Night Tide (39 page)

!

“Mmm,!we!won’t!get!very!far!if!you!keep!that!up,”!she!said.!

!

She! turned! in! my! arms! with! eyes! closed! and! a! dreamy!

smile,! and! tilted! her! face! up! for! a! kiss.! Her! eyes! opened! and!

looked!up!at!me.!

!

“Damn,!you’re!big,”!she!said.!

!

Her!hand!brushed!me!and!she!blinked.!

!

“Oh!”!Fingers!grasped!me.!“
Really
!big.”!!

!

Another! laugh! bubbled! up! from! deep! inside,! and! I! kissed!

her! playfully.! We! lathered! each! other! with! soap! and! stood!

under!the!spray!locked!in!a!kiss!until!the!suds!rinsed!down!the!

drain.! After! toweling! off,! we! retrieved! our! clothes! from! the!

other!room,!dressed!and!brought!coffee!to!the!dining!table.!!

!

I! smiled! at! her.! “I’m! dreaming,! right?! How! did! you! find!

me?”!

!

She!covered!my!hand!with!hers.!“I’m!sorry.!I!should!have!

told!you!sooner.!I’ve!been!keeping!tabs!on!you.”!

!

I!stared!at!her.!“For!how!long?”!

!

“Weeks.”! She! dropped! her! eyes! and! pulled! her! hands!

away.!

!

“You’ve!been!following!me?!Why?”!

!

She! shifted! in! her! seat.! “Not! following! you,! exactly.!

Keeping! tabs! on! you.! Just! checking! up! to! see! if! you! were! all!

right!after!what!happened!last!winter.”!

!

“But!you’re!supposed!to!be!back!in!D.C.”!I’d!been!so!happy!

to!see!her!it!hadn’t!really!occurred!to!me!to!wonder!about!the!

how!and!why.!“Why!
are
!you!here?”!

!

“You’re!right,!I’m!not!a!field!agent.!But!I’m!good!at!this.!The!

DDNI! thinks! so,! too.! When! your! name! came! up! in! connection!

with!Langford…”!

!

She! tucked! a! stand! of! hair! behind! her! ear! and! gazed! out!

the! window.! ! “I! wasn’t! kidding! when! I! told! Langford! this! is! a!

matter! of! national! security.! I’m! not! sure! how! much! I! can! tell!

you.”!

!

I!pulled!back.!“You!don’t!trust!me?”!

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!

She!spread!her!hands.!“No,!no,!it’s!not!that.!Yes,!I!trust!you.!

I’m!worried!the!more!you!know,!the!more!danger!you’ll!be!in.”!

!

“Jesus,! Reyna,! I’ve! been! shot! at! more! times! in! the! past!

week! than! most! soldiers! in! Afghanistan! during! their! entire!

tour.!Like!you!said,!I’m!already!in!this.!Up!to!my!neck.!Throw!

me!a!life!ring!here.!Give!me!something!to!work!with.”!

!

“Okay,! okay.”! She! flicked! imaginary! crumbs! off! the! table.!

“DOD,! DARPA,! the! Navy,! they’ve! all! got! a! ton! of! research!

projects!running!on!new!stuff!all!the!time,!right?!New!weapons!

systems,!flight!systems,!navigation,!engines,!controls,!you!name!

it,! we’re! working! on! something! bigger,! better,! faster,! more!

lethal.”!!

!

She!waved!a!hand!in!the!air,!erasing!her!notes,!and!started!

over.! “Sorry.! I! almost! got! up! on! my! soapbox.! Not! important.!

Here’s! the! deal.! For! years—decades—we’ve! been! working! on!

new! technology! for! submarines.! Back! in! the! mid6’Eighties,! a!

defense! contractor! working! on! Navy! projects! seemed! on! the!

brink!of!breakthroughs!in!a!couple!areas!of!interest.!A!scientist!

on!the!contractor’s!research!team!thought!problems!they!were!

encountering!in!both!areas!might!be!solved!by!nanotechnology.!

Really!cutting6edge!stuff!at!the!time.”!

!

I!felt!a!sense!of!déjà!vu.!“What!were!the!projects?”!!

!

“Aluminum!seawater!combustion!systems,!and—”!!

!

“Aluminum!what?”!

!

She! pulled! her! earlobe.! “Aluminum! burns! at! high!

temperatures.!Raise!the!temperature!to!a!certain!point,!bring!it!

in! contact! with! seawater! and! you! get! a! controlled! burn! and!

instant!steam,!which!you!can!use!for!propulsion!or!to!drive!a!

turbine.!The!smaller!the!particles!of!aluminum,!the!easier!they!

burn,! giving! you! more! control! over! the! whole! combustion!

process.”!

!

“I!don’t!get!it.!I!thought!the!navy!switched!to!nuclear!subs!

because! you! can’t! burn! things! on! board! without! using! up! too!

much!air.”!

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!

