"Well, Colonel, I am surely in no position to argue your point. As you may or may not know, we've got a serious threat on our hands. The navy has informed me that we may be dealing with an unknown who is equipped with far superior sciences. Now we have an economic knife at our throat, and the blade's going to start digging in."

"I see," Jack said as he turned and looked at Pete who was again biting his lower lip and absentmindedly cleaning the lenses of his glasses.

"Colonel, we are commencing convoy escorts tomorrow. I cannot allow a terrorist threat to damage our economy. So any information you may come across, inform me right away." The president took a deep breath, looking tired and frustrated.

"We will, sir."

"Colonel, you did an extraordinary job in the Med. Welcome home."

"Thank you, Mr. President."

"Dr. Golding, get me a line on who in the hell we're dealing with and a way to find them."

Pete was about to answer when the monitor went dark.

"Jesus, what a damn mess," he said as he turned to look at Jack across the room.

"Yeah, Doc, it is. Now let's go start cleaning it up."

8

THE GULF OF MEXICO,

THREE HUNDRED MILES

SOUTH OF GALVESTON, TEXAS

Niles, Virginia, Alice, and Senator Lee watched as Sarah checked on the condition of Henri Farbeaux. The Frenchman had been out cold for most of the flight south. It was only in the past few minutes he had started mumbling. Only Sarah caught the name: Danielle. She even heard a small whimper escape the colonel's lips. Sarah moved a lock of hair from his eyes and studied the man's face. She still hadn't said anything about the reasons for Farbeaux's arrival at the complex to Niles or the others--she would keep that to herself for the time being, for reasons she didn't fully understand herself.

"How is he doing?" Niles asked from his seat at the left side of the strange aircraft.

Sarah turned and looked at the fifteen soldiers that had assisted in carrying out the raid. Most were sleeping, and a few were joking and talking--just like soldiers the world over. Thus far, the tall man, the brute in charge, had not deigned to join them since their departure. Not one word had been spoken to them during the flight other than an offer of coffee. Right now, they couldn't care less about their conversations.

"The tranq they used was a powerful one. Getting hit in the neck probably has something to do with his being out so hard."

"As long as I live, I will never be able to understand our friend here," Senator Lee said, nodding at Farbeaux as he gently moved his right shoulder so that Alice wouldn't awaken.

"He's a dangerous man," Virginia said without much sympathy.

"They wanted to kill him. He did, after all, save young McIntire's life, making him somewhat of an enigma," Lee said.

"Niles, what was the final word from Captain Everett?"

"The last communication was that they recovered the package and were on the way back. I didn't allow him the opportunity to specify what the package was because of the communication security concerns," Compton said, answering Virginia's question.

"Well, I hope Mr. Everett turns out to be as good a sleuth as Jack--" The senator stopped short of finishing his sentence as he looked at Sarah.

She slowly stood as Alice awoke, hearing Garrison Lee cross a boundary. Even in sleep, she had to babysit the man.

"Look, all of you have to quit tiptoeing around me about Jack. I'm a soldier first, and sometimes we lose people. So don't fool yourselves thinking I'll fall to pieces every time someone mentions his name. Please, knock it the hell off."

The four people looked at her and said nothing.

"Brave little Sarah--sometimes I wish I were half as brave. But, who is fooling whom?"

Sarah turned and looked down at Colonel Farbeaux, who was on one elbow and looking up at her. He removed the damp cloth and held it at arm's length, looking at it.

"A courtesy to a fallen enemy?" he said as he let the cloth slip through his fingers to the rubberized deck.

"Sarah has always had an affinity for injured animals," Virginia said, to the shock of the others.

"Indeed, and I assure you, Ms. Pollock, this animal is appreciative of her humane efforts," Farbeaux said, his eyes locking briefly onto Virginia's.

"Thus far, Colonel, we are at a loss as to why you chose this particular moment to visit the Event Group. Was it just taking advantage of an opportunity, curiosity, or some darker intent?" Niles asked as he stood and handed Farbeaux a cup of lukewarm coffee.

"Ah, Director Compton, we finally meet in person." As he sipped the coffee, Farbeaux looked over and saw the old man with the eye patch. He immediately sat up, even though it hurt his head. "The legendary Senator Lee. I am truly in esteemed company," he said as he half-bowed.

"Always nice to be admired by one's enemy; it could someday work to my advantage," Lee said, nodding toward the colonel.

"As you know from our dealings in the past, Director Compton, opportunity has been linked to my name from time to time."

Silence met Farbeaux's answer as suddenly a soft whine filled the cabin. The pitch of the twin jet engines changed, and the angle of the craft went nose down. For the first time during the flight, the large assault leader made his way back toward them from the cockpit. He nodded at a few of the rougher looking men as he passed them. Then he was looking down at his six captives as the first rays of the sun came through the cabin windows.

"We are at our rendezvous point. If you will watch out of the left side of the aircraft, our pilot has graciously arranged a view none of you have ever witnessed before." The man slowly sat down in an unoccupied seat next to Farbeaux, who eyed him with disdain and stood on shaky legs, holding a strap. "Please, sit down, relax, I think you'll quite enjoy this. Let's call it a learning experience," the man said in his Irish-tinged accent.

The aircraft lost altitude much faster than any commercial plane could have. Because of the stubby wing design, the extreme tolerances experienced by the airframe held up during the steep dive to the sea below. Farbeaux had to sit down quickly, trying not to spill the coffee.

"Normally, the aircraft would hover over the water and then retract her wings and seal her intakes, thus allowing us to dive underneath the waves and meet our host. However, a demonstration of what your country--and others--is dealing with was deemed necessary." The man looked at the faces sitting opposite him as the craft came within six hundred feet of the wave tops below.

As they watched out of the left side, a piercing tone penetrated their inner ears. Niles and the others covered their heads with their hands.

"Apologies, but we mark our location with a signal that penetrates water efficiently. The burst you hear was a coded transmission that also included our altitude and location to within half an inch. We wouldn't want any accidents. Whales and dolphins also hear an embedded tone below that of human hearing, so this is a warning to them also to clear the area."

The tone ended abruptly and they all watched the surface of the water far below. The gulf was calm as dawn broke, allowing the sun to dapple the waters with gleaming speckles of light. Suddenly the waters seemed to turn a lighter shade of green about three hundred yards to the side of the aircraft. Niles chanced a look at the tall man, who was watching their reaction with a smile. When Compton turned back to the large window, he saw giant bubbles breaking the surface of the gulf. Several of them were at least a hundred feet in diameter and rose another fifty feet into the clear air before bursting apart in what looked like an explosion of vapor.