Subterranean Read Online Free PDF Page B

left.”
    â€œSounds great, honey. Listen, I’ll be up in about an hour. Is that all right?”
    â€œSure, sure. Whenever. I gotta go.”
    â€œHave fun, then.” The line clicked off. She sighed and headed toward the bar.
    After all, it would be good to get to know her teammates better before the trip tomorrow.
    Maxi’s, the hotel bar, was the designated watering hole. The decor was a Paris motif, with tiny café tables and intimate booths. A French flag hung over the bar. The tables were crowded now with the evening theater crowd. Espresso, café latté, and exotic drinks cluttered the tabletops. In contrast to the European trappings, the Latin music was loud, with a throbbing rhythm.
    A booth in a distant corner had already been staked out by her team. She saw Ben ferrying drinks across the room. Balancing a beer and three cocktails between two hands, he maneuvered through the maze of elbows and feet, arriving with most of the drinks still in their respective glasses. Ashley slid into the booth just ahead of him.
    Sliding in next to her, Ben passed her a glass. “If I remember, the lady likes whiskey.”
    She smiled. “Thanks.”
    â€œYou two seem to know each other already,” said the Egyptian geologist, Khalid Najmon, who sat across the booth next to Linda Furstenburg. His smile glowed against his desert tan, handsome in a dark way. “Have you known each other long?” he asked before taking a sip of his wine.
    â€œNo. We sat together at the meeting,” Ashley explained. “Otherwise, we’re complete strangers.”
    Ben feigned hurt feelings. “‘Strangers’ is such a dirty word.”
    â€œWell,” Khalid said, “while Mr. Brust was fetching drinks, I’ve been getting better acquainted with Professor Furstenburg.”
    â€œPlease, call me Linda.” She blushed a bit and kept pushing a loose strand of blond hair back over an ear. Her manner was outwardly relaxed, but she kept glancing around the room with glassy eyes.
    He nodded. “Linda was just telling me about her doctorate research. Evolutionary biology. She’s been studying the development of phosphorescent algae in cavern systems. Most fascinating.”
    â€œI’ve seen some of that glowing algae,” Ben said. “In a cave in Madagascar. There were caverns so thick with the stuff that you almost wished you had sunglasses.”
    Linda nodded. “ Rinchari luminarus . A beautiful species. Comes in a variety of colors too.” She talked about how the individual species differed.
    Ashley’s attention drifted from the conversation. She studied Linda as she spoke. Her eyes were so blue that Ashley wondered if they were real. Her physique was ample, soft, with small hands, a child’s delicate fingers. A direct contrast to Ashley’s hard, lean body. No one would ever describe Ashley as soft.
    Khalid never took his eyes from Linda, nodding every now and then as she continued her description. He was obviously entranced by more than just the genetic variations of glowing sludge. Even Ben had a perpetual smile on his lips as he listened.
    Ashley felt like a piece of granite next to a rose. She swallowed her whiskey.
    â€œ. . . and that’s how I received my doctorate.”
    â€œI can see why Dr. Blakely wanted you,” Ashley said. The two men seemed to come out of a trance. “Your knowledge of unique evolutionary pathways will be helpful in documenting our exploration.”
    Ben cleared his throat. “Definitely an asset.”
    Khalid nodded. “Indeed.”
    Ben finally turned away from Linda. “So, Khalid, what’s your angle? A geologist, huh?”
    He sipped his drink, then spoke, “The Antarctic Treaty of 1959.”
    â€œCome again?” Ben asked.
    â€œNo one owns Antarctica. The 1959 treaty declared the continent to be used only for peaceful, scientific purposes. A world