“I'll do my best,” Zavala said. “From what I understand, the idea is to cause a polar shift using electromagnetic transmissions beamed into the earth's mantle, creating sympathetic vibrations in the inner core. You can compare these transmissions to sound waves. If you're in a hotel and you want to mask loud voices from the next room, you could turn on a fan and the vibrations would neutralize the racket. If you wanted to mask a higher tone, like a hair dryer, you would need a different set of frequencies. It's called white noise, or white sound. You might hear it as a hiss or something like rustling leaves. This antidote is comparable. But it wouldn't work unless you had the exact frequencies.”

“And you think this woman, Karla Janos, knows about these frequencies?”

“She may not know it, but the evidence seems to point that way,” Austin said. “Aside from the global implications, there is an innocent young woman here who could lose her life.”

Petrov's somber expression remained the same, but his eyes crinkled in amusement. “That is one of the many reasons I like you, Austin. You are the embodiment of gallantry. A knight in shining armor.”

“Thanks for the compliment, but we don't have much time, Petrov.”

“I agree. Do you have any questions?”

“Yeah,” Zavala said. “Does Veronika have a phone number?”

“You can ask her yourself,” Petrov said.

He downed the shot of vodka, screwed the cap back on the bottle and tucked it under his arm, then led the way from the room and through the exit. A car and driver were waiting for them.

“We had some special luggage,” Austin said. He pointed to two oversize bags. “Please give them special attention.”

“Everything has been transferred.”

They got in the car, which drove them to the water side of the airport and onto a wide, sagging dock. A boat about sixty feet long was tied up at the end of the dock. Several men were waiting at the gangway.

Austin got out of the car and asked about the words painted in Cyrillic on the white hull.

“Arctic Tours. It's a real tourist company that takes wealthy Americans into godforsaken places for obscene sums of money. I have chartered the boat for a few days. If anyone asks, we are taking some Boy Scouts on a nature tour.”

As Petrov escorted the two men up the gangway, Austin was glad to see that their luggage had appeared magically on the deck. They were traveling light, with one duffel bag apiece, and the two bags that Austin asked be given special attention.