White Jade (The PROJECT)

by Lukeman, Alex

  She said, "Doesn't it bother you? The people you've killed?" As soon as she said it she wished she could take it back.

  "What the hell kind of a question is that? I've learned to put it out of my mind. It doesn't do any good to second guess myself." A headache started behind his left eye. "The people I killed were trying to kill me. Shit happens. So I don't feel particularly bad about it."

  Except for that kid. He got up and went into his bedroom and shut the door.

  Selena sat on the couch and watched the door close behind him.

  What had she gotten herself into? Harker had asked if she'd be able to shoot someone. She'd said yes, but could she? Would she have to?

  If the Emperor was really in Tibet, if somehow the Minoans had anything to do with that, she wanted to be there. It was the adventure of a lifetime. No adventure worth a damn was without risk. Risk didn't bother her. Killing people might.

  Stupid of her, to say what she did to Nick.

  Nick was a different kind of risk. What was she afraid of?

  Carter was still awake when his door opened. Selena came in, slipped out of her robe and crawled into bed with him. She was naked.

  "I'm sorry, Nick."

  He turned to face her. "I thought you said it was too much right now. Sex. All that."

  "I changed my mind."

  She reached down and grasped him in both hands and felt him swell between her fingers. He stroked her face and moved his hand to her breast and kissed her.

  Suddenly they were clinging to each other, their hands moving over each other, trying to meld into each other. When he entered she clenched her hands on his buttocks and drew him in as far as she could and wrapped her legs around him.

  "Jesus, Selena."

  "Nick."

  Sleep came later.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The Project was Elizabeth's life. She spent more time here than in her Georgetown home. No one waited for her there. She'd given up on the idea anyone ever would.

  It wasn't supposed to work out like that. She'd been married for a time, back when she was still young and idealistic, thinking she could juggle a career at Justice and a husband and family at the same time.

  Wasn't that the new role model for an educated woman? Crack the glass power ceiling, make a lot of money, go to fabulous places in a Prada suit with a great guy who appreciated your mind along with your body, have a couple of kids and commute in a BMW?

  The American myth of having it all. There wasn't anything wrong with the myth, if you could get it without selling your soul, but sometimes people and events didn't cooperate. She'd never had kids. He hadn't wanted them. Maybe children would have made a difference, but Elizabeth suspected it would have only made things worse. Her former husband had been with ATF. He was still with ATF. He was also still with the last woman he'd been cheating with before Elizabeth dumped him. Lately she'd heard that wasn't going so well. It was a small satisfaction, but the truth was she didn't really care.

  She drove an Audi, not a BMW. She had power, she had the President's ear, she had money, she had a very nice home in the heart of elegant Georgetown. She even had a couple of Prada suits in her closet. None of that mattered much. What mattered to Elizabeth was making a difference, and she was doing that. The picture of the Twin Towers on her desk reminded her of why she did it.

  Her life had turned into a study in black and white. She preferred the simplicity of dress black and white offered, but it was more than that. She could not understand people who thought compromise was always the solution. That negotiating with evil was possible. The irony of working in Washington with that attitude did not escape her.

  Politically correct rationalizations about why terrorists had good reason for their tactics of fear and murder and how negotiation was the answer struck her as naïve and dangerous. The terrorist organizations were an enemy with philosophies of political and religious fanaticism leaving no room for compromise or peace. As far as Elizabeth was concerned, the world would be a better place if they were all destroyed. If her father were still alive he would have agreed.

  Judge Harker had been well-liked in the small town where she'd grown up. Traditional values of hard work and honesty still flourished on the western slope of the Rockies. In her father's private world, a man’s word was his bond, a handshake an agreement written in stone. On the bench, he was impartial and fair. Whatever doubts he might have had about the judgments the law required him to mete out, he left them in the courtroom.

  When Elizabeth was growing up, the Judge would sit in his big green chair in his study, a glass of bourbon on the table beside him, and tell Elizabeth stories of a vanished America. Stories of the Revolution, the Founders, the Civil War. Stories of sacrifice, of heroism and wisdom and courage. She absorbed the history, and with it a love for her country. She still believed in the essential goodness of America, tarnished as it was. Maybe it was out of style, but it sustained her when the self-serving nature of Washington politics began to wear her down.

  The Judge believed in hard facts, concrete evidence and fair play. He would not have liked the shadow world she lived in, but he would have been firm on the need to protect the country and proud of her for doing it. She wondered what he would think about this latest threat. A threat coming into view but not yet defined, potential trouble with a nation capable of annihilating a good part of America.

  Nick and Ronnie came into the office, interrupting her thoughts. Time to brief them. A satellite photo of western Tibet filled the big screen behind her desk. When they were settled she used a laser pointer to indicate the landmarks.

  "Following the clues in the book we focused on the area near Mount Kailash." She indicated the mountain with a red dot from the pointer.

  "This is a coal mining village called Moincer."

  The dot paused on a cluster of buildings west of the mountain, moved again.

