Captain Howell snarled wordlessly. It was all coming apart. White had sworn he could get information out of anyone, and Howell knew it was true. He had seen his aide-de-camp break older, more seasoned men than the submariner in the basement… But here he was, reporting his failure to get anything out of Morton. The People's Republic wanted information. They wouldn't pay as much for a man they had to get the information out of themselves. A man, moreover, who had already been given the works by someone else trying to get the same information. He paced the bedroom, running through his options. The information would be compromised almost before the sale went through. Nelson was no fool; he had probably already begun the process of scrapping FS1's blueprints, schematics, and specifications, preparatory to making Morton's information obsolete. There would soon be a new project on the table, and they wouldn't be able to get close enough to get anything about that.
But FS1 wouldn't be the only thing Morton could give them. There were Seaview's state-of-the-art computer systems; Howell knew well that Nelson for all his brilliance didn't know the first thing about computers. That would have come from Morton, who had always been fascinated with them. And then there was Echo. The admiral's newest brainchild, a sonar jammer that created so many sonar echoes that the submarines that carried it were almost impossible to find. It would take an expert, someone who knew how to read sonar, and knew how to differentiate the echoes from the real thing. But there were only a handful of men who could do that, and they all worked for Nelson. If Howell had to guess, he'd say that Morton was probably one of them.
Echo was far more valuable than FS1. It was so new that it was doubtful that any of the countries who might bid for it even knew it existed. The People's Republic had come to him for FS1, but if he could give them a technology they hadn't even been aware of… If he could give them Echo… Yes, that might just make the man a little more valuable, despite the fact that they couldn't get the information out of him. The People's Republic had interrogators that made White look like a gentleman. There wouldn't be any withholding of knowledge from them. Of course, they'd probably kill Morton to get it, but Howell had already promised White he could do that. It didn't make a difference to him.
He turned and targeted White with a glare. "You know that we lose if go back to the negotiating table."
White snorted contemptuously. "Isn't that what you're best at? Or are you telling me you can't negotiate a settlement, after all the work we've put in."
"You didn't get anything." Howell sneered at the man, fed up with his sense of entitlement. White always thought he could get something for nothing.
"Not for lack of trying. I thought we had something with the rats, but…" He shrugged, clearly not worried about it. "I can't break him, when I don't have the equipment I need. But the People's Republic should be able to do the job." He smirked. "All you have to do is make them pay for the privilege."
Howell turned away from him sharply, approaching the window and looking down on the fields at the side of the house. The location was a good one. No approach to the house was hidden; no escape route was unseen. There was no vantage point that didn't offer an open view of the house's surroundings. Unless Nelson's men came at night, they would be seen and it would be a simple matter to eliminate the prisoner before they arrived.
He felt a slight pang at that thought. Morton had been an expert pilot, and a good officer. He'd watched the man's career with interest, and had been furious when he'd opted to join the silent service. And, he admitted to himself, even angrier when he had chosen to accept Nelson's offer of a berth on Seaview. Howell was far from the only Naval officer who thought this new hybrid Navy proposed by Nelson and a handful of other scientific men was ludicrous. Private ships and boats crewed by civilians, commanded by Navy men and women… It was preposterous! And yet, influential men had embraced it as the future of the Navy. By proving that the Navy could cut down on its expenses by accepting private subsidization, they had ingratiated themselves with Congress, and earned privileges they didn't deserve. How would these new ships and boats respond when war came, as it inevitably would? How would civilians react in combat situations? Preposterous was too kind a word… It was laughable! It was damnable!
Yet Seaview had proved it could be done. Nelson had married his sailors and his officers successfully, producing a boat that functioned equally well as a private research vessel and a Navy nuclear boat. He had promised that she would be the first of many, and no one had any doubts that Nelson could and would deliver on his promise…
It had ticked Howell off that a man with wings would choose to muck about in the ocean depths. If a man could soar, why would he want to sink? And if he were going to sink, why would he choose to do it in Nelson's hybrid boat? Howell had done his best to destroy that boat… It had survived every attempt. And Nelson had stolen a promising pilot and turned him into a submariner… God help them all, if that was the kind of thing Nelson did to further his own agenda…
But it was Nelson's secrets that the People's Republic wanted. Dr. Gamma, the man he did business with, was obsessed with Nelson. He had crowed over killing Nelson's top man, Captain John Phillips, and he probably wouldn't hesitate to purchase Nelson's XO for the information in his head. Yes, he had a true bargaining chip… He smiled at the pun, but when he swung around to face White again, the smile had turned to a growl. "You just don't get it, do you? I've already made promises! Now you're telling me you can't keep them! Do you really think they'll want to sit down and bargain again?"
White laughed. The sound was startlingly eerie in the sun-drenched room, that dark waterfall of sound sucking the air out. "I think that Dr. Gamma will pay for anything that will undermine Nelson. Anything or anyone. Get to it, Captain. Your retirement and mine hinges on your skills now." He walked from the room, leaving Howell gasping for breath, wondering if he had ever really been in control of their little venture. Since White had come on board, it seemed as if he called all the shots and Howell was merely the lackey…