Sahara Page #5

and stopped at this structure,

which is a fort? A castle? I don't know.

So the climate changed.

So let's say the water level dropped,

and the boat became stranded.

Yeah, or sailed away.

Or the land dried up,

the soil turned to dust,

the sands blew in,

and the ship is still buried

to this day...

...right here, next to the structure.

- Okay, great.

So all we have to do is wait

for the river to fill up again

and sail the Texas home.

- That's how it's spreading.

- What is?

The toxins.

What, in the dried-up,

nonexistent river?

No, no, no. The same river that was on

the surface 150 years ago still exists.

It's just beneath our feet now,

sunk in the sand,

running along the rock strata.

Now, the toxins are obviously leeching

from their source

into the underground river system.

- Spreading from well to well.

- Exactly.

So we find your Texas,

we find the underground river.

We find the river,

we find the source of the toxins.

- Admiral...

- Not now.

Rudi?

Admiral.

I have some bad news

about your boat.

According to the cave painting,

this is the place.

You know, Al, if we were here

we'd be swimming right now.

Hey.

Hey, you know how it is

when you see someone

that you haven't seen

since high school,

and they got some dead-end job,

and they're married to some woman

that hates them,

they got, like, three kids

that thinks he's a joke?

Wasn't there some point

where he stood back and said,

"Bob, don't take that job.

Bob, don't marry that harpy,"

you know?

Your point?

Well, we're in the middle of a desert,

Iooking for the source

of a river pollutant,

using as our map a cave drawing

of a Civil War gunship,

- Which is also in the desert.

- Right.

So I was just wondering

when we're gonna have to sit down

and reevaluate

our decision-making paradigm.

I don't know.

Working so far.

- Hey, Al.

- Yep?

- Let me see the scope.

- Sure.

- What do you see?

- I don't know.

It looks like a solar energy plant.

That's strange.

There's a collecting tower...

...but no outgoing transmission lines.

"Massarde Enterprises."

Massarde? Yves Massarde?

Well, whoever it is,

they've got heavy security.

Let's check it out.

Come on! Come on! Come on!

Come on, come on!

Al!

Come on, Eva, kick him. Let's go!

One, two, three.

I got you.

- You okay?

- Yes.

- Nice job, doc.

- Thank you.

- How we doing, Al?

- Great.

Get in the hole.

- Admiral!

- Not now, Rudi. I don't have time.

Yes, sir, you do.

That... That's not possible.

Yellow Five, report to station three,

Loading procedure commencing,

Extraction protocol complete,

Please ensure all active materials

are securely stored,

Thank you for your cooperation,

- What the hell is this place?

- Good question.

These barrels here are probably full

of chemical waste.

They're going in that chamber...

...they're coming out

the other side empty.

They're using the solar power

to superheat and vaporize the toxins.

That's smart. Looks clean too.

That's smart. Looks clean too.

What about those barrels?

Hi. How are you?

Oh, my God.

Well, I think we found your source.

Tuareg prisoners.

These must be the soldiers

captured from Modibo's village.

He thought they were dead.

This Massarde guy's really starting

to piss me off.

Well, it's time to call in the cavalry.

Let's go.

Well, Dr. Rojas, I do wish

you had stayed in Lagos.

So...

... got your report,

Kind of dense, huh?

Okay, my understanding is...

...there's a problem with the water.

Am I right?

Rudi?

The water in the Niger River

is being poisoned.

Right now, it's in Mali,

but it's headed toward us fast.

If we don't do something, within

one week it's gonna hit the Atlantic.

And when that interacts

with the salt water,

that growth rate is gonna explode.

The oxygen levels

in the affected waters

will decrease by 40 to 60 percent,

killing all plant and animal life.

If it gets to the ocean,

it's halfway to New York

within six months.

Then there's nothing we can do.

Is that all?

Do you have

any independent confirmation?

- Nope.

- Because intervening

in a sovereign country, granted I'm

only in the job a couple of months,

I'm pretty sure that's gonna

be tough to get an okay for.

- I need you to try.

- Oh, I'm gonna look into this. I am.

I'm gonna pass this on to the State

Department, get their take on this.

Okay, I think that's the best way

to proceed.

Thank you, gentlemen.

Al.

Where the hell are we?

I don't know.

Where's Eva?

So the two Americans,

they're on their way, general.

The doctor? Well...

I'm afraid there has been

an incident, general.

An exchange of gunfire,

most unfortunate.

She... She's dead.

Yes, general. I'm sorry, I...

You know, Dr. Rojas,

you're lucky I'm such a gentleman.

Enabling program, phase two,

Please ensure all active materials...

Who else knows you're here?

This facility is a miracle

of modern science.

State-of-the-art technology.

Solar energy harnessed

to destroy the world's contaminants.

Not such a bad idea after all.

- It's a toxic-waste dump.

- It's not so simple.

You see, all new technology

has enemies.

Sandstorms, for example,

they chip away at the mirrors.

Productivity falls, and the waste

needs to be stored underground.

So we have developed new laminate

coating to protect the mirrors.

And with this new approach, our

problems should now be in the past.

You're poisoning

a river system underground.

It's spreading across Western Africa.

You're wrong. That's impossible.

Securing burn chamber,

Who else knows you're here?

The Nigerian government.

The WHO.

No one else knows you're here,

do they?

Initiate system safety check,

What are you doing?

I got it.

Die.

Live.

You got it?

Clear?

Got it.

Ready? One, two, three.

One, two, three.

Wait. Not good. Not good. New plan!

- I like it.

- No!

Well...

...that's a new one.

- Yeah.

We're home free now.

Sweet, sweet, sweet

Run fast, she don't

But she swims real well

Racing through the water

With a swish of her tail

She's my little mermaid

Massarde, your packages

have not arrived,

Apparently they were lost

in the desert,

- Yes, I heard.

- Tell me, Yves, the doctor?

- Promise me she's dead.

- Oh, yes, yes.

Be a shame to fall out

over a woman, no?

General, I've come here to tell you

that I think we should suspend

waste shipments to the plant

- For the time being.

- Nonsense.

The borders are all closed. The sick

are either quarantined or dead.

I did not expend all these resources

only to see my profits shrink.

Yes, but I have good reasons

to believe

the toxins are in the Niger River.

Then the problem is no longer ours,

but our neighbors' downstream.

They will soon find out.

The Americans did.

Okay, Yves, as you please.

Close the plant.

But your payments to me

will continue.

Okay?

Don't worry. It's Africa.

Nobody cares about Africa.

This photo was taken 24 hours ago.

Normally, Kazim likes to keep his tanks

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