes till the next post change black owl nodded and slid into the vacated chair he had no sooner settled the earphones on his head than a call came from the Coast Guard Cutter anchored near the yacht control this is River watch this is control black owl replied recognizing the voice of the cutters commander we're experiencing a problem with our scanning equipment what kind of problem a high-energy signal on the same frequency as our radar is fouling reception a look of concern crossed black Owls face could someone be jamming you I don't think so it looks like cross traffic the signal comes and goes as if messages are being transmitted I suspect that some neighborhood radio freak has plugged on to our frequency by accident do you read any contact boat traffic this time of night is nil answered the commander the only blip we've seen on the oscilloscope in the last two hours was from a city sanitation tug pushing trash barges out to sea what time did it go by didn't the blip merged with the river bank a few hundred yards upstream the tug skipper probably tied up to wait out the fog okay River watch keep me assessed of your radar problem will do control River watch out black howl set back and mentally calculated the potential hazards with River traffic at a standstill there was little danger of another ship colliding with the Eagle the Coast Guard cutters radar though operating intermittently was operating and any assault from the river side was ruled out because the absence of visibility made it next to impossible to home in on the yacht the fog it seemed was a blessing in disguise black owl glanced up at the clock it read one minute before the post change he quickly reread the security plan that listed the names of the agents the areas they were scheduled to patrol and the times he noted that agent Lyle Brock was due to stand post number seven the yacht itself while agent Carl Pulaski was slated for post number six which was the pier he pressed the transmit button and spoke into the tiny microphone attached to his headset attention all stations time zero to hundred hours moved your next post repeat move to the next post on your schedule then he changed frequencies and uttered the code name of the shift leader cutty sark this is control a veteran of fifteen years in the service agent Ed McGrath answered almost immediately cutty sark ear tell posts number six and seven to keep a sharp watch on the river they won't see much in this slop how bad is it around the dock area let's just say you should have issued us white canes with red tips do the best you can black owl said a light blinked and black owl cut transmission to McGrath and answered the incoming call control this is River Watch control whoever is screwing up our radar signal seems to be transmitting continuously now you read nothing ask black owl the geographic display on the oscilloscope is 40% blanked out instead of blips we receive a large wedge shape okay River watch let me pass the word to the special agent-in-charge maybe he can track the interference and stop any further transmission before he apprised Oscar Lucas at the white house of the radar problem black owl turned and gazed curiously at the television monitors they reflected no discernable image only vague shadows wavering in wraithlike undulation agent Carl Pulaski refix the molded ear plug of his Motorola HT 220 radio receiver and wiped the dampness from his Bismarck mustache 40 minutes into his watch on the pier he felt dampened downright miserable he wiped the moisture from his face and thought it odd that it felt oily his eyes wandered to the overhead floodlights they gave out a dim yellowish halo but the edges had a prismatic effect and displayed the colors of the rainbow from where he stood about midpoint on the 30-foot dock the Eagle was completely hidden by the oppressive mist not even her deck or mast lights were visible Pulaski walked over the weather-worn boards occasionally stopping and listening but all he heard was the gentle slapping of the water around the pilings and the soft hum of the yachts generators he was only a few steps from the end of the pier when the Eagle finally materialized from the gray tentacles of the fog he called softly to agent Wilde Rock who was manning post seven on board the boat hey Lyle can you hear me a voice replied slightly above a whisper what do you want how about a cup of coffee from the galley the next post changes in twenty minutes you can get a cup when you come on board and take my place I can't wait 20 minutes Pulaski protested mildly I'm already soaked to the bones tough you'll have to suffer Pulaski knew that Brock couldn't leave the desk under any circumstances but he goaded the other agent good-naturedly wait'll you want a favor from me speaking of favors I forgot where I go from here Pulaski gave a quizzical look at the figure in the shadows on the Eagles deck look at your diagram numb brain it got soggy and I can't read it host 8 is 50 yards down the bank Thanks if you want to know where post nine is it'll cost you a cup of coffee Pulaski said grinning screw you I remember that one later during the next post change the agents merely waved as they passed each other to indistinct forms in the mist ed McGrath could not recall having seen fog this thick he sniffed the air trying to identify the strange aroma that hung everywhere and finally wrote it off as a common oily smell somewhere in the mist he heard a dog bark he paused cocking one ear it was not the baying of a hound in chase or the frightened yelps of but but the sharp Yap of a dog alert to an unfamiliar presence not too far away judging by the volume 75 maybe a hundred yards beyond the security perimeter McGrath estimated a potential assassin would have to be sick or brain damaged or both he thought to stumble blindly around a strange countryside in weather such as this already McGrath had tripped and fallen down walked into an unseen tree branch and scratched his cheek found himself lost three times and almost got himself shot when he accidentally walked onto a garden post before he could radio his approach The Barking stopped abruptly and McGrath figured a cat or some wild animal had set the dog off he reached a familiar bench beside a fork in a gravelled path and made his way toward the riverbank below the yacht he spoke into his lapel microphone post 8 coming up on you there was no reply McGrath stopped in his tracks Rock this is McGrath coming up on you still nothing Rock do you read me post number 8 was