" get out of here alive, I tell you." "Let's go!" "Incoming!" " Sorry, captain." " It's all right, son, just keep moving." "That's the future in your hands." "Heave!" "Heave!" "Heave!" " Starboard gunners ready, captain." " Lieutenant." "Fire!" "Prepare to take us into the channel." "Ahead a half." " Make revolutions for five knots." " Aye, sir." " Range, 150 yards!" " 150 yards!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "Fire!" " All ahead full." " Aye, captain." "Stop engines." " Captain?" " Stop engines!" "Run silent!" "Cease firing!" "Cease firing!" "Close the gun ports." "Hold still." " Cease firing!" " Close the gun ports!" "Mrs. Nwokolo?" "Eva Rojas, World Health Organization." "This is Dr. Hopper." " Hello." "Nice to meet you." " Please come with me." "Sorry about the dark." "The light hurts his eyes." " Thank you." " What's his name?" "Azikiwe." "Most call him Kiwe." "Hi, Kiwe." "My name is Eva." "We need to have a little look at you, okay?" " How long has he been sick?" " For two days." " Has he traveled anywhere recently?" " He was in Mali last week." "With his father." " Where is his father now?" " He's at the lighthouse." "That's where he works." "Blood pressure, 80/50." " Circulatory failure." " Drawing blood." " Easy, son." "Easy." "No, no." " Kiwe!" " Sedative, Eva." " What dose?" "Two mils." "Easy, son." "Easy." "No." "It's okay." "It's all right." "You're gonna be all right." "Just trying to help." "It's okay." "It's okay, Kiwe." "It's okay." " Your mama..." "Your mama is here." " It's okay, Kiwe." "It's okay." "You all right?" " Mali, just like the others." " Yeah, I know." " This is an outbreak, Frank." " We've got six cases." " That's not enough." " Oh, how many do we need?" "Sixty?" "Six thousand?" "When does it start to matter?" "We have to find the source, Frank." "You wanna go to Mali." "It's not gonna happen." "WHO isn't gonna lose any more staff to a civil war." " Here, finish your report." " Good." " Just in time for the autopsy." " Eva." "I'll do what I can do." "I'll re-present to the board." " And maybe they'll listen this time." " Thank you." "We still need blood samples from his father." "I'll find the father." "Hello?" "Mr. Nwokolo?" "Mr. Nwokolo?" "Hey!" "Help." "You have no business being here." "Quick, get her bag." "Are you okay?" "Hey!" "Hey, pick that up!" "What are you doing?" "Come on." "You're walking past..." "All right, guys." "Come on." "Guys, quit screwing around." "Come on." "Come on, come on, come on." "All right, stop." "All right, hold it there." "Report any variances over two feet." "Here, hold on to these." "Come on, grab it." "All right." "Come on, you piece of..." "All right, give me a wrench." "I need the wrench." "Wrench!" "Anybody there?" "All right, oil." "I need the oil." "All right, the oil." "Thank you." "That's it." "All right, we're good!" "We're good!" "Sorry." "Here." "Hi." " Al Giordino." " Eva." " Eva Rojas." " Nice work." " Thanks." " Welcome aboard." "Thank you." "All right, turn it on." "Go down." "Go, go, go, go, go." "More." "Keep going." "Hi." " How are you?" "Feeling better?" " Yes, thank you." " I'm Rudi." " Sorry, where are we?" "This is the Martha Ann." "It's a NUMA boat." "Ship." "We didn't know who you were, so we kind of patched you up ourselves." "You had an edema of the upper tracheal track." "Rudi, I've been waiting two months for this moment." "Don't mess it up for me by letting him drown." " Yes, admiral." " Diver up!" "In five, counting, four, three, two, one." "Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you after a 772-year engagement on the bottom of the ocean:" "King Bateen!" "Nice job, everyone." "Except you, Al." "What the hell?" "It's a 10-ton-rated winch, my friend, not a fly-fishing rod." "You know what?" "You're thinking of the Thompson 12-91." "Whereas you're astride a 12-93." " Not that you could operate either one." " Boys!" " Sir?" " Sir?" "The king meets the people at the museum in five hours." " Don't worry, sir." "He'll be there." " He'll be there." "He better be." "Secure those cables!" "Hey, look who's on her feet." "Thanks to you, I guess." "You were lucky to just lose your bag." "Dangerous city." "Damn it, I did lose my bag." " Nothing worth dying for, I hope." " Well, that's a tough question." "Nothing worth you dying for." "Hey, Dirk, get your butt up here so we can scrape some of the crap off this thing." " Excuse me." "The wife." " Come on, ladies, get Mr. Bateen unhooked." "Clean him up." "We got a party to go to." " Admiral?" " Retired." " Jim Sandecker." " Eva." "Eva Rojas." "I'm with the WHO." "You look like you could use a cup of coffee." " Hey, Dirk." "Hey, I need your help." " What?" " Is it left over right, or right over left?" " This better not be like last time." "I can't remember." "It's driving me nuts." "Is there something about a rabbit going around a tree or something?" "I'll be there in an hour." " What, Dirk?" " That was Oshodi." "He thinks he might have found something." "Oh, that's great." "That is fantastic." " Thank you very much." " No, no, no, no, fantastic for me." "I can't wait to tell Sandecker that you're not gonna be at the museum tonight because one of your contacts from the Nigerian underworld has found evidence of a Civil War ironclad shipwrecked" " in a storm off Africa." "Yeah, right." " Storm off Africa." "That's what you're talking about, right?" "Yeah." "Sandecker's gonna freak." " Look, Al..." " And I'll be there." "He'll turn all red." "The fox chases the rabbit around the tree and down the hole." "That's how the tie works." "Don't you worry, I'll be there." