Hidden Agemda (Kate Diamond Adventure) Read online

  ***

  The dining room was in an alcove next to the lobby. Kate wasn’t surprised to discover the long table was made of ice. She had to admit it was pretty. Little white lights inside the ice ran along the sides of the table giving it a subtle inner glow. Ice chairs covered in animal skins sat around the table.

  They took their seats, Crowder at one end and Mr. Powell at the other. Kate ended up in-between Mrs. Powell and Mr. White, with Simon across from her. Carmen sat on one side of Simon and Mr. Nguyen on the other. Kate couldn’t help but feel a tug of worry at his red face and heavy breathing.

  “We specialize in collecting mostly art pieces,” Mrs. Powell was saying as one of the staff placed steaming bowls of soup in front of each of them. “What do you collect?”

  Kate’s stomach tightened as she looked at the older woman. She’d studied the dossier on Chyna Hunt and her grandfather and knew enough to discuss their collecting habits in general, but if anyone asked specifics, she might get tripped up. “I’m mostly a jewel and pearl collector.” Kate glanced down at the necklace she wore. “My grandfather is the one interested in this auction, though.”

  “Oh, and what might he be interested in?” Carmen cocked an eyebrow at Kate from her spot at the end of the table.

  Kate slapped a smug smile on her face. “Well, now I really don’t want to say. Considering you all might be competitors in the auction.”

  Beside her, Mr. White laughed and Kate turned her head to meet his red-eyed gaze. His pale skin was almost translucent.

  “I think we all know your grandfather has a taste for the unusual,” he said.

  Kate didn’t reply, she just tilted her head in response, and then focused on her soup. She ladled the silver spoon into the brown broth, stirring up a chunk of carrot, celery and a piece of light meat. Chicken? She took a taste. No, rabbit. It was delicious and, judging by the slurping sounds coming from everyone else, Kate wasn’t the only one who thought so.

  The conversation turned to discussion of the favorite piece in each person’s collection and then to some of the more famous stolen art, artifacts and jewels as they made their way through courses of venison, greens with strawberries and finally a crème brûlée. Kate wondered how they had cooked such a fantastic meal—did the ice hotel have a full kitchen hidden somewhere, complete with ovens and stoves?

  Kate noticed most of the others had their wine glasses filled many times while she nursed her one glass. She kept quiet, thankful she could act the part of the stuck-up recluse and no one would find it odd.

  Jon Nguyen stood as the plates were being cleared. He coughed several times and then sucked in a wheezy lungful of air.

  “Gentlemen, Ladies.” He bowed in the direction of the table. “I’m an old man in need of lots of rest and the day has been tiring. I hope you will excuse me after this most excellent meal.”

  Crowder stood. “But of course, I hope you have a restful night.”

  Nguyen nodded again, turned and left, dragging his oxygen tank after him.

  Glad that Nguyen had broken the ice, Kate tossed her napkin on the table and stood. “And I must also retire to my room. I want to take advantage of the day tomorrow to capture some wildlife on film.” Chyna’s reputed hobby as a wildlife photographer was the perfect excuse for Kate to get away from the spying eyes at the ice hotel … and get those pictures of the penguins she’d promised Gideon.

  Crowder nodded at her. “A wise decision. I hope your night is restful as well.”

  Kate favored him with a fake smile, raised her brows at the others, then turned on her heel and glided off toward her room.

  Chapter Seven

  Kate woke up feeling more rested than she had in years. Aside from being awakened by a thumping noise in the middle of the night, she’d slept straight through with no dreams that she could remember. Maybe there is something to sleeping in an ice room, she thought as she poked her face out from under the heated sleeping bag.

  Checking her watch, she was surprised to find it was eight a.m. She never slept that late.

  Bounding out of the warm bed into the chilly air, she rummaged through her cosmetics case for the transmitter Gideon had hidden in a makeup compact. Slipping it into the pocket of her thermal pants along with the Tic-Tac’s, she grabbed her jacket, gloves, sunglasses, scarf and hat. Throwing the strap of the Nikon camera Gideon had sent over her shoulder, she slipped on her fur boots and made her way out to the lobby.

