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"Yes, sir." Yaeger checked his file. "The operations on all tour islands are either owned or run by Dorsett Consolidated Mining Limited of Sydney, Australia. Second only to De Beers as the world's largest diamond producer."
Pitt felt as if someone had walked up and suddenly punched him in the stomach. "Arthur Dorsett," he said quietly, "the chairman of Dorsett Consolidated Mining, happens to be the father of the two women A1 and I rescued in the Antarctic."
"Of course," said Gunn, suddenly seeing the light. "Deirdre Dorsett." Then a quizzical look came into his eyes. "But the other lady, Maeve Fletcher?"
"Deirdre's sister, who took an ancestral grandmother's name," explained Pitt.
Only Giordino saw the humor. "They went to an awful lot of trouble to meet us."
Sandecker shot him a withering look and turned to Pitt. "This strikes me as more than a mere coincidence."
Giordino came right back. "I can't help wondering what one of the world's richest diamond merchants will have to say when he learns his diggings came within a hair of killing off his darling daughters."
"We may have a blessing in disguise," said Gunn. "If Dorsett's mining operations are somehow responsible for an acoustic death plague, Dirk and A1 have the credentials to walk up to his front door and ask questions. The man has every reason to act the role of a grateful father."
"From what I know of Arthur Dorsett," said Sandecker, "he's so reclusive, he won the hermit trophy from Howard Hughes. As with De Beers diamond mining operations, Dorsett's properties are heavily guarded against thievery and smuggling. He is never seen in public and he has never granted an interview to the news media. We're talking about a very private man. I doubt seriously that saving his daughters'
lives will make a dent in this guy. He's as hard-nosed as they come."
Yaeger motioned toward the blue globes on the holographic chart. "People are dying out there. Surely he'll listen to reason should his operations be somehow responsible."
"Arthur Dorsett is a foreign national with an immense power base." Sandecker spoke slowly. "We have to consider him innocent of any wrongdoing until we have proof. For all we know at the moment, the scourge is a product of nature. As for us, we're committed to working through official channels.
That's my territory. I'll start the ball rolling with the State Department and the Australian ambassador.
They can set up a dialogue with Arthur Dorsett and request his cooperation in an investigation."
"That could take weeks," argued Yaeger.
"Why not save time," said Giordino, "cut through the red tape, and see if his mining technology is somehow behind the mass murders?"
"You could knock on the door of his nearest diamond mine and ask to see the excavating operation,"
Pitt suggested with the barest hint of sarcasm.
"If Dorsett is as paranoid as you make him out to be," Giordino said to Sandecker, "he's not the type of guy to play games with."
"Al is right," agreed Yaeger. "To stop the killing and stop it soon, we can't wait for diplomatic niceties.
We'll have to go clandestine."
"Not a simple exercise, snooping around diamond mines," said Pitt. "They're notoriously well guarded against poachers and any intruders out for a quick buck scavenging for stones. Security around diamond-producing mines is notoriously heavy. Penetrating high-tech electronic systems will require highly trained professionals."
"A Special Forces team?" Yaeger put on the table.
Sandecker shook his head. "Not without presidential authority." '
"What about the President?" asked Giordino.
"Too soon to go to him," answered the admiral. "Not until we can produce hard evidence of a genuine threat to national security."
Pitt spoke slowly as he contemplated the chart. "The Kunghit Island mine seems the most convenient of the four. Since it's in British Columbia and practically on our doorstep, I see no reason why we can't do a little exploring on our own."
Sandecker eyed Pitt shrewdly. "I hope you're not laboring under the impression our neighbors to the north might be willing to turn a blind eye to an intrusion?"
"Why not? Considering that NUMA found a very profitable oil site off Baffin Island for them several years ago, I figure they won't mind if we take a canoe trip around Kunghit and photograph the scenery."
"Is that what you think?"
