Free Torrent by David Meyer

weeks."
    "So what?"
    "If things go wrong, we're going to need allies. So, we need to know who—if anyone—we can trust."

 
    Chapter 24
    "What do we do if the rotors stop turning?" I asked.
    Dr. Wu gave me a quick look before turning back to the controls. "What kind of question is that?"
    "An honest one." I edged into the cockpit. "It's been a long time since I flew in a helicopter."
    "You pray," he said after a moment. "You pray like crazy."
    I chuckled. "That's reassuring."
    "You don't need to worry. This here is a Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma. It's a bit old but it's got a five-blade main rotor that cuts way down on vibration. Plus, two Turbomeca Makila 2A1 turboshaft engines linked up to a dual-channel Full Authority Digital Engine Control, or FADEC, system."
    I blinked. "What?"
    He smiled. "Basically, a digital computer controls the engines. If things go haywire, the FADEC system will protect them, provide redundancy, and issue emergency responses. In other words, if the engines stall, our little FADEC system will force them to thrust."
    "Without your input?"
    "Yes."
    "What if the FADEC system fails?"
    "Then the engines fail. There's no manual override so I've got no way of restarting the engine."
    "That's crazy."
    "Sure, if we only had one FADEC system. But this baby's got three of them. That's Emily's doing. She's all about redundancies."
    "Is that right?"
    "We've got two language experts, Dora and Renau," he replied. "Crowley doubles as my crew. He can fly if something happens to me. Plus, we've got a second doctor. Well, sort of."
    "What do you mean?"
    "Tum is a Maya shaman. He deals in natural remedies and healing rituals. A bunch of nonsense if you ask me." He gave me a quick look. "Even you. You're a redundancy."
    The doc was telling the truth. Miranda's team was more experienced with normal excavations and my team was more experienced with unconventional ones. Still, there was overlap between our skill sets.
    "How long have you worked for Emily?" I asked.
    "Two years. No, wait. Three years."
    "Is she married? I didn't notice a wedding ring."
    "Why?" He arched an eyebrow. "You interested?"
    "No. But she says this expedition is open-ended. I find it hard to believe she'd leave a spouse on those terms."
    "She's not married. At least, I don't think she is."
    "You don't know?"
    "Emily's a very private person."
    "What's she like as a boss?" I asked.
    "She's a—what do you call it—a technocrat. She thinks she knows better than everyone else. And you know what? She's usually right."
    "She must be successful."
    "She is."
    I cocked my head. "So, how sick is she?"
    He gave me an odd look. "What makes you think she's sick?"
    "Most people don't employ a personal physician."
    "True." He paused. "All I can say is I'm sworn to confidentiality."
    "I just want to know if I should be worried. Is she contagious?"
    "She's not contagious." He was quiet for a moment. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be worried."

 
    Chapter 25
    "This isn't right." Miranda's voice trembled.
    "If you'd read the contract—"
    "Forget the contract," Miranda screamed. "We had a deal."
    Emily didn't respond right away. From experience, she knew the trick to managing an angry person was to avoid fueling the fire. So, she kept her tone even and spoke quietly. "You still get to examine it."
    "Yeah, along with a hundred other people."
    "Please try to understand. The quicker I get the library into the right hands, the quicker Arclyon can start testing remedies."
    "Just give me six months. That's all I need."
    After cutting through the fancy jargon, an expedition was nothing more than a project to be managed. The key was division of labor. In other words, finding the right people for the right jobs.
    However, good management also required a personalized approach. Some people needed scolding. Others needed coddling. Miranda belonged in the latter category.
    "You don't need to worry." Emily looked around. The others, for whatever reason, seemed to be