Sharon Ede www.magethenovel.com © 2023 all rights reserved
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AGENT DAVID ADAMS was speeding back towards Svalbard’s main town, Longyearbyen, intent on getting out of the freezing bite of the wind, the beams from his snowmobile’s headlights slicing through the blue-black darkness.
He had completed his mission of retrieving the Saturnian diamond from Kaito’s Swiss bank deposit box, and delivered his precious cargo to MAGE via the hidden supply tunnel that enabled food, equipment, medical sup- plies, and other essentials to be brought into the facility.
The two-kilometre tunnel, too small for an adult human being to crawl through, had been constructed to conceal MAGE’s existence and its regular delivery of supplies provided by Malvern Media. The system was entirely automated, with deliveries placed into a series of wagons that ran along a miniature track into the heart of the mountain.
The main entrance to MAGE via the seed vault, with its physical and virtual security features, need not be breached, and there would be no awkward questions about why supplies were being delivered to the vault, when no one was apparently living or working there.
As Adams rounded a snowy ridge, he spotted a figure standing in front of the entrance to the vault, his cobalt blue jacket and black pants standing out against a backdrop of white. He cut the snowmobile’s engine and lights.
Fortunately, the howling wind was coming from the direction of the vault towards him, concealing the machine’s sound.
The lack of reaction from the figure in the blue jacket revealed he had not been alerted to Adams’s presence. He seemed to be looking for a way into the vault.
Adams made his move across the thickly packed snow, the man in blue still oblivious to his approach. He had been briefed by Kaito about other interests in the Saturnian diamond, but had assured the TIA…
