After flying around the rocky, snow-covered mountains, Rusty found the place he was looking for. There was a long patch of white snow leading up a gradual slope of a hill near the base of the mountains.
"That's where we're going down there," he said, pointing out the window to the right. "The dot on your map will be over there, at the foot of that smaller mountain."
The mountain he referred to was only smaller in comparison to the one formerly known as Mount McKinley. The name had been changed back to the Native title of Denali during the previous president's regime. Some opposed the change, but for the most part, the people appreciated the president's attempt to honor Native heritage.
"Any gold mines along that mountain?" Tommy asked. The second the words came out of his mouth, he regretted them. "You know, so we don't stumble into any."
"Just one that I know of. The entrance usually has a good amount of snow over it this time of year. The winter has been so mild up here, though, you might be able to see it."
The pilot looped the plane around one more time to get a better approach angle to the snowfield and then began his descent. He touched down easily in the powder, and the plane quickly decelerated as it coasted down the hill toward the narrow valley between hills and mountain.
The four men stepped out into the packed snow and looked out on the white landscape through their goggles. A blustery wind rolled across the hills and up to the mountain, sending wispy clouds of snow dust sparkling into the air.
"I'll wait for you guys here," Rusty said. "Got a heater I can run for a while. If you're planning on being more than a few hours, I might have to run back to the airport and return to get you later. With how cold it will be around sunset, I'd recommend having all your exploring done before then."
Sean nodded and handed a piece of paper to Rusty.
"What's this?" the pilot asked.
"If we're not back and you don't hear from us within the next two hours, call the number on that paper and tell Emily to send the cavalry to this location."
"Emily? Emily who?"
"Don't worry about that," Sean said. "Just do it."
"Oh. All right."
The pilot didn't understand, but he didn't need to as long as he followed Sean's instructions.
"Not a moment before two hours. Got it?"
Rusty nodded. "Yep. I got it." He looked over to the base of the mountain. "That's where the dot on your map is," he said, pointing a finger. "If the mine isn't covered, you'll be able to see it pretty easily just over the other side of that ridge. I know I told you all not to try going into the mines in this area, but it sounds to me like that's exactly what you're going to do. Just remember, if you get lost in one of those, sit tight. The last thing you want to do is start moving around down there.
Sean nodded. No sense in lying about their intentions anymore. Rusty had a good sense of what was going on here.
"We'll be careful. Thanks, Rusty. Remember, two hours."
Sean, Tommy, and Yuri grabbed their gear bags and trudged off toward the ridge. One thing they noticed after only five minutes of marching through the snow was that things in Alaska were much bigger, which threw off their sense of distance much like being out in the American Southwest desert. It felt like they hadn't even moved, and already the three men were out of breath — the two Americans more so than their young Russian counterpart.
He seemed almost cheery to be hiking through the snow across the frozen landscape.
The white powder crunched under their boots. They'd decided against using snowshoes since the snow wasn't more than a foot deep. It was possible they'd encounter some deeper drifts, but they'd deal with that problem if it arose.
"What's put you in such a good mood?" Tommy asked Yuri as they hit the ten-minute mark. He panted for air in spite of his newfound fitness.
"This reminds me of the time I spent in Siberia. We had to go through a month of training there. I always wondered why that was a requirement since most battles are not fought in frozen wastelands. Now I'm glad I was put through that ordeal."
"I'm still waiting for high school algebra to pay off like that," Sean joked.
Everyone was breathing too hard to laugh, but he liked to think everyone thought it was funny.
They reached the bottom of the valley and started the trek around the base of the mountain, just below the ridge Rusty had pointed out. Twenty minutes had already passed, and while moving had kept the men warm, Sean started growing concerned he should have allowed for more time. Their pilot would only wait for so long before he made the call Sean requested.
Sean looked down at his wrist, pulled back the coat sleeve, and noted the time on his watch.
The wind kept driving against them, more than once nearly knocking the men over as they trudged forward around the bend. Snow flew against their bodies, occasionally finding the cracks in their thermal armor, stinging their skin.
"I feel like we should have tauntauns," Tommy said.
Yuri turned his head and looked at the American with a quizzical expression. Tommy couldn't really see the man's face under the goggles and mask.
"It's from a movie," Tommy explained. After a few seconds, he realized Yuri wasn't going to understand. "Never mind. Let's keep going."
Around the bend, the group stayed close to the slopes to get as much protection from the wind as possible. Up ahead, they saw a point on the hill that was much steeper than the rest of the slopes. Rocks jutted up sharply and then leveled off with the rest of the mountain's grade.
"That the mine Rusty was talking about?" Tommy asked.
"Might be," Sean said over the howling wind. "Only one way to find out."
The three men kept pushing forward until they were less than a hundred feet away from the rocks. From their vantage point, they could see an arched entryway with steel rails coming out. The opening was blocked off by heavy wooden boards and an old sign that read Danger, Keep Out in faded red letters.
"Looks like the mine, all right," Sean said. He noticed the rails and followed them to where they stopped twenty feet outside the mine's entrance. His eyes narrowed, and he scowled under his face coverings.
Sean diverted his path away from the mine and over to the right.
"Where are you going?" Tommy stuck his hands out wide.
Sean didn't answer immediately. He walked past the rails until he could see clearly the oddity he'd noticed. He bent down and pressed a glove into the snow.
"Tire tracks," he said to himself.
The wide troughs had been filled in with fresh snow, but it was clear someone had driven through the area recently. He stood up and followed the shallow tracks until they stopped near the mine's entrance. Sean's instincts suddenly went on full alert. He looked around the area, scanning the hills surrounding them.
"What's wrong?" Tommy asked, joining his friend at the crest near the mine.
"Someone's been here."
"What?" Tommy reached into his coat and pulled out his weapon. "How do you know?" Then he saw the tracks. "Oh."
"Looks like they were here in the last day, maybe twelve hours. Those tracks would be covered if it had been much longer."
"Whoever it was, they appear to be gone now," Yuri said.
"Yeah. Seems that way. Still, keep your eyes peeled. It could be a trap."
Sean and Yuri produced their weapons and held them at their sides, ready in case something or someone appeared.
They climbed the remaining thirty feet up to where the rock leveled off. Luckily for Sean, there were no steep precipices or cliffs. A fall from here would just mean rolling back down the snow-covered hill — annoying, but nothing dangerous. The wind was even calmer at the mine's entrance. Sean pulled up his goggles and stepped closer to the boards. He inspected the planks closely, trying to find a crack big enough to see through. The boards had been pressed tightly together and didn't have more than a few millimeters between each. He wedged his fingers into the side and tried to pull, but he couldn't get the barricade to budge.