Prey

Kendall backed out of her way and slumped back into his makeshift seat across the cabin. Julia felt the rise of heat in her face begin to subside. She hoped it hadn't been too obvious in the darkened interior of the plane that she's been blushing through her exchange with Kendall.

She made her way up to the pilot deck again. "How we doing?"

The pilot shook his head. "Still no response from Howard Base." He pointed out the window. Bright sunlight rebounded off the white of snow and ice far below. "We're feet dry, by the way. We made land ten minutes back."

"Good. How much longer."

"Maybe fifteen minutes." He tapped the instrument panel. "You want us to keep trying the base?"

"Their radio must be down. They know we're coming, though. I'm sure it won't be a problem."

"So you want us to land it?"

"Yeah."

Julia ducked back down to the cabin and began readying her team. She tapped Wilkins on the shoulder. He peered out of his hood.

"Yeah?"

"Fifteen minutes."

He nodded. "You want me to get the rest of them ready to go?"

"Yeah."

She watched Wilkins get to his feet and stomp his boots to get some circulation going. Wilkins was a good man. A dependable number two — family man with a wife of fifteen years and three kids back home in the States. Julia wondered what made him go off for months at a time on dangerous journeys like this. Whatever it was, Wilkins didn't say much aside from the fact that he loved his job.

He checked on Nung next, the team's resident technogeek who could hotwire a toaster and receive satellite photography from the Hubbell telescope if need be. He was a former dot-commer who'd decided that creating websites and state-of-the-art technology was too lame for his life. At twenty-five he'd changed course and how was apart of the team.

Wilkins moved on to Havel, over from Russia as part of the joint-cooperative exploration missions the two countries had established a few years back. Most people Julia knew thought the joint-cooperation involved only the space station high above Earth. She knew better. Russians and Americans routinely got involved in every aspect of scientific exploration.

To Julia, it made good sense. The closer the two nations became, the less chance they'd ever revert to their former Cold War enemy status. Plus, Havel was an expert in meteorology, something forever handy to have in the sort of inhospitable land they were about to land on.

Vikorsky was the team's microbiologist, on loan from MIT where he routinely studied deep bore drillings from five miles below on the ocean floor. He'd brought enough drilling equipment to make the expedition resemble some sort of grass roots oil refinery. But if they took borings at the mountains, Vikorsky would be the one to decipher what they brought up.

Wilkins finally moved down to check on Darren. The rest of the team called him the ladies man. Wherever there were women, Darren would inevitably be in the middle of them, chatting his way into as many beds as he could. How he'd managed to do it for so long without contracting any sexually transmitted diseases was the stuff of legend as far as Julia was concerned. And while Darren might have the pretty boy looks that garnered him sexual favors, he was also a damned good horticulture specialist. Another asset when it came to unearthing possible prehistoric finds at the mountain range.

Mick slid into the seat next to Julia so smoothly and quietly she almost jumped. He chuckled. "Sorry."

"S'okay. What's up?"

"You sleep at all during the flight?"

"Not a wink. You didn't seem to have much of a problem, though."

"I've ridden these birds before. They don't bother me much." He nodded toward the cockpit. "How long?"

"Maybe ten minutes."

"Everything okay?"

"Pilot can't contact Howard Base. I'm a little concerned."

Mick frowned. "They know we're coming?"

"Yes."

"Might be the weather, eh?"

"Weather's good right now. It won't get bad until tonight. Big storm coming."

"We'll be down and tucked away safely before then," said Mick. "I'm sure it's just a glitch."

Julia watched him go back and check his equipment. I hope you're right, she thought.

A red light appeared overhead. Julia pulled a set of headphones on and spoke into the microphone. "What's up?"

"Still no answer. You want us to go in anyway?"

"Yes."

"Roger that. Two minutes. Tell everyone to strap themselves in. Ice landings can be kinda rough."

Julia pulled the headset off and motioned for the team to sit down and strap in. They all did quickly, except for Kendall who seemed content to stretch his legs until the last possible second.

The plane banked sharply and Julia felt a popping sensation in her ears. They were descending fast. She started straining to listen to the landing gear coming out, but since the wheels had been converted to ski skids, it was already down.