No matter
how much Huxley shocked him, his heart would not start again. It was just after midnight when she pronounced him dead. Cabrillo carefully reached up and closed Ackermans eyes, then covered him with a blanket.
You did the best you could, he said to Huxley.
Then he left the sick bay and walked down the Oregon s passageway.
Ackermans words were still ringing in his head.
Walking onto the stern of the ship, he found Hanley staring over a trio of bodies. Hanley was holding an eight-and-a-half-by-eleven-inch computer picture in his hand.
I enhanced the photograph with a computer to distort the face in order to account for the swelling, he said as soon as Cabrillo walked closer.
Cabrillo took the photograph from Hanley, bent down next to the body, and held it to the face. He stared at the face of the corpse and then the photograph.
Al-Khalifa, he said slowly.
He must have been weighed down and tossed overboard, Hanley noted. The only thing was that the killers didnt know that the bottom of the ocean around here is littered with geothermal vents. The hot water caused the bodies to quickly bloat and overcome the weight. If it werent for that, wed have never found them.
Have you IDd the others? Cabrillo asked.
I havent found any records yet, Hanley said, plus there are more surfacing as we speak. Probably just Al-Khalifas minions.
Not minions, Cabrillo said, madmen.
Now the question is Hanley said.
Who is crazy enough, Cabrillo said, to steal from other crazies.
22
LANGSTON OVERHOLT IVwas sitting in his office, bouncing a red rubber ball off a wooden paddle. The telephone receiver was cradled to his ear. The time was barely 8 A.M. but hed already been at work for more than two hours.
I left a pair of my engineers on board, Cabrillo said to Overholt. Were claiming salvage rights.
Nice prize, Overholt said.
Im sure we can use it somehow, Cabrillo agreed.
Whats your current location? Overholt asked.
We are north of Iceland heading east. Were trying to track the bugs on the meteorite. Whoever killed Al-Khalifa and stole the meteorite must be aboard another ship.
Youre sure the body you recovered is Al-Khalifa? Overholt asked.
Were faxing you fingerprints and digital photographs of the corpse, Cabrillo said, so your people can make a positive identification. But Im ninety-nine percent sure.
After you woke me up this morning, I ordered some of my men to try to check out the ID on the passenger aboard the Eurocopter. We got nothing. Im sending a team to Greenland to recover the bodies, then hopefully well know more.
Sorry about the midnight call, but I thought you should receive the news as soon as possible.
No problem, I probably got more sleep than you.
I managed to grab a few hours once we left the Akbar, Cabrillo admitted.
Whats your gut feeling, old friend? Overholt asked. If Al-Khalifa is dead, then the threat of the dirty bomb seems diminished. The meteorite is radioactive, but without a catalyst the danger is a lot less.
True, Cabrillo said slowly, but the missing Ukrainian nuclear bomb is still out there somewhere, and we dont know that several of Al-Khalifas own people didnt kill him and will now try to mount the mission themselves.
That would explain a lot, Overholt said, like how the killers accessed the Akbar so easily.
If it wasnt some of Al-Khalifas own people, then we have another group to contend with. If thats the case, we should be wary. Whoever made the assault on the Akbar were highly trained and as deadly as vipers.
Another terrorist group?
I doubt it, Cabrillo said. The operation had none of the earmarks of religious fanatics. It was more like a military operation. No emotion or fussjust a surgical and flawless elimination of the opposition.
Ill dig around, Overholt said, and see what I can find out.
Id appreciate that.
Good thing you managed to bug the meteorite, Overholt added.
The only card up our sleeve, Cabrillo agreed.
Anything else?
Just before he died, the archaeologist started talking about the Ghost, Cabrillo said, as if he were a man and not a disembodied apparition.
Im on it, Overholt said.
This is turning into an episode of Scooby-Doo, Cabrillo said. Find out who the Ghost is and we solve the caper.
I dont seem to remember a Scooby-Doo episode
dealing with nuclear weapons, Overholt said.
Update it for the twenty-first century, Cabrillo said before disconnecting, its a much more dangerous world now.
THE FREE ENTERPRISE was steaming through the frigid ocean water on a course toward the Faeroe Islands. The team was starting to relaxafter they delivered the meteorite theyd have a break for a while. Once they repositioned the ship to Calais, they would simply wait for a call if needed. The mood aboard the ship was light.
They had no idea a greyhound of the sea disguised as an old cargo ship was following.
Nor did they know that both the Corporation and the might of the U.S. government would soon be aligned against them. They were in ignorant bliss.