Tibetan Secrets: The Origin Scroll (The Maxwell Barnes Adventure Thriller Series Book 4) by Craig A. Hart

Tibetan Secrets: The Origin Scroll (The Maxwell Barnes Adventure Thriller Series Book 4) by Craig A. Hart

Author:Craig A. Hart [Hart, Craig A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Northern Lake Publishing LLC
Published: 2023-04-14T16:00:00+00:00


12

It was with this antagonistic and suspicious pall over basecamp that Max and the others rose the next morning to prepare for their first climb. They had been awakened by a deafening electronic bleating noise coming from a siren mounted on a pole on the far northern corner of the camp. Apparently, this was known as the ‘Klimb Klaxon,’ a deceptively lighthearted name for a device everyone, except Kane, hated with a passion. He had personally installed and named it—a surprising demonstration of levity for him—and had resisted numerous attempts to either have it removed or disabled altogether.

When Max, along with his friends, had joined the others gathering in the center of the camp, complete with climbing gear and heavy packs, they had received a few resentful glances, but no one said anything about refusing to let them join the party. Apparently, they had assumed they would be joining them on regular climbs, given the original intent of their visit. Max was not foolish enough to believe they had turned some sort of corner in terms of their acceptance, especially not with the events of the day before, but he was happy not to have to defend himself.

Fitch was there, along with Dog and Grits, and another he couldn’t recognize thanks to his heavily bundled face, but assumed was the third man he had yet to meet officially. In fact, he had yet to meet others he’d seen moving around the camp, but given the general attitude of just about everyone except Dog, he hadn’t made much of an effort.

Max’s eyes were still bleary from sleep, and he had not had any coffee.

“What time is it, anyway?” he grumbled.

“Around 5:00,” Axel said.

He was obnoxiously alert, if not chipper, and Max suspected it might have something to do with his recent victory in battle. For Axel, and for any red-blooded male, there was nothing quite like domination in combat to improve one’s outlook on life.

As they stood waiting, the door to the radio hut—which had survived the electrical fire with minimal damage—burst open, and Kane strode out. Studiously avoiding making eye contact with Axel, the big man strode to the front of the group, made an abrupt and precise about-face, and clasped his hands behind his back. Max made a mental note to perform a bit of rudimentary research on the guy as soon as he had a chance; he would lay money on him having some sort of military background.

“Everyone fall in—now!” Kane bellowed, his powerful voice cracking through the air like a pickaxe against an ice shelf.

Everyone, Axel included, did as commanded. This was yet another thing Max admired about his friend. Many men would attempt to capitalize on their victory by showing up or humiliating their defeated opponent. But Axel was not that kind of man, and even though he had soundly beaten Kane, he also respected the chain of command. Axel was not selfish enough to bask in glory at the expense of others, and he was



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