Beneath the Ice (14 page)

He waited for Griffin to dismount then swung
his own leg over the snowmobile. It felt good to stand, and he
would have taken his time stretching, but he had other things on
his mind. Without a word, Perry left the bay, rounded the Dome to
the entrance, and plunged in.

His skin felt like it had caught fire when
the heated air struck him. He knew that by most standards, the room
was cool, but the difference from the outdoor temperature made the
sixty-degree compartment seem like an oven.

“Gleason,” Perry called out. No reply. Jack,
Griffin, and Larimore poured through the door.

“No welcome-home party?” Jack asked.

Perry shrugged then called out again.
“Gleason? Sarah?”

“Maybe they’re in the Chamber,” Larimore
offered.

“Here comes someone,” Jack said. Perry
looked down the narrow hall that led to sleeping cubicles. Gwen was
approaching. Even in the dim light of the building, they could see
that something was wrong.

Griffin stepped forward. “What’s wrong,
Gwen? We tried to raise you on the radio, but—”

Gwen walked past her brother straight to
Perry. Her face was drawn and colorless.

“Gwen?” Perry began.

“Um,” she said, “Gleason would like to see
you in the back.”

Perry studied her for a
moment, recognizing abject fear when he saw it. He removed his
gloves and started down the corridor. He heard the others behind
him. To either side were the small rooms that served as private
berths. In the very back was the restroom—the head, as Larimore
called it. The Dome had two bathrooms; the worker dormitory had one
large facility. The rooms
were small and
had been built as modular units that could be easily assembled
on-site. Since the rooms were modular, they contained only two
toilets separated by a curtain and two small sinks. A simple
cabinet held typical bathroom items. Team members took showers in a
separate room.

Slipping into the small space, Perry found
Gleason and Sarah hunkered down, staring into the cabinet. Gleason
was sweating, something Perry hadn’t seen anyone do since arriving
in Antarctica. Seeing Perry enter, Sarah stood and stepped aside.
Like Gwen, she was pale.

“What’s wrong, Gleason?” Perry asked softly
as he approached.

“See for yourself.”

Perry dropped to one knee and peered in. His
mind seized at the sight.

“Tell me it’s just a really ugly spider,”
Jack said, his humor unconvincing.

“I wish,” Perry said. “It’s a bomb, and its
counter seems stuck.” Perry studied the device. It looked like a
lump of gray clay with an electronic clock stuck on top. The clock
showed four red numbers—00:00.

“Kinda makes you wonder why we’re still
here, doesn’t it?” Gleason said. His throat sounded dry. Perry
couldn’t blame him.

“Better let me have a look at that,”
Larimore said. Gleason moved aside to give the commander some room.
He lowered himself to a knee beside Perry. What followed was a
series of curses and oaths strong enough to peel paint. He took
several deep breaths, calmed himself then said, “C-4 plastic
explosive. Enough to destroy the Dome. I’ve used this stuff to
clear construction sites in battle conditions.”

“Why hasn’t it gone off?” Perry asked.

“I don’t have an answer.” Larimore shifted
to two knees, placed both hands on the floor, and moved closer.

“Is it wise to get that close?” Griffin
asked from his place in the doorway.

“If it goes off now, Doc,” Larimore said, “a
few inches won’t make a difference. I’ll be scattered over the
ice.”

“We’ll
be scattered over the ice,” Sarah added.

Perry rose and looked at the others. He was
calm, focused, but felt his body shutting down. He recognized it as
a defense mechanism. Emotions were useless at this point, something
the others must have realized, too, since he could detect no panic,
just controlled terror.

“Okay, I think it’s best if everyone goes
into the Chamber. That’s as far away as we can get without being
outside. Griffin, you lead the group. Make some room behind the
remaining wood crates. I don’t know that they will provide much
protection, but as far removed from this site as they are, they
might help.”

“What are you going to do?” Jack asked. “I’m
not leaving you here to baby-sit a bomb.”

“Not to worry,” Perry said. “I have a job
for you and Gleason.”

“
Oh goodie,” Gleason said. “I was afraid you were going to
leave
me out.”

