Somewhere out in the middle of the Atlantic, off the coast of Maryland, a lone ship was cruising along at a speed of 5 knots. At first glance, it looked like a large fishing trawler, complete with crane and nets and the name Kristi on the side. To actually be on the boat would reveal state of the art side scan sonar and global positioning systems.

A mile away from the trawler was a Coast Guard Cruiser watching it intently. Captain Leigh Hunt watched through a pair of binoculars at the other boats movements. At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but as time went on, he noticed that it appeared to be following a particular path back and forth. Like it was mowing the grass. This in itself was not peculiar; however he had received several reports from fisherman in the area that when they came within even a half a mile, they were pursued by men with automatic weapons. They would come from the trawler in small engine powered bass size boats to scare away the fishermen. Whatever they were doing, they didn't want anyone near by.

Captain Hunt was 55, 6' tall with dark hair with some graying at the temples. Fortunately for him, he still had a full head of hair. He would take gray hair over balding any day. He was married with 3 kids and had served in the Coast Guard most of his adult life. He was ready for a promotion, then maybe early retirement. He looked forward to playing golf all day long. The day had started as any other. His cruiser had intercepted a drug runner, and dealt with a couple of young people driving a little too recklessly on their speed boats around the bay.

Then they had received the report of the mysterious goings on with the trawler.

Captain Hunt typed "Kristi" into the Coastguard's computer and waited for confirmation of ownership. After a few seconds, an unfamiliar name appeared on the screen ... UNDER "Underwater Natural Domain Energy and Research Company".

Hunt raised his binoculars again and noticed the trawler had become stationary, "Something strange going on here", he thought to himself.


Onboard the "Kristi" an underwater docking was steathily being carried out. Beneath the hull of the seemingly innocent fishing vessel, an air-lock hatch connected securely with a clear polymer tube the diameter of a rainwater tank. The tube disappeared into the dark gloomy depths and ended up on the Atlantic sea-floor half a mile down.

Working deep in the hull of the "Kristi", workers readied Hiram Cole for transportation down the tube to UNDER's SEATROPOLIS, a secret underwater community.

.....

The community was 440 fathoms down. ....

and comprised a number of inter-connected cylinders, of various sizes, spread over several acres. Most had no distiguishing external features, but several had rows of small windows, indicating different floor levels within. Some were laying horizontally and embedded in the surface, others seemed to float above the subaquarian landscape, either horizontally or vertically. At the center of the complex, three huge spheres rose above the surrounding construction, with a ring of large observation windows circumnavigating the spheres, roughly where mid-Canada would be on a world globe, and another at the equator.

From the largest sphere, the polymer tube could be seen rising to the surface. A dark shadow moved silently, under pneumatic control, down the transparent tube indicating Hiram Cole's solitary journey back to his underwater lair.

...as the pod neared the sphere, a large hatch opened. Once through the hatch, the pod came to rest on the bottom of a large chamber next to another pod, similar to the one that had just arrived, except slightly larger and designed for cargo. Soon the water began to be pumped out of the chamber by two 10,000 gallon per minute pumps. Once all the water was out, a hatch, recessed in an alcove, opened and two men stepped out. One hung back by the hatch, while the other preceded to ...

open Hiram's pod and ask him for directions to ...

the new amphitheater that was under construction in the D Sector of the community. Hiram gave specific instructions to the men and they left him standing there at the opening. Hiram took a deep breath, he had hoped someone special was going to be at his arrival, but he saw her no where in sight. Just then....

... Hiram felt a distinct but subtle rumble beneath his feet. He knew what it was and he immediately grabbed the nearest hand-set and patched through to the SEATROPOLIS power plant, "Shut down D-wing and cut power to all new construction areas!", he yelled down the line then harshly replaced the hand-set.

"I need more Blue Cobalt now!", he angrily thought to himself, "Its time to blow the charges at the mine, and to hell with the repercussions!"


***


Al and Cussler saw the smug look on Pitt's face as he backed the covered van to the mine's rail-head. They then watched as he jumped down from the cab and proceeded to pull back the tarp and lower a ramp. Pitt easily bounded up into the van's cargo area and opened the door to the modified Cobra sports car.

