‘Get on it.’
Scott nodded, returned the headset to his head and pushed the broadcast button.
‘RS0ISS, please confirm your situation.’
They waited for the signal to reach its target and come back.
‘Not so good. Romanenko’s dead, Gardner’s in a coma. But we’ve recovered TMA Ten M so we should be able to return in a couple of days.’ Chris’ voice paused. ‘Say, where’s Aleks?’
Bales beckoned, and Scott handed the headset over to him. He held it to his ear and signalled to Scott to broadcast. ‘Williams, Flight Director John Bales speaking. The severity of the situation has required NASA to take command, so you will be speaking to me from now on. Please repeat last.’
‘Okay — we’ve, uh, lost Mikhail, and Gardner is in a coma.’
‘Causes?’
‘UV One.’
Bales chewed his lip. Scott thought he seemed nervous.
‘There’s four of you still alive. Who are you leaving behind?’
‘Novitskiy volunteered.’
Bales frowned. This didn’t seem to be the answer he wanted to hear. ‘Okay, that’s not a problem. We can work around this. Good job — you’ve done well.’
Bales passed the headset back to Scott, who put it on.
‘Make sure everything is in place for their return,’ Bales said to him. ‘I’ve got something I need to take care of.’
The RFSA building stood tall and ominous in front of Sean, the small windows peering down at him from on high. He patted the stun gun in his pocket to make sure it was still there. ‘Well, here goes nothing,’ he said aloud to himself.
‘He’s on his way, sir.’
‘Thanks,’ Bales said, and put the phone back in his pocket, feeling pleased with himself. It was all coming together. He looked at Aleks, whose eyes widened at his stare. ‘I’m a man of my word, Aleks. You’ve given me Sean Jacob, and I will give you your life back in return.’
‘Don’t hurt him,’ Aleks pleaded. His bruises had swollen overnight and he looked a mess. Ignoring him, Bales left the room, and without looking back, said, ‘If it helps ease your conscience, he won’t feel a thing.’
A guard closed the door behind him, muting Aleks’ cries, and he set off down the corridor. He unclipped his chest holster, pulled out his pistol, cocked it, checked the round was seated in the chamber, made sure the silencer was tight, and returned it. At the end of the corridor, another guard waited for him.
‘Come with me,’ Bales said to him, and they walked on through the building, navigating their way through the long, beige corridors to the entrance lobby. Bales felt his chest holster under his jacket again, double-checking the clip was released and ready for a quick withdrawal. The entrance lobby was deserted, just how he needed it to be.
‘Room’s clear, sir,’ the guard said.
‘Good. He should be here soon.’
They waited, watching through the glass frontage for Sean to arrive. They waited ten minutes, then twenty, and by half an hour, Bales checked his watch.
‘Where is that son-of-a-bitch?’ he murmured to himself. He pulled out his phone, re-dialled the last number and put it to his ear. ‘Where is he?’
‘We last saw him turning into the entrance about a half hour ago. You haven’t got him yet?’
Bales hung up the phone and broke into a run back towards the cell. ‘Secure the building!’ he yelled to the guard as he ran off. He sprinted back through the corridors, taking a left turn, then a right, not slowing until he reached his destination. But it was too late. Seeing a pair of bodies lying in a heap outside Aleks’ temporary cell was enough for him to know what had happened. He stepped over one of the dazed guards and entered the room. Emptiness yawned back.
Chapter 18
Sally slept well that night. The relief of her imminent departure made the station a much more pleasant place to be, and her quarters didn’t feel quite as claustrophobic as they had done before. The mood of her companions was the best it had been since she had arrived, the good cheer even rubbing off onto Novitskiy. Although, he was probably just being polite in sharing the good news with them, holding back his real feelings to keep her and Chris in high spirits for the journey home. This thought made her feel sad and, if she was honest with herself, a bit guilty. She wished she could do something to help him, but he wouldn’t let her, dismissing her with his new mantra that he delivered with a warm smile: ‘I’ll be alright.’ As for Chris — he was a changed man. After he’d discovered a functional comms system on board Soyuz and made contact with Mission Control, his grin had become permanent.
The next day, while Chris continued his inspection of Soyuz, Sally chatted with Novitskiy as they tended to Gardner. Even Gardner’s unnerving stare couldn’t sway the cheer.
‘I promise you, as soon as we get back to Earth, I won’t leave NASA and the RFSA be until they send someone back up to get you,’ Sally said, as she watched Novitskiy unclip Gardner’s IV bag. ‘In fact I’ll make it my life’s work to bring you home.’
Novitskiy laughed. ‘I’m sure you will,’ he said. He passed Sally the IV bag, which she set aside. ‘And I’m sure I’ll be fine up here in the meantime.’
‘You’re taking this very well.’
Novitskiy’s smile stretched from ear to ear, although Sally couldn’t be sure it carried any depth.
‘I’ll be alright.’
The more Sally spoke with Novitskiy, the more she thought he was at peace with staying. A spike of endorphin-fuelled generosity would have worn off by now, but he continued to smile and engage in light conversation without showing any signs of distress. Perhaps there was even some relief in there, but relief at what? She figured it must have been because Chris was leaving. He was a handful, teetering on the brink of an unpredictable breakdown, and being up here without him would be something of a respite. What was it that Bales had said? The ISS can be a lonely, claustrophobic place, and it may have had an adverse effect on some of the crew. He’d got that right.
And what of UV One? What if it sent Novitskiy crazy and drove him out the airlock like it had done Romanenko? What if it broke him down into an emotional mess like it had done Chris, or worse, the comatose state of Gardner? The more she contemplated, the more she believed — hoped, even — their minds had been playing tricks on them the whole time. Cabin fever, isolation sickness, whatever they wanted to call it, it must be happening here, and she was almost ashamed to have been caught up in it. The brain was a powerful tool, she knew that much, but she had also discovered just how easily led it was. With any luck, some time alone would give Novitskiy the space to clear his mind and rid himself of the contagious paranoia that had built up between them. But what about the empty Soyuz module, the disappearance of Romanenko? She tried not to think about it as she passed Novitskiy a new IV bag, which he took with a thankful grin. She had no idea if the thoughts she was having were anything like the ones going on in his own head; perhaps he was relieved to have some time to himself. Or perhaps he was terrified.
A muffled yelp came from the Russian end of the station, and they both looked up.
‘Are you okay?’ Novitskiy called out, but got no response. ‘I’d better go check that out.’ He stuck down the IV bag and pushed off. Sally followed, drifting after him through the station.
‘Chris?’ Novitskiy called again. Silence.
‘I hope he hasn’t hurt himself,’ Sally said, a horrible feeling of dread swelling in her abdomen.
As they entered the FGB, a small bead darted past.