Tundra (29 page)

T
he ridge had posed a conundrum. Aleksandrov had spotted its snaking shape on the satnav screen and said to his driver, ‘How would they get round that?’

The driver played with the image, sweeping left and right. ‘It ends six klicks to the southwest, Captain.’

Aleksandrov considered it. Either they had gone that route, or they’d found some way to climb the ridge, in which case they abandoned the snowmobiles and would now be on foot.

‘Take us round,’ he’d said.

By the time the Vodnik was rumbling along the top of the ridge, and there was no sign of the fugitives, Aleksandrov had decided the only option was to continue heading towards Saburov-Kennedy Station. If they arrived there first, they would wait out of sight of the station for their targets to appear.

The truck ploughed across the ground, its speed aided by the relative evenness of the terrain. Aleksandrov felt a sense of disquiet. Were they too late? Had the targets reached the station already? Or had they chosen a more circuitous route?

‘One kilometre to destination, sir,’ said the driver.

They are to be prevented from reaching Saburov-Kennedy Station at all costs
. Tsarev’s order.

Light appeared ahead, dim as if shielded. The station was located within a natural basin, Aleksandrov knew, and he could see the slope of the side looming ahead.

He leaned forward, straining to make out the detail.

‘I see them,’ he said.

*

P
urkiss heaved Clement off his shoulder so that she slapped, limp, against the slope. He bent, hauled her up again, tried to throw her further. She slid back down.

The rise was no more than ten feet, and not particularly steep. But he couldn’t get Clement to the top while still towing Haglund.

With fingers like bloodied sausages inside his gloves, Purkiss unwound the flex from his body and flung it aside. He scrabbled at the slope – it was less rocky than the ridge they’d ascended earlier, and purchase was difficult – managed to get a hold, and climbed.

At the top, he gazed down into a large natural quarry, at the base of which lay a complex of structures larger and more elaborate than those at Yarkovsky Station. Arc lights blazed around the perimeter. There was nobody in sight.

‘Hey,’
called Purkiss. His cry came out as a pathetic croak, which was snatched away immediately by the wind.

The wind changed direction abruptly, bringing another sound to his ears. The rumble of a heavy vehicle.

He turned, vertigo nearly toppling him from the rim.

Back across the plain, a kilometre distant, a military vehicle of some kind was rolling forward. His blurred eyes made out the turret surmounting it, the ugly phallic protrusion.

A machine gun.

Purkiss looked down into the basin again. He could slide down the slope on this side, out of range of the gun. Stumble to the buildings and hammer on doors.

But he’d be too late.

Purkiss reached down, drew the flare gun from the holster at his side. His finger trembled on the trigger as he pointed it upward.

The soaring arc, the subsequent brilliant explosion, were more beautiful to him than anything he’d seen before.

An instant later, a cacophony of barking erupted from one of the buildings.
Huskies
, he thought.

Five seconds after that, a door opened and figures emerged, six of them, gazing at the sky. Purkiss rose to his knees and waved his arms feebly. One of the men pointed and shouted something. They began running across the rock floor towards the base of the slope, beckoning him down.

Purkiss stayed where he was.

The first of the men reached the slope and began climbing.

*

D
esigned for anti-aircraft use, the KPV heavy machine gun had an effective range of three kilometres. The man on top of the ridge was now less than a third of that distance away.

Aleksandrov raised the microphone to his mouth, ready to give the order to his gunner.

The man on the ridge fired the flare.

Aleksandrov watched it burst overhead, the din from below reaching his ears immediately.

He paused.

They are to be prevented from reaching the station at all costs.
Had General Tsarev meant the fugitives must not be allowed to communicate with anyone at the station?

With his free hand, he keyed the General’s number.

One burst, and the man outlined on top of the ridge would be cut down. The second burst would take out the two bodies slumped at the base of the slope, one of whom appeared to be some kind of toboggan.

‘Yes?’ Tsarev answered instantly.

‘General, the targets are overlooking Saburov-Kennedy Station. They have just fired a flare.’

‘The station has been alerted?’

‘Yes, sir.’

A beat.

‘Sir, I have them in my sights. On your order, I will eliminate them.’

And they are to be terminated, without hesitation.

Another second’s silence at the other end.

Aleksandrov readied the microphone.

Give the order, sir.

Through the windscreen, he saw a head appear over the ridge, a man climb into view. A second followed.

‘Sir. Two new people are in the field. Station personnel.’

General Tsarev said, ‘Stand down.’

*

P
urkiss felt hands grab his arms, steady him. Voices beat at him, voices in English, but with a Babel of accents: Russian, American, Norwegian.

‘You hurt?’

‘What happened? Where have you come from?’

‘Go get the stretcher.’

Purkiss’s lips moved soundlessly. He tried to point back down the other side of the slope, but someone mistook his action for a blind, semi-conscious flailing and restrained his arm.

He slid down the slope, half carried, and sat on the ground while he watched more figures emerge from the buildings, two carrying a stretcher.

Consciousness was slipping, and this time he wasn’t going to be able to hold on to it. But he had to let them know, somehow –

From high above and behind him, a yelled voice:
Hey. There’s two more of them down there
.

Purkiss closed his eyes.

John Purkiss returns in
CRONOS RISING

I
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T
im Stevens

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Ratcatcher

Delivering Caliban

Jokerman

Tundra

Haven (short story)

Spiked (short story, exclusive to mailing list subscribers)

Cronos Rising (coming in 2014)

Severance Kill

Annihilation Myths

Redemption Road (coming in 2014)

Omega Dog

Delta Ghost (coming in 2014)

Reunion

Snout