oddly quiet and McGrath began to feel uneasy moving very slowly one step at a time he cautiously closed on the guard area he called faintly through the mist his voice weirdly magnified by the heavy dampness silence was his only reply control this is cutty sark go ahead cutty sark came back black owls tired voice we're missing a man on post eight black owls tone sharpened considerably no sign of him none check the boat black owl said without hesitation I'll meet you there after I inform headquarters McGrath signed off and hurried along the bank to the dock post six coming up on you Aiken post six come ahead McGrath groped his way onto the dock and found agent John Aikens hulking figure under a floodlight have you seen Brock you kidding answered akin I haven't seen since the fog hit McGrath dog trotted along the dock repeating the call warning process by the time he reached the Eagle Pulaski had come around from the opposite deck to meet him I'm missing Brock he said tersely Polaski shrugged last I saw of him was about a half-hour ago when we changed posts okay stand here by the dockside I'm going to take a look below decks and keep an eye peeled for black owl he's on his way down from control when black OA lurched out into the damp morning the fog was thinning and he could see the faint glimmer of stars through the fading overcast above he steered his way from post to post breaking into a run along the pathway to the pier as the visibility improved fear smoldered in his stomach a dread that something was terribly wrong agents did not desert their posts without warning without reason when at last he leapt aboard the yacht the fog had disappeared as if by magic the Ruby lights of the radio antenna across the river sparkled in the newly cleared air he brushed by Pulaski and found McGrath sitting alone in the deck house staring trance-like into nothingness black owl froze McGrath's face was as pale as a white plaster death mask he stared with such horror in his eyes that black owl immediately feared the worst the president he demanded McGrath looked at him dully his mouth moving but no words coming out for Christ's sake is the president safe gone McGrath finally muttered what are you talking about the president the vice-president the crew everybody they're all gone you're talking crazy black all snapped true it's true McGrath said lifelessly see for yourself black owl tore down the steps of the nearest companion way and ran to the president's stateroom he threw open the door without knocking it was deserted the bed was still neatly made and there were no clothes in the closet no toilet articles in the bathroom his heart felt as if it were being squeezed between two blocks of ice as though in a nightmare he rushed from state room to state room everywhere it was the same even the crew's quarters lay in undisturbed emptiness the horror was real everyone on the yacht had vanished as though they had never been born part two the Eagle chapter 13 July 29 1989 Washington DC unlike actors in Motion Pictures who take forever to wake up and answer a ringing telephone in bed Ben Greenwald director of The Secret Service came instantly alert and snatched the receiver before the second ring Greenwald greetings said the familiar voice of Oscar Lucas sorry to wake you but I knew you were anxious to hear the score of the soccer game Greenwald tensed any Secret Service communication opening with the word greetings meant the beginning of an urgent top-secret report on a critical or grave situation the sentence that followed was meaningless a caution in case the telephone line might not be secure a real possibility since the Kissinger State Department had allowed the Russians to build their new embassy on a rise overlooking the city vastly increasing their telephone eavesdropping capacity ok Greenwald said trying to sound conversational who won you lost your bed that was another keyword indicating that the next statement was coming in coded double-talk Jasper college won Lucas continued Drinkwater tech nothing 3 of the Jasper players were sidelined for injuries the dire news exploded in greenwalls ears Jasper College was the code for a presidential abduction the reference to the sidelined players meant the next three men in succession were taken to it was a code that in Greenwald's wildest dreams he never thought he would hear there's no mistake he asked reading the answer none replied Lucas his tone like the thin edge of broken glass who else in the office pool knows the score only black owl McGrath and myself keep it that way to be on the safe side said Lucas I initiated an immediate assessment of the second string players and future rookies Greenwald instantly picked up on Lucas drift the wives and children of the missing parties were being located and protected along with the men next in line for the presidency he took a deep breath and quickly arranged his thoughts speed was essential even now if the Soviets were behind the president's kidnapping to gain an edge for a pre-emptive nuclear strike it was too late on the other hand with the top four men in American government effectively removed it hinted at a plot to overthrow the government there was no time left to be shackled by security Amen said Greenwald signaling Lucas that he was dropping the double-talk understood a sudden terrifying thought swept Greenwald mind the bagman he asked nervously gone with the rest oh dear God Greenwald agonized to himself silently disaster was piling on top of disaster bagman was the irreverent nickname for the field grade officer at the president's side day and night who carried the briefcase containing codes called release messages that could unleash the nation's 10,000 strategic nuclear warheads on pre-selected targets inside Soviet Russia the consequences of the ultra secret codes falling into alien hands were beyond any conceivable horror alert the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff he ordered then send a detail to pick up the secretaries of state and defense also the National Security Advisor and rushed them to the White House Situation Room anyone on the presidential staff okay bring in Dan Fossett but for now let's keep it a closed Club the fewer who know the man is missing until we can sort things out the better in that case Lucas said it might be wise to hold a meeting someplace besides the Situation Room the press constantly monitor the White House they'd be honest like locusts if the heads of state suddenly converged there at this time of morning