The pilot's voice came over their earphones in a lazy, slightly western Chuck Yeager drawl.

“Hi, folks. My name is Mike. Make yourselves comfortable. Should be plenty of room to stretch. They designed this chopper for oil-rig support, so it's pretty much a flying bus. We can take twelve passengers. You're lucky to be going on this leg. We expect to be pretty crowded on the return trip. There's a thermos of hot coffee up near the bulkhead. Help yourselves. Please let me know if you need anything. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy the flight.”

Gunn poured the coffee and passed the steaming cups around. “Good to see you both. Sorry your sabbaticals were cut short. Officially speaking, you're still on leave, I'm sitting in an auditorium at the Greek National Archaeological Museum, and this meeting is not taking place.”

“What's been going on, Rudi?” Paul said. “We've only heard bits and pieces.”

“I'm not sure what the total picture looks like, but here's what we do know. Several days ago, Admiral Sandecker was invited to a White House meeting with the president and his advisors. The White House was worried about the deteriorating political situation in Russia. Some of the president's men scolded Sandecker for allowing Kurt to violate Russian sovereign territory at the abandoned Soviet submarine base. They were worried that it would give Russian opposition forces ammunition to use against the government, which is already fighting for its life. The admiral apologized, said it was an accident and offered to talk directly to the Russians. His offer was rejected. Then he asked what the White House was doing about the NR-1. Strangely, the president and his people had forgotten to tell Sandecker the sub was missing.”

Paul grinned and said, “Assuming the admiral wouldn't know was pretty dumb on their part.”

Gamay shook her head. “It's unbelievable that the NR-1 could vanish with no trace, as if it had been swallowed by a sea monster.”

“You're not far off the mark. The NR-1 was hijacked and transported on the deck of a submarine.”

“That's more far-fetched than the sea monster theory,” Gamay said.

“We were trying to figure things out, when Kurt called and said a source had told him that a mining tycoon named Mikhail Razov is behind the political unrest in Russia. According to the White House, there's a tie between the NR-1's disappearance and the mess in Moscow. In addition, Razov's company, Ataman Enterprises, has leased the sub base from the Russian government.”

Gamay said, “That's why Kurt asked us to look into Razov's operation at Novorossiysk.”

“You think the NR-J was taken to this old sub base?”

Paul said. “We thought that was a possibility. But we were more worried about something else Kurt's source said, that Razov was connected to a plot against the United States.”

“What sort of plot?” Paul asked.