"There is one opportunity," Pitt said. "The ship stops at Marseille for fuel. INTERPOL would have to work fast. If they received the necessary evidence and rushed through the legal paperwork they could seize the ship in port."

Gunn leaned against the doorway and gave Pitt a penetrating stare. "The catch is that you want to risk the lives of the people under my command."

"It has to be," Pitt said quietly.

"I think you're hedging," Gunn said slowly. "You're up to your ears in stormy waters. I don't like any of it. I'm responsible to NUMA for this ship and its personnel. All that interests me is the safe completion of this expedition. Why us? I don't see why INTERPOL or the local police can't conduct their own search operation. Finding divers on the mainland is no problem."

This was getting too damn awkward, Pitt thought. At this stage of the game he couldn't let on that Zacynthus was very much against even the slightest harassment of von Till. Pitt had known Gunn for a little over a year, and in that time they had become good friends. The commander was a smart customer. The next scene would have to be played cool, very cool indeed. Pitt gazed suspiciously at the busy radio operator for a moment, then turned back to Gunn.

"Call it fate, coincidence or any other term you wish to choose, that put the First Attempt at Thasos at the exact moment to expose a beautifully planned criminal conspiracy. Von Till's entire smuggling operation depends upon the use of a submarine, maybe more than one, we don't know yet. The heroin is the biggest job he's ever undertaken. It's damn hard for the mind to conceive, but he could easily net over two hundred million dollars on this one shipment. He planned well, nothing could stand in his way. Then one day he looks out of his window and there sits an oceanographic research ship, not over two miles away. Learning that you were scouting the water for a legendary fish he began to run scared. There was a good chance that one of your divers might discover his base of operation, and what's most important, his method of smuggling. He was desperate. He couldn't blow you out of the water. The last thing he wanted was a full-scale investigation into the loss of this ship. There was no hope of instigating anti-American riots or violence. The people who live on the island are fun-loving farmers and fishermen. They couldn't care less about staging a demonstration against a scientific expedition. If anything, they welcomed you. The local merchants aren't about to turn down free-spending researchers. Von Till gambled on a long shot. He staged that attack on Brady Field, hoping Colonel Lewis would order you out of the area as a safety precaution. When this failed he threw caution to the winds and came directly at the First Attempt."