AXE chief, David Hawk, summons US secret agent, Nick Carter, to a meeting with the CIA in San Diego.
CIA surveillance of the Chinese nuclear submarine fleet reveals that one of them is missing; it is suspected of bringing in supplies of quality printing paper to the counterfeiters.
Immediately after the briefing Carter embarks on a US Navy submarine (USS Homer S. Jones) to take him to the Mexican coast with orders to smash the counterfeiting operation.
El Tigre informs Carter that his men saw Maxwell Harper (Gerda's business partner) kill the SS man.
At an arranged time, Gerda will leave the library allowing Carter to emerge from the secret hiding place and shoot the two men.
During the meeting, Hurtado reveals that he knows Harper is a double agent – working for China and Russia, which is why the Serpent Party and counterfeit distribution are not doing as well as expected.
Carter destroys two Chinese mini submarines used to distribute the counterfeit notes and calls for support from the USS Homer S. Jones.
She and her parents escaped to Mexico after World War II with genuine printing plates for US banknotes secretly obtained by the Abwehr.
Unable to use them for years due to a lack of proper paper, she recently teamed up with Chinese spies to produce counterfeit money to support the Serpent Party and destabilize the US economy.