sound thinking Greenwald replied he paused a moment then said make it the observatory the vice president's residence press cars are almost never in evidence there I'll have everyone on the premises as soon as possible Oscar yes very briefly what happened there was a slight hesitation and then Lucas said they all vanished from the presidential yacht I see said Greenwald heavily but it was clear he didn't Greenwald wasted no more time on talk he hung up and hurriedly dressed on the drive to the observatory his stomach twisted into knots a delayed reaction to the catastrophic news his vision blurred and he fought off an overwhelming urge to vomit he drove in a mental haze through the deserted streets of the capital except for an occasional delivery truck traffic was nearly non-existent and most of the traffic signals were simply blinking on a cautious yellow to late he saw a city street sweeper make a sudden u-turn from the right-hand gutter his windshield was abruptly filled with the bulky white painted vehicle in the cab the driver jumped sideways at the protesting scream of tires his eyes wide in the glare of Greenwald's headlights there was a metal tearing crunch and the splash of flying glass the hood bent double flew up and the steering wheel rammed into greenwalls chest crushing his rib cage Greenwald sat pinned to the seat as the water from the mangled radiator hissed and steamed over the car's engine his eyes were open as though staring in vague indifference at the abstract cracks on the shattered windshield Oscar Lucas stood in front of the corner fireplace in the living room of the vice president's mansion and described the presidential kidnapping every few seconds he glanced nervously at his watch wondering what was keeping Greenwald the five men seated around the room listened to him in undisguised astonishment Secretary of Defense Jesse Simmons clamped his teeth on the stem of an unlit meerschaum pipe he was dressed casually in a summer sport coat and slacks as was Dan Fossett and national security adviser Allan Mercier army general Clayton Metcalf was in uniform while Douglas Oates the Secretary of State sat fastidiously groomed in a dark suit and necktie Lucas came to the end of his briefing and waited for the barrage of questions he was certain would be fired instead there was a prolonged hush they just sat there numb and immobile Oates was the first to break the stunned silence good lord he gasped how could such a thing happen how could everyone on the yacht simply evaporate into thin air we don't know Lucas answered helplessly I haven't ordered an investigating team to the site yet for obvious security reasons then Greenwald slammed the lid on the affair until you gentlemen could be informed outside this room only three Secret Service personnel including Greenwald are privy to the facts there has to be a logical explanation zat Mercier the president's advisor on national security rose to his feet and paced the room 20 people were not whisked away by supernatural powers or aliens from outer space if and I make that a questionable if the president and the others are indeed missing from the eagle it has to be a highly organized conspiracy I assure you sir said Lucas staring directly into Mercier's eyes my deputy agent found the boat totally deserted you say the fog was thick mercier continued that's how agent black Howell described it could they have somehow penetrated your security network and driven away Lucas shook his head even if they managed to elude my security detail in the fog their movement would have been detected by the sensitive alarm systems we installed around the estate that leaves the river observed Jessie Simmons the Secretary of Defense was a taciturn man given to telegram like statements a leathery tan face was evidence of his weekends as an avid water skier suppose the Eagle was boarded from the water suppose they were forcibly removed to another boat Oates gave Simmons a dubious stare you make it sound as if Blackbeard the pirate was responsible agents were patrolling the darkened riverbanks Lucas explained no way passengers and crew could be subdued and carried off without a sound maybe they were drugged suggested dan Fossett a possibility admitted Lucas let's look at this head-on said Oates rather than speculate on how the abduction occurred I think we must concentrate on the reason and the force responsible before we can plan a response I agree said Simmons he turned to Metcalfe general any evidence the Russians are behind this as a time cushion to launch a first strike if that was the case answered Metcalfe their strategic rocket forces would have taken us out an hour ago they still might Metcalfe gave a slight negative tilt to his head nothing indicates they're in a state of readiness our Kremlin intelligence sources report no signs of increased activity in or around the 80 underground command posts in Moscow and our satellite surveillance shows no troop buildup along the eastern bloc border also president Antonov is on a state visit to Paris so much for World War three said Mercier with a look of relief we're not out of shallow water yet Fawcett said the officer carrying the codes designating nuclear strike sites is also gone not to worry on that score said Metcalfe smiling for the first time as soon as Lucas here alerted me to the situation I ordered the alphabetical code words changed what's to stop whoever has them from using the old code words to break the new ones for what purpose blackmail or maybe an insane attempt to hit the Russians first can't be done Metcalfe replied simply there are too many built-in safeguards my hell even the president couldn't launch our nuclear arsenal on his own in a fit of madness the order to start a war has to be transmitted through Secretary of Defense Simmons and the Joint Chiefs if any of us knew for certain the order was invalid we could counter manned it all right said Simmons we temporarily shelve a Soviet conspiracy or an act of war what are we left with damned little grunted Mercier Metcalfe looked squarely at Oates as things stand mr. secretary you are the constitutionally designated successor he's right said Simmons until the president Margolin Larimer and Moran are found alive you're the Acting President for several seconds there was no sound in the library Oates is flamboyant and forceful facial exterior cracked ever so slightly and he seemed to suddenly aged five years then just as suddenly he regained control and his eyes took on a cold visceral