Al couldn't believe his eyes, the Cobra roared to life, its big V8 engine echoing against the mine's rock wall. But the strangest thing was the wheels ... they wern't the chrome wire spoked mags that were last seen on the car, but actual railway wheels, the type you see on rail service vehicles.

Pitt backed the rumbling Cobra down the ramp and neatly guided the hybrid car onto the mine shaft's rail tracks.

"Well, don't just sit there gawking!", Pitt said with a elbow resting over the door and a big cheesy grin, "Throw your equipment and yourselves in and we'll get this show on the road!"

Al and Cussler didn't need anymore prompting, they ......

jumped into the modified Cobra.

"I can't believe you did this to the Cobra!" Al shouted over the roar of the engine.

"Oh, don't you worry Al, I wouldn't have ever done this to the original Cobra, this is a replica that the boys in the NUMA shop put together for me!"

"Incredible!" Cussler chimed in.... "but couldn't you have had them put together something all three of us could fit comfortably in?"

"Well, I thought it would just be Al and I, I had no idea you'd still be tagging along."

Cruising along the rails at unbelievable speeds, they were soon confronted with a new problem...

It was becoming more evident that what they had at first dismissed as vibrations from the modified Cobra on the rails were in fact emanating from the walls of the tunnel itself. Suddenly a large piece of rock fell from the ceiling and hit Giordino just above the right ear........

Al grimaces and says, "owie", but no one heard his audible cry because of the intense noise.

"I think the vibrations from the car is too much for the structure. We better get out fast" said Pitt.

The car speed even faster as the ceiling started to cave in behind them.

Meanwhile, Hiram was enjoying the company of the woman he had been waiting for at the pod. Her name was Elena Trive. She was a vixen. Red hair down to the small of her back, green eyes, like emeralds, and a body that could kill. She brought over his favorite cognac and laid herself solfly on the bed. She had on the silky, long red nighty that beckoned to Hiram, but he knew he could not endulge himself just yet. There were so many things to do.....

Hiram goes over to the controls of the explosive bombs that were located in the mines of Arizona and pushes the buttons to set off the the controlled explosives.

Dirk, Al and Cussler are looking at the main explosive chamber in Arizona and see that the signal just came in giving them twenty minutes to try and stop it. Dirk whips out his cell phone and calls Hiram Yager and explains that a signal has bounced off a satellite setting the explosive chamber and its subsidiaries less than twenty minutes to time of explosion. Hiram traces the origins of the signal and asks Dirk for description of the bomb. Dirk does so and then receives instructions from Hiram Yager four minutes later and follows Hiram's directions. The Bombs are deactivated.

Dirk, Al, and Cussler leave the mines and plan their trip to UNDER's headquaters in the north atlantic ocean.

Al bellowed "Come in" to the sharp knock on his apartment door. Dirk stepped through the door and stopped. As he looked around the room in bewilderment, he asked Al if he was alright.....and if the low-life who had trashed the apartment had been caught.....

Al looked confused at the question and grunted, "Huh???"

Dirk then noticed the open suitcase balanced precariously on the coffee table......and the only items packed so far were cigars.........he smiled and said, "Now I understand.....it's the maid's day off!"

"Yeah, so...............what's your point?" Al snarled........then he yelled, "There they are! You're standing on them!!!!"

"On what?" Dirk looked down and saw that he was standing on a pile of clothes....

"My lucky skivvies!" Al reached down and picked up the ugliest pair of underwear that Dirk had ever seen........

Dirk sadly shook his head........"Too much information, Al, too much information...."

"Oh cmon Dirk..." Al replied. " There is a really good story behind how these skivvies done and got so lucky"...

"Al as much as I love you like a brother I do not need to know the story of your lucky skivvies" Dirk said
The look on Al's face was priceless."fine"he grumbled.
" Well come on grumpy the car awaits"Pitt said cheerfully

"Oh God! What car did you ruin now?" asked Al in dispair.
"Come on, Al. You know me better than that," said Dirk as the duo walked outside.

"No, no, NO! Not my baby!!!!" Al moaned. He could not believe that his pride and joy had been modified in such a manner. "How could you do it, Dirk? You know I love that car...............or loved it as it was originally!"

Dirk grinned diabollically as he looked at Al's modified Yugo..............