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Thank you very much." "First, I'd like to thank the Lagos museum for this magnificent reception." "I would also like to thank our primary benefactor on this project, Yves Massarde." "Thank you." "We are NUMA, the National Underwater and Marine Agency." "And this, ladies and gentlemen, is what we do." "King Bateen." " Where is he?" " He's not at the buffet." " Damn it." " Do you want another kebab?" "With the help of museums, with the help of governments, private organizations like ours can work in partnership to make sure that history, history that has been lost to the tides of time, can be returned to its people." "Thank you." "Thank you so much." "Have a lovely evening." "Do you have a CD burner on that ship of yours?" "Yes, the same one I bought from you last month." "I have a wonderful piece, straight from the Iraqi National Museum." "Don't show me things like that, Oshodi." "We're not that friendly." "Okay, okay." "Now, here it is." "A very special piece." "The one I spoke to you about." "It breaks my heart just to show it to you." "Where did you get this?" "Cash, please." "We are not that friendly." "This is a great party." " Thank you for inviting us, admiral." " The pleasure is mine." "Yves, this is the woman I was telling you about," " Dr. Eva Rojas." " Hi." "I'm delighted to make your acquaintance." "I'm Yves Massarde." "Nice to meet you." "This is Dr. Frank Hopper." " How do you do?" " How do you do?" "Yves does a lot of business in Africa." "Some even in Mali." "Will you excuse me?" "I understand you believe there is some sort of plague coming out of Mali?" "We don't like to say "plague."" " What do you think it is then?" " A plague." "So you do business in Mali?" "Do you know anyone there who could help us by pressuring the WHO to send a team?" "Well, you see, much of Mali is controlled by a warlord." "General Kazim." "Do you know him?" "Yes." "He used to be a colonel in the Malian army, and gave himself an upgrade the day he shot the president." "He's the man who put the "war" back into "warlord."" "And he controls the country?" "Half of it." "And the other half no one controls, but I don't know which is worse." "But I have to warn you, it is very dangerous for foreigners right now." "I would say it's probably more dangerous for locals." "Yes, but your death would look very bad in the papers." "So does the word "plague."" "All right, I will call some people, but at the end of the day," "I'm just a businessman, so be patient." "Oh, yeah, she's good at that." "He's not gonna help us." "This was a waste of time." "Eva, we can't just wander into the middle of a Malian civil war." "The fighting with the Tuaregs is too severe." "You know that." "I think we should go back to the hospital..." "Admiral, have you ever seen a Confederate gold dollar?" " Dear God, don't start this again." " Of course not." "The Confederacy never made a gold dollar." "The mint was destroyed near the end of the war." "Dirk, I beg you on my hands and knees." "Don't." "But not before Jefferson Davis had five samples made." "He gave four of those samples to his top generals:" " Lee, Jackson, Stuart and Johnston." " Every time we come to Africa, out comes that stupid ship model." "Out come the old port journals." "We are leaving for Australia tomorrow." "Four of those samples have been found." "But the fifth never was." "That one was given to an old family friend of Davis." "A brilliant young sea captain named Mason Tombs." "Captain of the CSS ironclad Texas." " Where in the hell did you get this?" " Frederick Oshodi." "And he got it from a man named Indigwe." "But the important thing is that Indigwe found this in Labbezanga, Mali." "Hey, my dad collects coins." "No, that coin and the Texas were on the Niger River." "It's impossible." "An ironclad couldn't make it with her draft." "Let me take the Calliope to Labbezanga, have a look around." " You can't have my boat, Dirk." " Three days, admiral." "Just three days." "Imagine." "Imagine." "All right, if I strike out, you'll never hear another word about this." "You got 72 hours." "And not a nanosecond more." "You fellas just bought yourself a boat trip." "You're a gentleman, admiral." "I don't care what they say about you." "I got a bottle says we never find it." " Make it a case." " All right." "You're on." " Okay, I'll see you later." " See you later." "Hey, yo!" " You're late." " Excuse me?" " I was told 8:00 departure." " Eight o'clock?" " I never said 8:00." " I said 9." " Nine." " It's after 10." "Who said 8?" "Admiral Sandecker." "Yeah, he said to give him a call if you had any problems." "A problem?" "With what?" "He wants you to take us up the river to Mali." " What?" " Oh, no, no, no, no, no." " Taking you to Mali?" " Wait." "There's been an outbreak in Mali." " It's going to become an epidemic." " And you wanna hitch a ride, doctor?" "What, WHO's making budgetary cutbacks?" "Please." "It's important." " You guys got enough gear?" " Probably not." "Small boat." "No privacy." "I'm not shy." "Where do you call home?" "I have a house in Monterey, but I'm never there." "Monterey." "There's great diving in Monterey." "Is that all you ever think about?" "Diving?" "No." "Sometimes I think about Petricola pholadiformis." "The angel wing clam." " Beautiful." " Yeah." "This river's the only place on earth they're found." "When they're underwater, they glow in the dark." "Now, the amazing thing is that modern science cannot explain why." "There must be a reason." "Till then, my theory is that they do it because they can." "Dirk!" "That's it." "Let's go." "Angel wings." "World would be a lot cooler place if more of us were like