Landing Party: A Dinosaur Thriller by Rick Chesler Read Free Book Online

hammer back for a big blow. Richard looked over at Ethan, saw the man resting with his hands on his knees, eyes closed for a moment while taking a much-needed breather. Seeing an opportunity, Richard stepped behind the nearest rock formation. He waited for two seconds to be sure no one would immediately call out his name, wondering where he went, or ask him to do something. Then he extracted a satellite-phone from his pocket, one whose existence was kept secret from the team. It had been given to him by Baxter, the CIA man.
    Richard had accepted his offer that day in the British Explorers Club. Though he was not exactly wanting for money, his penchant for never-ending globetrotting excitement did not come cheap, and what the heck, he figured. There was that Italian villa he’d been eyeing for a vacation home to bring the missus to. This not-so-little bonus he’d worked out with Baxter would make that happen. He was going to the island anyway, so he might as well get more than the pittance the U.N. was paying him for doing the same thing, right? After a career of risking his hide in the far-flung corners of the planet, seeking out the highest reaches and dankest depths where most fear to tread (unlike most of his present company), he’d earned it.
    Richard entered the passcode for the phone and then placed a call to the only number stored in its memory. As promised, Baxter himself answered, knowing who it was due to the dedicated number he’d assigned for this purpose.
    “Hello, Richard. You have news?”
    “Yes, but not much time to talk. Real quick: We found one of the Tongans. He’s alive, but barely.”
    “Good! Then we know they made it there. Anyone else?”
    “Not so far, only the one Tongan, but he’s really bad off. I doubt he’s going to make it, but we’re doing our best to save him.”
    “Did he say what happened to the rest of them?”
    “The translator’s trying to get that out of him as we speak but he’s pretty incoherent. The Tongan, I mean, not the translator.”
    “I can do without your lame attempts at humor, Richard. Can you—?”
    At that moment, Ethan’s voice called out from the boulder. “I think this next one’s going to do it. Everybody get ready…”
    Richard whispered into the phone. “Gotta go, mate. I’ll be in touch.”
    “If this is the only survivor and he dies, make sure you drop those materials when you can, Richard.”
    “Copy that, out.”
    The explorer disconnected the call and pocketed the phone. He put his hands to his zipper like he was doing up his fly in a hurry as he came out from around the rocks, but it was a needless gesture since none of the team was looking his way.
    Ethan swung the rock hammer in a two-handed grip, sideways through the air at full strength. It slammed into the side of the rock, above where the last chunk had been knocked loose, casting a spark—a tiny manmade speck of fire added to an island born of it.
    That did it. The entire side of the boulder slid away, more than enough to allow it to be shifted. Ethan moved back into position at the boulder with his hands, where Richard joined him. Ethan was confident they’d be able to reposition the burdensome stone now that he’d chipped away at it some.
    But before they placed their hands on the rock, it began to move on its own.

 
     
     
    Chapter 7
     
    Skylar played the light beam around the cave walls while Anita paddled the boat team deeper into the opening.
    “This goes back quite a ways, and there’s a fork in the road up ahead, too.” Skylar illuminated a junction about a hundred feet away where two watery passageways led off to the right and left.
    “Which way should we take?” Anita held her paddle poised over the water as the boat glided toward the fork.
    “Let’s try left.” This from Lara who, as a communications expert, had no particular expertise in cavern navigation or volcanism. But to Skylar and Anita, it was as good a guess as any.
    “Left it is.” Anita