What Al didn't and couldn't know was that he had been an unwitting contestant on the new TLC show Overhaulin'. :blink:

They drove to the airport in the modified yugo and boarded a cargo plane with the yugo in the back of the plane and flew out over the Atlantic to the NUMA Ship "Sierra Seven" and parachuted individually including the yugo near the Sierra Seven. They boarded the Sierra Seven and went to the captain. H.L. Hazard, the Captain of the Sierra Seven stood one inch taller than Dirk and had Salt and pepper hair, a burly chest and a stomach that had the beginnings of a paunch. Al asked about the first two initials of the captain's name and he replied, "Hiram Leigh". Al and Dirk grinned. Captain Hazard gave them the position of UNDER's location. Soon Al and Dirk were in the modified Yugo which now was an amphibious contraption that they sped towards the location of UNDER's location. Soon as they were within a mile of the location they stopped and put on scuba gear and rolled into the water and swam down to the strange looking undersea buildings that UNDER was located in. They had just found a way in when some other scuba clad members of UNDER's security came at them with knives and spear guns. Dirk had brought a knife and Al a dagger and their ensued a deadly fight with Al and Dirk receiving some knicks and scrapes but the security guards were done permanently. Al and Dirk swam into the entryway and had climbed onto the floor when they faced three men with guns. Another fight and Al was knicked by a bullet and Dirk had a bruised forehead. They made their way through the maze of hallways looking in each door they came across. Finally they came to what looked like the central control room and fought a couple of software systems techno geeks and found a door way in the rear of the control room where they found.....

...the self destruct mechanism of the undersea base was activated. a large screen blazed with numerals counting down the 30:00 untill the entire facility was obliterated by the 3 tons of semtex intalled in key structural locations throughout the corridors and modules. A klaxon was blaring in full cresendo and panicky voices filled the outside hallways. Pitt pulled his trusty M1911 .45 and leveled it at the figure looking at the screen.

"Who the hell are you?" Giordino muttered.

"Names' Martindale. James Martindale. I run a special operations team known as Bravo 2-9. We've taken this facility and are going to destroy it in retaliation for you government's blatant declaration of war against the IRA. You yanks always got to stick your noses in other people's business"

"What can I say?" Pitt shrugged, "We just love to put our hands in the cookie jar when we shoudln't be. Besides your group of retarded morons are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of British citizens last year in a car bombing of the American embassy in London. Sorry friend, but you pissed of the wrong country."

"I think you made him angry" Giordino shrugged. Martindale's face reddened. He p motioned for one of his men to come. The henchman, dressed in urban camo BDU'S and armed with a colt m4 carbine with laser scope, and a USP 9mm yanked a female figure towards Martindale's outstreached hand. Pitt's jaw dropped.

Dirk's daughter Summer was wearing standard issue NUMA work clothes. She was bound with handcuffs behind the back and had a strip of duct tape across her lips to keep her quiet. She whimpered through the gag. Martindale smilled the most heinous grin Pitt or Giordino had ever seen. Martindale pulled a serrated hunting knife and pressed it to Summer's throat. She cried out in pain.

"Drop your weapons gentlemen. Especially you mr. Giordano."

"It's Giordino dumbass."

"I swear to god Martindale, you hurt her, and I'll hunt you down rip your testicles out and make you eat them."

"I'LL BE GIVING THE ORDERS HERE PITT!" Martindale snapped. Now, Summer and I will be taking a little ride. I'd ask you to join us, but in about 20 minutes this facility will be you tomb. Farewell mr. Pitt." Martindale grabbed Summer and ran into an airlock and sealed it from the inside. Pitt and Giordino ducked for cover as Martindale's troops opened fire.

Pitt and Giordino took cover behind a computer console as 5.56mm ammo tore their hiding place apart.

"Any bright ideas Fearless Leader"? Giordino shouted.

TO BE CONTINUED...

WOW Big Red, Great Stuff th: th:

Thanks Kellym for your positive comments. I really appreciate that.

BTW: The name "James Martindale" is my real name. Couldn't think of something better, so I got creative. Bring on the next part!!!

