“Jack Hobson,” Paulson said, beaming. “Want to hop in for a ride?”
“I’ll stick to ground-operated vehicles, thank you.”
Ridley helped Paulson out of the narrow cockpit. “Guess it flew.”
“It’s a handful and primitive,” the billionaire said. “Turns like a hummingbird and has a kick like battlefield artillery.” Paulson studied Jack’s face. “I doubt you’re here to reminisce over our excellent adventure.”
Jack nodded. “I heard you came back early, and I know that means you’re busier than usual, but I need a half hour of your time.”
“Let me take a quick shower; then we can fly downtown.”
Ridley waved goodbye and left to tend to the MIG while Jack wandered about the hangar, looking over the vintage single-seat fighters. He imagined sitting in the cramped cockpit of the Spitfire during the battle for Britain, dog-fighting with German F-190s over the English Channel.
Paulson strolled into the hangar from the offices, dressed in a custom-cut blue pinstripe suit.
“All right, Jacky, let’s go,” he said enthusiastically. He led Jack to one of Paulson Global’s Bell 430 executive helicopters. Paulson laid Jack’s garment bag on one of the plush leather seats and then pointed to the rear of the aircraft where two more seats were separated by an elegant console.
Jack sunk into the hand-stitched leather. “This is a hell of a lot better than sleeping on rocks and ice.”
Paulson nodded, a twinkle in his eyes. “Damn these things are expensive, but I keep telling my CFO I can’t live without it.”
“Are we landing on the PG building?”
“We have to set down at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport and take a car to the offices.”
The pilot lifted off and flew over the airport runways, gently gaining altitude as he flew the crowded flight corridor into Manhattan.
“What’s this all about?” Paulson asked, sipping on a diet Coke.
Jack pulled one of the red granite crystals out of a pocket inside his computer case and handed it over. “Leah found this in an 800-year-old Native American cliff dwelling in southern New Mexico.”
Paulson studied the stone. “So these particular Native Americans were rock hounds?”
“There’s only one place on Earth with this specific variety of granite, and that’s Antarctica.”
Paulson looked up at him. “You’re sure this is genuine?”
“I saw the site. She was the first person ever inside it. It’s confidential, by the way. She could go to jail for federal trespassing.”
“Ha! Ms. Straight-Arrow?” The smile left Paulson’s face. “So what do you think?”
“To be honest, I was skeptical, until I saw a pictograph that I’m pretty sure shows Thor’s Hammer.”
“Thor’s Hammer?”
“It’s a vertical granite cliff located in the Ellsworth range. A vein of reddish granite crystal runs through the face in the shape of a massive hammer.”
“So you want to make a field trip to Antarctica,” Paulson said. “Take a look-see for evidence Leah’s Native Americans were hunting buffalo on ice?”
The helicopter bumped as the pilot landed softly on the tarmac at the heliport. They ducked, exiting the Bell to avoid the rotor blast, and jumped into a waiting limousine.
Back at headquarters, Karen stood inside the plush suite, her arms crossed and a disapproving expression on her face as Paulson pushed open the doors leading into the executive offices and Jack followed him inside.
“Just wanted to make sure you’re in one piece,” she said.
“What’d you expect?” Paulson teased.
“With you I never know.” Karen handed her boss a sheet of paper. “Paul Lever’s been calling all morning about the Rockingham deal.”
Paulson’s demeanor darkened. “All right, get him on the telephone.” He glanced at Jack. “I bought a large holding in Rockingham Home Appliance about three months ago. Thought we might try to make the company profitable. They manufacture a great line of products in American factories, and their strong brand identity positions them well within the marketplace, but the company is terribly mismanaged. They’ve been fighting me all the way.”
Paulson led Jack into his large corner office overlooking the city and sat on the front of his desk. “You need airfare to Antarctica, and you’re calling in all your Everest favors,” he said bluntly.
“I guess it’s pointless to bullshit you.”
The billionaire grinned. “I’m paid to think one step ahead. What’s your plan?”
“Fly to Thor’s Hammer and see if we can locate any evidence linking cliff dwellers to the region. Leah believes petrography — ancient rock carvings — would have survived hundreds of years. Other artifacts, even human remains, could be well preserved in the ice as well. If this is true, it’ll blow theories of man’s migration around the planet to smithereens. Leah’s obsessed with finding out if there is an Antarctic connection, and I have to confess, the evidence is compelling.”
“What’s this going to cost?”
Jack hesitated. “Expensive. At least half a million dollars, probably more by the time we’re done.”
Paulson sat in one of the leather chairs surrounding a cherry-wood conference table. “That’s big money to spend on a hunch. What else have you got?”
“That’s it.”
The billionaire thumbed on the smooth lacquered surface. “I owe you big for getting me off Everest alive. You know that.”
“I’m not trying to leverage you with Everest,” Jack said. “I’m doing this partly out of guilt, to be honest. It has to do with Leah and her dad and our relationship. Long story…. But in all seriousness, we could be talking about one of the greatest unsolved mysteries left on the planet.”
“Why don’t you just go to Leah’s former employer? If you have real evidence of something extraordinary, maybe they’d overlook her digging around in a national park.”
Jack shook his head. “She won’t go and I can’t force her. She’s burned her bridges there, besides. They’d cut her out of the project, even if she managed to stay out of prison.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea — you and Leah setting off on this adventure? Every time I see you with her, you end up spitting bullets. Hell, shouldn’t you be planning next season’s climbs on Everest instead of chasing down favors?”
“Everything you say is true,” Jack said. “But just like you think you owe me? I owe Leah. Plus I really think we’re on to something. See, no one’s ever been able to reconcile the explanations of why the Anasazi felt compelled to move into these crazy cliff dwellings or why they abandoned the cliff cities less than two hundred years later. Now, new evidence leads us to central Antarctica? It’s kind of… irresistible.”
Paulson whistled, shaking his head. “It makes a helluva story, I’ll grant you that.” He glanced up. “But I think it’s about more than that for you.”
Jack looked at him blankly.
“It’s not guilt or science, really, is it?” Paulson gave him a sly smile. “It’s the juice, isn’t it, Jacky? One more high-adrenalin, action-packed adventure.”
Paulson had given him an easy way out, and he took it. “I can’t disagree. I guess it’s just in my blood.”
The billionaire stood, walked over to Jack, and sat down beside him. “You were down this road before, with her, and it cost you.”
“I’ll keep her at arm’s length this time.”
Paulson glanced at his watch. “Are you staying in town?”
Jack nodded.