Black Wind

by Clive Cussler

  An administrative aid poked her head through the door and spoke to Gunn. "Sir, the video feed from the Pentagon is available for viewing now," she said, then disappeared out the door like a rabbit down a hole.

  Gunn seized the moment to introduce the Homeland Security and FBI men to Pitt and Giordino, then herded everyone toward a large, flat-panel monitor that was hidden behind a sliding panel. Typing in a few quick commands on a keyboard, the screen suddenly illuminated with the image of a large, enclosed dockyard. The camera's eye panned around the facility, showing a series of empty docks. After less than a minute's running time, the video ended and the screen went blank.

  "That's Kang's facility, no doubt about it. But there's no sign of the Baekje" Dirk said.

  "The Navy report stated that a small tug and a speedboat were the only vessels observed on Kang's property," Gunn said. "Like Elvis, the Baekje has apparently left the building."

  Webster cleared his throat. "I have confirmed with Interpol and the Korean National Police that Inchon port traffic has been monitored around the clock since the crew of the Sea Rover were rescued and the alert bulletin issued. No vessel matching the Baekje's description has been seen entering or departing the port since."

  "Someone's on the take," Giordino sneered.

  Webster returned the comment with an indignant look. "A remote possibility but not likely. Despite its heavy traffic, Inchon is not a particularly large port. Somebody should have reported seeing her depart."

  "She may have made a stealthy getaway right after Dirk and Summer left the ship," Gunn conjectured, "which was before the Interpol alert was issued."

  "Or there's another possibility," Pitt suggested. "The ship may have been camouflaged or reconfigured to resemble another vessel. She may have sailed out of port in broad daylight looking like an ordinary tramp freighter."

  "Or the Love Boat" Giordino added.

  "Whatever her disposition, the fact remains that without the ship we have insufficient evidence to make a move against Kang with the Korean authorities," Webster said.

  "What about Dirk and Summer?" Pitt replied with rising anger. "Do you think they showed up on Korean soil aboard the Queen Mary?"

  "The proof against Kang has to be ironclad," Webster replied with a stressed look. "There's a serious political problem with South Korea right now. Our people in the State Department have their knees shaking, and even the Pentagon is nervous as hell. The prospect of losing our military presence in Korea is very real and nobody wants to jeopardize a precarious situation at this critical juncture in time."

  "So you're afraid to ask South Korea to investigate Kang?" Pitt asked.

  "This comes from the top. We're to stay away from Korea until after the National Assembly vote on the expulsion of our military forces."

  "What does the admiral have to say about this?" Pitt asked of Gunn.

  Gunn shook his head slowly. "Admiral, er, Vice President Sandecker has informed me that the president is deferring to the State Department for reaction to the sinking of the Sea Rover. Dirk and Summer's indictment of Kang has unfortunately resulted in the edict that Jim just mentioned. Everyone is to lay low until after the National Assembly vote. Apparently, intelligence reports have revealed secret business dealings between Kang and the president of South Korea that go well beyond their known public friendship. The president is afraid of losing his support against the National Assembly measure if a potentially embarrassing investigation is initiated."

  "Doesn't he understand the magnitude of the risk involved with the weapons Kang possesses?" Summer asked incredulously.

  Gunn nodded. "The president has iterated that once the resolution has been voted upon, he will request an immediate and full investigation from the Korean authorities into Kang's involvement with the sinking of the Sea Rover and his potential connections to North Korea. In the meantime, he has authorized Homeland Security to issue a heightened domestic security advisory, with emphasis on aircraft and marine vessels arriving from Japan and South Korea."

  The younger Pitt began pacing across the room in frustration. "It's too little too late," Dirk finally said in a low tone. "Promoting the removal of U.S. forces in South Korea is part of Kang's strategy, using the perceived terrorist threat from Japan as a diversion. Don't you see? If he's going to attempt a strike on the U.S." it will happen before the vote comes up in the National Assembly."

  "Which is just ten days from now," Gunn said.

