“He is an ally.”

“By now Jaafar has got the name of his ship repainted and is flying a different flag,” Kannaday said. “Those changes would have been made at night or under a tarpaulin. It is very unlikely that anyone would have seen him.”

“Then what are one and possibly two military vessels doing at the waste site?” Hawke asked.

“I have no idea, and I’m not sure it concerns us,” Kannaday said.

“If they discover that Jaafar deposited empty drums of nuclear waste, it could come back to us,” Hawke said.

“They would have to find him first, which is unlikely,” Kannaday said. “If Jaafar thinks someone is on to him, he will go into hiding. We can warn him on our secure channel.”

“I want to know who’s out there,” Hawke repeated.

“And do what, exactly?” Kannaday asked.

“Go after those vessels, if necessary,” Hawke said. “Do to them what the pirates wanted to do to us.”

A preemptive strike, Kannaday thought. Just what Darling might have suggested. Maybe Hawke was sincerely concerned about the patrol ship. Or maybe he was simply trying to provoke a confrontation with Kannaday. In either case, the captain decided to let him have his head on this one.

“How do you recommend we conduct reconnaissance?” Kannaday asked.

“We need a satellite overview,” Hawke replied. “We need to see who is there and what they’re doing.”

“Marcus, can you do that?” Kannaday asked.

“We can do that through Colonel Hwan,” Marcus said.

“Who is that?” Kannaday asked.

“Colonel Kim Hwan is my uncle’s man at the North Korean Reconnaissance Bureau,” Marcus replied. “The NKRB collects strategic and tactical intelligence for the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces. They also eavesdrop on business rivals when my uncle needs them to.”

“How long will it take to get information from Colonel Hwan?” Kannaday asked.

“We won’t know until we contact him,” Marcus said. “He may be able to get the information through normal channels. If not, he might have to go to the Chinese for access to one of their satellites.”

“Do it,” Hawke said.

Hawke did not bother to ask Kannaday. The captain let that go, too. Kannaday wondered if he was afraid to stop him or letting him run until he hit a reef. He realized now how complacent he had grown as a commander. Maybe he should question this more. Just to flex his muscles.

“You’re certain there’s no way anyone can eavesdrop on our message or trace the signal?” Kannaday asked.

“It’s extremely unlikely,” Marcus replied. “My uncle has a direct line to Colonel Hwan’s cell comm. We’ll patch into that and send E-mails directly to him. Hwan can respond to them immediately. No one would have any reason to monitor those communications.”

“And if someone does?” Kannaday asked stubbornly.

“Every message we send is coded and untraceable,” Marcus told him. “We’ll be safe.”