Piranha
Page 23
“What are you talking about? How do you know that we sank the Dolos?”
“As I said, you didn’t sink it. You sank a duplicate.”
“Nonsense.”
“Is it? Then how can you explain Lieutenant Dominguez and the rest of his men getting ambushed aboard the Ciudad Bolívar?”
“You. You’re behind all of this.”
“Why would I do that? Now I don’t get the balance of the money you owe me. What would I have to gain? Admiral, this really isn’t that difficult.”
There was a pause. “How do I know you’re not lying to me?”
Kensit tapped on the phone’s screen, then said, “Look at the text I just sent.”
It was a photo of Juan Cabrillo and Franklin Lincoln aboard the Ciudad Bolívar after it had partially capsized, standing on the railing, with the Oregon in the background.
“Do you recognize them?” Kensit asked.
“The blond man, no. But the black man was at my warehouse in Puerto La Cruz.”
“The man you don’t recognize is Juan Cabrillo, aka Buck Holland. The ship you see is the Oregon.”
“It’s the same dimensions, but it looks nothing like the Dolos.”
“They can disguise their ship.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“I thought you might say that. Check your messages again.” He sent her a short time-lapse video of the Dolos being transformed into the Oregon.
After watching it, Ruiz growled, “I will hunt those spies down and vaporize them.”
“How? You have no idea where they are.”
“But you do?”
“Yes, I do.”
“I can’t just leave Venezuelan territorial waters with a frigate. I need a reason.”
“I know. In three days there will be a combined fleet exercise called UNITAS in the Bahamas.”
“I’m aware of it. Venezuela was not invited to participate.”
“Neither was Cuba,” Kensit said. “But both of you can send your own ships to observe their operations. When you are near Haiti, you will divert your vessel and sink the Oregon.”
“Why are you so eager to help me? What will this cost?”
“You have political ambitions. I’ll make sure you achieve them.”
“Why?”
“You’re my type of leader. Direct, action-oriented, a little emotional for my tastes, but I can live with that. Once I help you sink the Oregon, I expect the rest of my payment.”
“You’re insane!”
“No, that’s only fair. And if you don’t sink the Oregon, I will reveal that her captain outwitted you. Your credibility in the Venezuelan Navy would be shattered. Then once your reputation is destroyed, you’ll go to prison when I release details about your smuggling operation. Be there in three days.” He didn’t wait for a response before he hung up. Ruiz would come. She didn’t have a choice.
He put the phone away and saw Hector Bazin walking toward him.
“Doctor, Brian Washburn arrived as you instructed. I’ve got him in the car. Shall I bring him?”
“Yes. Once we’re on the boat, I need you to go to the United States. Captain Cabrillo is causing us more problems.”
“Kill him?”
“If you can. But now that he’s found out about the Piranha subs, the U.S. military may suspect that someone on my old weapons development program was responsible for selling the plans, so your highest priority is to eliminate any remaining links between me and the Sentinel project. I’ll brief you about the target once you’re in the air.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Get the governor.”
Bazin returned with Washburn, who looked as if he didn’t want his six-hundred-dollar shoes to be exposed to the air here, let alone touching the dock. When he got close to Kensit, he stuck out a hand and turned on the charm.
“You must be the Doctor,” Washburn said with a smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“No, it’s not,” Kensit said, ignoring the hand. “I sent for you and you came. There is no power balance in this relationship. You’re used to being the one in charge. Not here. You work for me now.”
Washburn’s smile vanished, replaced by a sneer. “Who do you think you are, you little weasel?”
“I’ve been called every name possible during my life, so save the macho posturing. I have video of you murdering a man. You can leave now and face the death penalty or life in prison. You can try to kill me, and Bazin here will break your neck before you can reach me. Or you can do as I say and become president of the United States. Choose right now.”
Washburn looked at Bazin, then back at Kensit, and realized he was completely outmatched, both physically and mentally. The sneer dissolved.
“All right. But why have you brought me to this godforsaken place? It literally reeks.”
“That’s what happens when you have a city of three million people with no functional sewer system. You would not want to swim in the harbor. We’re going to take a ride on the Victoire over there.”
Kensit pointed at a white, hundred-foot-long Lürssen yacht with a satellite dish on the foredeck.
“We’re going on a cruise?” Washburn said.
“First, I’m going to show you my facility. A place called Oz.”
Washburn’s lip curled. “You’re joking.”
“Have you found me funny up to this point?”
Washburn put up his hands. “Okay. Oz. Where is it?”
“You won’t know that, but I will show you my operation because I need you to believe I can do everything I say I can do.”
“Which is what, exactly?”
“I operate a revolutionary surveillance system. One that needs to be seen to be believed. It’s called Sentinel. I also want you with me when we complete our most important mission using Sentinel’s capabilities. You gave your company the excuse I told you?”
Washburn nodded. “I’m here to review our aid for the Haitian earthquake rebuilding efforts.”
“Good. That will survive scrutiny. Not that anyone will suspect you have anything to do with what’s about to happen.”
“Which is?”
