The Sixth Seal полностью

It wasn’t Raegor, and Zahra had difficulty remembering her name.

Her eyes went wide with recognition. “Hello, Agent Marker; I didn’t expect to hear from you.”

“First, it’s Eddy. And second, Director Raegor is out of the office for a few more days. I’m handling operations until he returns.”

“Operations? Does this mean you have something for me?”

“It does, yes.”

Zahra sat up straight, and her right leg rapidly bounced. Even Cork’s behavior changed. She leaned forward and clasped her hands on top of the table. Her attention was totally on Zahra now.

“Zahra, you still there?”

Zahra blinked. She didn’t know how long they’d gone without speaking. She was too engrossed in the possibilities surrounding this call.

“Yeah, I’m here. Whatcha got for me?”

The details Eddy gave her were intriguing yet sparse. Vague enough to be interesting but vague enough to present a challenge. Even after listening, Zahra wasn’t quite sure what her mission was. A World War II-era U-boat had been discovered sticking out of the ice down in Antarctica, somewhere called Queen Maud Land. Zahra wasn’t an expert on anything within the Southern Ocean since there wasn’t a lot of history for her to study. However, that could be cured with a research crash course.

That’s one long trip. I’ll have plenty of time to get caught up.

“Antarctica, really?” Zahra asked. That was the last place she thought she’d be sent, not that she had a first place in mind, either.

“Is that a problem?” Eddy asked.

“Not at all,” Zahra quickly replied. “Just wasn’t what I was expecting to hear. Breaking the newbie in, huh?”

“No. We don’t do that here. This isn’t like stationing new arrivals in the Arctic Circle or even Minot Air Force Base.”

“Good to know.”

“Yeah, welcome to TAC, where nothing is what we expect. You better get used to it quick, Zahra. As of now, you need to have zero exceptions about anything work-related.”

Zahra felt a little deflated. This wasn’t exactly a rah-rah speech.

“So,” she said nervously, “going in blind, no matter the intel, huh?”

Eddy chuckled. “Pretty much. Having second thoughts?”

Zahra snorted. “Hell, no. Just taking it all in, you know?”

“I do. It can be overwhelming initially, but I’m sure you’ll do fine. Just so you know, Director Raegor handpicked you for this one. Says it will be a good jumping-off point for you — a good way to get your feet wet.”

“And frostbitten.” Zahra could already feel the Antarctic chill all the way from Levanzo.

Cork leaned in closer and quietly said, “Not to mention other parts of the anatomy.” She pointed at her own chest and winked. “Wear layers, luv.”

“Is someone else there?” Eddy asked.

Zahra’s eyes burned into Cork. “No, it’s just me. The wind is really howling here. Sometimes, it sounds like the whispered words of an idiot.”

The Brit frowned, crossed her arms over her chest, and sat back.

“Yes, well, I was just making sure it wasn’t that tree trunk of a pilot of yours, Ms. Milton. I’ve looked into her. She reminds me of a blabbermouth I had to deal with a couple of years back.”

Eddy’s words must have been loud enough for Cork to hear. The “tree-trunk-shaped blabbermouth” shot Zahra a death glare. In turn, Zahra was forced to hold back a laugh.

“What about travel?” Zahra asked, moving the conversation forward.

“Already arranged. You’ll be getting the details shortly.”

“Copy that.” Zahra blew out a long breath. “So, where to first?”

She heard Eddy clack on a keyboard. “You’ll be heading to Punta Arenas to rendezvous with the first member of your team?”

“Team?” Zahra asked, standing. She paced back and forth. “I thought TAC missions were normally done solo, minus a local contact and whatnot?”