Carter heads to the Florida Keys and visits a bar frequented by Benson and meets a woman who introduces herself as Ingra Brand – who matches eyewitness accounts of the person responsible for the hit and run death.
Carter discovers that while he was drugged the sheriff and his deputy injected him with X-L Fluid – a substance that enhances the detection of alpha particles from radioactive sources – allowing suspects to be tracked without their knowledge.
Hawk orders Carter and Baron to investigate a high-security NASA facility at Cape Sable, Florida – where Ingra Brand has recently worked on a secret missile system codenamed Project PHO.
Disguised as millionaire sports fisherman, Neill Crawford, Carter picks up Ingra Brand in a bar, administers an AXE truth drug, and interrogates her about the hit-and-run death of the CIA agent.
Carter sets out to investigate the supposed Aquacity underwater construction project being built near Peligro (Spanish for 'danger') Key by Texan millionaire AK Atchinson.
Investigating further, Carter discovers an almost deserted mansion where AK Atchinson lives as a reclusive drugged zombie whose business empire has been taken over by Ilse Lautenbach and Judas to support their clandestine underwater construction project.
Judas is actually overseeing construction of a massive 26-mile-long underwater tunnel from Peligro Key to Cape Sable where he intends to steal the computerized missile guidance system and destroy the base to prevent discovery of the theft.
At Cape Sable, Julia Baron attempts to stop Ilse Lautenbach and CLAW henchmen from removing the missile guidance system.
Carter is forced to return to Peligro Key when he discovers that Judas has captured Julia and she is about to be operated on alive by Dr Orff – a former Nazi doctor.
Prof Brand foils Judas' attempt to leave Peligro Key with the missile component as Carter kills Ilse Lautenbach with Pierre the poison gas bomb.