'We have identified the name under which they operate.'
That was enough to bring a hornet's nest of shouting from the group.
Treadwell stood still while waiting for quiet to resume. Gale watched Indy; he was missing nothing. She hadn't noticed the strap about his neck.
Of course! All that paraphernalia he was wearing . . . how beautifully it all but concealed the Leica camera strapped about his neck and suspended just above table level. She watched Indy shifting in his seat, his right hand in the wide pocket of his jacket. So that's it! she realized. Every time he looked directly at any one person, he needed only to squeeze the trigger bulb in his pocket, and he had taken a picture of his target. He never touched the camera draped so casually from his neck along with other equipment. And he made sure to use the camera trigger only when there was enough noise among the group to conceal any metallic clicking sound.
Treadwell went on. 'They are very sure of themselves, and be advised that it is our opinion the name we have discovered is used deliberately to convince us they are more powerful than all of us put together. That name is Enterprise Ventures International, Limited.' He held up both hands. 'I know, I know! The acronym is EVIL. They apparently like to tweak us, along with committing their very lethal operations. But EVIL also has offices in several countries. You will be given addresses, telephone, and Teletype numbers. They maintain these offices so that any of us, or the group, may contact them and yield to their pressure.'
'Never!' shouted Buzau.
'Hopefully, you are correct,' Treadwell said quietly, earning an angry glare from the Romanian. He ignored the daggers in Buzau's eyes. 'I said I will get right to it and I will. The United States has been selected by us all as the main guiding force to act on our behalf. We had all agreed before never to identify who actually heads our program, even though we also have agreed to supply all the weapons, manpower, and other support this person or group deems necessary. We hope the American group, which for obvious reasons of security shall absolutely remain unknown to us—'
Vladimar Mikoyan was on his feet. 'You make sounds, my friend, as if we are not to be trusted!'
'A point well taken, Vladimar. Tell me, do you absolutely, implicitly, unquestionably, trust everyone here, as well as their government contacts, not to compromise what I have just outlined?'
'Well, there is always a possibility that—'
'That will do, Vladimar,' Treadwell snapped icily. 'You've answered my question.'
Mikoyan took his seat slowly, obviously smarting from being whipsawed so easily.
'I have had my say,' Treadwell concluded. 'You will now hear directly from Colonel Harry Henshaw of the American army. So you will understand his position, he is the communications center of this facility. Or I should say, he commands this organization. He does not know the identity of the group tracking down the members of EVIL. He is strictly a conduit, but reports from all over the world funnel through this facility. Colonel Henshaw, if you would, please?'
Gale Parker came up stiffly, her nerves taut, as Henshaw began a recital of deadly attacks against ships at sea, commercial airliners, and selected targets such as banks, show galleries, and privately held vaults. (And trains! she smiled to herself.) Every few moments she studied Indy. He was surprisingly disinterested in Henshaw's reports, either deliberately so as to mislead the others, or because he really didn't care for the growing mountain of minutiae.
She'd find out later when she was alone with him.
'A prime example of what we face, that illustrates the very considerable military power this group, EVIL, has brought together, involves the Empress Kali,' Henshaw related. He paused as the group about the table looked to each other for information.
'If you have heard of what happened to the Kali, I assure you much of what was reported was unfounded conjecture. What is reality is that the Kali was not any ordinary freighter. In appearance, yes. In performance and cargo, no. The Kali left Nacala in Mozambique with a cargo of Zambian wood for a southern French port and then overland shipment to Switzerland. The vessel was built with sealed holds; in brief, to be virtually unsinkable. And, she was armed.'
He paused to let eyebrows rise with that last remark. 'Two threeinchers on the decks, fore and aft, and three gun tubs with heavy machine guns.'
For the first time Indy made himself known. To gain attention he eschewed the accepted raising of the hand.
Instead he rapped his knuckles on the table. Heads swiveled. Indy kept his eyes on Henshaw.
'Why?'
His voice was like a shot in the room. Against all the previous verbiage, his singleword query cut to the bone.
Gale watched Henshaw. He too was riming his words for the moment of maximum effect. 'Obviously, the cargo was worth a great deal, and with the publicity attached to ships that previously were attacked—'
Again Indy sliced into the presentation. 'If the cargo was worth all that firepower it was especially valuable.
Obviously it was not wood.' Smiles met his statement. 'So I will add questions, Colonel. What other cargo was that ship carrying? And who attacked that vessel? You would not be presenting us with the lamentable fate of the Empress Kali unless disaster befell the ship.'
'You are correct, sir,' came the response. 'However, all I know of the apparently unidentified and presumably valuable cargo, other than wood, is that we cannot identify it. We have confirmed a value in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The cargo was insured by a Swiss carrier, reportedly in concert with Lloyds of London, but they will release no information as to what it was.
'To get right to the most important issue, who or what attacked and destroyed the Kali, our information derives from three survivors. Two men were from Mozambique, the third was a Portugese national. We obtained his story because the rescue vessel was a Portugese destroyer.' Henshaw paused, tapped his notes on the table before him, then spoke slowly.
'I am not sure if this esteemed group will believe the description of events as provided by that
