"James Rollins - Subterranean" - читать интересную книгу автора (Romeyn Henry)

A Navy helicopter screamed over the van, the pressure and sound vibrating the windows. Jason
covered his ears. The base buzzed with other helicopters. Ashley tapped the driver on the shoulder. "Is it
always this busy here?"

The driver gave her a thumbs-up sign. "This is a slow day," he yelled.

She leaned back into her seat. Great.

Blakely smiled. "We'll only be stopping here for a couple of hours, then we'll proceed directly to Alpha
Base. It's much quieter down there." He glanced wistfully out the window. "Actually, after a year or so,
you get accustomed to the commotion and smell up top here. I almost miss it."

"Seems like a lot of pollution for a scientific station," Linda said with a grimace. "These surrounding
biocommunities are fragile."

Blakely shrugged. "We've been allocated a ten-million-dollar cleanup fund. It'll get better."

"I sure hope so," Linda said.

They were dropped off near a cement-block building. Ashley tightened her parka around her; the wind
burned as it whipped across her cheeks. Frostbite could set in within mere minutes if unprotected. Her
teammates dashed for the entryway. She made sure Jason was ahead of her. She didn't want him
wandering off and getting lost.

Warmth. The interior was heated but felt humid and sticky, the pungent odor of sweat prevalent.
Crinkling her nose, she noticed the hallway was lined with a rainbow of colored parkas hung on pegs.

Blakely directed them to hang up their parkas. "Don't worry about them being stolen. To steal
someone's coat is a hanging offense here."

Ashley helped Jason off with his parka and hung it next to hers.

"We'll only be stopping for lunch, then proceeding directly to Alpha Base," Blakely continued. "The
E-mess is at the end of this corridor. Help yourselves and unwind. We'll meet back here in two hours.
There's also a recreation room with Ping-Pong and pool tables around the corner from E-mess. Enjoy
yourselves."
"You won't be joining us?" Ashley asked.

"No, I'm meeting with the base captain to iron out the last few details."

After Blakely left, they proceeded to the mess hall. A few Navy personnel raised an eyebrow or two as
they passed. One young gentleman stared at Ashley for longer than she liked, until a stern glare sent him
scurrying. As a whole, though, the Navy crew seemed unfazed by the newcomers. She guessed that as a
base of operation for the National Science Foundation, they had become accustomed to an influx of new
faces.

Ashley balanced a tray laden with two apples, a thick sandwich of luncheon meats, and a pint of milk.
Jason had tried to fill his tray with pudding and cookies until she pointed for him to return the treats.
"Lunch first. Then you can have a chocolate pudding and one cookie."