Deep Sea One

Chapter 39

Patrick had a car take him to the architectural agency in town he supposedly worked for. It was Friday morning, as scheduled. Mrs. Lancashire met him in what was designated as his office and as soon as he walked in, she closed the blinds and the door behind her.

"DCI Smith, it is good to see you again," she smiled her deceptively warm smile, as they sat down. She opened her bag and took out her laptop while they exchanged the usual pleasantries and truthfully, the man could not wait to laden her with all the strange discoveries he had uncovered.

"Did you find out where the agent is who defected from the Portuguese Secret Service, Inspector Smith?" she asked, as soon as they settled in.

"I did not, madam. But there is something more alarming going on there," he said.

"Your mission was to locate the rogue operative who would be sent to deal in biological weapons with Walter Eickhart, sir. Did you not gather intelligence on this?" she asked, her voice slightly harsher.

"I overheard Herr Eickhart speaking to someone on the phone, mentioning contaminants, a gathering he could not attend in the very near future, something about a lanze and he spoke about the adventurous millionaire Dave Purdue," Patrick rambled somewhat, laying accents on the keywords he had memorized in hopes that Mrs. Lancashire would take note of the more disturbing things he had discovered.

"Dave Purdue?" she asked.

"Yes, madam. Eickhart discussed Purdue on the phone. Unfortunately I could not clearly hear what it was about, as his housekeeper arrested my attention and I had to follow suit, of course," he said nervously.

"Of course," she said with more ease, still looking down at her laptop.

"He also mentioned someone by the name of Calisto, but I am not sure if that pertains…"

"Calisto?" she interrupted. "Calisto Fernandez?"

"I only heard the first name, Mrs. Lancashire," he nodded.

"Continue. What else?"

He told her about the contaminants mentioned in the conversation with Purdue and Calisto's names, and then Patrick moved tactfully toward the looming gathering, the lanze and the plans for building the acoustic chamber.

"Herr Eickhart assured me that he would soon be in possession of the Spear of Destiny. Soon, but he was not yet. That gives me reason to think he is still pursuing the relic, Mrs. Lancashire," Patrick rambled on, as professionally as he could, but in truth his heart was pounding with the facts he relayed. "I have reason to believe that his acquisition of this sought-after artifact and acquiring the viral strains is running on the same bridge — that bridge being the operative we are pursuing."

She said nothing. He waited, hoping she would not shoot down his invaluable information. Her fingertips ran over the letters of her keyboard until she stopped and then she looked up.

"Are you familiar with Purdue?" she asked, removing her spectacles to have a better look at her latest agent.

"I know him by reputation. And my best friend has worked with him before," he said. She waited for him to elaborate.

"Oh… uh… my friend was the photographer on the Wolfenstein expedition," he rushed. Mrs. Lancashire's glasses fell from her hand.

"Your friend was with that expedition?"

"Yes, madam. He is currently working with two of the people from that expedition… on something else."

"Again with Dave Purdue?" she asked abruptly, as if she could not get the information rapidly enough from him.

"I believe so."

"DCI Smith, where is your friend working at the moment?"

"I believe he is on assignment again, madam, but I don't know where exactly."

"Call him. Ask him if he knows anything about Purdue holding those biological agents. Find out his location, but do not disclose the nature of your inquiry. Am I clear?" she said, with that all too familiar authoritarian voice.

"Crystal, madam."

"I want that location before the end of this business day, DCI Smith. Surely I do not need to impress on you the urgency of this matter," she added. Patrick nodded. Inside he was very proud of his accomplishments, but he was worried about Sam. What if he could not get hold of him? His friend was known for going off the radar for weeks on end when he was on assignment.

"If we find Purdue, we find the strains. Once we find the strains, we find the rogue agent and hopefully avert an act of biological terrorism. You are dismissed, DCI Smith."

"Good day, madam," he said, and made his way to the nearest park where he tried Sam's cell phone, but there was, as expected, no answer.

On Deep Sea One Liam and Darwin informed their respective crew members about their concerns, but they did it so that Peter and Mr. Purdue could not tell that something was going on within the staff. Secretly the men had prepared for evacuation after several of them had admitted to seeing strangers come up to the platform from out of nowhere. Now their jobs, maintaining a disused oil rig and checking structural defects under sea level, made sense. The money was very good, therefore none of the crew members ever questioned the basic nature of their jobs, where they did not produce raw oil for processing, but instead only checked that the machinery was in order.

"It was all in working order, lads, not because we were drilling, but because our expertise maintained whatever the fuck is going on in them labs beneath," Darwin gruffly whispered from the center of the gathering of workers who assembled to discuss their voluntary departures or staying on the oil platform. It became clear to the mechanics, engineers and divers that the machinery was acting as generators for the high-maintenance power grids under the platform. They had always known that they were being paid for upkeep, instead of actual drilling, but for the remuneration they received, it was an exceedingly easy job. What made them restless after all this time was the revelation of the volatility of Deep Sea One, should anything go wrong.

Tommy was nowhere to be seen, but after what Liam and Darwin saw, they did not bother to look for him. It was 5am when the first shift started and the men agreed to wait for Darwin to make alarm, should Tommy cause any serious trouble. They knew now that he was a charlatan, but in trying to alert Mr. Purdue, the boss would not give them a moment's attention.

"I had never seen him like this," Darwin panted, as he returned from Purdue's office. He met Liam and two other men at the control room entrance. They were getting their gloves and boots on while they chatted with Liam. Darwin looked thoroughly somber as he came toward them. "He won't see anybody, for any reason."

"Is he bombastic?" Liam asked.

"That's the thing. He is not in a bad mood at all, but it's like he is not even here. There is something weighing on his mind that makes everything else unimportant. I swear to God you could tell him that there's a pipe bomb in his arsehole and he'd nod and smile about it," Darwin moaned. He wanted, needed, to tell the boss about Tommy and the sergeant who was also at large.

Purdue did not even notice that his bodyguard was missing. Like Nina and Sam, he reckoned she was still sleeping. He had good reason to be so distracted. Today was the fruition of decades of promise to his peers in the organization. Now that he knew the Spear was real, even before the dating process was complete, there was no time to waste. Down to the laboratory he rushed, ignoring everyone who passed him or greeted. Briskly he entered the red section, walking into Nina's lab, and picked up the relic where it was lying in front of the chest.

Wrapped only in its leather casing, he shoved it into his blazer and locked the lab again. He had to have everything properly prepared for the gathering. Dave Purdue, high commissioner of the contemporary Vienna Circle descendants, had initiated a meeting of the clandestine and powerful Order of the Black Sun.