Shadow Zone (36 page)

“Not on your subs, but I can wing it. You’ll remember I have a certain eclectic background in submarines.” His brow knitted in a thoughtful frown. “That may still not be enough. I wish we knew how many subs Gadaire was able to put down there. I suppose we could draft the Navy pilots who are delivering the subs.”

“I won’t draft them. They’re military, and they have no stake in this.”

“When India and their neighbors go to war over India’s destroyed coastal waters, they might have a big stake.”

She shook her head. “I won’t trick them as I did AquaCorp. The only thing I can do is explain and hope for volunteers. But first I have to get my own guys with the program.” She gazed out at the water. “Gadaire will be on that supply ship, won’t he?”

“I can’t imagine him letting anyone else head the operation. It’s too important to him.”

“So close. Maybe we could strike at him and avoid having to go after those harvesters.”

He shook his head. “Not unless we could take him unaware. And then we’d have to get rid of those subs anyway because Gadaire could order them to surface and turn them loose on us.” He shrugged. “I have a few ideas on how to take Gadaire out. But now we have to concentrate on stopping them from harvesting that TK44 alga. We don’t know how much he’s siphoning off and immediately shipping out to hit that village in India.”

She nodded. “I guess I knew that. I was just hoping.” She turned toward Matthew. “What about it, Matthew? I told you on the phone what the stakes were in this. Are you and Kyle going to be on board with it?”

“What about these new weapons systems that have been installed?” Kyle asked. “None of us have used them before.”

“In a way, you have. They’re based on the motion-control gloves that we use for the other functions. I had Matthew jury-rig a weapons simulator setup downstairs with the gloves and personal computers. Is it done, Matthew?”

He nodded. “But very crude, Hannah. I had to work fast.”

“I’ll look it over. While we wait for the subs to get here, we can get in as much practice as we can.” She gazed soberly at Matthew and Kyle. “No pressure. AquaCorp is going to be ready to toss all of us into the brig when they find out about this. If you want to opt out, I’ll understand.”

“I’m in,” Matthew said immediately. He smiled. “Sounds like fun.”

“I’ll do it,” Kyle said slowly. “If I can make heads or tails of the weapons system.”

“Thank you.” Hannah checked her watch. It was only noon, but it seemed much later. “I don’t know how much time we’ll have. Get on those simulators.” She gazed soberly after them as Matthew moved away. “I’m scared,” she told Kirov. “I love those guys. What the hell am I getting them into?”

“You’re saving the planet. Feeling responsible? Welcome to the club.” He headed for the door. “Come on, you don’t have time to worry and bite your nails. Show me that mock-up of the weapons simulator.”

The minisubs had still not arrived an hour later.

“Where
are
they?” Hannah said, in frustration. “Maybe I should call Ebersole.”

“I wouldn’t,” Kirov said.

“What do you mean? Gadaire is
out
there. Captain Danbury got a report from the man he sent out to do a search that he’d sighted an unidentified vessel clear on the far side of the Marinth site. He couldn’t get close, but it definitely wasn’t a minisub. He said what he might have seen was the top deck of a regular submarine. One minute it was there, the next it was gone.” She shook her head. “We have to get him while we can, dammit.”

“We will. Just don’t be in such a big hurry. We may need the extra time.”

Her gaze flew to his face. What she saw there caused her eyes to narrow. “You’ve been very quiet for the last hour. What are you up to?”

“I’ve been thinking about the prospect of your being thrown into jail, and I decided that I believe we should do something to keep that from happening. It would be a major inconvenience for me to have to break you out. Bribes, weapons, getaway cars . . . No, let’s work around that.”

“I can hardly wait for you to tell me how.”

“We can’t get AquaCorp to authorize the possible damage to their subs, but we can cushion the resulting aftereffects . . . if it’s a government-sanctioned attack on Gadaire and his Somalian crews.”

“There’s no way we can get that sanction. It would take weeks to batter through all the red tape.”

He took out his phone. “Then we deal from the inside out.”

“What are you doing?”

“Baker’s been trying to find me. I’m going to let him do it.”

“You can’t let—”

“We’ve run out of options,” he said quietly. “And you’ve been so busy getting ready to fight Gadaire and snatch away that TK44 alga that you haven’t stopped to think what would happen if it doesn’t work. What if he manages to stave us off and sends that bundle of TK44 to India?”

