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“What were they working on?”
“Just analyzing water temps, salinity and oxygen levels,” Pitt said. “Nothing dangerous. I save those jobs for you and Joe.”
Kurt couldn’t imagine any reason such a study might offend someone. “And yet you think it was foul play?”
“We don’t know what it was,” Dirk said firmly. “But something’s not right. We can see the life-raft containers from the air. The casings are burned but otherwise untouched. Halverson was a ten-year vet, he was a merchant marine sailor for eight years before that. Kimo and Thalia were younger, but they were well trained. And none of us can come up with a reason for a widespread fire aboard a sailboat to begin with. Even if we could, no one can tell me why three trained sailors would fail to deploy a life raft or get off a distress call under such conditions.”
Kurt remained silent. He couldn’t think of a reason either, unless they were somehow incapacitated.
“The bottom line is, they’re missing,” Dirk said. “Perhaps we’ll find them. But you and I have been around long enough to know this doesn’t look good.”
Kurt understood the math. Three members of NUMA were missing and presumed dead. Something both Dirk Pitt and Kurt Austin took personally.
“What do you need me to do?”
“A salvage team from the Maldives is getting set up,” Pitt said. “I want you and Joe on-site as soon as possible. That means you’re on a plane in four hours.”
“Not a problem,” Kurt said. “Is anyone still looking for them?”
“Search-and-rescue aircraft out of the Maldives, a pair of Navy P-3s and a long-range squadron from southern India have been crisscrossing the zone since the boat was spotted. Nothing yet.”
“So this isn’t a rescue mission.”
“I only wish it was,” Pitt said. “But unless we get some good news that I’m not expecting to receive, your job is to figure out what happened and why.”
In the dark bay, unseen by Pitt, Kurt nodded. “Understood.”
“I’ll let you wake Mr. Zavala,” Pitt said. “Keep me posted.”
Kurt acknowledged the directive, and Dirk Pitt hung up.
Placing the phone down, Kurt thought about the mission ahead. He hoped against all reason that the three NUMA members would be found bobbing in their life jackets by the time he crossed the Atlantic, but considering the description of the catamaran and the length of time they’d been missing, he doubted it.
He slid the phone into his pocket and took a long look at the gleaming craft he’d built.
Without another second of hesitation, he reached for the light switch, flicked it off and walked out.
His date would have to wait for another morning.
CHAPTER 4
CENTRAL YEMEN
A FIGURE CLOAKED IN WHITE STOOD ON A ROCKY OUT cropping that jutted above the sand of Yemen’s sprawling desert. The wind tugged at his caftan, producing a muted flapping sound as it waved in the breeze.
A gleaming white helicopter sat on the bluff behind him. A green insignia, depicting two date palms shading an oasis, decorated its side. Three stories below lay the entrance to a wide cave.
In times past, the cave would have been guarded by a few Bedouin men hidden in the crags of the bluff, but on this day there were a dozen men with automatic rifles in plain view, another twenty or so remaining hidden.
Ji
“They follow the ancient track,” he said, speaking to a figure beside and slightly behind him. “In my father’s time they would have been spice caravans and traders, Sabah. Now only bankers come to see us.”
He lowered the binoculars and looked to the bearded older man who stood beside him. Sabah had been his father’s most loyal hand. Sabah was dressed in darker robes and he carried a radio.
“You are wise to understand their motives,” Sabah said. “They care nothing for us or our struggle. They come because you promise them wealth. You must deliver before we can do as we choose.”
“Is Xhou with them?”
Sabah nodded. “He is. Upon his arrival, all the members of the consortium will be present. We should not keep them waiting.”
“And what of General Aziz, the Egyptian?” Ji
“He will speak with us three days from now,” Sabah said. “When it is a better time for him.”
Ji
“Aziz mocks us,” Ji
“We will talk with him and bring him back in line,” Sabah insisted.
“No,” Ji
Sabah looked at Ji
“It’s the answer to the riddle of life,” Ji
Sabah nodded slowly and a smile wrinkled his beard. “You have learned well, Ji
Below them, the Humvees were slowing to a stop in front of the cave.
“You have been the pole star that guides me,” Ji
Sabah bowed slightly. “I accept your words of kindness. Now, let us greet our guests.”
Minutes later they were inside the cavern, four levels below. The interior temperature was eighty-one degrees, a stark contrast to the one-hundred-and-five-degree winds begi
Despite the primitive setting, the assembled guests sat in comfortable office chairs at a black conference table. The room around them had been engineered and carved from what was once an uneven chamber. It now resembled a great hall filled with modern decor.
Small screens lay recessed in the table in front of them. Computers lined the walls. Hidden rooms beyond this one held sleeping quarters and racks of weapons.
At great expense, Ji
Long gone were the camels and the oasis that his family had claimed for centuries, traded away in exchange for small stakes in modern companies. All that remained were his father’s words: You must never have pity … And without the waters, we inherit only wandering and death.
Ji
Mr. Xhou walked in along with his aides. Sabah greeted him and showed him to his seat. There were nine men of importance present. Mr. Xhou from China. Mustafa from Pakistan. Sheik Abin da-Alhrama from Saudi Arabia. Suthar had come from Iran, Attakari from Turkey and several lesser guests from North Africa, former Soviet republics and other Arab countries.