Clive Cussler - Lost City

sense of Skye's disappearance. His cell phone rang. It was Lessard, the manager of the glacier power plant.

"Lessard? Thank God. I've been trying to get you," he said.

"Sorry. I've been away from the phone," Austin said. "How are things at the glacier?"

"The glacier is as it always is," Lessard said. "But there are some strange things going on here."

"What do you mean?"

"A few days ago, a boat came with divers on the lake. I wondered whether NUMA had come back to finish its survey, but the boat was not the color I remember."

"The survey is over," Austin said. "There was no NUMA activity planned that I know of. What else is happening?"

"An incredible thing. The tunnels under the glacier are being drained."

"I thought you said that was impossible."

"You misunderstood. It would have been impossible to do it in time to save the people who were trapped in the tunnel. It has taken a few days to divert and pump water, but the observatory tunnel is almost dry."

"Was this a decision of the power company?"

"My superiors hinted to me that the decision was the result of some influence at a very high level. The work is funded by a private scientific foundation."

"Is Dr. LeBlanc involved?"

"I thought so at first. His little car Fifi is still here, so I assumed he was coming back. One of the men who had been diving in the lake came to the plant, showed me the authorization, and his men have taken over the control room. They are a hard-looking bunch, Mr. Austin. They watch my every move. I am afraid for my life. I am talking now at great risk. I've been told not to intervene."

"Have you told your boss of your feelings?"

"Yes. He told me to cooperate. The decision is out of his hands. I didn't know where else to turn. So I called you."

"Can you leave?"

"I think it will be difficult. They sent my crew home, so there is only me. I will try to shut down the turbines. Maybe headquarters will take me seriously when the power stops."

"Do as you see best, but don't take any chances."

"I'll be careful."

"What was the name of the man who came to you?"

"Fauchard. Emil Fauchard. He reminds me of a snake."

Emil Fauchard.

"Behave as if everything is okay," Austin said. "I'll be at Lu Dormeur tomorrow."

"Merci beaucoup, Mr. Austin. It would not be wise for you to show up at the front door, so how will I know when you've arrived?"

"I'll let you know."

They hung up and Austin pondered the turn of events. Then he picked up the hotel phone and called Joe and the Trouts to say that there had been a change of plans. When they showed up at his room, Austin told them about the phone calls.

"Do you think the Fauchards have kidnapped Skye?" Zavala said.

"It's a reasonable assumption, given their previous interest in the helmet."

"If they have the helmet, why would they need Skye?" Gamay asked.

"One guess."

Light dawned in Gamay's face. "I get it. They're using her as bait to lure you into a trap."

Austin nodded. "My first impulse was to go directly to Chateau Fauchard," Austin said. "But then I thought that is exactly what they would expect me to do. We should do the unexpected and go after Emil instead. He might be able to give us some leverage, and I'm

worried about Lessard, too. I think he may be in immediate danger. They'll keep Skye alive until I take their bait."

"What would you like us to do?" Paul said.

"Probe the defenses around the chateau. See if there is a way in. But be careful. Madame Fauchard is much more dangerous than her son. He's a violent sociopath. She's smart as well as murderous."

"Charming," Gamay said. "I can hardly wait to meet her."

They bid each other good-night and returned to their rooms. Austin called the number on the card Mayhew had given him, told the intelligence agent that he needed to get out of Scotland as soon as possible and asked for his help. Mayhew said he was leaving the next morning on an executive jet and would be glad to give Austin and the others on the NUMA team a ride to London, where they could catch a shuttle to Paris.

Austin thanked him and said he would return the favor one day, and then went to catch a few hours of sleep. He lay in bed on his back and brushed aside distracting thoughts so he could concentrate on the task at hand, which was to rescue Skye. Before long, he fell into a restless sleep.

THE EXECUTIVE JET lifted off at daybreak the next morning, but instead of heading toward London's Heathrow airport it set a direct course for Paris. Before the plane was in the air, Austin had talked Mayhew into changing his flight plan. He said he didn't have time to go into details, but that it was a matter of life and death.

Mayhew asked only one question: "Does this have anything to do with the matter we discussed last night?"

"It could have everything to do with it."

"Then I should expect that you will keep me up-to-date as to the progress of your investigations?"

"I'll give you the same report I send to my superiors at NUMA."

Mayhew smiled and they shook hands on the deal. By late morning, they were at Charles De Gaulle airport. The Trouts split off and headed to chateau country and Austin and Zavala hopped aboard a charter flight to the quaint alpine village nearest the glacier.

Zavala had called his friend Denise in the French parliament. After extracting a promise from Zavala to see her again, she arranged

to have a fast eighteen-foot powerboat waiting for them at the village. They had traveled up the twisting river all afternoon and arrived at Lac du Dormeur at dusk. Not wanting to announce their arrival, they kept their speed low as they crossed the misty, mirror-still lake waters and wove their way around the miniature icebergs that spotted the surface. The four-stroke outboard motor was whisper-quiet, but to Austin's ears it was like someone shouting in a cathedral.

Austin steered the boat toward a single-engine float plane that was anchored a few feet off the beach. The boat pulled alongside the plane and Austin climbed onto a float to peer inside the cockpit. The plane was a de Havilland Otter with space for nine passengers. Three seats were stacked with scuba gear, confirming Lessard's observation that the plane was being used as a dive platform. Austin got back in the boat and surveyed the beach. Nothing moved in the gray light. He ran the boat farther along the shore, pulled it behind a rock outcropping, and then he and Zavala made the long hike up to the power plant.

They traveled lightly, carrying water, power bars, handguns and extra ammunition. Even so, it was dark when they reached the plant. The door to the portal building was unlocked. The interior of the building was hushed except for the hum of the turbine. Austin slowly pivoted on his heel as he stood in the power plant lobby, his ears tuned to the beehive humming that issued from the bowels of the mountain. His coral-blue eyes narrowed. "Something's wrong," he said to Zavala. "The turbine is working."

"This is a power plant," Zavala said. "Isn't the generator supposed to be working?"

"Yes, under normal circumstances. But Lessard told me on the phone that he would try to shut down the turbine. The power loss would start bells clanging at the main office and they'd have to send someone in to investigate."

"Maybe Lessard changed his mind," Zavala said.

Austin shook his head almost imperceptibly. "I hope it wasn't changed for him."

After exploring the office and living quarters, Austin and Zavala left the lobby and made their way to the control room. Austin paused outside the door. All was quiet, but Austin's sixth sense told him that there was someone in the control room. He drew his pistol, signaled Zavala to do the same and stepped inside. That's when he saw Lessard. The plant manager looked as if he had fallen asleep, but the bullet hole in his back proclaimed otherwise. His right arm was outstretched, his fingers inches away from the blood-spattered line of switches that would have stopped the generator.