Hard Line - Pamela Clare Page 0,12

off, Lance. Sam is in good hands.”

Lance got in his face. “Why did you send Patty’s body back without letting me say goodbye?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Hardin looked genuinely surprised. “I didn’t authorize that. Are you sure?”

From outside the station came the sound of a small plane landing.

“Let’s move out.” Thor shouldered his gear.

“Samantha, stop! Nothing on that satellite is worth your life!”

“We’ll bring her back.” Thor and the others put on their masks, goggles, hats, and gloves, grabbed the duffle bags, and left the shelter of the station.

It was sixty-eight below, cold enough to suck the breath from Thor’s lungs even with the mask. They walked quickly over the ice to the waiting Twin Otter, its propellers still running as a team of fuelies worked fast to get it in the air again.

Samantha fell in beside Thor. “I’m sorry about Lance. He’s upset about Patty’s death. We all are.”

“You don’t need to apologize for him. He doesn’t bother me. We were told not to expect a warm welcome.”

“Son of a bitch,” Jones muttered from behind his mask. “This cold is unreal.”

Thor chuckled. “It’s colder where we’re going.”

The pilot, who’d been watching for them, opened the door. “Let’s move, people! As soon as we’ve refueled, we take off.”

Thor let the others go first, and then helped the pilot retract the stairs and lock the door. He and the others took off their gloves and masks and stowed their gear. All but two sets of seats had been removed to make room for the ferry tank, which would fuel the plane when its main fuel tanks ran out.

“The plane isn’t pressurized. I’ll activate the oxygen system when we pass twelve thousand feet.” The pilot checked to make sure they had stowed their gear properly. “We’ll be flying into a stiff headwind, so the flight out will take close to three hours. It should be faster on the way back.”

The pilot made his way to the cockpit, calling back to them over his shoulder. “Strap in. This will be a rough ride.”

They buckled their safety belts, Samantha in the window seat, Thor in the aisle seat where he could stretch his legs. Then the plane began to move.

Samantha’s face was pale, her hands clenched around her gloves.

Thor couldn’t blame her for being afraid. She was a scientist and didn’t have their training. She wasn’t accustomed to danger. She’d been asked to risk her life to solve a problem not of her making, and she had agreed.

He tried to reassure her but assumed that she was too smart to fall for platitudes or bullshit. “We’ll have a steep climb when we first take off, and the flight will be rough. I know this isn’t what you wanted, Samantha, but I admire your courage for agreeing to be part of this mission.”

“I regret it already.”

4

Samantha drew a breath, tried to calm her nerves as the plane accelerated down the skiway. She needed to be logical about this. Freaking out wouldn’t add a single moment to her life. The NSF and US government had sent people they believed were up to this task. She had to trust that they knew what they were doing. If she—

The plane lifted off, its nose pointing sharply skyward.

She gasped, grabbed Thor’s hand.

Warm fingers closed over hers, a strange awareness tingling through her. “Are you afraid of flying?”

Embarrassed and a little alarmed, she drew her hand away. “Only in the middle of austral winter.”

Get a grip!

None of the Cobra guys seemed nervous. From the impassive expressions on their faces, she could only assume that taking extreme risks was routine for them.

You can worry when they start to worry.

Unexpectedly, that thought helped to calm her.

She reached inside the inner pocket of her parka and drew out the schematics for the satellite, studying them to keep herself busy. It wasn’t the schematics that got her mind off her worries, however, but the fact that Thor was sitting beside her. She was oddly mindful of his presence. His long legs stretched into the aisle. His shoulders were so broad that they encroached on her space—not that she minded. His scent was pleasingly male. She even imagined she could feel his body heat.

You’re being ridiculous.

Sure, it had been a long time since she’d been with a man, but macho tough guys weren’t her type—even if she did find him attractive.

Focus.

She willed her gaze to meet the page. How she approached removing the components depended entirely on how the satellite had landed.