  "Then we have to anticipate Kang's next move," Pitt injected with a logical calmness. "We know he operates a large shipping line and therefore has comprehensive knowledge of American port facilities. It would figure that he would try to bring the weapons in via a commercial freighter, most likely on the West Coast."

  "Much easier than smuggling it on an airplane," Giordino agreed. "Probably send them over on a Japanese-flagged carrier."

  "Or perhaps the elusive Baekje" Dirk added.

  "Yaeger has the rundown on what to look for in the way of biological components and likely storage," Gunn said. "I'll see that customs is appropriately educated for their port inspections."

  "That may still be too late," Pitt replied. "They could release the agent as they're sailing into port, contaminating the whole region before they dock. Think of San Francisco Bay, for example."

  "Or even before they arrive at port, if there is a prevailing wind. The release in the Aleutians was apparently launched by boat offshore of Yunaska Island, so it's certainly possible they could strike without entering port," Dirk said.

  "The Coast Guard is tasked with port security under Homeland Security jurisdiction and presently boards and inspects all incoming commercial vessels shortly before arrival in port," noted Webster.

  "But do they board and inspect offshore commercial vessels that are not port bound?" Dirk asked.

  "I do not believe that the Coast Guard's resources are sufficient for that to be considered part of their security mission. They have beefed up their sea marshal program but still have a limited number of vessels available that they can put to sea. Asking for expanded coverage along the entire West Coast is well beyond their resource ability."

  "What about the Navy?" Summer asked. "Why can't some ships of the Pacific Fleet be pressed into service? With the national security at risk, it seems to me we should press every available military vessel into blockade duty."

  "A good question with a sticky answer," Gunn responded. "It's a gray area of the Navy's mission. They're never big on playing a supporting role to the Coast Guard. They'd likely balk at the request until we got the secretary of defense or the White House to press the issue. I'll bring it up with the vice president, but, realistically, we're talking a week at best before they could be brought online. And that might be too late."

  "There is another option," Pitt said, reaching into a desk drawer and withdrawing a daily report of NUMA research vessel assignments. "Let's see, the Pacific Explorer just arrived in Vancouver, the Blue Gill is conducting a marine survey off Drake's Bay north of San Francisco, and the Deep Endeavor is testing a submersible in San Diego. It's not a

  fleet of battleships but I can reassign three of my research vessels to be in position off the major West Coast metropolitan ports assisting the Coast Guard in two days."

  "That would be a significant boost in offshore resources. And I'm sure the Coast Guard would be grateful for the support," Webster said.

  "Call it a temporary loan," Pitt said. "At least until Rudi can find a way to bill back the charges."

  "I'm sure we can work out some sort of compensation for our support during this heightened state of alert," Gunn said, eyeing Webster with a sharklike grin.

  "It's settled, then. The West Coast NUMA fleet will initiate offshore bomb-sniffing exercises at once. One thing, though," Pitt said to Webster in a rigid tone. "Kang already sank one of my vessels, I don't want to lose another. I want an armed cutter in the vicinity of my ships at all times."

  "Agreed. The interdiction teams will be a
lerted as well to the possibility of an armed response."

  "Good. Our team here will coordinate with the regional Coast Guard surveillance squadrons. Rudi, you'll have to tear yourself out of the headquarters building. I'd like you to fly to San Francisco to set up the Blue Gillwith the regional Coast Guard squadron and then see that the Pacific Explorer is similarly assigned in the Seattle/ Vancouver region. Dirk and Summer, I'd like you back on the Deep Endeavor in San Diego to assist with surveillance off Southern California," Pitt directed.

  "What about me, boss?" Giordino asked with mock indignation. "Don't I get a boat inspector's pass?"

  "Oh, no," Pitt replied with a mischievous smile. "I have something much higher in store for you."

