White Jade

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.