that, huh?" "This is the center of the cluster." "Here." "Asselar." "That's where we have to go." "Right in the middle of Kazim's civil war." "Hey, you ever been after marlins, doctors?" "Oh, no, not the marlin story again, Al." "Seven hundred and thirty-three pounds." "Five and a half hours in the fighting chair." " I thought it was 600 pounds." " Hey!" "What did you catch that day?" "I can't remember anything at all." "How long you guys been together?" "Oh, since kindergarten." "College." "Navy." "NUMA." "Poor guy's always been in my shadow." "Always the Al's-maid, never the Al." "Right?" "Nice, doc." "You're pulling your weight." " My watch, chief." " All right, my man." "Excellent." "Your friend Al told me all about your Captain Tombs and his boat." "Oh, he did, did he?" "He also said ironclads were not made to cross the ocean." "Well, neither was man." "Tequila?" "And you found a coin?" "Not just a coin." "I found the coin." "Now, I also have a letter from the captain's widow alluding to her husband's urgent Eastern voyage." "I have a sailor's log on an Atlantic clipper who swears on a stack of Bibles he saw a great iron beast steaming two miles off the African coast." "Now, what kind of man tries to take a ship like that across the ocean?" "Why?" "How?" "I don't know." "But I plan on finding out." "Al loves it when people ask me that, thinks it makes me look a bit:" "This must be nice." "To have this as your office." "Well, every great thing that's ever happened to me happened in the water." "Every one." "Hey, Rudi, come on, help me out with this." "Oumar." " You got it?" " There you go." " How long to Asselar?" " Oh, six, eight hours." "No problem." " You stay for long?" " No, not long." "All right, this one too." " Think it'll be safe?" " Oh, it's okay." "Where we go now, no fighting." "No problem." " Yeah, no problem." " No Tuareg." "Listen, I've been thinking." "When this is over, there's a place I know." "It's called Monterey." " Never heard of it." " No?" "It's got a beautiful beach." "Golden sands, aqua-blue surf." "The place is paradise." " Sounds good." " Oh, yeah." "I also happen to know a woman who has a house there." "And because she's a workaholic, she's never at home." "Now, I haven't asked her, but I'm pretty sure that she wouldn't mind if you dropped by." "Can I bring a friend?" "You'd have to ask her." "I already did." "You did?" "You, me and the bay of Monterey." "Thank you for everything." " You're welcome." " And good luck to you." "You as well." "Bonne route, doctor." "Mr. Indigwe, he lives..." "Indigwe." "He find this one week before, yes?" "You know, I'm not too much of a linguist but that didn't sound too good." "Indigwe is dead." "Yeah." "Hey, the check." "What is "the check"?" "L'addition." "Hey, you know, my dad collected ancient coins." "From Rome, China, Siam, Persia." "Somehow they all ended up in a shoebox in New Jersey." " Meaning?" " Coins travel, Dirk." "Even if that poor guy was still alive, it could have been nothing." "Yeah, but the coin traveled from somewhere, Al." "And unless it hitched a ride on the back of a dolphin," "I'm gonna guess that its jumping-off point was a little bit closer to where we're sitting." "Really, you can see that ironclad steaming up the river?" "I mean, really?" "Isn't it more likely that we missed it somewhere off the coast of Virginia?" "Right?" "Hello?" "Dirk." "I'll meet you at the boat." "No, I got the check." "Don't worry about it." "I'm serious." "I know, I get it all the time." "Sit down, I'll get the check." "L'addition." "Ya-Sheikh." "My name is Dirk." "I'm looking for a boat." "And when would we be seeing this boat?" "About 140 years ago, in 1866." "Back when Labbezanga was one of the greatest ports in Africa." "Do you know anything else?" "We use events to find dates, not dates to find events." "Well, there was a storm." "There was a great storm." "One that would have raised the depths of the Niger enough to allow the boat to get here, yes." "It is written here." "Six days after the great storm, a dark ship rode without sails under the banner of a single star." "It was driven upriver, never to return." "Bearing death." "It brought a sickness from here up to Gao and bore over 300 souls to heaven." "It was believed a damnation from Allah." "A ghost ship." "A cursed ship." "What does that mean?" " What?" " That's Arabic, Al." "Yeah." "Sounds poetic." "What's it mean?" ""The ship of death."" "Great." "Should we call Sandecker?" " No." " What ship?" "Whose death?" "He'd just tell us to come home." " Sounds reasonable." " Yeah, then I'd get a case of tequila." "Boys, we are going upriver to Gao." "All right." "Rudi, you gonna run the sonar on the riverbed?" "Come on, I was hoping to meet a girl on the Australia trip." "No, African war zone." "Ship of death." "Bye." " Got a profile." " Another truck bumper?" "Bicycle?" "VCR?" "Sixteen degrees, twenty-decimal-zero minutes north, zero..." "Wait, hold on." "It's just some interference with the buoy." " Al." " Yeah, I got it." "When did you check the calibration?" "I had it out of the water three hours ago." "All right." " Anything, Al?" " Hey, guys." "Take a look at this." "It's red algae." "That doesn't make any sense, this is fresh water." " I'd better get a sample." " Yep." "It's okay, they're just looking for Tuareg fighters." "Very well, thank you." "For you." "Join me." "Thank you." "These belonged to General Mayenne." "Then one of them actually killed the Comte de Vezelay." "Isn't that fascinating?" "Beads for the natives, Yves." "What do you want?" "Well, you know the doctors I was telling you about?" "I am afraid they're on their way to