74 THE ASTEROID PIRATES
ters. Here they were greeted by John Thurston, a quiet, balding official of the agency whose mild manner masked a quick mind. Tom had worked with him on an earlier case when the United States was threatened by a series of mysterious earthquakes.
“Good to see you both again,” Thurston greeted them warmly.
“Trouble?” Tom inquired tersely.
“We’re not sure.” Thurston took them to a small conference room, where several other officials were gathered. Two of them were Central Intelligence Agency experts and another was Dr. Leo Palfrey from the National Research Council. Also present was Bernt Ahlgren of the Defense Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency and an old friend of the Swifts.
Thurston took a few moments to explain to Tom and his father the reason for the meeting. “As you probably know, the CIA keeps tabs on what various eminent scientists all over the world are doing.”
The Swifts nodded.
“Recently we’ve had an odd series of secret reports,” Thurston went on, “about a number of top scientists and technical experts-from a dozen or more different countries-all going to Argentina. Supposedly they left their former posts for reasons of health, or were simply traveling as DISTURBING REPORTS 75
tourists. But none has been heard from since I”
Tom and his father were startled.
“You mean they’ve disappeared?” Tom asked.
“You can put it that way,” Thurston went on. “Not one of them has been officially labeled as missing, but their whereabouts are a total mystery. Once they land in Buenos Aires, they seem to vanish from circulation. We know they’re not staying at any of the usual hotels or visiting any of the universities or research institutes. In fact, our undercover investigation has run up against a complete blank wall.”