Arthur Clarke - Cradle

Commander Winters stopped at a signal. Slowly, the full impact of what Todd had told him began to sink in. Jesus. I may be in trouble too. Unlawful entry. Wrongful detention. They’ll throw the book at Todd… He eased his car through the intersection. He mechanically put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it. So I should be apologetic. But shit. That Dawson woman is a reporter. Bad bad news.

He had arrived at the base. He waved to the security guard and drove on to where Todd had said they were keeping the trio. Winters stopped in front of a plain white building situated on a small hill about fifteen feet above the street level. A nervous Lieutenant Roberto Ramirez was waiting at the edge of the road. He was holding two large, thick envelopes in his hands. Ramirez turned and called something toward the front door. Todd came out in a moment. He locked the door carefully, came down the steps, and walked toward the other two officers. Ramirez was already showing the photographs to Commander Winters when Todd joined them. The three men had a short but animated discussion.

“So what happened after you received my message?” Carol turned to the other two as soon as Todd disappeared out the door. They had not had many chances to talk in private since Todd and Ramirez had taken them into custody in the parking lot at the Pelican Resort.

“Troy was ready to split,” Nick laughed. “But I thought your warning only referred to the robot sentry. And since he had been quiet for several minutes, I figured we were already safe. I was still really pissed off about the second bag of gold bars. So I hurried back over to the gate.

“I was concentrating so hard on finding a way to pull the bag through the opening that I must have been oblivious to everything else. Suddenly I felt Troy jerk me backwards. Maybe a second later two or three sharks, one definitely a mako, slammed hard into the gate. I was certain the gate was going to fall into pieces.”

“Those sharks were really nasty, angel,” Troy interjected. “And stupid too. The big one must have banged against the gate a dozen times before he gave up.”

“The buoyancy bag with the gold bars was immediately ripped to shreds by the crazy sharks. They may even have swallowed most of the bars themselves. It was not fun being that close to them.” Nick shuddered. “When I close my eyes I can still see that mako’s teeth three feet away from me. I’ll probably have bad dreams for years.”

“I pulled Nick toward the ocean. I didn’t want any part of those mean bastards and I didn’t trust the gate to remain intact in case they launched another attack. We made it out in record time. Of course, neither of us expected to be greeted by the U.S. Navy when we returned to the station wagon.” Troy paused. “This Todd character, what’s his problem any way? He sure thinks he’s a bad ass. Is he just pissed because the professor decked him last night?”

Carol smiled. She reached her left hand over and put it on Nick’s leg just above the knee. Her hand remained there while she was talking. “Todd is one of the naval engineers trying to find the lost missile. I’m certain that he and his men must have been responsible for the break-ins at Nick’s apartment and my hotel room. Otherwise they wouldn’t have detained us.”

“What grounds do they have for holding us?” Nick inquired. He dropped his hand down and wrapped it around Carol’s. “It’s not against the law to have gold bars in a backpack. Don’t we have rights as citizens that prevent this kind of thing?”

“Probably,” Carol replied. She squeezed Nick’s hand and then retracted her own. “But as a reporter, I find this part of our adventure extremely interesting. You can tell that Lieutenant Ramirez is very nervous. He wouldn’t let Todd even ask us any questions until Commander Winters was contacted. And he has been very concerned about our comfort.”

As if on cue, the front door opened and the three naval officers walked in. Winters was in the lead with the two lieutenants just behind. Nick and Carol and Troy were sitting on gray metal auditorium chairs on the left of a partitioned area that served as a waiting room for the larger offices in the rear of the building. Winters moved into the area and half leaned against the large gray desk opposite them.

“I’m Commander Vernon Winters,” he said, his eyes meeting each of theirs in turn. “As Miss Dawson knows, I’m one of the senior officers on the base here. I am currently in charge of a secret project, code named Broken Arrow.” He smiled. “I’m sure you are wondering why you have been brought to the base.”

Winters reached out with his left arm and Ramirez handed him the infrared blowups that showed the missile in the most detail. He waved the photos at the three detainees. “One of the goals of project Broken Arrow is to find a Navy missile that has been lost somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. Lieutenant Todd here believes, based on these photographs, that you know where that missile is. That is why he has acted to bring you here for questioning.” Winters’ voice rose in pitch and he began to wave his arms. “Now I’m certain I don’t need to remind you that state-of-the-art weapons systems are what keep our nation free and secure—”

“Spare us the patriotic lecture and the histrionics, Commander Winters,” interrupted Carol. “We all know that you are searching for a lost missile and that you think we may have found it. Sorry. We went out looking for it today but were unable to locate it again.” She stood up. “Now you listen to me a minute. Your zealous lieutenant there and his men have broken more laws than I can count. In addition to kidnapping us, they have looted and vandalized my hotel room and Mr. Williams’ apartment. They have also stolen some photographs and valuable equipment.” She fixed Winters with a hard gaze. “You sure as hell better have good reason for dragging us down here or I swear I’ll see to it that all three of you are court martialed.”

Carol glanced at Ramirez. He was squirming. “In the meantime,” she continued, “you can start by giving us an official, written apology, returning all our property, and making adequate payment for all the damages. In addition I want exclusive access to all Broken Arrow files from this moment on. If you don’t agree to all these terms, you might as well prepare right now to read about the Gestapo tactics of the United States Navy in the next edition of the Miami Herald.”

Uh oh, thought Winters. This is not going to be easy. This woman reporter intends to play the bluff and threat game. He pulled out a cigarette while he was thinking. “Would you please not smoke in here?” Carol broke into his train of thought. “We all find it offensive.”

Damn these aggressive nonsmokers. He replaced the Pall Mall in the pack in his pocket. Winters had been thrown off at first by Carol’s rapid attack, but he eventually regained his composure. “Now, Miss Dawson,” the commander began a minute later. He looked away from the trio, in the direction of the front door. “I can understand why you might be upset by what has happened. I will admit that our men may indeed have acted in an unwarranted manner while they were searching your rooms to find evidence. However…” Winters stopped in mid-sentence, turned around, and came back toward Nick and Carol and Troy.

“However,” he repeated. “We are talking about treason here.” He waited to let his threat register. “And I don’t need to tell you, Miss Dawson, that treason is serious business. Even more serious than journalism.” He hesitated again for effect and his voice became very stern. “If any of you have knowledge of the whereabouts of this missile and have conveyed that knowledge to a member of any foreign government, especially one viewed as inimical to our national interests, then you have committed treason.”