cussler.blueandgold-第39章

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h　the　forest　like　the　mists　the　other　Indians　say　they　are　made　of。〃
　
　Paul　had　been　pondering　Francesca's　story。　〃Why　would　someone　want　to　hijack　the　plane　and　kidnap　you？〃
　
　〃I　have　an　idea　why。　e；　I'll　show　you。〃
　
　Francesca　rose　from　the　table　and　led　the　way　through　torch　lit　hallways　to　a　large　bedroom。　She　reached　into　a　chest　and　pulled　out　a　battered　and　scarred　aluminum　case。　She　set　it　on　top　of　her　bed；　then　opened　it。　Inside　was　a　jumble　of　broken　wires　and　circuits。
　
　〃This　was　a　model　of　the　experiment　I　was　carrying　to　Cairo。　I　won't　go　into　the　technical　details；　but　if　you　pour　seawater　in　on　this　end；　the　salt　is　extracted　and　fresh　water　es　out　here。〃
　
　〃A　desalting　process？〃
　
　〃Yes。　It　was　a　revolutionary　approach　unlike　any　devised　be　fore。　It　took　me　two　years　to　perfect。　The　problem　with　desalination　has　been　its　cost。　This　process　would　transform　hundreds　of　gallons　for　only　pennies。　At　the　same　time　it　produces　heat　which　can　be　transformed　into　energy。〃　She　shook　her　head。　〃It　would　have　turned　deserts　into　gardens　and　allowed　people　the　benefits　of　power。〃
　
　〃I　still　don't　understand；〃　Paul　said。　〃Why　would　someone　want　to　prevent　a　boon　like　this　from　being　made　available　to　the　world？〃
　
　〃I've　asked　myself　that　question　many　times　in　the　past　ten　years　and　still　have　no　satisfactory　answer。〃　
　〃Was　this　your　only　model？〃
　
　〃Yes；〃　she　said　sadly。　〃I　took　everything　with　me　from　Sao　Paulo。　All　my　papers　were　burned　in　the　plane　crash。〃　Brightening；　she　said；　〃I　was　able　to　put　my　hydraulic　engineering　skills　to　work　here。　It　can　be　boring　just　sitting　around　being　adored　all　day。　I'm　virtually　a　prisoner　They　hid　me　from　search　parties　after　the　crash。　The　only　place　where　I　am　truly　alone　is　this　palace。　Only　those　who　are　invited　can　enter。　My　servants　were　handpicked　for　their　loyalty。　Outside　the　palace　I'm　watched　by　my　Praetorian　guard。〃
　
　〃Being　a　white　goddess　isn't　all　it's　cracked　up　to　be；〃　Paul　said。
　
　〃An　understatement。　Which　is　why　I'm　so　happy　you　dropped　out　of　the　sky。　Tonight　you　rest。　Tomorrow　I　will　give　you　a　tour　of　the　village；　and　we　will　start　planning。〃
　
　〃Planning　for　what？〃　Gamay　said。
　
　〃Sorry；　I　thought　that　was　obvious。　Planning　to　escape。〃　
　Chapter　18
　Austin　had　a　quick　breakfast　of　ham　and　scrambled　eggs　on　the　deck　of　his　boathouse　below　the　Potomac　palisades　in　Fairfax；　Virginia。　He　stared　longingly　at　the　slow…moving　river；　thinking　that　a　brisk　row　in　his　scull　would　be　far　preferable　to　morning　traffic　on　the　Beltway。　But　the　events　of　the　last　few　days　gnawed　at　him。　Having　narrowly　missed　being　killed　twice　had　injected　a　personal　note　into　the　case。
　
　Driving　a　turquoise　NUMA…issue　Jeep　Cherokee；　Austin　headed　south　and　then　east　across　the　Woodrow　Wilson　Memorial　Bridge　into　Maryland；　where　he　left　the　Beltway。　In　suburban　Suitland　he　pulled　off　the　road　at　a　plex　of　metal　buildings　so　boringly　nondescript　that　they　could　only　have　been　built　by　the　federal　government。
　
　A　docent　in　the　visitor　center　took　his　name　and　made　a　call。　Minutes　later　a　trim　middle…aged　man　arrived　carrying　a　clip　board。　He　wore　paint…splattered　jeans；　a　denim　work　shirt；　and　a　baseball　cap　with　the　Smithsonian　National　Air　and　Space　Museum　logo。　He　gave　Austin　a　firm　handshake　and　introduced　himself。
　
　〃I'm　Fred　Miller。　We　talked　on　the　phone；〃　he　said。
　
　〃Thanks　for　seeing　me　on　such　short　notice。〃
　
　〃No　problem。〃　Miller　raised　a　quizzical　brow。　〃Are　you　the　same　Kurt　Austin　who　found　the　Christopher　Columbus　tomb　in　Guatemala？〃　
　〃That's　me。〃　〃That　must　have　been　some　adventure。〃　〃It　had　its　moments。〃
　
　〃I'll　bet。　I　have　to　apologize。　Aside　from　what　I　read　in　the　papers　of　NUMA's　undersea　exploits；　I　don't　know　a　lot　about　your　agency。〃
　
　〃Maybe　we　can　both　learn　something　about　our　respective　work。　I　don't　know　much　about　the　Paul　E。　Garber　Preservation；　Restoration；　and　Storage　Facility。　Your　Web　site　says　you　restore　historical　and　vintage　airplanes。〃
　