Kensit ignored the question. “Who is standing in your way in the next presidential election?”
“No one’s declared yet, but James Sandecker has a head start as the incumbent vice president if he wants the presidency. Are you saying you have dirt on Sandecker, too?”
“No, he’s squeaky clean. But you’ll need an edge to win in the primary. That’s why we have to make you vice president.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“I’m going to kill Sandecker.”
Washburn’s eyes bugged out. “You want me to be party to killing the vice president of the United States?”
“You’ve killed before. You’ll have to kill again if you’re president, you’ll just have drones and soldiers doing it for you. You’re all in, just like I am.”
“You think killing him will make me president?”
“You were the second choice for vice president in the election. You’re nearly certain to be selected as his replacement, making you the instant front-runner.”
“But it’s crazy! Even if I agreed to go along with this, you’d never be able to do it. The Secret Service protects him as well as they protect the president.”
“You leave that to me.”
Washburn eyed him with the implacable face of a career politician. “If I’m ‘all in,’ I think I deserve to know what you’re planning.”
Kensit sighed in annoyance, but he supposed it wouldn’t hurt now to reveal the mission’s goal. All of Washburn’s electronics had been confiscated by Bazin, so there would be no way for him to convey any information until after the deed was done. By then it would be too late for him to chicken out.
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Juan had never met St. Julien Perlmutter in person, but he had consulted with him several times during past missions, most recently about a sunken Chinese junk called the Silent Sea. When Tyler Locke mentioned a potential link between Kensit and a ship called the Roraima, Juan’s first call after leaving Pax River was to Perlmutter. The maritime expert was delighted to hear that Juan was in the neighborhood. A noted gourmand as well, he insisted that Juan and Eric join him for a late lunch at his home.
Juan’s second call was to Langston Overholt, who told him that DNA analysis would take several days even if they could find original samples of Kensit and Pearson’s DNA to compare the tissue found at the crash site. In the meantime, they had to operate under the assumption that Locke’s forensic assessment correctly surmised that it was Kensit whose body wasn’t found and that he was still alive.
Other than the ship connection, the only other lead into Kensit’s motives was the German diary the coworker mentioned. After he brusquely ended his consultation with Pearson, Kensit would have had to find someone else to translate the document for him, a company or individual with expertise in scientific terminology. That narrowed down the list of possible translators considerably, and Overholt told Juan he’d get back to them when he had something.
When he reached Perlmutter’s estate on a brick road flanked by hundred-year-old oaks, Juan wheeled their rental car around the circular drive of the three-story manor and parked on the side in front of a carriage house that rivaled the main house in size. Perlmutter had remodeled this building that once housed ten horses and five carriages, as well as upstairs quarters for stable hands and drivers, to accommodate his vast library. He was renowned for owning the world’s most extensive collection of books, rare documents, and private letters about ships and shipwrecks. If there was any record of a German scientist aboard the Roraima when it sank, St. Julien Perlmutter would know of it.
With Eric at his side, Juan reached for the front door’s anchor-shaped knocker, but before he could use it the door flew open, revealing a man who could have been Saint Nick’s larger brother, dressed in a regal purple robe and matching paisley pajamas. His twinkling blue eyes were framed by shaggy gray hair, a full beard with a twisting mustache, and a tulip nose. Although he loomed at a gargantuan six foot four and four hundred pounds, Perlmutter was solid, without a jiggle of flab visible. A tiny dachshund gamboled around their feet, yapping happily.
“Juan Cabrillo!” he cried, grabbing Juan’s hand and giving it a vigorous shake. “What a true pleasure it is to finally meet you!”
“It’s an honor to be invited to your home, Mr. Perlmutter. I only wish I had brought something with me to share. I know you treasure regional delicacies.”
“Where is the Oregon now? Not docked nearby?” Perlmutter was one of the few privy to the Oregon’s true nature and his discretion was unquestioned.
“No, it’s currently in the Dominican Republic.”
“Well, then send me some fresh conch and plantain when you get back. I have a fricassee recipe I’ve been dying to try. And this must be Eric Stone making friends with Fritz.”
Eric was on his knees, rubbing the dog’s belly. He rose and offered a hand. “Sorry. That’s one thing I miss with shipboard life. We had a beagle when I was a child and he had just as much energy as your dog.”
“Not to worry, Mr. Stone.” With the attention gone, Fritz’s barking restarted. “Fritz, behave! Or I will get a cat to set you straight.”
“Please excuse our last-minute call,” Juan said.
“Not at all. You’re just in time to help me try my newest creation, a truffled lobster risotto and Precoce d’Argenteuil asparagus tips served with a bottle of Condrieu Viognier.”
Perlmutter led them through hallways and rooms stacked with books and papers on every available flat surface. Juan knew that administrators in libraries and museums the world over salivated at the thought of acquiring the incredible trove of marine history that made up his unparalleled collection.
Eric gaped at the ancient maps and weathered tomes that seemed to be haphazardly strewn about. “It must be quite a task to catalog all of this. I’d love to see your database.”
Perlmutter tapped his temple. “This is my database, young man. I don’t think in computer language. I don’t even have one.”
