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Hayley sidled up to hi her own plate “It’s now or never,” she said

Joe pointed behind the cook to a wok that was s to catch fire As the cook turned around and went to put it out, Joe slipped a pouch froician With a quick swish of his ar in the buffet line When the pouch was empty, he drew his hand back and stuffed it in his pocket

As the Russians came in, they eyed Joe and Hayley for a moment and then moved to the head of the line However odd they found the situation, they see a confrontation they would catch hell for later

Joe and Hayley sat down in the corner, trying not to watch as the cos of the tainted food

Eight hours later, Kurt found hi at photos of Heard Island and wondering if the jig was up

About fifteen hly alle A thin tail of land called Elephant Spit jutted out to the east like a breakwater, and a s to its northwest corner connected by a narrow isthmus

In profile, Heard Island was obviously volcanic The central peak, na Ben, towered nine thousand feet above the sea in a classic conical shape It was actually one of the highest peaks in Australian territory, higher than anything on the continent itself

A satellite vieed glaciers spreading out fro Ben like the spokes of a wheel They followed the steep grades down to the ocean in every direction, calving icebergs where they er than the MV Rama, encircled the island like pilot fish around the head of a great shark

As Kurt studied the photos, Kirov and Gregorovich stood quietly, looking s and very pleased with the they’d discovered

“Do you have any infrared shots?” Kurt asked

Gregorovich slid a new series of photos across the table toward him

These shots, taken by the Russian drones, showed seals and penguins and colonies of nesting birds The next photo depicted a series of distinct heat sources grouped on the southeast coast of the island A spot called Winston Lagoon

“The first group of targets are therorovich explained “They could be naturally occurring and linked to the volcano or they could be es are unequivocal They’re men on snowmobiles Whoever they were, they disappeared into holes in the ground moments after these shots were taken”

Kurt studied the location of the snowoon,” he said “A good place to shelter But I don’t see any ships there”

“So they were dropped off,” Gregorovich said “This is Thero’s way His lab in Yagishiri was underground His experi deep into the Earth Those hatches lead to Thero’s compound I’m sure of it”