“That’s! the! potential! advantage! of! the! system.! Burn! the!

aluminum! in! the! presence! of! water,! and! it! actually! uses! the!

oxygen!in!the!water!to!keep!burning.”!

!

“You’re!kidding.”!

!

She!shook!her!head.!“It!works,!but!no!one’s!developed!it!on!

a!large!enough!scale!yet!to!be!practical!on!board!a!sub.!We’ve!

been! looking! at! it! primarily! as! a! propulsion! system! for!

torpedoes.”!!

!

Sitting! up! straight,! she! shifted! gears.! “Okay,! so! the! other!

area!these!people!thought!they!might!lick!with!nanotechnology!

was!battery!storage.!When!you!think!of!rechargeable!batteries,!

what!comes!to!mind?”!

!

I! looked! at! her! blankly! for! a! moment.! “What! type?! You!

mean,!like,!lithium!ion?”!

!

She!gave!an!enthusiastic!nod.!“Exactly.!Remember!NiCads?!

Nickel6cadmium!batteries.!Not!many!around!anymore.!Nickel6

metal! hydride! rechargeables! replaced! them.! And! now! lithium!

ion!batteries!are!the!big!thing.!!

!

“Batteries! are! basically! containers! for! chemical! reactions.!

Reactions!that!are!reversible.!Apply!an!electric!current!to!the!

container! and! you! get! one! reaction! that! stores! that! energy.!

Release! that! energy—power! a! device! with! the! battery—and!

you! cause! the! reverse! reaction.! You! know! how! that! works,!

right?”!

!

I!spread!the!fingers!on!one!hand,!trying!to!remember!high!

school!chemistry.!“More!or!less.!A!positive!pole,!a!negative!pole!

and!an!electrolyte!that!carries!electrons!from!one!to!the!other.”!

!

“Close!enough.!The!point!is!that!the!more!surface!area!you!

have! on! the! cathode! and! anode—the! two! poles—the! more!

electricity! you! can! store.! The! research! scientist! back! then!

theorized! a! way! of! creating! thousands! of! tiny! nanowires!

sprouting!out!of!the!anode,!multiplying!the!amount!of!surface!

area!in!the!same!amount!of!space.”!

!

“More!power!per!battery,”!I!said.!

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!

“Right.! Well,! longer6lasting! power,! anyway.! Batteries! that!

last! ten! times! as! long! as! existing! lithium6ion! batteries,! for!

example.”!

!

I! thought! about! what! she! was! telling! me.! “But! you’ve! got!

all!the!power!you!need!on!a!nuclear!sub.!It’s!like!having!your!

own!nuclear!power!plant.”!

!

“True.”!She!fell!silent!for!a!moment.!“Did!you!know!all!our!

nuclear!subs!have!diesel!generators!for!back6up!power!in!case!

a!reactor!fails?”!

!

I!saw!where!she!was!going.!Longer!battery!life!meant!a!sub!

could! operate! for! longer! periods! of! time! before! surfacing! to!

recharge.!Fuel!savings!would!add!up,!too.!

!

“There’s! more,”! she! said.! “Nuclear! subs! generate! noise!

from! pumps! and! turbo6machinery! needed! to! operate! the!

reactor,!even!at!low!power!levels.!As!silent!as!they!are,!they’re!

not!as!quiet!as!a!sub!operating!on!electric!power.!That’s!why!

both!projects!were,!and!still!are,!so!important.”!

!

“What!happened?”!

!

“The!defense!contractor!said!the!lead!researcher!working!

on!the!projects!had!gotten!ahead!of!himself,!that!he!wasn’t!able!

to!replicate!what!he’d!claimed.!The!company!fired!him.”!

!

“Let!me!guess,”!I!said.!“Kwan!Ji.!The!guy!whose!lab!blew!up!

at!Southern!Illinois.”!

!

Her!face!was!somber!as!she!slowly!nodded.!

!

“How!did!you!get!involved?”!!

!

She! swallowed! some! coffee.! “Several! months! ago,! we!

started! getting! back! chatter! that! the! Chinese! were! onto! some!

new!technology!to!extend!battery!life.!No!big!deal,!since!there!

are!research!teams!all!over!the!world!working!on!the!problem.!

I!mean,!think!about!it.!A!battery!with!ten!times!the!storage!life!

of!what’s!out!there!now!instantly!makes!plug6in!electric!cars!a!

viable!alternative!to!gas6powered!vehicles.!And!the!Chinese!are!

rapidly! becoming! big! players! in! the! auto! industry.! A! battery!

like!that?!It’d!be!worth!billions.”!

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!

“But…?”!

!

“The! chatter! was! coming! through! military,! not! industrial,!

channels.! That! piqued! our! interest.! We! looked! into! it! and!

learned! whatever! the! technology! is! the! Chinese! don’t! have! it!

yet.!They’re!trying!to!buy!it.!From!someone!here!in!the!States.”!