Juan was amused to see Stoney’s jaw drop even lower. “You keep track of all this in your head?”
“My boy, I can find any piece of information I want in sixty seconds. Like any good treasure hunter, you just have to know where to look.”
They were escorted into an elegant sandalwood-paneled dining room, which looked decidedly bare as it was the sole room without a single book. They sat down at a thick, round dining table carved from the rudder of the famed ghost ship Mary Celeste and enjoyed the early-afternoon repast while Juan and Eric regaled Perlmutter with sea stories from their adventures, leaving out details that would compromise any classified information. Fritz was kept happy and quiet with regular pieces of lobster fed to him by Perlmutter.
When they were finished, Juan swirled the last of his wine. “Your reputation as an epicure is well deserved. I couldn’t imagine a better lunch.”
Eric nodded in agreement. “Maybe we can convince Mr. Perlmutter to share the recipe with the Oregon’s chef.”
“Happy to! And perhaps he can send me one of his favorites in return.”
“Done,” Juan said.
“Excellent! Now, my cooking is not the only reason you came to see me, is it?”
Juan told Perlmutter about the missing physicist, the German diary he supposedly inherited, the mention of Oz and the Roraima. “Flimsy, I know,” Juan said, “but we were hoping you could point us in the right direction.”
Perlmutter patted his cheek with one finger for a few moments and then leaped up with startling agility and dashed into another room. He returned not thirty seconds later, thumbing through a thick book titled Cyclone of Fire: The Wreckage of St. Pierre.
“The eruption of Mount Pelée was the deadliest volcanic eruption of the twentieth century and it happened on May 8, 1902,” Perlmutter said. “It’s also unique in that we have such a rich historical record of the ships that were sunk in the disaster. I know of no other volcano that resulted in so many wrecked ships that can still be explored. Only one ship survived, the Roddam. Sixteen ships were sunk that day, including the Roraima. Many of them settled upright on the bottom and can still be dived on to this day.”
“Do you think that’s the Roraima we’re looking for?” Juan asked.
“I know it is. This is the only remaining copy of a book that went out of print a hundred years ago. Remember that this was the biggest catastrophe in the Western Hemisphere. All but two people in a town of thirty thousand perished. Scores of books were rushed out about the subject. To take a different angle from the dozens that recounted the horrors visited on the city of Saint-Pierre itself, this one focused on the ships that were in the harbor that day. It was written by a newspaper reporter who took great care in interviewing shipboard survivors and relatives of those who died. Unfortunately, his journalistic thoroughness resulted in a publishing delay, so by the time the book came out the market was saturated. Most of them were pulped.”
“Does it say something about Oz?” Eric asked, incredulous.
“Indeed it does,” Perlmutter said, tapping the page. He read the relevant passage to them.
“Ingrid Lutzen, a German émigré to the United States, lost her brother, Gunther, in the disaster. She sobbed as she recounted how excited he sounded in his final letter to her, sent from the ship’s previous stop in Guadeloupe. He was searching for evidence in the Caribb
ean to support his postdoctoral research in physics that he was carrying on from his work at Berlin University and had made a recent breakthrough in the new field of radioactivity. Gunther was an avid photographer, even going so far as to convert his stateroom into a makeshift darkroom, and was planning to show her the photos documenting his work. The only keepsake she received was a diary of his scientific research given to her by the Roraima’s first officer, Ellery Scott. He told Ms. Lutzen that her brother’s last words were ‘I found Oz,’ a reference to a favorite story of Gunther’s when she was teaching him English during his last visit with her. It gave her some peace knowing that he died thinking of their shared memory.”
Eric peered at Perlmutter as he processed the paragraph. “Didn’t The Wizard of Oz come out long after this in 1939?”
“The film did,” Perlmutter replied. “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum was published in 1900 as a children’s book. It’s quite likely that foreign immigrants would have used the book to learn our language.”
“But he said, ‘I found Oz,’ as though he’d actually been there,” Juan said.
“Delusional perhaps? A hallucination in his final death throes?”
“Kensit seemed to think it was important. And the book references the diary that he inherited, so it definitely exists.”
“And Lutzen was a physicist,” Eric chimed in, “same as Kensit. But without knowing about the specific research Lutzen was conducting, we have no idea why Kensit would fake his own death to pursue it a hundred years later.”
Nothing about this was adding up for Juan. “What kind of evidence would Lutzen have been searching for? Why would a physicist be scouring the Caribbean for his research?”
“Your answer may lie inside the Roraima,” Perlmutter said. “Lutzen was an avid photographer.”
Eric shook his head. “That film has been bathing in warm salt water for over a hundred years. It’s probably mush by now.”
“Not necessarily,” Perlmutter said. “It’s possible that the glass plate negatives, which he would have used at that time, are still intact if the seals on the container haven’t been compromised. Frank Hurley, the photographer on the Shackleton expedition, saved photos that had been submerged in seawater because they had been stored in zinc-lined cases that had been soldered shut. If Dr. Lutzen was similarly prudent, the photos might have survived.”