Free Leap - 02 by Michael C. Grumley Page A

Langford solemnly.
    “What do the Chinese have a ship in Guyana for?”
    Langford’s voice was slow and deliberate as he continued studying the picture.  “This came across my desk a few weeks ago.  It wasn’t a priority.  The word the CIA picked up was that it was there for minor repairs.  They had been caught in a storm.”
    Clay spoke up.  “What kind of ship, Admiral?”
    “A warship.  A Corvette Class.”
    “So is it just me,” Caesare said, “or is anyone else wondering what a Chinese warship is doing in the Atlantic?”
    The Admiral said nothing, still staring into the eerie glow of his laptop screen.
    “Will,” Clay changed the subject.  “Any idea how long the Corvette has been there?”
    “I only have three months of data.  But it’s been there the whole time.”
    “Can you zoom out again so we can see them both on the screen?”
    Borger complied, zooming out until both vessels were visible as two large dots inside of the same shot.
    Clay held up a piece of paper to his screen and angled it slightly.  “Line of sight.”
    “Ideal observation through a periscope,” Caesare added.  “And pointing directly at it not only gives the Forel its smallest profile, but would also allow it to fire right up the mouth of that river.  Potentially before that ship could even make it out.”
    After a long pause, Admiral Langford cleared his throat.  “I need to make some phone calls.”

15
     
     
     
     
    Alison awoke and rolled toward the illuminated clock on her desk.
    5:24 a.m.
    She pressed her eyelids shut, hoping to drift off again, but eventually she gave up.  It was no use.  Her mind was already racing.
    She lay in the darkness for several more minutes before sitting up on the edge of the firm couch.  She used it often, especially when Dirk and Sally were there.  With a sigh, Alison stood up and turned on the light, briefly blinding herself.  She waited a moment before taking her hand away from her eyes and double-checked the time using her wristwatch.
    Quietly opening the door, she walked down the dark hallway, feeling her way along the wall.  She took the stairs down slowly and walked the length of the hallway until she spotted the wide door under a pale reflection from the moon outside.  She opened it softly and stepped in.
    The water in the huge tank was lapping softly.  Near the surface of the tank, Alison could see the darkened shapes of Dirk and Sally, floating motionless as they slept.
    Sleep was a very different experience for water-born mammals such as dolphins and whales.  The ocean was teeming with danger, which made the practice of completely shutting down the brain during sleep, the way humans did, a dangerous prospect.  Instead, the mammals slept by shutting down only half of their brain at a time.  This allowed them to remain in a semi-conscious state for protection, yet still garner the eight hours of rest they needed.
    Alison approached the tank, watching them sleep.  Sally’s eyes suddenly opened.  After a brief pause, she used a very soft sway of her tail to move down and forward.  Sally stared through the glass at Alison but said nothing.  Instead, she turned and looked at the microphone.
    Alison took the hint and turned on the computer screen atop Lee’s desk.  She then opened the window, which allowed her to turn down the volume of the speakers.  When it was done, she leaned into the microphone and whispered, “Good morning, Sally.”
    Sally moved in close to the microphone.  Good morning Alison.  You no sleep.
    She shook her head at Sally’s question.  She hadn’t been sleeping much at all lately.  “Not much tonight.”
    Why you no sleep.
    “Too much work.”  Interestingly, one of the several words IMIS seemed to have trouble translating was ‘work.'  It appeared dolphins didn’t have a precise equivalent in their language.  As a result, when Alison said “work,” the dolphins heard something more akin to their sound for