Polar Shift by Clive Cussler Read Free Book Online Page A

sight. He was a fixture on the local nightclub circuit. Then he dropped out of circulation.”
    â€œWhat’s with the head art?”
    â€œStory I heard is that when he was a kid, he was a big Spiderman fan. Cut his hair, had his scalp tattooed and let his hair grow back. As he got older and started to go bald, the tattoo showed, so he shaved his head. Hell, with the kind of money Barrett has he could decorate his body with the Sunday funnies and nobody would blink an eye.”
    â€œEccentric or not, he saved me from becoming whale bait. I’d like to thank him, and apologize for commandeering his boat.”
    Austin was about to tell his father about the metal structure on Barrett’s boat, but a crewman came into the cabin and announced, “Someone from Fish and Wildlife is here.”
    A moment later, a petite, young, dark-haired woman dressed in the green uniform of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service entered the cabin. She was in her mid-twenties, although her black-rimmed glasses and serious expression made her look more mature. She identified herself as Sheila Rowland, and said she wanted to ask Kurt about his whale encounter.
    â€œSorry to barge in on you,” she said in apology. “We’ve closed off further kayak expeditions in Puget Sound until we can get to the bottom of this incident. Whale watching is a big part of the local economy, so we’ve put the investigation on the fast track. The vendors are starting to scream about the ban, but we can’t take chances.”
    Austin told her to take a seat, and Kurt went through his story for a second time.
    â€œThat’s so strange,” she said with a shake of her head. “I’ve never known orcas to hurt anyone.”
    â€œWhat about attacks in marine parks?” Kurt said.
    â€œThose are whales that are held in captivity and put under pressure to perform. They get angry at being cooped up and overworked, and sometimes they take out their frustrations on the trainers. There have been a few cases in the wild where an orca has grabbed a surfboard, thinking it’s a seal. Once they discover their mistake, they’ve spit the surfer out.”
    â€œI guess the whale I encountered didn’t like my face,” Austin said with dry humor.
    Rowland smiled, thinking that with his bronzed features and intense, light blue eyes, Austin was one of the most attractive men she had ever met. “I don’t think that’s the case. If an orca didn’t like your face, you wouldn’t have one. I’ve seen a whale toss round a five-hundred-pound sea lion as if it were a rag doll. I’ll see if there is any video coverage of the incident.”
    â€œThat shouldn’t be a problem, with all the cameras focused on the race,” Kurt said, “Is there anything you could think of that would stir up the whales and make them more aggressive?”
    She shook her head. “Orcas have extremely fine-tuned sensing systems. If something gets out of whack, they might want to take it out on the nearest object.”
    â€œLike the overworked whales in the marine parks?”
    â€œMaybe. I’ll talk to some cetologists and see what they have to say.” She rose and thanked the two men for their time. After she left, Austin’s father went to pour another round, but Kurt put his hand over the glass.
    â€œI know what you’re doing, you old fox. You’re trying to shanghai me onto one of your salvage ships.”
    Kurt Senior had made no secret of his desire to lure his son from NUMA and bring him back into the family business. Kurt’s decision to stay with NUMA rather than take over the reins of the business had been a sore point between the two men. Through the years, what had been a bitter source of friction became a family joke.
    â€œYou’re turning into a sissy,” Austin said with mock disgust. “You’ve got to admit that NUMA hasn’t cornered the market on