Valhalla Rising (Dirk Pitt 16)

"I read a brief report on the incident," said Hill. "You and Al are very brave men for saving your vessel and defeating the pirates."

"They were not pirates in the strict sense of the word. Hired mercenary killers are closer to the truth."

Hill wasn't sold. "What possible grounds could they have had for stealing a NUMA ship?"

"It was hardly a simple theft," Pitt said acidly. "They meant to sink the ship and kill every man and woman on board, all fifty of them. You want a grounds for a motive? They were out to stop us from making a deep-water survey of the wreck. They were afraid of what we might discover."

Gunn's expression was thoughtful. "Who in God's name could be responsible for such evil?"

"You might start with the Cerberus Corporation," said Yaeger, glancing at Pitt.

"Nonsense," snorted Davis. "One of the nation's largest and most respected companies involved with murdering more than two thousand people on the other side of the world? Can you imagine General Motors, Exxon or Microsoft committing crimes of mass murder? I certainly can't."

"I couldn't agree with you more," said Sandecker. "But Cerberus hardly has lily-white hands. They've been involved with some pretty shady business deals."

"They've been investigated by congressional committees on several occasions," added Gunn.

"None of which amounted to more than political woolgathering," retorted Davis.

Sandecker grinned. "It's pretty tough for Congress to reprimand an outfit that gives both political parties enough funding every election to launch ten third-world countries."

Davis shook his head. "I'd have to see hard proof before you sold me on investigating Cerberus."

Pitt caught the glitter in Yaeger's eyes, as the computer wizard spoke. "Would it help if I told you that the scientists at Cerberus's chemical division created Pyrotorch 610?"

"You can't be certain of that," said Davis, his tone filled with doubt.

"No other company in the world has come close to duplicating its Pyrotorch 610's properties."

Davis quickly came back. "The material was probably stolen. Anybody could have gotten hold of it."

"At least the FBI has a place to start," said Sandecker to the FBI agent. He turned to Hill. "And what of the CIA?"

"I think the first thing is to mount a salvage expedition on the remains of the pirate ship and see what turns up."

"Can NUMA help you with that project?" asked

Pitt.

"No, thank you," said Hill. "We have a private company we work with on underwater investigations."

"So be it," Sandecker said, between puffs of his cigar. "If you need our services, you have but to call. NUMA will cooperate fully."

"I would like your permission for my people to interrogate the crew of the Deep Encounter" said Davis.

"Granted," Sandecker agreed without hesitation. "If there is nothing else?"

"One other question," said Hill. "Who owned the Emerald Dolphin?"

"She sailed under British registry," replied Gunn, "but she was owned by the Blue Seas Cruise Lines, a British-based company owned primarily by American stockholders."

Hill smiled faintly at Davis. "A domestic as well as an international act of terror. Looks like our two agencies will have to work closely together."

Davis and Hill left together. After the door closed, Sandecker sat down again. His eyes narrowed until they had a fierce twinkle in them. "As long as both crimes took place at sea, there's no way they're leaving NUMA out of the investigation. We'll go our own separate way without rocking the CIA and the FBI's boat." He looked at Pitt and Giordino. "You two take three days off and rest up. Then come back and get to work."

Pitt looked candidly back at Sandecker, then around the table. "Where do we start?"

"I'll have a plan when you return. In the meantime, Rudi and Hiram will gather all the data possible."