They ran through the crowd and lost themselves before the police arrived.
FIFTEEN
TEAM WORK
THE TEAM MET in one of the yak and yeti’s impressive meeting rooms normally used for business functions. It was seven-thirty, and dinner was scheduled for eight o’clock in the fabulous Chimney Restaurant. Everyone was tired and hungry, but there was still excitement and anticipation in the air.
Marquis sat beside Bond and Chandra while waiting for two late arrivals. He leaned over and whispered, “I hear there was an Indian found shot to death today in Durbar Square. A Nepalese, it appears, was the killer. He’s dead, too. I was questioned this afternoon by police. Apparently, a Caucasian man and another Nepalese were observed fleeing the scene of the crime. Do you know anything about this?”
“Lord, no,” Bond lied. “Who was it that was killed?”
Some Indian businessman. Sorry, Bond, I had to ask. You two are the only Caucasian/Nepalese combination I know at the moment. Never mind, it’s time to start.”
Marquis got up as the two missing stragglers came into the room, and from the podium said, “May I have your attention, please?”
Many of the eighteen people who had assembled in the room were acquaintances from previous expeditions and were therefore embroiled in lively conversation. There was one Nepalese Liaison ®8tcer, sixteen male team members, and one female.
“Please, lets get on with this, so we can eat!” Marquis said even louder.
Finally everyone stopped talking and focused their attention on the leader.
“I have to keep reminding myself that I’m not addressing members of the air force,” Marquis muttered, but loud enough for everyone to hear. They laughed. “Well. Its good to see old friends and nice to meet new ones. Welcome. I’m glad you all could make it. You’re probably wondering why I asked you here. . . .”
There were more chuckles in the room, but less enthusiastic. Bond was put off by Marquis’s manner. He projected unquestionable authority over the team, but he also tried too hard to entertain them.
“Seriously, we’re on a very important mission for the governments of Great Britain and the United States,” Marquis said with thin sincerity. “I’m sure we all want to get to know each other well over the next few days, but tonight we want to eat and go to bed! This is a very nice hotel, and I for one want to take advantage of it while I’m here! So, let’s get on with the introductions. I’m Group Captain Roland Marquis, RAF, and something of a mountain climber in my spare time . . . .”
There was some applause from two or three members of the audience, including the girl.
“Thank you.” Marquis beamed. He indicated two Nepalese men standing near the wall, apart from the others. “You all met Mr. Chitrakar at the airport this afternoon. He’s our Liaison Officer. He is our contact here in Kathmandu.” The man on the right smiled and gave a little bow. “Mr. Chitrakar needs to say a few words. Mr. Chitrakar?”
“Thank you,” he said. His accent was thick. He proceeded to rattle off the various governmental rules and regulations the team should abide by when trekking across the countryside and when ascending the mountain.
“Of most importance,” he said, “is that you do not summit Kangchenjunga. This is a very sacred mountain to our people. You may go as high as you need in order to perform salvage operations, but no higher.” He smiled, and said, “You might anger the goddess who lives there.”
Indeed, Kangchenjunga means “Five Treasures of the Great Snows,” and is thought to be the home of Nepalese gods, as are other Himalayan peaks.
“Thank you, Mr. Chitrakar. I can assure you that none of us has any intention of summiting the mountain. Now, next to Mr. Chitrakar is Ang Tshering, a splendid sirdar, with whom I’ve worked before,” Marquis said.
The man on the left smiled and waved. The same two or three people who applauded before did so again. Bond thought that Tshering looked competent. The role of a sirdar, or Sherpa trekking leader, was important. He would run the Base Camp while everyone else climbed.
“Now I’d like to introduce the most beautiful person in the room! She comes from New Zealand, so those of us who know her sometimes call her Kiwi Kendall. Meet our team doctor, Hope Kendall.”
Red-faced, Dr. Kendall stood to the loudest applause anyone had received thus far. Bond thought that Marquis was right in one respect—she was stunningly beautiful. Hope Kendall had blond hair, green eyes, and a wide smile. She was in her early thirties and was obviously fit and healthy. She was over six feet tall, with long legs that were hidden by khaki trousers. Due to social customs in Nepal, Bond knew that he might never get a glimpse of those legs, since women revealing bare legs in shorts or miniskirts were frowned upon.
“Hello, everybody,” she said. “I just have a few words to say because I’m your doctor for the next few weeks. I know you are all fit as buck rats, and you know everything I’m going to tell you now, but I’m actually required by law to give you the ‘talk.’ “
She managed to exert a great deal of authority over the men, and not just because of her physical beauty. Even Marquis sat down and gave her his undivided attention.
We’re going to be climbing much more quickly than any of us have ever done before. The schedule is extremely tight, and I know we all want to be off the mountain before the monsoons hit. Nevertheless, we must be conscious of any symptoms of acute mountain sickness. It can strike anyone at any time. It is each and everyone’s job to recognize the symptoms in your teammates, because many J times an individual cannot recognize them in himself. You must 3 understand that the atmospheric condition at high altitude is the same as at sea level, with twenty percent oxygen, but a reduction in atmospheric pressure reduces the amount of oxygen you can take in with each breath. You’re really breathing roughly half the oxygen you’re accustomed to when you’re above five thousand meters. The first signs are a general malaise, loss of appetite, then headache. This is followed by increasing weakness and a loss of interest in the climb. If you start to experience apathy, nausea, dizziness, or sleepiness, there’s a good chance you’ve got AMS.”
Bond knew all of this, but Dr. Kendall had such powerful charisma that he hung on every word.
“Note that these symptoms can occur at relatively low altitudes. So make sure you use what we call ‘rest steps’ to give your leg muscles little rests all the way up and help you maintain measured, methodical breathing. Take occasional full rest stops with forced deep breathing. Drink lots of water, and I mean it. Eat frequently to keep your nourishment up. Now, you should be aware of the two severe types of AMS, and these are High Altitude Pulmonary Edema, or HAPE, and High Altitude Cerebral Edema, or HACE. HAPE is when there is leakage of blood and other fluids into the lungs, restricting the air sacs in exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood. The symptoms are similar to pneumonia. HAPE can kill you and kill you fast. Fortunately, it rarely occurs in healthy people below nine thousand feet or so. HACE, the other one, is worse. That’s when there is accumulation of fluid in the brain, and symptoms begin with a severe, relentless headache that is a result of pressure due to the swelling of brain tissue. You’ll soon have difficulties with physical coordination, slurred speech, irrational behavior, collapse, and eventually you die. Descent is the only treatment for these things. Forget drugs like Diamox and dexamethasone. Although they might treat the symptoms of AMS, they don’t make the damaging effects go away. As your doctor, here and now I forbid the use of these drugs, got it?”
Several people in the room, mumbled, “Uh-huh.”
“Finally, be aware of what we call retinal hemorrhaging. This is very serious, and it’s caused by damage to the retina due to pressure changes and the tiny bundles of arteries in your eyes rupturing. If you contract it up on that mountain, you’re in deep trouble. You may not regain your eyesight until weeks after descending, if you’re able to descend safely at all! I’m not trying to scare you, I just want you to be aware of all this. I’ll be performing routine examinations on every member of the team, so get used to it.”