Vulcan's Forge (29 page)

“How have you been, Dimitri?” Lurbud asked, smiling for the first time since killing Suleiman.

“Bored in Minsk until I got a call to meet you here,” replied Demanov, kissing Lurbud in the traditional Russian way. “It is good to see you again, Evad.”

“And you too, old friend.”

Lurbud and Demanov had fought side by side in Afghanistan. They had shared more freezing nights and narrow escapes than either could remember.

Demanov had stayed in the field after Lurbud’s promotion and ended the war as the Soviet Union’s third most decorated soldier. Since that time, he had gone on to be an instructor of the Spetnez, Russia’s special forces, but had recently retired to a deteriorating existence. The stout, grizzled sergeant was a warrior in the truest sense of the word.

The safe room took up the entire top floor of the building and was designed to be used as a hideout for several weeks if necessary. There were beds for a dozen people. The kitchen shelves were crammed with canned food. Several huge drums were filled with water in case the building’s supply was ever cut off. Light streamed through the multiple windows, but was diffused by the layers of caked dust that made it impossible to see into the room from the street.

“I trust everyone got past customs without incident?” Lurbud asked.

“There were no problems, we all arrived before the airport was shut down,” Demanov responded.

Lurbud took a moment to scrutinize the troops Demanov had brought with him. They were all former Spetnez, men more loyal to Demanov than to their Motherland. Without exception, they were the finest trained commandos the Russian army had ever produced—their instruction went much further than Gregory Brezhnicov’s KGB guards in New York, who had been murdered the day before by an unknown assailant.

None of the men were especially large or hulking, but there was an air of competence about them which was chilling. Their minds and bodies had been sharpened to a rapier’s edge by endless training and actual combat experience.

Though they never admitted it, both the United States and Russia “lent” some of their Special Forces troops to various war-ravaged nations so the men could gain practical understanding of battlefield operations. It wouldn’t shock Lurbud to learn that these men had faced an American Ranger battalion on the hills above Sarajevo just a few years earlier.

“How did you assemble such a large force so quickly?”

“Army pay isn’t what it used to be, Evad. As you know, the country’s full of out of work soldiers. Finding commandos in Russia is easier than finding syphilis in a whorehouse.”

“Did you have time to brief them in Minsk?”

“I told them that they would be fighting with you. That was all they needed to hear.”

“Do you have any doubts about them, Dimitri?”

Demanov lit a cigarette and enjoyed the first few drags before answering. “In my career, I’ve trained Egyptians to fight Israelis, Angolans to fight South Africans, Nicaraguans to fight Salvadorans, and a dozen other groups to fight another dozen. I knew from the beginning that I was training a surrogate Russian army to fight a surrogate American one. Each time, I’d run across an American or two, ‘advisors,’ toting the most sophisticated weapons in their arsenal. But those contacts were fleeting. Just once I want to face the Americans in an open fight and prove once and for all who’s been pumped full of propaganda and who is the best. Now that I’m finally getting my chance, I can’t think of a better group of men to back me up—and that includes you, sir.”

Lurbud was impressed with Demanov’s speech and his old friend’s conviction. “It seems that since the last time I saw you, you’ve become a philosopher.”

“I haven’t met a soldier who wasn’t one,” Demanov said seriously. “So why is it that the shadowy Kerikov has paid us so handsomely to be here?”

“What were you told by him?”

“That he needed a trained commando team ready to fight in the United States as the last part of a very old operation.”

“Yes and no,” Lurbud said, taking a seat on one of the cots. “You are needed, but your presence here is a deviation from a very old operation. The current unrest on the islands is a direct result of Department Seven’s most ambitious plan, one which almost worked. Hawaii would have become a Soviet puppet if things had gone according to plan. We’re here to mop up and cut our losses.”

Demanov could not hide his astonishment. “I don’t understand, Evad.”

