Operation: Ocean Master

You were on leave in Florida when a call came demanding that you drop everything and return to Washington. Your employers had a helicopter fly you in, and then you were rushed down into the bowels of HQ. After you passed through

some ID traps, a couple of "escorts" ushered you into an office labeled "Special Operations."

When you walk in, you see a man known only as Gideon sitting behind a desk; he looks you over and seems dissatisfied. He appears to be about 60 years old. "I'm told you are our best agent," he said. "We need the best for this mission. I must warn you this is high-risk - you may back out now." The tone of his voice tells you that things might not be altogether pleasant if you do. But high-risk capers are your stock-in-trade, so you accept.

He adds, unnecessarily, that the mission must remain absolutely top secret. You will be told only what is necessary. The he begins with the briefing. "For the past few months, the fishing industries on the East Coast have been suffering the fish in the area are mysteriously dying. Furthermore, we've detected increased volcanic activity. The two things must be related."

"A while back we sent in an agent who specializes in marine sciences, code-named 'Blue Dolphin'. He made a phone call a week ago saying there was a change in the songs of the humpback whale. He said his computers were almost finished decoding the songs and that there was a good chance they were some kind of warning, probably advising others of their kind to stay away."

"He never finished his decoding; two days ago, Blue Dolphin disappeared, the tape was stolen and all other copies destroyed. We suspect Blue Dolphin may have switched sides. "I believe that the Soviets are involved, but there is no way to prove it."

Now you understand the reason for secrecy. If false accusations begin flying, it might hurt the arms talks. "Your mission is to recover the whale song tape, which could be the key to this entire mystery. And, of course, if you find Blue Dolphin, drag his sorry . .. um, well, 'retrieve' him for us. Here is a standard issue revolver. You know how to work it, I assume? Also, our research department has developed an unoriginal but practical weapon, the 'pengun' - not 'penguin' - we don't want the device to be confused with one of our operatives. The 'pengun' looks and writes like an ordinary pen, but it also launches a fast-poison dart. It is, of course, a short-range weapon.

You have your orders; you start as of now. Your code-name is 'White Lightning'. I hope you can spell it."

After his speech, Gideon signals to the escorts, and he directs his attention back to the sheaf of papers on his desk. And you are on your way toward catching one big fish - and not a Florida marlin.