He'd found something.
Keasling frowned. "The time for licking your wounded egos is over. You look like a bunch of first graders after a recess fight. Snap out of it."
They did. Faces hardened. Postures straightened. Each turned their guilt into anger. They'd been trained to do it when it needed to be done. They'd deal with the guilt later, when there was no one left to kill. Hell, killing the right people could actually relieve the guilt. Knowing how many people would die if Manifold succeeded and sold its formula to terrorists or dictators made the lives and billions lost seem like chumpchange…chumplives.
The screen glowed to life. Deep Blue sat in shadow. "How's everyone holding up?"
"We're ready to kick some ass," Rook said.
Deep Blue nodded. "Good. And that will come soon enough. But first there are two mysteries that need solving. The first is Manifold's new location. We know they had at least five large facilities, all secret. Two of them are now destroyed thanks to their cut-and-run, slash-and-burn tactics."
"Bunch of pansies," Rook said.
"Effective pansies," Deep Blue added. "After Aleman confirmed the thumb drive contained no useful information I set the CIA to the task of finding any evidence of large facilities being built in the United States."
"You think they're here?" King asked. "Right under our noses?" "Almost. They're in New Hampshire." Rook looked surprised. "Where at?" "Your backyard. Pinckney." "Little town, north of Plymouth?"
"That's the one. A few boaters off Rye reported seeing a submarine beneath their boats. The Portsmouth Navel Shipyard was put on high alert. Nothing turned up, but it put our attention on New Hampshire and Maine. It took a lot of digging, but we found evidence that something large had been built in Pinckney. Tolls and weigh stations reported large amounts of material entering the area, but never appearing on the grid again. A lot of building material went in and never came out. But that's not all. As you know, we've been testing Pierce with the hopes of understanding and reversing his condition. What we've found is that his healing ability is greatly increased in the presence of radiation."
King sat up straight, his voice tinged with anger. "You're exposing him to radiation?"
Deep Blue held up a hand. "Nothing more significant than the background radiation found naturally in certain environments."
"The Granite State," Rook said, understanding. "The whole state is riddled with the stuff."
"Which contains ten to twenty parts per million of uranium," Ale-man added.
Rook nodded. "The uranium decays and escapes as radon gas. My grandmother had to move because her foundation leaked the stuff like a sieve."
"The town of Pinckney is situated in a valley that rests between several large mountains of granite. If Manifold discovered the effect of this background radiation on regeneration, then it makes sense that they would retreat to that location. The problem is, finding the facility has proven impossible from above. They're most likely underground, so we need boots on the ground. King. Knight. Bishop. I want you to handle this."
"Why not just flood the area with troops?" Knight asked. "Smoke 'em out George W. style."
"They'd see us coming long before we smoked anything out," Deep Blue said. "We don't want them bugging out this time. If it takes you a little longer to find them, fine. Let them get comfortable. Catch them with their pants down. And don't let them escape again."
Rook began to object. New Hampshire was his home state. His people. But Deep Blue beat him to the punch, "I know all the reasons you want to go, Rook, but there's more. I'll let Aleman explain."
Aleman sat up straight and cleared his throat. "The symbol Pierce drew, the circle with two vertical lines… It took some research… a lot of research. But I found it mentioned in an archive of the Natural History Museum of all places. Turns out, quite appropriately, that it's a symbol for Hercules. To be specific, the pillars of Hercules, also known as—"
"The Strait of Gibraltar," Queen said. She leaned forward, elbows on the table. "Some legends say that Hercules formed the strait by striking through a mountain with his club, but most believe he traveled to the strait to fetch the Cattle of Geryon, a giant with six arms, three heads, and three bodies. His tenth labor."
"Hydra was his second?" King asked.
Queen nodded. "Seems he kept the true distance of his travels to himself, though. Gibraltar was supposed to be the farthest he traveled."
"That's right," Aleman said with a grin, clearly impressed by Queen's knowledge. "Which brings us to Agustina Gallo."
"You found her?" King asked.
"Well, there were two hundred fifty-seven women with the name, worldwide, but only one of them is an expert on Greek mythology." "Where is she?" Knight asked.
Aleman smiled. "Greece, of course."
"You're sending me to Greece?" Rook asked, doing nothing to hide the annoyance in his voice.
"You and Queen," Deep Blue said. That alone seemed to settle Rook down, but Deep Blue continued, "Queen speaks the language, and as she's shown us, isn't too shabby when it comes to Greek mythology. But Rook… you're needed to complete her cover story."
Rook's right eyebrow rose a centimeter. "And that is?"
"Queen will pose as a local. Your guide. You'll be the loud, obnoxious, American tourist."
Rook sighed, bit his lip, and shook his head, clearly frustrated. But he didn't argue. He knew he was perfect for the job.
"Your plane leaves at seventeen hundred hours. Bags have been packed for you. Posing as tourists you'll have to take a commercial flight in. Get your passports stamped. The whole deal. So no weapons. If you run into trouble, which you shouldn't, head to the U.S. embassy or take a boat to the naval base in Souda Bay on Crete. Dr. Pierce seemed to think Gallo was important. I need you two to find out why. In the past twenty-four hours she hasn't answered her phone or checked her e-mail. We don't know if she's busy, antisocial, or otherwise disposed, so stay alert. Any questions?"
No one offered any. The screen went black.
Keasling stood. "Hit the road gumshoes. Don't come back unless you've got Manifold by the balls, or I'll have your balls in my own personal vice."
Queen grinned.
"What are you smiling about?" Keasling said. "You've got more balls than the four of them combined. Now move your asses."
THIRTY- NINE
Flying as civilians meant a flight first from Raleigh, North Carolina, to Boston, then to London, and south to Greece, where they landed at Athens International Airport — Eleftherios Venizelos. Rook had done his best not to complain, but on the flight to Greece, after already spending eight hours on a plane, decided to start practicing his American tourist cover by complaining that the seats were too tight for his bulk. To his surprise, he and Queen had been moved to first class mid flight and given a bottle of champagne. Apparently, Greece wanted loud, obnoxious tourists… and they wanted them drunk and spending money straight away. While neither Rook nor Queen imbibed the spirits, Rook did save the bottle, stowing it in his very American, Boston Celtics gym bag.
They checked into their hotel posing as a vacationing couple, which drew looks of pity for Queen as she was dressed in a f orm-fitting navy blue top that accentuated her eyes and a flowing black skirt that matched her stylish sandals and highlighted her taut tan legs. She spoke the language fluently and short of her blond hair, fit in with the locals. Rook on the other hand, dressed in high-top sneakers, tight blue jeans, and a sports jacket, was easily spotted as a stereotypical American tourist. The looks they received from everyone, including the cabbie, the hotel doorman, and the checkout clerk all asked the same question of Queen: Why are you slumming with this clown?