Late that morning, private charter planes, and Carla in the Learjet, arrived on Majuro Atoll. They were met with the bad news that so far, there was no trace of the plane.
The media sensationalized the news by announcing that the old plane should have been replaced long ago. Aviation experts made them look silly, by pointing out the strict service requirements and that Kate’s desire to maintain the plane in honor of her father’s memory, ensured it was fully up-to-date and better than a brand new one.
Then they changed their approach and blamed the pilot for risking the bad weather. They were soon rebuked on that one - lightning strikes were rare and seldom knocked a plane from the sky, a reasonable risk in the real world.
Soon after landing, Carla became acutely aware that Majuro Atoll was experiencing an influx of visitors, on a scale the islands had never seen before. Apart from officials and the search teams, there were news reporters and numerous dubious characters arriving. She noted their names and where they were staying, following up with photos back to Sam, for identification. He was amazed at the people interested in Max. Law Enforcement, he anticipated, but not Short and Malenkov, with their respective entourages.
Carla listened in on conversations in the local bar and soon singled out the three spooks and the eight criminals. She knew one spook personally, FBI agent Steve Wilcox, and kept well clear of him because he would have tried to drag her into the American Embassy for extradition.
She realized Max had pissed off a lot of people, which made her intervention even more vital. She also discovered there were no guns available anywhere on the atoll, so the most likely weapon anyone would use against Max could be a knife or machete.
It occurred to Carla the spooks would probably share intelligence and pool resources, knowing that they had no jurisdiction on the atoll.
The spooks might be wondering why Malenkov was here and assume he was in hiding. It was not their business to arrest him, though they would report his whereabouts.
The same would apply to Short. He and Malenkov apparently knew each other, but were not working together. They were definitely not here for a relaxing holiday, only to settle a score with Max. Sam had already briefed Carla about Max’s part in Malenkov’s downfall.
Sam also told her Short had drug gang connections and that his daughter Anna was with Max. Carla figured Short would most likely murder Max the moment he saw him and drag his daughter back home.
If her analysis was correct, Mr. Short and his men were the greatest threat because they would kill Max on sight.
Malenkov would need Max alive, to extract the bank details, and then he would kill him. Malenkov was a secondary threat.
The spooks were no threat at all. They would not intentionally kill Max but would hold him at an embassy while arranging extradition. She was confident she could scupper that.
Her thoughts were all speculative, based on the facts as she knew them. The situation was evolving quickly and could change unexpectedly, at any minute.
Sam had deliberately not told her about Victor Bryson. He had been ferried half way across the world by plane, helicopter and now by The Organization’s unique submarine, US1. He was the chief executive of VRC and would go directly to the complex to work with Conrad Phelps and deal with the crisis.
The US1 was unique, because it was built privately by The Organization and designed to be modular. Only the bow and stern were the common elements, different hull arrangements could be fitted between them.
It had many ground-breaking features in order to attract military interest. A special hull coating that prevented acoustic detection and a pitted surface, so it could slip through the water without drag, just like shark skin.
The propulsion system was also remarkable, because it used linear motors and ran silently underwater, at all speeds up to 60 knots.
The vessel was controlled by wire by a single pilot, from a spherical room as though he were inside a glass ball suspended in crystal clear water. An autonomous backup system, controlled by computer, enabled it to be used without a crew.
The current US1 hull featured a research lab, with accommodation for the 50 scientists and a large moon-pool.
As a precaution, when the plane went down, the sub was re-assigned by Sam Leighton, from research and sea bed mapping, to take Victor Bryson to the island. All the scientists aboard were given two weeks’ shore leave, until the activity near Dom Island ceased. If necessary, US1 would be used to evacuate all personnel there including the research data and the cure.
The latest news reports at the end of the day, confirmed there had been no sign of the plane. However, the search would continue.