Perry addressed Larimore. “Can you disarm
this thing?”

He shook his head. “Normally, I’d say yes,
but the counter has me spooked. If it were still counting down, I’d
just pull the detonator wire from the C-4. No electricity, no boom.
But the fact that the counter is at zero makes me think there may
be a short somewhere. If I pull the wire, I may bridge that short,
then it’s bye-bye, everybody.”

Perry blew a steady stream of air through
his lips. “In that case, I want you to go with the others.”

“
I’m not deserting my post,” Larimore said. “I’ll take my
chances
with you.”

“I appreciate that, but the team will need a
leader if things . . . don’t go well. I need Jack and Gleason to
help me try something.”

“Forget it,” Larimore said. “I’m
staying.”

“So much for chain of command,” Jack
said.

“You can file a grievance from the Great
Beyond if we’re killed,” Larimore quipped. “I can tell when a man
has a plan. What are you thinking?”

“
It may be the dumbest thing I’ve ever
considered,” Perry said, “but here’s what we’re going to do.” He
explained his thoughts and was greeted with thick silence. “Anyone
have a better idea?” No one did. “Okay then, let’s do
this.”

Gwen struggled to keep tears of frustration in check.
Everyone around her was as calm as if they had received news no
more important than the mail had arrived. She wanted to scream, to
run, to give in to the near irresistible panic. She fought the
urge. At the moment, her mind was the most important tool she had.
Emotion could be released later.

“Let’s go,” Griffin said, taking his
responsibility seriously and marching back down the corridor.

Gwen followed on his heels with Sarah on
hers. A sense of guilt percolated within her. She felt as if she
were running to hide while brave people remained behind.

“Perhaps we can help,” she said to her
brother.

He shook his head but didn’t turn around.
“Perry’s no pal of mine, but he knows more about this kind of thing
than we do. I’ve learned one thing about him: He is resourceful.
Besides, it does no one any good if we all get killed.”

“You’re all heart,” Sarah snapped.

“I’m all brain, ma’am, and right now we need
more brain than emotion. The best thing we can do is get out of the
way.”

Gwen wished she could do more, but she knew
Griffin was right. If the bomb killed Perry and the others, and she
survived, at least she could tell the story—assuming Antarctica
didn’t kill her first.

Perry left Larimore to study the bomb more and helped
Gleason, who was using a wrench to remove the bolts that held the
exterior panel to the Dome’s geodesic skeleton. They had power
tools, but Perry was afraid they would create a vibration that
would be transferred to the bomb’s electronics. If Larimore was
correct and a loose or broken wire had created a short, then a
vibration or any movement might set it off. The explosive had to be
moved, but Perry was determined to minimize that as much as
possible.

Gleason worked rapidly but with great care.
Each movement was the result of directed thought. Perry held the
panel as Gleason finished removing the bolt. As he did, Perry heard
a noise just beyond the wall. Jack had arrived on schedule.

Slowly, Perry pushed the lightweight
composite panel out and felt it tugged away by Jack. The frigid
wind that had been their adversary blew through, a weaker version
of what they had endured over the last fifteen hours.

The air bit at his face and bare hands. He
pulled his gloves from his pockets and quickly slipped them on as
Jack set the panel to the side. Behind Jack was the snowmobile he
had ridden less than an hour before.

“Good work, Jack,” Perry said. “Gleason is
going to help you with the rest.”

“Come, Glees, ol’ boy,” Jack said. “Let’s
show Perry how to customize a snowmobile.”

Gleason gave a nervous
chuckle and stepped through the new opening. Perry returned to the
lavatory and saw Larimore seated
cross-legged on the floor. “I assume from the draft that you
were successful.”

“The remodeling is underway,” Perry said.
“Anything new?”

“No,” Larimore said. “I’ve been playing with
ideas, but I’m not thrilled with any of them.”

“Let’s hear them.” Perry
stepped around and saw the electron
ic
clock still frozen at zero.

“I was thinking that we could join the
others in the Chamber and just wait for the battery to run down.
There’s a small battery pack on the back of the package.”

