eating the flesh beneath. Now even parts of the skull-the bone itself-was pitted and scarred by the same force that had feasted on the softer human materials.
Bourne, his heart thudding hard against his rib cage, realized that he was holding his breath. He'd seen this particular kind of necrosis before. Only one thing could cause it: radiation.
This answered many questions: what had so suddenly, compellingly brought Martin Lindros into the field; why this area was so important, it had been defended by ground-to-air missiles and God only knew what other ordnance. His heart sank. Everyone from Skorpion One and Two-including Martin-would have to have been killed to protect the mind-numbing secret. Someone was transshipping more than triggered spark gaps via this route; someone had in their possession uranium ore. That was what this person had died of: radiation poisoning from a leak in the uranium container he was transporting. By itself, yellowcake uranium ore meant nothing: It was cheap, fairly easy to obtain, and impossible to refine into HEU unless you had a facility more than a kilometer square and four floors high, not to mention almost unlimited funds.
Also, yellowcake would not have left this radiation signature. No, without doubt, what Dujja had somehow gotten its hands on was uranium dioxide powder, only one easy step away from weapons-grade HEU. The question he was asking himself now was the same one that must have launched Lindros so precipitously into harm's way: What would a terrorist cadre be doing with uranium dioxide and triggered spark gaps unless it had a facility somewhere with the personnel and the capability of manufacturing atomic bombs?
Which could mean only one thing: Dujja was more extraordinary than anyone at Typhon realized. It was at the heart of a covert international nuclear network. Just such a network had been shut down in 2004, when Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan admitted selling atomic technology to Iran, North Korea, and Libya. Now the terrifying specter had been resurrected.
Dizzied by this revelation, Bourne rose and backed out of the cave. He turned, took several deep breaths, even though the wind knifed into his lungs, and shivered. Giving the all-clear sign to Davis, he made his way back to the crash site. He could not stop his mind from buzzing. The threat to America that Typhon had intercepted was not only real, it was of a scope and consequence that was absolutely devastating.
He recalled the single-use triggered spark gap-the smoking gun of Martin's recent investigation. Unless he could stop Fadi, a nuclear attack would be carried out on a major American city.
Chapter Seven
ANNE HELD corralled Soraya the moment she appeared back at CI headquarters.
"Ladies," she said under her breath. "Now."
Once inside the ladies' room in the lobby, Anne went through the cubicles one by one, making sure they were alone.
"My part of the bargain," Soraya began. "The NET came in contact with fire, which destroyed half of the circuits."
"Well, that's something I can give the Old Man," Anne said. "He's out for Bourne's blood-and so is Lerner."
"Because of what happened with Cevik." Soraya frowned. "But what's Lerner's involvement?"
"That's why I called you in here," Anne said sharply. "While you were with Bourne, Lerner staged a coup."
"He did what?"
"He convinced the Old Man to name him acting director of Typhon."
"Oh, Jesus," Soraya said. "As if things aren't screwed up enough as it is."
"I have a feeling you haven't seen anything yet. He's hell-bent on reorganizing everything in CI, and now that he's got his claws into Typhon he's going to shake that up as well."
Someone tried to come in, but Anne discouraged the intrusion. "There's a flood in here," she said with authority. "Try upstairs."
When they were alone again, she continued: "Lerner's going to come after everyone he doesn't trust. And because of your association with Bourne, I'd bet the house you're at the top of his list." She went to the door. "Heads up, poppet."
Bourne sat, head in hands, trying to think his way out of this growing nightmare. The trouble was, he didn't have enough information. There was nothing he could do other than keep going, trying to find Lindros or, failing that-if his friend was already dead-continue his mission to find and stop Fadi and Dujja before they made good on their threat.
At length, he rose. After inspecting the outside of the Chinooks, he bypassed the one closest to the cave and clambered into the copter that had brought Lindros.
The interior looked surreal, like a painting by Dali: