"Bring her on in, Mr. Pitt." Harper's vast relief could be clearly distinguished in his voice. "Wind is off the starboard beam at eight knots."
"Thank you, Commander." said Pitt. "And thank your crew. That was nice shooting."
"It's all in knowing how to make love to your electronics."
"Beginning final approach."
"Sorry we don't have a brass band and a proper reception committee."
"The Stars and Stripes flapping in the breeze will do nicely."
Four minutes later, Pitt set the tilt-turbine on the Bennett's helicopter pad. Only then did he take a deep breath, sag in his seat, and relax as Giordino shut down the engines.
For the first time in weeks he felt safe and secure. There was no more risk or danger in his immediate future. His part of the MAIT team operation was finished. He thought only of returning home, and then perhaps going on a dive trip to the warm waters and tropical sunshine of Puerto Rico or Haiti, hopefully with Loren at his side.
Pitt would have laughed in absolute disbelief if anyone had walked into the cockpit and predicted that within a few short weeks Admiral Sandecker would be delivering a eulogy at his memorial service.
MOTHER'S BREATH
October 20, 1993
Washington, D.C.
>
"They're out!" Jordan announced exuberantly as he slammed down a telephone in the National Security Council's Situation Room deep under the White House. "We've just received a signal that our MAIT team has escaped Soseki Island."
Dale Nichols stared at Jordan suspiciously. "Is that confirmed?"
Jordan nodded in tight confidence. "Solid information. They were attacked by Japanese Self-Defense fighters, but evaded and broke clear."
The President came forward in his chair. "Where are they now?"
"Safely landed on board the Ralph R. Bennett, a naval surveillance ship stationed a hundred kilometers off the island."
"Any casualties?"
"None."
"Thank God for that."
"There's more, much more," Jordan said, wound like a clock spring. "They brought Congresswoman Smith, Senator Diaz, and Hideki Suma out with them."
The President and the rest stared at him in wordless astonishment. Finally Nichols murmured, "How was it possible?"
"The details are still sketchy, but Commander Harper, skipper of the Bennett, said Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino hijacked the aircraft that was to carry Smith and Diaz to Edo City. Somehow they also managed to snatch Suma and his secretary and take off during the confusion."
"Suma," muttered CIA Director Martin Brogan in awe. "Now there's a gift out of the blue."
The surprise and delight in the President's eyes turned to thoughtfulness. "This puts a whole new face on the situation."
"Under the circumstances, Mr. President," said Defense Secretary Jesse Simmons, "I advise we cancel the nuclear strike against the Dragon Center."
The President glanced at the big countdown clock on one wall of the situation room. It read nine minutes to launch. "Good lord yes, call it off."
Simmons simply nodded at General Clayton Metcalf, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, who immediately picked up a phone and began issuing orders. After a brief half minute, Metcalf nodded.
"They're standing down at the launch site."
Secretary of State Douglas Oates wore an expression of triumph. "A near thing, Mr. President. I was against a nuclear strike from the beginning."
"The Dragon Center and the Kaiten Project haven't gone away," the President reminded Oates. "They still pose a dangerous threat. The crisis has merely moved from critical to temporary hold."
"True," Oates argued, "but with Suma in our hands, we're holding the snake by the head, so to speak."
"I can't wait to hear what an expert interrogation team digs out of him," muttered Brogan blissfully.
Oates shook his head in strong disagreement. "Suma is not some small fish in the pond. He's one of the richest and most powerful men in the world. You can't expect to use strong-arm tactics on him without grave consequences."
"Fair is fair." Jordan's voice was filled with satisfaction. "I see no reason to show mercy with a man who kidnapped two members of Congress and was planning to detonate nuclear bombs on American soil."
"I'm with you, Ray," said Brogan, giving Oates an acid stare. "This guy is as rotten as they come. I'll bet dinner for everyone in the room, the Japanese government will remain silent and issue no protest."
Oates was adamant. "It is not in our national interest to act barbaric."
"Nice guys finish last," said Jesse Simmons. "If we'd played hardball like the Russians, we wouldn't have hostages in Lebanon.
"Jesse is right," Nichols agreed. "We'd be idiots to set him free to return to Japan and resume his private war against us."
Brogan said, "Prime Minister Junshiro and his cabinet won't dare create a fuss, or the whole sordid mess would leak to the international news media and come down on them like a ton of bricks. No, you're wrong, Doug, the next step in removing this terrible threat against our people is to twist Suma's arm until he reveals the exact locations of the bomb cars."
The President looked around the table with an expression of weary patience. "Mr. Suma is no friend of this nation. He's all yours, Martin. Make him sing like a canary. We've got to get to those bombs and neutralize them damned quick."
"How soon can the Navy airlift Suma off the Bennett?" Brogan turned and asked Simmons.
"With no aircraft carrier in that part of the ocean," answered the Defense Secretary, "we'll have to wait until the ship is within helicopter range of Wake Island, the nearest pickup point."
"The sooner we get Suma to Washington, the sooner we can extract data from him," said Brogan.
The President nodded. "I'd be interested in hearing what Congresswoman Smith and Senator Diaz observed as well."
