The Milestone Protocol Ernest Dempsey (best short novels of all time .txt) 📖

“Because you wanted the director gig?”

“No,” Sean laughed. “Definitely not. I was glad she got it. She’s the best person for it, and the youngest director in the agency’s history. I could have never done that job.”

“But you left.”

“As I said, I thought I wanted a simpler life. Deep down, I still do. A place in the mountains and a place on the beach, and I’m good. But not yet.”

“Money’s not the problem. I’m sure you earned a good income with Axis, and from your current job.” Her eyes darted to Tommy, who sat across the aisle with June.

“It wasn’t money,” Sean confessed. “Sometimes, the skills we don’t want to use are the ones the world needs the most.”

“Did you just make that up?”

Sean shrugged. “I’ve thought about it a lot. The trick is making sure you can separate that person the world needs from the person you want to be. That may sound easy, but it isn’t.”

“Who are you right now?”

Sean looked up into her eyes with a grim expression. “Today, I’m a weapon. Just like the rest of us.” His eyes panned the aircraft interior, sweeping over Alex and Tara, Niki, Emily and Dak, Tommy and June, and Adriana. “Tomorrow, hopefully, we can all go back to that other life, those other roles. If we make it out of this alive.”

Emily made her way down the aisle and stopped next to Tabitha. Bracing herself with both hands on the overhead compartments, she looked down at Sean. “The diamond mine is in a small mountain about thirty minutes outside the settlement of Longyearbyen. Prichard is going to arrange a cargo van for us. The ride isn’t optimal, but it will have to do.”

“That’s okay,” Sean said. “Whatever gets us there.”

“I’ve analyzed the layout of the entry points into the mine. It won’t be easy. From the satellite analysis, it looks like the best way in is through a ventilation shaft on the north side of the mountain.”

“Ventilation shaft?” Tommy asked, steering his attention away from his wife.

“It’s not like we’ll be crawling through a vent in the Nakatomi Tower. It’s large enough to drive a small car through, but we’ll have to get in first. Once inside, we’ll make our way through the tunnel and into the mines. From there, though, we’ll have to find our way. There aren’t any schematics or blueprints that can guide us.”

Sean didn’t like the sound of that. “So, we’re going in blind?”

“Yes. It’s not ideal. I know.”

“I guess it won’t be the first time we’ve done something that way.”

“There is another option,” Emily offered. “Matt poked around and learned that the Framtid Mining Corporation is due to get some supplies delivered within the next few hours. Those supplies are coming straight from the airport.”

“So,” Tabitha said, “you’re thinking we hijack those cargo trucks and drive in through the front door? No offense, but the ventilation shaft sounds less risky.”

“None taken. The vent does seem like we might encounter less resistance, except that to get to it we’ll have to trek through the freezing darkness. We won’t be able to take a direct route, which will lose us some time—a valuable commodity. Then there’s the possibility that the vent will be sealed. Our intel on it is outdated. I would expect Magnus would have taken measures to seal every possible way into that place. The only reason I suggested it as the first option is that the ventilation shaft would pose the least amount of human resistance. However, if we go the cargo-truck route, we may be able to pass right through security. To do that successfully, we’ll need to be disguised as the delivery personnel. I’m sure there will be access ID cards at the very least.”

“I say we go through the front door,” Sean said. “Even if we need clearance passes to get in, it’s subfreezing outside. I don’t think the guards will put up much fuss about us pulling down masks so they can see every inch of our faces.”

“They might even just wave us through if they’re expecting a delivery,” Tommy added.

Everyone in the cabin turned to Tommy with the same look on their faces.

“What?” he asked defensively. “It could happen.”

“I doubt we’ll be that lucky, Schultzie,” Sean said. “But I like your optimism.”

Adriana agreed with a short hum.

Prichard’s voice came over the intercom again. “Touching down in about ten minutes. Please remain in your seats with your seatbelts fastened. The captain has turned on the seatbelt signs, and all in-flight services will be ending.”

Dak laughed a few rows up. “I like him.”

Emily offered a rare grin. “He’s a good one. Lost his family in a fire more than a decade ago, so he moved to Finland to get away from the pain. I imagine flying by himself gives him too much time to think on the tragedy, but we all deal with those things in our own way.”

The humorous moment was gone, replaced by a somber tone.

“Yes, we do,” Sean said.

He turned and looked out the window again at the churning black sea below. “Yes, we do.”

44

Svalbard

Magnus observed the passing landscape from the back seat of his black Range Rover as it rumbled along the snow-covered road. A convoy of four other matching SUVs escorted his in the center of the line. The procession snaked its way around hills surrounding an ice-covered bay, making its way east toward the mountains. This time of year, the Svalbard archipelago was shrouded in darkness for most of the day. The moon, along with the northern lights, cast their heavenly glow down onto the mountains and waters. The snow-covered roads and flats reflected the light, giving off at least some illumination.

“So cold out there,” Kevin commented, rubbing his hands together as he watched the landscape pass by. “How does anyone live here?”

“They’re a hearty people, I imagine,” Magnus replied. “Determined. Full of grit. Less than three thousand people live in Longyearbyen.”

“Well, it might be cold, but I bet it’s peaceful out