She found that China had a long history of stealing and imitating technology from foreign powers, primarily the Russians. Copycat artillery systems, antiaircraft missiles, and even Navy destroyers had long upset the Kremlin brass. But the Russians weren’t the only target. Several items in the Chinese arsenal bore strong similarities to American weapons. Aviation experts found a suspicious resemblance between China’s J-20 stealth fighter jet and the American F-22A Raptor. The country had recently announced the deployment of a crowd-control system identical in appearance to a device developed by the U.S. Army. And a new Chinese helicopter that mimicked the U.S.’s Apache was said to be imminent.

Engrossed in her work, Ann didn’t realize it was nearing six o’clock until her phone rang. She had covered a lot of ground but had little to show for it. She answered the call with a weary voice, becoming alert when she heard a familiar voice.

“Hi, Ann, it’s Dirk. Still at the salt mine?”

“Yes, chipping away. How are you?”

“Just fine. Say, I was wondering if you could meet me for dinner tomorrow night? I have something we need to discuss.”

“Tomorrow? Yes, that would be fine. Is it something important?”

“Could be,” Pitt said, hesitating. “I’d like to know if you’d go on a cruise with me.”

29

ANN CAUGHT SEVERAL MEN STARING AT HER AS she swept through the dining room of the Bombay Club with only a slight limp. Dressed in a saffron linen dress that clung to her curves, she resembled a runway model more than a criminal investigator. She ignored the looks as she stepped through the restaurant onto an elegant patio that overlooked Lafayette Park. She quickly spotted Pitt at a corner table.

He was seated next to a tall, attractive woman who looked vaguely familiar. With a touch of unease, Ann forced a smile as she approached the table.

Pitt rose and greeted her warmly. “No more crutches?”

“No, the ankle is much better, I’m happy to say.”

“Ann, I’d like you to meet my wife, Loren.”

Loren sprang to her feet and gave Ann a warm hug. “Dirk’s told me all about your ordeals in Mexico and Idaho. Though he apparently forgot to mention how pretty you are,” she added without spite.

Whatever instinctive resentment Ann may have felt toward Loren melted at the unexpected compliment. “I’m afraid to say that all our troubles went for naught.” Ann gave Pitt a guilty look, and described how she and Fowler had been robbed of Heiland’s research.

“That sounds like no coincidence,” Pitt said, concern etched on his face.

“More like blatant espionage,” Loren said. “We need to get some high-powered resources involved.”

“There’s already at least three FBI teams assigned to the case,” Ann said, “along with DARPA’s staff security and several NCIS investigators, besides me.” She looked at Loren, her eyes brightening in recognition. “You’re the congresswoman from Colorado.”

“Careful, you’ll blow her cover,” Pitt said with a laugh.

“I thought you looked familiar,” Ann said. “I remember your efforts to pass legislation to improve benefits and leave for enlisted parents in the military. You’re a hero to women in the armed forces.”

Loren shook her head. “They were just some minor changes that should have been enacted long ago. Seriously, though, if there are any chains that I can rattle at Homeland Security to help your case, just say the word.”

“Thank you. We’ve got the support of the Vice President as well as the White House, so I think the resources are in place. We just need a break or two so we can find out who these people are.”

A waiter arrived and they each ordered a curry dish for dinner, with Pitt tacking on a bottle of Saint Clair Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.

“How long have you two been married?” Ann asked.

“Just a few years,” Loren said. “With both our travel schedules, it often seems we’re two ships passing in the night, but we make it work.”

“The trick,” Pitt said, “is making sure the ships collide on a regular basis.”

Loren turned to Ann. “Is there a special person in your life?”

“No, I’m happily unattached at the moment.”

Their entrees arrived, all spicy enough to mandate a second bottle of wine.

“This shrimp curry is withering my tongue, but I can’t stop eating it,” Ann said. “It’s really delicious.”

Later Ann excused herself to visit the ladies’ room. Once she was out of earshot, Loren leaned over to Pitt. “That girl is attracted to you.”

“Can I help it if she has good taste in men?” he said with a grin.

“No, but if you get any ideas, I’ll cut out your spleen with a rusty butter knife.”

Pitt laughed, then gave Loren a long kiss.

“Not to worry. I’m quite attached to my spleen—and prefer to keep it that way.”

When Ann returned, they nibbled on sorbet for dessert. Then Pitt pulled a silver rock from his pocket and set it on the table.

“One lump and not two?” Loren said.

“It’s a souvenir from Chile,” Pitt said. “I think it may have something to do with the Heiland case.”

“What exactly is it?” Ann asked.

“One of our NUMA geologists identified it as a mineral called monazite. I found it aboard an abandoned freighter that was barreling toward Valparaiso.”

“I heard about that,” Ann said. “You diverted the freighter from crashing into a crowded cruise ship.”

“More or less,” Pitt said. “The mystery is, what happened to the ship’s crew? And why did the ship end up thousands of miles off course?”

“Was it hijacked?”

“It was a bulk carrier, supposedly loaded with bauxite from a mine in Australia. By all appearances, the cargo was of limited value. We discovered that of the ship’s five holds, three contained bauxite, but the two aft were empty.” Pitt picked up the rock. “I found this chunk of monazite by one of the empty holds.”

“You think the monazite was stolen from the ship?” Ann asked.

“I do.”

“Why would someone steal that and not the bauxite?” Loren asked.

“I had the rock assayed, and the results were quite interesting. This particular monazite contains a high concentration of neodymium and lanthanum.”

Loren smiled. “Sounds like a disease.”

“They are actually two of the seventeen elements known as rare earth metals, several of which are in very high demand by industry.”

“Of course,” Loren said. “We held a congressional hearing on the limited supply of rare earth elements. They’re used in a large number of high-tech products, including hybrid cars and wind turbines.”

“And a few key defense technologies,” Pitt said.

“As I recall,” Loren said, “China is the dominant producer of rare earth elements. In fact, there’s only a handful of other active mines around the world.”

“Russia, India, Australia, and our own mine in California round out the bulk of global production,” Pitt said.

Ann shook her head. “I don’t see what this rock has to do with the Heiland case.”

“It may have absolutely nothing to do with it,” Pitt said, “but there are two interesting coincidences. The first is that clump of monazite in your hands. The neodymium it contains happens to be a key material in the Sea Arrow’s propulsion motors.”

“How could you possibly know that?” Ann asked.

“My information systems manager at NUMA found that several rare earth elements were critical components in the propulsion system of the new Zumwalt class of Navy destroyer. Some additional digging and guesswork led us to conclude they would be even more important to the Sea Arrow’s electric motors.”

“I’d have to verify that, but I don’t doubt that’s true,” Ann said. “Still, I don’t see a significant connection.”

“Maybe not,” Pitt said, “yet there is a second curious link—the DARPA scientist killed on the Cuttlefish, Joe Eberson. I’ll wager that he didn’t die by drowning but was killed by an acute dose of electromagnetic radiation.”