“Several months ago, Department Seven approached a very wealthy and eccentric local billionaire named Takahiro Ohnishi and asked him to assist us in an operation called Vulcan’s Forge. In return for his help, Kerikov promised to use Russian resources to back a coup attempt that would split Hawaii away from the rest of the United States. Of course Kerikov never planned to aid Ohnishi in any way, but his involvement was necessary. Two different options had to be left open until certain scientific data was obtained concerning a volcanic island forming north of here. Now that we have this information the coup is no longer necessary and neither is Ohnishi. Unfortunately, Ohnishi has already started his rebellion. He must be stopped.”

“That’s where we come in,” Demanov interrupted.

“Yes. We’re here to eliminate Ohnishi. For now we wait until Kerikov gets in touch. There is another aspect of this mission I didn’t tell you about, a submarine monitoring the volcano to the north. Kerikov is waiting for word from them before we put our plan into action.” He lied to his friend. In fact, the
John Dory
was waiting for word from him. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, Dimitri, but you won’t get the chance to take on the American army, only the guards around Ohnishi’s mansion.”

“They’re still Americans, Evad. It’ll be close enough.”

A
s soon as Tish entered the rec room of Mercer’s house, she threw herself onto the leather couch with an exhausted sigh.

“You didn’t talk much on the way back from the White House,” she said, not looking at Mercer. “You must be exhausted. I’ve been asleep for most of the day, but you haven’t slept in thirty-six hours.”

“Closer to forty,” replied Mercer from behind the bar. He was making a pot of his barely potable coffee. “Want some coffee?”

“Are you crazy?” Tish sat up and looked at him. “Go to bed; you’re dead on your feet.”

Mercer let the coffeemaker drip directly into a mug before sliding the glass pot under the nozzle. He was about to take a sip, thought for a moment, then poured a dram of Scotch into the cup. The first taste was sublime.

“I’m afraid it’ll be a while before I sleep. We have to talk.”

The tone of Mercer’s voice made Tish swing her long legs from the couch and stand up. She crossed to the bar and took one of the six dark cane stools. “Is something wrong?”

“Tell me about Valery Borodin,” Mercer invited nonchalantly.

“I don’t know any . . .” He saw that Tish was flustered by the question.

“Tish, right now I could have you detained by the FBI for your involvement in this plot. I haven’t because you’re Jack Talbot’s daughter, but I’m not taking bets on how long I remain silent.”

“Tell me first how you know about Valery?”

“I spoke with Dr. Baker at Woods Hole.”

“I remember that old busybody from Mozambique. She wanted to be everyone’s den mother. Figures she would talk.” Tish settled down and turned her deep blue eyes to Mercer. “What do you want to know?”

“Let me make some assumptions first. You know he was a geologist, not a marine biologist, and that he was in Mozambique for a vacation, right?”

“Yes. He swore me to secrecy about that, though. He told me he would be starting a new project soon and that his superiors had allowed him some time off before his reassignment.”

“Did he tell you who his father is?”

Tish was startled by Mercer’s unsettling question. “Not at first.”

“Did he mention that his father had faked his own death when Valery was a boy?”

“How do you know about that?”

Mercer wasn’t about to admit that he’d been guessing about Valery’s candor with Tish so he covered his relief with a gruff reply. “I can’t tell you that, just answer my questions.”

“Valery told me that his father had supposedly died in a lab explosion when he was still a baby. Then, about a month before we met, Valery’s father reentered his life, acting as if all those years had never passed.

“His father was also a brilliant geologist, like Val, and needed his son’s help on some secret government project. Valery both hated his father for vanishing and loved him for returning; he was hurting bad. He would cry some nights until I thought his heart would break. He was so alone and vulnerable.”

“What else did he tell you about his father or his upcoming project?”

“Not much, really. He said they would be working together, he and his father, and that he was excited and frightened.”

“Did he tell you he planned to leave Russia?”

Mercer’s question made Tish blanch. “How did you . . .”

“Did he tell you?”

“Yes, but he couldn’t do it until the project with his father was completed.”

Mercer rubbed his knuckles into his eyes, trying to push away the sleep which threatened to overwhelm him. He poured another cup of strong coffee, this time omitting the Scotch.

