"Perhaps, but we saw no sign of an oil slick or debris after we broke the surface. Nor did we hear the acoustic sounds of a ship breaking up under great pressure on its passage through the extreme pressures of the deep. My guess, my fervent hope, is that they took the ship and everyone on board and hid them as bargaining chips should their plans go wrong."

"And when it begins to look like they're in the clear and not hunted," Gunn continued, "will they dispose of the proof of their crimes?"

"We can't let that happen," said Misty, distressed. "If what Dirk suggests is accurate, we only have a little time to save our friends."

"The problem is where to look," said Sandecker.

"There is no trace of it anywhere?" asked Misty.

"None."

"Not even the hijacker's vessel?"

"No," Sandecker replied helplessly.

"I'll bet I know how to find both ships," said Pitt confidently.

In Washington, Sandecker and Gunn stared at each other. "In what waters are you fishing?" the admiral inquired cautiously.

"We expand our search grid," Pitt replied.

"I don't follow," said Gunn.

"Suppose the pirate ship and our survey vessel were out of the range of the satellite cameras that were focused on a narrow path."

"I can safely say that's a given," Sandecker conceded.

"I'm assuming you widened the path on the next orbit."

"We did," Gunn admitted.

"And found no sign of either ship."

"Not a trace."

"So we still don't know where the Deep Encounter is, but now we know where she's not."

Sandecker pulled at his neatly trimmed beard. "I know where you're going, but your theory won't fly."

"I must side with the admiral," said Gunn. "The top speed of Deep Encounter is no more than fifteen knots. There is no way she could have sailed out of the original satellite camera range."

"Chief Engineer House got twenty knots out of her during our dash toward the burning cruise ship," Pitt informed him. "I admit it's a stretch, but if the hijackers had a fast ship, they might have taken our vessel in tow and increased her speed by another four to six knots."

Sandecker's voice was skeptical. "Makes no difference. Once we increased the range and path of the satellite cameras, there was still no sign of Deep Encounter."

Pitt played his wild card. "True, but you were looking on the water."

"Where were we supposed to look?" asked Sandecker, becoming intrigued.

"Dirk has a point," said Gunn thoughtfully. "We didn't consider focusing the cameras on land."

"Forgive me for asking," Giordino spoke up, "but what land? The nearest landmass from where the cruise liner sank is the northern tip of New Zealand."

"No," said Pitt quietly, for effect, "there are the Kermadec Islands no more than two hundred nautical miles to the south, an easy eight-hour sail at a speed of twenty-five knots." He turned and looked at Cussler.

"Are you familiar with the Kermadec Islands?"