“That won’t happen.”

“I hope not. But I believe in preparing for the worst-case scenario.” He added, “Because I’ve had experience that they do happen.”

Yes, Kirov had experienced the ultimate worst-case scenario. His whole crew dying of bacteria exposure on the
Silent Thunder.
His wife murdered.

“I know you have.”

“Then we have to send word to Chilika Lake, India, that something is going to happen. If they know the alga is going to be dispersed in the waters, maybe they can stop it.”

“It’s not likely. There’s no time.”

Kirov nodded. “I agree, but we’ve got to give them a chance to try.”

Hannah nodded. “I know. I wasn’t thinking. I don’t like believing in a worst-case scenario.” She drew a deep breath. “Okay, how do we do it?”

“Baker. Let him save Chilika.” He smiled. “And maybe our asses along with it.” He started to dial. “Let’s see how fast he can do it.”

“Damn you, Kirov.” Baker’s tone was harsh. “I’m supposed to believe anything you tell me? You were responsible for my agent being butchered in that alley. Mendoza was a good man.”

“We all seem to be confused about the concept of responsibility. You’re the one who sent Mendoza into Gadaire’s path. You knew what could happen.”

“I didn’t know that Gadaire knew where you were.”

“Really? Then your intelligence is very faulty.”

“Apparently, it is.” He paused. “You’re sure about Chilika Lake?”

“I’m sure. It’s in Orissa, India. Issue a warning.”

“I’ll have to think about it,” he said absently. “I don’t want to start a panic.”

“If you think about it, it’s going to be too late. We don’t know whether Gadaire is going to send an immediate supply of the TK44 alga to the area for seeding. It could be on its way now.”

“I won’t be pushed into doing something that could cause damage to those villagers.”

“Issue a warning,” Kirov repeated. “And contact the U.S. naval presence in the area and tell them that you’re going to need assistance to stop a terrorist threat at Marinth. I’ll need their cooperation.”

“Strange.” Baker’s voice was sour. “You haven’t been interested in cooperation before this.”

“Circumstances change.”

“I have my own plans for capturing Gadaire.”

“Alter your plans. Think about it this way: what would happen if you had information that Al Qaeda was trying to retrieve plutonium from a location on the ocean floor? Would you ignore it? Of course not. Because if you did, they might use it to build an atomic bomb. Gadaire is on the brink of creating a weapon just as devastating, and you know that he’ll sell it to anyone and everyone who will meet his price.”

Baker was silent for a moment. “What kind of naval support are you looking for?”

“Actually, it’s on its way.” Kirov told him about the Navy minisubs en route to the location. “And Hannah Bryson herself is here to supervise the operation. It’s the best equipment for the job, and she’s the best person to carry it out. But we also need the cooperation of those Navy minisub operators. Call the Navy Command and tell them that Lieutenant Dalgo is to be under our orders when the minisubs arrive at the
Copernicus.
”

“This is a lot to ask, Kirov. None of this jibes with our own intelligence.”

“If I’m wrong, and I hope I am, they’ll find that nothing is going on down there. And the Navy will have the services of Hannah Bryson to refine their newest fleet of minisubs, which is something she’s reluctant to do. But if I’m right, this is our best chance of stopping Gadaire.” Kirov paused. “Look, Baker, you can take full credit for any success and blame us if it goes wrong. You can’t lose.”

So it would appear, but I don’t like the idea of having so little control, Baker thought. And why hadn’t Anna told him about Gadaire’s plan? Either Gadaire didn’t trust her any more than Baker did and hadn’t told her, or she had been playing him for a fool and had jumped back in Gadaire’s camp. Either was possible.

“I’ve got to verify. I’ll call you back in five minutes.” He hung up the phone and thought for a minute. Then he called to Graham, his assistant, in the other room. “I’m going to make a call. I want you to verify where that cell phone is picking up at.”

“Right.”

Baker waited another minute and called Anna’s number.

She answered immediately. “I was just thinking about you, darling.”

“Were you? I haven’t seen you in two days.”

“Gadaire is being very suspicious. I have to be careful.”

“Have you found out anything more?”

