Austin was prepared for the question. “This thing began ten years ago with the failed attempt to kidnap Francesca Cabral. Her plane crashed in the Venezuela rain forest, and it was assumed she was dead. Fast-forward ten years. Joe and I, quite literally, run into a dead pod of gray whales off San Diego. The whales died after being exposed to extreme heat emanating from an underwater facility off Baja California in Mexico. The facility blew up while we were investigating it. I talked to a Mexican mobster who was a front for the real owner, a California consulting firm called the Mulholland Group. The mobster's lawyer confirmed that Mulholland in turn is part of a transnational conglomerate named the Gogstad Corporation. The mobster and his lawyer were assassinated shortly after they talked to us.”

“Rather spectacularly, as I recall,” Sandecker noted.

“That's correct. These weren't exactly drive-by shootings. The murders were well planned, and the hit men used sophisticated weaponry.”

“That would suggest well-organized assassins with extensive resources,” said Gunn, who had once served as director of logistics at NUMA and was well acquainted with the difficulties in pulling together any operation.

“We came to the same conclusion,” Austin agreed. “It was the kind of organization and resources that could be provided by a big corporation so motivated.”

“Gogstad?”

Austin nodded.

“I'm not sure I understand the significance of the name Gogstad,” Gunn said.

“The only connection I could find was the company logo. It shows the Gogstad Viking ship that was discovered back in the 1800s. I asked Hiram to see what he could dig up on the company. There isn't a lot. Even Max had problems finding information, but basically it's a huge conglomerate with holdings worldwide. It's run by a woman named Brynhild Sigurd.”

“A woman,” Gunn noted with surprise. “Interesting name. Brynhild was a Valkyrie, one of the Norse maidens who carry the fallen heroes from the battlefield to Valhalla. Sigurd was her lover. You don't suppose that was her real name, do you?”

“We don't know much about the woman.”

“I know megacorporations can be ruthless in their business dealings,” Gunn said with a shake of his head, “but we're talking about gangland methods here.”

“That's the way it seems,” Austin said. He turned to Zavala. “Joe, could you fill Rudi in on your findings?”

“Kurt called me in California with the Gogstad lead,” Zavala said. “I talked to a newspaper reporter from the Los Angeles Times. He knew Gogstad quite well. In fact, he was heading an investigative team looking into the corporation. He told me they were doing a story on what he called the water pirates. It would reveal how Gogstad is cornering the world's supply of water.”

“I can't believe it's possible for one company to control the world's water,” Gunn said.

“I was pretty skeptical, too,” Zavala replied. “But from what the reporter told me it's not that far-fetched. Gogstad's companies have legally taken over the privatization of the Colorado River. Water is going from public to private ownership on every continent. Gogstad has muscled out the competition. The reporter said that there have been deaths and disappearances worldwide over the past several years. The missing or dead were all people who competed with Gogstad or opposed Gogstad takeovers.”