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

BOOK THREE

Chutes and Ladders
TEN
THE PACK WAS HEAVY, THE CUSHIONED STRAPS CUTTINGinto Ashley's shoulders. She
shrugged it off and set it down at her feet. Heavy, but manageable. She saw Linda grimace as she tried to
adjust her own backpack over her shoulders. Ashley reached over and tugged the bag higher on Linda's
back. "Carry it like that and it won't be so bad."

Linda smiled, but creases of worry still etched her brow. "Thanks. I just have to get accustomed to it."

Ashley nodded. We all do, she thought.

Ashley led Linda toward the group clustered near the team's radio. Blakely was explaining its operation
to Ben, Khalid, and Major Michaelson. "Our web of receivers and transmitters operates at an ultra-low
frequency. They're buried and spread out, so we will be able to communicate through hundreds of miles
of rock in all directions."

Major Michaelson hefted the radio, testing its weight. "Sort of like the buried transmitters that guide our
submarines."

"Exactly the same principle. Low-level reverberations. The system has been tested and checks out fine."

"How often do we establish contact?" Ashley asked as she stepped up.

"Three times a day. At the designated hours," Blakely responded. He pointed at the radio. "This is the
most important piece of equipment you'll be carrying."

Major Michaelson tapped his pistol at his waist. "This is my most important piece of equipment."

Ben snorted. "You're both wrong. Shows your lack of caving experience." He pointed to his belt with its
ring of batteries. "This is your most important piece of equipment. Without batteries, you have no light.
Without light, you can't see what you're shooting at and no radio in the world is going to guide your ass
out of a hole." He gripped his battery belt. "This is your lifeblood down here."

Everyone was staring now at Ben. "Of course," he said, pulling out a roll of toilet paper from his pack,
"this is right bloody important too."

Ashley smiled, and Linda suppressed a giggle. Ben did have his moments; she had to give him that.

"What about water?" Khalid asked, standing up from where he had been hunched over the radio.
"Dehydration is a major danger, isn't it?"

"Sort of. But most major cavern systems have abundant pools of potable water. Just conserve your
canteen between watering holes."

Ashley gritted her teeth. Radios, guns, batteries, water. Lack of any of them could incapacitate the
mission. Too many variables for her tastes.