Mali." "I thought your man was going to take care of them in Lagos." " Well, we had a problem." " And now the problem is mine." "And another thing, general, if I may say," "I am slightly concerned your measures of containment are losing their effectiveness." "Why?" "Because five or six poor souls escaped from Mali" " and died in their beds?" " The disease spreads quickly." "And luckily, it kills quickly too." "General, I think you should control the movements of your population." "What's that?" "Are you trying to tell me how to run my country?" "You take care of your business, Yves." "I'll take care of mine." "Of course." " Rocks?" " Nope." " River?" "Radio?" " Nope." " Radar?" " Rudi." " You..." "That's not..." " It is." " He can't even..." " Here we go again." "I spy." " All right, something I might get." " I spy..." " I spy with my little eye..." " Guys." " Company." " This is the Malian Civil Authority." " I got it." " Prepare to be boarded." "You are trespassing in Malian waters." "Shut off your engine and throw out a rope." "Hi, this is Al Giordino speaking." "Al, Sandecker." "I presume you're on your way home with my boat?" " Everyone on deck, right now." " It's for you." " Al, what's going on?" " Where are the doctors?" "Where are they?" "We are looking for the doctors." "I have to put you on hold." "I don't believe this is a normal shakedown, Al." "If you do not shut off your engine, you run the risk of being fired upon." "The doctors." "We are looking for the doctors." "Where are they?" " Where is the woman?" " I'm sorry." "I don't speak English." "You are speaking English now." "No, no." "I only know how to say, "I don't speak English," in English." " Al." " Hi." "Hold on." "Stop!" "Stop the engines now before we open fire." "Whoa, hat!" " Did you get my hat?" " Sorry, it's gone." "That's my favorite hat." " Are you okay?" " Yeah." " Where's Dirk?" " I think he's..." "Hold on." "Dirk!" "Dirk." "I'm gonna come in." "You jump on the front." " You want me to jump?" " Get on the front of the boat." "Got it?" " Really?" " What am I...?" " Al!" " What?" "Here, flare gun." " Signal for help?" " No, shoot them." " Hey!" " Sorry." "Come a little closer, babe." "Come." "Oh, yeah!" "That is what I'm talking about." " Are you all right?" " That was close." " Al, pick up the phone." " Yeah, it was." " How about you?" " Pick up the phone." " Glad I'm driving." " Still there?" " I am too." " What the hell is going on?" "I shot a guy with a flare gun." " A flare gun?" "What?" " Cool." "What did you...?" "Did you say you shot someone with a flare gun?" "What did you...?" "Did you say you shot someone with a flare gun?" " What?" " Who?" "Don't put the phone..." "Rudi?" "Who's shooting?" "Al, who's shooting?" "Is someone shooting at you?" "You'd better not hurt my boat." "Engine two is out." "Fourth and long, man." "What do you wanna do?" " I think we need to pull a Panama." " A Panama." "A Panama?" "!" " Panama?" " You think?" "Really?" " Yeah." "Really." " No Panama." "Somebody pick up..." "They're ignoring me." "They're ignoring..." "Everybody's ignoring me." "Pick up the phone!" "Take it." "We're doing a Panama." "We're doing a Panama!" " What's a Panama?" " Navy thing." " I didn't know you were in Panama." " Weren't." "We were in Nicaragua." " Then why do you call it a Panama?" " We thought we were in Panama." "No Panama." "What are you looking for?" "Al!" "Al." "Al, I'm really confused." "How we doing, Al?" " Go help Dirk." " What do I do with this?" "Just go!" "Down." " Open the engine hatch." " Okay." "Let's go, Al." "Got it." "Here, light this." " Aren't these the admiral's?" " Just light it." "What the...?" "Whenever you're ready, Al." " Come on!" " What are we doing?" " I don't think you should be doing that." " Okay." "Drop it." " We're good." " Yeah?" " All right, hold on." " Hold on." "Okay." "Al!" "Hey, I need a life jacket." "Crap." "He did a Panama." "He did a Panama." "Cool." " Is that how it worked the first time?" " Well it didn't really work the first time." " I lost my hat." " Again?" "Yeah." "Man, is Sandecker gonna be mad when you tell him you lost the satellite phone." "Not as mad as when Rudi tells him it was attached to the boat." " Wait." "Why me?" " Because we're not going back." " Right, Dirk?" " Nope." "We're going to Asselar." " No more Texas?" " Ironclad's on hold for a while, guys." "Those soldiers weren't after us." "They were after the doctors." "I got a feeling whatever bug Eva's chasing, it must be a doozy." " We gotta get there first." " I'm going with you." " Nope, you gotta tell Sandecker." " Hold on." "Hold on." "How am I gonna get across the border?" "I never took survival training." " Consider this your course." " It's kind of pass-fail, which I always thought was easier." "Look, Rudi." "Lay up here till dark, then make your move." "The border's not far." " Okay." " All right." "Al, you remember that time in Morocco?" "Oh, yeah, when you made me ride that damn camel" " that bit my ass." " Yeah, that's the time." "Why?" "God!" "What is the secret to this thing?" "Just wrap it around your nugget." " What part?" "Here?" "This?" " Yeah." "Well, how come yours stays on?" "Maybe you got a small head." "I don't think so." "Somebody would've told me." "Thank you." "World Health Organization." "Hello?" "Is anyone here?" "Frank." "Look at this." "Anyone here?