“The local authorities are operating under the assumption a drug gang is responsible. The aid team may have camped in a drug transit zone, or one of their local support personnel may have been connected to a rival gang. But I’m not sure how that plays into blowing up the dam.”
“For what it’s worth,” Giordino said, “our mad bomber friend and wannabe glassblower didn’t look like a local.”
“And,” Pitt said, “the phony doctor at the clinic was a sophisticated play.”
“I’m told the Salvadorans have been unable to identify either one,” Gunn said. “The black Jeep was found semisubmerged in a river near San Salvador. It had been stolen a few days earlier from an airport car rental lot.”
“Again, that sounds a bit more professional than a local drug gang,” Pitt said. “Have you heard how Elise Aguilar, the agriculture scientist, is doing?”
“After you had her airlifted to San Salvador, I pulled some strings to get her on a military flight to Andrews Air Force Base. She’s an Army vet, so that made things easier. She arrived last night and was checked into Walter Reed. At last report, she’s doing fine. I had a message from the hospital staff saying that she asked about some water samples.”
Giordino motioned toward one of his bags. “From the reservoir. Might be a clue as to why somebody wanted the team murdered.”
Gunn pulled a slip from his pocket and handed it to Giordino. “If you have them, they are to be sent for analysis to a Dr. Stephen Nakamura at the University of Maryland’s epidemiology department.”
“I’ll send them by courier after we’re done here. I presume we have bigger fish to fry.”
Gunn nodded. “You got my message and have probably seen the news reports. The situation in Detroit is not pretty. We’ve got a major environmental disaster on our hands.”
“Isn’t that the EPA’s problem?” Giordino asked.
“The President wants NUMA to oversee the sequestration and salvage of the sunken tanker. It’s well beyond the capabilities of the local authorities or the EPA. I’ve got an advance team en route and have scheduled a flight for the three of us first thing in the morning.”
“Al and I will be on that plane. You best stay and deal with the media and political blowback. I’d prefer you tame the lions here rather than have the entire circus descend on us in Detroit.”
“Can do,” Gunn replied.
“How bad is the spill?” Giordino asked.
“Initial reports suggest the tanker may be leaking several thousand gallons of oil per hour.”
“What’s the local impact?”
“The Detroit metro area draws its drinking water from the river. The city’s had to shut down their water draws and are scrambling for alternate sources. The taps may soon run dry. The President naturally fears the political tempest if that happens.”
“We can address the salvage, but what about the cleanup?”
“The EPA is on-site. The problem is, tar sands crude oil is mixed with clay, sand, and various other hydrocarbons. It’s more difficult to deal with than medium or light crude, as it’s heavier than water. If it mixes with the river bottom, that sediment will have to be dredged. But at this point, they just seem focused on trying to siphon off the contaminated surface water.”
Giordino slowly shook his head. “Good luck with that.”
“I just fielded a call from the head of BioRem Global Limited, inquiring about cleanup efforts.” Gunn paused to see if Pitt or Giordino had heard of the company.
“I know of BioRem Global,” Pitt said. “They’re a biotech firm that produces bacterial organisms for use in cleaning up industrial spills. The process is called bioremediation, hence the company name. They’re one of the sponsors of the Ocean Preservation Society,” he said, gazing at his desk calendar, “which happens to be hosting a fund-raiser in town tonight.”
“They have a reputable track record dealing with oil cleanups in the North Sea,” Gunn said. “The company was called in late on the Deepwater spill in the Gulf a few years ago. I’m told their product was found to be quite effective at consuming the oil where it was applied. The owner said they had a product suitable for attacking the tar sands oil—and they could deploy it rapidly. But they don’t yet have federal approval to field-test the product in U.S. waters.”
“Yes, as the Deepwater spill was located outside of territorial waters,” Pitt recalled.
“I’ve got one of our scientists investigating a test sample that was sent over.”
“The stuff could prove critical in limiting environmental damage in a confined location like the Detroit River,” Giordino noted.
“Agreed,” Pitt replied. “Who’s the head of the company, Rudi? Maybe it’ll be worth a swing by the gala tonight to talk with him about getting their product on-site.”
“Not him,” Gunn said, “her. Evanna McKee is her name. She mentioned that she was in Washington, so she must be here for the event.”
“I’ll see what can be done. In the meantime, we have a major salvage operation on our hands.”