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.He stared at it a moment, then called to Helena.“What do you think?” he asked.She studied the passing blip as it moved quickly off screen.“Wrong area and too small for anything significant,” she replied.“Probably another deposit of ore.”Exhausted from the day’s activity, he accepted her answer without question.----- ----- ----- -----Later that evening…Inside the utility trailer, the four sat around a small table and dined on fish and potatoes, prepared by the camp cook.Although the foods were either previously frozen or canned, the flavor and nutritional value were more than satisfactory.“What kind of fish is this?” Duni asked, eagerly taking another mouthful.“I think it’s halibut,” Jack responded.“I must say, if they continue to serve foods this good, I might consider staying a while,” Javi joked.Helena ignored the small talk and got straight to business.“So how’d you guys do today? We had a couple of hits on the metal detection radar, but they all turned out to be false alarms.I’m guessing by the size and depth of the images, the hits were probably just some kind of ore deposits down there,” she said.“We had the same results.Either we found nothing, or the radar activity turned out to be something other than an obvious golden pyramid.If I had to guess, I’d have to say you’re correct, Helena: just a bunch of ore down there in a couple of places,” Javi responded, his tone sounding disappointed.“I wonder what kind of ore it is,” Duni speculated.“Imagine if it was gold.Every man with a shovel and a dream would show here overnight, seeking his fortune,” he joked.“This is a national park.Greenland would never let that happen,” Javi responded, confidently.Duni nodded.“So tomorrow we start the grid search, right?” Helena asked more for the benefit of “those” listening, than out of her own curiosity.Seated on the opposite side of the room, Ron and Adam quietly huddled around a single computer and reviewed the status of various camp activities and requirement, ensuring the services were running efficiently.As Helena spoke, they quickly jotted down the information.“Yes Helena,” Javi responded.“Just like today, you and Jack will by flying the northern region of the grid and Dunixi and I will be flying the southern region.If my guess is correct, it should take us an entire month.”For the next half hour, the four continued to discuss the details of their mission.As they finished their meal, they realized the late hour and headed off to bed.----- ----- ----- -----The following morning…The four rose early and prepared for the day’s search.By 7:30am, they waited in the utility trailers as the two helicopters prepared to land.Within a half hour, they once again were strapped in and headed off to the upper ice sheet.Flying in Zeus One, Jack and Helena flew to the northern edge of the search grid, while Javi and Duni flew to the southern edge in Zeus Two.Minutes after departure, the pilot of Zeus One positioned the helicopter over the first grid line and announced their readiness.“Ok Sir, we’re in position.Ready to proceed,” he said in formal tone.“We’re all set here too,” Jack responded, far less formal.The aircraft began its slow easterly track over the ground.Flying at just fifty feet above the ice pack, the radar sensors began to send back images to the laptops.Helena watched closely, studying the gray and white tones of the readout.Jack did the same.Moving slowly along their path, both sets of eyes watched the stark, featureless land pass under them.Although there were variations in color tones on their computer screens, the reality of their search quickly became apparent: they’d be spending long hour staring at nothing.A half hour after they started, Zeus One had flown the first leg of the search grid.The pilot turned back around and entered the path of the second line in the pattern.As he called out their new position, Jack and Helena watched their laptops intently.Hour after hour, the same east-west searches continued.By the end of the day, nothing of consequence had been found.After nearly fourteen hours of tedium, the two teams headed back to Camp Zeus.Later that night, the four sat quietly and ate their food.Very few words were spoken as disappointment filled their minds.----- ----- ----- -----For the next three weeks, the two teams flew the same missions day in and day out.Each evening, they returned with nothing to show for their work.Although there were minor inflections on their computer display that called for further inspection, their findings revealed nothing more than ore deposits or anomalies that proved to be nothing.With moral waning, a weather front moved into the area, prohibiting further flights for nearly a week.As the four sat around for hours whiling away the time, extreme boredom set it.With little to do and falling behind schedule, Jack elected to continue the search for the pyramid by snowmobile.Mounting a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to the snowmobile’s body, as well as GPS for navigation, he felt he could search several grid lines each day until the weather improved.Standing around the modified machine, Javi, Jack, Duni and Helena, as well as Ron and Adam, admired Jack’s handiwork.“Well, it ain’t pretty, but it will get the job done,” Duni said, nodding in approval.“Thanks Duni.I can rig one up for you if you’d like?” Jack teased.“No thanks.Enduring polar bears and hours of zero degree temperatures, isn’t really my thing,” he replied dryly.Javi stared at the snow machine and shook his head.“Are you sure you want to do this? I’m certain the weather will lift in a couple of days,” he said.“We’ll be fine.It’s not as if I’ll be driving like a lunatic out there.Anything above fifteen miles an hour and the radar becomes unreliable,” Jack responded.“Our only real danger is running into a polar bear, which is pretty unlikely seeing we won’t be stopping at any time.”“Don’t worry, Javi,” Helena said.“Ron loaned me his Beretta 92 handgun.If we run into any trouble, he assures me a nine millimeter slug will take ‘em down in one shot,” she added, lifting her heavy arctic parka and showing the side holstered weapon.“But if you need more than one shot, it holds a thirteen-round magazine,” Ron announced matter-of-factly.“Hmm, I guess thirteen rounds might do it,” Javi said sarcastically.“You sure you know how to shoot that thing?” he pressed further.Helena nodded proudly.“Of course.We all had firearms training before we left… and Ron showed me again this morning,” she said.“Well, just the same, you be extra vigilant out there,” Javi warned, now sounding like a concerned parent [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]