Deep Six (Dirk Pitt 7)

"Are you She stared back at him, her head tilted questioningly.

all right?" she asked.

Fawcett didn't answer. He ran from his office and down the hallway, meeting Lucas and Mercier, who were still conferring in hushed tones. They looked up startled as Fawcett frantically pounded around them.

"Follow me!" he shouted over one shoulder, arms flinging.

They stood stone-still for a moment, blinking in utter confusion.

Then Lucas reacted and dashed after Fawcett, with Mercier bringing up the rear.

Fawcett burst into the Oval Office and stopped dead, his face going white.

The President of the United States looked up and smiled. "Good morning, Dan. Ready to go over my appointment schedule?"

Less than a mile away, in a secure room on the top floor of the Russian embassy, Aleksei Lugovoy sat in front of a large monitor and read the deciphered brainwaves of the President. The display screen showed the thoughts in English while a nearby printer produced paper copies translated into Russian.

He sipped a cup of thick black coffee, then stood up, keeping his eyes on the green letters, the heavy bunched eyebrows raised in controlled conceit.

From a distance, the President's brain transmitted its every thought, speech pattern, and even the words spoken by others nearby as they were received and committed to memory.

The second stage of the Huckleberry Finn Project was a success.

Lugovoy decided to wait a few more days before he entered the final and most critical stage, the issuing of commands. If all went well, he knew with a sinking certainty, his revered project would be taken over by the men in the Kremlin. And then Chairman of the Party Antonov and not the President would direct policy for the United States.

THE MOLTEN SUN SLIPPED BELow the western edge of the Aegean Sea as the ship cleared the Dardanelles and headed through the maze of Greek islands. The surface rolled under gentle two-foot swells and a hot breeze set in from the African coast to the south.

Soon the orange faded from the sky and the sea lost its blue and they melted together into a Solid curtain of black. The moon had not yet risen; the only light came from the stars and the sweeping beam of the navigation beacon on the island of LesbosCaptain james Mangyai, master of the 540-foot bulk freighter Venice, stood on the bridge and kept a close watch over the bow.

He gave a cursory glance to the radar display and stared out the window again, relieved that the sea was empty of other shipping.

of Odessa in the Black Sea, six Since departing the Russian port hundred nautical miles behind, he had been extremely restless.

Now he began to breathe easier. There were few tricks the Russians would dare attempt in Greek waters.

The Venice was in ballast-her only cargo was the gold shipment transferred from the Soviet government to Madame Bougainvilleand her hull rode high in the water. Her destination was Genoa, where the gold was to be secretly unloaded and shipped to Lucerne, Switzerland, for storage.

Captain Mangyai heard footsteps behind him on the teak deck and recognized his first officer, Kim Chao, in the reflection on the window.

"How does it look to you, Mr. Chao?" he said without turningChao read over the hour-by-hour meteorological report from the automated data system. "Calm sailing for the next twelve hours," he said in an unhurried voice. "Extended forecast looks good too.

We're fortunate. The southerly winds are usually much stronger this time of year."

"We'll need a smooth sea if we're to dock in Genoa under Madame Bougainville's schedule."

"Why the hurry?" asked Chao. "Another twelve hours of sailing won't matter."

"It matters to our employer," said Mangyai dryly. "She doesn't wish our cargo in transit any longer than necessary."

"The chief engineer is making more wind than a typhoon. He claims he can't keep up this speed for the whole voyage without burning up the engines."

"He always sees black clouds."

"You haven't left the bridge since Odessa, Captain. Let me spell YOU."

Mangyai nodded gratefully. "I could use a short rest. But first I should look in on our passenger."

He turned over the bridge watch to Chao and walked down three decks to a heavy steel door at the end of an alleyway aminships. He pressed a transmit button on a speaker bolted to the bulkhead.