Sea of Fire by Tom Clancy, Steve Pieczenik, Jeff Rovin Read Free Book Online Page A

out. “For all we know, the American embassy has been notified. We’re going to have to let this play out until we know more.”
    “There obviously has to be a legal issue involved,” Herbert said. “Something that requires Lowell’s expertise in international affairs.”
    “That does seem to make sense,” Hood said. “Lowell, how long until you reach the airport?”
    “About fifteen minutes,” Coffey replied.
    “Maybe we’ll know more by then,” Hood said. “Lowell, let us know what you find out as soon as you can.”
    “Of course,” he said.
    Hood wished him well and hung up. He looked at the others. “Bob, is there any history of nuclear trafficking in that region?”
    “The answer is, ‘possibly,’ ” Herbert said.
    “Jeez, I remember when intelligence agencies used to deal in probablies,” Rodgers said.
    “When you were a greenhorn in ’Nam, they did,” Herbert said. “We still had human intelligence resources in every backwater den you could imagine. Then the electronic intelligence guys came in and said there was no reason to risk lives anymore. They were wrong. Satellites can’t do belowdecks imaging in a freighter or oil tanker.”
    “What about those possibilities, Bob?” Hood asked, getting them back on subject.
    “We suspect that terrorists and rogue states in the Pacific Rim have used commercial ships and private vessels to transport nuclear weapons or components,” Herbert told him. “But we have no evidence of that. For the last few years a bunch of navies and air defense forces around the world, including Australia, have been placing radiation-detection equipment on their vessels. These gizmos measure gamma radiation or neutron fields, depending on whether they’re looking for raw radioactive material or weapons, respectively. But they haven’t found anything.”
    “Which doesn’t mean much,” Rodgers said. “Adequate lead shielding will hide that.”
    Herbert nodded. “That’s why we need more people watching potential traffickers on the shipping and receiving ends. The CIA and the FBI are working on that, but we’re nowhere near up to speed yet.”
    “All right,” Hood said. “The system has a lot of holes. But you’re saying the Aussies have the capacity to pick up hot cargo?”
    “That’s right,” Herbert said. “And if that’s what happened, there are a lot of reasons they might want someone like Lowell to have a look.”
    Hood suggested that Herbert and Rodgers return to their offices to see if there was any other intelligence they could dig up. He would notify them as soon as Coffey called.
    As they left, Hood looked at the photo of Harleigh and Alexander on his desk. He wished he could roll back the clock ten minutes. The responsibility of fighting nuclear terrorism was an unimaginable burden. The price of failure would be appalling.
    Still, whether Hood wanted it or not, that responsibility might be his. Hopefully, this would prove to be something far less dire than he could imagine.

SEVEN
    Sydney, Australia Thursday, 10:01 A.M.
    It was like talking to stone.
    When Lowell Coffey did not get the service, respect, or answers he was looking for, his inclination was to stand and fight. Quietly, but with unshakable determination. Jaguar dealers or presidents, it did not matter.
    This was a rare exception.
    Coffey and Penny arrived at the domestic cargo terminal. It was a vast, low-lying building that looked as if it had been built in the 1960s. It was situated away from the main terminal area. Penny parked the pickup among rows of semis with container rigs. They walked to the front office, which sat just inside the main hangar. There they were met by a petty officer from the MIC. He was a fresh-faced kid whose name tag said Lady. That name must have got him teased a lot more than Date. Coffey judged him to be about twenty-five. The petty officer checked Coffey’s passport, thanked him for coming, and said he would show the attorney to the aircraft. He