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"If Polar Queen isn't floating nearby or sitting on the bottoht be looking at a hijacking"

Pitt s looks "Like the Lady Flah?"

"Her ie crossed my mind"

De the incident "The cruise ship that was captured by terrorists in the port of Punta del Este several years ago"

Giordino nodded "She was carrying heads of state for an econoh the Strait of Magellan into a Chilean fjord, where they lacier It was Dirk who tracked her down"

"Allowing for a cruising speed of roughly eighteen knots," Dempsey estimated, "terrorists could have sailed Polar Queen halfway to Buenos Aires by now"

"Not a likely scenario," Pitt said evenly "I can't think of one solid reason why terrorists would hijack a cruise ship in the Antarctic"

"So what's your guess?"

"I believe she's either drifting or stea in circles within two hundred kiloin for doubt

Denostication we don't know about?"

"I' my money that the same phenomenon that struck down the tourists and crewman outside the cave also killed everybody on board the cruise ship"

"Not a pretty thought," said Giordino, "but that would explain why she never returned to pick up the excursionists"

"And let us not forget the second group that was scheduled to be put ashore twenty kilometers farther up the coast," Dempsey reminded them

"This ets worse by the minute," Giordino muttered

"Al and I will conduct a search for the second group froe on the n of their presence, we'll push on and check on the people entinean research station For all we know they could be dead too"