Jack always held his breath when traversing the Icefall. It just didn’t seem right that one could spend weeks climbing to the top of the world’s tallest mountain and then die within shouting distance of base camp.
After sliding down the last ladder leading out of the Icefall, Paulson strutted into base camp like a conquering hero. Climbers descended upon him, shaking hands and patting him on the back.
Jack worked his way toward a small grouping of tents flying a Paulson Global flag. He zipped open his tent, crawled inside, and located the Globalstar Yellow Pelican safety case and removed the handheld satellite telephone.
Jack entered Leah’s cell number in Albuquerque.
“Hello?” said a sleepy voice over the satellite connection.
“It’s me,” he said.
“Hey, Climber,” Leah said. “You’re finally returning a phone call?”
“I just got back to base camp.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear you made it down.”
Jack felt a sense of relief. He’d half expected the “did that asshole nearly get you killed again?” argument to continue. “Paulson bagged the summit and we’re both in good shape — physically.”
“We found something, but I can’t say a whole lot about it,” Leah said.
“Well, I’d say congratulations, but—”
“Yeah, we all have our problems. That’s not the reason I’m calling you.”
He felt irritation welling up. “Just felt like saying, ‘howdy’ after nearly two years?”
“We found… unexpected things. Some I can’t talk about and I don’t want it on text or email.” She paused. “But one thing I can tell you: red granite crystal called feldspar-rich granite.”
“You’re not calling halfway around the world for a rock-identification lecture.”
“You only find this type of granite in Antarctica.”
“Well, it sounds like you’ve got yourself a juicy mystery, Dr. Andrews.”
“You’ve spent time in Antarctica. Have you ever seen this colored granite before?”
“Sure, you might find it running in veins on several of the interior mountain ranges.”
She paused. “It probably won’t come to this, but what would it cost to charter a plane down to Antarctica?”
He nearly burst out laughing. “Charter a plane to where? It’s a continent, Dear. We’re not talking a about New Mexico here.”
“I don’t need a geography lesson,” she snapped. “I need your help — you know I can’t go to the—”
The phone clicked, and then beeped as it lost the satellite connection. “Shit,” he said. He hadn’t wanted it to go like that.
He closed his eyes for a moment and then tried to call back but only got a busy signal. He thought about a text or email, but clearly Leah only wanted to talk about whatever she’d found.
Jack put the telephone back into the hard case and sat on a folding chair. Memories and feelings had flooded back with the sound of her voice.
Paulson’s tense face poked through the tent door. “Nash is coming through the Icefall and Alex isn’t with him.”
“What happened?”
Paulson shook his head. “No one knows yet; it can’t be good.”
Jack ducked through the door and walked toward the base of the Icefall. Nash had dropped his backpack on the ground. He leaned against it, breathing heavily.
“Where’s Alex?” Jack asked.
Nash drew several deep breaths. “We made the summit and—” He paused and gazed down at the ice. “You should have seen the look on his face when he stepped onto the summit.”
“Where did you leave him?”
“He was doing fine on the way down,” Nash said. “I told him all he had to do was sing until there was no more beer, and we’d be safe.”
“You left him on the mountain?”
The smile disappeared from Nash’s face. “Fuck you, Jack. You know the rules. At some point, everyone is responsible for himself. I can’t carry a client down the mountain.”
“Where did you leave him?”
“He sat down and he wouldn’t get up, no matter what I said.” The guide shook his head. “He just kept singing.” Nash looked up. “You understand, don’t you, Al? I couldn’t just sit down with him. We’d both be dead.”
“Yeah, I understand,” Paulson said, his voice thick with disgust, “why I paid Jack Hobson to guide my ass up Everest.” He spun on his heel and walked away.
Jack was about to walk away when Nash made a fatal mistake. He flashed Jack a smile. Something inside Jack snapped. He clenched his fist and swung with all his strength. Jack felt and heard the sound of teeth breaking as his fist hit his former partner’s blistered face.
Nash dropped to the ground, blood running from his nose and split bottom lip. Other climbers silently turned away as he struggled to get up.
“You guys know the rules,” Nash said. “They have to get down themselves.” Blood ran down the front of his parka and onto the ice.
Jack turned and walked toward the Australian team’s communications tent. He pushed open the flap and looked inside. “Any chance we can get the hell out of here?”
The Aussie expedition leader nodded. “No worries, Jack. We’ve got supplies inbound by chopper in about thirty minutes. I can get you guys on the return flight to Kathmandu.”
Jack nodded and then pointed back at his ex-partner, who’d just made it to his feet. “Maybe one of your medical guys could attend to Nash.”
The Aussie grinned. “That’s nothing, Mate…. You should see what happens every night in Melbourne.”
Jack turned around and walked back into the sunlight. The billionaire stood near the communications tent, fiddling with a small bottle of sunscreen. “I’m sorry, Al. I know you and Alex were friends.”
“He deserved better.” Paulson’s grin returned for a moment. “He had more heart than brains; probably why he was such a lousy lawyer.”
“I’ve got an offer to fly out of base camp,” Jack said. “You interested?”
The billionaire shook his head and placed an arm around Jack’s shoulder. “No thanks. I met an Adventure Travel group from the USA doing an easy trek though the countryside of Nepal.”
“I’d think you’d be in a rush to get back to Candice.”
“I’m meeting her in Hong Kong on the way out. She won’t arrive for a few more days. Then we’ll get some beach time in.”
Jack felt his face blushing; he vividly remembered the smell of Coppertone and the dream he’d been having about Candice Paulson when Al had woke him for the summit push.
“Did you get ahold of Leah?”
Jack nodded. “She’s on to something but wouldn’t discuss it over the sat phone.”
Paulson locked eyes with Jack. “Is she staying away from those dwellings?”
Jack shook his head. “I’ve got a feeling Leah’s not only back into those cliffs; she’s got herself into trouble.”
Paulson studied Jack’s face. “You need anything at all, you let me know.”
Jack quickly gathered his personal gear. The balance he’d arranged to have shipped out with the Australian teams. He was zipping his large duffel closed when the sound of the Ecureuil AS350B3 high-altitude helo blades echoed through the camp. As he piled into the chopper and it took off, he looked in the direction of the summit and shook his head in disgust and sadness. It was the first time he ever remembered leaving a successful summit effort not feeling elated.
Maybe Leah’s right, he thought. A fat payday and bonus seemed shallow and irrelevant compared to the life of Alex Stein.
As the pilot swung the helicopter around, he wondered if this might be the last time he saw Everest base camp, the tent city draped in prayer flags that he’d come to feel was his second home.