Area 51: Excalibur-6 by Robert Doherty Page A

Irvine right behind him. The gear was packed belowdecks and Mallory disappeared through a hatchway. Irvine hesitated, then went toward the rear of the ship once his partner was out of sight. A man in a long black coat waited in the shadows near the wheelhouse.
    "Very interesting answer Mr. Mallory gave," the man said as Irvine came up to him. The man's face was lined and his dark hair streaked with gray. His eyes danced

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    with an inner light, darting about manically. He held up his hand and made a strange gesture, a secret sign that Irvine returned with the appropriate hand signal.
    "I am Nikola Tesla," the man said.
    "I have heard of you," Irvine said. "There are some who say you have harnessed great powers."
    "Some will say anything," Tesla said evasively. "What exactly do you think he was referring to when he said 'it'? The mountain? Or—" Tesla paused, then put emphasis on the word: "'it'?"
    Irvine shrugged. "Does it matter?"
    "Yes!" Tesla hissed. "This is more important than your pride."

    Irvine was unfazed by the outburst. "You've never seen Everest. Never stood in its shadow."
    "Everest is not the goal. What is hidden there must be protected."
    "I will do what is required."
    "You must stop him—and the thing inside of him," Tesla said.
    "Yes, yes." Irvine was anxious to be off.
    "You must be careful," Tesla said. "Watch Mallory closely."
    "That is why I am doing this," Irvine said.
    "You are doing this because you were ordered to," Tesla said.
    "I am doing this, yes, because I was ordered," Irvine agreed, "but also because it will be one of the greatest achievements in history. The North and South Poles have been conquered. Everest is the last, great unknown."
    "And that is why it is there," Tesla said.
    Irvine frowned. "And if Mallory is"—he searched for a word—"corrupted? How do I stop him?"

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    "Kill the host body high enough, then the Ancient Enemy cannot survive."
    "You are certain of this?"
    Tesla nodded. "I've learned much. I destroyed their craft years ago, but we know now some survived. The Ancient Enemy is very patient. It has spent years gathering information, learning where it is, and now it is finally taking an action."
    "Why now?" Irvine asked.
    "Because the peak finally seems within man's capability of climbing and coming back down."
    "We hope it is," Irvine said.
    "I envy you," Tesla suddenly remarked.
    "Why?"
    "Because you will see it."
    "If I make it there," Irvine said. "And find the location."
    "That is secondary." With that Tesla strode away.

    MOUNT EVEREST

    Summer 1924
    A hundred-foot-high vertical step blocked the path. It was a rock outcropping from the mountain rising above the northwest ridgeline extending down from the mountain-top. Sandy Irvine stared at it for several moments, then turned to Mallory. The elder climber simply pointed up. Mallory had led on the previous step, and now it was Irvine's turn. He used his ice ax, chiseling out a small step. Then another. Then two handholds. He levered himself up, then reached as far above his head as he could and hammered a piton into a crack in the rock. He put a snap link in, then the rope that connected him with his climbing partner.

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    Irvine felt the rope tighten around his waist and lift him as Mallory leaned back on belay. There was no way a man could have reached this point on Everest, above twenty-seven thousand feet, climbing alone. This step alone would have been impossible for one man to climb. How much longer would that hold true, Irvine wondered. He could not see the summit from his position on the step so he continued up, ever so slowly.
    After almost an hour, Irvine reached the top of the step, his hand scrambling for a hold. He found one and pulled himself up on top of the outcropping. He lay still for several moments, simply trying to catch his breath, knowing he never would at this altitude as the air was too thin. He rolled onto his back and looked up. The summit was only five hundred feet above—he started