“I agree. So do Warrant Officer Jelbart and FNO Loh,” Coffey said. “The problem is that maintaining a fleet is expensive. The INRC is financed by grants from the United Nations, environmental groups, and dues paid by nations that use the waste fields. That gives them about fifteen million dollars a year to oversee all international nuclear shipments, not just waste product.”

“That’s all?” Hood said.

“Yes, and that doesn’t take into account whatever kick-backs are being handed out,” Coffey added.

“That’s a helluva low priority we give the security of nuclear material,” Hood said with disgust.

“That’s true, Paul. But to be honest, people who want to smuggle nuclear material are going to do so whether the INRC increases its activities or not,” Coffey said.

“That does not mean we have to make it easy for them,” Hood pointed out. “We wouldn’t even have known about this incident except for the attack by the sampan.”

“Not everything is as well-ordered as law and finance,” Coffey said.

“Funny you should say that,” Hood said. “I’ve been thinking about the nature of our business, and it should be more structured. We live in a high-tech world. We can watch someone key in a cell phone number from outer space. Losing ships and radioactive waste are inexcusable.”

“Only in hindsight,” Coffey said. “When I was in college, I interned with a criminal lawyer. I used to go to prisons with him to interview clients. Once we had perpetrators locked up, it was easy to kick ourselves in the ass and realize what we should have done to save lives. These people we’re dealing with now, the smugglers and terrorists, are full-time sociopaths. How do you compete with that? How do you stop someone from putting botulism in an ATM deposit and poisoning the money supply? How do you prevent someone from filling a glass water bottle with acid and carrying it into a jetliner?”

“I don’t know,” Hood admitted. “But we have to figure it out. We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of lives!”

“The numbers aren’t the issue, Paul,” Coffey said. “I’ve watched hostage negotiators work. To them, a single captive is their entire world. Anyway, the problem is not how we apportion resources. The problem is us. We still have the equivalent of a moral gag reflex.”

“And that is?”

“We’re civilized,” Coffey said sadly. “Hell, I’m so civilized I can’t even be at sea without feeling my guts in my throat. Our quarry does not have that disadvantage.”

“You may be right about that, about everything,” Hood said. “But I know this. If we want to stay civilized, we’re going to have to find a way of identifying who’s with us and who’s against us.”

“Ideally, yes,” Coffey said. “The question is how.”