"How do you'read the upcoming confrontation at Lisner Auditorium?" Oates'asked Emmett.
"The special forces of Army and Marines patrolling Capitol Hill are highly trained professionals. They can be counted on to stand firm and not attempt anything stupid. The National Guard is the real danger. All it takes is one weekend warrior to panic and fire off a round. Then we'll witness another Kent State bloodbath, except much worse. This time the Guard will have their fire returned by deadly marksmen."
"The situation won't be helped if a few congressmen fall in the crossfire," added Mercier.
"The President has to be isolated. The timetable must be moved up," said Oates.
Mercier looked unsold. "That means cutting back Dr. Edgely's evaluation of the President's brain signals."
"Preventing wholesale slaughter must take priority over a plan to mislead the Russians," said Oates.
Brogan gazed at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I think we might steal our chicken and pluck it too."
Oates smiled. "I hear the gears meshing in your head, Martin.
What wild Machiavellian scheme has the CIA got up its sleeve now?"
"A way to give Edgely an advantage," answered Brogan with a foxlike grin. "A little something borrowed from The Twilight Zone."
A limousine WAS WAITING at Andrews Air Force Base when Pitt slowly eased his way down the boarding stairs from a Navy passenger jet.
Admiral Sandecker was sitting in the car, hidden by the tinted windows.
He opened the door and helped Pitt inside. "How was the flight?"
"Mercifully, it was smooth."
"Do you have any luggage?"
"I'm wearing it," said Pitt. He winced and clenched his teeth as he slipped into the seat beside the admiral.
"You in much pain?"
"A little stiff. They don't tape cracked ribs like they did in the old days. just let them heal on their own."
"Sorry I insisted on your return in such haste, but things in Washington are boiling up a storm, and Doug Oates is hoping you possess information that might clear up a few entanglements."
"I understand," Pitt said. "Has there been any news of Loren?"
"Nothing, I'm afraid."
"She's alive," said Pitt, staring out the window.
"I don't doubt it," Sandecker concurred. "Probably an oversight her name isn't on the survivor list. Maybe she requested anonymity to avoid the press."
"Loren had no reason to hide."
"She'll turn up," Sandecker said. "Now, suppose you tell me how you managed to be present at the worst maritime tragedy in fifty years.
Pitt marveled at how the admiral could twist a conversation in another direction with the abruptness of leaping from a sauna into the snow.
"In the brief time we had together on the Leonin Andreyev," Pitt began, "Loren told me she was strolling on the deck on the first night of the cruise when the lights around the exterior of the ship went out, followed by the landing of a helicopter. Three passengers were taken off, two of them roughly handled. Loren thought she recognized one of them in the dim light as Alan Moran.
Not certain whether her eyes were playing tricks, she called her aid Sally Lindemann over ship-to-shore phone and asked her to locate Moran's whereabouts. Sally turned up false trails covered over by vague reports and no Moran. She also discovered he and Marcus Larimer were supposed to be together. She then related the negative results to Loren, who told her to contact me. But the call was cut off. The Russians had monitored her calls and learned she'd accinentally stumbled into the middle of a delicate operation."
"So they made her a prisoner along with her congressional pals, who were on a one-way trip to Moscow."
"Except that Loren was more risk than asset. She was to be conveniently lost overboard."
"And after Lindemann contacted you?" Sandecker probed.
"Al Giordino and I drew up a plan and flew south, catching up with the ship in San Salvador and boarding there."
"Over two hundred people died on the Leonin Andreyev. You're lucky to be alive."
"Yes," Pitt said meditatively. "It was a near thing."
He went quiet, his mind's eye seeing only a face-the face of the steward who stood in the lifeboat leering down at him with the look of a man who enjoyed his work: a murderer without a shred of remorse.
"In case you're interested," said Sandecker, breaking the spell, "we're going direct to a meeting with Secretary Oates at the State Department."
"Make a detour by the Washington Post," Pitt said abruptly.
Sandecker gave him a negative look. "We can't spare the time to buy a newspaper."
"If Oates wants to hear what I've got, he'll damn well have to wait."
Sandecker made a sour expression and gave in. "Ten minutes is all you get. I'll call Oates and say your plane was delayed."
Pitt had met the Secretary of State previously, during the North American Treaty affair. The neatly trimmed hair was slate-colored, and the brown eyes moved with practiced ease as they read Pitt.
Oates wore a five-hundred-dollar gray tailored suit and highly polished black custom shoes. There was a no-nonsense aggressiveness about him, and he moved well, almost like a track and field athlete.
"Mr. Pitt, how nice to see you again."
"Good to see you, Mr. Secretary."
Oates wrung Pitts hand, then turned to the other men in the conference room and went through the introductions. The inner sanctum had turned out. Brogan of the CIA, Emmett of the FBI, National Security's Alan Mercier, whom Pitt also knew, and Dan Fawcett representing the White House. Admiral Sandecker remained at Pitts side, keeping a wary eye on his friend.