expression the first thing we must do he said in a level tone is to act as though nothing has happened Mercier tilted back and gazed unseeing at the high ceiling granted we can't hold a press conference and announced to the world we've misplaced the nation's four ranking leaders I don't care to think about the repercussions when the word leaks but we can't hide the facts from the press for more than a few hours and we have to consider the likelihood the people responsible for the kidnapping will give us an ultimatum or make a ransom demand through the news media Simmons added Metcalfe looked doubtful my guess is that when contact is made it will come without a trumpet blast - secretary Oates and any demand will be for something besides money I can't fault your thinking general that Oates but our top priority is still to conceal the facts and stall for as long as it takes to find the president Mercier had the look of an atheist buttonholed by a Hari Krishna at an airport Lincoln said it you can't fool all the people all the time it won't be easy keeping the president and vice president out of the public eye for more than a day at most and you can't simply erase Larimer and moran they're too highly visible around washington then there is the Eagles crew to consider what do you tell their families Jack Sutton Fawcett blurted as though he was having a revelation who simmons demanded the actor the spitting image of the president who plays him in TV commercials and on comedy shows Oates sat up I think I see your point the resemblance is remarkable but we'd never get away with it not on a face-to-face basis Sutton's voice is far from perfect imitation and anyone who was in clothes daily contact with the president would see through the deception yes but from 30 feet his own wife couldn't tell the difference where is this leading Metcalfe asked Fawcett the White House chief of staff took his cue press secretary Thompson can hand out of press release saying the president is taking a working vacation on his New Mexico farm to study congressional reaction to his eastern aid program the White House press corps will be kept on the sidelines a situation that's not uncommon when the president isn't in the mood to answer questions all they'd see from a roped off distance would be him in this case Sutton the actor entering the helicopter for the flight to Andrews Air Force Base for departure in Air Force one they could follow on a later plane of course but be denied entry onto the farm itself why not have a phony vice president go with Sutton Mercier suggested both men can't fly on the same plane Lucas reminded him okay send him on a plane leaving at night Mercier persisted not much news coverage is given to Marga Lenz movements no one would notice a stand-in or care added Oates alluding to the public apathy toward vice presidents I can handle the details from the White House and offered Fawcett to down said Simmons now what about Larimer and Moran this is an odd-numbered year Mercier said warming up to the scheme Congress recesses for the entire month of August only two days away our one slice of luck why not invent a mutual fishing trip or a junket to some out-of-the-way resort Simmons shook his head scratch the fishing trip why Simmons gave a tight smile because it's known all over Capitol Hill that Moran and Larimer relate like syrup and vinegar no matter a fishing hole conference to discuss foreign relations sounds logical said Oates I'll write up the memorandum from the State Department in what do you tell their office staffs this is Saturday we've got two days grace to iron out the bugs Simmons began making notes on a pad for down that leaves the Eagles crew I think I can come up with a convenient cover offered Metcalfe I'll work through the Coast Guard commandant the cruise families can be told the yacht was ordered on an unscheduled cruise for a top-secret military meeting no further details need be given Oates stared around the room at his companions if there are no further questions who else do we let in on the hoax queried Fawcett a poor choice of words dance at Oates let's call it a distraction it goes without saying said Metcalf that Emmett of the FBI will have to handle the domestic end of the investigation and of course Brogan of CIA must be called in to check out the international conspiracy angle you've just touched on an ungodly thought general said Simmons sir suppose the president and the rest have already been spirited out of the country Simmons speculation brought no immediate response it was a grim possibility none of them had dared consider with the president beyond reach of their vast internal resources therein stative effectiveness would be cut by 80% they could also be dead oat said in a controlled voice but will operate on the premise there alive and held somewhere in the United States Lucas and I will brief Emmett and Brogan Fawcett volunteered there was a knock on the door a Secret Service agent entered walked over to Lucas and spoke softly in his ear Lucas eyebrows arched upward and he paled slightly then the agent retreated from the room closing the door behind him oat stared at Lucas questioningly a new development Oscar then Greenwald Lucas answered vacantly he was killed thirty minutes ago his car struck a city maintenance vehicle oat wasted no words of sympathy with the powers temporarily vested in me I named you as the new director of the Secret Service Lucas visibly recoiled no please I don't think I can doesn't make sense to select somebody else Oates interrupted him like it or not Oscar you're the only man who can be named for the job somehow it doesn't seem right to be promoted for losing the men I'm sworn to protect said Lucas dejectedly blame me said fawcett I forced the yacht crews on you before your people were fully prepared there's no time for self recrimination note said sharply we each have our jobs cut out for us I suggest we get to work when should we meet again Simmons asked Oates looked at his watch four hours from now he replied the White House Situation Room we're flirting with exposure if everyone shows up at the same time said Fawcett there's an underground utility tunnel running from the basement of the Treasury Building beneath the street to the White House Lucas explained perhaps some of you gentlemen could enter unseen from that direction good idea Metcalfe agreed we can arrive at the Treasury building an unmarked government cars cross under the street through the tunnel and take the elevator to the