Deadly Echoes (34 page)

“We just landed, and I noticed the Eco-Watch aircraft as we taxied by. I thought I'd walk over and see if anyone was aboard, and here you are. Now, if I may, what is your position within Eco-Watch?”

“No comment,” Donovan replied automatically. As a rule he avoided the media as much as possible. Then he had another thought. “Ms. Sullivan, you said you just landed, may I ask from where?”

“New York.”

“What kind of an airplane?”

“It's a Falcon 900. Why do you ask?”

“Are you here to cover the story about the tanker in Prince William Sound?”

“Of course, have you been out there? What can you tell me?”

“Ms. Sullivan, please, come aboard. We need to talk.” Donovan stashed the pistol out of sight in his jacket pocket.

Donovan escorted Amanda into the nerve center of the
da Vinci,
where he powered up the mainframe computer to view the footage Lauren had captured from today's events. It took a moment for the system to boot up, but from the expression on her face, he knew he had her complete attention.

“You still haven't told me who you are.”

Donovan took out his wallet and handed her a business card. As she read the name her eyes flared for just a moment and then quickly narrowed, as if calculating how much the stakes had just gone up. “Mr. Nash, you're a very private and elusive man. How do I know it's really you?”

Donovan slipped out his driver's license.

“It's a pleasure to meet you.” Amanda smiled as she returned his ID.

“Here's what I want,” Donovan said as he slid his license back into his wallet. “I'm prepared to give you an exclusive interview about recent events, as well as access to the footage shot today of the
North Star
hijacking. Not the fabricated footage I understand is being shown on CNN, but actual high-resolution images taken by the state-of-the art systems aboard this aircraft. I won't agree to being photographed or recorded. This interview will be the old-fashioned kind where I talk and you take notes. That's my one and only offer. Oh, and the interview can last no longer than four and a half hours.”

“That's an odd set of conditions, Mr. Nash. What is it you want from me?”

“Conduct the interview as you fly me to Los Angeles in your Falcon.”

Amanda didn't as much as flinch. “It's possible, but I'll need to
see the tape. If I think you have something of value, I'll call my office in New York.”

Donovan expected as much. He switched on the monitor, selected the file from the menu, and hit play. The first image filling the screen was that of the
North Star
as the
da Vinci
streaked overhead. Amanda watched in silence, and Donovan waited for the final scene, the one that was going to get him to Los Angeles. Lauren had managed to capture the
North Star
as the ship ran aground. Even with no sound, the sight of the blue water beneath the ship suddenly becoming a brown reef and then the visual of the tanker steaming straight into it was journalistic gold. The high-resolution image captured the individual shock waves rippling through the steel of the hull as the
North Star
dug into the reef. Metal and water exploded into the air as the impact obliterated the outer hull. The sight of a solitary man racing toward the bow added scale to the enormity of the event.

Wordlessly, Amanda began dialing her phone, and as she did, Donovan pushed the button that would make her a copy of the file.

While he waited, he used his phone to listen to his voice mail in hopes that there was one from Erica. What he heard was his life falling apart around him. Peggy had called to report that CNN had called, as had most of the other major news outlets. There was also news that Congressman Brandt out of Oregon had appeared on a political talk show and gone on record suggesting all contracts with Eco-Watch be halted until the Justice Department could conduct a full investigation. There were three messages from members of Eco-Watch's board of trustees wanting to talk, as well as two major foundations, significant financial supporters. Donovan decided they could all screw themselves. Eco-Watch was circling the drain, and he wasn't sure he could stop the inevitable. In the face of losing William, nothing else really mattered. When he reached the last message without any word from Erica, all he felt was more fear.

“Where's Donovan?” Buck asked Lauren.

“He's headed back to Anchorage to try and minimize the fallout for Eco-Watch.”

Buck started to swear, caught himself, and just shook his head in frustration. “Really? He heads back to the one place where there are probably people trying to kill him, and he went unescorted in an Eco-Watch helicopter?”

