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He shook his head. "None of those. They won't make it easy
for us by flying on commercial flights and staying at secluded inns. They'll take one of NUMA's small fleet of jet transports and use the agency's facilities as a base."
"I didn't know the Americans had a permanent base for oceanographic study in either New Zealand or Australia."
"They don't," replied Dorsett. "What they do have is a research ship, the Ocean Angler, which is on a deepsea survey project in the Bounty Trough, west of New Zealand. If all goes according to plan, Pitt and Maeve will arrive in Wellington and rendezvous with the NUMA ship at the city docks this time tomorrow."
Deirdre stared at her father with open admiration. "How could you know all this?"
He smiled imperiously. "I have my own source in NUMA, who I pay very well to keep me informed of any underwater discoveries of precious stones."
"Then our strategy is to have Boudicca and her crew intercept and board the research ship and arrange for it to disappear."
"Not wise," Dorsett said flatly. "Boudicca has learned that Dirk Pitt somehow traced the cleanup of the derelict ships to her and our yacht. We send one of NUMA's research ships and its crew to the bottom and they'll know damned well we were behind it. No, we'll treat that matter more delicately."
"Twenty-four hours isn't much time."
"Leave after lunch and you can be in Wellington by supper. John Merchant and his security force will be waiting for you at our warehouse outside of the city."
"I thought Merchant had his skull fractured on Kunghit Island."
"A hairline crack. Just enough to make him insane for revenge. He insisted on being in on the kill."
"And you and Boudicca?" asked Deirdre.
"We'll come across in the yacht and should arrive by midnight," answered Dorsett. "That still leaves us ten hours to firm up our preparations."
"That means we'll be forced into seizing them during daylight."
Dorsett gripped Deirdre by the shoulders so hard she winced. "I'm counting on you, Daughter, to overcome any obstacles."
"A mistake, thinking we could trust Maeve," Deirdre said reproachfully. "You should have guessed she would come chasing after her brats the first chance she got."
"The information she passed on to us before disappearing was useful," he insisted, angrily. Excuses for miscalculation did not come easily to Arthur Dorsett.
"If only Maeve had died on Seymour Island, we wouldn't have this mess."
"The blame is not entirely hers," said Dorsett. "She had no prior knowledge of Pitt's intrusion on Kunghit. He's cast out a net, but any information he might have obtained cannot hurt us."
Despite the minor setback, Dorsett was not overly concerned. His mines were on islands whose isolation was a barrier to any kind of organized protest. His vast resources had shifted into gear. Security was tightened to keep any reporters from coming within several kilometers of his operations. Dorsett attorneys worked long hours to keep any legal opposition at bay while the public relations people labeled the stories of deaths and disappearances throughout the Pacific Ocean as products of environmentalist rumor mills and attempted to throw the blame elsewhere, the most likely target being secret American military experiments.
When Dorsett spoke it was with renewed calm. "Twenty-three days from now any storm raised by Admiral Sandecker will die a natural death when we close the mines."
"We can't make it look as though we're admitting guilt by shutting down our operations, Daddy. We'd open ourselves to a mountain of lawsuits by environmentalists and families of those who were killed."
"Not to worry, Daughter. Obtaining evidence that proves our mining methods cause underwater ultrasonic convergence that kills organic life is next to impossible. Scientific tests would have to be conducted over a period of months. In three weeks' time, scientists will have nothing to study. Plans have been made to remove every nut and bolt from our diamond excavations. The acoustic plague, as they insist on calling it, will be yesterday's headlines."
The little Chinese girl returned with their drinks and served them from a tray. She retreated into the shadows of the veranda as soundlessly as a wraith.
"Now that their mother has betrayed us, what will you do with Sean and Michael?"
"I'll arrange for her never to see them again."
"A great pity," Deirdre said as she rolled the icy glass over her forehead.
Dorsett downed the gin as if it were water. He lowered the glass and looked at her. "Pity? Who am I supposed to pity, Maeve or the twins?''"
"Neither."