“Dead battery means no explosion,” Perry
said. “But you dismissed that idea?”

“Yeah, I did. The clock doesn’t draw that
much energy, so the battery could last days, maybe weeks.”

“I have clocks at home that run for months
before I have to replace the batteries.”

“Precisely,” Larimore said. “I don’t think
we could live that long with this thing and remain sane. Most
likely it would go off before the battery was drained.”

That had occurred to Perry as well. “Gleason
tells me the batteries are missing from the base’s radios, too.
There’s a good chance that one or more of them are on the
bomb.”

A tearing sound floated in on the wind.
Perry was glad to hear it. It was almost time.

“It’s tempting,” Larimore said.

“What?”

“To reach in there and just pull out the
wires. It might work.”

“We’d better stay with the plan. The less we
move the wires the better off we are.”

“I hope you’re right,” Larimore said.

“I pray I’m right,” Perry replied.

Gleason reappeared. “The chariot awaits,” he
said.

“Okay,” Perry said. “You
and the commander should make your way to the Chamber and join the
others.
”

“I’d rather stay,” Gleason said.

“I can’t risk it, buddy,” Perry said. “The
others are going to need you if things go bad. Besides, I’m nervous
enough. The fewer distractions I have, the better.”

“So now I’m reduced to a distraction.”

“You know what I mean,” Perry said.

“Yeah, I do,” Gleason said. He put a hand on
Perry’s shoulder. The gesture was simple, but the communication was
profound.

“Get out of here, Gleason, and take this
navy swab with you.” Larimore started to protest, but Perry cut him
off. “I insist, Commander. The fewer people around, the better this
will go.”

Larimore rose and extended his hand. Perry
shook it. “God-speed, Perry.”

Perry replied with a silent nod. The two
left, and Perry stepped to the opening. “Time for you to beat feet,
pal.”

Jack’s expression became serious. “Sorry, I
can’t hear you.”

“I said it’s time for you to head to the
other dome.”

“Too much wind. I can’t make out a word
you’re saying. Besides, there’s a twelve-inch drop from the floor
to the ice. The Dome is raised to allow room for insulation,
remember.”

Perry remembered. He also knew that Jack was
hearing every word. “I can do this alone.”

“What?” Jack raised a hand to his ear.

Perry shook his head. He
could force his will on almost anyone but Jack. Jack made up his
own mind about things. Perry glanced over his friend’s head and saw
the snowmobile two yards away from the Dome. He could also see
strips of gray duct tape running from the handlebars to the side of
the vehicle, locking the steering in a straight direction. On the
seat was a cardboard box with the words
Canned Beef
printed on the side.
Jack must have snatched the box from the galley on his way to
retrieve the snowmobile. Another strip of duct tape hung limply
from the throttle.

“What say we stop wasting time,” Jack said.
“You hand me the package, and I’ll deliver it.”

There would be no arguing with Jack, and
time was slipping by. It was time to act. Perry shook his head and
returned to the bathroom, bent over, and placed his hands on the
side of the gray brick that he knew to be one of the most powerful
explosives around. If the bomb went off in Perry’s hands, there
would be no pain, no awareness of his failure. Nor would there be
much of him to bury.

“It is appointed for men to die once and
after this comes judgment.” The Bible verse made him wonder if his
appointed date had arrived. Images of his father and friends
flashed into his mind. He smiled. He planned to live a very long
time, but if his life ended in the next second, it didn’t matter.
It had already been a great life.

Perry closed his hands on the bomb and
lifted it from its place in the cabinet. He was surprised he was
still alive. “Step one,” he whispered to himself then turned toward
the door, moving slowly, thinking about every step before he took
it. Five steps later he was facing the cold blast of wind as it
shot through the recently made opening. Jack stood just outside,
his normally jovial face drawn tight. The wind whipped the fur
lining of his hood, but Jack stood solid as a rock.

“I think I can do this myself,” Perry said
as he approached the opening.

“Just give me the thing,” Jack said. “The
sooner this is over, the better I’ll feel.”