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Oh, my God." "This well was filled in recently." "I think people here knew the water was making them sick." "I still say we should let Oumar go down." "Oumar, you wouldn't mind going down that well, would you?" " No, it's okay." "I'll go down." " You see?" "Frank, I'll be fine." "Yeah, there you go." "All right, you're looking good." "You're looking good." " Give her a little more rope." " Okay." "Be careful, please." "Just take your time." "Eva." "Eva, hold on." "Eva." "Hold on." "We've got you." " You got it?" " It's okay." " Bring her up." " No, I'm fine." "Give me more rope." "Got it." "I made it." " Got water." " All right, great." "Get what we need, and let's get you out of there." "Hey, looks like we've got company." "Don't go anywhere." "I'll be right back." "Okay." "Hello there." "I'm Dr. Hopper with the World Health Organization." " You have no authority to be here." " What are you doing?" "Eva, get those..." "Oh, my God!" " Frank!" " Charlie, please don't shoot me." "Charlie, don't..." "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, do you hear that?" " This is all of them?" " Yes, sir." "The UN knows that we're here." "This is a United Nations-sanctioned mission." "Where's your colleague?" "No, no, no, no, no." "I mean, the woman." "She didn't come." "She's ill." "This pistol, it belonged to General Sir Henry Watkins." "Hard to find the rounds." "I have them made by Holland  Holland of London." "Twenty-seven pounds each." "You should put the money to better use." "Like containing this plague." "I will give you some advice." "Tell me where Dr. Rojas is." "She's not here." "Have it your own way." "Make it look like a horde of Tuareg swine just came through here." " And find the woman." " Yes, sir." "She's here." "Somewhere." "You men, set up a perimeter." "I want you to search the whole town." " Hey, Salim, come over here." " Yes, sir." "Open up a few rounds just to be sure." "Hey." "Al, little help here." "Oh, man." "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Eva." "Come on." "You okay?" " Yeah." " Come on." "We gotta go." "Wait." "Wait!" "Frank!" "Frank!" "We're done here." "We're in Tuareg country now." "We're gonna drive north about three hours till we hit the flatlands." "From there it should be a relatively easy drive to the Algerian border." "Sorry." "Eva." "Eva." "We'll get through, huh?" " This way." " Please tell me what I am doing here." "Five men shot dead in cold blood." "What do you think about that?" "Hardly my responsibility." "No, no, no, you sit, you sit." "You are a very brave man." "The only survivor." "Crawled all the way from Asselar to bring me the news." " How very commendable." " Caught in a classic Tuareg ambush," " wouldn't you say?" " Possibly." "One problem." "There were no Tuareg." "Why didn't you tell me the doctors had American military support?" " Because they didn't." " The two unarmed men who did this they were not amateurs, Yves." "Nor were the ones on the boat." " And they're the same men, I think." " They're treasure hunters, general." "Marine salvage, they call themselves." " Hardly your military elite." " Don't underestimate them." "Watch out." "And if you find them, bring them to me." "What is it?" "Get out of the Jeep." "Keep your hands up." "Move slowly." "What?" "Three o'clock." "Tuaregs!" "Hi." "How are you?" "Al, did you see that?" "No, hang on a minute." "Who are you and why are you here?" "We are enemies of Kazim." "You are American." "CIA?" "No." "I'm a doctor from the World Health Organization." "I'm investigating the source of a disease." "Come with me." "This is the disease you are looking for?" "I believe it is." "All right." "Ready to go, big D, big D." "It's not a plague." " What?" " It's not a plague." "It's a poison." "There are toxins in the water, here and in Asselar." " Toxins?" " Yes." "That's what's making these people sick." "Can you treat it?" "No." " Admiral, what can I do for you?" " What do you hear from Mali?" " Beautiful country." " Oh, kiss my ass." "I hear about a couple of American boys and their fancy yacht getting in some trouble on the Niger." "Does the agency have a presence there?" "No, it's strictly hands-off." " Carl." " What?" "I gotta get my boys out." "They're private citizens." "Now, if they choose to go down there and get themselves shot up over some sunken treasure, that is not a company problem." " I'm not asking the company." " Yeah." "You've got some nerve." "Come down here compromising my cover, and now you're gonna ask me to risk my whole career over this nonsense?" "Well, since you put it that way yes, I am." " No, you're not, because I'm not gonna do it." "I'm not gonna do it." "October 27th, 1982." " Yeah, I knew you'd bring that up." " And now I have." " If I do this, we are even." " The slate's clean." " If I do this, we are even." " The slate's clean." "I'll see what I can do." "Always a pleasure, my friend." "Benzine, heavy metals, nitrates." "Basically, the water's toxic." "I understand." "But Kazim's men followed your trail." "You must leave tomorrow at first light." "Modibo." "Eva found the same poison in the wells at Asselar." " It's over 300 miles from here." " Africa will find a place for us." "Modibo we have to find the source." "That is for you." "My duty is here with my people." "We leave in the morning." "I've heard that my car pleases your eyes." "It's a 1936 Avions Voisin." "Six cylinders, sleeve-valve engine." "Do you know there was only six of these ever made?" " How the hell did you get it?" " We borrowed it from Kazim." "Bye." "Thank you." "Okay, ready?" "I'll do it." "I'll do it." "Okay, here we go." "Come on." "New Al record right here." "I got something you gotta see." " Yeah?" " Yeah." " All right, give me a minute." " Come on!" "That is your Texas we're looking at, isn't it?" " Sure the hell looks like it." " Yeah." " Sitting in the middle of the