Situation Room that settles it then note said rising from his chair if any of you ever dreamed of going on the stage this is your big chance and I don't have to tell you if the show's a flop we just may bring down the whole country along with the curtain chapter 14 after the brisk air of Alaska the hot humid atmosphere of South Carolina felt like the inside of a sauna pit made a phone call and then rented a car at the Charleston Airport he drove south on highway 52 toward the city and took the turnoff for the sprawling Naval Base about a mile after turning right on Spruill Avenue he came to a large red brick building with an ancient rusting sign perched on the roof advertising the alhambra iron and boiler company he parked the car and walked under a high iron archway with the date 1861 suspended on a panel the reception area took him by surprise the furnishings were ultra-modern chrome was everywhere he felt as though he'd walked onto a photo layout from Architectural Digest a sweet young thing looked up first an ever so small smile and said can I help you sir Pitt stared into the mossy green magnolias eyes and imagined her as a former homecoming queen I called from the airport and set an appointment with mr. Hundley my name is Pitt the recognition was automatic and the smile didn't alter so much as a millimeter yes he's expecting you please come this way she led him into an office decorated entirely in brown tones Pitt was suddenly overwhelmed with the sensation of drowning in oatmeal a rotund smiling little man rose from behind an enormous kidney-shaped desk and extended his hand mr. Pitt I'm Charley Hundley mr. Hundley Pitt said shaking hands thank you for seeing me not at all your phone call ticked my curiosity you're the first person to ask about our boiler making capacity and golly must be 40 years you're out of the business Evans yes gave it up during the summer of 51 end of an era you might say my great-granddaddy rolled armored plate for the Confederate ironclad fleet after World War two my daddy figured the time had come for a change he retooled the plant and started fabricating metal furniture as things turned out it was a shrewd decision did you by chance save any of your old production records Pitt asked unlike you Yankee who throw out everything Hundley said with a sly smile we southern boys hold on to everything including our women pit laughed politely and didn't bother asking how his California upbringing had qualified him as a Yankee after your call Hundley continued I ran a search in our file storage room you didn't give me a date but since we only supplied 40 water-tube boilers with the specifications you mentioned for Liberty ships I found the invoice listing the serial number in question in 15 minutes unfortunately I can't tell you what you don't already know was the boiler shipped to the company that supplied the engines or direct to the shipyard for installation Hundley picked up the yellowing paper from his desk and studied it for a moment it says here we shipped to the Georgia shipbuilding corporation in Savannah on June 14 1943 Hundley picked up another piece of paper here's a report from one of our men who inspected the boilers after they were installed in the ship and connected to the engines all that is mentioned of any interest is the name of the ship yes I have that said that it was the pilot town a strange expression of puzzlement crossed Hanley's face as he reached uh deed the inspectors report we must be talking about two different ships Pitt looked at him could there be a mistake not unless you wrote down the wrong serial number I was careful Pitt replied firmly then I don't know what to tell you said Hundley passing the paper across the desk but according to the inspection report boiler number three eight eight seven four went into a Liberty Ship called the San Marino chapter fifteen congresswoman Lauren Smith was waiting on the concourse when Pitts flight from Charleston arrived at Washington's National Airport she waved to get his attention and he smiled the gesture was unnecessary she was an easy woman to spot Lauren stood tall slightly over five foot eight her cinnamon hair was long but layered around the face which accented her prominent cheekbones and deep violet eyes she was dressed in a pink cotton knit tunic style dress with scoop neck and long sleeves that were rolled up for an elegant touch Chinese patterned sash around her waist she possessed an air of breezy sophistication yet underneath one could sense a tomboyish daring a representative elected from the state of Colorado Lauren was serving her second term she loved her job it was her life feminine and soft-spoken she could be an Unleashed Tiger on the floor of Congress when she tackled an issue her colleagues respected her for her shrewdness as well as her beauty she was a private woman shunning the parties and dinners unless they were politically necessary her only outside activity was an on-again off-again affair with Pitt she approached him and kissed him lightly on the mouth welcome home Voyager he put his arm around her and they set off toward the baggage claim thank you for meeting me I borrowed one of your cars I hope you don't mind the Pens he said which one my favorite the blue Talbot Lago the coupe a with the sow cheek coachwork you have expensive tastes that's the $200,000 car oh dear I hope it doesn't get dented in the parking lot Pitt gave her a solemn look if it does the sovereign state of Colorado will have a vacant seat in Congress she clutched his arm and laughed you think more of your cars than you do your women cars never nag and complain I can think of a few other things they never do she said with a girlish smile they threaded their way through the crowded terminal and waited at the baggage claim finally the conveyor belt hummed into motion and pitch retrieved his two suitcases they passed outside into a grey sticky morning and found the blue 1948 Talbot Largo sitting peacefully under the watchful eye of an airport security guard Pitts relaxed in the passenger's seat as Lauren slipped behind the wheel a rakish car was a right-hand drive and it always struck Pitts odd to sit and stare out the left side of the windshield at the approaching traffic with nothing to do did you call Perlmutter he asked about an hour before you landed she answered he was quite agreeable for someone who was jolted out of a sound sleep he said he'd go through his library for data on the ships you asked about if anyone know ships it's same Julian