Read Online Submerged by Alton Gansky - Free Book Online

afflicted.”
    “Coincidence? None of them is young.”
    “I doubt it. I think Dad wants me to find
them.” Perry shut down the computer, then stood. He closed the
album and bundled up the notebook.
    “We’re going somewhere?”
    “We’re going several places. At least I
am.”
    “You will have better luck shaking your
shadow than shaking me loose, pal. Where to?”
    “First the office. I’m going to put Gleason
to work. Then to the hospital. I’m going to check on Mom and Dad. I
also want to talk to Dr. Nishizaki. I have some questions. Then we
pack our bags.”
    “Road trip?” Jack smiled.
    “Road trip.” There was no smile.

    It was a chartered flight, and the Boeing
business jet pushed through the hazy skies of Washington, D.C. At
110 feet in length and powered by a pair of CFM56-7 engines
delivering over twenty-seven hundred pounds of thrust, it seemed
overkill to be carrying only one passenger. Finn MacCumhail was no
ordinary passenger. His name never appeared in the newspapers or on
the list of directors for government agencies, but he was known
around Washington, D.C., and his name was often spoken of in hushed
whispers. That was the way he liked it.
    At forty-two years of age, he still cut a
dashing enough figure to turn the heads of most women and to garner
the scowls of most men. His hair was short, red-brown, and hinted
at a curl. His eyes were blue and showed an intimidating
intelligence. Beneath his gray business suit was a well-exercised,
muscled body.
    Finn found a comfortable seat over the wings
and settled in. Soon the aircraft would be flying at thirty-five
thousand feet and cutting the thin air at over five hundred miles
an hour. Even at that, he was in for a six-hour flight. Over three
thousand miles separated Washington, D.C., and Nellis Air Force
Base. Accommodations would be waiting. In the morning, he’d take a
drive.
    He shifted in his seat. Reaching under his
coat, he repositioned the 9 mm pistol that was sticking him in the
ribs. Once comfortable, he opened a briefcase. A leather skin
covered the protective metal structure of the case. Inside rested
several plastic file folders. He removed the top one and set it on
his lap. Opening the folder, he studied the pictures it contained.
He whispered to himself: “Henry Sachs, Cynthia Wagner, Victor
Zeisler, Monte Grant.”
    Each photo bore a label revealing the name of
the subject and the year the photo was taken.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter6
     
     
    How is he?” Dr. Gleason Lane asked. He was on his feet the moment Perry walked
into his office. His ever-present smile was missing, replaced with
the uncomfortable look of a worried man. Perry wondered if he
appeared the same.
    “I just spoke to Mom as we were driving over
here. She called on the cell phone. They’ve taken Dad down for a
CAT scan. They’re trying to rule out a stroke. They’re still
waiting on other test results.”
    “What can I do?”
    Perry knew Gleason well and therefore knew
the question was sincere. Gleason Lane was slightly taller than
Perry, had kind blue eyes, a chiseled chin, and quick humor.
Wheat-colored hair was trimmed close to the scalp. He was the “head
techie” at Sachs Engineering and not one for office life. He
preferred outdoor tech to writing code, and that made him ideal for
the kind of work that Sachs Engineering did.
    “Keep the prayers up. What are you working
on?” Perry stepped to Gleason’s desk, a metal-and-glass contraption
that Perry found too sterile. “Desks should be made of wood,” he
had told Gleason once. “You think computers should be made of
wood,” Gleason answered. He had Perry there.
    “I’m trying to pull together a private
communications system for the South Korea project. Guess a lot of
eavesdropping goes on over there.”
    “That project begins next month, right?”
    “Six weeks. You got something you want me to
do?”
    Perry paused for a second while recalling the
details of the South Korea