It took just over forty minutes for Argentine to brief the men in the basement command center. When he finished, they sat in stunned silence.
Finally, the President said, “General Greer, give us a status report on the military situation in North Korea.”
Greer pulled out a folder from his briefcase. “We have thirty-seven thousand American soldiers stationed in the South. The South Korean army numbers six hundred thirty-three thousand. In opposition, North Korea has the fifth largest army in the world with about one-point-one million soldiers. Add to that half a million reservists and a hundred thousand commandos and you've got a third of their population ready to fight.”
The General unfolded a map, laying it on the table. Then he continued, “Hardware wise, the North has twice the battle tanks, eight times the surface-to-surface missiles and almost twice the combat aircraft as the South. They've also got two and a half times the artillery along with short- and medium-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. About seventy percent of the active-duty forces are stationed within sixty miles from the DMZ, which is only thirty-five miles from Seoul. As you know, Seoul is a primary target with eleven million people and a heavy concentration of industry. The North has massed most of its four thousand, five hundred self-propelled guns and two thousand mobile rocket launchers within firing range of Seoul.” He paused, taking a sip of water before continuing.
“We’re all familiar with their regular missile- and nuclear tests. In the event of an attack on the South, the Pentagon's Office of Net Assessment predicts that the defensive lines set up by the South would be quickly breached by North Korean artillery. If that happened, the North could probably take the whole of the South in a week or two. Of course, this is based on a conventional assessment. Up until now, we had no knowledge of anything like this device described by Colonel Argentine. If the korium weapon becomes a reality, then all our projections are nil.”
“Further assessments, gentlemen?” the President said.
“Do we have a carrier group in the region?” Nathan Templeton asked.
Greer nodded. “The Nimitz is off the coast of southern Japan. She could be in position within twenty-four hours.”
“Then I suggest we rattle some sabers,” Templeton said as he tapped the stem of his pipe on the table top. “Move the Nimitz and her support group off the North Korean coast.”
“And find that damn submarine,” Stone added.
“How hard would that be, General?” the President asked.
“I’m not an expert on naval tactics, Mr. President,” Greer said, “But I did confer with my colleagues at the Pentagon before coming here. Apparently, the best way to find a submarine is with another submarine. That's because the ability of a submarine to hide is defined almost entirely by its environment — the temperature of the water, salinity variations, the placement of thermal layers, and of course, ambient noise. Aircraft and surface ships can see bits and pieces of what lies below, but the submarine commander has a great deal more latitude in assessing his environment and his best hiding places.
“Each class of sub has its own distinctive ambient signature, and for that matter, each individual sub does as well. I’ve been assured that we know the Yankee-class intimately having tracked them for decades. By today's standards, they're old and clunky — fairly easy to find. Their own acoustic signature is their worst enemy. We can assume that the sub in question is somewhere off the west coast of Central or South America which would narrow the search field down considerably. I feel certain that we can locate her within a matter of days.”
“And what about the korium?” Stone asked.
Alan Grant answered, “The British communiqué said the Koreans and Escandoza have found another source. Colonel Argentine, do you have any idea what that might be?”
“We scanned virtually every square mile of land where any trace of korium was ever known to have been found. At this time, we know of no other supply.”
“But the British communiqué mentioned that Escandoza had a lead,” Stone pressed. “Any guess as to what they were talking about?”
“No, Mr. Secretary,” Argentine said. “Believe me, when we discovered Project Candle Power and the importance of korium in developing Thorpe's Candle, we followed every possible lead we could think of to find a new source. The Cuban mine was all we could come up with.”
The President said, “We have to find that korium before the Koreans do. I want you to begin a new search immediately.”
“Yes, sir,” Argentine said.
“What was the name of that outfit that lifted the Soviet sub, Colonel?”
“OceanQuest, sir.”
“Get them involved.”
“Alan,” the President continued, nodding to Grant, “do we have any idea where Escandoza's headquarters is located?”
“We believe it is somewhere in the Andes Mountains near Lake Guatavita.”
“But you don't feel we would get any cooperation from the Colombian authorities?”
“No, Mr. President, none whatsoever.”
“All right. I want an extensive satellite scan of the suspected area. At the same time, assemble a strike force and put together a plan of action to be carried out when we do find him. I've already briefed the Director of the FBI on the situation and have him searching on how the Koreans found out about Project Candle Power in the first place. And I want to know how the Cubans knew Captain Harper was coming down there. Remember that if word of the korium device leaks out, the effect on world stability would be devastating. Everything must be at the highest level of security.”
Each man nodded as the President said, “The race is on, gentlemen. Coming in second is not an option.”
SMYTH
“I was thirty-two when that plane went down, Mr. Skyler, but I still remember it. Lost without a trace.” The gray-haired woman thumbed through the library-style drawers filled with index cards.
“So you'll have the records of the search attempts?”
“Oh, my, yes. We keep everything.”
Skyler wondered with today's technology how an arm of the British government could be so antiquated in its record-keeping procedures. He patiently watched from behind the massive counter stretching across the room on the third floor of the Royal Aviation and Marine Archives building. Located on Leadenhall Street near Lloyd's of London, the building had stood since 1881.
Skyler had fond memories of London, having spent three months doing research on eighteenth century British shipwrecks during the summer of his junior year. His flat had been on top of an Edwardian house looking south from Hampstead down over central London. At night, when the wind blew and the low clouds rolled past his window, he sometimes sat for hours staring at the city — St. Paul's Cathedral, Big Ben and the spires of Westminster. And in the mornings before going to the archives, he would stand on the Embankment and watch the River Thames move slowly past carrying with it the dust of ages. Skyler was glad to be back in London as he watched the old woman examining the reference cards.
“Here it is, Mr. Skyler.” She held up a card in a victory gesture. “Give me a moment and I'll have your files.” With a warm smile, she made her way past the card catalog file cabinets and disappeared into the cavernous records vault.
“Thanks, Gertrude,” Skyler said when she returned a few minutes later carrying a brown accordion folder. He took the bundle and went to one of the many long tables set up for researchers and investigators. The folder was fairly heavy, and as he untied the string that held it together, he expected to find reports from the Royal Air Force Search and Rescue, the Icelandic Coast Guard or Newfoundland's Civil Air and Search organization. What he found instead was a full ream of blank white paper. All the records of the search for Arctic Air Cargo 101 were gone.