Read Online Black Wind by Clive Cussler - Free Book Online Page A

donning a black turtleneck sweater and jeans, Dirk made his way to the wheelhouse. Burch was leaning over the chart table plotting a course through the Aleutian Islands.
    â€œAren’t we heading back to Yunaska to retrieve the bodies of the Coast Guardsmen?” Dirk asked.
    Burch shook his head. “Not our job. Better to leave them be and allow the proper authorities to handle the investigation. I’m laying a course for the fishing port at Unalaska to disembark the CDC scientists.”
    â€œI’d rather make for that trawler,” Dirk said.
    â€œWe’ve lost our helicopter and they have an eight-hour lead on us. We’d be lucky to find them, assuming we could even outrun them. The Navy, Coast Guard, and local authorities have all been alerted to your description. They have a better chance of finding that trawler than we do.”
    â€œPerhaps, but their resources are all thin in this part of the world. Those chances are slim at best.”
    â€œThere’s little more we can do. Our survey work is finished and we need to get those injured scientists appropriate medical care. There’s no sense in hanging around any longer.”
    Dirk nodded. “You’re right, of course.” Wishing there was a way to find the trawler, he headed down the ladder to the ship’s galley for a cup of coffee. Dinner had long since been served and a cleanup crew was working over the kitchen before shutting down. Dirk filled a mug of coffee from a large silver urn, then turned and spotted Sarah sitting in a wheelchair at the end of the dining hall. The golden-haired woman sat alone at a table, peering out a large porthole at the moonlit water outside. She was dressed in the dull medical ward attire of cotton pajamas, slippers, and a blue robe but still gave off a vibrant glow. As Dirk approached, she looked up and her eyes twinkled.
    â€œToo late for dinner?” he asked apologetically.
    â€œAfraid so. You missed the chef’s special Halibut Oscar, which was truly excellent.”
    â€œJust my luck,” Dirk replied, drawing a chair and sitting down directly across from her.
    â€œWhat happened to you?” Sarah asked with concern in her voice as she eyed the bandages on Dirk’s face.
    â€œJust a little accident with the helicopter. I don’t think my boss is going to like the news,” he said with a grimace, thinking about the expensive helicopter sitting at the bottom of the sea. Dirk proceeded to describe the events of the flight, all the while gazing intently into Sarah’s hazel-colored eyes.
    â€œDo you think the fishing boat had something to do with the death of the Coast Guardsmen and us getting sick?” she asked.
    â€œIt only goes to figure. They obviously weren’t too keen on us seeing them poaching sea lions, or whatever else they were up to.”
    â€œThe sea lions,” Sarah murmured. “Did you see any sea lions on the west end of the island when you flew over?”
    â€œYes, Jack spotted several just past the Coast Guard station on the western shore. They all appeared to be dead.”
    â€œDo you think the Deep Endeavor could obtain one of the cadavers to study? I could arrange to have the specimen sent to the state lab in Washington we are working out of.”
    â€œCaptain Burch isn’t eager to stick around the area, but I’m sure I can convince him to retrieve one for scientific purposes,” Dirk said before taking a long draw from his coffee. “We are actually headed back to port in Seattle, so we could deliver it there in a few more days.”
    â€œWe could perform an autopsy of the animal and determine the source of death relatively quickly. I’m sure the Alaska state authorities will take some time to release the cause of death of the two Coast Guardsmen, and they might not want the CDC looking over their shoulder.”
    â€œDo you think there might be a link with the dead sea lions that were