  Crowder was sitting on the ice sofa, sipping a coffee. He stood at her approach.

  “Sleep well?”

  Kate nodded. “I think I did hear something at one point, but for the most part I was out like a light. This fresh air works wonders.”

  “You probably heard Mr. Nguyen,” Crowder said.

  “Nguyen?”

  “Yes, he had an attack during the night and we had to rush him out so he could get medical attention.” Crowder made a sad face and took a sip from his coffee.

  “I see,” Kate said. “Well, I do hope he will be okay.”

  Crowder’s eyes drifted down to take in her outfit. “Are you running off somewhere?”

  “Yes.” Kate indicated the camera slung on her shoulder. “I’d like to try to get some pictures of the penguins … you wouldn’t happen to know where I can find them?”

  Crowder shook his head and Fritz, who was hovering nearby piped in. “I hear they nest five miles to the north.”

  Kate raised her brows. Five miles wasn’t very far, in fact it was the perfect distance for what she needed to do. She turned to Crowder. “Might I have use of one of the snowmobiles for the day?”

  Crowder pressed his lips together. “We have two new guests arriving today, but as long as you take one of the smaller ones, I think that will be fine.” He turned to Fritz. “Show Ms. Hunt which one.”

  Fritz nodded and Kate jammed the sunglasses onto her face, then followed him out the door.

  Outside it wasn’t much colder than it was inside. The sun’s rays were weak, but warming. Kate followed Fritz around the side of the hotel to where several snowmobiles sat in a row. Without a word, Fritz handed her a key, pointed to a snowmobile and left.

  Kate noticed she was in the back of the hotel. An opening led to what she assumed was the kitchen and she couldn’t help but peek in. It was empty, save for one man in what looked like an insulated chef’s outfit who was carving a turkey. A stainless steel stove sat against the wall next to a series of stainless steel tables, which held an assortment of knives.

  There was no fridge, but then again they didn’t need one—the low temperature kept everything cold and the snow acted as an icebox as evidenced by the vegetables and meat that were packed in it. They even had those little juice bags that came complete with a straw sitting in rows inside a container carved out of snow.

  Turning from the kitchen, Kate straddled the seat of the snowmobile and inserted the key. It started up easily and she glanced at the sun, then at the round compass on the dashboard. North was behind her.

  She sat down on the seat, applied pressure to the gas caliper and edged the snowmobile forward. She turned it around slowly, getting used to working the gas. Once satisfied, she goosed it and sped off toward the north.

  The arctic air bit into her cheeks as she flew across the glacier, and she wrapped the scarf around the bottom of her face to hide her skin from the chill. The sun glinted off the pristine snow creating an unwelcome glare. Kate squinted at the empty space ahead. There wasn’t another person or animal in sight. Glancing back, she noticed the ice hotel was getting smaller and smaller. Not too much longer and she’d be out of sight.

  Pressing forward, she felt an immense sense of freedom. Here she was, alone in the wilds of Antarctica … suddenly she knew why Gideon had seemed so excited. Of course, being out here alone did have its dangers, but she was well trained in survival and it would be easy for her to find her way back. Plus, she needed to get far away from the hotel in order to transmit the data back to Benny.
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  After fifteen minutes, she came to an inlet with open water. This must be the five-mile mark where the penguins would be. She stopped the snowmobile about one hundred feet from the water. No penguins in sight.

  But Kate had other, more important business to tend to anyway. She slipped the Tic-Tac camera and compact out of her pocket. Using a special ultra-thin cable about the width of fishing line, she tethered them together and then clicked the button on the compact. A small red light came on, then turned green and Kate sat back on the seat of the snowmobile and scoured the area for penguins while she waited for the transmission to complete.

  As she looked around something caught her eye. A flash of light off in the distance—a reflection. Her heart lurched in her chest. Was someone else out here? Watching her? It was impossible. This area of Antarctica was desolate. No one was around for miles except for Crowder, his staff and the rest of the auction goers.