“There's nothing for him to do here. You and I can both contribute to this situation, so he left. He's a big boy, and it's not your problem.”

“He is my problem,” Buck replied.

“Look, I'm sorry you signed on in the middle of all this chaos between Donovan and me. We had a fight, I wanted him off the ship, and now he's gone.” Her anger flared, and even though her words held a modicum of truth, Lauren hated every syllable of the latest lie she'd just told. Once again, Donovan was off doing whatever he wanted, and she was left trying to make excuses for him to maintain the deception. “He's probably with Michael, brain-storming with William on how best to contain the damage these people have inflicted.”

“I'm just going to have to get used to Mr. Nash doing what he does.”

“I couldn't.” Lauren turned to distance herself from Buck. She hated the lies, especially when they were to Buck, a man who had once saved her life. She tried to take her mind off of Donovan. If he was doing any brainstorming, he was figuring out how to get to Erica.

Agent Martinson had gone below to assist her agents with the
crime scene and when Lauren heard voices behind her, she turned to find Gunnison escorting a tall, thin man onto the bridge.

“Dr. McKenna, this is Captain Joseph Flemming from the
Orion.
I was just bringing him up to date on the plan.”

“Doctor,” Flemming took the hand that Lauren offered and they shook. “I've got to tell you, this is a hell of a thing you dreamed up.”

“It's only one option,” Lauren replied. She found Flemming's kind eyes and his smooth Texas accent charming. She turned to Gunnison as Davis and Hughes joined the conversation. “What's the latest status of the ship?”

“Creating a tsunami is now our only option. Our divers were able to get some photos of the inner hull. There are creases beginning to form. The architects say it's going to fail at the next low tide.” Gunnison paused as he was handed a sheet of paper and he quickly scanned the text. “Final okay just came down from the governor. In Washington, the president just issued an executive order and the Pentagon has mobilized military assets to be at our disposal. They'll be working in conjunction with the Coast Guard to evacuate the people in all of the affected areas. We have mining experts as well as a team from the U.S. Geological Survey on the glacier right now to begin examining the ice. Their people are generating computer models to predict the aftermath of the wave. We've also linked up with the architectural team who designed the ship to help us understand how the wave will impact the compromised structural aspects of the
North Star.
It's a complicated job.”

Captain Flemming drew himself up to his full six foot six, removed his watch cap, and ran his hand over the gray stubble on his scalp. “Dr. McKenna, let me see if I understand this. You're confident that these folks can create a tsunami to lift this crippled tanker free of the reef and push it out into the sound, in the belief that action will prevent an oil spill.”

“In broad strokes, yes, that's the plan. It's simple physics, really.”

“Hell of a thing.” Flemming put his cap back on. “Okay, what is it you want from me?”

“I understand you were on the committee that helped Huntington Oil design this ship.”

“You're very well informed, but that was years ago. We can all thank the late Meredith Barnes for the ten feet of space between the hulls, may she rest in peace. I can tell you, if we spill any oil today, it would have broken both their hearts.”

“Both?” Lauren asked.

“Meredith Barnes and Robert Huntington. I've never seen two people more passionate about their respective jobs and the responsibility they held.”

Lauren was instantly sorry she'd gone fishing for Flemming's impression of a younger Robert Huntington. She especially didn't need to hear how well he worked with Meredith. “We need you to help us figure out how this ship is going to react once it's free. Hopefully, you'll have the
North Star
's own engines to assist, as well as two supertugs tethered to the ship. Once the tanker is free from the reef, we want it to stay inside the oil containment area, not flung out into the sound, just in case it is leaking oil. Now, what will it take to accomplish that?”

