Sea of Fire

'Isn't this what those resources are for?' Coffey asked.

'Actually, no,' Herbert replied. 'Those satellites are for watching Chinese naval maneuvers, missile tests, and picking out terrorist activity in the hills and jungles of Indonesia. All of that affects American military and foreign policy on a daily basis.'

'I see,' Coffey said.

'You don't sound happy, Lowell,' Hood suggested.

'Well, I was hoping to give the Australians something,' Coffey said.

'Does it have to be practical or can it be political?' Herbert asked.

'I suppose both is out of the question?' Coffey said.

'Only since the days of Julius Caesar,' Herbert said. 'Will Mr. Ellsworth accept a gesture of solidarity?'

'Most likely,' Coffey said. 'What did you have in mind?'

'Going over there myself,' Herbert said. 'It would be awkward sending Mike into a situation that is already bristling with soldiers.'

'And I'm not sure the Pentagon would approve,' Rodgers added.

Hood had to agree with that. Though Rodgers was second-in-command at Op-Center, he was still a soldier. The Australian press might assume that the unscheduled arrival of a military adviser was a prelude to a regional military buildup. Extreme ideas tended to grow in the fertile ground of unprecedented situations. They could not afford that kind of attention, not just from foreign governments but from the White House. Op-Center's needs might conflict with the administrations short- and long-term plans in the region.

'Mike, what about some of your special ops people?' Hood asked.

'If I sent Maria off on another mission now, Darrell would start a war of his own,' Rodgers said.

Darrell McCaskey was Op-Center's liaison with the FBI and various international law enforcement groups. He had recently married former Spanish Interpol agent Maria Corneja. Shortly thereafter, Rodgers offered her a spot on his new intelligence-gathering unit named Op-Center Reconnaissance, Intelligence On-Site. ORION had been assembled to put spies on the ground, where the crises were happening, instead of relying on electronic surveillance. Maria accepted the assignment and was immediately sent to Africa along with her new teammates David Battat and Aideen Marley. McCaskey had not been happy about that.

'The other operatives are out of town, tying up personal and professional matters before moving down here,' Rodgers said, 'and I haven't had any face time with my Asian intelligence man, Yuen Chow.'

'Where is he now?' Hood asked.

'At home in Hong Kong,' Rodgers said. 'He'll be here next week. We're still running security on him. He spent seven years working in the movie business in Shanghai. It's tough finding out which of these boys may have had ties with the Guoanbu in Beijing or the Triads in Hong Kong.'

'Or both,' Herbert said. 'Frankly, I'd want some of that take-no-prisoners muscle in my corner.'

'So would I,' Rodgers said. 'But I would hate having to hire a shadow to make sure my spies weren't double- dealing.'

The Guoanbu was short for the Guojia Anquan Bu, the Chinese Ministry of State Security. They were a ruthless intelligence service with irrevocable ties to Chinese nationals around the world. The Guoanbu thought nothing about imprisoning people at home to gain the cooperation of family members abroad. The Triads were the equally amoral gangsters who had organized in Hong Kong over a century before. They took their name from a three-sided good luck symbol that stood for heaven, earth, and man.

'So that leaves us with me,' Herbert said. 'I can go to Darwin and lend a hand collecting and crunching intel.'

'Lowell?' Hood asked.

'It sounds like a good idea to me,' Coffey said.

'Run it past Ellsworth,' Hood suggested. 'In the meantime, Bob, why don't you get ready—'

'I've been making the reservations on-line as we speak,' Herbert told him. 'Air New Zealand to Darwin. I'll be there Saturday morning.'

'By way of how many cities?' Rodgers asked.

'Five,' Herbert replied. 'D.C. to New York to Los Angeles to Sydney to Darwin.'

'Screw that. I'll call over to the travel office at the Pentagon,' Rodgers told him. 'I'm sure we can hitch you a ride and get you there with less hassle.'

'What, on one of those butt-cold, avalanche-loud, flying metal rib cages that you guys call airplanes?' Herbert asked.

'Actually, I was going to requisition Air Force One,' Rodgers said. 'But I don't want you going soft.'

'Gentlemen, I'm going home,' Hood told them.

'And I've got to go hitch a ride with Jelbart as soon as he's finished with Ellsworth and Officer Loh,' Coffey said.

'What are they talking about?' Hood asked.

'Whether we're going to have two investigations or a coordinated operation when we get out to sea,' Coffey replied.

'Jeez,' Herbert sighed. 'This is how the world will be lost. There will be a skirmish that bloodies someone's nose followed by a world war that has nothing to do with that. We'll kill each other debating how to find some son of a bitch instead of just laying waste to him and his kind.'

'You said it before,' Hood reminded him. 'It's either practical or political.'

'Well, let's see if we can make it both,' Herbert said.

'How?' Hood asked.

'By understanding,' Herbert replied.

'That's it?' Hood asked, amused.

'Yes,' Herbert said. 'Understanding that the only way to get rid of me is by doing this thing right.'

Chapter Seventeen

Cairns, Australia Friday, 7:00 P.M.

The tranquillity of the cove was just what Peter Kannaday needed. Like any long-time sailor, his emotional state was strongly affected by the sea.

The sun was going down as the Hosannah entered the mouth of the cove. The effect was like a candle on the sea. There was a long, rippling, waxy-yellow streak on the water. It ended in a burning yellow wick on the horizon. Kannaday watched it from the stern as they entered the cove. Directly above him the blue-green skies were already spotted with early stars.

To all other sides of him was Darling Cove. The inlet was located in the northern reaches of the Great Barrier Reef. Over 2,000 kilometers in length and up to 125 meters thick, the reef is separated from the mainland by a shallow lagoon. The massive structure was born at the end of the Ice Age when oceanic polyps began to thrive in the region. The polyps created protective multicolored shells that survived when the animals themselves perished. Coral built upon coral for over 10,000 years, providing a home for each new generation of tentacled creature. It also became a haven for countless species of fish, giant turtles, humpback whales, manta rays, dolphins, and dugongs — marine cousins to the elephant.

The helmsman steered the yacht into the calm, wide-mouthed inlet. Kannaday looked down at the stained- glass blue water. Then he walked forward as sweet, warm air washed over the deck. It carried the hint of grapes from the Darling vineyard located to the southwest. Immediately to the northwest was a limestone formation scooped from a hundred-meter-high cliff by ancient storms. The rock glowed rust orange in the twilight.

The high reef concealed the cove from the open sea. To access the inlet a sailor had to know to come around the reef well to the north. The mouth itself was less than a half kilometer across. It was just about 200 meters to the far shore. There was a long stone wharf ahead and deep stretches of tawny white sand on all sides. Two motorboats, a motor yacht, and a pair of sailboats were at anchor. Security cameras were concealed in the 200- foot-tall karri trees that ringed the cove. Kannaday knew that microphones were hidden in the trees as well. They rarely heard more than the wind, the soft breakers, or the cry of a lost dolphin. For boaters who happened by, there