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Sokolov nodded “A way to know for sure”
Excellent
“The world has been aggressively extracting oil froround for a little over 200 years,” Sokolov said, his voice in a low monotone “Biotic oil, fossil fuel, waits not far beneath the surface It’s easy to get, and we have taken all of it”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I’ve tested a sample from every well on the planet There is a repository in Europe where those are stored None of those samples contains fossil fuels”
“You still haven’t said how you know that to be true”
“Abiotic oil looks, smells, and acts the same as biotic oil The only difference is that you have to drill deep to get it But I’m not sure that even matters anymore Where’s my boy? I want him back”
“And you’ll get hiet what I want”
“You’re a liar”
He shrugged “I’ht now, he’s just one of thousands of young boys who disappear each year Officially, the problem doesn’t even exist Do you understand? Your son doesn’t even exist”
He saw the utter hopelessness in the Russian’s face
“Biotic oil is gone,” Sokolov quietly continued “It once was plentiful Foranic et But as we puround, the earth replenished some of those reserves with oil created deeper in the crust Not all wells replenish Some are biotic with no way for the deeper, abiotic oil, to filter upward So they go dry Others lie over fissures where oil can seep up from below”
Questions foro, oil had first been found in Gansu 200 years ago, that saraphy and knew that the fissures there ran deep—earthen channels through which pressurized oil could easily ht have seeped up from below and restored the Gansu field “Hoe know that the site in Gansu simply did not contain more oil than was known?”
Sokolov appeared to be in pain His breathing was labored, his attention
“Your only chance to see your son again is to cooperate with me,” he made clear
The Russian shook his head “I will tell you nothing more”
Tang reached into his pocket, found his phone, and dialed the number When the call was answered, he asked, “Is the boy there?”
“I can get him”
“Do it”
He stared straight at Sokolov
“He’s here,” the voice said in his ear
“Put him on the phone”
He handed the unit to Sokolov, who did not accept the offer
“Your son wants to speak with you,” he said
Defiant lines faded frorip the phone
Tang shook his head, then pressed the SPEAKER button
An excited voice—young, high-pitched—started talking, asking if his father was there Clearly, Sokolov recognized the voice and opened hismuted the mouthpiece with another press of a button and said, “No”
He brought the unit back to his own ear and unmuted the call
“Stay on the line,” he directed the man on the other side “If Comrade Sokolov does not tell me exactly what I want to know in the next minute, I want you to kill the boy”
“You can’t,” Sokolov screamed “Why?”
“I tried persuasion, then torture, and I thought we had ress But you remain defiant So I will kill your son and find out what I need to know elsewhere”
“There is no elsewhere I’m the only one who knows the procedure”
“You’ve recorded it somewhere”
Sokolov shook his head “I have it solely in my head”