“That was a quick turnabout,” Gamay said.
“I’m a flip-flopper,” Marchetti replied, “what can I tell you?”
“Maybe there’s another way?”
“Like what?”
“If the bots in open ocean are being given directives, shouldn’t we be able to intercept those signals?”
“Theoretically,” Marchetti said. “But we’d have to move closer to them.”
“Closer?” Leilani said.
That didn’t sound great to Paul either. “How close would we have to go?”
“Depends on the type of transmission,” Marchetti said. “It could be a low-frequency signal or a shortwave burst. Those would cover a wide area and could be sent from almost anywhere. It could be a high-frequency or line-of-sight transmission from an aircraft, ship or satellite. It’s even possible that the signal is sent to one part of the floating swarm and then they transmit it to one another like a game of telephone. In which case we’d have to be in the right place at the right time even to pick it up.”
“It sounds easier to force the information out of Otero,” Leilani said.
“All things being equal, the simplest solution is usually the best,” Paul said. “What type of transmission would you use?”
Marchetti paused for a moment. “Short-range coded broadcast,” he said eventually. “High-frequency.”
“Then that’s what we’ll look for.”
“It will likely be an extremely short broadcast,” Marchetti warned. “On the order of milliseconds. Perhaps repeating at intervals, but very fleeting. Without knowing what we’re looking for, it might be impossible to pick it out from the background noise of the atmosphere. Static, other radio transmissions, ionization, all those things could be a problem.”
“You’re a wet blanket,” Paul said, feeling as if every solution came with its own roadblock.
“We don’t have to pick it out,” Gamay said, “we have something here that will do it for us.” She waved a hand over the samples. “All we have to do is record the chatter, watch for the little bots to wake up and then dissect the transmission after the fact.”
Marchetti appeared impressed. “That should work,” he said. “That should work perfectly. I’ll direct the island toward the edge of the swarm. Based on the last plotted location, we should reach it in thirty-six hours.”
CHAPTER 25
KURT AND JOE HAD BEEN IN CAPTIVITY FOR SEVERAL HOURS. No food, no water, no light and no company. They hadn’t been beaten or interrogated or threatened, just left in the dark in a small room, chained to the same heavy pipes they’d followed on their journey to the test tank.
Joe’s voice came out of the dark in a raspy tone. “Can’t say much for the accommodations.”
Kurt’s own throat was getting dry. He’d done what he could to keep his mouth shut and breathe only through his nose. “Didn’t we call for turndown service an hour ago?”
“I believe we did,” Joe said. “I wonder if the delay has something to do with the firefight?”
“It didn’t sound like that went into overtime, but they might have a big mess to clean up or others to deal with. More likely, they don’t need to question us if this Zarrina is still reporting.”
“One thing I don’t get,” Joe said. “Why’d they attack her at the dock if she was on their side?”
Kurt thought about that. “Any number of reasons. Maybe she’s under deep cover, and the thugs didn’t know. Maybe it was a diversion. One thing for certain, it made us want to protect her. Took away any sense of suspicion. The best con jobs never come from the con artist, always from the mark. We saw what we wanted to see: a friend in need. We were already in a defensive mode because Kimo and the others were gone. After rescuing her, our natural instinct to circle the wagons took over.”
“It didn’t hurt that she had Leilani’s passport and e-mails. Or that she knew Leilani had been calling NUMA for updates on her brother.”
“I’m guessing they got those from the real Leilani,” Kurt said.
“They must have grabbed her and replaced her the moment she hit Male.”
Joe was undoubtedly right, which made it all the more imperative that they escape. “We have to figure out a way to get free,” Kurt said. “I’ve run my hands all along this pipe. I can’t find a weak spot.”
“Nothing over here either. I tried rocking it loose, but it’s bolted into the stone, I can’t get any play in it.”
As Joe finished speaking, the door to their cell opened. The overhead lights snapped on, blinding Kurt and Joe for a second.
In walked Jinn and the bearded man, Sabah, who always seemed to be with him. Several armed guards accompanied them.
“I don’t see any towels or mints in their hands,” Joe said.
“Silence!” Sabah shouted.
Jinn raised a hand as if to say it was all right.
“It has been an interesting day,” Jinn said, “more so for you than for me.”
His English was good, tinged with an accent, but he’d definitely been schooled, perhaps in the UK.
“It’s going to get a lot more interesting when we don’t turn up at our extraction point,” Kurt said. “A lot of people have their eyes on you, Jinn. And getting rid of us will only make the scrutiny more intense.”
“Resigned to your fate, then?”
“Unless you’re here to let us go,” Kurt said.
“Not afraid to die?”
“It’s not on our to-do list, but we’re not kidding ourselves. The question is, are you?”
Jinn looked puzzled, a good thing in Kurt’s eyes. Though he had no idea where he was going with this, anything that put their host off balance would be helpful at this point.
“I do not kid, as you say,” Jinn replied.
“Sure you do,” Kurt said. “You build toys in your basement and blow them up. You’re playing some kind of game and you’re oblivious to how rapidly it’s coming to an end. NUMA is onto you. That means the CIA, Interpol, Mossad will soon be onto you as well. Especially when we don’t turn up safe and sound. Kill us and you’ll have nowhere left to run.”
“What makes you think we are running, Mr. Austin?”
“If you’re not, you should be. Trouble’s coming at you from all sides. Your attack on our catamaran proves that you’re desperate. The firefight tonight and the two guys you killed prove your vulnerability.”
A soft, rumbling laugh bubbled up from somewhere inside Jinn. “I would say your position is far more vulnerable than mine.”
“And I’d tell you we have a way out for you.”
Joe glanced at Kurt from the corner of his eye as if to say
Kurt was grasping at straws, making up a story as he went along. It was the only card he had left to play. He needed to sow a little seed of doubt in Jinn’s mind and make him believe, however preposterous it sounded, that Kurt and Joe and NUMA could help Jinn avoid the trouble that was surrounding him.
Jinn moved to Kurt’s left.
“I neither want nor need whatever it is you’re attempting to offer me,” Jinn said. “I simply came here to tell you that you were going to die.”
“No surprise there,” Kurt said without batting an eye. “But let me ask you this: Why do you think my government sent us instead of a squadron of predator drones or Stealth fighters carrying bunker-busting bombs? Come on. You might be safe here from some of your enemies but not from the U.S. government. You know that. You’re on the A-list now. Like the reactor and enrichment facilities the Iranians are building. And you’re no different than dozens of other threats they’ve eliminated over the last few years. There are no borders for a guy like you to hide behind anymore. But you have something the Bin Laden’s of this world don’t. You have something to barter with. Technology.”
Jinn held his place. Clearly he was thinking about Kurt’s words, a fact almost too good to be true. Now Kurt
