Monk crossed to Kowalski, noting him struggling with his coat. “How’s your arm?”
“I’ll manage.” He yanked his limb through the sleeve, a bit too roughly, trying to prove his point. “Barely any seepage through the wrap.”
Monk frowned at him. “You should’ve stayed behind.”
As team medic, Monk had tried to sideline Kowalski, but that wasn’t about to happen. Tucker got nabbed trying to save Kowalski’s ass. So, he wasn’t going to sit this out.
Besides, he was needed here—and for more than just his brawn and ability to blow things up. He whistled and signaled to Kane, who crossed over and followed him toward the Berkut. Tucker had taught Kowalski a basic set of verbal commands and hand signals to help him work with Marco. Kane knew those, too, and many more.
Tucker’s last instruction had been the most pointed.
Trust the dog, and he’ll trust you.
Kowalski hoped that was true.
Once ready, the group split up and set off. Monk climbed aboard the A-l snowmobile with Sid. Kowalski joined Yuri inside the Berkut, with Kane perched between them. Outside, Vin climbed into the gunner’s seat behind the cab.
Two engines choked into roars. The vehicles lurched forward, then gained speed. They flew through the snow-covered woods, riding over hills and across open plains. This rural region was one of the many training areas used by the base’s Arctic Brigade. The plan was to pose as late-returning soldiers, hurrying to beat the worst of the evening’s storm. They would aim for the back gate onto the base, where they hoped less attention would be paid to them, where their forged papers had a better chance of passing inspection.
From there, their goal was a simple one.
Get in and get out as quickly as possible.
Kowalski stared ahead.
Kane panted beside him, expressing the anxiety they all shared.
Ahead, dark, snow-heavy clouds stacked high, obliterating the sun, casting the world in shadows. Winds blew at them in gusts that rattled their windshield.
The lights of the military town of Severodvinsk glowed in a widening spread before them. It required a special visa to enter the town, but where they were headed was even more restricted.
The White Sea Naval Base hugged the western edge of Dvina River delta, where it emptied into the sea. Its many docks and shipyards serviced and tested the latest submarines and ships in the Arctic fleet. It would undoubtably be highly protected.
But they had to risk it.
Kane whined next to him, a note barely above hearing.
“Quit complaining,” he warned the dog. “We’ll find them.”
Kowalski stared toward the lights, the stormy skies.
Or die trying.
32
May 14, 2:17A.M. ANAT
Aboard thePolar King, East Siberian Sea
Gray crossed through the belly of the eighty-thousand-horsepower beast. The steady rumble spoke to that power, while the nail-on-chalkboard grind of ice along the ship’s hardened hull was a near-constant reminder of the harsh seas they traveled through.
He strode alongside Oliver Kelly, the Australian captain of the heavy icebreaker. ThePolar Kingwas a commercial ship, part of the ESKY shipping conglomerate, whose CEO William Byrd owed Sigma a big favor after events a few months back. Director Crowe had called in that favor, arranging for the use of the icebreaker to conduct the upcoming search.
ThePolar Kinghad already been in the neighboring Chukchi Sea, repositioned there from the oceans around Antarctica. The busiest seasons for icebreakers in the northern Arctic were spring and fall. A few weeks ago, theKinghad finished a stint with ConocoPhillips, aiding in oil and natural gas exploration near the North Slope of Alaska. The ship had been headed next to the Barents Sea, via the Northern Sea Route, to do the same for a Norwegian firm—until Painter had commandeered the vessel.
From the heavy stride of the former navy officer, Kelly was not pleased with this change of course, especially as it aimed his vessel toward the thicker ice of the polar cap. The current waters were crowdedwith ice floes, requiring little of the near-bottomless power of the ship’s two nuclear reactors. But before long, they would need to strain the upper limits of those powerhouses.
“I don’t know what you expect to find out there,” Kelly said as he led Gray toward a conference room below deck.
