“Oh, sorry, Julia,” Scott clapped a hand to his forehead. “I’ll go in to interpret for you, if you need me to. But how is he?”
“Out of danger,” Dr. Hope said succinctly, taking off her rubber gloves and throwing them into the trash can. “But Scott, I don’t believe that bullet wound was an accident. Tell me what is going on. There’s a circulating rumor that Victor Nash—”
They both turned to the sound of hurried footsteps, and Scott found himself face to face with Sue Ellis, who was flushed with indignation.
“I will be reporting this the first chance I have, Mr. Buckley,” she declared. “By bringing these men here, you have broken the secrecy clause of your contract, and the Antarctic Research Program…”
Scott drew himself up to his full height and met her eye. “With all due respect, Ms. Ellis,” he said, “a man’s life takes precedence over any secrecy clause or government policy. Now, if you excuse me, I have things to do.”
And, having said that, he spun on his heel and followed Dr. Hope through the glass doors of the closed ward.
Chapter 22
Scott, Jerry, Zoe and Petri sat in the greenhouse for a long time that night, getting tipsy on Bloody Marys and hot lemonade spiked with Jerry’s clandestinely made liquor. Scott had to talk more than he had ever done in his lifetime. Every time he took a sip of his drink, he assuaged his guilt by mentally declaring he must do something to keep his throat from getting dry. Jerry, meanwhile, was busy topping off everyone’s glasses. From time to time, he applied a pack of ice to his black and swollen eye.
“It’s just damn incredible,” he kept saying, “that our government has kept something like this under wraps so long.”
“Well, now they won’t be able to do this anymore,” Petri said. He was on his third spiked lemonade, his words were coming out slurred, and his Finnish accent was stronger than ever. “It’s… the sensation of the century,” he concluded, evidently proud of himself for his choice of expression.
“And you didn’t breathe a word, Buck,” Zoe said accusingly.
“There was the secrecy clause,” Scott said. “Still is… I don’t know what they are going to do to me, but I don’t care anymore. They won’t be able to keep their status quo. And frankly, I doubt they will care very much. Once the communication lines become steady again, I’m pretty sure the United States will have more pressing business than Antarctica.”
“One thing is certain,” Petri said, “no matter what, I’m not going home. Not a chance. Not if they try to strap me down to an airplane seat and fly me away. I’m going to stay right here and look for more traces of those sea dragons. You’ll never convince me there was only one, Scott.”
Jerry and Zoe, who hadn’t seen the frozen monster, put down their glasses and listened more intently. “A pity you didn’t have a camera,” Zoe remarked. She pulled a sheet of paper towards her. Petri, who was a talented sketcher, had made a drawing of the beast for them.
“If you’re right, Pete, and there are more of those creatures lurking around,” Scott said, “I’m not very enthusiastic to meet them. Just imagine a flock of those swooping down on McMurdo…”
“Stop it!” Zoe said, covering her ears. “I think we’ve been through enough these past twenty-four hours, thank you very much. I don’t want to think about monsters. It will be hard enough to explain the disappearance of Nash once we need to make our reports.”
“I’m going to tell the truth,” Scott said, “though I imagine there will be many who don’t believe me.”
“You have witnesses,” Petri said. “You know… this Nash was an unsavory type, but I still feel sorry for him. That encounter with the ice beast, it was… brutal.”
“Don’t pity Nash,” Jerry said. “Apparently, he had been planning to take over the station for a while. He had some far-fetched plans about setting up a military dictatorship here. A raving lunatic if ever I’ve met one,” he said, and downed the rest of his drink.
Scott visited Ne Tarveg in the hospital the next day. The young Anai man, attended by Dr. Hope, several nurses, and his father, was now out of danger and rapidly regaining his strength. Dr. Hope declared that in a few days he would probably be well enough to endure a helicopter flight back to the valley of the Anai. The return flight would bring Corby and the other criminals back to McMurdo, where they would be confined in closed quarters to await the end of the war, the resumption of communications, and a trial that would determine their fate. They would face serious charges, and any career they might have had in the Antarctic Program would come to a rapid and shameful end.
Ne Riorag, now that his son’s life was out of danger, was gaining great curiosity about his surroundings, and made short detours to observe the buildings and workings of the station, the inhabitants of which surreptitiously craned their necks and turned their heads to get a glimpse of him. “Fascinating,” he told Scott, once they both occupied chairs next to Ne Tarveg’s bed. “It was worthwhile to live this long, if only to see such things. The men from beyond the sea are very clever.”
“It will be far easier for the Anai to visit here now, I think,” Scott said, “if they want to, of course. How are you feeling, Ne Tarveg?”
Ne Tarveg was propped up against a few cushions. He looked alert, but not by any means cheerful. “I am well,” he said. “As well as can be. You saved my life, Scott, you and this foreign healer. I owe you an apology. You are a friend… and a worthy man. You deserve Tahan,” Ne Tarveg added, turning to face the wall rather than Scott.
“This isn’t, um, something I’ve had on my mind,” Scott said. “I have a wife beyond the sea, Ne Tarveg.” He decided this was not the best time to mention his long estrangement from Brianna, nor the divorce process that was supposed to be under way. Still, he couldn’t stop his heart from beating violently and irregularly, far more than he thought reasonable.
Scott was to join Ne Tarveg and Ne Riorag on their helicopter flight back to the valley, and assist two officers in bringing in the prisoners. The night before the flight was scheduled to take place, however, something happened to nearly make him cancel his participation.
For the first time in many weeks, the satellites appeared to be functioning properly, and an unexpected beep from his open laptop indicated an incoming internet call from his sister. In his eagerness to answer, Scott nearly toppled down from his bed, laptop and all.
“Laura?” he almost shouted. “Laura, is that you? Can you hear me?”
“I’m here, Scott,” she said, and her familiar voice was like music to his ears after such a long silence from home. “God, it’s so good to hear you!”
“And you, too,” Scott said. The web cam was unavailable, but even just hearing Laura’s voice was miraculous. “How are you all? How are things back home?”
“Better now. I think the worst of this blasted war is finally over. But…” she hesitated, and Scott felt a premonition.
“Harry?” he said quickly. “Is it Harry?”
“No, no, Harry is fine — I just heard from him yesterday, his deployment is coming to an end and he hopes to be home in another week or two. The kids are fine, too. But, Scott… I don’t suppose you’ve heard of the bombings at Madison?”
“Madison?” he repeated automatically. “Why would they bomb Madison? There are larger towns…”
“You had better say, there were larger towns,” Laura said. “The United States will never be what they were, Scott. And… in Madison… many people were hurt. Including Mom and Dad,” she blurted out.
An icy shaft sank deep into Scott’s heart. “No,” he said in a hoarse whisper, “no.”