　〃That's　only　the　tip　of　the　iceberg；〃　Miller　said；　showing　the　way　to　the　door。　〃C'mon；　I'll　give　you　a　tour。〃
　
　He　led　Austin　outside　and　continued　his　narrative　as　they　walked　past　a　row　of　identical　buildings；　all　with　low　roofs　and　big　sliding　doors。　〃Paul　Garber　was　a　plane　nut；　which　was　fortunate　for　us。　When　he　was　just　a　kid　he　saw　Orville　Wright　fly　the　world's　first　military　aircraft。　Later　he　worked　for　the　Smithsonian　and　was　instrumental　in　creating　the　National　Air　Museum。　The　Air　Force　and　Navy　had　collected　examples　of　the　planes　that　won　World　War　II　and　some　of　the　enemy　planes　they　beat。　They　wanted　to　get　rid　of　them。　Garber　did　an　aerial　survey　and　found　twenty…one　acres　owned　by　the　federal　government　out　here　in　the　sticks。　There　are　thirty…two　buildings　at　the　center。〃　They　stopped　in　front　of　one　of　the　larger　structures。　〃This　is　Building　Ten；　the　workshop　where　we　do　the　restorations。〃
　
　〃I　saw　some　of　your　work　on　the　live　Web　cam。〃
　
　〃You　might　have　spotted　me。　I　just　came　from　there。　I　worked　for　years　as　a　project　manager　for　Boeing　in　Seattle；　but　I'm　originally　from　Virginia；　and　when　I　had　a　chance　to　e　to　the　center　I　jumped　at　it。　At　any　given　time　we've　got　several　projects　going。　We've　been　finishing　up　a　Hawker　Hurricane　restoration。　It's　been　a　little　delayed　because　of　a　parts　problem。　We're　restoring　the　fuselage　of　the　Enola　Gay；　the　B…29　that　carried　the　A…bomb　over　Hiroshima。　There's　a　nifty　little　biplane　called　Pitt's　special　'Little　Stinker'　that's　getting　its　fabric　skin　
　painted。　It's　not　just　planes。　We've　had　a　Russian　air…to…surface　missile；　plane　engines；　even　the　spaceship　model　they　used　in　that　movie　Close　Encounters。　We　can　stop　in　for　a　look　on　the　way　back。〃　〃I'd　like　that。　Sounds　like　an　eclectic　collection。〃
　
　〃Oh；　it　is。　We've　got　aircraft　from　all　over　the　world　that　we're　getting　ready　for　exhibition。　Three　buildings　are　devoted　to　exhibition　restoration　alone。　This　is　a　high…class　club。　The　artifacts　have　to　have　a　story　behind　them　to　qualify　for　a　makeover。　Something　historical　or　technological；　or　maybe　they're　the　last　of　their　kind。　Here；　this　is　what　you're　interested　in。〃
　
　They　entered　a　building　laid　out　like　a　warehouse。　High　metal　shelves　ran　from　one　end　to　the　other。　Stacked　neatly　on　the　shelves　were　hundreds　of　taped　cardboard　boxes　of　all　sizes。　〃Storage　is　our　third　most　important　function；　along　with　restoration　and　preservation；〃　Miller　explained。　〃We've　got　more　than　one　hundred　and　fifty　aircraft　and　tons　of　other　artifacts　spread　throughout　the　plex。　This　is　mostly　parts　in　here。〃
　
　Consulting　a　puter　printout　on　a　clipboard；　he　walked　down　one　of　the　aisles　with　Austin　trailing。
　
　〃How　do　you　find　what　you're　looking　for？〃　Austin　asked　with　bewilderment。
　
　Miller　chuckled。　〃It's　not　as　bad　as　you　might　think。　Every　important　part　from　every　plane　in　the　world　has　something　stamped　on　it。　We've　got　plete　records　of　serial　numbers；　registration　numbers；　or　letter　codes。　Here；　this　is　what　we're　looking　for。〃
　
　Using　a　pocket　knife；　he　slit　the　sealing　tape　on　a　cardboard　box。　After　reaching　inside；　he　pulled　out　a　metal　cylinder　about　two　feet　long。　Austin　thought　it　was　the　part　he　had　sent　from　California；　but　it　was　too　shiny；　and　its　surface　was　free　of　dents　and　nicks。
　
　〃This　is　identical　to　the　artifact　you　sent　us。〃　He　extracted　Austin's　cylinder　from　the　box。　〃We　matched　the　two　objects　through　their　serial　numbers。　This　first　is　from　a　plane　that　was　
　demissioned　and　taken　apart；　which　is　why　it's　in　such　good　condition。〃
　
　He　handed　the　cylinder　to　Austin；　who　hefted　it。　Like　the　other；　it　was　lightweight　aluminum　and　weighed　only　a　few　pounds。
　
　〃What　was　this　used　for？〃
　
　〃It　was　a　water…　and　airtight　storage　container。　This　one　is　pristine　because　the　plane　never　went　into　active　service。　We　examined　the　interior　of　yours；　but　the　seawater　leaked　in　through　the　hole　and　contaminated　the　residue　of　what；　if　anything；　was　inside。　We　can　tell　you　what　aircraft　these　things　came　from。〃
　
　〃Anything　would　be　a　help。〃
　
　Miller　nodded。　〃You've　he