"Please sit down," Oates said, waving them all to a chair.
Sam Emmett turned toward Pitt and regarded him with interest, noting the drawn lines in his face. "I've taken the liberty of pulling your packet, Mr. Pitt, and I must confess your service with the government reads like a novel." He paused to scan the dossier.
"Directly responsible for saving innumerable lives during the Vixen operation. Instrumental in obtaining the Canadian merger treaty. Heading the project to raise the Titanic, with subsequent discovery of a rare element for the Sicilian project. You have an uncanny knack for getting around."
"i believe the word is 'ubiquitous,"' Oates injected.
"You were in the Air Force before joining NUMA," Emmett continued.
"Rank of major. Excellent record in Vietnam." He hesitated, a strange inquisitive look growing on his face. "I see here you'received a commendation for destroying one of our own aircraft."
"Perhaps I should explain that," Sandecker said, "since I was on the aircraft Dirk shot down."
"I realize we're pressed for time, but I'd be interested to hear that tale," said Oates.
Sandecker nodded agreeably. "My staff and I were flying on a twin turboprop transport from Saigon to a small coastal port north of Da Nang. Unknown to us, the field we were supposed to land on was overrun by North Vietnamese regulars. Our radio malfunctioned and my pilot was unable to receive the warning. Dirk was flying nearby, returning to his base from a bombing mission. The local commander directed him to intercept and alert us by whatever means available." Sandecker looked over at Pitt and smiled.
"I have to say he tried everything short of a neon sign. He played charades from his cockpit, fired several bursts from his guns across our nose, but nothing penetrated our thick skulls. When we were on our final landing approach, coming in from the sea toward the airstrip, in what has to be a rare exhibition of precision aerial marksmanship, he shot out both our engines, forcing my pilot to ditch our plane in the water only one mile from shore. Dirk then flew cover, strafing enemy boats putting out from the beach, until everyone was taken aboard a Navy patrol vessel. After learning that he saved me from certain imprisonment and possible death, we became good friends.
Several years later, when President Ford asked me to launch NUMA, I persuaded Dirk to join me."
Oates looked at Pitt through bemused eyes. "You lead
an interesting life. I envy you."
Before Pitt could reply, Alan Mercier said, "I'm sure Mr. Pitt is curious why we asked him here."
"I'm well aware of the reason," Pitt said.
He looked from man to man. They all looked like they hadn't slept in a month. At last he addressed himself directly to Oates. "I know who was responsible for the theft and subsequent spill of Nerve Agent S into the Gulf of Alaska." He spoke slowly and distinctly. "I know who committed nearly thirty murders while hijacking the presidential yacht and its passengers. I know the identities of those passengers and why they were abducted. And lastly, I know who sabotaged the Leonin Andreyev, killing two hundred men, women and children. There is no speculation or guesswork on my part. The facts and evidence are rock Solid."
The room took on an almost deathly stillness. No one made even the slightest attempt to speak. Pitts statement had stunned them to the soles of their feet. Emmett had a distraught expression on his face. Fawcett clasped his hands to conceal his nervousness.
Oates appeared dazed.
Brogan was the first to question Pitt. "I must assume, Mr. Pitt, you're alluding to the Russians?"
"No, sir, I am not."
"No chance you're mistaken?" asked Mercier.
"None."
"If not the Russians," asked Emmett in a cautious voice, "then who?"
"The head of the Bougainville Maritime empire, Min Koryo, and her grandson, Lee Tong."
"I happen to know Lee Tong Bougainville personally," said Emmett.
"He is a respected business executive who donates heavily to political campaigns."
"So does the Mafia and every charlatan who's out to milk the government money machine," said Pitt icily. He lain a photograph on the table. "I borrowed this from the morgue file of the Washing Post.
Do you'recognize this man, Mr. Emmett, the one coming through the door in the picture?"
Emmett picked up the photograph and examined it. "Lee Tong Bougainville," he said. "Not a good likeness, but one of the few photos I've ever seen of him. He avoids publicity like herpes.
You're making a grave error, Mr. Pitt, in accusing him of any crime."
"No error," Pitt said firmly. "This man tried to kill me. I have reason to believe he is accountable for the explosion that burned and sank the Leonin Andreyev, and the kidnapping of Congresswoman Loren Smith."
"Congresswoman Smith's kidnapping is pure conjecture on your part."
"Dinn't Congressman Moran explain what occurred onboard the ship?"
Pitt asked.
"He refuses to be questioned by us," Mercier answered. "All we know is what he told the press."
Emmett was becoming angry. He saw Pitts revelations as an indictment of FBI fumbling. He leaned across the table with fire in his eyes. "Do you honestly expect us to believe your ridiculous fairy tales?" he demanded in a cracking voice.
"I don't much care what you believe," Pitt replied, pinning the FBI director with his stare.