  There was little fanfare when a pair of scruffy tugboats began slowly nudging the Sea Launch platform Odyssey away from her home dock. The excitement surrounding a new launch had waned over the years, to the extent that only a handful of family, friends, and corporate managers stood and waved good-bye to the crew. A smaller platform crew also brought out fewer than normal well-wishers. Only forty-two men manned the big platform, roughly twenty fewer than usual, as Launch Director Stamp held back many of the launch engineers to aid the fire repairs being made on the support ship. Captain Christiano watched restlessly from the bridge of the Sea Launch Commander v& the rocket-laden platform crept away from the pier, offering a farewell to the crew and vessel with a long blast from his ship's horn. Several decks beneath him, an army of electricians and computer technicians worked feverishly around the clock to repair the control room fire damage in hopes that the command ship could follow the platform out to sea in another three or four days.

  Christiano's greeting was met by a short horn blast from the Odyssey that seemed to come from the clouds. The Odyssey's main platform deck towered nearly a hundred feet above the water. An oceangoing vessel in her own right, the floating platform relied on tugboats to get her cleanly in and out of port. Although she could position herself on a dime, visibility of small boats and harbor obstacles was precarious from the pilothouse positioned high atop the structure so tugs were utilized for safe navigation in congested waters.

  The massive structure moved slowly past the port entrance jetty, appearing like a mammoth tarantula creeping across the calm waters. The converted North Sea oil platform rode high atop five thick support columns aligned along each flank. Slicing through the waves barely above the surface, the base of the columns rested upon a huge pair of underwater pontoons, each stretching over four hundred feet in length. Affixed to each aft pontoon hull was a pair of four-bladed propellers, which could push the ungainly craft through the swells at speeds of up to 12 knots. At over thirty thousand tons of displacement, the Odyssey was the largest self-propelled catamaran vessel in the world and easily the most impressive to the eye. Gliding past the entrance to Long Beach Harbor, the platform crept another two miles offshore before the tugs ground to a halt.

  "Stand by to take up tow lines barked the Odyssey's commander, a no-nonsense ex-tanker captain named Hennessey.

  The tugs released their tow lines which were quickly reeled in by the Odyssey's crew. The platform's four three-thousand-horsepower direct current motors were engaged, and, as the tugs peeled off to the sides, the Odyssey moved forward under her own power. Riding high atop its large pair of pontoons, the crew on the elevated platform swayed slowly back and forth as if in a skyscraper during a windstorm. The powerful Zenit rocket, tightly secured in its horizontal berth, was immune to the gentle motion. The experienced crew went casually about their duties, falling into a relaxed routine during the slow journey toward the launch site as the beige coast of California gradually disappeared from view. Hennessey gently increased power until the platform was chugging along at 9 knots, then laid in a course to the southwest toward the designated launch site fifteen hundred miles south of Hawaii at the equator. No one suspected it was to be a destination they would never see.

  Fifteen hundred miles to the west, the Koguryo raced across the Pacific like a greyhound chasing a rabbit. Only a diversionary stop in the Ogasawara Islands to retrieve Tongju had slowed her pace since departing Inchon. After skirting a storm front west of Midway, the vessel had encountered calm seas and a strong tailwind, allowing her to churn east at top speed. Stripped of her bulky cable-laying equipment and the miles of heavy cable normally stored belowdecks, the Koguryo rode nine feet higher in the water than usual. Her four diesel engines pushed the lightened ship along at a rapid 21 knots, propelling her across the ocean at nearly six hundred miles a day.

  On board, the large team of engineers and technicians readied themselves for the coming Zenit rocket launch. A launch control center, nearly an exact duplicate of the control room on the Sea Launch Commander, had been constructed on a lower deck of the Koguryo and was the site of continuous activity. The final batch of launch software had been received from the Inchon lab and the software support team loaded up a series of mock launch scenarios for the operations team. Each day, the launch team worked their way through a series of sample test launches until, after a week at sea, the simulations were performed flawlessly. Told only that they would be controlling the launch of a Kang satellite from a floating platform, the team had no idea of the illicit mission they were actually supporting and looked forward to firing off the actual rocket.

  Tongju utilized the time at sea to hone his tactics for the assault on the Odyssey. He and his commando team pored over blueprints of the launch platform, calculating strike positions and coordinating force movements, until he had a minute-by-minute plan of attack. The commandos memorized their moves, cleaned their weapons, and generally stayed out of sight of the other crewmen as the ship moved closer and closer to its target. After an evening meal with his assault team, Tongju invited his second-in-command Kim back to his cabin. In the privacy of his room, he explained Kang's order to scuttle the Koguryo.

