Piranha (Oregon Files 10)

Linda snapped to the third plate. Again the image was split by a crack, which bisected the interior of a cavern teeming with stalactites and stalagmites. A tunnel faded into black in the distance.

Juan felt a ray of hope. “Now we’re getting somewhere. This narrows down our search area considerably.”

“Why?” Hali asked.

“Because caves like that form only in certain limestone terrains, in what’s known as karst topography. It rules out Martinique and any other volcanic island.”

Linda nodded. “Juan’s right. The problem is that it still leaves a lot of land to cover. Even if we’re limiting ourselves to the Caribbean, it could be anywhere from Puerto Rico to Mexico and up through Florida.”

“I think it’s a good chance we’re looking at Haiti,” Juan said. “Remember, that’s where tram enthusiast Hector Bazin hails from.”

“The last photo might help confirm that,” Linda said.

The final picture showed a flourishing jungle landscape of ridges, hills, and valleys. The same man from the first photo stood in the foreground, this time beaming with a smile, his foot jauntily propped on a rock. He pointed into the shallow gorge behind him where a cave opening yawned. A river wound through the bottom of the gorge.

“I don’t mean to be a party pooper,” Juan said, “but how does this photo help us? It shows us the cave entrance, but I don’t see anything identifying where this is.”

“The ridge in the background,” Murph said. “See the distinctive outline? Given Lutzen’s height—if that is him—based on him standing against the Roraima, whose size we know, I estimated how far away the ridge is. The river gives us another reference point. The measurements aren’t exact, but they’re close enough to run a comparison using our worldwide topographical map—you know, the National Reconnaissance Office one that has about ten times greater resolution than NOAA’s.”

“I’m sorry I doubted you,” Juan said. “How long will it take?”

“It’s been running for a few hours now and should come back with a list of possible hits any minute. Oh, and I decided to start with Haiti. If we don’t find any leads there, it will take a lot longer if we have to look in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Mexico. At least Florida is out because it’s as flat as a day-old beer.”

“All right. Once we know where to look, we’ll have to come up with a game plan. Remember, we only have a day left before Kensit puts into play whatever is going to change the world. However, our approach will be tricky because of the neutrino telescope that Eric thinks Lawrence Kensit has developed.”

“Who came up with that name?” Murph asked.

“I did,” Eric replied. “Although the existence of neutrinos was first proposed by Wolfgang Pauli in 1930, the particle Lutzen describes in his thesis much earlier is clearly a neutrino. He just didn’t have a name for it.”

“Yeah, yeah, great name,” Linc said. “How does it work?”

“As far as I can tell, Lutzen theorized that intercepted neutrinos could be reconstructed to create the state of the place they passed through.”

“Like an X-ray?”

“Yes, but far more advanced. It could show you literally any spot on earth. Not only that but you could also hear what was going on in that space because it would also intercept the air particles that are conveying the sound.”

Murph said, “Think of what the NSA could do with technology like that. Say bye-bye to any secrets.”

Linc scoffed. “You think Kensit actually made this thing? A telescope that can see through walls? And around the world? Has he also cracked the code to warp drive?”

“I know it sounds bizarre,” Juan said, “but imagine explaining the idea of X-rays before they were discovered. We have to go under the assumption that this neutrino telescope exists. Kensit and Bazin have anticipated our every move. They beat us to Jamaica, New York, and Berlin, and they knew exactly where we’d be each time. Kensit could have been watching us type in log-ins and passwords, giving him full access to our communications and computer networks.”

“That’s why you had me shut down any external access to our main computer,” Murph said, nodding.

“Right,” Juan said. “In the case of Berlin, Bazin knew where we’d be even though I never breathed a word of it over any line of communication. It’s very possible that he’s watching and listening to this meeting right now.”

Everyone paused to soak in the likelihood that their privacy was completely gone.

Finally Hali spoke. “Then how can we possibly defeat this guy? He’ll know whatever plan we come up with.”

“He’s obviously not infallible,” Juan said. “You proved that by foiling his sub plan in Martinique. Eric has a theory why.”

Eric cleared his throat. “I think he only can see one place at a time. It lets him spy on our plans, but if there are multiple situations happening simultaneously, he has to choose what to observe.”

“We have another advantage.” Juan looked each of his officers in the eye. “Our shared history. If we talk in code, relating key information about our upcoming plans using past experiences that only we know between us, he’ll never be able to decipher it even if he’s listening in. That coupled with Max’s idea to wait until the last moment to reveal our tactics gives us a fighting chance against Kensit.”

Murph’s tablet computer dinged. “The results are back. We got a couple of hits at more than fifty percent probability but only one that is better than a ninety-five percent match.” Murph tapped on the screen, then groaned when he saw the results.