Perlmutter he sounds like a character over the phone an understatement wait'll you meet him pitch watched the passing scenery for a few moments without speaking he stared at the Potomac River as lauren drove north along the George Washington Memorial Parkway and cut over the Francis Scott Key Bridge to Georgetown Pitt was not fond of Georgetown ponyville he called it the drab brick townhouses looked like they had all been popped from the same biscuit mold Lauren steered the talbot on to end street parked cars jammed the curbs trash lay in the gutters little of the sidewalk shrubbery was trimmed and yet it was perhaps four blocks of the most overpriced real estate in the country tiny houses bit mused filled with gigantic egos generously coated with mega doses of forged veneer lauren squeezed into a vacant parking space and turned off the ignition they locked the car and walked between two vine encrusted homes to a carriage house in the rear before pitt could lift a bronze knocker shaped like a ship's anchor the door was thrown open by a great monster of a man who mashed the scales at nearly 400 pounds a sky blue eyes twinkled and his crimson face was mostly hidden under a thick forest of gray hair and beard except for his small tulip nose he looked like Santa Claus gone to seed Dirk he fairly boomed where have you been hiding st. Julien Perlmutter was dressed in purple silk pajamas under a red and gold Paisley robe he encompassed Pitt with his chunky arms and lifted him off the doorstep in a bear hug without a hint of strain Laurens eyes widened in astonishment she'd never met Perlmutter in person and wasn't prepared you kiss me Julian said Pitt sternly and I'll kick you in the crotch Perlmutter gave a belly laugh and released Pitts 180 pounds come in come in I've made breakfast you must be starved after your travels it introduced Lauren Perlmutter kissed her hand with a continental flourish and then led them into a huge combination living room bedroom and study shelves supporting the weight of thousands of books sagged from floor to ceiling on every wall there were books on tables books on chairs they were even stacked on a king-sized waterbed that rippled in an alcove perlmutter possessed what was acknowledged by experts as the finest collection of historical ship literature ever assembled at least 20 marine museums were constantly angling to have it donated to their libraries after a lifetime of excess calories sent him to a mortuary emotions pit and Loren to sit at a hatch cover table laid with an elegant silver and China service bearing the emblem of a French transatlantic steamship line it's also lovely said Lauren admiring Li from the famous French liner Normandy Perlmutter explained found it all in a warehouse where it had been packed away since before the ship burned and rolled over in New York Harbor he served them a German breakfast beginning with schnapps thin-sliced Westphalian ham garnished with pickles and accompanied by pumpernickel bread or a side dish he'd whipped up potato dumplings with a prune butter filling tastes marvelous said Lauren I love eating something besides eggs and bacon for a change I'm addicted to German cooking Perlmutter laughed patting his ample stomach lots more substance than that candy-ass French fare which is nothing but an exotic way to prepare garbage did you find any information on the San Marino and the Pilate town asked Pitt turning the conversation to the subject on his mind yes as a matter of fact I did Perlmutter hefted his bulk from the table and soon returned with a large dusty volume on Liberty ships he donned a pair of reading glasses and turned to a marked page here we are the San Marino launched by the Georgia shipbuilding corporation July of 1943 ol number two three five six classed as a cargo carrier sailed Atlantic convoys until the end of the war damaged by submarine torpedo from the u 573 reached Liverpool under her own power and was repaired sold after the war to the Bristol steamship company of Bristol England sold 1956 to the Manx Steamship Company of New York Panamanian registry vanished with all hands North Pacific 1966 so that was the end of her maybe maybe not said Perlmutter there's a postscript I found a report in another reference source about three years after the ship was posted missing a mr. Rodney Dewhurst who was a marine insurance underwriter for the Lloyds office in Singapore noticed his ship moored in the harbor that struck him as vaguely familiar there was an unusual design to the cargo booms one he'd seen on only one other Liberty class ship he managed to talk his way on board and after a brief search smelled a rat unfortunately it was a holiday and it took him several hours to round up the harbor authorities and convinced them to arrest the ship in Port and hold it for an investigation by the time they reached the dock the vessel was long gone steaming somewhere out to sea a check of custom records showed her to be the belle chasse Korean registry owned by the so son trading company of Incheon Korea her next destination was Seattle Dewhurst cabled an alert to the Seattle Harbor police but the Belle Chasse never arrived why was Dewhurst suspicious of her Pitts asked he had inspected the San Marino before underwriting the insurance on her and was dead certain she and the Bell shots were one in the same surely the Belle Chasse turned up in another port Lauren asked Perlmutter shook his head she faded from the records until two years later when she was reported scrapped in Busan Korea he paused and looked across the table does any of this help you it took another swallow of the schnapps that's the problem I don't know he went on to briefly relate the discovery of the pilot town but omitted any mention of the nerve gas cargo he described finding the serial number on the ship's boiler and running a check on it in Charleston so the old pilot town's been tracked down at last Perlmutter sighed wistfully she wanders the sea no more but her discovery opened a new can of worms bit said why was she carrying a boiler that was recorded by the manufacturer as installed in the San Marino it doesn't add up both ships were probably constructed on adjoining slip waise and launched about the same time the on-site inspector must have been confused he simply wrote up the boiler is placed in the wrong hole I hate to spoil your black mood said perlmutter but you may be wrong isn't there a connection between the two ships Perlmutter gave Pitt a scholarly gaze over the tops of his glasses