Clive Cussler - White Death

"You saw the warm reception I got." "You seem to have stirred up a hornet's nest. While you slept, the patrol boats came out from shore and demanded permission to come aboard. We refused, of course."

"The boat I saw had a couple of men with automatic rifles."

Aguirrez waved toward the art hanging on the wall. "When they saw that my men outgunned and outnumbered them, they quickly left."

"They had a helicopter, too. It was armed with rockets."

"Oh yes, that," he said, as if he were talking about a pesky gnat.

"I had my men brandish their handheld surface-to-air missiles, and the helicopter stopped bothering us."

Missiles and automatic weapons. The Navarra was armed like a warship.

Aguirrez read Austin's mind. "Wealthy men can be a target for kidnappers. The Navarra would be fair game for pirates, so I have made sure it is not exactly toothless. Of necessity, I have surrounded myself with loyal and well-armed men."

/Why do you suppose Oceanus is so prickly about people poking into its business?" Austin said. "We're talking about a fish farm, not diamond mines."

"I asked myself the same question," Aguirrez said, with a shrug.

One of the men who had kept watch over Austin came into the dining room. He handed Aguirrez a plastic bag and whispered into his ear.

Aguirrez nodded and said, "Thank you for being so forthcoming about your visit to the caves, Mr. Austin. Is there anything more I can do for you?"

"I wouldn't mind a lift back to the village."

"Done. My man has informed me that we are passing the sea stack and should be anchoring in a few minutes." He handed the plastic bag over. "Your clothes and personal effects have been drying out."

Austin was ushered back to his cabin so he could change. The bag also held his wallet, which contained his NUMA photo ID card prominently displayed in its plastic window. Aguirrez was a cool one. He would have known that Austin's story about being in ma- rine salvage was made out of whole cloth, yet he'd never let on. In- side the bag was a business card with his host's name and a telephone number. Austin tucked the card into his wallet.

Aguirrez was waiting on deck to say good-bye.

"I appreciate your hospitality," Austin said, shaking hands with his host. "I hope I'm not being rude having to eat and run."

"Not at all," Aguirrez said, with an enigmatic smile. "I wouldn't be surprised if our paths crossed again."

"Stranger things have happened," Austin said, with a grin. Moments later, Austin was in the launch heading across the quiet harbor.

TWO THOUSAND FEET above Skaalshavn harbor, the Bell 206 Jet Ranger helicopter that had been tracking the yacht along the coast came to a hover and focused its Wescam high- resolution surveillance camera on the launch making its way to shore. The man in the pilot's seat stared at a video monitor, watching as a lone passenger disembarked from the boat.

The helicopter pilot had a pie-shaped face with high cheekbones marked with vertical tattoo lines. His coal-black hair was cut in bangs over his low forehead, characteristics that might lead a casual ob- server to take him for a native of the northern tundra. But the fea- tures normally associated with the Eskimo were distorted. In place of a pleasant smile was a cruel, leering expression. Eyes that should have twinkled with innocent good humor were as hard as black di- amonds. The brownish-red skin was pockmarked, as if the corrup- tion within had seeped through the pores. The hastily applied band- age taped across the man's crushed nose intensified the grotesque image.

'We have the target in view," he said with a nasal snarl, speaking in an ancient language that had its origins under the aurora borealis.

The electronic signal from the camera, which was housed in a pod beneath the cockpit, was converted into microwaves and transmitted instantaneously to the other side of the globe to a darkened room, where pale-gray eyes watched the same picture seen from the heli- copter.

"I can see him quite clearly," the gray-eyed man said. His silky voice was quiet and cultured, but it had the sullen menace of a rattle- snake. "Who is this person who violated our security so easily?"

"His name is Kurt Austin." A pause. "The same Austin who rescued the Danish sailors from their sunken ship?"

"Yes, great Toonook. He is a marine engineer with the National Underwater and Marine Agency."

"Are you certain ? A mere engineer wouldn't have been so bold or resourceful as to penetrate our facility. And why would NUMA be interested in our operation?"

"I don't know, but our watcher has verified his identity." "And the yacht that picked him up and drove off your men. Is it a NUMA vessel?"

"As far as we know, it is private, of Spanish registry. We're check- ing on the ownership through our sources in Madrid."

"See that it is done speedily. What is the latest damage report at our facility?"

"One guard dead. We were able to repair the damaged pipes and save the prime specimens."

"The guard deserved to die for being careless. I want the speci- mens moved to Canada immediately. Our experiments are too vital to be jeopardized."

"Yes, great Toonook."

"An idiot can see what has happened. Mr. Austin has somehow drawn a connection between Oceanus and the collision we so con- veniently arranged."

"That's impossible-"

"The evidence is in front of your eyes, Umealiq. Don't argue with it. You must deal with the situation!"

The pilot tightened his grip on the controls, ready to send the hel- icopter swooping down like an eagle. The cruel eyes watching the monitor screen followed the figure making its way from the fish pier to the parked car. Within seconds, he could launch his rockets or spray the target with flesh-shredding machine-gun fire and obliterate the life of a bothersome man. The thin lips widened in a cruel smile.

"Should we kill Austin while we have him in our sights?"

"Do I detect a yearning to avenge the damage to your precious nose?" The voice had a mocking tone to it. Without waiting for an answer, he said, "I should kill him for the trouble he has caused me. Had he allowed the Danish sailors to die, the revulsion of the world would be directed at SOS and the attention of the press diverted away from Oceanus."

"I will do it now-"

"AW Don't be impatient. We must not attract any more attention to his demise than necessary."

"He is staying at an isolated cottage. It would be the perfect place.

We could drop his body off a cliff."

"Thenjw to it. But make it look like an accident. Austin must not be allowed to broadcast his findings to the world. Our plans are at a critical stage."

"I will return to the base and organize our men. I will see that Austin enjoys a lingering death, that he experiences fear and pain as the life drains from his body, that-"

"No. Have someone else do it. I have other plans for you. You must leave for Canada immediately to make sure the specimens get there safely, then you are to go to Washington and eliminate that Senator who opposes our legislation. I have arranged cover for you and your men."

The pilot glanced with fierce longing at the monitor and touched the tender mush that was his nose. "As you wish," he said with re- luctance.

His hands played over the cyclic pitch control, and a moment later the hovering helicopter darted off in the direction of the old harbor.

Unaware how close he had come to a violent end, Austin sat behind the steering wheel of Professor Jorgensen's Volvo, contemplating his next move. He was wary of the remote location of the cottage. He gazed at the warm lights of the town, then grabbed his duffel and left the car. He walked into the village without encountering a soul and went up to the house behind the church.