Vixen 03 (Dirk Pitt 5)

"How about 'Nixon'?" Giordino suggested.

"I seriously doubt that a mere transport plane would be named after a vice-president," Pitt said. " 'Vixen 03' seems closer to the mark."

"Vixen 03," Steiger repeated softly. "That's as good a shot as any."

"Moving right along," said Giordino. "Our final decipherable scrap on the fifth sheet is 'E-blank-A, Rongelo 060 blank.' "

" 'Estimated time of arrival, six in the morning at Rongelo,' " Steiger translated, his expression still incredulous. "Where in hell is that? Vixen 03 was scheduled to land in Hawaii."

"I only calls 'em the way I sees 'em," said Giordino.

"What about the sixth sheet?" Pitt asked.

"Pretty slim pickings. All gibberish except for a date and a security classification near the bottom. See for yourself."

rders d te anu ry 2 , 954 Aut or z d y: r It r B s TO SE R T COD 1A Steiger hovered over the indefinite wording. "First line reads 'Orders dated January, sometime between the twentieth and twenty-ninth, 1954.' "

Pitt said, "The second line looks like 'Authorized by,' but the officer's name is lost. The rank of general fits, though."

"Then comes 'Top-secret code one-A,' " said Giordino. "You can't get a classified rating any higher than that."

"I think it safe to assume," said Pitt, "that someone in the upper echelons of either the Pentagon or the White House, or both, released a misleading accident report on Vixen 03 as a cover-up."

"In my years with the Air Force I've never heard of such an act. Why instigate a flagrant lie over an ordinary aircraft on a routine flight?"

"Face facts, Colonel. Vixen 03 was no ordinary aircraft. The report states the flight originated at Travis Air Force Base, near San Francisco and was scheduled to land at Hickam Field, in Hawaii. We now know the crew was heading for a destination named Rongelo."

Giordino scratched his head. "I can't recall ever hearing of a place ; called Rongelo."

"Nor I," said Pitt. "But we can settle that mystery as soon as we lay ?our hands on a world atlas."

"So what have we got?" asked Steiger.

"Not much," admitted Pitt. "Only that during the latter part of January, 1954, a C-ninety-seven took off from a point either in the eastern or midwestern section of the United States on a top-secret flight. But something went wrong over Colorado. A mechanical malfunction that forced the crew to ditch the plane in the worst terrain imaginable. They got lucky, or so they thought.

Miraculously avoiding smashing into a mountainside, Vylander found an open clearing and lined up the Stratocruiser for an emergency landing. But what they couldn't see-remember, it was January, and the ground was undoubtedly covered with snow-was in grim reality a lake frozen over with ice."

"So when the aircraft's momentum slowed and its weight settled," said Steiger vacantly, "the ice parted and she fell through."

"Exactly. The tidal surge of water into the broken ship and the staggering shock of the cold overwhelmed the crew before they had a chance to react, and they drowned in their seats. No one witnessed the crash, the water refroze over the grave, and all traces of the tragedy were neatly erased. The ensuing search discovered nothing and Vixen 03 was later concealed behind a phony accident report and conveniently forgotten."

"You've written an interesting plot," said Giordino, "and it plays well. But where does Charlie Smith come into the story?"

"He must have hooked the oxygen tank while fishing. Possessing an inquisitive mind, he probably dragged the area and wrenched the already broken nose gear loose from the wreckage."

"The expression on his face must have been priceless when the gear popped to the surface," Giordino said, smiling.

"Even if I accept Smith's murder," said Steiger, "I fail to see a motive."

Pitt raised his eyes and looked at Steiger. "There is always a motive for taking a man's life."

"The cargo," Giordino blurted, incredulous at his own realization. "It was a highly classified flight. It stands to reason that whatever Vixen 03 was transporting was worth a great deal to somebody. Worth enough to kill for."

Steiger shook his head. "If the cargo is so valuable, why wasn't it salvaged by Smith or his supposed killer? According to Pitt here, it's still down there."

"And sealed tight," Pitt added. "As near as I could tell, the canisters have never been opened."

Giordino cleared his throat. "Next question."