“Tell me what really happened the night the
Ocean Seeker
exploded.”

Tish said, acting confused, “I already told you about it.”

Fury edged Mercer’s voice. “Let me put some things into perspective here, Tish, so you know where I’m coming from, okay?”

She had never experienced such naked anger in her life. Mercer’s voice, though not raised, drilled into her, forcing her back in her bar stool.

“Your boyfriend and his father are the architects of a plot that could tear apart the very fabric of our country. It started in May of 1954 when Pytor Borodin detonated a nuclear device, triggering a volcanic chain reaction that created a new metal whose value is incalculable. Since that time, he’s ruthlessly murdered everyone who came close to discovering his secret.

“Do you remember the list of ships that Dave Saulman sent me from Miami?” Tish looked like she was going to be ill as she nodded. “That is actually a list of Pytor Borodin’s victims. I hope you take note that the
Ocean Seeker
, the ship that blew up around you, headed that list. Borodin is also connected with a possible coup in Hawaii that could lead to race riots in every city in America.

“Valery Borodin and his father have masterminded a plot that could leave this country wallowing in economic and social chaos while the rest of the world prospers.” Mercer’s mouth was twisted into a disgusted rictus, but his eyes were slate hard. “I’m not some ultra-patriot who salutes every time I see a flag, but I don’t want to see our government brought to its knees either. You have a choice. Tell me what I need to know, or I call the FBI and you spend the next century or two in a penitentiary with a cellmate named Leather.”

Tish was sobbing now. Mercer wanted to take her into his arms, brush the tears away, and say he was sorry, but he couldn’t. He had to be cruel.

“This is fucking useless,” he said disgustedly, and reached for the portable phone lying on the bar.

“Wait,” Tish said meekly. “Please wait.”

Mercer poured a shot of brandy into a balloon snifter and placed it in front of Tish. She sniffed back her tears and sipped the amber liquor.

“What happened the night the
Ocean Seeker
was destroyed?” he repeated harshly.

“Around midnight a man came to my cabin. I’d never seen him before. He wasn’t part of the scientific team or a member of the crew.”

“A stowaway?”

“He must have been. He told me that Valery had sent him.”

Mercer interrupted again. “What was he—white, Oriental, black?”

“He was Oriental. Maybe thirty-five or forty years old, about your size but amazingly strong. He told me that I was in danger and had to go with him. I tried to question him, but he said there was no time, just tossed me over his shoulder and carried me up to the deck. There was an inflatable raft tied to the stern of the
Seeker
. He threw me in and jumped after me.

“About five minutes after he started rowing us away, the
Seeker
exploded. I swear I don’t remember anything after that. I think he knocked me out.”

“Then you never heard Russian or saw the design on the stack of the ship that rescued you?”

“That part I do remember. I must have come to as we were pulled aboard that freighter.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about this before?”

“I didn’t want anything to spoil Valery’s chances of escape, so I stayed quiet. You see, the group he was going to work for, the one headed by his father, was incredibly ruthless. He told me that everyone involved with the project was sworn to lifelong secrecy and anyone who tried to leave the group before Val’s father said they could would be hunted down and killed. He told me he knew his father would never let him leave. He was bound to the old man forever, he said. But he was still determined to get away. He said his father was completely insane and what they were working on could upset the balance of power all over the world. Valery told me before he left Mozambique that he would contact me just before he escaped. I assumed that this rescue was that contact.”

“That may be, but he’s made contact since then too.”

“When, how?” Tish asked, a trace of excitement creeping into her trembling voice.

“The telegram I received, the one I thought was from your father, must have been sent from him. Christ knows how he made the connection between us.” Mercer spoke slowly at first, but as ideas correlated in his brain, he talked faster. “I was suspicious about your rescue from the
Ocean Seeker
, it seemed too pat, but now it makes sense. Valery must have ordered an agent to board the ship and save your life when he learned that the
Seeker
was headed toward the volcano with you as a member of the research staff.”