Don Kern entered the room and spoke softly to Jordan, who nodded as he listened, and then looked up at the President. "It appears our friends from NUMA have solved another problem for us.
Commander Harper has signaled that the tilt-turbine aircraft Pitt and Giordino hijacked for their flight from the island has been refueled on board the Bennett. They're in the air and flying toward Wake Island as we speak."
The President turned his attention to Metcalf. "General, I leave it to you to arrange military transportation for Suma and our legislators to the capital as quickly as humanly possible."
"I'll alert General Duke Mackay, commander of Anderson Air Force Base on Guam, to send his personal jet to Wake. It should be on the ground and waiting when Pitt sets down."
The President then focused on Jordan. "What's the status of the Dragon Center?"
"Sorry, sir," replied Jordan. "Commander Harper's signals were brief. There was no word from our MAIT team on whether their operation was a success."
"Then we won't know anything until they reach Wake."
"No, sir."
Oates thrust a hard stare at Jordan. "If your people failed in their mission to halt the Dragon Center from becoming operational, we could be facing a terrible calamity."
Jordan stared back. "If they escaped in one piece, they accomplished what they set out to."
"We don't know that for certain."
"Even so, we surely bought some breathing space, with the architect and builder of the Kaiten Project in hand," said Simmons. "Suma's co-conspirators will be demoralized. They won't attempt any major aggression without their leader at the helm."
"I'm afraid your theory won't hold water," Jordan said slowly. "We've overlooked Harper's message from the Bennett."
"What about it?" asked the President.
"The part about the aircraft surviving an attack by Japanese fighters," Brogan pointed out.
Jordan nodded. "They must have known Suma was on board. And yet they tried to shoot the plane down."
Simmons doodled on a notepad as he spoke. "Then we must assume they. . . whoever they are--"
"The old kingpin of the Japanese underworld, Korori Yoshishu, and his financial crony, Ichiro Tsuboi,"
explained Jordan, interrupting. "They're criminal partners in Suma's industrial empire."
"Then we must assume," Simmons repeated, "that Hideki Suma is expendable."
"It comes down to that," said Kern, speaking fur the first time.
"Which means Yoshishu and Tsuboi can step in and activate the detonation systems," the President theorized.
Brogan's expression of optimism was slowly collapsing. "With Suma in our hands, there's no predicting how they'll react."
"Perhaps I should reorder the nuclear strike," said the President halfheartedly.
Jordan shook his head negatively. "Not just yet, Mr. President. There's another way we can buy time to reassess the situation."
"What's on your mind, Ray?"
"We let the Japanese tune in to Commander Harper's signals reporting that the plane carrying Diaz, Smith, and Suma crashed into the sea with the loss of all on board."
Brogan looked doubtful. "You really think Yoshishu and Tsuboi would buy that?"
"Probably not," said Jordan with a canny look, "but I'll bet they'll think about it until we can put the Kaiten Project out of business for good."
>
True to his word, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs had General Mackay's personal Air Force C-20
passenger jet sitting beside the runway that stretched across Wake Island as Pitt dropped the tilt-turbine on a marked pad in front of the small terminal building.
Mel Penner had flown up from Palau and was waiting, cupping his ears against the scream of the turbines as the wheels touched the concrete. The area was surrounded and cordoned off by nearly twenty air police. Penner moved toward the aircraft and stood expectantly at the doorway. It swung open and Weatherhill was the first out.
Penner stepped forward and they shook hands. "Glad to see you're still in the land of the living."
"That makes two of us," said Weatherhill with a huge smile. He glanced around at the Air Force security ring. "We didn't expect a welcoming committee."
"You're the hottest topic of discussion at the White House. Is it true you made it out with Suma?"
Weatherhill nodded. "And Diaz and Smith."
"You made quite a haul."
Stacy stepped down and was also surprised to see Penner and the guards. "Somehow I get the feeling we're not going to refuel and continue to Hawaii," she said, hugging Penner.
"Sorry, no. There's an Air Force jet waiting to fly Suma and the legislators to Washington. They'll be accompanied and guarded by a military intelligence team. The rest of us have been ordered to remain here on Wake for a meeting with a group of highlevel hotshots sent by Jordan and the President."
"I'm sorry we couldn't have sent you more data," explained Weatherhill, "but we thought it best if we stayed off the airwaves and made out a report in person."
"Jordan agrees. You made the right decision."
Weatherhill handed Penner a file folder filled with neatly typed sheets. "A full report."
Penner stared at the report with a blank look. "How?"
Weatherhill gestured back inside the aircraft. "Suma had it, fully equipped to conduct business. We wrote it up during the flight on a word processor."
Mancuso popped his head out the door. "Hi, Mel. Did you bring the party hats and champagne?
"Good to see you, Frank. When can I meet your passengers?"
"Sending them out now. You'll have to wait a minute for our guests from Japan to disembark until I free them."
"You had them under restraint?"
"They got a little testy at times."
Loren and Diaz stepped squinting into the bright sun and were introduced to Penner, who related the flight procedure. Then Suma and Toshie were ushered out by Mancuso, his hands tightly gripping each by an arm.
