claim about predicting earthquakes I would have dismissed as fantasy except I saw the book and felt the Santorini quake myself. She knew when and where it was going to hit. That’s not a coincidence and judging by the size of the journal she carried, I believe her group’s had this ability for a long, long time.”
The president was about to ask another question, but Mercer forestalled him. “Please don’t ask me to explain it. I can’t. What she showed me flies in the face of everything I’ve ever learned as a geologist and yet I can’t refute the evidence.”
Several seconds passed. They were waiting for the president.
Mercer glanced at Ira, who gave him a small shrug. His bald head was covered in sweat. Mercer had always assumed that Ira had become comfortable in the corridors of power. He’d retired from the navy with two stars, so dealing with the nation’s elite shouldn’t have been anything new. And yet this meeting made him sweat. He was on the line here, Mercer realized. By bringing him in, Ira was tacitly backing him. If the president dismissed the claims, Ira would be out of a job by morning.
Mercer shot him a wink filled with more bravado than he really felt.
The president laced his fingers and set them carefully on the table. “There’s been an interesting change to what is expected of this office over the past few years. The American people now count on their president to be omniscient. They expect us to know the motivation of every ally and enemy and divine the consequences of every action. Mistakes are no longer an option.
“I think this started during the Gulf War when people saw the precision of force projection. They began to believe that if we could slam a bomb through a designated window, we can damn well do anything. People now presume that this kind of precision should extend to the economy and foreign affairs. Put simply, people think that I have a crystal ball sitting on my desk in the Oval Office.
“Obviously I don’t. I have the authority to order the evacuation of fifty million people, but what if thousands are killed in a panic and nothing happens. Or I can order the evacuation and those that are saved will blame the government for not preventing the catastrophe in the first place. Another option is to do nothing, believing that this crisis has been concocted by a gullible scientist influenced by a fringe group and no one will be the wiser.”
Paul Barnes folded the leather-bound binder in front of him as if the meeting was over. “I think that’s the best course.”
The president didn’t appear like he was going to stop the CIA director.
It was now or never. “There’s one more option, sir,” Mercer said quickly.
The chief executive almost smiled. “I was hoping there was.”
“I believe Tisa Nguyen gave me enough time to do something to prevent this from becoming a disaster. We’re seeing the first signs of an eruption. That doesn’t mean the eruption is imminent. It might take six months. It might be six years.” Mercer paused. He wasn’t being dramatic; he was thinking about the aftermath if his next words were true. “Or it might be six weeks. She is the only person who knows for sure. We need to find her. With the information she can provide, we’re in a better position to understand what we’re up against.”
“Do you know where she is?”
“Possibly, but I need help. I spent the day going over commercial satellite photographs looking for a telltale sign of where Rinpoche-La could be located. I have to admit the person helping me and I aren’t photo interpreters and I kind of think it was a colossal waste of time.”
“
Even Mercer had to admit asking a pair of eighty-year-old eyes to scan thousands of pictures was a long shot. However it was the only shot he had and he was desperate. He gave a little rueful smile. “Well, he was there and didn’t hinder me. That’s about all the help he could give.”
The president turned to his national security advisor. “John, what’s that group over in Maryland that does our photo work?”
“We’ve got the National Reconnaissance Office, but I think you’re talking about the National Imaging and Mapping Agency in Bethesda.”
“NIMA, that’s the one. Dr. Mercer, where exactly were you looking?”
“The northern slopes of the Himalayas.”
Paul Barnes rounded on Mercer, his eyes bulging.
Mercer maintained his composure. “I believe so, yes.”
The president turned to the CIA chief. “Can you get her out?”
“Mr. President, please,” Barnes entreated. “Even if we can find her town, which isn’t likely, it would take weeks to mount a rescue op. We have precious few assets in China. Most of them are in the cities and wouldn’t last five minutes in a rural area without authorization.”
“What about sending in some of our own people?”
“If this was the Cold War and the target was in Eastern Europe or Russia I’d say there’s a shot. In China, forget it. A Special Operations force would have to come in overland from Nepal or Pakistan, crossing one of the most heavily fortified borders in the world. They wouldn’t make it five miles before being picked up.”
“What if the team is made up of Chinese-Americans?”
“I don’t have that kind of manpower. All our Chinese-American agents are analysts or translators. None of them is trained for fieldwork.”
“A budget of three billion a year and you don’t have one Asian James Bond?” Dick said archly.
“Gentlemen,” the president cut in smoothly, “we’re going to concentrate on locating Rinpoche-La first and hammer out how to get her afterward.” Henna and Barnes mumbled an assent in unison. “Mercer, I would like you to draft a memo for the people at NIMA to tell them exactly what they’re looking for. Finding needles in haystacks is their specialty, but I’m sure they’d appreciate anything you can give them.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And then I’d like you to pack for La Palma.”
“No, sir.”
The chief executive wasn’t used to being defied. He looked more startled than upset. “Excuse me?”
“I said no, Mr. President. I trust the people Ira sent to the island are more than qualified to study the volcano. They’re specialists in that field. I am not. I’d be in the way. I think you’d be better served if I accompanied whoever is sent in to rescue Tisa.”
“Out of the question!” Barnes thundered. “I will not allow a civilian to join one of my teams. If you think you’d be in the way around volcano specialists on La Palma, just what do you think you can add to a contingent of CIA operatives?”
Mercer could have gloated. Lord knew, Barnes deserved it, but the director was just trying to protect his fiefdom. The CIA should have known about this case long before Mercer handed it to them on a platter. Barnes was humiliated, and needed to do some damage control to reestablish his authority. It wasn’t in his personality to work with Mercer so he was lashing out instead. “Mr. Barnes, you’re forgetting a very basic fact. None of your people have the slightest idea what Tisa looks like. In this situation, a composite sketch based on my impressions won’t do a rescue team much good.”
Making ready to reply, Barnes let his mouth close. There was nothing he would say. Although Barnes couldn’t see Dick Henna directly, the FBI director put his hand over his mouth so no one could see his smile.
“You have a point there, Doctor,” the president said. “I assume you know what you might be getting into?”
“Yes, I do. I wouldn’t consider it if I didn’t know it was so important.”
“Then if we do go in to get her, consider yourself on board.” The president stood and swept the assembled group with a stern look. “For now I don’t want this getting too far beyond this room. Make the inquiries you need but keep it quiet. If this eruption is as serious as we believe we have a small window of opportunity before the media get wind of it. We all know what’ll happen then. Dr. Mercer, on top of everything else, you are my special science advisor. I want options.”
“Options, sir?”
“To save our country. We may only have a couple of weeks or months. I think we all agree that evacuation is pretty much out of the question. Even if we could pull it off, the United States would cease to exist as the country it is now. The same goes for the sections of Europe that get hit too. There must be a way to prevent the eruption or stabilize the side of the volcano. Those are the options I want.”
“I understand,” Mercer replied, thinking that the president didn’t have a clue what he was asking.