desert." " Yep." "Hey, I am not paying off the tequila on a picture, okay?" "Ship of the desert's a camel." "It's not an ironclad battleship." "I mean, there is no way that that could get across the desert." "At one time, much of this desert was lush, green farmland, and there were rivers everywhere." "Now, the ironclad obviously came up this river and stopped at this structure, which is a fort?" "A castle?" "I don't know." "So the climate changed." "So let's say the water level dropped, and the boat became stranded." "Yeah, or sailed away." "Or the land dried up, the soil turned to dust, the sands blew in, and the ship is still buried to this day right here, next to the structure." " Okay, great." "So all we have to do is wait for the river to fill up again and sail the Texas home." " That's how it's spreading." " What is?" "The toxins." "What, in the dried-up, nonexistent river?" "No, no, no." "The same river that was on the surface 150 years ago still exists." "It's just beneath our feet now, sunk in the sand, running along the rock strata." "Now, the toxins are obviously leeching from their source into the underground river system." " Spreading from well to well." " Exactly." "So we find your Texas, we find the underground river." "We find the river, we find the source of the toxins." " Admiral..." " Not now." "Rudi?" "Admiral." "I have some bad news about your boat." "According to the cave painting, this is the place." "You know, Al, if we were here we'd be swimming right now." "Hey." "Hey, you know how it is when you see someone that you haven't seen since high school, and they got some dead-end job, and they're married to some woman that hates them, they got, like, three kids that thinks he's a joke?" "Wasn't there some point where he stood back and said," ""Bob, don't take that job." "Bob, don't marry that harpy," you know?" "Your point?" "Well, we're in the middle of a desert, looking for the source of a river pollutant, using as our map a cave drawing of a Civil War gunship," " which is also in the desert." " Right." "So I was just wondering when we're gonna have to sit down and reevaluate our decision-making paradigm." "I don't know." "Working so far." " Hey, Al." " Yep?" " Let me see the scope." " Sure." " What do you see?" " I don't know." "It looks like a solar energy plant." "That's strange." "There's a collecting tower but no outgoing transmission lines." ""Massarde Enterprises."" "Massarde?" "Yves Massarde?" "Well, whoever it is, they've got heavy security." "Let's check it out." "Come on!" "Come on!" "Come on!" "Come on, come on!" "Al!" "Come on, Eva, kick him." "Let's go!" "One, two, three." "I got you." " You okay?" " Yes." " Nice job, doc." " Thank you." " How we doing, Al?" " Great." "Get in the hole." " Admiral!" " Not now, Rudi." "I don't have time." "Yes, sir, you do." "That..." "That's not possible." "Yellow Five, report to station three." "Loading procedure commencing." "Extraction protocol complete." "Please ensure all active materials are securely stored." "Thank you for your cooperation." " What the hell is this place?" " Good question." "These barrels here are probably full of chemical waste." "They're going in that chamber they're coming out the other side empty." "They're using the solar power to superheat and vaporize the toxins." "That's smart." "Looks clean too." "That's smart." "Looks clean too." "What about those barrels?" "Hi." "How are you?" "Oh, my God." "Well, I think we found your source." "Tuareg prisoners." "These must be the soldiers captured from Modibo's village." "He thought they were dead." "This Massarde guy's really starting to piss me off." "Well, it's time to call in the cavalry." "Let's go." "Well, Dr. Rojas, I do wish you had stayed in Lagos." "So got your report." "Kind of dense, huh?" "Okay, my understanding is there's a problem with the water." "Am I right?" "Rudi?" "The water in the Niger River is being poisoned." "Right now, it's in Mali, but it's headed toward us fast." "If we don't do something, within one week it's gonna hit the Atlantic." "And when that interacts with the salt water, that growth rate is gonna explode." "The oxygen levels in the affected waters will decrease by 40 to 60 percent, killing all plant and animal life." "If it gets to the ocean, it's halfway to New York within six months." "Then there's nothing we can do." "Is that all?" "Do you have any independent confirmation?" " Nope." " Because intervening in a sovereign country, granted I'm only in the job a couple of months," "I'm pretty sure that's gonna be tough to get an okay for." " I need you to try." " Oh, I'm gonna look into this." "I am." "I'm gonna pass this on to the State Department, get their take on this." "Okay, I think that's the best way to proceed." "Thank you, gentlemen." "Al." "Where the hell are we?" "I don't know." "Where's Eva?" "So the two Americans, they're on their way, general." "The doctor?" "Well..." "I'm afraid there has been an incident, general." "An exchange of gunfire, most unfortunate." "She..." "She's dead." "Yes, general." "I'm sorry, I..." "You know, Dr. Rojas, you're lucky I'm such a gentleman." "Enabling program, phase two." "Please ensure all active materials..." "Who else knows you're here?" "This facility is a miracle of modern science." "State-of-the-art technology." "Solar energy harnessed to destroy the world's contaminants." "Not such a bad idea after all." " It's a toxic-waste dump." " It's not so simple." "You see, all new technology has enemies." "Sandstorms, for example, they chip away at the mirrors." "Productivity falls, and the waste needs to be stored underground." "So we have developed new laminate