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“Was it really worth it?” Blankenship asked

Had he known Pitt better, he wouldn’t have posed the question Dirk Pitt looked over to where the archeologists were swar he’d done for the the past so someone in the future could look at the Turtle and find inspiration to make the world a better place Pitt looked him square in the eye “Absolutely”

Three hours later, Pitt stepped from the hotel bathroom with a plush robe wrapped around his body and splashed lass He’d been interviewed by the police for the better part of two hours Blankenship had driven Thom Gwynn back to his office and returned with some dry clothes he’d picked up at an outlet store After the police were done with hiet so that his presence at the archeological site had been official He had no desire to spend hours on a train back to DC, so he’d ed to extend his stay at his hotel near the UN Outside, the skyline was jeweled by athe air clean and fresh

Pitt sat himself in one of the club chairs Tooin his blood to sleep The paperwork generated at the conference held no interest, so instead he removed Isaac Bell’s typewritten notes from their plastic sleeve

Not one to dwell on his own past, he didn’t think about his role in discovering and salvaging the Titanic Instead, he thought about a miner named Joshua Hayes Brewster and how he had driven hio back to the United States Pitt recalled that when he’d pieced together Brewster’s story, there had been so questions about parts of the tale He re it was too fantastic that a reatest capers in history and yet the evidence of Brewster’s success was undeniable But ht, he hadn’t sussed out the whole story Maybe Bell’s version would shed soht on what had really taken place more than a hundred years earlier

Pitt adjusted the la

1

Denver, Colorado

November 18, 1911

Jiut and neck, with the florid coet blood through his fat body His doctor repeatedly told hiht or suffer the consequences, but Porter liked food far too much to worry about some potential problem when he was in his sixties or seventies

He ateat a small restaurant across froer The place was cozy, just six tables, and the husband/wife teaood care of their custo hi two pieces speared on a fork to hischiht away They had known each other since they were schoolboys Billy McCallister was a detective noith the Denver Police, andthe whole depart in the rear were two men Porter didn’t know, and like they were bookends for the two strangers was Billy’s partner, Jack Gaylord

Billy scanned the roo he’d done nothing wrong, Porter was nonplused and finished shoving the limp strips of bacon into his mouth

“Morning, Ji a seat opposite his old friend

“Billy,” Porter said between bites “What can I do for you?”

One of the strangers took out official credentials and held them out for Porter’s inspection Porter’s eyes widened when he read them, and he suddenly wished he were anyplace other than there “As you can see,” the stranger said, “I’ton, DC My name is Bob Northrop And what you can do for us is help end a crime spree”