“Don’t know,” said Paulson. “Lucky we had the aircraft comms shut down. If I was the paranoid type, I’d think maybe our government had a hand in it.”
“Well, just because you’re paranoid,” said Jack, “doesn’t mean somebody’s not after you.”
CHAPTER 61
When Leah tried to stand, she slipped, falling hard onto the smooth surface. She felt a thin layer of liquid covering the floor, water that probably entered when the door shot open. She couldn’t see the water — or anything else. It was dark inside. Pitch-black.
She sat up and took several deep breaths. The air tasted thick and putrid; breathable, but barely. She felt her heart rate increase and, with a tinge of irony, realized how Jack felt when he suffered a bout of claustrophobia.
Same as crawling through darkened caverns in New Mexico, Leah thought. Simply take a deep breath, stand up calmly, find the door, hope it opens from the inside, and exit posthaste.
Leah drew in a breath and pushed herself to a standing position. She reached out and realized the doorway wasn’t within reach. It reminded her of having a power failure at home when you least expected it. Suddenly you’re completely disoriented, using your sense of touch exclusively in an environment you know so well but that seems terrifyingly alien. She took two tentative steps with hands extended, finding only empty air.
“Marko!” Her voice echoed within the structure, but she received no response. That didn’t surprise her.
The jammed door leading into the structure had been about half an inch thick. After all, during the cold and dark days of winter, the temperatures were unimaginably cold. You’d need something like that to survive.
Leah turned and faced the opposite direction, or at least what she thought was the opposite direction. She extended her arms, hoping within two or three steps she’d touch the familiar smooth surface. She took three steps forward, two more than she’d taken facing the other direction. At the end of the third step, Leah reached out but found nothing but stale air.
“Marko, open the door,” she shouted in anger and desperation.
Instead of turning 180 degrees, she turned 90 degrees. This way she’d make three steps at all points of the compass. If the wall were within three steps, she would have to run into it, so long as she continued scientifically.
Leah put her hands out in front and took one step. When her hands touched only air, she stepped forward one more step.
On the third step, her left boot struck something. She fell more out of surprise than lack of balance, hitting her forehead directly on the wet floor.
CHAPTER 62
Beckam did a re-count just to make sure all the SEALs had boarded the Globemaster while the pilots and crew readied the aircraft for flight.
“We’re good to go, Skipper,” Frantino said.
Beckam studied the body language of his crew as they settled into the nylon web seating for the long flight. He read excitement in their posture. They’d all been around long enough to know the mission was more than some training sortie. Any chance to see some real action tended to bring Navy SEALs to life.
As if reading Beckam’s mind, Frantino gave him a wicked grin. “It’s about time we got back into the shit.”
CHAPTER 63
“It’s not an aircraft,” Paulson said, feeling the surface with his ungloved hand.
“How can you tell?” asked Jack.
“The fuselage has no curvature. If it was an airplane, even a huge one we’d see some curvature to the surface.” Paulson shrugged. “My guess is a weather or science station.”
“Leah’s trapped behind this doorway.” Jack pointed to the hole dug underneath the partially opened doorway. “Follow me.” Inside, he showed Paulson the second door. “So she touches the middle part here, and the next thing she’s walking through like she owns the place,” Jack said. “You give it a shot. It all feels about the same to me.”
Paulson placed his bare palms near the center of the triangle shaped depression and felt around the smooth metal surface. “If Miss Smarty-pants got her butt in there, we can too. Let’s figure out what she did.”
Leah rolled over on to her back, her head pounding. She reached up and felt around her forehead while cold water dripped down her face.
She had tripped over something. If the object had been solid, she might have caught her balance. Instead it gave way, like kicking a rolled-up carpet. It had caught the toe of her boot, and she’d fallen over it.
Leah realized her hands were running across a rather thin but distinctly recognizable shape: that of a human face. She bolted to her feet and ran without regard to direction. On the fourth step, she slammed directly into the wall.
Paulson turned to Marko. “You sure that’s the spot she touched?”
“That’s right where she held her hand.”
“If it’s some kind of fingerprint detector, I guess it’s possible or even likely Leah’s hand has the necessary parameters needed to engage the mechanism.” He shrugged. “Actually, that makes no sense at all.” Frustrated, Paulson went back to studying the triangular impression that apparently had engaged the opening mechanism.
Suddenly the door flashed open, and Leah fell through the opening. As she crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut.
Garrett, Jack, Marko, and Paulson stood in shock as Leah lay prone on the wet deck, breathing heavily.
Jack knelt to her side. “Are you okay?”
She nodded and after three more breaths pushed herself up to her knees.
Garrett reached down and lifted one arm while Jack lifted the other.
“There’s a body inside,” she said matter-of-factly.
Jack glanced up at Paulson, then at Garrett. “What else?”
Leah pushed wet hair out of her face. “I don’t know because it’s completely dark.” She paused and then spun around to face Marko. “Thanks for opening the door. Were you guys planning to leave me in there to teach me a lesson?”
“We all tried to get through the door with zero luck,” said Jack.
“Looks like you’re the only one with the magic touch,” Paulson added.
“Yeah, well, I’ve been telling Hobson that for years.” She looked at the three of them. “If you boys can scrounge up a couple of flashlights, I’d be willing to go back inside and check it out.”
Jack studied the doorway and felt along its edges with his fingers. “We’ve got no idea what this place is — for all we know, it’s some kind of secret military operation.”
Paulson examined the walls. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea to go back inside. It could be emitting radiation. It might be the source of whatever burned out all our radios.”
“Why do you say that?” Jack asked.
“Because it’s still generating enough heat to melt a hole in the ice,” Paulson said. “That means it’s got a helluva power system. The fact that somehow Leah can open the door makes it even more mysterious. That’d make no sense if it were a military creation.”
Garrett looked at Leah. “You’ve already found at least one dead body.”
“Did you happen to notice if your hands were glowing while you strolled around inside?” Jack asked, deadpan.
“Thanks for your concern, Climber.”
“What was the temperature in there?” Paulson asked.
She shrugged. “I didn’t notice. It didn’t smell good, though.”
“If there’s a serious radiation leak, then we’re all cooked already anyway,” said Paulson. “I vote for going in if she can get the door back open.”