Kong: Skull Island- Beneath the Surface

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Who are these people?" He asked the man. James raised an eyebrow at his new team.

There were three of them sitting around a map spread over a white table. A large black man was pointing at the map; his voice getting louder and louder. Next to him stood a petite brunette with large round glasses. She had her arms crossed obviously disagreeing. The last member was quiet. His eyes just paced over the table, his lips pursed as if he wasn't sure what to think.

"Everyone, this is James Conrad." The man introduced him. "Your plane leaves in an hour, Please que Mr. Conrad on what we do know. The Pilot will provide you with adequate funds for any expenses." He smiled, which pisst Conrad off. " If all goes well, I will see you all next week. Good luck." With that he disappeared behind the doors.

They stopped chattering and turned to face him. He set his bags down and offered a hand to the brunette.

"The names Jin. Like the drink. Nice to meet you." She nodded.

"Plesure." James replied.

"Im Bo, and this here is Garret." The black man pumped out a hand. "He don't talk to much."

"I'm going to cut to the chase." James ran one hand through his hair. "I'm assuming you don't work for MONARCH because you have "potential". What makes you right for this job? I need to know who I am working with. If any of us slip up, it will cost us our lives."

"It's a fair question." Bo huffed.

"I speak fluent Korean and I know the culture well. I also happen to be a good shot if it comes to that." Jin puffed her chest in pride.

"I served four tours in Nam. I know the area." Bo smirked. "I'm a seal. That's all you need to know brother."

"What do you do?" Conrad looked at Garret who had his hands stuffed in his pocket.

"I'm a tracker." His words came out soft like a whisper. He said nothing else.

James nodded his head. "Alright then, let's get to work. I believe I need to be briefed."

"Right." The brunette picked up a black and white photo of Mason standing next to an old Korean man wearing a large hat. James traced his finger along the edges. "Seventy two hours ago, Mason Weaver and this man were seen in Kanggye. She had an assignment to take geological photographs of the surrounding areas for our historical BIO research. She was given a radio transmitter in case things went south; just forty eight hours ago, she send in a message, here it is." She handed him a sheet of paper. There weren't any words just letters scattered in unorganized patterns. "We didn't here from her again. We believe she was attacked because of what she took pictures of."

"This is an army code." Bo tapped the page.

"I see that." James nodded.

"It says she's in trouble and on the run in-"

"I know what it says, but what does it mean?" James snapped.

"What are you talking about?" Bo crossed his arms.

"Look," he slammed the paper on the table. "It says she's still in Kanggye, but she's smart enough to not put a real location over an open radio channel." Conrads pulse began beating faster and faster.

"How would you know that?"

"Because I know her, and I'm telling you she'd never blatantly put information like that out."

"What if you're wrong? We don't want to risk that. I say we go straight to Kanggye."

They began arguing their voices filling the room. They began to get louder and louder getting in close to each others faces. James turned bright red.

"So then where is she?" Jin ignored the fight and put a hand on her hip. She adjusted her glasses leaning over the table. Flipping through the page she traced her fingers over the letters. Suddenly she smacked the table and snapped her fingers. "I got it! You were right Mr. James." She grabbed a pencil. "Look here." She traced the pencil over the letters combining them into a different word. A Korean word. She used two codes. An army code, and an old British one."

The argument immediately stopped. James rushed to the table looking at the word Jin had circled. "It's pronounced- dong-gul." Jin pointed. It means cave. And this says- namjjog- that means south."

"South cave." James said the words carefully; his face turned back to a normal color.

"The nearest significant cave that runs directly south of Kanggye is near Koksom in a remote little village. The locals call it Hang Dong Chet." Garret said. Everyone looked at Garret surprised. The name sent chills down James spine.

"So what, she's hiding in there?"

"I believe so." Jin took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes.

"What was she doing down there?" Bo asked.

"Monarch isn't telling us everything." James cursed under his breath. "This is a lot bigger than geological pictures. She's down there because they sent her looking for something a lot bigger." James pinched his nose and groaned.

"Like what?" Jin asked.

"Ask your boss." He replied. "look the point is, I have a feeling we're going to need some firepower, so don't pack light. Trust me you won't want to."

James left them heading straight for the bathroom. He needed a minute. Once inside he splashed his face with cold water. Leaning on the sink he looked up at himself in the mirror. He clenched his fist and punched the glass as hard as he could.

It shattered on contact splitting his reflection into a million pieces. He flexed his hand looking at the bloody cuts left on his knuckles. They had sent Mason to get pictures of who knew what, and now she was trapped underground with who knew what. He was jumping right back into the nightmare he had tried to get out of. The feeling in his stomach worsened. Truth was, he really had no idea what they were going into, or if they could get out of it.

Either way, he wasn't leaving without her.

. . .

The man climbed into his car and ordered the driver to take him home. The sky was clouded by angry weather. As he watched the rain dribble down his windows he thought of James Conrad. He almost felt bad for the man. Falling in love with a woman like that was dangerous.

Mason Weaver was no doubt long dead by that point. No one could survive in that godless cave alone. He just prayed the camera would be eaten along with her. He rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. This was turning into a big mess. There were simply too many variables. She was never supposed to go into those caves in the first place. Her curiosity had killed her. Only three people actually knew what was down there, himself included. He needed to keep it that way.

This whole "rescue mission" was just a show. If everything worked out, they would never even find a body. If the odds were in his favor, the information would die with her. And if she did by some miracle make it out alive, he would just have to arrange an "accident." He had built MONARCH from the ground up sacrificing everything for it. He was not about to let some woman with a curiosity problem get in his way.

Even if it cost him his humanity.