coating to protect the mirrors." "And with this new approach, our problems should now be in the past." "You're poisoning a river system underground." "It's spreading across Western Africa." "You're wrong." "That's impossible." "Securing burn chamber." "Who else knows you're here?" "The Nigerian government." "The WHO." "No one else knows you're here, do they?" "Initiate system safety check." "What are you doing?" "I got it." "Die." "Live." "You got it?" "Clear?" "Got it." "Ready?" "One, two, three." "One, two, three." "Wait." "Not good." "Not good." "New plan!" " I like it." " No!" "Well that's a new one." " Yeah." "We're home free now." "Sweet, sweet, sweet" "Run fast, she don't But she swims real well" "Racing through the water With a swish of her tail" "She's my little mermaid" "Massarde, your packages have not arrived." "Apparently they were lost in the desert." " Yes, I heard." " Tell me, Yves, the doctor?" " Promise me she's dead." " Oh, yes, yes." "Be a shame to fall out over a woman, no?" "General, I've come here to tell you that I think we should suspend waste shipments to the plant" " for the time being." " Nonsense." "The borders are all closed." "The sick are either quarantined or dead." "I did not expend all these resources only to see my profits shrink." "Yes, but I have good reasons to believe the toxins are in the Niger River." "Then the problem is no longer ours, but our neighbors' downstream." "They will soon find out." "The Americans did." "Okay, Yves, as you please." "Close the plant." "But your payments to me will continue." "Okay?" "Don't worry." "It's Africa." "Nobody cares about Africa." "This photo was taken 24 hours ago." "Normally, Kazim likes to keep his tanks where he can see them, in case the people get frisky." "This one, taken four hours ago, shows the tanks mobilizing north to the desert." "And my guess, and intelligence supports this," " they're looking for your boys." " Well, we'll have to find them first." "We already did." "Yesterday they showed up in a Tuareg village" " about 200 miles northwest of Gao." " That's within range." "You could get choppers in there if you flew at night." " But your boys already left." " Left?" "Where?" "Going where?" "Well, based on their behavior so far I have no idea." " Dirk." " Yeah, yeah, yeah." "I see it." "Well, you don't see that every day." "I bet you 100 there's a toolkit in there." "I don't wanna rain on your crazy parade, buddy, but I don't think we can fix this thing." " A little more to the left, Al." " Left." "Yeah, that's it, right there." "Right there." "We're dialed in, baby." " Hello." " Hey, admiral." " Dirk?" " How you doing?" "Oh, Dirk, thank God." "Where the hell are you?" "Well, that's a damn good question." "Listen, I've got some bad news." "Your buddy, Yves Massarde, he's got an industrial factory that's dumping deadly toxins into the Niger." " Massarde?" "Oh, Christ." " I think he's got Eva at his plant." "Which hopefully is gonna be our next stop." "Well, I've got something for you." "Rudi's got chemistry here that says if that leak's not shut down ASAP, it's gonna reach the ocean." "When it does, that'll be ground zero for the Atlantic's version of Chernobyl." " I get it." " I've got something more." "I've got word that Kazim has mobilized his troops and is heading across the desert." "We could use some serious muscle here, admiral." "Well, you're not gonna get it." "Not fast enough." "I'm getting the D.C. two-step bigtime." " And this has to be done..." " Yesterday." "I got it." "Hey!" " Dirk?" " Yeah?" "I can't ask you boys to go this alone." "Well, that's the great part, sir." "You know you never have to." "There is no more time, Modibo." "Now is your chance to hit Kazim where it really hurts." "We only have small arms." "They are no use against concrete and heavy machine guns." "But you have power in numbers." "We attack when he does not expect it." "We have to try." "Do you know what Kazim's war with us has cost my people in lives?" " In the poverty and disease it causes?" " Then come with us." "And let's finish it." "I cannot afford to have my men slaughtered in a full-frontal attack." "We cannot go with you." "I understand." "All right, we got another idea." "Can I borrow your car?" "Kazim." "Kazim!" "Had you going there, didn't we?" "You?" "Hi." "How are you?" "Zakara, go get the doctor." "Move on ahead." "Let's go." " Where is everybody?" " I don't know, corporate retreat?" "Go." "Something's wrong here, Al." "This place is completely deserted." "Modibo." "Nobody home." " Hey, Al?" " Yeah." "What would you do if you were about to be exposed as the worst polluter of modern times?" "I don't know." "Run for president?" " You'd hide the evidence, right?" " Yeah, right." "How?" "How do you hide 50 tons of industrial waste without anybody noticing it?" "You don't." " He's gonna blow the place, Al." " That's not exactly subtle." "That's what he's gonna do." "That's why it's abandoned." "Make it look like an industrial accident," " and he walks." " That's a good idea." " No, not really." " Why?" "The toxins would be sealed underground, and there would be no way to contain them, Al." "Look, to bring this place down, he'd need 20 or 30 military-grade devices, all wired for simultaneous detonation." "It would never look like an accident." "Unless one centrally placed device diverted all the plant's stored energy into one massive explosion." " Which would look like an accident." " Yes." "Well, we gotta get that bomb, Al." "No, I'll find the bomb, you get the girl." "Deal." "That's it." "Got it." "Bomb in a barrel." "Come on." "Get in." "Get us out of here." "Now!" "Come