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"You can't be faulted for nature's whims," Min Koryo said impassively "The true blame lies with the Russians If they hadn't backed out of their bargain to buy Nerve Agent S, there would have been no need to scuttle the ship"

"They were afraid the agent was too unstable to transport across Siberia to their chemical warfare arsenal in the Urals"

"What's puzzling is how did NUMA tie the two ships together?"

"I can't say, aunumi We were careful to strip every piece of identification"

"No matter," Min Koryo said "The fact remains, the article in the newspaper is a ploy Weto jeopardize our anonymity"

"What about theasked

"This Dirk Pitt?"

A long, cold, brooding look came over Min Koryo's narrow face

"Investigate his motives and observe his movements See where he fits in the picture If he appears to be a danger to us, arrange his funeral"

The gray of evening softened the harsh outlines of Los Angeles, and the lights cas The noise of the street traffic rose and seeped through the old-fashioned sashThe tracks arped and jammed under a dozen coats of paint It hadn't been opened in thirty years Outside, an air conditioner rattled in its brackets

Thethrough the grih eyes that had seen the worst the city had to give They were hard, stark eyes, still clear and undimmed after sixty years He sat in shirtsleeves, the orn leather of a holster slung over his left shoulder The butt of a 45 autoeboned and stocky

The muscles had softened over the years, but he could still lift a two-hundred-pound man off the sidewalk and slam him in a brick wall

The chair creaked as he swung around and leaned over a desk that was battle-scarred with uncountable cigarette burns He picked up a folded newspaper and read the article on the ship discoveries for perhaps the tenth ti-eared folder and stared at the cover for a long while Long ago he hadwith the newspaper he slipped it inside a worn leather briefcase

He rose and stepped over to a washbowl hung in one corner of the room and rinsed his face with cold water Then he donned a coat and a battered fedora, turned off the light and left the office

As he stood in the hallaiting for the elevator, he was surrounded by the ser with each passing