"Your bodyguard?" Sam asked, lamenting the prescience of another static shell of steroids and attitude keeping them all in line. Another lapdog following the mad explorer to the gates of folly and beyond was just what they needed to drain what little exhilaration welled in them for this expedition.
"That's correct, Mr. Cleave!" he heard Purdue's voice dwindling in the rush of the noise. "As soon as Gary refuels, we will be on our way to the airstrip and then off to India. Have your gear and luggage ready in thirty minutes!"
Nina raised her eyebrow, "Well, at least we won't be stuck on this godforsaken pile of rubble in the middle of the ocean anymore."
"Always the optimist, aren't you?" Sam teased.
"I just hope to God we don't have to deal with another misogynistic asshole swinging his dick every time he feels intimidated," Nina sighed.
"Rest assured, darling," a woman's voice chimed from the doorway behind them, "nothing intimidates me…"
Sam and Nina turned to find Calisto leaning against the doorway, her duffle bag slung over one shoulder and a protein bar in the other. Their jaws dropped at the sight of the beautiful dark-eyed woman with prominent cheekbones and broad shoulders. She took another bite of her protein bar and continued, "… and I keep my dick nicely tucked, Dr. Gould." Calisto winked at the petite lady and dropped her bag at her feet.
"So, when are we leaving?" she asked, with her cheeks stuffed.
Sam was deeply entertained, but Nina could not decide on an opinion of the powerful woman in the jeans and hoodie. Apparently she did not care to dress like Purdue's bodyguard either and her casual clothing forced Nina to feel a bit more at ease with her.
"I… I don't really…" Nina stuttered, still taken aback by the nonchalant bodyguard with the refreshing wit. Then again, compared to the late Ziv Blomstein the marble statues of Michelangelo had prolific personalities.
"Mr. Purdue said we leave in thirty," Sam chipped in to save Nina any more embarrassment. It was blatantly obvious that she was astonished by the presence of the robust security expert.
Calisto nodded in acknowledgment. An awkward silence between the three provoked Sam to introduce himself purely out of obligation, although he was certain that Calisto already knew who he was. Her handshake was firm and quick, not at all like the limp attempts of most ladies.
"Calisto Fernandez," she smiled, as she shook Nina's hand.
Over the vastness of the restless ocean the waves calmed and the gales tired somewhat, softening their rage to a mere moan. It was uncanny how the weather stilled perceptibly around the oil rig.
"Welcome to Deep Sea One, Sergeant Fernandez," Purdue chimed, as he entered the room in haste. "Now does everyone have everything? We have already wasted enough time waiting out this bloody…" he looked out from the window and noticed for the first time that the fury had subsided, "… storm?"
"Yah, no, that ended rather abruptly," Nina noted.
"Strange. It showed up out of nowhere. Our weather computers showed no sign of any atmospheric turbulence whatsoever, and suddenly we were in the throes of it. Now it seems to have disappeared of its own accord," Purdue said.
"Almost as if it had a mind of its own," Sam gave his two cents.
"Spooky," Calisto mumbled through her last bit of protein bar.
Nina flashed her eyes at the strangely laid-back bodyguard.
"So you are a sergeant?" Sam asked.
"No, I was a sergeant, but Mr. Purdue insists on addressing me as such, so I'll pretend I don't mind," Calisto replied. It was her first serious remark since they had met her. Purdue stared at her for a moment, amazed that she voiced her dislike for the title in his company.
"You are quite fearless, Calisto. I thought your rank would give you a sense of authority and respect, does it not?" he said, as he packed the artifacts in an airtight box and placed it in his carryon bag.
"It reminds me of my mistakes, Mr. Purdue. That is all. You may address me as you please while I am in your employ," she reassured him with a nod and what might be construed as a half-assed smile.
"Very well, Sergeant Fernandez," Purdue reiterated his preference, "I am sure no matter what your rank, that you will do an equally splendid job at protecting our interests."
"And our asses," Sam added by himself. As Purdue and Nina left the room, Sam stepped back chivalrously for Calisto to pass. She looked behind him, examining his rear end and smiled, "Now that is an ass worth protecting."
Sam was left surprised — and smiling.
The trip to Nepal was well-planned by Mr. Eickhart and his associates. Purdue's Jet Ranger carried himself, Nina, Sam and Calisto to his private jet, which was awaiting them at Benningvale Airstrip just off Haddington in the remote countryside. Gary would travel with them to the Nepalese airfield secured by Eickhart from where they would travel to Nepalgunj by train. From there the party would continue on according to the clues Nina would interpret to find the supposed shrine in the mountain.
Nina had been harboring some deep concerns about any misinterpretation of the book's texts. Deep inside her she felt inept, even to a meager degree, afraid that she could fail at translating the scripts correctly. It placed a lot of stress on her performance, but she dared not voice her worry to anyone, not now, not even to Sam. What if she could not direct them to the correct area? Now, for the first time in her life Nina felt a bit out of her depth. She had great knowledge of dialects, basic linguistics and history, both contemporary and ancient. Her skill at recognizing symbols from old empires never failed her, yet she knew that she had now become the compass of the entire group and should she misinterpret even one equation or translate a single word erroneously, she would be in trouble. All she had to comfort her in her abilities was her strong common sense, her powers of deduction, which would support her near-perfect aptitude for figuring out the abstruse. Her eyes found the dark bodyguard who sat opposite her.
Calisto was quiet and absent. She stared from the helicopter window as if she was pushing distance between her past and her present with every mile that removed her from Scotland. It was surreal to her, that within mere days from being shot at and detained by Purdue's people, she was now employed, fed, comfortable and on her way to a sacred place deep in the Himalayas to find the location of one of the biggest legends in the world and be immersed in its glory. She found it wonderful and weird how one petty pursuit of burglary could bring her to this, and in so quick a stretch of time. Not a week ago she was in dire straits, in a position she could never tell anyone of, least of all the people on this helicopter.
Sam watched the two women while Purdue and Gary talked. It was odd for him to imagine Purdue having a leisurely couch-bound afternoon in the lounge, but, as the conversation went, apparently that was exactly how he liked spending the few days of the World Cup. It was positively unbelievable to see the billionaire as a sports fan. Sam would not be surprised if Purdue owned a few teams to get his fix. He would not put anything above him. Sam thought himself extremely fortunate. He thought of his friend, Paddy, and his intended move to MI6. He missed Bruich and wondered what havoc the cat had been wreaking in his house while Paddy was at work.
Nina looked disheartened, but he could not tell for sure. Now and then she would pretend to look out the opposite window to look at him, but he pretended he did not notice. Sam was just relieved that the feisty and emotional Dr. Gould spoke to him again. She was beautiful and smart with a lovely substance of character he really admired. In the bright light of the window her hair looked like velvet and her skin soft. Sam almost forgot that he was on the biggest expedition of his career. What amount of coverage Purdue would give him, he was unsure of, but it was worth the trip in every way.