Black Wind

Kwan watched as a vein stood out on Kang's temple and began throbbing violently. The anger rose quickly in the man but came out in a controlled hiss.

“This bungling must stop! First we lose two of our agents in America on a simple assassination attempt and now this. How long before repairs to the damage can be completed?”

“At least three months. The Shinkai is out,” Kwan said quietly.

“We have a timetable to adhere to,” Kang replied with agitation. “We're talking days, not months.”

“I have initiated a complete search of available submersibles in the region. The other potential Japanese deep-water submersible is undergoing a refit, and all the Russian vessels are currently operating in Western waters. The nearest available submersible that is suitable for the recovery is a Ukrainian vessel currently operating in the Indian Ocean. It will take three weeks to have her on-site, however.”

“That is too late,” Kang mumbled. “The momentum we have built in the National Assembly for the referendum is peaking. There will be a forced vote within a few weeks. We must act before then. I need not remind you that we had committed to strike during the G8 assemblage,” he said, his eyes simmering with anger.

An anguished silence filled the room. Then Kwan ventured to speak.

“Sir, there may be another option. We were told that an American scientific research vessel has been operating in Japanese waters with a deep-sea submersible. I was able to track the vessel down earlier today as it was taking on fuel in Osaka. It is a NUMA ship, fully capable of deep-water recovery.”

“NUMA again?” Kang mused. His face pinched up as he contemplated the successful foundation he had laid for the project and the potential risk of delay. Finally, he nodded his head at Kwan.

“It is imperative that we initiate the recovery as soon as possible. Obtain the American submersible, but do it quietly and without incident.”

“Tongju is there to lead the operation,” Kwan replied confidently. “At your instructions, he will proceed. He will not fail us.”

“See to it,” Kang replied, his dark eyes boring through Kwan with seething intolerance.

Six-foot swells carrying caps of white foam atop their shoulders pushed and prodded at the Sea Rover, causing her decks to roll gently with the undulating seas. A high-pressure front was slowly moving out of the East China Sea, and Captain Morgan noted with satisfaction that the strong southerly winds had gradually softened since they had entered the sea located southeast of the Japanese mainland the night before. As Morgan watched from the bridge, a gray dawn slowly washed the research ship in a bath of muted light. Near the rising and falling bow, he spotted a solitary figure standing at the rail sca

Dirk breathed in a deep lungful of the sea air, tasting the damp saltiness of it on his tongue. The ocean always invigorated him, both physically and mentally, the blue vastness providing a tranquil tonic that Uowed him to think and act more clearly. Not one capable of working behind a desk, he was addicted to the outdoors, flourishing when at one with what Mother Nature had to offer.

After watching a pair of gulls arc lazily above the ship in search of a morning meal, he made his way aft and climbed up to the elevated bridge. Morgan thrust a steaming mug of coffee into his hand as he entered the ship's control room.

“You're up early,” the captain boomed, a jovial grin on his face even at the early hour of the day.

“Didn't want to miss out on any of the fun,” Dirk replied, taking a long draw at the coffee. “I figured we would be approaching the search area shortly after dawn.”

“Pretty near,” Morgan said. “We're about forty minutes from the Swordfisffs reported position where she sank the Japanese sub.”

“What's the depth here?”

A young helmsman in a blue jumpsuit eyed the depth monitor and crisply a

“Looks like territory for a deep-water AUV search,” Dirk said.

“I'll have Summer wake up Audry and get her ready for work,” Morgan replied with a grin.

Audry was the variant of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, which the NUMA scientists who built her had instead dubbed “Autonomous Underwater Data Recovery Vehicle.” A state-of-the-art self-propelled sensing unit, Audry contained a side-scan sonar, a magnetometer, and a sub-bottom profiler, all packaged into a torpedo-shaped casing that was simply dropped over the side of the ship. The combined sensors provided the capability to seismically map the seafloor for natural or man-made objects, as well as peer beneath the seabed for buried anomalies. The fish-shaped sensor could skim above the seafloor at a depth of five thousand feet, propelled by a powerful battery pack, which eliminated the need for a lengthy and cumbersome tow cable.

As the Sea Rover approached the search area, Dirk assisted Sum* mer in downloading the search parameters into Audry's navigatiot| computer.

“We'll use the side-scan sonar only so we can run wider search! lanes,” Dirk instructed. “If the I-411 is out there, we ought to be able| to see her sitting up off the bottom.”

“How large a search grid?” Summer asked as she tapped instructions into a laptop computer.

“We have only a rough fix from the Swordfish, so we'll likely have plenty of ground to cover. Let's set the initial search grid at five by five miles.”

“That's still within range of the data relay system. I'll do a quick systems check, then we should be ready to deploy.”

As Audry's software program was reconfigured, the Sea Rover dropped a pair of self-positioning transducers into the water at either end of the search grid. With built-in GPS satellite receivers, the transducers would relay underwater navigational guidance to Audry that would enable the vehicle to run a precise back-and-forth grid pattern several dozen feet above the seafloor. Audry in return would upload packets of data to the transducers at periodic intervals, detailing the sonar's search results.

“Ready with the winch,” a crewman's voice shouted.

Dirk gave the thumbs-up signal, then he and Summer watched as the eight-foot-long, lemon-colored survey vehicle was lifted out of a rack on the rear deck and lowered over the side railing into the water. A white plume of spray from the tail indicated that Audry's small propeller was churning, then the grips from the winch were let go. Lunging like a thoroughbred out of the gates at Santa Anita, the torpedo- shaped vehicle surged down the length of the Sea Rover before submerging under a wave and into the depths.

“Audry has some legs on her,” Dirk noted.

“She's undergone a recent modification and is now capable of ru

“At that pace, she may not give me much time for my favorite part of the search.”

“What's that?” Summer asked, a quizzical look on her face.

“Why, having a beer and a peanut butter sandwich while waiting for the results,” he gri

While Audry motored back and forth down neat imaginary lanes a hundred feet above the seafloor, Summer monitored the vehicle's progress on a computer display aboard the Sea Rover. At twenty-minute intervals, a digital data upload was wirelessly transmitted from the transducers to the ship, where further electronic processing converted the binary data bits into a graphical image of the sonar readings. Dirk and Summer took turns sca

“Looks like a pepperoni pizza,” Dirk mused as he studied the rock-strewn bottom, seeing odd-shaped boulders that threw off round shadows against the flat backdrop.

“Don't tell me you're hungry again,” Summer replied, shaking her head.