"One and the same."
"Is he by chance responsible for that debacle with the Benin navy on the Niger River?" asked Willover.
"Yes, but the blame is mine," said Sandecker. "Since my warnings went unheard, and I could get no cooperation from your staff or the Pentagon, I sent Pitt and two of NUMA's best men up the Niger to track the source of the compound."
"You ordered an unauthorized operation without permission into a foreign nation," Willover exploded furiously.
"I also persuaded Hala Kamil to lend me a UN tactical team to go into Mali and get my chief scientist and his data safely out of the country."
"You could have jeopardized our entire African policy."
"I didn't know you had one," Sandecker tossed back, completely unafraid of Willover, his eyes blazing with animosity.
"You're stepping over your bounds, Admiral. This could have serious repercussions on your career."
Sandecker was not one to shrink from a fight. "My duty is to my God, my country, and my President, Willover. You and my career come about eighty-sixth on my list."
"Gentlemen," interrupted the President, "gentlemen." The frown on his face was more for theatrics than a show of anger. Secretly, he enjoyed seeing his aides and cabinet members slug it out with words. "I don't want to see any further friction between you. I'm convinced we're faced with a grim reality, and we'd better damn well work together for a solution."
Willover let out a sigh of exasperation. "I will, of course, follow your instructions."
"As long as I'm no longer shouting to be heard in a hurricane," said Sandecker calmly, "and can obtain the backup to stop the scourge, you won't have any problems with me."
"What do you advise we do?" asked the President.
"My NUMA scientists are already working round the clock on a counteractive chemical that will either neutralize or kill the red tide without upsetting the balance of marine ecology. If Pitt proves the contamination is indeed originating from Fort Foureau, I leave it up to you, Mr. President, to use whatever means in your power to shut the site down."
There was a pause, then Willover said slowly; "Despite the awesome prospects, assuming for a moment the Admiral is on the beam, it won't be a simple matter to unilaterally close a multimillion-dollar installation owned by French business interests in a sovereign nation such as Mali."
"We'd have some hard explaining to do," the President acknowledged, "if I ordered in the air force to level the project."
"Tread cautiously, Mr. President," said Willover. "I see nothing but quicksand in this for your administration."
The President looked at Sandecker. "What about scientists in other countries? Are they aware of the problem too?"
"Not to its full extent," answered the Admiral, "not yet."
"What showed you the trail?"
"Only twelve days ago, one of NUMA's ocean current experts noticed the unusually large area of the red tide in photos taken by our SeaSat cameras and began plotting its growth. Stunned by the incredible speed by which it multiplied, he quickly brought it to my attention. After careful study I made the decision not to go public until we can bring this thing under control."
"You had no right to take matters into your own hands," snapped Willover.
Sandecker shrugged idly. "Official Washington turned a deaf ear to my warnings. I felt I had no option but to act on my own."
"What steps do you propose for immediate action?" asked the President.
"For the moment, we can do little but continue collecting data. Secretary General Hala Kamil has consented to call a special closed-door meeting of leading world oceanographers at UN headquarters in New York. She's invited me to reveal the situation and set up an international committee of marine scientists to coordinate efforts and share data while searching for a solution."
"I'm giving you a free hand, Admiral. Please update me on all new developments any time of the day or night." Then the President turned his attention to Willover. "You'd better alert Doug Oates over at the State Department and my National Security Council. If Fort Foureau proves to be the culprit, and if no cooperation is forthcoming from concerned nations, we'll have to go in and take the place out ourselves."
Willover came to his feet. "Mr. President, I strongly advise we exercise patience. I'm convinced this sea plague, or whatever it is you want to call it, will blow over, as do scientists whose opinions I respect."
"I trust Admiral Sandecker's counsel," said the President, his eyes locked on Willover. "In all my years in Washington, I've never known him to make a bad call."
"Thank you, Mr. President," said Sandecker. "There is one other matter that requires our attention."
"Yes."
"As I mentioned, Pitt and his backup, Al Giordino, have penetrated Fort Foureau. Should they be seized by the Malians or French security, it will be essential that they be rescued for any information they might have obtained."
"Please, Mr. President," Willover persisted. "There can be a nasty political backlash by risking Army Special Forces or a Delta Team in a desert rescue mission if it fails and word leaks to the news media."
The President nodded thoughtfully. "I agree with Earl on this one. I'm sorry, Admiral, but we'll have to think of another option to save your people."
"You say a UN force rescued your man who accumulated the data on the Niger River contamination?" asked Willover.
"Hala Kamil was most helpful by ordering the UN Critical Response and Tactical Team to carry out the mission."
"Then you'll have to prevail upon her to use them again if Pitt and Giordino are caught."
"God knows I'll be crucified," said the President, "if I send in American men to strew the desert with French nationals."
Sandecker's face reflected disappointment. "I doubt if 1 can convince her to send them back in a second time."
"I'll make the request myself," the President promised.
Willover was curt. "You can't have it all your way, Admiral."
Sandecker gave a tired sigh. The horrible consequences of the mushrooming red tide had not totally sunk in. His mission was becoming more grueling, oppressive, and frustrating with every passing hour. He stood up and looked down on the President and Willover. His voice came like the arctic cold.
"Be prepared for the very worst, because if we can't stop the red tide before it reaches the North Atlantic and spreads into the Pacific and Indian Oceans, our extinction will surely come."
Then Sandecker turned and quietly left the room.
Tom Greenwald sat in his office and computer enhanced the images received by a Pyramider spy satellite. Through ground command he had shifted its orbit slightly to pass over the section of the Sahara where he discerned the car and figures of Pitt and Giordino on the old GeoSat photos. No one above him had given him permission, but so long as he could send the satellite back over the Ukrainian civil war in another couple of passes, nobody would be the wiser. Besides, the fighting had fizzled to a few rebel ambushes and only the Vice-President seemed to find the intelligence images interesting. The President's National Security Council had their minds focused elsewhere, like the secret nuclear arms buildup of Japan.
Greenwald flew against orders purely out of curiosity. He wanted to examine sharper pictures of the two men he had discovered earlier as they boarded the train to enter the project. Using the Pyramider he could now make a positive identification. Now his analysis revealed a tragic reversal of events.
The images of the two men being led under guard to a helicopter were little short of astounding. Greenwald could easily compare them to identification photos given him by Chip Webster from NUMA files. The images taken from hundreds of kilometers out in space clearly showed the capture of Pitt and Giordino.