Wilkins smiled. “Oh, I don't think there's any danger of the Atlantic City Boardwalk being washed into the sea.”

Sandecker raised an eyebrow.

“But,” Wilkins added, “there is new research which indicates that what they suggest is not at all far-fetched. The d rock under the overlying layer of the continental shelf is quite waterlogged. If the pressure exerted by the sea bottom reached a critical state, the water would squeeze out. It's as if you stepped on a balloon. The blowout could cause landslides that deform the water and send giant waves toward the shore. Some of my colleagues at Penn State University have run computer models demonstrating that the possibility is very real.”

"These slides would have to be triggered by a quake?” Sandecker said.

“A quake could do it, most certainly.”

"Could it happen on the East Coast?” Gunn asked.

Wilkins tapped the sheaf of printouts in his hand. “This material pretty much spells it out. The continental shelf runs the full length of the coast. In several places along its slope are big cracks and craters where the potential for landslides is greater.”

"Could a slide be caused by something other than a quake?” Gunn said.

“It could happen spontaneously. I'm sorry I can't be more specific. This is a whole new area of science.”

“I was thinking of a release of methane hydrate.”

“Why not? If the hydrate layer is destabilized, sure, the whole shooting match could come tumbling down and set off your giant waves.”

Sandecker could see Wilkins's lips about to form a question. He cut the discussion short. “Thank you, Doctor. You've been a great help, as always.” He ushered Wilkins to the door, patted him on the back and thanked him again. Returning to the others, he said, “I hope you weren't insulted at my bringing Dr. Wilkins in. I wanted to hear from an independent source.”

“From what we heard,” Gunn said, “I'd say there's a pretty good case here that Razov has discovered how to cause a tsunami. The wave that struck the Maine coast was a dry run, if you'll excuse the expression. If we're correct in our assumption, he's somehow capable of causing enormous destruction.”

“The Ataman Explorer is the key,“ Austin said. ”We've got to find her."

“We'll have to do more,” Sandecker said with quiet urgency. “We've got to get aboard that ship!”

NUMA 3 - Fire Ice

-28- ROCKY POINT, MAINE

BEFORE THE BIG wave had hit, Rocky Point had been the quintessential rock-ribbed Maine town, its picturesque harbor and neat clapboard-and-shingle houses appearing in countless calendars. The tidy Main Street could have come from a Frank Capra movie. But as Jenkins's boat moved out of the harbor, Austin gazed back toward land and thought that the town now looked like one of those pictures where the viewer was challenged to detect the mistakes. Plenty was wrong with this picture.