Silent Thunder

"Are there photographs?" Ha

"Photographs, videos, maybe even compact discs of a news radio story or two."

"This must have been expensive," Cathy said.

"I'm on a committee that has a contract with this particular clipping service. We're not using them for much else right now, so at least this way they earn the money we're already paying them. After you're finished, I'll give all of this material to the maritime museum. I'm sure they'd like to have it for their archives."

Cathy stood up and picked up one of the boxes. "Thank you. We'll take good care of these."

"I know you will." He hesitated. "And you know I'll continue to help you as much as I can." He added gently, "But don't you believe that others are more qualified and working hard to find Co

Ha

"What makes you think they aren't?"

Cathy said quickly, "This is for me, George. I need to do something. Can you understand?"

"Of course. I just want you to be careful. Ro

"I know." She tried to smile as she turned to leave. "And God knows, I need them."

Ha

"I'm sure she's trying to stir up as much trouble as she can," Pavski said. "And probably snooping." He frowned. "Keep the surveillance sharp on her and Cathy Bryson." He sat back in his chair. "This wouldn't have been necessary if your so-called experts hadn't fumbled."

"They were experts," Koppel protested. "Something must have gone wrong."

"They fumbled," Pavski repeated coldly. "That's what went wrong. Now we have to find another way. Contact Carwell and have him check his go-to list. I need a wedge to get under Bryson's guard. Have you transmitted my message to Danzyl in Moscow?"

Koppel nodded. "He's working on it. He'll get it to you soon."

"Soon isn't good enough. I need it now." Keep calm. This trouble with Ha

An hour after they left the congressman's office, Ha

"These pinholes are going to wreak havoc with your resale value," Cathy said.

Ha

"I'll take your word for it." Cathy surveyed the newspaper accounts. "You're featured in at least half these stories. You're more famous than I thought."

Ha

Cathy shook her head. "No."

Ha

"Co

Ha

"It's okay. I still have a few hours. They're with my mother. I think it's a relief for them to spend time with someone who isn't struggling just to hold herself together."

"I've seen you with them. You're doing great."

Cathy gazed at the photo-covered walls. "I'd be doing great if we could find something here we could use."

"There's some good background in this material, but we probably won't find what we need here. We have to find out what was scratched on those bulkhead plates, and to do that, we have to find out more about the Silent Thunder's history."

"Didn't the Russians give you that when they sold the sub to the museum?"

"Not really. We don't even know how many miles it logged. The Russians are notoriously secretive about their submarine fleet. They're constantly renaming and renumbering them to make it hard for other governments to know how many they have in service. They're not about to give us details of its missions."

"So what are you going to do?"

"One of the ships on my first Titanic expedition was a Russian scientific vessel. There were some former Soviet Navy officers on the crew, so I've made some calls to see if they can help us out."

Cathy reached into one of the file boxes and pulled out another stack of articles and photographs. "In the meantime, I'll find some place to plaster these up." She turned away. "You say you're partial to the shower door?"

Two and a half hours later, Ha

"What did you find?" Cathy asked.

Ha

Cathy studied the photos. "Other than the tons of ribbons and streamers littering the water in each of these ports?"

"It's all biodegradable and dissolves in just a few hours. Keep looking."

She gazed a few moments longer, then finally pointed to a craft resting a few hundred yards off shore. "This boat."

"Yes." Ha

Cathy looked at the photo that featured the boat most prominently. It was a small fishing trawler, approximately thirty feet in length, with a single mast and elevated steering platform. The silhouette of a tall, broad-shouldered man could be seen on the platform.

"He could be a submarine buff," Cathy said.

"Possibly. Or a journalist covering the Silent Thunder's final voyage. It's strange how he seems to be keeping his distance, though. The other boats are in position to observe the submarine. He seems to be positioned to watch the other boats. See?"

Cathy nodded. "So what do we do?"

Ha

"Who are you calling?" Cathy asked.

"Jack Fowler, he's with the Coast Guard."

Fowler picked up on the fifth ring.

"Hi, Jack. Ha

He was clearly surprised to hear from her. "Ha

"Thank you, Jack. It's been a tough time."

"If there's anything I can do, you know-"

"Actually, there is. I need you to run a vessel ID for me."