yes but not what you think he turned to the book again and began reading aloud the Liberty Ship Bart Pulver later the wrost ena and pilot town launched by Astoria iron and steel company Portland Oregon in November of 1942 she was built on the west coast pitt interrupted in surprise about 2500 miles from savannah as the crow flies Perlmutter replied indirectly and nine months earlier than the San Marino he turned to Lauren would you like some coffee dear lady Lauren stood up you two keep talking I'll get it it's espresso I know how to operate the machine Perlmutter looked at Pitts and gave a jolly wink she's a winner Pitts nodded and continued it's not logical at Charleston Boilermaker would ship across the country to Oregon with a Savannah shipyard only 90 miles away not logical at all Perlmutter agreed what else do you have on the pilot town Perlmutter read on hole number 793 also classed as a cargo carrier sold after the war to the cassandra' phosphate company limited of Athens Greek registry ran aground with a cargo of phosphates off Jamaica June of 1954 refloated four months later sold 1962 to the sews on trading company Incheon Korea Pitt finished our first connection Lauren returned with a tray of small cups and passed the espresso coffee around the table this is indeed a treat said Perlmutter gallantly I've never been waited on by a member of Congress before I hope I didn't make it too strong Lauren said testing the brew and making a face a little mud on the bottom sharpens a woolly mind Perlmutter reassured her philosophically getting back to the pilot town pit said what happened to her after 1962 no other entry is shown until 1979 when she's listed as sunk during a storm in the Northern Pacific with All Hands after that she became something of a co celeb by reappearing on a number of occasions along the Alaskan coast then she went missing in the same area of the sea as the San Marino said it thoughtfully another possible tie-in you're grabbing it bubbles said Lauren I can't see where any of this is taking you I'm with her Perlmutter nodded there's no concrete pattern I think there is Pitt said confidently what began as a cheap insurance fraud is unraveling into a cover-up of far greater proportions why your interest in this Perlmutter asked staring pit in the eyes its gaze was distant I can't tell you a classified government investigation maybe I'm on my own in this one but it's related to a most secret project Perlmutter gave in good-naturedly okay old friends no more prying questions he helped himself to another dumpling if you suspect the ship buried under the volcano is the San Marino and not the pilot town where do you go from here Incheon Korea ass Osan trading company might hold the key don't waste your time the Trading Company is most certainly a false front a name on a registry certificate as is the case with most shipping companies all trace of ownership ends at an obscure post-office box if I were you I'd give it up as a lost cause you'd never make a football coach Pitt said with a laugh you're halftime locker room speech would discourage your team into throwing away a 20-point lead another glass of schnapps if you please said Perlmutter and a grumbling tone holding out his glasses Pitt poured tell you what I'll do two of my corresponding friends on nautical research are Koreans I'll have them check out sews on trading for you and the Pusan shipyards for any records covering the scrapping of the bell Shas all right I'll throw that in too I'm grateful for your help no guarantees I don't expect any what's your next move send out press releases Lauren looked up puzzled sent what press releases Pitt answered casually to announce the discovery of both the San Marino and the pilot town and described numa's plans for inspecting the wrecks when did you dream up that foolish stunt Lauren asked about ten seconds ago Perlmutter gave Pitt the stare of a psychiatrist about to commit a hopeless mental case I fail to see the purpose no one in the world is immune from curiosity Pitt exclaimed with a devious glint and his green eyes somebody from the parent company that owned those ships will step from behind the Shroud of corporate anonymity to check the story and when they do I'll have their ass chapter 16 when Oates entered the White House Situation Room the men seated around the conference table came to their feet it was a sign of respect for the man who now shouldered the vast problems of the nation's uncertain future the responsibility for the far-reaching decisions of the next few days and perhaps longer would be his alone there were some in the room who had mistrusted his cold aloofness his cultivated holy image they now cast off personal dislike and rallied to his side he took the chair at the head of the table he motioned to the others to sit and turned to Sam Emmett the gruff spoken chief of the FBI and Martin Brogan the urbane intellectual director of the CIA have you gentlemen been fully briefed Emmett nodded toward Fawcett seated at the tables other end dan has described the situation either have you got anything on this Brogan shook his head slowly off the top of my head I can't recall hearing any indications or rumors from our intelligence sources pointing to an operation of this magnitude but that doesn't mean we don't have something that was misinterpreted I'm in pretty much the same boat as Martin said Emmett it's beyond comprehension that a presidential abduction could slip through the bureau's fingers without even a vague clue Oates his next question was put to brogan do we have any intelligence that might lead us to suspect the Russians Soviet president Antonov doesn't consider our president half the threat he did Reagan he'd be risking a massive confrontation if it ever leaked to the American public his government was involved you could compare it to striking a hornet's nest with a stick I can't see what if any gains the Russians would net what's your gut reaction Sam Oates ask Emmett could this be terrorists inspired to elaborate this operation took an immense amount of planning and money the ingenuity is incredible it goes far beyond the capabilities of any terrorist organization any theories asked Oates addressing the table I can think of at least four Arab leaders who might have a motive for blackmailing the u.s. said general Metcalf and Qaddafi of Libya heads the list they certainly have the financial resources said defense secretary Simmons but hardly the sophistication Brogan added Allen Mercier the National