The 731 Legacy (18 page)

"Oh, shit." Cotten dropped the pencil and it rolled off the edge of her desk. She picked up the phone and dialed Ted.

***

"Okay, run it," Ted said after pushing the intercom button on his phone. He and Cotten sat in his private conference room. On the wall in front of them was a large flat-screen video monitor.

An engineer in the SNN video distribution center two floors below pressed play on the digital video recorder. As the image sprang to life on the plasma monitor, Ted swiveled his chair around to watch.

An electronic slate appeared: W. J. Phillips interview. C. Stone. Mayport, Florida. Camera 1. Cassette A. 12 minutes. NTSC. Satellite News Network.

Cotten saw herself sitting in a chair opposite one that was occupied by USN Commander Walter J. Phillips. It was an interview she had conducted a year ago. She and Phillips were surrounded by a half-dozen lights set up by her crew. A few large pieces of white foam board were clamped to tripod stands and used to reflect soft light back at Cotten and the naval officer.

"Are we ready?" Cotten asked in the video.

"Anytime," the cameraman said. "We're rolling and we've got speed."

Cotten turned to the officer. "Thank you for taking the time to talk with us, Commander Phillips."

"Glad to be here," Phillips said, sitting straight in his starched whites. He

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was a slim academy officer with nineteen year's experience at sea. His current command was captain of the Perry class missile frigate, USSRobert G. Bradley.

"I'd like to start by asking you how you felt about launching an international incident. There are still lawsuits pending and international outcries addressing North Korea about why they have not returned the bodies that were on thePitcairn."

"At the time, it didn't seem all that unusual," Phillips said. "The entire encounter took less than an hour. By the time it was over, we had documented everything, handed it off to Pacific Command, and resumed our patrol. I don't think anyone anticipated the North Koreans refusing to release the bodies."

"Do you think they just wanted to provoke the United States?"

"That's for the politicians to decide, Ms. Stone. As far as I was concerned, the incident was over and it was no longer my problem. Only later did we learn about the controversy when it showed up all over the news."

"Can you give me a description of the events?"

"We were heading up the western coast of North Korea after putting into the South Korean naval base at C-F-A Chinae. The weather was dicey at best. A heavy front had moved through that morning, and there were still scattered squalls and thunderstorms. Just after noon, communications alerted the bridge that we had received a distress call. It came from a location twelve miles to our starboard."

"In the direction of the Communist coast?"

"Correct. My ensign said it was a fairly large stationary target. I asked him to punch in the coordinates on my video monitor, and then I used my binoculars to scan the water in the direction of the contact. A squall line blurred the horizon with a wall of rain and I saw nothing. I asked radar if there were any other vessels in the area."

"Were there?" Cotten asked.

"Two North Korean patrol boats about twenty-two miles from our location. I ordered the ship to change course toward the point where the distress call originated. I also ordered the crew of our Sikorsky Seahawk to prepare to launch in the event we needed to conduct a search and rescue mission. We finally spotted the faint outline of a vessel emerging from the edge of the storm. It drifted on rolling swells, dead in the water. At that point, I had the helm slow to one third and take us to within a thousand yards of the target."

"Did you see any signs of life?"

"None. I half-expected a panic-stricken crew or smoke from an explosion or fire. What I saw was a lifeless ship drifting out of the squall."

"Were you able to identify the vessel?" Cotten asked.

"It didn't take long. She was the Oceanautics research vessel Pitcairn. Port of registry, San Diego. Our database showed that she had a normal crew of six and a contingent of twelve students and scientists. Oceanautics was contacted and confirmed that they were performing deep water drift current studies and island botanical research, and the ship was reported late in arriving into

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Dandong, China."

"So you ordered the launch of the rescue helicopter?"