  "This is Kyunglung, a complex of caves used for religious rituals. The caves are shown on the map and are known as the 'Silver Palace of the Garuda'. At first I thought what we're looking for might be there, but its just caves, nothing more. It was used for centuries by Bon magicians."

  "Who are the Bon?" Nick's ear began itching.

  "Bon was the religion practiced in Tibet before Buddhism. It's still practiced today, but with Buddhist elements."

  Harker tapped her keyboard. The scene changed to show a satellite photo of a bleak hilltop covered with the ruins of a small city. The camera zoomed in on a whitewashed complex built into the side of the hill.

  "The building is Gurugem, a Bon monastery. Those ruins above it looked promising, but they've been picked over for years. There's nothing there. However, I think I've found what we're looking for. Following a line north, about fifty kilometers, there's another set of ruins."

  The satellite focus shifted to the remains of an ancient, square fortress on top of a hill. The outer walls were about the length of a football field on each side. Ruined buildings and rubble surrounded a square, open area with a large building set in the center.

  "A deep sonar scan shows a cavern underneath those ruins, with something in it. My guess is that this is where the emperor was taken. It matches up with the map in the book. If anything is still left, that's where it will be. There isn't any military presence nearby. That's the good news. The bad news is the site is exposed and the terrain is rugged.

  "You'll go in when it's dark to avoid being spotted from the monastery. You'll be in uniform and wear rank insignia, but no unit flashes or nametags. Nick, I'm making you a bird colonel for this.

  "Your clearance will be Umbra. No one is going to question you. Your mission is to penetrate the area, find entrance to the underground complex, retrieve and document whatever information found there of value and bring it back."

  "You forgot the bit about the tape self-destructing at the end."

  "Excuse me?"

  "Mission Impossible. Remember?"

  "Very funny, Nick."

 
Ronnie ran his hand over his buzz cut. "Where's the drop zone?"

  "It's too dangerous to drop right on the ruins. The mountains and air currents there make it high risk for you and for the aircraft."

  Back to the broad shot, the laser dot moved west to a valley between the caves and the Bon monastery.

  "We'll drop you here. It's flat, you won't have too far to travel and you can get in and under cover before anyone knows you're there. Once you're north of the monastery you shouldn't run into anyone."

  "How are we going to get into that underground complex?"

  "There's no way to tell until you get there. Selena and Stephanie are working on the translation right now, looking for anything that will help. Selena will have it with her. There has to be something in the book or on site that can show you how to get in, now that we know it's there."

  "Any entrance might be buried under tons of rock. We could get there and wander around like tourists until Yang shows up. This isn't good, Director."

  "Nobody said it was easy, Ronnie. You're wheels up tonight from Andrews for Dyess. I've got 24/7 watch on the surrounding area and I'll keep you informed if we see any military presence coming toward you. I will monitor the mission on live satellite and stay in voice contact."

  "How do we get out when we're done?" Carter asked.

  "Helicopter extraction from India. It's not far to the Indian border, but the route on foot is difficult, through the Lipu Lehk pass. It helps that you're going in summer, but the plateau is high, the air's thin and it's cold up there. It is the Himalayas, after all."

  "And if we run into opposition?"

  "Take care of it. No rules of engagement. We'll have the copters standing by across the border but you're on your own."

  On your own, Carter thought. Meaning deniable.

  "When you're ready, call for extraction. Get it done as fast as you can. Yang is bound to send someone down there when he figures it out."

  "He must have by now," Carter said.

  "So far we don't see any activity in the area, but that could change anytime."

  "What are we looking for?"

  "Anything to confirm the existence or location of a possible uranium deposit. If Selena's translation is correct there should be a map or records of some kind showing where all the ingredients for the elixir can be found. I don't think you're going to find the secret of immortality, but look for anything unusual. You won't know until you get there and see for yourself. Any other questions? Ronnie?"

  He shook his head. "I don't have any."

  "All right, then. Transport at 1800. Good luck."

  Out in the hallway they waited for the elevator.

  "What do you think, Nick?"

  "About what?"

  "About the whole deal."

  "I think we're in for what our Chinese friends call an interesting time."

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  At 2300 hours they were airborne in a C-130J Super Hercules, an updated version of the Air Force workhorse. A Humvee with Pakistani army markings looked lost in the cavernous hold. The team sat on an orange strap bench along the side of the fuselage, listening to the drone of the Rolls-Royce engines. They were in battle dress, geared up for the cold weather waiting in the Himalayas. There wasn't going to be time to change later.

  Nick went over the military GPS unit with Selena. It would guide her to the landing zone. She had skydiving experience but this was far different. They were jumping at high altitude and she'd never done that before. Wind and thermals could screw everything up. There was no room for error.

  Their packs sat at their feet, loaded with rations, water, ammo, the MP-5N's, medical kits and assorted survival gear. Selena had a digital camera and video recorder to document anything they found. Aside from the H-Ks, the weight was down to around thirty pounds. At fifteen thousand feet and higher any weight would be a burden.

