“Well, as Jack can attest, we have taken the opportunity to befriend the small Canadian Coast Guard contingent stationed here in Tuk,” Giordino said, using the locals’ abbreviation for the town’s Inuit name. “And while this has personally cost me a number of high bar tabs, in addition to a hangover or two for Jack, I believe I have made commendable progress.”

He opened one of the captain’s charts that showed the western portion of the passage, then searched the coastline with his finger.

“Cape Bathurst, here, is about two hundred miles to the east of us. The Canadians have a radar station on the point, which they use to pick up all eastbound traffic through the passage. They can radio ahead to Kugluktuk, where a pair of vessels are stationed, or call back here to Tuk, where a small cutter is berthed. Fortunately for us, the Canadians have posted most of their intercept vessels on the other end of the passage, snaring the bulk of the traffic entering via Baffin Bay.”

“Last time I checked, we didn’t have stealth capabilities on our research ships,” Pitt said.

“We don’t necessarily need it,” Giordino continued. “As luck would have it, there’s a Korean freighter here in port that struggled in with engine problems. The harbor-master told me the repairs have been completed and that they’ll be departing later today. The ship is only going as far as Kugluktuk with a load of oil drilling repair parts, so it’ll be sailing without an icebreaker escort.”

“You’re suggesting that we shadow her?” Pitt asked.

“Precisely. If we can hold tight to her port flank while we pass Bathurst, they might not pick us up.”

“What about the Canadian picket vessels?” Dahlgren asked.

“The Tuk cutter just came into port this morning, so she likely won’t put to sea again right away,” Giordino said. “That leaves the two vessels in Kugluktuk. I’d bet one of them is probably hanging around the Polar Dawn, which was taken there. So that likely leaves just one vessel that we’d have to slide past.”

“I’d say those are odds worth taking,” Pitt stated.

“What about air surveillance? Can’t we count on the Canadian Air Force to do an occasional flyby?” Dahlgren asked.

Stenseth pulled out another sheet from his pile. “Mother Nature will lend us a hand there. The weather forecast for the next week is pretty dismal. If we set sail today, we’ll probably accompany a slow-moving low-pressure front that’s forecast to roll through the archipelago.”

“Stormy weather,” Giordino said. “We’ll know why there’s no plane up in the sky.”

Pitt looked around the table, eyeing the others with confidence. They were men of unquestioned loyalty that he could trust in difficult times.