Deep Six (Dirk Pitt 7)

Nor had any creature comforts for his staff been overlooked. They were assigned indivinual sleeping quarters with private bathrooms, while at the end of the central corridor stretched an elegant dining room that was serviced by an excellent Korean chef and two waiters.

Furnishings, including kitchen freezers and ovens, office fixtures and the data control room were tastefully color-coordinated, with walls and carpeting in cool blues and greens. The design and execution of every detail was as exotic as it was complex.

And yet the self-contained habitat also served as a luxurious prison. Lugovoy's staff was not permitted to come and go. The elevator doors were closed at all times and there were no outer controls. He made a compartment-to-compartment search but detected no windows or visible crack of an exterior exit. No sounds filtered in from the outside.

Further investigation was cut short by the arrival of his subjects.

They were semi-conscious from the effects of sedation and oblivious to their surroundings. All four had been prepared and lain inside separate cubicles called cocoons. The padded insides were seamless, with rounded corners, giving no reference point for the eye to dwell on. Dim illumination came by reflection from an indirect light, tinting the cocoon monochrome gray. Specially constructed walls shielded all sound and electrical current that could interfere with or enhance brain activity.

Lugovoy sat at a console with two of his assistants and studied the row of color vineo monitors that revealed the subjects lying in their cocoons. Most remained in a trancelike state of limbo. One, however, was raised to a near level of consciousness, vulnerable to suggestion and mentally disoriented. Drugs were injected that numbed his muscle control, effectively paralyzing any body movement. His head was covered by a plastic skull cap.

L,ugovoy still found it difficult to grasp the power he held. He trembled inwardly at knowing he was embarking on one of the great experiments of the century. What he did in the next days could affect the world as radically as the development of atomic energy.

"Dr. Lugovoy?"

Lugovoy's concentration was interrupted by the strange voice, and he turned, surprised, to see a stocky man with rugged Slavic features and shaggy black hair who seemingly stepped out of a wall.

"Who are you?" he blurted.

The stranger spoke very softly as though he didn't wish to be overheard. "Suvorov, Paul Suvorov, foreign security."

Lugovoy paled. "My God, you're KGB? How did you get here?"

"Pure luck," Suvorov muttered sarcastically. "You were assigned to my security section for observation from the day'you set foot in New York. After your suspicious visit to the Bougainville Maritime offices, I took over your surveillance myself. I was present on the ferryboat when you were contacted by the men who brought you here.

Because of the darkness I had no difficulty mingling with your staff and being included for the trip to wherever it is we are.

Since our arrival I've kept to my room."

"Do you have any idea what you've stuck your nose into?"

Lugovoy said, his face flushing with anger.

"Not yet," Suvorov said, unperturbed. "But it is my duty to find out."

"This operation originates from the highest level. It is of no concern to the KGB."

"I'll be the judge-"

"You'll be crap in Siberian frost," Lugovoy hissed, "if you interfere with my work here."

Suvorov appeared mildly amused at Lugovoy's irritated tone. It slowly began to dawn on him that he might have overstepped his authority. "Perhaps I could be of help to you."

"How?"

"You may have need of my special skills."

"I don't require the services of an assassin.

"I was thinking more of escape."

"There is no reason to escape."

Suvorov was becoming increasingly annoyed. "You must try to understand my position."

Lugovoy was in command now. "There are more important problems to occupy my mind than your bureaucratic interference."

"Like what?" Suvorov swept his hand around the room. "Just what is going on here?"