Read Online Undersea Prison by Duncan Falconer - Free Book Online Page B

the meeting director - for the time being, anyway. His final decision would depend on the ideas and suggestions of the two men in front of him. Van der Seiff and Jervis were the ideal pair to devise an operation of the complexity and subtlety required and were clearly curious to hear more. The prospect of an interesting challenge was probably the only reason keeping them in the room. If they could convince Nevins that it was possible to get to Durrani then he would go along with it. But despite his positive leanings, that would not be easy.
    ‘Let’s move on then, Sumners,’ Nevins said. ‘And since your flair for suspense is not appreciated why don’t you cut straight to where Durrani is being held?’
    ‘Yes, sir,’ Sumners said, pursing his mouth in irritation at being the butt of Van der Seiff’s sarcasm and striking a selection of keys.
    A schematic diagram appeared on the screen. It looked like a hill containing dozens of engineered tunnels and compartments in various layers with a large portion of the excavation beneath ground level. As the schematic turned on its axis, showing plan as well as side elevations, more detailed illustrations were speedily created. A slender cord grew skyward out of the top of the hill, curving like a snake.When it reached a considerable height a large barge-like construction with several compartments began to take shape. Antennae protruded from it and it moved gently as if on water. A pair of cable cars left a floating platform and moved at a steep angle down to the hill on a system of heavy-duty wires. Machinery appeared in the lower hollows of the hill with conduits and hawsers fanning throughout the complex, some following the tunnels while others created their own ducts leading to dozens of small rooms in neat rows on several levels.
    ‘Styx,’ Jervis mumbled.
    ‘That’s right, sir,’ Sumners said. ‘The undersea prison. Destination of America’s highest-category prisoners.And since the announced closure of Guantánamo it has also become a terrorist-detention centre.’
    Van der Seiff glanced at Jervis who was grinning slightly. Jervis raised his eyebrows at him in a manner that suggested he thought the situation was becoming much more interesting.
    ‘It’s immediately obvious why the minister hopes that time may be on our side,’ Nevins said.
    ‘Durrani won’t be going anywhere for a long time,’ Jervis surmised.
    Nevins looked at him as if he might not entirely agree with the comment, a sentiment that Van der Seiff appeared to share. Jervis caught the subtle flicker in both their expressions and narrowed his eyes. ‘Why would that not be true?’
    ‘There’s a rumble in the jungle,’ Nevins replied. ‘Styx may be in trouble. Something’s going on down below but we’re not entirely sure what. It may be a combination of things. We initially assumed the problem was to do with rumours about the CIA using unconventional interrogation techniques. But it could be worse than that. Public interest in Styx has grown with the transfer of prisoners from Guantánamo Bay to the underwater facility. Human-rights groups, the media and political opposition groups are unhappy that they can’t even get close enough to look through the bars.’
    ‘Excuse me, sir,’ Sumners interrupted politely. He had started off the briefing feeling a little nervous but Nevins’s increasing encroachments on what he regarded as his patch were now beginning to irritate him. ‘I can expand on that subject.’
    ‘Go ahead. Go ahead,’ Nevins said.
    ‘Our analysts have prioritised their trawling for anything related to Styx and they’ve come up with some interesting threads. On the subject of interrogation, it would seem that the CIA receives a level of cooperation from the facility’s civilian management.The deduction is that the interrogations, under the guidance of the Central Intelligence Agency, may involve pressure and therefore require the assistance of the prison’s life-support