Rogue Angel - Polar Quest Part 22

"She's going to be a problem if she's around for much longer."

"We'll be there tomorrow. Can it wait until then?"

He gripped the satellite phone and his knuckles turned white. "I don't like delays. And yours have already forced me to push my timetable back considerably."

"Why not go ahead and complete your mission? If the woman gets in the way, you could always kill her."

The man sighed. He hated dealing with fools. Unfortunately, sometimes they were the only ones who could be used in certain situations. "If I kill her, it will raise too many questions. And I don't need the attention, not when I'm so close. It needs to be soon, though, or else she will discover what I've got planned."

"I think you put too much faith in her intelligence."

"Perhaps that's because I know her a bit better than you do. I know what she's capable of, and right now, what she's most capable of is being a nuisance to me. This was supposed to have been finished by now and it's not."

"It would have been if our Sno-Cat didn't break down. We couldn't do anything until we got rescued and brought back to McMurdo. And once we got back, we had to dodge the marshal. He's been asking questions."

"If he becomes a problem, then you'll have to deal with him. Quietly."

"We will."

He glanced at the clock near his bed. "When will you be here?"

"At some point over the next day."

"The camp is very well guarded. You won't have an easy time getting in without paperwork."

"We don't need papers. You mentioned there wasn't much of a perimeter-is that still the case?"

"They haven't strengthened it, no. You could come in by coming down from the mountain face. It's a complicated route, but you and your partner should have no problems surmounting it, given your backgrounds."

"Good."

"Is everything arranged on your end?"

"Yes. The freighter will be in the harbor within thirty-six hours. It will stand by offsh.o.r.e, just shy of the ice packs. Once you're set to exfiltrate, they'll send in a Zodiac and get you out of there."

"It has to have a solid hull, not an inflatable one."

"It will."

He nodded. A few more days and this would all be behind him. "And you know what has to happen to everyone in this camp once I have what I've come here for?"

"They all die."

"And all traces of this dig must be obliterated."

"We understand."

"Good. Contact me when you're closer."

"Will do. Out."

The phone disconnected in his ear and he placed it back in his backpack. There was always a chance that the American National Security Agency might have penetrated the secure communication system on the satellite, but he doubted they would be able to track it back to him. Ever since 9/11, the NSA-like its counterparts-had been far too focused on dealing with terrorist threats than with various other crimes.

He was sure he was safe.

But Annja Creed would have to be dealt with. If she wasn't killed, then sooner or later, they would come face-to-face and there would be no quarter.

The last thing he wanted was to kill her, but she was leaving him no choice. Her intelligence and capacity for discerning the truth were a danger to him. And he had no doubt that if she wasn't stopped, she would do everything in her power-including using all of her skills, skills she didn't even fully comprehend yet-to thwart his mission.

No, she had to die. And if his people could get it done properly this time, there would be no suspicion surrounding it. Her untimely death would simply be the result of a tragic accident. And the world would no longer have Annja Creed in it.

He lay back down and closed his eyes. Sleep would be a welcome respite for him tonight.

ANNJA SLEPT FITFULLY, tossing and turning every few minutes, aware of the rhythmic snores coming from Dave's side of the room. For a few moments, she'd hear nothing, and then he would spark up again, unleashing a cavalcade of snorts and whistles upon the room.

So much for sleeping tonight, she thought. And just when she needed every bit of herself rested. Her ribs no longer hurt, but in a lot of ways, her exhaustion was more mental than physical. There were so many loose ends, and seeing Garin hadn't helped much at all, except to dissuade her that a race of animals had created the relics-which she'd never believed in the first place.

What had Zach said about the metal? That they'd been sent out to a laboratory for a.n.a.lysis. And that the metal hadn't registered as being from Earth? How was that possible?

Annja rolled out of bed and nudged Zach awake. He started and then looked around. "Wha-"

"Shh, it's me. Keep your voice down or you'll wake Dave."

Zach rubbed his eyes. "Not likely. That guy can sleep through a herd of charging rhinos. What's the problem?"

"Tell me again about the necklace," Annja said.

"What about it? I've told you everything already. There's nothing left to tell."

"Back in McMurdo you mentioned that you had the necklace sent out for a.n.a.lysis, right?"

"Sure. Colonel Thomson handled it personally. Said he knew just where to send it."

"Do you know where that was?"

