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"We won't be surprising anyone this time," said Giordino matter-of-factly. "Word of our bite has preceded us."
"An obvious deduction judging by their reluctance to come within our effective range."
"The question that comes to mind is when will old what's-his-name-"
"Zateb Kazim?"
"Whoever," Giordino shrugged indifferently. "When will he sound the charge?"
"If he's smarter than that comic strip Admiral of the Benin navy, and he wants to confiscate the Calliope for his own pleasure, all he has to do is wait us out. Eventually, we'll run out of river."
"And fuel."
"That too."
Pitt went silent and gazed at the wide, lazy Niger wandering through the sandy plain. The yellow-gold sun was creeping toward the horizon as blue and white storks winged the hot afternoon air or strolled the shallows on long stick-like legs. A school of Nile perch leaped in the air and sparkled like miniature fireworks as the Calliope chased them over the placid water. A pinnace glided past on its way downriver, hull stained black with colorful painted designs on its double-ender bow and stern, its sail barely filled under a whisper of wind. A few of the crew slept on a cargo of rice sacks under a frayed awning while others poled with the current. All was serene and picturesque. Pitt found it hard to believe death and destruction skirted their course up the river.
Giordino broke Pitt's revery. "Didn't you mention that woman you met in Egypt was going to Mali?"
Pitt nodded. "She's connected with the UN team from the World Health Organization. They were flying to Mali to investigate a strange epidemic that had broken out among the desert villages."
"Too bad you can't rendezvous with her," said Giordino, smiling. "You could sit under a desert moon with your arm around her, whisper of your exploits in her ear, and sift sand."
"If that's your idea of a hot date, no wonder you bat zero."
"How else can you entertain a geologist?"
"Biochemist," Pitt corrected him.
Giordino's expression suddenly turned serious. "Did it ever occur to you that she and her scientist buddies might be looking for the same toxin we are?"
"The thought crossed my mind."
At that moment Rudi Gunn hustled up from his lab below, his face haggard but broken by a wide grin. "Got it," he announced triumphantly.
Giordino looked at him, not comprehending.
"Got what?"
Gunn didn't answer. He just smiled and smiled.
Pitt knew almost immediately. "You found it?"
"The glop that's exciting the red tides?" Giordino muttered.
Gunn nodded.
Pitt pumped his hand. "Congratulations, Rudi."
"I was almost ready to give up," said Gunn. "But my negligence opened the door. I've been putting hundreds of water samples through the gas chromatograph, and haven't been checking on the inner workings as often as I should. When I finally took a look at the results, I found a coating of cobalt inside the instrument's test column. I was shocked to see a metal was being extracted with synthetic organic pollutants and finding its way into the gas chromatograph. After frantic hours of experiments, modifications, and tests, I identified an exotic organometallic compound that's a combination of an altered synthetic amino acid and cobalt."
"Sounds Greek to me," shrugged Giordino. "What's an amino acid?"
"The stuff proteins are made of."
"How can it get in the river?" asked Pitt.
"Can't say," replied Gunn. "My guess is the synthetic amino acid came from a genetic engineering biotechnology laboratory whose wastes are being dumped along with chemical and nuclear wastes at the source area. For it to naturally mix into the vicious pollutant that's causing the red tides after reaching the sea seems remote. I believe it's forming at a common location."