!

“That!still!doesn’t!explain!what!you’re!doing!out!here.”!

!

She!punched!me!on!the!arm.!“I’m!getting!there.!Be!patient.!

We! got! wind! that! the! FBI! planned! to! intercede! on! Langford’s!

behalf!and!push!for!clemency.!The!timing!seemed!odd.”!

!

“I!don’t!get!it.!Why!would!you!even!care?”!

!

Her!eyebrows!arched.!“About!Langford?!ONI!kept!track!of!

Kwan.! Southern! Illinois! didn’t! have! a! defense! contract,! but!

Kwan’s! research! had! been! promising.! When! his! lab! was!

bombed,!we!paid!attention.!And!when!he!was!killed!soon!after,!

it! looked! suspicious.! Langford! was! the! only! one! implicated! in!

the! bombing! even! though! some! environmental! group! initially!

took!credit.!!

!

“So,!now!we!hear!rumors!that!the!Chinese!are!trying!to!get!

their!hands!on!some!new!technology!about!the!same!time!the!

FBI! is! negotiating! for! Langford’s! early! release.! It! makes! us!

wonder!if!maybe!Kwan!wasn’t!further!ahead!than!we!thought!

at!the!time,!and!maybe!Langford!is!trying!to!broker!a!deal!with!

whatever!he!found!in!Kwan’s!lab!before!he!blew!it!up.”!

!

“You! think! Langford! set! that! bomb?! He! was! just! a! kid! at!

the!time.”!

!

She!just!looked!at!me.!

!

“Look,”! I! said,! “I! thought! Kwan’s! death! was! a! little!

convenient,!too,!when!I!heard!about!it.!But!Wink!couldn’t!have!

killed!him.!Wasn’t!he!in!jail!at!the!time?”!

!

“He! could! have! had! accomplices.”! She! paused.! “Why’d! he!

come! out! here?! Don’t! tell! me! just! to! visit! the! family! vacation!

home.”!

!

“You!heard!him.!He!came!to!find!the!people!he!took!the!rap!

for.”!

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!

“They! also! could! be! accomplices! who! left! him! twisting! in!

the!wind.”!

!

“I! just! can’t! see! Clayt! and! Connie! Jones! masterminding! a!

plot! like! this.”! I! shook! my! head,! feeling! like! a! dog! chasing! its!

tail.!!

!

“But!Colin!and!Corinne!Wilson!would!have!been!perfectly!

capable,”! she! said! softly.! “And! you! know! as! well! as! I! do! that!

there! isn’t! much! doubt! anymore! that! they’re! one! and! the!

same.”!

!

She! rose! and! walked! to! the! window,! standing! there! a!

moment!with!her!hands!in!her!back!pockets.!

!

She! faced! me.! “There’s! something! off! about! this! whole!

thing.!Your!friend!Langford—what!did!you!call!him?!Wink?!He!

gave! everyone! the! slip.! He’s! been! a! ghost! for! the! past! two!

months.!And!now!all!of!a!sudden!everyone!knows!where!he’s!

hiding!out?”!

!

“How!did!
you
!find!him?”!

!

“Followed!you,!of!course.”!She!grinned.!“I!told!you,!civvy,!

I’ve!been!keeping!tabs!on!you.”!

!

“You!tagged!my!car!again.!Like!last!time.”!Heat!crept!up!my!

neck,! sparked! by! anger! or! embarrassment,! I! wasn’t! sure.!

Maybe!both.!

!

She!nodded.!“But!that!doesn’t!explain!how!the!FBI!caught!

on.”!

!

Exhaustion!tugged!at!me!again,!fragmenting!my!focus!and!

filling!my!head!with!half6formed!purple!thoughts.!

!

“They!got!him!out!so!they!could!follow!him,”!I!said.!“But!he!

outsmarted!them!somehow.”!

!

She!frowned.!“What!do!you!mean?”!

!

“I! think! Drucker! is! convinced! Langford’s! innocent.! But!

Wink!knows!something.!He!learned!something!while!he!was!in!

prison.!All!that!time!to!think!about!what!really!happened!back!

then.! Something! changed.! Now! Drucker! wants! the! people!

responsible—the! Wilsons—and! he! thinks! Wink! can! lead! him!

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right! to! them.! So! he! arranges! early! release.! But! whoever! was!

assigned!to!keep!an!eye!on!Wink!after!he!got!out!lost!him.”!

!

Reyna’s! eyes! brightened.! “Sure.! Drucker’s! wanted! to! get!

his! hands! on! the! Wilsons! all! this! time,! but! he! didn’t! know!

where!they!were.!So!he!let!Langford!sniff!them!out.”!

!

“Why!does!Drucker!have!such!a!hard6on!for!these!people?!

You!know!anything!about!him?”!

!

She! nodded.! “I! looked! him! up.! Drucker’s! old6school.! The!