"Yes. The Seahawk sits on our aft helo pad. She's got a pilot, copilot, and two special-ops Navy SEALs. Tango X-Ray—the call sign for the Seahawk—took off and made three circuits around thePitcairn. Their video cameras transmitted close-up images back to us. When we spotted the bodies on deck, we recalled the Seahawk and outfitted the SEALs with Level A hazmat gear or bunny suits as they're sometimes called. You see we didn't know if the people on the ship were dead, injured, sick, or what. Could have been anything at this point, including contagious illness or they may have come in contact with a deadly toxin. Level A gear is completely airtight. We had to take all precautions, and it's a good thing we did. After outfitting the SEALs—"

"Their names were Bennet and Richards?"

"Correct. They re-boarded the Seahawk. ThePitcairn was a fairly large research vessel, and it also had a stern-mounted helo pad. Tango X-Ray put down on thePitcairn and the SEALs disembarked. Once they were safely on the ship's deck the pilot lifted the Seahawk up to hover at a safe distance. Using the video feed from Tango X-Ray, I could see my men move to the ladder leading up to the vessel's bridge."

"Who was the first to relay back what they'd found?"

"Bennet. He said that it looked like everyone onboard was dead." Phillips shook his head, obviously reacting to the memory. "I asked him to repeat, and he said that he was checking for signs of life but it didn't look good."

"How many bodies did he find?"

"At that point, four—two on deck and two on the bridge. He believed those four were the captain and members of the crew."

"Did your men find any vitals on any of the victims?"

"None. Then Richards radioed that he had discovered six more bodies below deck. He said they appeared to be college age or a little older. They had to be the students and scientists."

"What condition were the bodies in?"

"He reported their flesh had turned yellow and that there was blood clotted around their nostrils, mouths, and ears."

"But if everyone was dead, who activated the distress beacon?" Cotten asked.

"Bennet found it on a table in the radio room—one of those handheld, personal transmitters. He reported a dead body on the floor. Probably the person who set off the beacon. And he said that it looked like there had been an extensive fire in the electronics rack. Could have been why they didn't call for help on the normal frequencies."

"At that point, could your men determine cause of death?" Cotten asked.

"Negative. Bennet said that all the bodies showed the same signs of excessive bleeding from every orifice."

"So when did the Korean missile boats show up?"

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"Right after Bennet's assessment of the condition of the bodies, we received a radio communication. The voice identified itself and informed us that we were in North Korean waters. They declared that we had violated international law and demanded that we reverse course and leave immediately."

"That must have taken you by surprise."

"Ms. Stone, I was so preoccupied with the discovery of the dead bodies, I had temporarily dismissed the Koreans. Radar called up to the bridge that there were two targets—Houdong missile boats. They were coming at us at a pretty good clip. I ordered radar to confirm our location."

"So you were definitely inside Korean waters?"

"We were holding steady at five hundred yards inside their territory but the ocean current was pushing thePitcairn farther toward the coast. She had already drifted over two thousand yards across the boundary."

"And that's when you got the second warning?"

"They said it was a final warning, that we were violating the sovereign territory of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and to reverse course and leave immediately or we would be fired upon."

"Didn't you think they were pressing their luck threatening an American warship?" Cotten asked.

"Yes and no. Right about then, radar confirmed that there were two more missile boats closing in on us. At that point we were in close quarters with the targets and the fact is, wehad violated their territory. It seemed fairly certain that the people on thePitcairn were dead, so there was nothing I could do for them. My main concern was for the safety of my two men onboard the Oceanautics vessel along with my ship and crew. Conducting any type of armed conflict at that point was without merit."

"So you ordered Bennet and Richards to abandon thePitcairn?"

"No choice. Tango X-Ray landed on the vessel and recovered the SEALs. As soon as I saw them safely inside the helicopter, I told communications to acknowledge to the North Koreans that we were complying with their demands. And I instructed the helm to back us off to five thousand yards beyond the line."

"That must have really riled you to have to leave?"

"I would have preferred to finish searching the ship and see if there were any survivors."

"Of course, we now know there were none," Cotten said.

Phillips shrugged as if not sure.

