Chapter 41

41

May 14, 2:08 P . M . ANAT

East Siberian Sea

Seichan sheltered with the others behind one of the Snowcats as shards of ice rained around them. Larger boulders crashed in front. Even with her face turned and her eyes closed, the flash of fire still dazzled her vision. Smoke had briefly blasted over their position, then the easterly winds had battered it back, blowing it past the tall black peak.

"All clear!" Kelly shouted.

The team rose from behind their parked vehicles. They staggered out, rubbing at ears and shaking heads. The group had retreated three hundred yards from the detonation site. They all stared toward the ice wall—or what was left of it.

A stubborn haze of smoke persisted.

Gray crossed and mounted his snowmobile. "Let's check it out."

Seichan rushed and hopped onto her Polaris.

The others prepared to follow in the Snowcats.

Gray didn't wait, clearly anxious to discover if Ryan's mastery of reading ice was as accomplished as Kelly had claimed. Earlier, they had all watched the former Coast Guard officer drill holes into the frozen wall, shape a set of charges, and place blasting caps. After making some final adjustments, Ryan had given a thumbs-up, and they had retreated.

But did it do any good?

Seichan followed Gray, racing across the ice, skirting larger blue sledges that had slammed to the ground. It took them less than a minute to reach the site. A quarter of the shoulder of ice had been blasted off the peak's side. They were forced to slow, to pick their way through the debris field.

Once close enough, Gray edged his Polaris to where the misty crack had been. He flicked on his headlamp and pointed its beam toward the center of the blast zone. Seichan drew alongside him, adding her light.

"Kelly was not lying," Gray concluded. "Ryan is a true master of icebreaking."

"Ice-blasting," Seichan corrected him.

Gray cut his engine and hopped off. Seichan did the same. They stepped together through the last of the debris field toward the ice-free wall of rock. The archway that Gray had spotted earlier now lay exposed. Past it, a rubble-strewn slope of ice descended into the peak. A blue boulder broke loose and rolled and bounced along the ice chute, vanishing beyond the reach of their light.

Gray crossed to the arched opening, running his hand over its edge. "This must be the top of a larger cavernous opening into the mountain's heart." He pointed to the end of a mast sticking out of the ice. "Not far from where those ships must have once docked when the waters were still open."

Seichan crouched and peered past the archway. "Hopefully that ice ramp leads all the way to the bottom. It looks wide enough for our snowmobiles to traverse. Maybe even a Snowcat." She stared up. "Still, we'll have to be careful."

Hanging high above them, a stubborn mass of ice clung to rock. It looked like a frozen ax waiting to fall.

"Even the vibrations from our engines could bring that crashing down," she warned.

"We can consult with Ryan. Get his assessment."

The growl of the two Snowcats drew their attention around, announcing the arrival of the others. Gray and Seichan crossed from under that hanging lip of ice and hiked out to meet them.

The lead Snowcat braked hard. A door popped opened, and Kelly exited. He strode quickly toward them. He carried a handheld radio in his hand, his expression darkly worried.

Seichan's heart pounded harder, sensing something was wrong.

"What is it?" Gray asked.

Kelly lifted his radio. "Byron just called in. There's a plane on approach, casting out a nonstop SOS."

Seichan craned her neck and searched the skies. A slight haze persisted as fine ice crystals hung in the air, reflecting the sunlight. But she spotted no aircraft.

Gray joined her, shading his eyes. "Who is it?"

"Pilot says his name is Monk Kokkalis. Claims he knows you."

Seichan's breath clamped in her throat. Gray reached out and grasped her arm, squeezing all his hope into that grip.

To the west, a small prop plane flew into view, entering the well of blue skies framed by the fogbank. It began a slow circle.

"He's requesting permission to land," Kelly said.

"Tell him to do so." Gray's voice was raw with relief. "To touch down out here."

But Kelly was not done. "Your friend says we've got trouble coming our way. Big trouble."

2:55 P . M .

Kowalski gathered with everyone out on the ice. There was much hugging and claps on backs. Even Marco had recognized his sometime-partner and had come bounding over, leaping at him in a canine greeting, one paw landing squarely in his crotch.

Stories were quickly exchanged in thumbnails of victories and losses. The latter dampened the initial joy.

"We still don't know if Bailey survived," Monk said. "We can only hope."

Kelly shoved forward, concentrating on the immediate threat. "Describe the patrol boat that's following the King 's trail."

"Definitely Russian," Tucker said. "Looks new. Especially the weaponry it's carrying. My guess is that it holds a crew of at least a hundred."

Monk nodded at this assessment. "By my estimate, clocking their speed, they'll be here in two hours, maybe less."

Gray faced Kelly. "Any further word from your navigator and radio crew? We need the world reopened. To get eyes looking this way."

Kowalski scowled. "Why? So everyone can get first row seats at our slaughter?"

"These are still international waters," Gray reminded everyone. "An unprovoked attack here, one witnessed by the world, would risk triggering a global war. Such a threat might make the Russians pause."

" Might does not instill a lot of confidence," Tucker said.

Kelly had a worse response. "Doesn't matter. Byron says the solar storm will keep us blacked out for at least another three hours. Until then, we're on our own. Which means we have only one option."

"Does it involve surrendering?" Kowalski asked.

Kelly ignored him. "We need to delay that patrol boat."

"How?" Gray asked.

The captain surveyed the newcomers. "Which one of you is Kowalski?"

Eyes turned his way.

Oh, crap .

Kowalski stepped back with a groan, suspecting why he had been called out, what it probably meant. He didn't want to raise his hand, but those stares forced his arm up.

As he did, he made a firm promise to himself.

This is the last time I travel to the Arctic.

But first he had to survive this outing.

"You're coming with me," Kelly told Kowalski in a voice that brooked no argument. He pointed to one of his crew. "Ryan, you're with us, too. Grab the demo kit."

The man nodded and strode toward one of the Snowcats.

Kelly turned to Monk. "Can you taxi us back to the Polar King ? We'll need your plane after that, too, if you're willing to fly again?"

Monk nodded. "Whatever is needed."

Kelly passed him with a pat on the shoulder. "Good man."

Kowalski sighed heavily and prepared to follow, but first he called over to Gray. "What're you all going to be doing while we're gone?"

Gray turned to the blasted wall of ice and a steep tunnel descending into darkness. "We're going to see if this patch of rock is worth dying over."