"Can you say how you collared the Bougainvilles?" asked Oates.
"My involvement stems from the death of a friend by Nerve Agent S.
I began a hunt for the responsible parties, I admit, purely for revenge. As my investigations gradually centered on Bougainville Maritime, other avenues of their illicit organization suddenly unfolded.
"And you can prove your accusations?"
"Of course," Pitt answered. "Computer data describing their hijacking activities, drug business and smuggling operations is in a safe at NUMA."
Brogan held up a hand. "Wait one moment. You stated the Bougainvilles were also behind the hijacking of the Eagle?"
"i did."
"And you know who was abducted?"
"I do."
"Not possible," Brogan stated flatly.
"Shall I name names, gentlemen?" said Pitt. "Let's begin with the President, then Vice President Margolin, Senator Larimer and House Speaker Moran. I was with Larimer when he died. Margolin is still alive and held somewhere by the Bougainvilles. Moran is now here in Washington, no doubt conspiring to become the next messiah. The President sits in the White House immune to the political disaster he's causing, while his brain is wired to the apron strings of a Soviet psychologist whose name is Dr. Aleksei Lugovoy."
If Oates and the others sat stunned before, they were absolutely petrified now. Brogan looked as if he'd just consumed a bottle of Tabasco sauce.
"You couldn't know all that!" he gasped.
"Quite obviously, I do," said Pitt calmly.
"My God, how?" demanded Oates.
"A few hours prior to the holocaust on the Leonin Andreyev, I killed a KGB agent by the name of Paul Suvorov. He was carrying a notebook, which I borrowed. The pages describe his movements after the President was abducted from the Eagle."
Pitt took the tobacco pouch from under his shirt, opened it, and casually tossed the notebook on the table.
It lay there for several moments until Oates finally reached over and pulled it toward him slowly, as if it might bite his hand. Then he thumbed through the pages.
"That's odd," he said after a lapse. "The writing is in English.
I would have expected some sort of Russian worded code."
"Not so strange," said Brogan. "A good operative will write in the language of the country he's assigned to. What is unusual is that this Suvorov took notes at all. I can only assume he was keeping an eye on Lugovoy, and the mind-control project was too technical for him to commit to memory, so he recorded his observations."
"Mr. Pitt," Fawcett demanded. "Do you have enough evidence for the Justice Department to indict Min Koryo Bougainville?"
"Indict yes, convict no," Pitt answered. "The government will never put an eighty-six-year-old woman as rich and powerful as Min Koryo behind bars. And if she thought her chances were on the down side, she'd skip the country and move her operations elsewhere."
"Considering her crimes," Fawcett mused, "extradition shouldn't be too tough to negotiate."
"Min Koryo has strong ties with the North Koreans," said Pitt.
"She goes there and you'll never see her stand trial."
Emmett considered that and said stonily, "I think we can take over at this point." Then he turned to Sandecker as if dismissing Pitt.
"Admiral, can you arrange to have Mr. Pitt available for further questioning, and supply us with the computer data he's accumulated on the Bougainvilles?"
"You can bank on full cooperation from NUMA," Sandecker said.
Then he anded caustically, "Always glad to help the FBI off a reef."
"That's settled," said Oates, stepping in as referee. "Mr. Pitt, do you have any idea where they might be holding Vice President Margolin?"
"No, sir. I don't think Suvorov did either. According to his notes, after he escaped from Lugovoy's laboratory, he flew over the area in a helicopter but failed to pinpoint the location or building.
The only reference he mentions is a river south of Charleston, South Carolina."
Oates looked from Emmett to Brogan to Mercier. "Well, gentlemen, we have a starting point."
"I think we owe a round of thanks to Mr. Pitt," said Fawcett.
"Yes, indeed," said Mercier. "You've been most helpful."
Christ! Pitt thought to himself. They're beginning to sound like the Chamber of Commerce expressing their gratitude to a street cleaner who followed a parade.
"That's all there is?" he asked.
"For the moment," replied Oates.
"What about Loren Smith and Vince Margolin?"
"We'll see to their safety," said Emmett coldly.
Pitt awkwardly struggled to his feet. Sandecker came over and took his arm. Then Pitt placed his hands on the table and leaned toward Emmett, his stare enough to wither cactus.
"You better," he said with a voice like steel. "You damned well better."
As THE Chalmette steamed toward Florida, communications became hectic. Frantic inquiries flooded the ship's radio room, and the Koreans found it impossibl
e to comply. They finally gave up and supplied only the names of the survivors onboard. All entreaties by the news media demanding detailed information on the Leonin Andreyev's sinking went unanswered.
Friends and relatives of the passengers, frantic with anxiety, began collecting at the Russian cruise line offices. Here and there around the country flags were flown at half-mast. The tragedy was a subject of conversation in every home. Newspapers and television networks temporarily swept the President closing of Congress out of the limelight and devoted special editions and newscasts to covering the disaster.