For the greater good. For his nation. And, above all, for his family.
The second he’d heard his brother’s garbled message from the South Pole, he’d set to work putting together a rescue mission, pulling in every favor he’d accrued in his years in the military and since. He’d put to work the vast resources available to a man who’d amassed a fortune through hard work and smart investments.
He’d also called in his friends—by far the most important assets at his disposal. A small specialized team, including Leontyne “Leo” Eddowes, once a combat helicopter pilot who could master anything airworthy. She hadn’t batted an eye when he’d told her what he needed.
“Fly to Antarctica to save my brother.”
“You got it,” she’d said, knowing full well what kind of risk she was taking.
He looked around the cavernous, nearly empty aircraft at the people he was tightest with.
They all knew, to the last, that this mission could end before it even began. Fuel could freeze, the fucking plane could stick to the damn ice, making it impossible to take off again. And still they were willing—no, eager—to step up and do it.
He could almost cry if he weren’t so fucking pissed off right now.
“Wish you hadn’t come,” he said to the woman beside him—Zoe, the love of his life and the only person here without combat experience. Well, with a single experience that he’d prefer never to live through again.
“Wish you’d shut up,” she replied, and all he could do was squeeze her hand.
Despite the cold in here, they were sweltering in their massive expedition coats. It had been one hell of a scramble to outfit this group on such short notice, but he’d done it, with Zoe’s help.
The Herc they flew in was the biggest miracle—a favor he’d be paying off for the rest of his life. But worth it. Anything would be worth getting his brother back, safe and sound, from whatever hellish clusterfuck he’d managed to get himself into down here.
“I’d say cleared for landing.” Leo’s voice came through the comm device. “Except there’s nobody here to clear us. And we are so under the radar, we’ll never see daylight again if they catch us.”
Around him, his ex-teammates—although there was no ex- about it—seated themselves, strapping in for what they knew would be one hell of a ride to Volkov Station’s blue ice runway.
“Take us there, Leo.” He held his rifle tight and reached out again with his left hand, not relaxing until Zoe gripped it. “Let’s do this.”
* * *
“Get me Senator Mitchum,” Katherine Harper said into her phone.
“Yes, ma’am.”
She hit End and slumped in her seat for a few seconds. How had this spiraled so far out of control? Goodness, it irked her. She shut her eyes, biting back the disappointment and, with it, thoughts of the worst day of her life. They came more and more often recently, these images, almost too visceral to be considered memories.
A minute later, her phone buzzed. She straightened her spine before lifting the receiver. “Senator. We have a problem.”
“What is it?” The man’s words were deep and polished—television-worthy, unlike Katherine’s own broken voice. This man hadn’t suffered as she had. He hadn’t known loss, didn’t understand how deeply it destroyed a person, body and soul.
“The virus has gotten loose in our Antarctic facility.”
“The vaccine didn’t—”
“The team does not appear to have used it.”
“Well, this is—”
“It iscatastrophic, Teddy. I know. And now, since your soldiers apparently weren’t able to fulfill their duties, the United States government needs to contain it.”
The senator’s pause spoke volumes, but she knew what he’d say. They’d prepared for this after all. It was a matter of national security.
“It’s the worst-case scenario, I know. And as you are aware, the team signed releases for just such an event. I’m afraid the worst has occurred. I received confirmation from Dr. Tenny himself.”
“Well, that’s absolutely tragic. He was an important man.”
Referring to Tenny in the past already, as if the deed were done. Good. That meant there would be no objections. Not that she’d expected any, of course, since they were in this together. But one never knew how people would respond in high-stress moments.
