“What if we all get trapped?” Jack asked.
“Why don’t we try to block the door open before going in,” Paulson suggested.
Jack looked over at the rancher who’d been standing by quietly. “Garrett, what do you think?”
“I’d say let’s take a risk.”
Jack studied the sealed entry. “Marko, grab a couple ice axes.”
When Marko returned with the axes, Jack said, “So Leah works her magic, and when the door flashes open….” He showed how he would hold the axe vertically under the door. “When it drops, we’ll see if the axe can handle the pressure.”
“If so, do we all go inside?” asked the billionaire.
“Marko, I want to you stay here.” Jack said.
“Why?”
“Because if anything happens and we can’t escape, you’re to drive the snow machine back to the Las Tortugas and tell Ridley to return here with cutting torches.” Jack crouched down in front of the door. “Okay, Leah, see if you can open the door.”
Leah stepped up and laid her palm flat on the smooth surface. She slid her hand around in a circular motion, feeling for the right spot within the triangle.
“This is it.” She leaned forward, pressing her palm out flat.
The door flashed upward and Jack jammed the axe into the darkness, hoping he had it centered. He felt the shock of the door slamming down on the head of the axe with tremendous force. Far too fast for him to get his hand out of the way.
CHAPTER 64
Juan listened to the roar of the B-29’s engines in the distance. The last time he’d spoken to Ridley, the mechanic was attempting to get a handle on the oil leaks. That required cranking the engines up one at a time, identifying the leaks, and then shutting it down and repairing it while the Wright radial engine remained warm enough to restart it.
Rooster shambled over in his greasy overalls. “What’s happening, partner?”
“Can’t reach Jack on the radio,” Juan said, pointing over toward the Las Tortugas.
Suddenly the roar died, and after a mild backfire, the Las Tortugas went silent. Juan pulled the radio back out of his pocket, turned it on, and pushed the transmit button. “Hey, Mac, you copy?”
“I read you loud and clear. I’m guessing you didn’t have your radio on a few minutes ago.”
Juan shrugged. “No, just turned it on.”
“Mine got hot as hell and quit working.”
“What’s the status on the bomber?” Juan asked after examining his radio.
“We’re lucky so far. We’ve been able to fix most of the leaks without having to remove the cowlings. I’d say we’re running ahead of schedule.”
“Have you heard from Jack or Leah?”
“Jack called in and said he’d found a crevasse and what appeared to be an aircraft wreck. Al and Garrett drove over to take a look-see. How are you coming along with changing out that tire?”
Juan handed the radio to Rooster.
“We managed to remove it, but we need to pull the stem and empty the propane.”
“How long?”
Rooster looked over at Juan and shrugged. “Twenty or thirty minutes.”
“You guys aren’t going to empty that propane anywhere near the Caribou, are you?”
“Hell, no,” Rooster said with a chuckle. “We’re gonna use Juan here to muscle it on to a sled and then pull it onto open ice and run like hell.”
“We’re cooking up hot chow,” Ridley said. “How about I send Perez over with the snow machine, and instead of pulling that thing by hand, we can tow it out on open ice and drain it while having some hot soup.”
Rooster stomped his feet on the ice. “That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.
CHAPTER 65
When the axe didn’t shatter and Jack’s hands remained intact, he opened his eyes cautiously. The axe remained trapped under the door, held by such pressure that he couldn’t budge it, even by yanking on the climbing tool with both hands.
“It’s holding,” he said cautiously, “for now.”
“What would happen if the axe broke while someone was crawling underneath the door?” Paulson asked.
“You’d be cut cleanly in half.” Jack reached for the second axe and wedged it under the door. “Since Leah was able to open the door from the inside, we probably don’t need to do this, but I’m not leaving anything to chance.”
Jack dropped to the wet floor and examined the cavernous interior. His flashlight illuminated the shriveled figure, curled up in the fetal position. “I see the body. Otherwise it appears empty.”
One by one, Leah, Paulson, Garrett, and he slid under the wedged door and stood inside the darkened chamber. Jack’s narrow flashlight beam cut through the darkness, reaching up toward a domed ceiling, apparently made of the same smooth, silvery metallic surface as the outside walls and the small entry room.
The vertical walls blending into the symmetrical domed ceiling reminded Jack of visiting a planetarium. The chamber was otherwise empty, except for three table-shaped structures, set in a triangle at equal distances from the walls.
Jack knelt next to the small, shriveled shape. “This body appears mummified.”
Leah joined him but didn’t touch the blackened skin. “It looks old, possibly hundreds of years.”
“Wonder how it got here,” Garrett asked. “You think someone else has been on to this story?”
She bent down and examined the long black hair streaming off the skull. “It’s a good bet this is the body of a woman.”
CHAPTER 66
Chase Parker stood in front of the Caribou, allowing himself a rare treat: sightseeing. They had changed out the tire and secured the aircraft. The only remaining task was towing the propane-laden wheel out onto the ice.
“Hey,” shouted Rooster to his brother. “We’ve got the sled hooked up and the tire strapped down. Let’s get a move on.”
Chase suddenly held up his hand, signaling he needed a moment of silence.
“What’s he doing?” Juan stamped his feet around the ice, trying to keep warm.
“Hell if I know.” Rooster jogged toward the nose of the Caribou. “We’re all freezing our asses off back here.”
“I heard something.”
Rooster looked at his brother warily. “Like what?”
“I’m not sure but it sounded like a parachute opening at terminal velocity.”
“What?”
Chase pointed toward a white canopy spiraling downward. “Shit, we’re about to have company.” He spun and sprinted toward the snow machine. “Get it cranked up!”
“What the hell’s happening?” Juan asked.
“Paratroopers are dropping in, and I’d bet it’s not a social call.”
Juan jumped on the snow machine behind Perez. Rooster and Chase hopped on top of the propane-filled tire, now secured on the equipment sled.
“Go!” shouted Chase.
Perez let the clutch out and slammed the throttle open. The snow machine’s rubber and steel tread spun just long enough to cover the Parkers with ice before it got a bite and roared toward the Russian base and the Las Tortugas.
CHAPTER 67
The pilot-in-command nodded to Gus Beckam. They were lining up on the jump at 20,000 feet AGL—20,000 feet over the ice. The nod from the pilot indicated that Beckam should make final preparations before the air force crew cracked and depressurized the C-17 cargo ramp.
Beckam climbed down the ladder from the cockpit into the cargo bay. His four teams of six commandos each checked and rechecked each other’s gear while the load-master, wearing an oxygen mask and electrically warmed flight suit, hit the switch to open the loading ramp at the rear of the Globemaster.