Ronnie pointed at the stripes insignia on his collar.
"I never thought I'd be wearing these again."
"Looks good on you, Gunny."
"You too, Nick. Like it used to be."
Dressed in camouflage battle gear and armed to the teeth, Carter thought Selena looked dangerous as hell. She had her laptop out, working on the Minoan text. Nick raised his voice over the noise of the engines.
"How are you coming?"
"I think I've got it. There are still parts I haven't translated but I think I know what to look for."
He waited.
"If I'm reading this right, we look for a labrys to mark the way."
"What's a labrys?" Ronnie leaned forward and looked past Nick at Selena.
"It's a double-headed axe. It was a symbol of power to the Minoans and later to the Greeks. It's ancient, no one knows when it first appeared. The labrys marked the entrance to the labyrinth."
"Where the Minotaur lived."
"Right, that's the myth. Once you entered the labyrinth, you never came out. There are some old mines and caves in Crete that might have been the original labyrinth. I've been there. They're spooky."
"What happened to the Minoans?"
"The current theory is that when the island of Santorini erupted it sent a tsunami over Crete and wiped everything out. That might have been the basis for the stories about Atlantis. Santorini was like an H-Bomb going off."
"I don't see how any Minoans got to Tibet." Carter bent over and adjusted his pack.
"According to the book there was a secret cult of priestesses in Knossos. They traced their teachings about immortality to India. Vedic Indian priests may have lived in Tibet and found their way to the Minoans. Or maybe someone changed the history to suit themselves."
"Women were the guardians of the elixir?"
"Yes. The cult believed humans could join the gods in immortal life if they performed sacrifices and took the right potions. A lot of cultures use potions or herbs to commune with gods or spirits. What's different here is the idea they could attain immortality in the physical body."
"You think that's what Yang is after?"
"Anyone who wants to take over China has an ego so big he'd think immortality was his right, if it existed. I'd bet on the uranium scenario."
"Did you find anything more about the formula? Ingredients, preparation, anything?"
"No. It's not complete. You'd have to be crazy to take it."
"Not if you tested it first," he said. "Researched it with modern techniques."
"Like on mice?"
"They already do that. There are mice that live a lot longer after scientists manipulate their genes."
"That's different. The mice aren't drinking gold and mercury, with a little radioactive pixie dust thrown in for good measure."
"You have a point," Carter conceded.
Selena went back to her computer.
He spent the rest of the flight to Texas thinking about the mission. It wasn't much different from when he was in Afghanistan. Like then, he was going into hostile territory with questionable intel.
Everything depended on penetrating Chinese airspace undetected and getting into that underground chamber. That assumed the sonar scan was accurate, that there was an underground chamber in the first place and that they could find the entrance if there was one. If they did manage to get in, they still didn't know what they'd find. He sensed a headache beginning.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Selena looked up from her computer. The decibel roar and vibration of the engines was something she couldn't tune out. She looked down the hold of the huge aircraft, all functional steel and aluminum, exposed struts, the orange strap benches, everything utilitarian and built for the purpose of war. It wasn't much like first class to Paris or Rome.
The others were used to it. The airmen were bored, that was easy to see, but this was a regular job for them. Ronnie was reading something, Nick had his eyes closed. His face looked strained and tired. He and Ronnie had probably been on hundreds of flights like this.
She was nervous and they hadn't even gotten to Texas yet. She was damned if she'd let the others see it.
She looked at the broken green and gray and black patterns on her uniform, touched the pistol strapped on her chest. The shape of her knife dug into her leg. The hard molded radio helmet was an unfamiliar intrusion on her head. She was encased in armor.
She felt like she'd fallen through the looking glass into the fantasy world of a video war game, but this wasn't a game. This was real.
Three weeks ago she'd been standing at a podium at Stanford, giving a lecture on Indo-European languages. Life was predictable and safe, if a little boring. Now she carried enough weapons to take out a small village. There was a reason for that, namely that she might have to use them, which meant someone might be using weapons against her. She wasn't at all sure she could handle it.
If that wasn't enough, she was about to jump into the Himalayas to look for a two thousand year old emperor and the elixir of immortality.
How did she end up here?
She looked over at Nick. She didn't know what to do about him. She wanted him, but she knew herself. She could fall for him. She knew enough about him to know he was wrapped in emotional armor a tank couldn't get through. She could try to break through it and the only thing that would happen was she'd hurt herself.
He was still in love with his dead fiancée. She'd be an ass to let herself love him. But damn it, she wanted him.
Chapter Thirty-Four
At Dyess Air Force Base an armed security escort met their plane. Brilliant lights lit the tarmac. A B-1B Lancer waited nearby.
Men transferred their gear under the watchful eye of a sergeant. The air smelled of rubber, jet fuel and Texas sage. The detail commander was a young Lieutenant wearing pilot's wings on his fatigues. His name tag said Markham. He saluted.
"Welcome to the 7th Bomb Wing, Colonel. You'll be ready to go within the hour."
Carter returned the salute. "Thank you, Lieutenant. We're looking forward to the ride."
"Ever been in a B1 before?"
"No."
"It's a hell of an airplane, great avionics and defensive measures. Top speed is Mach 1.2, but we can come in at a hundred and twenty knots at low altitude and lay in precision targeting. You'll be flying in one modified for combat drops of personnel and equipment."
He looked around. "Where's the rest of your team?"
"You're looking at it. Just the three of us."
Carter saw him note the lack of insignia on their uniforms. They had no jump insignia, unit flashes or name tags, just rank markings, and Selena didn't even have those. Lieutenant Markham started to say something, thought better of it.
"Right, sir. Your jumpmaster is Senior Master Sergeant Johannsen. Once you're in the aircraft, he's your boss. He'll make sure you're checked out and everything is a go for the jump. You've jumped before?"
He glanced at Selena.
"We have. Is that Sergeant Johannsen I see coming?"
The man moving toward them was compact, about five nine and a hundred and sixty pounds. He was dressed in flight gear and wore a radio helmet. Johannsen moved with purpose, tight as a spring, with no wasted energy. He had eyes of pale blue ice and the look that comes from a lot of years in the service. Nick relaxed a little. They were in the hands of a pro. He saluted and gave them the once over. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Selena, but he said nothing.