on, let's go!" " Eva." "Out, out, out!" " Don't shoot!" " Back off." "Back off!" "Move!" " Easy." "I apologize, Mr. Pitt." " This is not what it appears." " Did I miss something?" "I've seen your toxic dump." "I've seen the sick Tuareg women and kids, and I saw the dead in Asselar." " I leave something out?" " Dirk!" "Get this thing out of here, quick!" "Stay here and don't move!" "Stop!" "Eva." "How many times am I gonna have to save your ass?" "Well, in case you didn't notice, I actually saved yours." "I wasn't in any danger." " Oh, no?" " No, I'd have thought of something." "Come here." "We gotta go." "Hey, what's with the costumes?" "Uniforms?" "It's his idea." "Hey, by the way, with this plan of yours, do we have enough gas?" "Oh, stop being so negative, Al." " It's coming around on our 6." " Yeah." "It's Kazim." "Hey, maybe he wants his car back." "Al, did you bring any of the explosives from Massarde's?" " Couldn't find them." " Al." " I didn't have time." " Al!" "Of course I brought the explosives!" "Eva, I hope you don't throw like a girl." "He's coming around." "Al, I need a door right now!" "Oh, my hat!" "Damn it!" "Okay, here's the plan." "Eva, get in the back seat behind me." "Go!" " Al?" " Yeah." " Give her that bag of explosives." " Gotcha!" "All right, hold on!" "Yeah." "Eva, I need you to throw a bundle of the dynamite into that hillside every time I say." "Comprende?" " Yeah." " All right." "I'm good!" "Now!" "Get us out." "Move." "Move!" " Dirk, we need cover!" " I'm working on it!" "Oh, my God." "Come on, Eva." "Let's go, let's go." "Come on!" "Move, move!" "Eva, help me dig." "Come on, let's go, let's go!" " How we looking, Al?" " Great." "Dig faster!" "Need a little help, Al." "Go." " Al?" " Yeah." "You didn't see any extra fuel tanks on that bird, did you?" " No, I didn't see any." " That means he only has of flight time." "These walls are about 2 feet thick with a double-steel coating, so there's no way his bullets can get to us." "We just sit tight, wait him out." "Eva, down!" " Say, Dirk?" " Yeah." "You wanna talk me through that again?" " Armor-piercing rounds." " Yeah." " Are you okay?" " Yeah." "I'm fine." "Hey, Al." " No, Dirk." " Oh, yeah." "No, it'll never work." " Why not?" " It's 150 years old." "But, Al, it's hardly ever been used." " It'll probably blow us to bits!" " Well, then at least we'll die fighting." " Yeah, that's comforting." " We need to open that gun port." "What the hell are we doing, guys?" " I've gotta go outside." " All right, go." "Civil War piece of..." "That's it, Al." " Are you okay?" " Yeah." "Next time, you go." " What the hell took you so long?" " What?" " Hey, guys." " I stopped for coffee." " Get a receipt?" " Yeah, I got a receipt." " I got you one too." " You're the best, Al." "You know what?" "I'll even get you the money from Sandecker." " Guys!" " What?" "Oh, great." "Now we're really in trouble." " Incoming!" " Down!" "Okay." "If we bring down Kazim, the army will surrender." " Cut the head off the snake..." " Body dies." "Exactly." "We're gonna need cannonball, powder and fuses." " I'll get the cannonball." " Eva, I need you to find the fuses." "They're gonna be in a box this size." "They look something like carrot sticks." "Go." " 150 yards!" " How you feeling, Al?" " I got them!" " Good, good, good." "Incoming!" "Jefferson Davis had how many samples made?" " Let's get that cannon out the porthole." " Yeah." "On the count of three, we're gonna pull." "Ready, Al?" " Ready." " One, two, three." " Yeah!" " That's it!" " Bring me up 30 degrees, Al." " Yeah." "Got it." "I'm so tired of being shot at!" "Hold your positions." "Secure the area." "I will finish this." "Go!" "Go!" "No!" "Get it now!" "Get it out!" " Yeah!" " Yeah!" " Yeah!" " Yeah!" " Yeah!" " Yeah!" " Yeah!" " Yeah!" "Look, look, look, look, look." "Looks like you killed the snake." "There's no way that" " that should've worked, right?" " That should've worked." " Yeah!" " Yeah!" "Yeah!" "You know, from our point of view, the great thing is, we capped the plant." "The river's safe." "And I also understand the WHO is administering an antitoxin in the villages formulated from Dr. Rojas' samples." " Better late than never." " Absolutely." "So I trust your work on the Texas is going well?" "Giordino's on the job, making sure everything gets where it's supposed to go." " All right!" " Say, probably not true, but did I hear a rumor there's some American gold onboard, on the Texas?" "Really?" "Be nice if it were true." "No." "I can assure you, there's no gold there belonging to the U.S." "Admiral, the administration was highly impressed with the way you expedited all the red tape down here." " They'd like to fold NUMA into..." " No, thanks." "I'll never work in government again." "Which is exactly what they said you'd say." "Look, they're offering full funding in exchange for the occasional side job for the good guys." " Who decides who the good guys are?" " You only do the jobs you want." " I need a new yacht." " You got it." " And Rudi needs new computers." " No, no, no." "Done." "There's one more thing." "Negligence is a gray area of the law, Yves." "If the right people are approached and handled in the right manner," "I think we avoid prosecution completely." "Not bad, eh?" "You, me, the bay of Monterey." "You know, I was thinking." "Remember that day in the desert?" "With the car, dynamite," "Kazim's chasing us in the helicopter?" "Yeah?" "There's something I wanted to say to you that I never got a chance to." "What's that?" "You do throw like a girl." "Hey!" "You do!" "Resync by Ian091280 ing Ngayogyakarto Hadiningrat Jum'at Legi, 11 Rajab 1433H"