Sea of Fire

Chapter Seventy-Seven

Cairns, Australia Sunday, 7:10 A.M.

John Hawke and Jervis Darling were taken into custody separately. Even after their departure, the helicopter still had a brief delay in Cairns. The pilot wanted to ascertain that there had been no damage to the landing strut.

The report was favorable.

'Metal is still stronger than glass,' the pilot reported proudly to Herbert after examining both the landing surface and pylons.

The team said farewell to Leyland and Spider, both of whom had earned the respect of Bob Herbert.

Leyland waved off the suggestion that he and Spider had acted heroically. 'You told us where to go and what to do.'

'Bugger, all we did was pull the trigger,' Spider said.

'Of a bloody hose,' Leyland added. 'It's not like that's going to put someone's eye out or anything.'

'You ran down a jet,' Herbert told them. 'That took guts. You prevented Darling from taking off and finishing the operation he started. That's a hero by my yardstick.'

Leyland shrugged. 'We really didn't have much choice, did we?'

'Sure you did,' Jelbart said.

'No, I mean I don't think Mr. Darling would have believed it if we said we needed to get a koala out of the engine.'

Herbert smiled. He had not known this man very long, but he was going to miss him. Maybe the intelligence chief would stop by and see him when he came back to visit Monica Loh, which he absolutely intended to do.

'Paul, I've got just one more question for you,' Herbert said.

'Ask it,' Leyland said.

'Why'd you hire the only female firefighter in the district?'

Coffey rolled his eyes.

Leyland smiled. 'The truth is, she was the best firefighter in the district.'

Herbert scowled. Coffey smiled.

'That hair on your chest cost you a prime rib,' Coffey said to the intelligence chief.

Leyland leaned toward Coffey. 'And frankly, I like watching her climb the ladder.'

Herbert smiled. 'Dutch,' he said to Coffey.

Coffey nodded.

When the pilot said they were good to go, Lowell Coffey took the seat formerly occupied by John Hawke. The flight back was quiet and introspective. Everyone was tired. More than that, they were oddly dissatisfied. Herbert could see it in their faces. No one could call this a Pyrrhic victory. 'The good guys,' as he had described the team to Loh, had not suffered any physical losses. But there was a spiritual loss. Business and government had always been closely related. Business and crime regularly crossed paths in money laundering, intelligence gathering, and other activities. Business had even encouraged wars to increase productivity and profits. But this was the first time to Herbert's knowledge that a small band of businessmen had planned to use nuclear material to change the balance of power. The thought was as sickening as it was disquieting. They would never know if they had nabbed everyone who was part of the operation. Or every pellet of enriched uranium, or whatever substance they were shipping.

'Bob, I want to ask you something,' Monica Loh said after nearly a half hour.

'Sure.'

'Were you really going to let Hawke go before?'

'You mean on the way to Cairns, when I was asking him to rat out his boss?' Herbert asked.

'Yes,' Loh said.

Herbert's answer was precise, if not articulate. He snickered.

'Now you tell me something,' Jelbart said from the front seat. 'I try to stay on top of local laws and such, but I've never heard of the Singaporean Nuclear Emergency Response Act of 2002. Is there such a thing?'

For the first time since Herbert had known FNO Loh, she smiled. It was not quite a snicker, but then she was probably not as jaded as Herbert was.

'I thought not,' Jelbart said. 'Well played,' he added.

'Now I'd like to ask all of you a question,' Herbert said. 'What do you think Darling was trying to do back there?'

'You mean take off or take his life?' Jelbart asked.

Herbert nodded.

'I've been wondering that myself,' Jelbart said. 'He sent his daughter away. That suggests he did not expect to survive.'

'He was moving her out of danger,' Coffey said. 'That doesn't mean anything. He could have sent for her later. His priority was to get out of the country and wage a legal war. He'll probably do that anyway. This thing smells of a plea bargain.'

'Do you think that's inevitable?' Jelbart asked.

Coffey nodded. 'We won't be able to prove everything that we suspect, and Darling won't be able to duck every blow that's thrown. That will demand a compromise. Besides, everybody will want this over as soon as possible. Darling because he will suffer less damage, the government because there's always the risk that Darling or Jessica-Ann could be perceived as victims.'

'Not to mention the fact that it will cost a bomb to try,' Jelbart said.

Coffey looked at Herbert. 'What do you think?'

'About Darling trying to off himself?' Herbert asked. He shook his head. 'When you strip him of the financial armor, he's a coward. Cowards don't kill themselves.'

'I disagree,' Loh said. 'I would think most individuals who take their lives do so because they are afraid to face adversity.'

'I wonder if the statistics support that,' Herbert said dubiously.

'I don't know,' Loh admitted.

'When it comes down to it, sucking on a gun barrel is not for the faint-hearted.'

'Life is not for the faint of heart,' Loh replied. 'Surrendering that life is, I believe, an act of the gravest cowardice.'

'I think you're both wrong,' Coffey said. 'In law school they teach us that most crimes of passion are conceived and executed in a space of five minutes. Suicide included. I don't think the brain or backbone play a part in it. Suicide is usually an act of despair.'

'And a rather comfortless topic as well,' Jelbart added.

The cabin fell silent again. Herbert and Loh looked at each other with challenging eyes. Like Herbert, she was obviously a woman who did not like to let things sit. Monica Loh could fight, interrogate, debate, and she looked damn fine. Herbert wondered where the flaws were.

Oh yeah, he thought. She lives in Singapore.

Also, he had no idea what she thought of him. He wondered if he were better off not knowing.

Shortly before landing, Jelbart received a call from Brian Ellsworth. News of what had happened at the Cairns airstrip traveled a lot faster than the Bell 204. International media were waiting for them. So was Ellsworth. He greeted the team at the helicopter. Police kept the reporters away. Ellsworth congratulated them for the job they did, then cautioned the team to ignore the questions being shouted by the press.

'Whatever you say will be reported and distorted, both pro and contra Mr. Darling,' Ellsworth said. 'That can only help his case.'

'Prejudice the judicial process,' Coffey said. 'Make it look like the government has prejudged Darling.'

'Precisely. One thing I must ask you,' Ellsworth said as he slipped his cell phone from inside his jacket. 'The