Thor didn’t mince words. “We freeze to death.”
Tower’s lips pressed into a frown. “You’ll take survival gear—enough to hold out several days on the ice, if necessary.”
Thor glanced at his smartphone. “It’s minus fifty-seven Celcius there right now—minus eighty-two with the wind chill. Antarctic storms can bring katabatic winds that are equivalent to a Category Four hurricane. But, sure, let’s take a tent and maybe some hot cocoa with marshmallows, too.”
Segal snorted. “Smartass.”
Jones looked worried. “How about a snow cave or sheltering on the plane?”
Thor shook his head. “It’s not snow. It’s ice. You don’t dig. You drill. The plane’s fuel will quickly turn to unusable slush, and then we freeze.”
Segal looked at satellite photos of the crash site. “How do we know the components we need to remove are accessible? What if they’re buried in the ice?”
Tower answered. “The Pentagon has a scientist at the station who will handle that part of the operation, someone who has experience with space tech. It’s our job to get that person to the site and keep them safe.”
“Are we expecting polar bears?” Segal asked.
“There is no life inland in Antarctica.” Tower pointed toward a black dot on the map. “But Vostok Station—the year-round Russian base—is four-hundred fifty miles from the crash site. The Russians have kindly offered to help our salvage efforts, but Washington has declined.”
“Intelligence believes the Russians are behind the hack?” Segal asked.
“It’s all speculation at this point. It could be the Russians. It could be the Chinese. Both have bases within striking distance of the crash site, though Kunlun, the Chinese station, isn’t staffed during the winter.”
“If it’s the Russians, the team at Vostok might have known about it ahead of time.” Thor was just stating the obvious. “In the time it takes us to get to Antarctica, they could easily beat us to the crash site. Also, this area of the continent—Dome A—has the coldest temperatures ever recorded on earth.”
He’d been researching Antarctica since they took off from Denver.
The four of them sat in silence, the full scope of this operation hitting home.
“You should know that the NSF—the National Science Foundation—has fought the Pentagon every step of the way on this,” Tower said. “By treaty, no nation is allowed to have a military presence in Antarctica unless the military serves a scientific purpose. That’s why they’re sending us. You’re security, nothing more. You’ll go in armed with revolvers and bolt-action Enfield rifles—”
“Bolt-action rifles?” Jones stared at Tower as if he’d lost his mind.
Thor laid it out for him. “Your M4 would freeze up in the cold. We carried Enfields in Sirius. It was the only rifle we trusted against polar bears.”
Jones looked unimpressed. “Huh.”
Tower picked up where he’d left off. “Your weapons come out only at the crash site and only if needed. I’m told you can expect a less than cordial welcome from the staff on station.”
Segal’s expression went sour. “Nice.”
It didn’t bother Thor. Who cared what the researchers thought of them so long as they got the job done?
Tower met each man’s gaze in turn. “I’m not exaggerating when I say this might be the most dangerous mission in Cobra’s history. You cannot let this technology fall into hostile hands.”
2
April 9
When Steve called Samantha into his office, she thought it had to do with Patty’s death. Instead, it was about the crashed satellite.
“A security team is on its way here from Christchurch. They’ll be flown out to the crash site to retrieve sensitive military technology and take it back to the US.”
“That’s crazy. What if they crash—or land in a crevasse? They’re risking their lives, and for what? Technology?”
“It gets crazier.” Steve drew a breath and exhaled, as if he didn’t know how to tell her what he had to say next. “The NSF wants you to go with them to removethe components.”
What the hell?