Eternity Base (14 page)

"How common are nunataks?" Vickers asked.

"Not as common as this map would make you believe with all these mountain ranges drawn on it," Devlin replied. "The Antarctic ice sheet averages more than twenty-five hundred meters thick. That's more than eight thousand feet. So a mountain has to be very high to clear the ice sheet.

"If we can find these three—and they are rather unique—and line up exactly on azimuth, then we will be along the line that Eternity Base lies on. In fact, I think there might be someone from our organization at Aurora Glacier who might even be able to identify these mountains and save us a lot of time."

"This may be a stupid question," Vickers said, "but wouldn't this place be totally covered up by now? After twenty-five years it would seem like there'd be quite a bit of snow on top."

"Good question." Devlin rubbed his chin. "I do think Eternity Base is most likely totally covered over by now, but not from snowfall. There isn't much accumulation down there, but the wind would pile ice and snow up against any exposed structure. However, we do have a plan for that.

"As I explained, we can get pretty close if we find these mountains. Once we do that, we land and use sonar to try and find the base. It's similar to the way fishermen look for schools of fish. We have two backpack sonar sets at the base, which are used for research on the ice cap. We can use those to shoot down into the ice as we ski along the azimuth. The metal and different density of the base ought to show up clearly. According to our information, Eternity Base covers a large area underground."

Conner wondered what contingency the builders had designed to find the place if it was covered up. She doubted very much that they had overlooked that major problem when they'd built it. "What's the weather like?" she asked.

Devlin walked over to a table and switched on a radio set. "Let's find out. We have high-frequency contact with our base, and just last month we finally got the people over at McMurdo to give Aurora Glacier the weather reports. Before that we were on our own." He glanced at Conner as he fiddled with the radio. "We're not quite rich enough yet to have satellite communications."

Conner returned the look, trying to determine what he meant by that. This trip was going to be even more intriguing than she had thought.

Conner thought it was interesting that McMurdo hadn't been giving weather reports to the Our Earth people. Typical government mentality. Our Earth represented a potential threat, so the party line was probably to ignore them, or to make their life as miserable as possible. On the other hand, she imagined that the Our Earth people wouldn't exactly ingratiate themselves to the various government personnel down there.

Devlin fiddled with the dials and then picked up the microphone. "Aurora Glacier, this is Auckland. Over."

There was no answer, and he repeated the message. Finally the radio crackled with a woman's voice. "Auckland, this is Aurora Glacier. Over."

"What's the weather look like? Over."

"The latest from McMurdo at 1900 Greenwich mean: present readings. Temperature minus 29 degrees Fahrenheit. Winds north, northwest at 23 knots. Barometric pressure 29.4 rising. Ceiling 1,200 feet, overcast. Visibility 4 miles with some blowing snow.

"Forecast is for the temperature to rise to minus 21 degrees Fahrenheit and the winds to continue at the same. Ceiling is expected to go up to around 1,500 feet with continued broken clouds. Visibility to extend to almost 5 miles. Over."

"Great. We'll give you a call once we're in the air and tell you when to expect us. Over."

"Roger. See you then. Out."

Lallo was looking worried. "That sounds like pretty bad weather to me.”

Devlin smiled. "Actually that's good weather. The forecast is for eight hours, plus two on the far side for a safety margin for the military's C-130 flights, which are a little faster than we go. That report is a combination of inputs from d'Urville, the Russians at Minsk Station, the Aussies at Wilkes, and several others. McMurdo collates them and then broadcasts every thirty minutes. Five hours out from McMurdo is our point of no return. That's when we get the latest weather relayed from Aurora Glacier and the pilot makes the decision whether to continue on or turn around and head back."

The door leading to the hangar slammed open and Swenson stood there, wiping off his hands with a grimy towel. He spoke with a strong Australian accent. "We're topped off and I've got all your gear loaded. We'll be ready to roll at first light as long as the weather holds."

He stomped up to the front of the room. "I've got extra fuel tanks on the wings and two bladders in the back all hooked up. We should have enough petrol to make it there."

"Should have?" Vickers echoed.

Swenson smiled. "Just a phrase. It's a good airplane—a Cessna 411, if that means anything to you—but Antarctica is a bit out of its normal range, so we have to pack on all that extra fuel.

"I assume Devlin has told you about the point of no return. It's not only because of weather but also because of the fuel situation. Once we go past that point, we've got to make it to Aurora Glacier Station because we won't have enough fuel to turn around and come back." The burly man shrugged.

"All right. Here's your safety briefing. We run into trouble, you do what I say without asking any questions. We go down in the ocean, the raft is under the copilot's seat. That's the one up front that I'm not sitting in. You'd better hope we stay afloat long enough to get the raft inflated and out the window because if you get dunked, the cold water will kill you in less than a minute.

"We go down on land and I don't make it to give you advice, then my advice now is stay with the plane. It's got an emergency transponder on board, and even if that gets busted, the plane is going to be the biggest thing rescuers could find. You go wandering around on the ice, you'll last a little longer than if you'd gone in the water, but not by much. The end result will be the same.

"There are first aid and emergency kits on board the plane. They're marked in red and you can't miss 'em." Swenson smiled. "Any questions?" The other five people just stared at him. "All right then. See you in the morning."

Devlin pointed at some boxes lined up against the wall. "I've got some cold weather gear here. Let's get your equipment squared away before I show you where you'll spend the night."