  She could have easily been followed from the ice hotel … but who would follow her and why?

  Taking the camera out of the bag, she knelt on the snowmobile seat and aimed it in the direction of the reflection, zooming in on the area. Nothing. She moved the camera in a slow arc, zooming in and out, hoping she could catch a glimpse of whoever was out there. If anyone was there. After making a full sweep, she put the camera down. She hadn’t seen anyone, not even a penguin.

  Glancing at the compact, she noticed the light was yellow. Transmission complete. She’d sent Benny the pictures of the auction room, the case the ruby was kept in, and the laser trip wires. His job was to analyze it and come up with a plan for her to disarm the room so she could grab the ruby and run.

  They’d already planned her exit strategy and Sal was supposed to meet her at three a.m. with the ski-cycle. She’d need to analyze the plan from Benny, figure out how long it would take, and work backward from there in order to get to the rendezvous point outside her room by three.

  Kate figured she had an hour or two before Benny would be able to transmit his information back. Then she’d head back to the ice hotel, plug that info into her laptop and study it. In the meantime, she had some penguins to find.

  Sitting back on the seat, she started the snowmobile up and headed further north.

  ***

  It was past noon by the time Kate returned to the ice hotel with half of her tasks completed—she’d received the transmission from Benny, but hadn’t found a single penguin.

  She felt a twinge of guilt that she’d be disappointing Gideon, but seeking out the penguins had provided a great excuse to get away from the hotel to communicate to the ship. Even though the communications would be encoded, it was better if no transmissions came from her room at the hotel … just in case someone was watching. She didn’t want to give them any cause to be suspicious of her.

  She parked the snowmobile in its spot and brought the key back into the lobby where Crowder was lurking in his tuxedo-style ski suit.

  “Any luck?” he asked as she handed over the key.

  “Unfortunately, no. I did not see even one penguin … no tracks, nothing.”

  “Well, perhaps tomorrow, then? The auction doesn’t start until noon so you have the morning to chase penguins.”

  “Perhaps.” Kate shrugged. Except I’ll be long gone by then.

  “Would you like lunch?” Crowder asked.

  Kate’s stomach growled and she remembered she’d skipped breakfast. She glanced in the direction of the kitchen.

  “We don’t have anything too fancy since we have a big dinner planned. Roast duck tonight.” Crowder puffed up proudly. “But we do have some sandwiches.”

  “A sandwich would be adequate,” Kate said. “I’m rather tired from all the activity. I’ll bring it to my room.”

  Crowder crooked his finger and a young girl who had been standing inconspicuously by the kitchen came over.

  “Turkey or tuna?” Crowder asked Kate.

  “Turkey.”

  The girl nodded and scurried off to the kitchen.

  “The other two guests have arrived. I don’t think you know them.” Crowder’s brow furrowed while Kate felt a surge of relief. “They’re not collectors, but are assignees of the collector that wants to bid.”

  “I see.” Kate waved a hand dismissively as if the assignees were of no consequence to her. “It’s too bad about Mr. Nguyen … although one less bidder is good for me, I suppose.”

  Crowder nodded. “And bad for me. But I did get word that Nguyen would be fine.”

  “Well, that’s a relief.” The girl appeared beside Kate with a small tray, which held the turkey sandwich and an apple. Kate took the tray, thanked the girl and then turned to go to her room.

  “If you need anything else … anything at all,” Crowder said suggestively. “I’ll be happy to oblige.”

  Kate’s appetite spoiled as she turned to see Crowder leering at her. She drew herself to her full height and looked down her nose at him, her eyes as cold as steel.

  “I assure you I will not be needing a thing,” she said, then turned and marched toward her room.

  ***

  Inside her room, Kate locked the door, then put the tray down and dug out her laptop. She sat on the bed with the sandwich beside her and laptop in her lap.

  Connecting the compact to the laptop with a special cable, she pulled the file off the compact and munched on her sandwich while a program her father had installed on the laptop decoded it.

