Clive Cussler - Treasure

"Do it," said Pitt. "Find the Library."

Pitt thought Sandecker sent for him for a status report on the search, but the instant he saw the somber expression on the Admiral's face, he knew there was a problem. What really bothered Pitt was the soft look in the Admiral's eyes; they were usually as hard as flint.

Then when Sandecker came over and took him by the arm and led him to a couch and sat down alongside, Pitt knew there was a problem.

"I've just received some disturbing news from the White House,"

Sandecker began. "The cruise ship that was hosting Presidents De L4orenzo and Hasan at the economic summit in Uruguay is suspected of being hijacked."

"I'm sorry to hear it," said Pitt, "but how does that affect NUMA?"

"Hala Kamil was on board."

"Damn!"

"And so was the Senator."

"My father?" Pitt muttered in surprise. "I talked to him by phone the night before last. How did he come to be in Uruguay?"

"He was on a mission for the President."

Pitt stood up, paced back and forth and then sat down again. "What's the situation?"

Chve Cuss 'er

"The Lady Flamborough-the name of the British cruise liner-disappeared from the port of Punta del Este last night."

"Where is the ship now?"

"An extensive air search has yet to Turn up a trace of her. The general consensus of the officials on the scene is that the Lady Flamborough lies at the bottom of the sea."

"Without absolute proof, I can't accept that."

"I'm with you."

"Weather conditions?"

"I gather from the report the area was fair with calm seas."

"Ships vanish in storms," said Pitt. "Seldom in calm seas."

Sandecker made an empty gesture with his hands. "Until more details come in we can only speculate."

Pitt could not believe his father was dead. What he heard was too inconclusive. "What is the White House doing about it?"

"The President's hands are tied."

"That's ridiculous," Pitt said sharply. "He could order all naval units in the area to assist in the search."

"That's the catch," said Sandecker. "Except for an occasional training exercise, none of which is occurring now, there are no United States naval units on station in the South Atlantic. "

Pitt stood again and stared out the window at the lights of Washington.

Then he fixed Sandecker with a penetrating stare. "You're telling me the United States government is in no way involved with the search?"

"It looks that way."

"What's to stop NUMA from searching?"

"Nothing except we lack a fleet of Coast Guard vessels and an aircraft carrier."

"We have the Sounder."

Sandecker stared back thoughtfully for a moment. Then his face took on a questioning expression. "One of our research vessels?"

"She's on a sonar mapping project of the continental slope off southern Brazil."

Sandecker nodded. "All right, I get your drift, but the Sounder is too slow to be of any help on an extensive sea search. What do you expect to accomplish with her?"

"If my father's ship can't be found on the surface, I'll hunt for her below.",

"You could be looking at a thousand square miles, maybe more."

"The Sounder's sonar gear can cut a swath two miles wide, and she carries a submersible. All I need is your permission to take command of her."

"You'll need someone to back you up."

"Giordino and Rudi Gunn. We make a good team."

"Rudi is on a deep-sea mining operation off the Canary Islands."

"He could be in Uruguay in eighteen hours."

Sandecker clasped his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling.

Deep down he felt Pitt was chasing shadows, but he never doubted for an instant what his answer would be.

"Write your own ticket," he said in a level tone. "I'll back YOU."

"Thank you, Admiral," Pitt said. "I'm grateful."

"How does the Alexandria Library project stand?"

"Yaeger and Dr. Sharp are close to a solution. They don't need Al and me getting in the way."

Sandecker rose and placed both his hands on Pitts shoulders. "He may not be dead, you know."

"Dad better not be dead," Pitt said with a grim smile, "I'd never forgive him."

"Dammit, Martin!" the President said abniptly. "Didn't your Middle East people smell a plot to hijack the Lady Flamborough?"

Martin Brogan, the CIA director, shrugged wearily. He was well insulated for taking the blame for every terrorist act that killed Americans or took them hostage. The CIAs successes were rarely heralded, but their mistakes were the stuff of Congressional investigations and hype from the news mecha "The ship, along with its entire passenger list and crew, was snatched from under the noses of the finest security agents in the world," he replied. "Whoever dreamed up the venture and executed it is one shrewd operator. The mere scope is far beyond any terrorist activity we've seen in the past.

"I find it hardly surprising our counterterrorist network was not tipped off in advance."

Alan Merger, the National Security Adviser, removed his glasses and idly wiped the lenses with a handkerchief. "My end struck out too," he said, backing up Brogan. "Analysis of our eavesdropping monitoring systems failed to reveal any hint of a potential cruise-liner hijacking and abduction of two foreign leaders."

"By sending George Pitt to meet with President Hasan, I sentenced an old friend to death," the President said regretfully.

"Not your fault," Merger consoled him.

The President angrily pounded the desk with one fist. "The Senator, Hala Kamil, De Lorenzo and Hasan. I can't believe they're all gone."

"We don't know that for sure," said Merger.

The President stared at him. "You can't hide a cruise liner and all the people on board, Alan. Even a dumb politician like me knows that."

"There is still a chance '

"Chance, hell. It was a suicide mission plain and simple. All those poor people were probably locked up while the ship was scuttled. The terrorists never meant to escape. They went down too."

"All the facts aren't in yet," Merger argued.

"Just what do we know?" demanded the President.

"Our experts are already in Punta del Este working with the Uruguayan security people," explained Brogan. "So far, we only have preliminary conclusions. First, the hijacking has been tied to an Arab group. Two witnesses came forward who were in a passing launch when they saw the Lady Flamborough taking on cargo from a landing barge. They heard crewmen on both vessels speaking Arabic. The landing barge has not been found and is assumed to be scuttled somewhere in the harbor."

"any idea on the cargo?" asked Merger.

"All the witnesses could recall seeing were some drums," answered Brogan. "Second, a phony report was given to the Harbor Master's office from the cruise liner saying its main generator had broken down, and the vessel would only run navigation lights until repairs were carried out.

Then, as soon as it became dark, the unlit ship pulled up its anchor and slipped out of the harbor, colliding with a private yacht carrying important South American businessmen and diplomats. The only fumble in an otherwise flawless execution. Then it disappeared."

"Hardly a slop job," said Merger, "unlike the botched second assassination attempt on Hala Kaniil."

"A different group entirely," Brogan added.

Dale Nichols spoke up for the first time in the meeting. "Which you linked directly to Akhmad Yazid."

"Yes, the assassins were not very careful. Egyptian passports were found on tke bodies. One, the leader, we identified as a mullah and fanatical follower of Yazid."

"Do you think Yazid's responsible for the hijacking?"

"He certainly had the motive," answered Brogan. "With President Hasan out of the way, he has a clear shot at taking over the Egyptian government."

"The same goes for President De Lorenzo, Topiltzin and Mexico," Nichols stated flatly.