Tough shit.
She grinned. There was that side of her peeking out again. She felt as thankful for its presence as she was concerned about it. It had never gotten her into trouble, but it had positioned her in some very interesting situations. It was because of that side of her that she was here — in charge.
She glanced around the interior of the plane again. The other members of her team, including Kendall were wide-awake and bouncing from the turbulence. They looked haggard and travel-weary.
Everyone that is, except for Mick.
He was asleep.
Julia almost grinned. She'd never known anyone who could sleep through the kind of noise the interior of a C-130 made. But it was as if the noise didn't even matter to Mick. His eyes looked heavy and his face perfectly relaxed.
Despite his being asleep, though, Julia could still see the hard lines etched into his skin. Deep chasms scored his forehead above a heavy brow line. Hard bones framed his face at his cheekbones and jawline. He had the sort of rugged looks that seemed to simultaneously attract and scare most women. He was handsome, Julia had decided a week ago when he'd first joined the team, but there was something else to him. Some sort of veil that surrounded his otherwise open and calm demeanor.
The fact that he'd only joined the team last week seemed odd enough. But he'd been the only suitable replacement after Wilson's sudden bout with appendicitis had disqualified him.
Mick.
His eyes opened then. A flash of bright blue that seemed to hit her like a laser shot from across the fuselage. She jerked, aware she'd been staring at him a little too long and averted her eyes.
When she risked a look back a moment later, Mick's eyes were closed again.
Asleep.
Or was he?
'So, Boss, what's the good word?'
Kendall. And the way he'd placed the emphasis on the word 'boss' annoyed the hell out of her. But there was nothing he could do to disrupt this mission. Julia had already vowed to herself twenty times she wouldn't let that happen.
'Pilot can't contact the base.'
'Why — is our radio down?'
'Says our radio is working just fine. Might be a problem at the base.'
'But they know we're coming, right? We're not flying into someone's party without being invited are we?'
'Of course they know we're coming. We confirmed it last week during the normal communication window.'
Kendall nodded. 'Well, as long as you're on top of things. I suppose I can rest easy.'
'I'm relieved, really I am, Kendall. It warms my heart to have all your confidence invested in me.'
'Just so long as you realize this isn't some shopping excursion we're on. You screw up down here and people will die.'
Julia sighed. 'Kendall. Don't presume to tell me how to run this operation. I am well aware of where we are and what my responsibilities are. I'd hope you're as familiar with your own duties on this jaunt as you seem to be with mine.'
'I'm versed in everyone's.' Kendall smiled but there was no friendliness in it. 'Just in case anyone gets hurt and I need to step in to fill the gap.'
'There won't be any gaps to fill. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to check on our progress.'
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.'