  Kate studied the information. The pictures hadn’t revealed any additional security, so she only had to deal with the laser tripwires and the case the ruby was in. Benny had been able to determine the case was a simple cyber lock and Kate had brought a jamming device, cleverly disguised inside a tampon, so she’d be able to deal with that easily. The rendezvous time was still set for three am outside the west wall of her room. Kate double-checked the coordinates on her cell phone just to be sure.

  So, that only left the laser security … and the giant that guarded the door. Kate wondered if he was there guarding the room all the time. She hadn’t seen him anywhere else in the hotel. Did he stand there all night? She’d have to figure out a way to distract him so she could jab him with the sleeping serum. Her stomach twisted as she glanced at her backpack … she hoped the vial would deliver enough dosage to knock out someone his size.

  Turning her attention back to the computer, she studied the map Benny had sent. It was more like a series of dance steps than a map and represented the positions Kate would have to contort her body into in order to dodge the laser beams. Since there was no way to figure out the code, she couldn’t risk disarming it—she’d have to depend on her agility to get her to the case and out again. Kate wasn’t worried; she’d done it before.

  She practiced the steps, getting the feel for each position, memorizing the movements until she felt confident she could repeat them in her sleep.

  Once she was satisfied she had everything in order, the information committed to memory and the routine down pat, she deleted any trace of the files and software program from her computer, then snuggled into the sleeping bag for a nap.

  ***

  Kate woke from her nap just before six. Once again, she’d slept like a baby and felt rested and alert … which was good since she’d be knocking out a giant, stealing the world’s largest ruby and making a dangerous getaway in about eight hours.

  In the meantime, though, she had to join the rest of them for supper in half an hour.

  Kate reluctantly wriggled out of the heated sleeping bag and checked her wig and makeup. The wig had become increasingly itchy and she poked her fingers around inside it trying to scratch her scalp without dislodging the piece. She had to admit, she looked surprisingly good for someone who hadn’t showered in two days. Maybe I don’t smell so good though, she thought, as she dug in her backpack for the perfume vial containing the knockout serum.

  Chewing her bottom lip, she sat back down on the bed. She still had no idea how she was going to distract the giant
guard. A sexy outfit? A feigned illness? Those were both dangerous plans—what if he didn’t fall for them and raised an alarm? It would be much better if she could catch him by surprise, somehow … but how?

  She pushed herself up from the bed. Hopefully, something would come to her, but now it was time for dinner.

  Kate slipped out into the hallway, wishing she didn’t have to go to dinner. If she didn’t show up, it might raise suspicion and she couldn’t risk that. Better to suffer through it, and she did need to eat.

  The hallway spilled her out into the lobby where Crowder stood with his back to her talking with the rest of the guests.

  Crowder spun around to face her “How was your afternoon, Ms. Hunt?”

  “Fine,” Kate said, acting like she was a queen talking to a servant.

  “I’d like to introduce you to our new guests.” Crowder stepped aside indicating two men who stood a bit away from everyone else. “Jason Smith and Parker Westlake.”

  Kate’s heart lurched. She knew Westlake … or rather he looked familiar. She was sure that wasn’t his real name. As she shook hands with him, she searched his face for any signs that he recognized her. For a split-second, she thought she saw something in his eyes, but she might have imagined it as his face became passively indifferent the next time she looked.

  “Our new guests haven’t seen the items in person yet.” Crowder’s voice broke into Kate’s thoughts. “Shall we all go look at them?”

  The crowd murmured its agreement and they started down the hall that led to the secured room. Kate followed, figuring she could use the opportunity to double check the intel she’d already gathered.

  The tall guard stood at the door just as he had the night before. This time, Kate noticed a chair that had been carved into the opposite wall. Probably a place for him to rest when no one was around. Kate looked over her shoulder to check the angle. If the guard was seated, he wouldn’t be able to see anyone who was approaching from the lobby until they turned the corner. Too bad Kate couldn’t think of a way to use that to her advantage.