Dirk Pitt18-Black Wind

by Cussler, Clive

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 alerted 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 m
et 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

  minute
s. 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