Sandecker nodded at Chapman and Yaeger. “Only the three of us and the men on the boat. No one outside of NUMA except you.”

“General Kazim, the Malian Chief of Security, is no fool. He’ll learn about the battle with Benin’s navy, and his intelligence will have warned him of your crew’s, entry into his country. He’ll arrest them the minute they dock.”

“The very reason I came to you, Madam Secretary.”

This was it, Hala thought. “What do you want from me, Admiral?”

“Your help in saving my men.”

“I thought it would come down to that.”

“It’s vital they be rescued as soon as they discover the origin of the contamination.”

“We desperately need their analysis data,” said Chapman flatly.

“Then it’s the findings you really want to rescue,” she said coldly.

“I’m not in the habit of abandoning brave men,” Sandecker said, his chin thrust forward.

Hala gave a negative shake of her head. “Sorry, gentlemen, I can understand your desperation. But I cannot jeopardize the honor of this office by misusing my power to take part in an illegitimate international operation, regardless of how crucial.”

“Not even if the men you save are Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino and Rudi Gunn.”

Her eyes widened for a brief moment, and then she sagged back in her chair, her thoughts lost in the past for a brief instant. “I begin to see the picture,” she said softly. “You’re using me just as you used them.”

“I’m not planning a celebrity tennis match,” said Sandecker flatly. “I’m trying to prevent the loss of uncountable lives.”

“You really shoot for the heart, don’t you?”

“When it’s necessary.”

Chapman’s eyebrows rose. “I’m afraid I don’t understand any of this.”

Hala stared off into space as she spoke. “About five years ago, the three men you sent up the Niger saved my life from terrorist assassins, not once but twice. The first time was on a mountain in Breckenridge, Colorado; the other was at an abandoned mine near a glacier on the Straits of Magellan. Admiral Sandecker is playing on my conscience to repay the favor.”

“I seem to recall,” said Yaeger, nodding. “It was during the hunt for the Alexandria Library treasure.”

Sandecker rose, came over, and sat down beside her. “Will you help us, Madam Secretary?”

Hala sat motionless as a statue that slowly began to crack. Her breathing seemed faint and shallow. Finally, she turned slightly and faced Sandecker.

“All right,” she said softly. “I promise to use every source at my fingertips to get our friends out of West Africa. I can only hope we’re not too late, and they’re still alive.”

Sandecker turned away. He didn’t want her to see the relief in his eyes. “Thank you, Madam Secretary. I owe you. I owe you big.”

<<16>>

“No sign of life?” Grimes stared at the crumbling village of Asselar. “Not even a dog or a goat.”

“Certainly looks dead,” said Eva, shielding her eyes against the sun.