Penner made a slight bow. "Welcome to United States territory, Mr. Suma, but I don't think you're going to enjoy your stay."
Suma gave Penner the offhand glance he reserved for underlings and acted as if the intelligence operative was invisible.
Toshie looked at Penner with uncontrolled hatred. "You will treat Mr. Suma with proper respect. He demands he be freed immediately and returned to Japan."
"Oh, he will," Penner said mockingly. "After he's enjoyed an all-expense paid vacation in our nation's capital, courtesy of the American taxpayer."
"You are violating international law," Suma said nastily. "And if you do not release us, vengeance shall be swift and many of your countrymen will die."
Penner turned to Weatherhill. "Can he back up the threat?"
Weatherhill looked at Suma. "Sorry, you can forget about the Dragon Center. Its juice has been cut off."
"You were successful?" asked Penner. "Ray Jordan and Don Kern are clawing the walls, waiting to hear."
"A temporary fix. We only had enough explosive to blow out a fiberoptic bundle. They should be back in business in several days."
Dr. Josh Nogami exited the plane and was greeted by Penner. "A real pleasure to meet you, Doc.
We're grateful for your efforts in getting information out to us. Your help was invaluable."
Nogami shrugged modestly. "I'm sorry I couldn't have saved Jim Hanamura."
"You might have given yourself away and been murdered too."
"Mr. Pitt did his best to prevent that." Nogami glanced around, but saw no familiar faces. "It looks as though I'm an agent without an assignment."
"When our Deputy Director of Operations, Don Kern, learned you were on board, he requested that you be temporarily assigned to us. Your superior agreed. If you don't mind working with a bunch of colonials for a few days, your knowledge of the Dragon Center's layout would be very helpful."
Nogami nodded. "The weather here beats rainy London any day."
Before Penner could reply, Giordino leaped from the tilt-turbine and ran toward a squad of air police that were herding
Suma and Toshie to the waiting C-20. He rushed over to the officer in charge and asked him to hold up the procession for a moment.
Giordino was only half a centimeter taller than Toshie. He looked straight into her eyes. "Dear heart, wait for me."
She stared at him in angered surprise. "What are you talking about?"
"Courtship, amorous pursuit, nestling, endearment, proposal. As soon as I can catch up to you, I'm going to make you the happiest woman alive."
"You're mad!"
"Only one of my many charms," said Giordino engagingly. "You'll discover lots of others in the years to come."
Amazingly, Toshie wavered. For a strange reason she couldn't comprehend, she began to find Giordino's very un-Japanese approach appealing. She had to struggle to suppress any friendliness she felt toward him.
Giordino recognized her uncertainty and grasped her slender shoulders in his beefy hands, kissed her briefly on the lips, and smiled. "I'll catch up to you as soon as I can."
She was still staring at him wordlessly over her shoulder as Penner took her by the elbow and brusquely led her away.
Pitt escorted Loren to the C-20 jet after Suma, Toshie, and Diaz were seated aboard. They walked in silence, feeling the warmth from the sun and the humidity stroke their skin.
Loren stopped several meters from the aircraft and stared into Pitt's eyes. "It seems one of us is always coming and going."
He nodded. "We lead busy, separate lives. Our schedules never mesh."
"Maybe someday. . ." Her voice died softly.
"Someday," he said in understanding.
"You're not going back?" she asked hesitantly.
He shrugged. "I don't know. Al and I have been ordered to remain behind."
"They can't send you back to that island. Not now."
"I'm a marine engineer, remember? I'm the last man they'd ask to assault the Dragon Center with six-shooters blazing."
"I'll talk to the President and request you and Al be sent home."
"Don
't put yourself out," he said easily. "We'll probably be on the next flight east."
She stood on her toes and kissed him gently on the mouth. "Thank you for everything."
Pitt smiled. "Anything to please a pretty lady."
Tears began forming in her eyes. Loren had a feeling of dread in her stomach. Somehow she knew he wouldn't be following her anytime soon. Suddenly she turned and hurried up the boarding stairs into the aircraft.
Pitt stood there looking after her. Then he waved as her face appeared in a window, but when Loren looked for him again as the plane taxied to the runway he was gone.
>
Tsuboi could not believe it. After leaving Yoshishu and rushing from Tokyo to Edo City and then to the Dragon Center to take personal command, he stood in the control room tense with growing rage.
"What do you mean you cannot detonate any of the bomb cars?" he demanded.
Takeda Kurojima, the Dragon Center's chief director, was stricken. He looked around helplessly at his small army of engineers and scientists for moral support, but they all stared at the floor as if hoping to be swallowed by it.
"Only Mr. Suma knows the codes," Kurojima answered with a patronizing hands-out shrug. "He personally programmed the code system for the prime and detonate signals."
"How long will it take you to reprogram the codes?"
Kurojima stared at his staff again. They began muttering rapidly between themselves. Then, seemingly agreeing on something, one stepped forward and murmured so softly Tsuboi didn't hear.
"What. . . what was it you said?"
Kurojima finally stared into Tsuboi's eyes. "Three days, it will take three days minimum to erase Mr.
Suma's command codes and reprogram the systems."