Al found a weapons storage cabinet and found a couple of weapons he and Dirk could use. An Austrian-Steyr and a Lupo. Al used the Lupo to deadly effect as Dirk did what he could with his weapon injuring a couple of men. Dirk was not happy with his weapon. They went to where Summer and Martindale had gone and found some spare scuba gear and swam out. Up on the surface they found a boat speeding off and managed to find the converted yugo and tried to follow.

Al took the wheel of the Yugo and pushed the vehicle to its limit. The speed boat had gained a considerable lead due to its 2000 hp diesel engine and nitrous oxide boosters. Pitt threw the lupo into the water and reached for a modified Ak-74 strapped to the starboard bulkhead and threw the safety catch off.

"Can't this thing go any faster Al! We're losing them!" Pitt shouted over the roar of the Yugo's engine.

"I'm giving her all she's got sir!" Al said mocking the voice of Scotty, the Chief Engineer on Star Trek"

"Aw crap. Look!"

Pitt and Giordino gazed ahead at the enormous shape of a Chinook helicoped hovering above the escaping speed boat. Giordino looked in awe as Martindale and his hostage clambered aboard the ungainly but agile bird and paused at the rear cargo door. Pitt grabbed a pair of Riegel X220 binoculars and saw the IRA terrorist giving Pitt the third digit and laughing maniacaly before he pushed Summer into the aft cargo area. Pitt's face turned beet red. He vowed to chase Martindale down and make him suffer but the crack of automatic gunfire shattered the sky and Dirk's thoughts. The two heroes looked ahead as a soldier popped open the side hatch and started peppering the Yugo with a M249 SAW machine gun.

After exactly 30 minutes, the detonators attached to the semtex charges activated and the under sea base disintegrated as the explosives imploded the structures and sent an enormous collumn of water shooting from the 440 meter depth into the clear blue sky. Pitt did not glance back at the explosion, he had better things to worry about. The gunman in the side hatch of the Chinook continued his furious barrage of fire. In the chopper, Martindale secured Summer to a verical stanchion with the handcuffs and opened the after cargo hatch to provide supressing fire with his M4.

"Dammit, we're losing them!" Pitt slammed his right hand into the dashboard in fustration. This guy Martindale meant for Summer to die slowly and painfully Pitt thought. The question is what the hell does he want with me?

Pitt carefully aimed the AK at the side door panel and the machine gunner. A steady wind had picked up and the Chinook pilot slowed his chopper to compensate for the wind buffeting the bird and throwing off the terrorist's aim. Giordino opened the throttle to its stop and amazingly, the Yugo gained on the chopper,and Pitt could finally close the range with his assault rifle. He fired a quick 2 second burst at the door gunner and was rewarded when the Gunman's body gyrated wildy as a fusilade of 7.62mm ammunition thudded into his body. The soldier dropped his weapon into the sea and his lifeless corpse plunged towards the ocean. Pitt was very amused when the terrorist's body failed to crash into the ocean and instead hung from a safety line attached to a bulkhead in the Chinook's interior. Martindale saw this and shot away the dead weight with his 9mm berreta and continued to exchange gunfire with Pitt and Giordino.

"We can't keep this up forever good buddy!" Giordino yelled exasperated. " We're runnin' low on fuel. I give her another 10 minutes before we're running on fumes"

"Keep going Al!" Pitt said unnervingly. " We lose them and Summer's dead!"

"I got a bad feeling about this-- Oh crap LOOK OUT!"

Pitt's eyes stood wide open as Martindale pulled an long tube out of a case and rammed a rocket into one end and aimed it at the gaining Yugo.

Martindale flicked the safety off his Stinger missle launcher. "These guys don't give up" said one of his men. "Their like a bad friggin rash!"

"Don't worry mate," Martindale smiled grimly, "This'll get them."
He aimed the Stinger a few feet ahead of the Yugo and said coldly: "See you in hell you American fool." He pulled the trigger. The high explosive stinger missile blazed out of the tube and locked onto the Yugo with its radar guidance system.

Giordino saw what was coming next. TIME TO GO!!! He and Pitt dropped their weapons and swan dived into the sea. The missile impacted the Yugo and an enormous fireball arched into the sky. Pieces of Giordino's vehicle flew in every direction. Pitt and his friend surfaced and gazed at the blazing wreckage that floated in the deep green sea.

