Steve Berry: The Charlemagne Pursuit

One, though, was on vacation.

In Germany.

By design, the Magellan Billet was sparsely staffed. Besides her dozen lawyers, the unit employed five administrative assistants and three aides. She'd insisted that the regiment be small. Fewer eyes and ears meant fewer leaks, and over the fourteen years of the Billet's existence, to her knowledge, never had its security been compromised.

She turned from the computer and pushed back her chair.

Her office was plain and compact. Nothing fancy-that wouldn't fit her style. She was hungry, having skipped breakfast at home when she awoke, two hours ago. Meals seemed to be something she worried about less and less. Part of living alone-part of hating to cook. She decided to grab a bite in the cafeteria. Institutional cuisine, for sure, but her growling stomach needed something. Maybe she'd treat herself to a midday meal out of the office-broiled seafood or something similar.

She left the secured offices and walked toward the elevators. The building's fifth floor accommodated the Department of Interior, along with a contingent from Health and Human Services. The Magellan Billet had been intentionally tucked away-nondescript letters announcing only JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, LAWYER TASK FORCE-and she liked the anonymity.

The elevator arrived. When the doors opened, a tall, lanky man with thin gray hair and tranquil blue eyes strolled out.

Edwin Davis.

He flashed a quick smile. "Stephanie. Just the person I came to see." Her caution flags raised. One of the president's deputy national security advisers. In Georgia. Unannounced. Nothing about that could be good.

"And it's refreshing not to see you in a jail cell," Davis said.

She recalled the last time Davis had suddenly appeared.

"Were you going somewhere?" he asked.

"To the cafeteria."

"Mind if I tag along?"

"Do I have a choice?"

He smiled. "It's not that bad."

They descended to the second floor and found a table. She sipped orange juice while Davis downed a bottled water. Her appetite had vanished.

"You want to tell me why, five days ago, you accessed the investigatory file on the sinking of USS Blazek?"

She concealed her surprise at his knowledge. "I wasn't aware that act would involve the White House."

"That file's classified."

"I broke no laws."

"You sent it to Germany. To Cotton Malone. Have you any idea what you've started?"

Her radar went to full alert. "Your information network is good."

"Which is how we all survive."

"Cotton has a high security clearance."

"Had. He's retired."

Now she was agitated. "Wasn't a problem for you when you dragged him into all those problems in central Asia. Surely that was highly classified. Wasn't a problem when the president involved him with the Order of the Golden Fleece."

Davis' polished face creased with concern. "You're not aware of what happened less than an hour ago at the Zugspitze, are you?"

She shook her head.

He plunged into a full account, telling her about a man falling from a cable car, another man leaping from the same car, scampering down one of the steel trestles, and a woman found partially unconscious when the car was finally brought to the ground, one of the windows shot through.

"Which one of those men do you think is Cotton?" he asked.

"I hope the one who escaped."

He nodded. "They found the body. It wasn't Malone."

"How do you know all this?"

"I had the area staked out."

Now she was curious. "Why?"

Davis finished his bottled water. "I always found it odd the way Malone quit the Billet so abruptly. Twelve years, then just got out completely."

"Seven people dying in Mexico City took a toll on him. And it was your boss, the president, who let him go. A favor returned, if I recall."

Davis seemed in thought. "The currency of politics. People think money fuels the system." He shook his head. "It's favors. One given is one returned."

She caught an odd tone. "I was returning a favor to Malone by giving him the file. He wants to know about his father-"

"Not your call."

Her agitation changed to anger. "I thought it was."

She finished her orange juice and tried to dismiss the myriad of disturbing thoughts racing through her brain.

"It's been thirty-eight years," she declared.

Davis reached into his pocket and laid a flash drive on the table. "Did you read the file?"

She shook her head. "Never touched it. I had one of my agents retrieve and deliver a copy."

He pointed at the drive. "You need to read it."

On reconvening in December 1971, after still not locating any trace of USS Blazek, the court focused its attention on "what if" as opposed to "what might have been." While mindful of the lack of any physical evidence, a conscious effort was made to prevent any preconceived notions to influence the search for the most probable cause of the tragedy. Complicating the task is the highly secretive nature of the submarine, and every effort has been made to preserve the classified nature of both the vessel and its final mission. The Court, after inquiring into all known facts and circumstances connected with the loss of the Blazek, submits the following:

Finding the Facts 1. USS Blazek is a fictitious designation. The actual submarine involved in this inquiry is NR-1A, commissioned in May 1969. The boat is one of two built as part of a classified program to develop advanced submersible capability. Neither NR-1 nor 1A carries an official name, but in light of the tragedy and unavoidable public attention, a fictitious designation was assigned. Officially, though, the boat remains NR-1A. For purposes of public discussion, USS Blazek will be described as an advanced submersible being tested in the North Atlantic for undersea rescue operations.

2. NR-1A was rated to 3,000 feet. Service records indicate a multitude of mechanical problems during its two years of active service. None of those were deemed engineering failures, only challenges of a radical design, one that pushed the limits of submersible technology. NR-1 has experienced similar operational difficulties, which makes this inquiry all the more pressing since that vessel remains in active service and any defects must be identified and corrected.

3. The miniature nuclear reactor on board was built solely for the two NR-class boats. Though the reactor is revolutionary and problematic, there is no indication of any radiation release at the sight of the sinking, which would indicate that a catastrophic reactor failure was not the cause of the mishap. Of course, such a finding does not preclude the possibility of an electrical failure. Both boats reported repeated problems with their batteries.

4. Eleven men were aboard NR-1A at the time of its sinking. Officer-in-Charge, CDR Forrest Malone; Executive Officer, LCDR Beck Stvan; Navigation Officer, LCDR Tim Morris; Communications, ET1 Tom Flanders; Reactor Controls, ET1 Gordon Jackson; Reactor Operations, ET1 George Turner; Ship's Electrician, EM2 Jeff Johnson; Interior Communications, IC2 Michael Fender; Sonar and Food Service, MM1 Mikey Blount; Mechanical Division, IC2 Bill Jenkins; Reactor Laboratory, MM2 Doug Vaught; and Field Specialist, Dietz Oberhauser.

5. Acoustic signals attributed to NR-1A were detected at stations in Argentina and South Africa. Individual acoustic signals and stations are outlined on the following pages entitled "Table of Factual Data Acoustic Events." The acoustic event number has been determined by experts to be the result of a high-energy release, rich in low frequencies with no discernible harmonic structure. No expert has been able to state whether the event was an explosion or an implosion.

6. NR-1A was operating beneath the Antarctic ice pack. Its course and final destination were unknown to fleet command, as its mission was highly classified. For purposes of this inquiry, the Court has been advised that the last known coordinates of NR-1A were 73°S, 15°W, approximately 150 miles north of Cape Norvegia. Being in such treacherous and relatively uncharted waters has complicated the discovery of any physical evidence. To date, no trace of the submarine has been located. In addition, the extent of underwater acoustic monitoring in the Antarctic region is minimal.