“Circle back!” shouted Fisher.
As Briggs rolled shut the door and locked it, the pilot banked hard, taking them back toward the Snow Maiden, a mere dot against a sheet of pale white.
They swooped down, and Fisher riveted his gaze on her, searching for any signs of movement.
“That fall must’ve killed her,” said Briggs. “Probably snapped her neck.”
“Yes, she would rather kill herself than be taken prisoner,” said Kasperov. “They’re trained to do that. If there’s no way to escape, then they’ll try everything they can to commit suicide. I guess the days of the poisoned tooth are over, otherwise this could’ve been avoided.”
“I don’t think she was trying to kill herself,” said Fisher. “And I don’t think she’s dead. Just unconscious. We need to go back.”
“Nowhere to land down there,” said the pilot. “That means it’s the helipad or nothing, and you’ll need to hike back up there on foot to get her.”
“And carry her back down,” said Briggs, staring out the window. “She looks dead. She wasn’t the target. But if we need to confirm, then let’s do it.”
“Grim, we’ve got a complication,” Fisher said.
“What, exactly?”
Fisher struggled for the words. “The Snow Maiden accidentally fell out of the chopper.”
Briggs looked at him and winced.
“What?” cried Grim.
“Point is, we’re going to be late.”
“No, no way.”
“Maybe an hour. It’s nothing.”
“Sam, listen to me. We’ve got two jets inbound and they’ll be on the tarmac within an hour. They’re both owned by MCS Charter out of Moscow, a known front company for the GRU. Same company that owns that Gulfstream G650 that I’m thinking must’ve dropped off the Snow Maiden.”
“Shit, maybe she blew an alarm.”
“Or maybe they’re tracking her and she didn’t know it. Either way, we need to get the hell out of here. Now.”
Fisher stared hard at the Snow Maiden’s motionless form as the helo continued to circle overhead. They had nothing, not even the agent’s cell phone to bring back. She had to be operating rogue to head up to La Rinconada with no comm.
Fisher looked at Briggs, then at Kasperov and his girlfriend. He bit back a curse and lifted his voice, “All right, pilot. Just get us back to Juliaca. Top speed.”
The Snow Maiden waited until the sound of the helicopter grew faint.
Then she sat up, scowling over the deep aches in her back and shoulders. Was anything broken? She wasn’t sure but she didn’t think so. She blinked hard, and then it finally dawned on her — what she had just done. She began to chuckle so hard that she nearly choked.
Down below, near the helipad, some of the miners who’d been watching the helo lift off began hiking up the slope, toward her.
Grim and Charlie were waiting for them as they rushed up Paladin’s rear loading ramp. Kasperov came forward, ringed by his bodyguards, his girlfriend clinging to his arm.
“And who are they?” he asked Fisher.
“The rest of my team.”
Fisher made the requisite introductions, with Charlie shaking Kasperov’s hand and stammering like a groupie. Then, as the loading ramp groaned up behind them, Grim lifted her voice and said, “Mr. Kasperov. We can’t tell you exactly who we are, and we’re going to ask that you and your party forget everything you see here, but nevertheless, I want to welcome you aboard Paladin.”
Kasperov crossed quickly to the SMI table, throwing up his hands, his eyes growing wide and bright. “This… is this what I think it is?”
“No,” Grim said with a smile. “And you never saw it.” She tapped a few screens, and abruptly they had a live stream to Nadia’s room back at the safe house. She was watching TV, then turned at the light turning green near the computer monitor.
“Oh my God, Dad?” She moved to the video camera, her pale face filling the screen, her bruises beginning to turn purple and yellow.
“Yes, I’m here! What happened to your eye? Did she hit you?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m okay.”
“Are you sure?”
“Dad, please, we have to stay with the Americans now. We can trust them. Okay? Listen to me for once.”
“I already have,” said Kasperov. “And I’m so sorry, Nadia. I did this to you.”
“Shut up. You’re always so dramatic. And maybe what happened to us is not such a bad thing. Now you don’t have to complain about the government anymore. You’re free of them, yes?”
“Yes, you’re right. I love you.”
“And I love you.”
Grim lifted her chin. “Nadia, we have to say good-bye for now. We’ll have your father call you when we land in Virginia.”
“All right, thank you.”
Kasperov nodded his thanks and blinked back the tears welling in his eyes.
Grim faced the group. “We’ve got jump seats on the wall toward the back. Everybody needs to buckle in for takeoff.”
Charlie came over to Fisher and slapped him on the shoulder. “Great job, Sam. You and Briggs rock-starred the shit out of this operation.”
Fisher ignored the praise, his thoughts still locked on the slopes outside the mine. “Can you get me a satellite on the mountain where we lost the Snow Maiden?”
“Not sure we got anything within range right now, but we can try.” Charlie rushed over to his station and, as was his wont, banged on his keyboard in a fury that sounded as though the keys might snap off. Screens and access codes flashed by so quickly that Fisher got dizzy. Charlie patched into a satellite that snapped an image of the mountainside.
“Shit, I knew it,” said Fisher.
“Knew what? I don’t see anything.”
“That’s what I mean. She was right there. Now she’s gone. She wasn’t dead.”
“So what? We’re so gone now she’ll never catch us.”
“You tell me how she found us here?”
“I don’t know.”
“You tell me how she survived the fall?”
“Well, that’s easier. Depends on the drop and how deep and hard the snow is. Hell, during World War II the Russians ran out of parachutes and used to put soldiers inside bales of hay and throw ’em out of airplanes so they’d land in the snow.”
“Where’d you read that?”
“In high school. Was the only cool part in the whole book.”
Fisher exhaled in disgust.
“No worries now, Sam. Screw her. We got Kasperov. The Kremlin will take care of her for us.”
“Unless she’s gone rogue. Then anything’s possible.” Fisher swore and shook his head. “I hate loose ends.”
Once they’d left the airport and reached their cruising speed and altitude of Mach 0.74 and thirty-four thousand feet, respectively, Kasperov asked that he and his girlfriend be allowed to rest. They’d barely slept since fleeing Moscow, and while he’d agreed to another conversation with the president, for the time being he needed a meal and a few hours to close his eyes without that constant twitch of fear in the back of his mind.
Fisher and Grim agreed to Kasperov’s request, allowing the man and his girlfriend to sleep in the infirmary. His bodyguards remained outside, where Kobin found a new hobby in harassing them.
While Charlie and Grim continued their intel gathering and assessment, Briggs worked in the armory, cleaning and prepping weapons.
Fisher took a moment to drag Kobin away from his new bestest buddies. “You still in touch with your guy in Lima?”
“He’s looking for payment now. Maybe you can help me grease his palm?”
“Electronic transfer okay?” asked Fisher.