"Were you able to maintain sight of thePitcairn and the Korean boats?"

"For as long as we could. We steamed west until we were well into international waters before we came about. Unfortunately, another squall line moved in between us and the target, and we lost visual contact. By then radar had confirmed that a number of North Korean vessels were converging on thePitcairn."

Phillips paused, seeming to be in deep thought. Finally, he said, "You know what they reminded me of, Ms. Stone?" "You mean the Koreans?"

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"They looked like sharks circling a kill."

BODY COUNT

Cotten crooked her neck to hold the phone in place while she skimmed through papers on her desk and waited for John to pick up. She'd been put on hold by his secretary.

"Hey, Cotten," he finally said, answering.

The connection was clear, as if he were just next door instead of an ocean away. As always, John's voice was warm and comforting. "Hey, yourself," she said, grabbing the phone with her hand, leaving the papers in a heap.

"It's great to hear from you."

"Same here. Are you coming this way anytime soon?" She closed her eyes and hoped for ayes.

"No, I'm just back from the MI5 briefing in London and am pretty tied up here for a while. Maybe I'll see my way clear in a month or two."

"I'd like that," she said. "I think I'm going to need your help."

"The T-Kup thing?"

"Yeah. It's growing. I was sitting here thinking about Calderon and the Amazon woman and did a little research. The strange thing about them was that they were isolated cases and worlds apart. Nobody else around them became infected. Then it hit me. I had done a piece on that research vessel, thePitcairn. Do you recall that event? It caused quite a stir for a while."

"Yes. Everyone on board was dead. North Koreans grabbed the ship."

"Right. They still haven't returned the bodies. The families have filed lawsuits against the North Korean government to get the bodies back, but no results. I thought I remembered the description of the bodies, but wanted to make sure. So, Ted and I watched my interview with the U.S. warship's commander again. The description of the dead given by the SEALs who went on board appeared to match those of Calderon and the Yanomamo woman."

"No kidding. Looks like the North Korean connection is getting stronger."

"Sure does. We're trying to tie down a link, something that might pull this whole thing together. It's more than obvious that Calderon was attempting to give me some clue when he said Black Needles. But I can't figure it out. When I do, I believe it will all come together."

"What's the CDC been able to scrape up?"

"Nothing. There are no bodies to examine or autopsy. Calderon's disappeared, the Yanomamo woman was cremated in keeping with the Indian tradition, and the North Koreans still have the bodies from thePitcairn."

"There's no dealing with their General Secretary, I can tell you that. He has total control. He's like a god. And nobody really knows what's going on over

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there. He says anything he wants but that doesn't mean what he says is true. After such an in-your-face, aggressive attitude about their nuclear ambitions, he suddenly succumbs to pressure to curb the program? He agrees to allow the Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspectors to go in and disable their main nuclear facility? Seems way too easy. And now you've made me think I know why. Cotten, what if the nuclear threat is simply a decoy?"

"That's our thinking, too. We just don't know what they're up to. But if Calderon is an example of the results, we'd better find out fast. Maybe they were just simply testing the waters, or maybe Calderon and the native woman were accidents. But I think it comes down to the fact that they are up to their necks in some type of germ warfare experimentation. Personally, it scares the hell out of me."

"Have you talked to anyone in the government about this possibility?"

"Ted said he spoke to someone and was told the FBI and CIA get hundreds of calls with all types of suspicions. Mostly from crackpots. Right now we have nothing to give them. No hard evidence. They'd just brush it off at this point. Probably think we were trying tocreate a story for network publicity. We have to get something firm, first."

"I can talk to someone. I'll get Archbishop Montiagro to—"

"Not yet. Let me see what else I can come up with."

"Cotten, don't wait too long. You and I both know there is more to this. Something much larger is behind it, and much more terrifying."

Cotten's call waiting beeped. "John, hold on a minute, let me get the other line."

She hit the flash button. "Cotten Stone."

She held the phone intently to her ear and listened for a few moments.