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Pitt stared at him curiously "The Lax? I don't follow"
"Do you remember Dr Len Matajic and his assistant Sandecker flicked an ash into the wastebasket “Jack O'Riley?"
Pitt frowned, recalling "I airdropped suppliesto theo when they set up ca currents below a depth of ten thousand feet, trying to prove a pet theory of his that a deep layer of ater had the capacity to melt the Pole if only one percent of it could be diverted upward"
"What was the last you heard of them?"
Pitt shrugged "I left for the Oceanlab Project in California as soon as they began routine housekeeping Why ask me? You planned and coordinated their expedition
"Yes, I planned the expedition," Sandecker repeated slowly He screwed the knuckles of his index fingers into his eyes, then pushed the hands together and folded the them back from the ice floe crashed in the seaNo trace was found"
"Strange, I hadn't heard It must have just happened"
Sandecker put another o yesterday, to be exact"
Pitt stared at hi was mentioned in broadcast about their ac'ident As your special projects director, I should have been one of the first to be informed"
"Only one other man besides myself are of their deaths-the radio operator who took their last e I'vetherave"
"Sorry, Admiral," Pitt said "You've lost me completely”
"All right then," Sandecker said heavily "Five weeks ago I received a signal fro trek, spotted a fishing trawler that hadsocially aggressive, he returned to base and inforether, they trolled back and paid a friendly call on the fishermen to determine if they needed assistance An odd bunch, Matajic said
The ship flew the flag of Iceland, yet most of the creere Arabs, while the rest represented at least six different countries including the United Sates It seeine Rather than drift around while repairs were made, they decided to tie up on the ice flow to let the crew stretch their legs "Nothing suspicious in that," Pitt commented
"The captain and crew invited Matajic and O'Riley on board for dinner," Sandecker continued "This courteous act seeh at the time Later, it was seen as an obvious attempt to avoid suspicion By sheer coincidence, it backfired"