"You owe me a new vehicle you know" Giordino muttered

Pitt didn't answer. He was to busy thinking of Summer in the hands of that madman. His thoughts got interuppted by the thump thump of chopper blades. The two castaways glanced northeast at the materializing shape of a NUMA helicopter coming towards them.

"You've won this round Martindale." Pitt murmered.

"What did you say?" Giordino asked?

"Nothing." Pitt said aloud. Nothing at all.

Rudi Gunn shoved a hot steaming mug of coffe into Pitt's hands. Dirk downed the steaming liquid whic made his eyes water. Al had dozed off right away in the starboard seat of the chopper's crew compartment. Sleep evaded Pitt. His only thoughts were of his daughter held hostage by that buzzard Martindale, and what he would do to her. Gunn re-entered the crew compartment and sat down in a seat across from Pitt. He glanced at the sleeping mass of Al Giordino.

"How's the coffee?"

"It's good. Juan Valdez would be proud of you."

Rudi chuckled. "Look Dirk, I'm sorry Summer got involved in this. Those IRA people got the drop on us down there. Apparently they killed off a NUMA supply crew at Dulles, stole their Helo, and disguised themselves as the dead chopper crew to gain access to the base. These SOB's had balls to say the least."

"Look Rudi, Dont worry about it." Pitt gulped down the rest of the coffee and looked out at the swift moving ocean. "Who are these people? Who's that Martindale character I had a conversation with?"

Gunn pulled out a dossier and laid it out in front of Pitt. Inside was the war records and a photo of James Martindale.

Rudi sighed, "Martindale is a rouge SAS agent who joined up with British intelligence in the early 1970's. He served in the Gulf War, and won the DSC (Distinguished Service Cross) for pulling two of his men out of a burning Humvee that got hit by an RPG in an ambush near Kuwait."

"He had a good record then" Pitt shrugged.

"He was one of the best Dirk." "This guy was one of the most lethal soldiers the SAS trained. That's why they discharged him."

"For What?" Pitt asked.

"On a training exercise in 1994, Martindale was captured by extremists from the IRA's Bravo 2-0 movement. These guys are the worst of the worst. Former disgraced soldier turned mercenaries who want Ireland independent like every other IRA soldier, except these guys don't care who gets in their way." Gunn glanced at his watch. "Anyway, Bravo 2-0 brainwashed him and made him go south. After being released on a hostage exchange program set up by MI6, Martindale displayed severe animosity towards the British government.
He was discharged dishonorably in 1997 for conduct unbecoming of an officer."

"So the golden boy of the SAS goes south. Interesting" Pitt muttered.

"Yeah" Gunn said. It gets even better. "Martindale returned to the IRA and became its commander. Under his leader ship, he insigated the most terrible gureilla warfare since the Tet Offensive back in '68. No one was safe. It culminated in the car bombing of the British embassy in Dublin, Ireland just last year. 234 people dead. After that Martindale went into hiding as Interpol, MI6, and the CIA went looking for him. Two weeks later The president orders U.S. Marines into Ireland to quell the uprising following the attack. He's on Interpol's top ten most wanted."

"What' this got to do with me?" Pitt asked sarcastically.

"I don't know" Gunn sighed. "I just don't know"...

WOW Your Good th:

James Martindale looked at Summer who reminded him of his own long dead girlfriend Katherine "Kat" Shannon Tweel. And he thought how years ago he believed Shannon and Dirk had hooked up. He got violently sick at the thought and with blood rage in his eyes reached out to Summer. Summer was somewhat scared but looking for an opportunity to escape. When James grabbed her she took the pain around her neck while she reached the keys in his pocket and unhooked the handcuffs and booted him in the crotch. Then smashed her head into his face and with every ounce she could muster slammed him into the window of the copter. She grabbed his 9mm Beretta and shot two men without serious injury and jumped into the ocean just before the copter reached land and she swam to shore.

Martindale was enraged. He stormed into the cockpit of the Chinook, and slapped the pilot, a quiet fellow named Jones, on the side of the helmet.

"Turn this goddamm thing around!"

"What happened?" asked Jones.

"That bitch got away, turn the Helo around now!"
Martindale was exasperated by this point.

