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Brogan's eyes suddenly narrowed "What about the Russians? Are they aware of the discovery?"

"We don't think so Shortly after instruments detected the sunken sub, which, by the way, includes videotape of the wreckage, our ship pulled off the search track and assisted in the rescue operations of the downed UN aircraft A heavensent sence fro from the KGB

either And our space surveillance of their North Atlantic fleet shows no indication of draes toward the search area"

"Odd they didn't have a spy trawler shadow the Polar Explorer"

"They did," explained Shaw "They also kept a close eye on our operations all right,our ship's course and co back and hoping our et lucky where theirs failed Then they banked their expectations on the clear possibility our creould give away the location through the tiniest of errors"

"But they didn't"

"No," answered Shaw firht Except for the captain and two NUMA underwater search experts, the entire creas briefed to think they were on an iceberg-tracking and sea-bottoy survey My report on the success of the discovery was hand-carried from Greenland by the Polar Explorer's executive officer so there was no chance of communications penetration"

"Okay, wherr do we go froan "Obviously the Soviets would never allow another Glo the area where they lost that hty-six"

"We have an underwater salvage job in mind," said Shaw

"When?"

"If we began putting together the operation now, redesigning andsube in ten months"

"So we ignore the sub, or act like it until then?"

"Correct," replied Shaw "In the meantime, another event has fallen into our laps that will confuse the Soviets The Navy needs your agency's cooperation to carry it out"

"I'"

"During rescue and subsequent investigation of the air crash, the NUMA people working with us in the search accidentally stumbled on what looks like an ancient Roman shipwreck buried in ice"