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Sandecker stared back thoughtfully for aexpression "One of our research vessels?"

"She's on a sonarproject of the continental slope off southern Brazil"

Sandecker nodded "All right, I get your drift, but the Sounder is too slow to be of any help on an extensive sea search What do you expect to accomplish with her?"

"If my father's ship can't be found on the surface, I'll hunt for her below",

"You could be looking at a thousand square miles, maybe more"

"The Sounder's sonar gear can cut a swath two miles wide, and she carries a submersible All I need is your permission to take command of her"

"You'll need someone to back you up"

"Giordino and Rudi Gunn We ood team"

"Rudi is on a deep-seaoperation off the Canary Islands"

"He could be in Uruguay in eighteen hours"

Sandecker clasped his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling

Deep down he felt Pitt was chasing shadows, but he never doubted for an instant what his ansould be

"Write your own ticket," he said in a level tone "I'll back YOU"

"Thank you, Adrateful"

"How does the Alexandria Library project stand?"