Blue Gold

"That's the game, I believe," said Sandecker, deftly scooping up the bouncing ball. Sandecker was a fitness and nutrition fanatic, and his strict regimen of jogging and weightlifting gave him a competitive edge over men much younger and bigger. He stood with legs wide apart, the racket resting easily in the crook of his arm. Not one drop of perspiration beaded his forehead. Nor was a single red hair out of place on his head or the precisely trimmed fiery red Van Dyke beard.

By contrast, LeGrand dripped with sweat. As he removed his eye protectors and toweled his face dry he remembered why he had stopped playing with Sandecker. The CIA director had the height and muscle advantage over Sandecker, who stood a few inches over five feet, but as he learned each time he stepped onto the court with Sandecker, squash was a game of strategy, not power. Under normal circumstances he would have put the admiral off when he called the day after the incident in New York State.

"I've reserved a court at the club," Sandecker said cheer

fully. "How'd you like to bat the little black ball around for a bit?"

Despite the genial tone there was no doubt in LeGrand's mind that this was a command performance. LeGrand canceled his morning appointments and stopped at the Watergate complex to pick up his gear. Sandecker was waiting at the squash club. He was wearing a designer sweatsuit of navy blue with gold piping. But even in his casual outfit it took little imagination to picture Sandecker pacing the deck of a man o' war in a bygone day, barking commands to trim sail or unleash a broadside against a Barbary pirate. He ran NUMA the same way, keeping one eye on the changes in the wind and the other on his adversaries. Like any good commander he took a keen interest in his crew's welfare.

When he learned Austin had been put in harm's way by a cockeyed intelligence scheme he erupted in an explosion that would have put krakatoa to shame. The CIA's involvement added to the violence of his reaction. He was fond of LeGrand, but in Sandecker's uncompromising view the Company was pampered and overfunded.

While he relished the chance to put the CIA director in the hot seat, he saw it as more than an opportunity to vent his spleen. Sandecker wasn't above political chicanery. He was quite adept at it, in fact. One of his more valuable talents was the ability to stay ahead of his anger and use it to get his way. Targets of his rage had no idea that behind his laser-hot fury he was often serene, even joyful. His ability served him well. Presidents of both parties deferred to him. Senators and congressmen went out of their way to cultivate his acquaintance. Cabinet members instructed their staff to put through his phone calls without question.

LeGrand had readily accepted the admiral's invitation for a match because he was drenched with guilt over the incident in New York and welcomed the opportunity to make amends, even if it meant being humiliated on the squash court. To his surprise, Sandecker had greeted him with a smile and hadn't mentioned the incident throughout their play. He even offered to buy the first round at the juice bar.

"Thanks for the match on such short notice," Sandecker said with his famous alligator smile.

LeGrand sipped his papaya juice and shook his head. "One of these days maybe I'll beat you."

"Your backhand needs some work first," Sandecker offered. "By the way, while I have your ear, I'd like to thank you for averting a potential tragedy involving my man Austin."

This might not be as bad as he expected, LeGrand thought.

Sandecker maintained his disconcerting smile. "Pity you didn't get someone to respond more quickly," he said. "You might have been able to save your asset." He put heavy emphasis on the first syllable of the last word.

LeGrand groaned inwardly. It was obvious Sandecker was going to worry this one like a puppy with a bone.

Ignoring the play on words, the director said, "I'm sorry about that regrettable episode. The full extent of this, er, problem wasn't apparent at first. It was a very complex situation."

"So I hear," Sandecker said lightly. "Tell you what I'm going to do, Erwin. I will forget for the time being that a screwball scheme hatched by the OSS and carried out by the CIA went awry, almost killing the head of the NUMA Special Assignments Team and an i

"You're very gracious, James," LeGrand said.

Sandecker nodded. "No details of this schoolboy spy prank will ever go beyond the walls of NUMA."

"The Agency appreciates your discretion," LeGrand said.

Sandecker raised a red eyebrow. "You're not entirely off the hook," he said archly. "In exchange I want a full accounting of this sordid affair."

LeGrand knew there would be a quid pro quo. There always was with Sandecker. He had already decided to lay his cards out on the table.

"You're certainly justified in demanding an accounting," he agreed.

"I think so," Sandecker said agreeably.

"It was quite a task to piece this story together, especially on such short notice, but I'll do my best to explain what happened."

"Or thankfully in this case," Sandecker said, "what didn't happen."

LeGrand smiled wanly. "The end of World War II is the be gi

"The thermonuclear bomb uses fusion rather than fission," said Sandecker, who was well versed in atomic physics, having served on nuclear-powered submarines. "Atoms are joined rather than split apart."

LeGrand nodded. "The hydrogen atom was fused with the helium atom. The sun and other stars use the same process to create their energy. Once it became known that the main Soviet fusion lab was in Siberia there was talk in our government of sabotage. Hubris was still strong after defeating the Axis, and some people talked nostalgically of the commando raid on the heavy-water plant in Norway. You're familiar with that mission, of course."

"You mean the plant that was producing an isotope needed for the production of a German A-bomb," Sandecker said.

"That's right. The raid delayed the German effort."

'A similar commando raid in Siberia would have been an ambitious undertaking, to say the least."

"As a matter of fact, it would have been impossible," LeGrand said. "The Norway raid was incredibly difficult to launch, even with accessibility and strong partisan support. There was an other consideration as well."

Sandecker, who tended to see situations from a global perspective, said, "Germany was at war with the Allies at the time of the Norway raid. The U.S.S.R. and the U.S. had not declared open hostilities. Both sides were careful to avoid direct military confrontation. A raid on a Soviet laboratory would be considered an overt act of war that could not be ignored."

"That's correct. It would be no different from the Russians destroying a lab in New Mexico. It could have provoked a shooting war."

Sandecker was not exactly i