"What-the lab?"

"Yes."

Zach frowned. "No, I don't. What's this all about anyway? Why are you so curious about the lab work done on the necklace?"

Annja frowned. "I want to know about the laboratory and what tests they performed. Is there any way to find out?"

Zach shrugged. "Well, I don't know. I mean, they've probably got it logged in somewhere. Maybe in the admin tent on the computer. Maybe in Colonel Thomson's shelter. h.e.l.l, it could be anywhere."

"Yeah, that's what I was afraid of," Annja said.

"What's bothering you so much about it?"

Annja looked at him. "You said the metal didn't register, right?"

"Yeah."

"That the lab determined it wasn't from Earth?"

"Uh-huh."

Annja leaned closer to Zach. "Who told you the results?"

Zach frowned again. "Annja, you're not making any sense."

"Did you read a report or did someone tell you what the lab found out?"

"Well, Thomson called us all in and told us what the lab had reported. We were all cautioned not to tell anyone about it since it could get out and cause mayhem."

"So you never actually saw a report."

"No."

Annja walked back to her bed and sat down on the edge. "Interesting."

"What's interesting? I'm not following your train of thought here, Annja."

Annja leaned back on her bed. "If you never saw the report, then who's to say it's accurate?"

Zach sat up. "You think it was faked?"

"It's possible."

"But why? Who would fake a lab report?" Zach shook his head. "This is reaching, Annja. It really is."

"Sometimes we have to reach," Annja said. "And as for who would fake a lab report, I don't know yet. But obviously, it's someone who wanted to draw a lot of attention down here at the dig site."

"Yeah, but for what purpose?"

"I don't know."

Zach sighed. "And why would they tell us the metal isn't from Earth? You think they'd deliberately mislead us on that?"

"Very possibly. Especially if the relics are only part of the equation."

Zach took a deep breath. "Why do you always come up with this stuff in the middle of the night, anyhow?"

Annja smiled. "Dave's not letting me get my beauty sleep." She rolled over. "Tell me about how you got into this dig."

"Sure. If it'll help put this all to rest. It was just after I filed my final paperwork for the divorce. I was considering filing for bankruptcy because, between the alimony and the child support, I was going to be sunk. There was no way I could keep up with the payments. I was depressed. Lonely. I didn't even have my kids with me."

Annja shook her head. "I'm sorry."

"Me, too. I was sending out tons of resumes when I got this e-mail from someone who had seen my resume on a networking Web site. Anyway, we exchanged a few e-mails. Turns out the guy was a recruiter and he told me they had something down in Antarctica and would I be interested in coming down. The pay was great, so I jumped at it. I think it was just what I needed to get my mind off my situation."

Annja nodded. "Nothing like a change of scenery, huh?"

"This is about as extreme as it gets, but, yeah."

"Go on."

Zach sighed. "I flew down, came out to the site, which was a lot less elaborate than it is now. We didn't have the generator for one thing, and that made life h.e.l.lish."

"How'd you stay warm?"

"Lots of layers, kerosene and limited exposure to the elements. Plus, we didn't stay out here if we could avoid it."

"And what was your initial briefing like?"

"Just that they believed there was something peculiar about the mountain and that they had detected traces of something metallic inside the base of it. It was supposed to be for oil exploration under the guise of a scientific mission, but when they saw something unusual, they called me in."

"Of course they did," Annja said. "Having a real scientist gives the mission an air of authenticity and legitimacy."

"I found the necklace the first day. At that point, they wanted to know if I needed any more help. I thought of you and how much you'd be interested in this stuff, and that's when they went for you."

Annja nodded. "Okay."

"That's it. You know the whole story."

"Did it ever strike you as strange that they contacted you right after you filed your divorce paperwork?"

"No. I just thought it was my good timing. I was a lucky b.a.s.t.a.r.d to get this a.s.signment. They're paying me enough money to take all the stress out of my life."

Annja smiled in the darkness. "That's great. No one should have that much pressure."

"There something still bothering you about this, Annja?" Zach asked.

"Only everything."

Zach didn't say anything for a minute. "Well, tell me what you're thinking. Bounce your ideas off me."

"Not just yet, Zach. I need some more time to think this through. For now, I think we just need to keep on doing what we're doing."

"Digging?"

Annja nodded then realized Zach probably couldn't see her. "Yep."