The Project 01 - White Jade

Nick, I'm making you a bird colonel for this.
    " Your clearance will be Umbra . N o one is going to question you. Your mission is to penetrate the area, find entrance to the underground complex, retrieve and document whatever information found there of value and bring it back. "
    " You forgot the bit about the tape self-destructing at the end . "
    " Excuse me ?"
    "Mission Impossible. Remember?"
    "Very funny, Nick."
    Ron nie ran his hand over his buzz cut. " Where ' s the drop zone? "
    " I t ' s too dangerous to drop right on the ruins . The mountains and air currents there make it high risk for you and for the aircraft. "
    Back to the broad shot, the laser dot moved west to a valley between the caves and the Bon monastery.
    " We ' ll drop you here. It ' s flat, you won ' t have too far to travel and you can get in and under cover before anyone knows you ' re there. Once you ' re north of the monastery you shouldn ' t run into anyone. "
    " How are we going to get into that underground complex? "
    " There ' s no way to tell until you get there. Selena and Stephanie are working on the translation right now, looking for anything that will help. Selena will have it with her. There has to be something in the book or on site that can show you how to get in, now that we know it 's there . "
    " Any entrance might be buried under tons of rock. We could get there and wander around like tourists until Yang shows up. This isn ' t good, Director. "
    " Nobody said it was easy, Ronnie. You ' re wheels up tonight from Andrews for Dyess. I ' ve got 24/7 watch on the surrounding area and I ' ll keep you informed if we see any military presence coming toward you. I will monitor the mission on live satellite and stay in voice contact. "
    " How do we get out when we ' re done? " Carter asked.
    " Helicopter extraction from India . It ' s not far to the Indian border, but the route on foot is difficult, through the Lipu Lehk pass. It helps that you ' re going in summer, but the plateau is high, the air ' s thin and it ' s cold up there. It is the Himalayas , after all. "
    " And if we run into opposition? "
    " Take care of it. No rules of engagement. We ' ll have the copters standing by across the border but you ' re on your own. "
    On your own, Carter thought. Meaning deniable.
    " When you ' re ready, call for extraction. Get it done as fast as you can. Yang is bound to send someone down there when he figures it out. "
    " He must have by now, " Carter said.
    " So far we don ' t see any activity in the area, but that could change anytime. "
    " What are we looking for? "
    " Anything to confirm the existence or location of a possible uranium deposit. If Selena ' s translation is correct there should be a map or records of some kind showing where all the ingredients for the elixir can be found. I don ' t think you ' re going to find the secret of immortality, but look for anything unusual. You won ' t know until you get there and see for yourself. Any other questions? Ronnie? "
    He shook his head. " I don ' t have any. "
    " All right, then. Transport at 1800. Good luck. "
    Out in the hallway they waited for the elevator.
    " What do you think, Nick? "
    " About what? "
    " About the whole deal. "
    " I think we ' re in for what our Chinese friends call an interesting time. "

Chapter Thirty- Two

    At 2 3 00 hours they were airborne in a C-130J Super Hercules, an updated version of the Air Force workhorse. A Humvee with Pakistani army markings looked lost in the cavernous hold. The team sat on an orange strap bench along the side of the fuselage, listening to the drone of the Rolls-Royce engines . They were in battle dress, geared up for the cold weather waiting in the Himalayas . T here wasn ' t going to be time to change later.
    Nick went over the military GPS unit with Selena . It would guide her to the landing zone. S he had skydiving experience but this was far different. They were jumping at high altitude and she'd never done that before . Wind and thermals could screw everything up . T here was no room for error.
    Their packs sat at their feet, loaded with rations, water, ammo, the MP-5N ' s, medical kits and assorted survival gear. Selena had a digital camera and video recorder to document anything they found . Aside from the H-Ks, the weight was down to around thirty pounds. A t fifteen thousand feet and higher any weight would be a burden.
    All three had pistols strapped to the left side of their chests and Ka-Bar knives on their right