The Hunt

54

Jaeger dropped his bergen, sank to his hands and knees and began to burrow into the snow bank. The others joined him, and gradually the space before them took shape. In a matter of minutes, they had excavated a basic snow cave large enough for all four of them.

They crawled in, dragging their bergens after them, and began to ready the cave to last out the storm. First they closed off the exit, so that only a hole large enough for a human torso to wriggle through remained.

Snow is a great insulator, as long as human body warmth doesn’t melt it. Then, it becomes a sodden, freezing mess… and a killer. The trick is to lay down a waterproof membrane, ideally with a thermal mat on top – just as they were doing now.

That done, each of the four rolled out their goose-down sleeping bags, ready to crawl in and thaw their freezing limbs. But as Jaeger was about to do so, he remembered the pulk. There was no telling how long the storm might last, or what thickness of snow might fall.

In short, the pulk could be swallowed by the tempest.

Taking Raff with him, he ventured back outside. If anything, the blizzard was worse. The wind buffeted him one way and then the other as he groped in the thick darkness for the sled. Even as his gloved hand found it, a blast of incredible force plucked him off his feet and hurled him into the darkness.

He struggled to his knees, but the storm threw him down again. He had to reach the pulk and secure it. Without it, they were dead.

He groped for it again, practically worming his way across the snow on his belly. His hands made contact, and he started fitting together the first of the marker poles, made of sections of a tough but lightweight aluminium.

Blanking the pain, he slotted together the second pole and handed it to Raff, who drove both poles into the snow, knotting the pulk’s tow straps securely around them. Some five feet of tubing emerged above the ground to mark the pulk’s position. No matter what depth of snow might fall, the two marker poles should remain visible. Plus they would anchor the sled to prevent it blowing away.

The two men crawled back exhaustedly into the cave, where Alonzo and Narov were already trussed up tight in their sleeping bags.

Outside, the storm howled and screamed. Inside, the four figures were ensconced in a cocoon of comparative warmth and safety.

Jaeger flicked on his head torch and eyed the others. It was a testament to their utter professionalism that the building of the snow cave had been accomplished almost without a word needing to be said. Their training, and their subsequent operational experience, spoke volumes.

‘Right,’ he announced, ‘we sit tight until the storm blows out.’

By way of response, Raff held up his Nalgene water bottle, which was almost empty. ‘Got me a pee bottle.’ He slipped it inside his sleeping bag. ‘You know what temperature urine comes out at? Ninety-six degrees Fahrenheit. Keep your pee bottle close – doubles as a hot-water bottle.’

Jaeger grimaced. ‘Too much detail.’

Narov shifted restlessly in her sleeping bag. ‘By staying here, we risk the shipment getting there before us. The tungsten.’

‘We do,’ Jaeger replied. ‘But one, we’re no good to anyone dead, and that storm will kill us. Two, no aircraft is landing anywhere near here in these conditions. Trust me, if the storm’s stopped us, it’ll stop any plane.’

‘Tell me,’ Alonzo ventured, ‘just how goddam cold is it?’

‘Breathe in,’ said Jaeger, by way of answer. ‘Feel your nose hairs freezing like needles? That’s what happens when you’re below minus ten. And right now I’d say it’s way colder.’

Alonzo glanced around their shelter. ‘Thank Christ for the snow cave. No need to keep watch, I guess?’

‘No one but a dead man is moving out there. Get some sleep. Everyone.’

Pausing only to remove his boots, Jaeger crawled into his own bag. He checked his watch: 0400 hours. He’d been so focused on getting them to their target – on stopping Kammler – that he’d lost all track of time.

Much longer and that focus would have killed them. Seeking shelter had been the only call to make, and Jaeger knew it.

But he also knew that time was not on their side.