Yegor turned in his seat. “Don’t worry, little sparrow. We can stay down one hundred and twenty hours, but I do not think this will be necessary. There will be air pockets in the caves, so we can surface and replenish the tanks if need be. We have food for a week, and…” He waved a huge arm at the window. “…there is plenty of fish. Also, we have water and water purification device.” He turned, his lips curved up in a lopsided grin. “I think our big problem is not having deck of cards if we get bored.”

Abby smiled, and nodded. “Thank you.”

“All the comforts of home; but if we do get stuck down here, forever…” Greg leaned towards her. “…we might need to start thinking about populating the inner Earth, and, well, I’m single.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Not if you were the last man on Earth… or below it.”

Greg reached into a pocket, and held up a half eaten bag of M&Ms. “I have chocolate.”

“Ooh, then that must make you the chief.” Abby pushed him back towards his chair.

Dmitry laughed. “You see? We’ll be fine.”

“Five hundred feet, leveling off.” Yegor eased back on the wheel, and the bulbous craft slowed in the water like a deep-sea dirigible in a pitch-black sky.

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 14

Hobart Bay, Alaska

– 57°27'11" North, 133°23'36" West.

Population: 12

The stealth chopper dropped the two black-clad men a mile from the Bay’s village. It was a scoured area gouged out of the pristine wilderness, and sat on the edge of a moonlit bay that was as still as dark blue glass.

There were just three permanent resident families this time of year, and as the outside temperature was currently hovering around zero degrees, all of them would be inside their respective cabins preparing for hot evening meals.

The men now moved quickly to the edge of the clearing, where they crouched – there was no movement, sound, or alert dogs watching the village grounds.

One used night vision glasses to slowly scan the perimeter, and then focused back on the tiny, unremarkable structure. It was constructed of old wood and designed to blend into its surroundings. But they knew what it housed was far from the ordinary.

He lowered the glasses. “External motion sensors, infrared cameras, and acoustic detection devices – we’ll need a pulse.”

The other man grunted, and pulled a squat-looking device from his backpack. The pulse generator would direct a short but powerful electromagnetic wave over the structure, temporarily disabling any electronics.

“Clear…” He fired it. The pulse was invisible and powerful. There would be no clues for Mironov’s teams this day.

He quickly packed it away, and then the duo sprinted hard to the small building. The door was closed but the electronic lock was now disengaged – one pulled it open, turned to the other and grinned.

“After you, comrade.”