“Questions?” Thirty seconds passed before Matt Kerns finally raised his hand. “Go on, Dr. Kerns.”

Matt smiled goofily. “I’d like to use the bathroom now.” To which Monica leaned across and whispered to him, “Oh boy, look at that face. He so wants to shoot you right now.”

Alex raised his voice once again. “We now have twelve minutes to boarding, people. In fifteen we will be in the air.” He turned his back on the group and rejoined his men.

Aimee smiled as she watched him walk away. Hmm, looks like Silex isn’t going to get everything his own way. Good, she thought.

Alex had said they weren’t expecting any trouble, but he wasn’t being totally accurate with the facts. The military had sent good men last time; you just didn’t make Green Berets disappear without a lot of heat, noise and enemy bodies left behind. Certainly not a task that could have been achieved by fishermen or waste dumpers. If they had succumbed to gases then it was a retrieval mission; if not he and his HAWCs were prepared to meet any opposing force head on. Though his initial brief was to support the scientific mission, Hammerson had told him that he was to assume total command in the event he encountered any form of aggression. He had unilateral authority to engage any enemy.

Now that Alex had a chance to meet and hear from the individual team members he was relieved to find that for the most part they seemed both physically and intellectually capable of the short but arduous mission. The two scientists stood out, but for different reasons. The tall woman, Aimee, intrigued him. He knew from his briefing notes that she was concerned for her lost colleague, and that explained her impatience, but he could also sense a sharp intellect and a degree of impulsiveness and volatility that probably got her into a few arguments. He’d stay close to her; there was strength in her. He couldn’t tell yet how she’d react if they found her colleague’s body.

Alex was glad it was going to be a short trip as his real concern was for the lead scientist, Dr. Adrian Silex. He felt the man would suffer from some authority confusion if they were there any longer than twenty-four hours, and though Alex would tolerate him and follow his instructions as long as they coincided with his own brief, his men would not. HAWCs would obey the senior HAWC. If anything happened to Alex, then Johnson would lead. His men would ignore any orders from Dr. Silex and he hoped the scientist was wise enough to understand the limits of his jurisdiction and not to push his perceived command. With Alex’s men—if they just ignored him, then he reckoned the scientist got off lightly.

Seven