“A goddamned miracle,” Flemming bellowed. “The way I see it, you're going to need a forty- to fifty-foot rise in water to get a clean lift. This tsunami you're talking about is going to come charging down the inlet at about five hundred miles per hour. I don't have an advanced degree, but I know a little bit about mass and acceleration, and you're going to have a shitload of both. What's to stop this wave from capsizing the ship or shearing off the entire upper decks?”

“Fair questions to be sure. You're correct, the energy is traveling through the water at five hundred miles per hour, but most of the impulse will pass beneath the ship in deep water and be gone. At the reef, the ocean floor rises up from a steady one hundred seventy fathoms, to one forty, and then gradually continues to rise until it reaches the tanker. That's where the wave will form and it's
that
upward energy we're interested in controlling. By my calculations,
this ship is going to be pushed up and off the reef and spun clockwise by the current due to the variations of the seafloor approaching the reef. Left to its own devices, the
North Star
will travel a little over five nautical miles before the kinetic energy has been expended. Now if we factor in the two tugs and full power from the tanker's engines, how much can we reduce that distance?”

“Half, maybe a little less if we're lucky. The tugs and the tanker will be traveling with the same wave. That's a great deal of mass to decelerate,” Flemming said as he leaned over and once again studied the chart. “What's to stop it from spinning the other way, in which case we'll be slammed into the island?”

“I can promise you that won't happen, Olsen Island isn't in play,” Lauren replied. “The ship will be rotating clockwise.”

“Physics again?” Flemming arched an eyebrow.

“Yes. The initial upswell is hard to predict, as is the damage to the ship. It'll be a small miracle if the hull isn't leaking some oil, which in my mind makes it essential that the tanker is kept inside the containment area no matter what.”

“That said, if it were me, I'd run the containment booms two miles south and hope for the best,” Flemming replied.

One of the electrical engineers brought over from the
Orion
stuck his head out from underneath the console. “Captain Flemming, I've spliced everything back together, run the diagnostics, and it tells me you have bridge control of both engines and full rudder authority. The bow thrusters are destroyed, but everything else should work.”

“Good work. Let's start 'em both up right now and make sure we have power.” Flemming turned back to face Gunnison. “I'm told that all vessels except the two tugs will be moved out into the sound. They'll ride out the tsunami in the open water away from any islands.”

“Yes, sir. We want to minimize the number of ships in the
North Star
's immediate vicinity.”

Lauren motioned for Buck to join her. “Captain, I'd like to
introduce Howard Buckley, former Navy SEAL and Eco-Watch chief of security. He's going to explain how all of this can go wrong, and hopefully, what we can do to prevent that from happening.”

“Captain.” Buck shook Flemming's hand. “I gather you're going to be at the helm when we do this.”

“That's my job.”

“What do you have in mind for a crew?”

“I'll need a minimum of three. My engineer, and two lookouts on either side of the ship. I want everyone else off the
North Star.”

“Very good. You can select your own men, or if you're asking for volunteers, I'd happily join you. Now that Dr. McKenna has explained the science, let's talk about the intangibles. When the wave arrives, we'll know by the receding water levels off the bow as the sea draws back. My recommendation at this point is to be at idle power. It is possible that the receding water will simply finish the job the tide was doing and snap the ship in half. Captain, if that happens, then your job will be to use your engines to do all you can to keep what's left of the ship within the containment area. The tug captains have already received this briefing. All of you will be in constant radio contact with each other. Our fervent hope is that the wave does what Dr. McKenna thinks it will do and simply lift the tanker up and off the reef and slide it out into deeper water. At that point, you and the tugs swing into action and get this thing stopped.”

“Where are you going to be, Dr. McKenna?” Flemming asked.

“I'd like to be on the bridge, but I have a feeling Mr. Buckley will overrule that.”

“Dr. McKenna will be monitoring the situation from the Eco-Watch helicopter,” Buck replied. “Her talents can best be utilized by her seeing the big picture.”

“I need to make a call to the head office,” Flemming said. “Timewise, how soon are we making this happen?”