  "I have provided Captain Lee with the rendezvous position where we are to meet the waiting freighter. I did not inform him, however, of the plan to sink his ship, only that we would be transferring the launch crew to the other vessel for safety."

  "You do not trust his obedience to Kang?" Kim asked, unaffected by the prospect of murdering two hundred of his fellow shipmates.

  "No, it is not wise. No sea captain desires to sink his own ship and abandon his crew. We shall make our escape without him."

  "How is the ship to be destroyed?"

  Tongju reached under his cot and pulled out a small satchel, which he handed to Kim.

  "Semtex plastic explosives with wireless detonators. I intend to activate the charges while the ship is in motion."

  He walked to a bulkhead and pointed at a small cutaway diagram of the Koguryo pinned to the wall.

  "By blasting a series of holes in the forward hull and bow sections beneath the waterline, the momentum of the ship will force a rapid flooding of the lower decks. The vessel will plunge to the bottom like a submarine before the crew has a chance to react."

  "There may still be the chance for some to escape on the lifeboats," Kim countered.

  Tongju shook his head with a malignant smile. "I have applied a liquid weld compound to all of the lifeboat davits. None of those boats will be leaving this vessel without a considerable effort."

  "And what about us?" Kim asked, a slight uncertainty creeping into his voice.

  "You and two others will leave with me on the assault boat. I will convince Lee to let us depart the ship for an advanced surveillance check once the freighter is detected within radar range. When he has brought the Koguryo back up to speed, we will detonate the charges."

  Kim let out a quiet sigh and nodded deeply. "It will not be easy to abandon my assault team," he said quietly.

  "They are all good men but expendable. I will leave it to you to pick the two men to join us. But first we must get the explosives planted. Take your demolitions man, Hyun, and set the charges in the forward bow compartments E, F, and G. Don't let any of the ship
's crew observe you."

  Kim grasped the satchel tightly and nodded again. "It will be done," he said, then left the cabin.

  After he left, Tongju stared at the diagram of the ship for several minutes. The whole operation was a hazardous mission fraught with risks and hidden dangers. But that was exactly the way he liked it.

  On a collision course with evil, the Odyssey plodded along from Long Beach at its meager pace,-the ungainly assembly churning up ten miles of foam over the course of an hour. Cutting past the California channel island of San Clemente, the Odyssey cruised due west of San Diego shortly before midnight and soon after departed the territorial waters of the United States. Fishing boats and pleasure craft gradually vanished from the horizons as the platform pushed farther into a desolate section of the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California. By the end of the third day at sea, cruising some seven hundred miles from the nearest landfall, the Odyssey shared the ocean with only a small dot on the northeast horizon.

  Captain Hennessey watched with mild interest as the distant speck slowly grew larger, bearing down on a southerly heading. When it approached within five miles, he aimed his binoculars at the vessel, eye-tog a stout blue ship with a yellow funnel. In the fading evening dusk,

  Hennessey made it out to be a research vessel or special-purpose ship rather than a commercial freighter. He noted with annoyed curiosity that the ship was on a perfect collision course with the Odyssey's current heading. Hennessey stuck close to the helm for the next hour, watching the other vessel as it inched to within a mile of his starboard flank before appearing to slow and nose toward the southwest behind him.

  "He's slowing to cross our wake," Hennessey said to the helmsman, dropping his binoculars from the mysterious blue ship. "The whole empty Pacific Ocean and he's got to run right down our path," he muttered, shaking his head.

  The thought never occurred to him that it was anything more than a coincidental encounter. Nor would he ever suspect that a trusted crewman, one of a handful of Kang's men working on board as launch technicians, was feeding their exact position to the ship using a simple GPS receiver and portable radio transmitter. After crossing the length of the Pacific, the Koguryo had picked up the radio transmission twenty-four hours earlier and vectored in on the Odyssey's path like a homing pigeon to roost.