Target Nine (The Spy Game—Book #9) by Jack Mars

Author:Jack Mars
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2024-05-12T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Jacob breathed in the sharp mountain air and soaked up the matchless beauty of his surroundings.

The village of Aaru Kunde lay nestled in a narrow, sloping valley fringed with jagged peaks of black stone. Beyond these rose higher peaks capped with snow that gleamed painfully in the sun in vivid contrast to the lower black summits.

The village, a collection of a couple of hundred stone huts with slate roofs, stood on either side of a sparkling mountain stream that ran right down the center. A few Sherpas moved between the houses on various tasks. One man, who couldn’t have been more than five-two, walked up the path with a bundle of firewood on his back that was almost as big as he was, held only by a burlap sack and a strap around his forehead.

Jacob stared in amazement. He couldn’t have carried that more than a hundred yards in this altitude. They were just shy of 3000 meters here, and even though he had acclimatized to Kathmandu’s altitude, they had just doubled it.

They had arrived by private helicopter from Kathmandu, cleared by the Nepalese military after a single call from Bledshaw.

The director of the Antiquities Division had been good to his word. So far.

Jacob strolled down a path with Jana, Bledshaw, and Agent Arjun Tamang, who had recovered from his injury and now wore a bandage wrapped around his head that made his hat look lumpy. Jacob had told his colleague that Bledshaw was with the U.S. Antiquities Division and was a federal agent. Tamang, of course, had never heard of this agency and asked a million questions. Jacob told him what he needed to know—that the Antiquities Division and its nemesis Dr. Harlow both sought artifacts from an advanced prehistoric civilization. He left out the details about the scummy dealings within the Antiquities Division. Jacob regretted not telling him more, but he was already breaching classified material. He justified that as necessary for the mission.

Jacob also regretted having to leave Detective Gurung back in the capital. The guy was more spiritual than Tamang and his insight would have been useful, but with the theft and the mass murder investigation, the Nepalese police force needed every man on the job.

That also signaled a disturbing shift in the government’s attitude. This was no longer a police matter, but an army one.

And the army had sent a minder.

To avoid attracting more attention than they already would, the helicopter had flown into a neighboring valley, where they were met by a compact young corporal who drove them in a Hummer over to the village. Like the sentry back at the army base who had followed Jacob around, Corporal Koirala claimed not to speak any English.

Jacob wasn’t fooled. Any time they were talking, Corporal Koirala kept close and kept quiet.

Still, the relative lack of oversight by the Nepalese army was surprising. Three foreigners, and one half foreigner, were being left pretty much to their own devices.

Why?

They walked up a steep path cut into the rock near the edge of the stream, heading for the village.

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