“No, but I should know something soon. You know I’ll call you as soon as I do.” She laughed. “No, I’ll come to you. That’s always more entertaining for both of us. Isn’t it?”

“No one can deny that you have entertainment value. I can hardly wait.”

“Neither can I. Good-bye, darling.” She hung up.

Baker did not hang up in case Graham needed the line open.

She had sounded just as casual and seductive as she always did. Every word meant to convince and entice.

“I’ve got it,” Graham came out of the other room.

“Don’t tell me,” Baker said. “She’s not in Dublin. The Canary Islands?”

Graham shook his head. “Orissa, India.”

“Shit!”

He punched in Kirov’s number. “You’ll have your naval support. Stop Gadaire from harvesting that alga. Pronto.”

“I take it we’ve been verified. Have you called Naval Command?”

“Not yet.”

“Do it.” Kirov hung up.

Chilika Lake
Orissa, India

Anna gazed thoughtfully at the twinkling pinpoints of light along the shoreline. It was an exceptionally warm evening, but much more tolerable than the day’s blistering heat. She turned and watched the men take the last of the barrels of corn-teosinte chemical extract off the boat and pour it into the water. She should have probably contacted Baker before this, but once her decision had been made she was busy.

It was still okay. She had smoothed it over. By the time Baker realized what was happening, the final delivery would be made here.

She called Gadaire. “Fifty more barrels to be dumped, then I’m out of here. How close are you?”

“I’ve got another two hours of harvesting before I’ll even have enough in the nets to send to Orissa. I’ll send Ames to do the dump in Chilika Lake. But we’ll have to work for hours longer to completely strip the beds.”

“No trouble?”

“Not a sign of it. We spotted Hannah Bryson’s ship when we first arrived here. But they’re no longer sending down exploratory subs since AquaCorp pulled the plug, and we made sure we were far enough away so that they couldn’t see us. It just means having the subs operate at longer range.”

“Smart, darling. I’ll see you soon. If there are any problems, let me know.” She hung up.

But there weren’t going to be any problems.

Not for her. Never for her.

It was just a matter of eliminating the potential before they developed.

Hannah stood on the deck of the
Copernicus
next to Kirov and Lieutenant Dalgo, looking over the seven modified Conner-class subs being serviced in the water. Four of their pilots were now on board at the stern and waiting for their subs to be turned back over to them. Two others had been sent back to Las Palmas at Hannah’s request. When the subs had arrived only fifteen minutes before, Hannah had been impressed by their pilots’ skill as they executed maneuvers around the ship.

“It must be an amazing feeling to know that you created these.” Dalgo smiled, and Hannah instinctively smiled back. Dalgo was in his late thirties, but his boyish good looks and faint Southern accent gave him a disarming charm.

“I didn’t,” Hannah said. “They’re mostly mine, but there are design elements I never would have chosen. So it’s a strange feeling. Like waking up and discovering that all your children have been replaced by imposters who look almost, but not quite, like your sons and daughters.”

“Imposters trained to kill,” Kirov said.

Lieutenant Dalgo watched as two more minisubs were readied on deck near the crane. “I know the manufacturer and Navy brass think there are performance issues with these babies, but that’s only because they’ve seen how well your original versions handled. My guys love them exactly as they are. Anything you do to improve them is just icing on the cake.”

“They may like my subs, but I don’t get the impression that they’re happy about me and Matthew joining them in this operation.” Hannah glanced at Dalgo. “Are they?”

“They’re Navy guys, what do you expect? They know they’re the best underwater pilots in the world, and your guys are just as sure they are. And now my guys are going into what could be a combat situation with civilians calling the shots. You even insisted that two of my pilots stand down and permit you and your pilot, Matthew Jefferson, to use their subs.”

“Only two subs. Actually, I’d prefer having more of my people if I had them available. I was trying to be reasonable and compromise.”

“Tell that to the two pilots on their way back to Las Palmas.” He made a face. “Let’s just say that my officers are uneasy.”

“Aren’t we all?”

Dalgo motioned toward Kirov. “And they’re probably not crazy about a former Russian submarine commander being down there with them. You may think the Cold War is over, but it doesn’t feel that way to guys who are out there playing hide-and-seek with Russian subs every day.”