  All three had pistols strapped to the left side of their chests and Ka-Bar knives on their right thighs. They had body armor that went far beyond the normal military specs. It was heavy, but it could deflect a .308 and keep you alive. They had helmets rigged for voice activated communications. They could pick up the team channel or the satellite uplink to Washington. The rest of their supplies were inside the vehicle. They'd get chutes and everything they needed for the jump at Dyess.

  Ronnie pointed at the stripes insignia on his collar.

  "I never thought I'd be wearing these again."

  "Looks good on you, Gunny."

  "You too, Nick. Like it used to be."

  Dressed in camouflage battle gear and armed to the teeth, Carter thought Selena looked dangerous as hell. She had her laptop out, working on the Minoan text. Nick raised his voice over the noise of the engines.

  "How are you coming?"

  "I think I've got it. There are still parts I haven't translated but I think I know what to look for."

  He waited.

  "If I'm reading this right, we look for a labrys to mark the way."

  "What's a labrys?" Ronnie leaned forward and looked past Nick at Selena.

  "It's a double-headed axe. It was a symbol of power to the Minoans and later to the Greeks. It's ancient, no one knows when it first appeared. The labrys marked the entrance to the labyrinth."

  "Where the Minotaur lived."

  "Right, that's the myth. Once you entered the labyrinth, you never came out. There are some old mines and caves in Crete that might have been the original labyrinth. I've been there. They're spooky."

  "What happened to the Minoans?"

  "The current theory is that when the island of Santorini erupted it sent a tsunami over Crete and wiped everything out. That might have been the basis for the stories about Atlantis. Santorini was like an H-Bomb going off."

  "I don't see how any Minoans got to Tibet." Carter bent over and adjusted his pack.

  "According to the book there was a secret cult of priestesses in Knossos. They traced their teachings about immortality to India. Vedic Indian priests may have lived in Tibet and found their way to the Minoans. Or maybe someone changed the history to suit themselves."

  "Women were the guardians of the elixir?"

  "Yes. The cult believed humans could join the gods in immortal life if they performed sacrifices and took the right potions. A lot of cultures use potions or herbs to commune with gods or spirits. What's different here is the idea they could attain immortality in the physical body."

  "You think that's what Yang is after?"

  "Anyone who wants to take over China has an ego so big he'd think immortality was his right, if it existed. I'd bet on the uranium scenario."

  "Did you find anything more about the formula? Ingredients, preparation, anything?"

  "No. It's not complete. You'd have to be crazy to take it."

  "Not if you tested it first," he said. "Researched it with modern techniques."

  "Like on mice?"

  "They already do that. There are mice that live a lot longer after scientists manipulate their genes."

  "That's different. The mice aren't drinking gold and mercury, with a little radioactive pixie dust thrown in for good measure."

  "You have a point," Carter conceded.

  Selena went back to her computer.

  He spent the rest of the flight to Texas thinking about the mission. It wasn't much different from when he was in Afghanistan. Like then, he was going into hostile territory with questionable intel.

  Everything depended on penetrating Chinese airspace undetected and getting into that underground chamber. That assumed the sonar scan was accurate, that there was an underground chamber in the first place and that they could find the entrance if there was one. If they did manage to get in, they still didn't know what they'd find. He sensed a headache beginning.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Selena looked up from her computer. The decibel roar and vibration of the engines was something she couldn't tune out. She looked down the hold of the huge aircraft, all functional steel and a
luminum, exposed struts, the orange strap benches, everything utilitarian and built for the purpose of war. It wasn't much like first class to Paris or Rome.

  The others were used to it. The airmen were bored, that was easy to see, but this was a regular job for them. Ronnie was reading something, Nick had his eyes closed. His face looked strained and tired. He and Ronnie had probably been on hundreds of flights like this.

  She was nervous and they hadn't even gotten to Texas yet. She was damned if she'd let the others see it.

  She looked at the broken green and gray and black patterns on her uniform, touched the pistol strapped on her chest. The shape of her knife dug into her leg. The hard molded radio helmet was an unfamiliar intrusion on her head. She was encased in armor.

  She felt like she'd fallen through the looking glass into the fantasy world of a video war game, but this wasn't a game. This was real.

  Three weeks ago she'd been standing at a podium at Stanford, giving a lecture on Indo-European languages. Life was predictable and safe, if a little boring. Now she carried enough weapons to take out a small village. There was a reason for that, namely that she might have to use them, which meant someone might be using weapons against her. She wasn't at all sure she could handle it.

  If that wasn't enough, she was about to jump into the Himalayas to look for a two thousand year old emperor and the elixir of immortality.

  How did she end up here?

  She looked over at Nick. She didn't know what to do about him. She wanted him, but she knew herself. She could fall for him. She knew enough about him to know he was wrapped in emotional armor a tank couldn't get through. She could try to break through it and the only thing that would happen was she'd hurt herself.

  He was still in love with his dead fiancée. She'd be an ass to let herself love him. But damn it, she wanted him.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  At Dyess Air Force Base an armed security escort met their plane. Brilliant lights lit the tarmac. A B-1B Lancer waited nearby.