Deep Fathom

David kicked out of his wet suit and stood naked. “Dammit! When did he leave?”

“Two days ago. From the itinerary, it appears he traveled to Okinawa.”

David scowled. What was the bastard doing in Okinawa? He stalked to his cabin’s bathroom and twisted on the shower nozzle. “Do we know exactly where he went?”

“No, sir. He had reservations at the local Sheraton, but he never showed up. However, he did book a round-trip ticket. He’s due back in two days.”

David’s face darkened. Two more days. He had been looking forward to completing this little side objective much sooner. Still, he was impressed by his own team’s resourcefulness. Kirkland would not escape him. As busy as he was here, he could wait out another two days.

“Very good, Mr. Rolfe. But I want to know as soon as we have confirmation that Kirkland’s back on his boat.”

“Yes, sir.”

David tested the shower. The small bathroom was filling with steam.

“Sir, we have another problem.” The lieutenant’s voice was pained.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know if we have two days to wait. According to Handel, the transmitting signal has been deteriorating. He estimates a day or two until we lose contact.”

David swung around, angry. “I told Handel to make sure the bomb remained functioning for at least two weeks.”

“He knows, sir. He believes one of the bomb’s electrical circuits may be faulty. He says that Chink crap is not reliable.”

David stood there, almost shaking in frustration. Refusing to admit defeat, he pondered other options and angles. He knew no plan was as foolproof as on paper. Improvisation was the key to a mission’s final success. As he thought about it, a new strategy formed. “Fine. Then if Kirkland’s not back in time, we blow his ship anyway.”

“Sir?”

“Destroying his boat and killing his crew will be only our first steps in bringing Kirkland down.” As David stood in the steamy bathroom, he warmed to his new plan.

Slowly torturing Jack Kirkland did have its appeal.

8:15 P.M., Ryukyu University, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan

“Anyone for dinner?” Karen asked, stretching her neck. Her eyes were blurry from studying the computer screens. “I can’t take any more of this.”

To her left, the tall American sat crouched over his terminal. He seemed not to have heard her. “Gabriel, let’s move on to symbols Forty A and B.”

“Certainly, Mr. Kirkland.”

On the far side of the American, Miyuki remained lost in her own work, busily scanning in the final few pages from the notebook. Processing the data had turned out to be a slow and tedious chore. It had become necessary for the computer to compare each glyph to the set already catalogued.

Karen glanced at Jack’s workstation. Two figures appeared on his screen: one from his notebook and one from their own collection of glyphs.

The American’s notebook contained only a handwritten copy of the pillar’s inscription, drawn by the historian aboard his boat. This led to a certain level of ambiguity at times. Like now. Were the two figures the same glyph, Karen wondered, or were the subtle differences just minor discrepancies on the part of the transcriber?

During this process, Gabriel had learned to compare over two hundred loci sites on each corresponding glyph. As long as there was at least a ninety percent match, it was decided that the two symbols were the same. A match ranking less than fifty percent was considered unique enough to be classified as a new symbol. This resulted in a gray zone between fifty and ninety. And so far, there were three hundred paired symbols falling into this category. Each of these required visual inspection by the trio of humans.

“Figures Forty A and Forty B,” Gabriel explained, “are a match at fifty-two percent. Will we classify A as the same or different from B?”

Jack leaned closer to the screen. “It’s like that old children’s puzzle. What’s different between these two pictures?”

Miyuki piped in as she finished the last scan and leaned back, “The first figure has an eye drawn on it, the other doesn’t.”

Jack nodded. “And the first figure is holding up two balls, the other only one.” He glanced at Karen.

Again she was struck at what a brilliant blue the man’s eyes were. They had to be contact lenses. No one had eyes that blue. “The rest looks the same,” she said, clearing her throat.

Jack asked, “So what’s the verdict, folks? Are they different enough from one another to be two separate symbols?”

Karen shifted closer to the monitor, brushing her shoulder against Jack’s. He did not move away. Instead he bowed his head beside hers, both concentrating on the screen. “I’m gonna dismiss the eyes as being insignificant,” Karen said. “But not the differences in the number of items in the figure’s raised hand. I think this discrepancy is significant enough to be unique. Over the past few days, we’ve discovered other symbols with counting icons built into them: the number of legs on a starfish, the number of fish in a pelican’s mouth. I think this is one of those counting icons. Though similar to one another, they are ultimately unique.”

Jack nodded, satisfied with her answer. “Gabriel, please classify Figure Forty A and Figure Forty B as separate icons.”

“Done. Shall we proceed to Figures 41A and 41B?”

Karen groaned. “I don’t know about the both of you, but I’m starved and my eyes are aching. How about a couple hours rest break?”

“I guess I could use a little dinner myself,” Jack said. “All I’ve eaten for the past twenty-four hours has been airplane food.”

As Jack stretched, Karen tried not to notice the breadth of his shoulders or the way his neck muscles corded up. “I know a restaurant only a few blocks away. They serve the best Thai food around.”

“Sounds good. The spicier the better.”

“It’s tongue-blistering. Guaranteed.”

“Just the way I like it.”

Standing, Miyuki shooed them. “You two go on by yourselves. There’s something I’d like to try with Gabriel.”

“Are you sure?” Karen asked.

Miyuki nodded, but her eyes traveled up the tall man as he stood. Once Jack’s back was fully turned, she winked at Karen. “I’m sure,” she said to Karen with a small smile.

Karen blushed. Was her attraction to Jack so obvious? She scolded Miyuki with a consternated expression, but this only widened her friend’s smile.