Larry was studying the canyon upstream. "Can't raft in," he said.
Duke nodded in agreement. "Didn't think we could." He turned to Larry. "Call the blimp. We're dropping the team in." Larry nodded and thumbed his radio to life. Duke looked toward me. "What are you thinking?"
I said, "It puts it all on the shoulders of the first man. He's got to hold the position until the others are safely down." I closed my eyes for a second and visualized what it might be like. "I'll do it," I said.
"You don't have to," Duke said.
"Yes, I do."
"All right," said Duke. "Fine. Do you have any problems with the plan?"
"No," I said. And then I shrugged and grinned. "I hate it-but I have no problems with it."
Duke eyed me steadily. "What's that about?"
"I hate blimps. I have this thought the worms will hear us coming. Or see the shadow."
"Anything else?"
"Yeah. I hate heights."
"Is that it?"
"Yeah."
Duke looked at Larry. "You?"
"I'm fine."
"I don't get that from you-what's going on?" Larry shook his head.
"You still obsessing about Louis' death?"
Larry shook his head. Louis had died two weeks after his finger had been bitten. He'd started shivering one afternoon, then collapsed. He sank into a coma that evening and was dead the following morning. The autopsy showed that almost every red blood cell in his body had been exploded-from the inside. The killer was a virus that behaved like malaria. There were now thirty-four viral or bacteriological agents that had been identified as active agents in the Chtorran infestation. Louis had been lucky. His death had been quick, and relatively painless.
Duke said, "Larry, are you going for revenge?" Larry didn't answer.
"-Because if you are, you'll stay behind. It'll get in the way."
"I'll be fine!"
Duke looked at Larry. "You fuck up, I'll put a stake through your heart. I promise you."
Larry grinned, "I got it, boss."
"All right." Duke included me again. "Let's get moving. Be sure your teams are clear. We'll have a final briefing just before we go." Duke looked at me. "Jim, you and I will go over the attack plan with the pilot. You're right about the shadow-we have to keep it off the dome-and the engine noise, so let's see what the wind is doing. If it's light enough, we'll float across the valley."
We slid back down the hill. We'd left our jeep a quarter-mile away, on a fire road. It took us another half-hour to get to the landing site where the blimp was waiting. Our three attack teams were going through a last check of their equipment as we pulled up. Larry hopped out even before the jeep had finished rolling to a stop. "Only three torches-" he called. "There's too much fire danger. We'll use the bazookas-"
Duke poked me. "Let's talk to Ginny."
I followed him to the command tent, where a 3-D map of the valley was displayed across the situation table. He nodded perfunctory greetings to the watch officers and tossed his pack to one side. "All right, let's get to work." He stepped up to the table and picked up a light pen. He drew a red target circle in the large clearing next to the dome. "That's where I want to put the team."
Captain MacDonald stepped up to the table opposite Duke and frowned. Her white hair was pulled back into a crisp military bun. She wore a tight jacket, trousers, a sidearm and a stern expression. She pointed. "I've got fifteen knots of wind coming from the southeast. It's going to be tight."
Duke dialed down the magnification. The image shrank as if it were dropping away. The tabletop now included several square miles of surrounding mountains. "I got that. And we need thirty seconds over the landing site." He pointed at the now reduced red target circle. "Can we do it with the engines off?"
Ginny closed her eyes and thought a moment. She said, "Tricky. . ." She typed something into the keyboard and studied the monitor. "Looks like a split-second drop. Your men are going to have to take their cues from the box-"
She stopped and looked at us. "I can't promise to do it with the engines off. I can promise to give you forty-five seconds over the target site-and I'll keep the engines off as long as possible."
Duke didn't look happy. "There's a real potential for disaster here." He turned to me. "Jim, I don't want anyone dropping in the water. And I don't want anyone dropping too near the dome. Can we trust your team?"
"We'll hit our marks."
"Can I count on it?"
"I'm the one taking the biggest risk." I met his eyes. "You can count on me."
"All right." Duke turned back to the display. He dialed the image up to maximum and centered it on the dome. "What does that look like to you?"
I checked the scale indicator at the edge of the table. "It's too big. How old is this picture?"
Ginny looked at the monitor on her side of the table. "Eighteen hours. This is yesterday afternoon."
"Thank you." I picked up the light pen. "Here-this is where to look. Around the perimeter of the dome. Look for purple coleus or wormberry plants. Every time we find evidence of cultivation, we also find a fourth Chtorran. There's none of that here yet. Nor is there a totem pole in front-that would also be evidence. But" -I shook my head-"this dome is too big. I want an extra watch at the back of it."
Duke looked at me sharply. "Reason?"
"I don't have one. Just a feeling something's weird here. Maybe it's the location of the dome, maybe it's the mud camouflage. But I get a sense there's some intelligence here."
Duke nodded. He studied the terrain again. "I'll buy it. Ginny?"
Captain MacDonald nodded too. She touched the keyboard in front of her and wind lines appeared across the map. She studied the monitor screen for a second, then said, "There's your course, the red line. If the wind holds, you'll have fifty seconds over the target area. I'll come across the valley from the southeast." She pointed with the light pen. "Now, look, we're coming down a very narrow track. I've got mountains on one side and water on the other. The shadow will be north and west of us. And so will the dome. I can't promise I'll miss it, not without the risk of dropping men in the water, unless you want to wait till later in the day." Duke shook his head.
"All right. I'll do my best, but your first man will have to start down the rope even before we clear the dome. And he'll be hitting the ground awfully close-"
Duke looked at me. I shook my head. "No problem."
"-otherwise, the last of the team will be falling in the water."
"They had their baths this month," I said. "Don't worry about it.
"Anybody have anything else to add?" asked Duke. "No? Good. Let's go. Load 'em up." As we stepped out of the tent, he clapped my shoulder. "How are you feeling?"
I said, "Who's good idea was this anyway?"
He grinned back. "Right."
My team was to jump first, so that meant we boarded last. While we waited beneath the curve of the huge sky-blue blimp, I briefed them quickly. The job is routine, the jump's a little tight. Any questions? None. Good. Any problems or considerations? Larry had handled them already. Fine.
I moved among them quietly, double-checking the charges on their weapons and the expressions on their faces.
"How's it look, Cap'n?" That was Gottlieb. He had apple cheeks, a frizz of curly hair, and a perpetually eager smile. Right now he looked worried. I could tell because his smile was uncertain.
"Piece of cake."
"I heard the valley's awful narrow-"
"Yep. It is. That's just to make it interesting. These things are turning into turkey shoots. We don't want you falling asleep." I looked into his face. There was still too much tension there. I wondered if I should pull him. I put my hands on his shoulders and leaned over and whispered in his ear. "Listen, asshole-I promise you, you're going to do fine. You know how I know? Because if you don't, I'm going to rip your arms off."