Sing clapped hands to his head in a gesture of self-annoyance. "I forgot. A letter came. One of the consulate guards, a Chinese who knows this part of the world, brought it from Chungking. It may be from Mr. Bradley, because it came originally from Hong Kong."
Zircon took the envelope while Rick, Scotty, and Chahda looked over his shoulder. The envelope was marked for delivery from Hong Kong to Chungking via diplomatic pouch. It was addressed to Zircon, with the note, "Urgent. Forward by messenger." Bradley's initials were signed to it.
The scientist ripped the envelope open and, looking around to be sure Long Shadow and Ko were out of earshot, he read:
"'Have all the answers except the source. When you find it, destroy it if possible. If you get Long Shadow or Worthington Ko, don't bother bringing them back to Hong Kong, if they're still alive. Leave them at Korse Lenken. Cable me from Chungking when you return.'"
It was signed "Bradley."
"I like his confidence in us," Zircon remarked. "Not 'if,' but 'when.'"
"My boss does not know what it means to fail," Chahda said.
"I can see one failure," Zircon remarked. "How does one destroy a body of water?"
Scotty's forehead wrinkled thoughtfully. "Couldn't we stir it up? The heavy water is all at the bottom. If we could give it a stir, the heavy stuff would mix with the rest."
"But would maybe settle right back," Chahda objected.