"Roger that chief" Jones acknowledged, and like a gracefull bird the Chinook turned on a southeasterly course and made like a bat out of hell towards the figure swimming furiously away. It was no contest. The Chinook over took Summer and one of Martindale's men jumped into the sea and pulled the young lady aboard for the second time. It was not easy though, as Summer fought every step of the way until Martindale cracked her in the back of the head with the butt of his M4 carbine.

"Was that necessary sir?" said one of the soldiers in the back of the chopper.

"Don't ever question my orders sergeant", Martindale hissed "NEVER."

"What now?" asked the co-pilot.

"Make for the rendezvous point. We got a schedule to meet." He looked at the unconscious body before him. "Secure her tightly gentlemen, I don't want her to take off again."

"Aye sir."

****


Following the engagement in the Mid-Atlantic, Pitt, Giordino, and Gunn disembarked from the NUMA chopper and climbed into a NUMA SUV for the trip back to Washington.

"Admiral Sandecker is having a press confrence in regards to the attack on the undersea base. Should be concluding in about an hour." Gunn acknowledged.

"How is the Admiral by the way?" asked Giordino.

"He's raising holy hell with everyone in response to what happened. Were going to NUMA HQ for a breifing following the press confrence. Apparently, a few hours ago, our good ol' friend Martindale showed up at a secluded island off the coast of Scotland. We haven't been able to get an approximate fix on Summer's location but we think that Martindale and his men are holding her there."

"They must've switched to a boat in order to make it the rest of the way. A Chinook dosen't have the range to go that distance from the Eastern Seaboard all the way to Scotland." Pitt mused.

"Nothing misses you does it Dirk?" Gunn responded. "Your'e right about that for sure. We got reports from a small fishing boat that a chopper rendezvoused with a luxury yacht 700 miles from British waters. Eight people got off including one female."


"Do you know what this breifing is about Rudi?" Pitt asked nonchalantly.

"Just before we hauled you two out of the sea, a video tape arrived at the NUMA building. Sandecker and Yeager went over the tape. It's from Bravo 2-0. They're listing their demands."

"Demands?" Pitt was suprised. "What in the blue hell would the IRA have to do with me?"

"We'll have to wait and see when we get to NUMA." Gunn said.

Giordino looked over at Pitt. He had never seen his longtime friend so depressed before. "Anything wrong?" he asked.

Pitt looked straight at him, "Hmm? Oh nothing Al, Just thinking about Summer. Thats all."

"We're going to get her back Dirk, I promise."

"God I hope so," Pitt replied. He was already thinking of ways to make James Martindale pay dearly for what he did.

Dirk tracks Martindale down on the secluded island and killing him in a brutal fight. And rescues Summer who had been bound and gagged. He finds some papers in Martindale's safe stating that he was working for the African Army of the Revolution, whose leader Ibrahim Lincoln Abbas had invested in Hiram Cole's U.N.D.E.R.'s corporation and had plans to use the blue cobalt diamonds to finance the takeover of an African country. Dirk flies to Africa and meets up with Kurt Austin and they plan an attack on Ibrahim Abbas's HQ of The African Army of Revolution. Just before Kurt kills Ibrahim Lincoln Abbas cried he was a descendent of Abraham Lincoln who had been taken to Africa under mysterious circumstances. And that it was his destiny to lead Africa. Kurt and Dirk then destroy the rest of the AAR in a firefight and blowing up their barracks. Dirk and Kurt fly back to Washington, D.C. and give a report of the destruction of U.N.D.E.R. and of the AAR to Admiral James Sandecker. The government then decides to use the Arizonan deposit of Blue Cobalt diamonds to finance the development of Nevada into a lush and green state and handing the control of the underground sea beneath Nevada to a monopolistic cartel of utilities and water companies.

