"I barely made it. I did hit ice. I had a pick with me. In that tight space I chipped away, my air diminishing, and then I broke through. About six inches of ice had already formed, and I was able to crawl through, onto the surface. It was night. I saw a single lantern, like a beacon, in one of the tents the ground party had taken. I staggered over to it, the water on the outside of my dry suit freezing as I did so. I made it inside. A stove was still going, but they were all dead.
"The Germans had drank poisoned wine. The Japanese had used the knives and guns to kill themselves. I stripped off my dry suit and scavenged for cold weather clothing. Then I slept among the dead for a long time. When I awoke, I gathered supplies.
"Then I made my way back to the coast. A six-day journey for me on foot. When I got to the coast a trawler was waiting for me. The crew knew nothing of me or why they were picking me up. They brought me back to Japan, where I could report the mission accomplished."
Shibimi stopped speaking.
"Where were these submarines left?" Fatima asked.
"After all these years," Shibimi said, "I still remember the coordinates." He spoke them, and Fatima copied them down.
"What else have you done for the Far East Table?" Fatima asked.
Shibimi gave a bitter laugh. "That was it. Why do you think I am here in the Philippines driving a stupid tugboat and peddling in arms? They tried to kill me, and I escaped. I came here and here I have been all my life. They wait for me." His voice had dropped. "The souls of those men, they wait for me."
"Then join them," Fatima said as she fired her pistol.
Then she turned to Araki. The Japanese woman stared back at her. "What are you going to do to me?"
"Do you want to know the truth?" Fatima asked.
Araki nodded.
"Then you must come with me."
"Where?"
"To Antarctica, of course." Fatima turned to one of the Abu Sayif. "Dispose of the bodies," she ordered. "I want the freighter to be prepared. Take her to Manila and link her up with the crew. I will need everyone at the ship."
Oahu
"We're going to rack up quite a few frequent flier miles on this trip." Tai was looking at the flight itinerary Royce had just given them. "Depart Honolulu for New Zealand. Cross the international date line en route. Arrive Wellington, New Zealand, on Saturday evening at 2100 hours local."
"The passports I've given you," Royce said, "are real and should raise no problems. From New Zealand you count on Logan to take you to Antarctica."
"What about communications?" Tai asked.
Royce slid a small case across the table. "Satellite radio. You might not get the best reception in Antarctica but you should be able to punch through a text message."
"Gear?" Vaughn asked.
"Will be waiting for you in New Zealand," Royce said.
"Including weapons?" Vaughn pressed.
"Including weapons," Royce reassured him.
Vaughn stood and looked at Tai. "All right. Let's get cold."
Manila
Fatima checked the coordinates Shibimi had given her. Then she made her way to the front of the map store and paid the proprietor. She slid the map inside her jacket and opened the door with a feeling of excitement that she was on the trail of something that might unlock the secret of the Organization.
She left the store and hopped on the motorcycle she had taken from the village. She roared through the streets to the rendezvous she had set up on her way in. She was headed to another ethnic-oriented part of Manila -not Japanese this time, but Korean. She raced through the narrow streets, avoiding cars, trucks, bikes, and pedestrians.
She turned down an alley and came to a halt. She took her helmet off, left it on the seat and entered the back door of a small store. An old Korean man was seated on a stool just inside, a blanket over his lap. Fatima saw the large double-O shape of the end of a sawed-off shotgun trained on her.
"I am unarmed," she said.
"What do you want?" the man demanded. "Your call said you had important information."
"I believe I know where some American nuclear weapons are stored," Fatima said.
The old man snorted. "I can tell you where many American nuclear weapons are stored in South Korea and in Japan."
"But these are not in South Korea or in Japan. Or in the United States or anyplace where there are currently America forces."
The old man stared at her. "How can this be?"
"The Americans built a secret military base right after World War II," Fatima said. "They went back there at least one time and put four nuclear weapons in it. And now it is abandoned, and I believe the weapons might still be there."
"Impossible," the old man said. "Even the Americans are not that stupid. Where is this base?"
" Antarctica."
The old man blinked. "That is-" He fell silent as he thought about it. "Are you certain?"
"I am certain there is an American base that was abandoned there," Fatima said. "I am not certain about the weapons, but it is likely they are still there. Even if they no longer work, they will still have their cores, which can be used. And even without that, the discovery of such a thing would be of great embarrassment to the Americans."
" Antarctica is a large place," the old man said. "Where exactly is this place?"
"I am heading down there to find out," Fatima said. "Would your superiors be interested in knowing the location?"
The old man simply nodded.
"Then I will contact you in the same manner over satellite when I know more," Fatima said, not wanting to give up any more information right now.
"All right," the old man agreed. "I will wait for more information."
Which Fatima knew to be a lie. He would be on the satellite phone as soon as she left, contacting his superiors. But that is what she wanted. She nodded back at him and walked back out the door.
As she grabbed her helmet off the motorcycle seat, she noted a van blocking her in. Fatima put the helmet on, cranked the engine, and waited for the driver of the van to take the hint and move. After thirty seconds of nothing she beeped her horn. She couldn't make out the truck's occupants through the tinted windshield.
"Damn it," she muttered as she got off her bike, walked up to the passenger side and rapped on the door. The cargo door slid open and a man leaped out, wrapped her in a bear hug and rolled with her back into the rear, the door sliding shut.
Fatima kicked backward, feeling her boot strike home, but the man holding her didn't make a noise. She desperately struggled, but her arms were locked to her side with a grip of steel. She felt a prick in her wrist and looked down to see a needle sliding into her flesh. She watched as the plunger descended.
The last thing her conscious mind processed was the van pulling out into traffic.
CHAPTER 5
Oahu
"This could all be a setup," Tai said as the plane lifted off the runway.
Vaughn had his eyes closed. "At least if it is, we're going first-class."
"Why should we believe anything Royce tells us?" Tai asked.
"Why shouldn't we?" Vaughn asked in turn. He opened his eyes. "I don't know what the truth is about anything. But even when I was in the real Army, I wasn't too sure about the truth either. Were you?"
Tai sighed. "I believed in what I was doing."
"I believed in my team," Vaughn said. "But it got shot up doing a mission on orders that I wonder about now. My brother-in-law was killed. Men who trusted me, trusted my orders, died. And now I can say 'I was just following orders.'"
"Oh, bullshit," Tai said. "Now you're getting into where the ultimate truth is. What it is. A bunch of crap."
"Then what are we doing on this plane?" Vaughn asked. "Why are you here?"