Security Advisor motioned with his hand to speak in my estimation the conspiracy is of domestic origin rather than foreign what's your reasoning Oates asked our land and space listening systems monitor every telephone and radio transmission around the world and it's no secret to everyone present that our new tenth generation computers can break any code the Russians or our allies devise it stands to reason that an intricate operation of this size would require a flow of international message traffic leading up to the act and a report of success afterwards Mercier paused to make his point our analysts have not intercepted a foreign communication that suggests the flattest connection with the disappearance Simmons sucked noisily on his pipe I think Allen makes a good case okay okay said foreign blackmail rates a low score so what are we looking at from the domestic angle Dan Fossett who had previously been silent spoke up it may sound far-fetched but we can't eliminate a corporate plot to overthrow the government Oates leaned back and straightened his shoulders maybe not as far-fetched as we think this book is continued on disk for you disc 4 oats leaned back and straightened his shoulders maybe not as far-fetched as we think the president went after the financial institutions and the multinational conglomerates with a vengeance his tax programs took a hell of a bite out of their profits they're pumping money into the opposition party's campaign coffers faster than their banks can print the checks I warned him about grandstanding on the issue of helping the poor by taxing the rich Fawcett said but he refused to listen he a lien ated the nation's businessmen as well as the working middle class politicians just can't seem to get it into their heads that a vast number of American families with a working wife are in a 50% tax bracket the president has powerful enemies mercier conceded however it's inconceivable to me that any corporate empire could steal away the president and congressional leaders without it's leaking to a law enforcement agency I agree and it said too many people had to be in on it somebody would have gotten cold feet and spilled the scheme I think we'd better call a halt to speculation said Oates let's get back on the track the first step is to launch a massive investigation while keeping up a business-as-usual front use whatever cover story you feel is plausible if at all possible don't even let your key people in on this what about a central command post during the investigation EMA tasks will continue to gather here every eight hours to assess incoming evidence and coordinate efforts between your respective investigative agencies Simmons pushed forward in his chair I have a problem I'm scheduled to fly to Cairo this afternoon to confer with Egypt's Minister of Defense by all means go oats replied keep up normal appearances general Metcalfe can cover for you at the Pentagon Emmit shifted in his chair I'm supposed to speak before a law class at Princeton tomorrow morning oats pondered a moment claim you have the flu and can't make it he turned to Lucas Oscar if you'll forgive me for saying so you're the most expendable substitute for Sam certainly no one would suspect the president kidnapping if the new director of The Secret Service can take time out to give a speech Lucas nodded I'll be there good Oates looked around the table everybody plan on being back here at two o'clock maybe we'll know something by then I've already sent a crack lab team over to the yacht Emmet volunteered with luck they'll turn up some solid leads let's pray they do Oates his shoulders sagged and he appeared to stare through the tabletop my god he muttered quietly is this any way to run a government chapter 17 black owl stood on the dock and watched as a team of FBI agents swarmed over the Eagle they were an efficient lot he observed each man was a specialist in his particular field of scientific detection they went about their job of scrutinizing the yacht from bilge to radio mast with a minimum of conversation a constant parade of them crossed the dock two vans parked along the shore removing furniture carpeting anything that wasn't screwed down and a considerable amount that was each item was carefully wrapped in a plastic covering and inventoried more agents arrived expanding the search for a mile around the first president's estate examining every square inch of ground the trees and shrubbery in the water beside the yacht divers scoured the muddy bottom the agent in charge noticed black owl rubbernecking beside the loading ramp and came over you got permission to be in the area he asked black owl showed his ID without answering what brings the Secret Service to Mount Vernon on a weekend practice mission black owl replied conversationally how about the FBI same thing the director must have thought we were getting lazy so he dreamed up a top priority exercise looking for anything in particular black I'll ask painting in different interest whatever we can determine about the last people who were on board identification through fingerprints where they came from you know before black owl could reply Ed McGrath stepped onto the dock from the gravel path his forehead was listening in sweat and his face was flushed black owl guessed he had been running excuse me George he panted between intakes of breath you got a minute sure black owl waved to the FBI agent nice talking to you same to you as soon as they were out of earshot black owl asked softly what's going down ed the FBI guys found something you should see we're about a hundred fifty yards upriver hidden away in trees I'll show you McGrath led him along a path that bordered the river when it curved toward the outer estate buildings they stayed in a straight line across a manicured lawn then they climbed a rail fence into the unkempt undergrowth on the other side working their way into a dense thicket they suddenly came upon two FBI investigators who were hunkered down studying two large tanks connected to what looked like electrical generators what in hell are these things black owl demanded without a greeting one of the men looked up their father's black owl stared puzzled then his eyes widened foggers he blurted out machines that make fog yeah that's right fog generators the Navy used to mount them on destroyers during World War two for making smoke screens

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Length: 219min 24sec (13164 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 14 2020