Michael Adams, an ex golden glove winner, ex-NFL QB, ex-Secretary of Defense,and former Vice President who is now Current Chairman of the Omega Group was born Mustafa Abbas, learned of his cousin, Ibrahim Lincoln Abbas' death at the hands of Dirk Pitt and Kurt Austin sat in his office in Blue Cove, Delaware looking out the window at the Atlantic Ocean remembering his first few years as a child living in Africa and recalling a story by the village shaman about a mysterious stranger from the middle east who had somehow arrived in the country with mysterious blue stones. Michael turns around and calls his executive assistant, Sherilyn Wolters, in to the office. "Sherilyn i want you to head up a private research project for me involving a possible trip to Africa". He lays out to her what he wants done. After she leaves Michael calls a meeting of the executive council of the Omega Group. As the group gathers together in the conference room J. Edgar Winter is the last one to arrive. The Executive Group President and Vice Chairman is a very powerful member who had initiated the move to add Michael to the Think Tank. Michael gives the story of what happened in Africa and what the government has planned for the Blue Cobalt Diamonds. He offers his alternative plan of obtaining another source of Blue Cobalt diamonds to be used for the purposes of the Think Tank.

Great bad guy name th:

LOL You killed off Martindale!!! Tony how could you!? :lol:
I had an equally painful death in store for him!

Oh well... R.I.P Martindale

:lol: p: Laughs evilly!!!!

J. Edgar Winter and Michael Adams confer together after the council meeting in Michael's office. Michael says, "Now that our privately built submarine no longer will be used for our African plan, we must come up with a new purpose for it". J. Edgar states, "Restructure it for scientific purposes. And offer it to NUMA. Then we will be close to NUMA. That way we can execute our plan of revenge". Michael likes the idea. "Lets get on it".

40 days later the submarine has been refitted for scientific purposes and Michael Adams contacts Admiral Sandecker to offer the sub for joint purposes. Admiral Sandecker is happy to accept. Sandecker calls Dirk to his office. "Dirk, we have a wonderful opportunity here to have a oceanographic submarine at our disposal but I am also aware that this Omega Group is a think tank for defense and national security purposes plus this organization wields considerable power here in D.C. so i want to be cautious here and this is where you come in". Dirk understands with a grin.

A week passes and Michael Adams asks J. Edgar to his office. "Edgar I think we need to kick Sandecker upstairs like the republican powers did with Theodore Roosevelt". Edgar asks why. "Because Dirk Pitt and Kurt Austin are assigned to oversee their part of the submarine". J. Edgar Winter understands with a nod. "It will be done". Eight days later the Vice President of the United States passes away in the hospital. One day later Admiral Sandecker is sworn in as Vice President of the United States.

Sherilyn Wolters returns to the United States at Ronald Reagan International on Virgin Galactic's sub-orbital ship Valiant and rents a car to drive to Blue Cove, Delaware to the Omega Group Headquarters and reports to Michael Adams. "Wonderful flight from Doha, Qatar Michael. I spent some time in Africa researching that story of yours and found a lead to a possible site of Blue Cobalt diamonds up in the Kurdistan region near Turkey but could not reliably find it. While I was there I came across an old grizzled man from the States named Clive Cussler who was also looking for it and he had heard of a story that during World War 2 a container ship disappeared with a possibly secret load of Blue Cobalt diamonds in the Rio Grande river near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. I am going there next to see if i can locade the ship". Michael is pleased to hear Sherilyn's report.

After arriving at Albuquerque International Sherilyn rented a car and drove down to Truth or Consequences and began tracing the course of the Rio Grande river on a skiff when she nears a NUMA craft at the approximate site of the sunken container ship. She's hailed by someone from the NUMA craft and she boards the ship and meets two dark haired men one built stockily and the other an athletic built with soulful eyes. The stocky Italian looking man introduces himself as Al Giordino and introduces the other man as Joe Zavala. Sherilyn uses her real name but comes up with a cover story about researching the Container ship that disappeared as a report for the American History Institute in Austin, Texas. Joe begins a summary of NUMA's efforts to find the container ship by using an Effluent report of the river as an excuse but have come to the conclusion that the river has changed course and the ship is now buried beneath a parking lot for a private laboratory owned by the Blackhawk Group, an Energy, Chemical, Radiation and Mining company. Joe looks up with a look of astonishment when he recalls an employee list of the company and asks Sherilyn if she's related to a Sabrina Wolters. And Sherilyn recalls her cousin whom she has not seen in fifteen years. "Why, yes she's my cousin but have not seen her in some years". "We believe that the ship lies in a concrete vault beneath the parking lot and that some stuff we're looking for are being used in experiments" says Joe Zavala. Sherilyn is taken aback at the news but recovers quickly.