A
TLANTA,
G
EORGIA

Falcon read the brief reply from ISA headquarters that he'd picked up at the dead drop. His initial feeling was one of relief. Since the ISA had no record of Eternity Base, there was nothing to this mission. He'd, been worried about it for the past several days. If the place did exist, the potential embarrassment was great. That was not something Falcon wanted to get involved in. He had no idea why the army would have built something in Antarctica, but he'd worked with the government for more than twenty years now and learned long ago not to apply logic and common sense to anything he came across.

Falcon got up and looked out his high office window, down onto the streets, slowly rolling his head to stretch his neck. "No," he said to himself, the bad feeling returning. Complacency was bad. Just because the computer held no record didn't mean there was nothing to the story. Conner had too much information. Too many pieces. The most chilling piece was the MIA aircrew.

Falcon felt the uneasy knot tie together in his stomach. If the U.S. Army built Eternity Base, then the ISA had to have some record of it. Since there was no record, logic said that it didn't exist. Falcon threw out logic and went with the opposite supposition. Suppose it did exist? What did that mean? If Eternity Base was real, then someone had built this place using government resources yet had also managed to keep it a secret from the government.

Falcon sat down at his desk and wrote out another message to ISA headquarters for immediate transmission.

Chapter Nine

A
UCKLAND,
N
EW
Z
EALAND, 28
N
OVEMBER 1996

Conner stole her hand down Devlin's stomach and started to slowly caress him awake. His eyes opened about the same time he was hard and she pushed aside the covers to straddle his body.

"You have to leave before everyone else is awake," she whispered as she lowered herself onto him.

"Good wake-up call," Devlin replied, his hips rising in rhythm with her strokes. After a few minutes he swung a leg out and they rolled over, Devlin assuming the upper position. Conner wrapped her legs around his back and was just beginning to build toward orgasm when an insistent rapping at the door distracted her.

"Stop," she hissed at Devlin, who was himself just reaching a point of no return. Conner put both hands on his chest and pushed. Devlin's eyes were unfocused with pleasure. "Stop!" Conner insisted. "Someone's at the door."

Devlin came to a unsatisfying halt and she rolled out from underneath him. Throwing on a robe, she went over to the door. She waited until Devlin had grabbed his clothes and snuck into the bathroom before cracking open the door.

Her sister, Sammy, stood there with a man behind her. She pushed in without saying a word and the man followed, shutting the door behind him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Conner exclaimed as she tightened the belt on her robe.

The man with Sammy held up a hand and pointed at Devlin's shoes next to the bed and then at the bathroom. "Is someone in there?"

Conner blinked and tried to sort out her thoughts.

"Is there someone in there?" Sammy repeated the man's question.

"What business is it of yours?" Conner replied, astonished at what was happening.

Sammy shook her head. "This is no time for games. We need to talk. Now."

"Devlin, come out," Conner called.

Devlin came out, his hastily thrown-on shirt still unbuttoned.

"Who are you?" Sammy asked.

"Who's he?" Conner retorted, pointing at the man with her.

"This is Dave Riley. He's a friend of Colonel Pike's."

Conner frowned. Pike had been an associate of their dad's. If Riley was involved with Pike, that meant he was involved in some sort of spook work. "Devlin, meet my sister, Sammy. Sammy—Devlin. He's with Our Earth." The two shook hands. "Now tell me what you're doing here."

Riley shook his head. "We need to keep this as tight as possible."

Conner rolled her eyes. "I trust Devlin."

"It doesn't matter if you trust him," Riley replied quietly. "It's Sammy's life that's on the line."

"What do you mean 'life on the line'?" Conner asked.

Sammy looked at Devlin. "Are you here to help my sister find Eternity Base?"

"Yes."

"All right. Then he can stay."

"I recommend against it," Riley urged. "You have to consider the legal aspect of what's happened."

Sammy laughed. "I think it's a little too late for that."

"Would someone tell me what the hell is going on!" Conner demanded.

Sammy grabbed a chair and sat down. "I suggest you all get comfortable. It will take a while."

Conner checked the clock next to the bed. "We only have an hour before we have to head out to the airfield for our flight to Antarctica."

Sammy nodded. "I'll be done in twenty minutes. You need to hear this before going any farther."

She launched into a description of what had happened to her from the moment she'd faxed the photos and ended her tale with their arrival in New Zealand only an hour previously.

When her sister finally fell silent, Conner ran a hand through her thick hair. "You have no idea who this man you killed worked for?"

Sammy shook her head. "Most likely the government, which is why Riley and I are here. The only way we can get out of this is to find the base and subsequently figure out who built it and why it is so important that someone is willing to kill to hide its existence."

"This is hot. Real hot." Conner's mind was already running, trying to figure new angles to the story. "Since you escaped, we're a step ahead of them. That means we've got to keep moving."

"Maybe not," Riley said.

Conner swung her head around and looked over at Riley, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor. He'd kept quiet until now. "Why do you say that?"

Riley looked up at her. "Because the man your sister killed said that you were not his problem. That says to me that whoever he worked for knows about you and this news team. So you might not be a step ahead."

Conner shook her head. "No. We have to be. You say you were kidnapped in the morning. We were in the air by six that evening."

"We caught up with you," Riley noted.

Conner met his eyes. "You got my sister here safe and sound. That was what you were paid to do and you did it. This is no longer your concern. I'll take care of things from here on out."

Riley's face was expressionless. "She's not out of danger until we figure out who was behind the attack on her. In fact, I would say that she's in more danger now than if she had gone with me to the safe house in North Carolina like the colonel wanted." He shrugged. "But my staying or going is not up to you. It's up to Sammy."