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"Where are the others?"

"Dead All dead"

Austin felt as if so woman? Karla Janos?"

"I don't knohat happened to her They took her away"

"The same people who shot you?"

"Yes Ivory hunters They killed ei, and the two Japanese men"

"Where did this happen?"

"The old riverbed I crawled back to the campsite and put the raft in the river" Her eyes flickered and she passed out

They inspected the shoulder reat deal of blood Zavala cleaned and bandaged the wound Austin called the Kotelny on his hand radio

"We found an injured woman on the beach," he told the captain

"Miss Janos?"

"No Maria Arbatov, one of the expedition scientists She needs medical attention"

"I'll send a boat in immediately with my medical officer"

Austin and Zavala made Maria as comfortable as possible The boat arrived with the medical officer and two crewmen They carefully loaded the woman aboard and headed back to the icebreaker

Austin and Zavala hooked up the paraglider The takeoff went much sained altitude, Austin steered the paraglider along the river Alerted by Maria, they kept a sharp eye out for the ivory hunters Minutes later, theyin the permafrost near the old sheds They slipped their side arms from their holsters and cautiously made their way toward the settlement