Page 20 of Escaping my Dragon

“Is that better or worse than the eyeball bigger than you?”

“Better, I guess, since you’ve indicated we can easily escape a volcano.”

“One yes, but all four might be hard,” he muttered.

“Four? I thought the other three were dead.”

“You’re not the only one who had a dream.” He scrubbed his face. “Ignore me. I’m tired. Didn’t get much sleep, and the cat nap I managed proved toasty, rather than restful.”

“Did you manage to locate the missing helicopter?”

“Yes and no.”

“Meaning?”

“While we didn’t manage to retrieve it, the radar tracked it to Mount Erebus, where it disappeared.”

“Into the volcano?” I gasped.

He nodded. “And it never emerged.”

“Are you sending a recovery team?”

“Fuck no. Not for a machine.” Left unsaid: or for the person who’d been dumb enough to pilot there.

“Accident or suicide?”

“We’re not sure what happened, although we’re pretty sure we know who took it.” A pause. “Dr. Greenfield appears to be missing.”

The comment rounded my mouth. “Oh wow. Did he go nuts?”

Noah’s lips flattened. “I wouldn’t have thought he’d been here long enough to be seasonally affected; however, he did seem to struggle to fit in.”

“How did he manage to steal the chopper? Aren’t they secured?”

“If by secure you mean kept under cover until it’s needed.” Noah shrugged. “Guess we should have done more, but we’ve never had something like this happen before.”

“Because who would be crazy enough to steal a chopper?” I hugged my upper body, a weird thing I did when my brain whirred to solve a problem. “Greenfield didn’t seem like the type who’d know how to fly a helicopter.”

“It is surprising, especially since it is more complex than flying a plane.” Noah raked fingers through his hair. “I’ve got people digging into the man to see if they find anything.”

“Like what? Worried he was a spy?”

“A spy for who and what? We’re fairly open about what happens here. It’s not like we’re hiding military secrets.”

“Says the military guy stationed here,” I pointed out.

“Only because our presence provides structure and stability.”

“And our government doesn’t want anyone else to establish a military presence without our knowledge.”

“Antarctica isn’t exactly an ideal base of operation.”

“And yet the USA is only one of many countries that have pretty much banned exploration.”

“To preserve but mostly protect. Which is also why you’re here, isn’t it? I thought the whole point of your documentary was to dissuade some of the idiots who show up every year thinking they’ll uncover some deep dark secret and then end up requiring rescuing because they’re unprepared.”

“And stupid,” I added hearing the word in his tone.