“As well you should. So what’s happening with you?”
“Well, I was having my shower when all the lights went off. That was an exciting moment, I can tell you.”
“Hmm. Too bad you didn’t have to come walking out naked. But I see you managed to dress yourself nicely.”
“Perhaps congratulations are in order.”
“Sorry. I would never say anything designed to encourage a woman to stay fully clothed. It’s just not happening.”
“I see. I feel that I should do nothing to contribute to your delinquency. No public nudity.”
“How about private?”
“Open for debate. Say, why don’t you come and find me when you’re finished with security duty. I would like to talk to you about last night.”
Hamlin nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that. We should talk.”
She rose to go. “Until later. And do be careful not to fire that thing prematurely.”
Hamlin absorbed the insinuation with good humor. “That hasn’t been a problem.”
Barinov pulled the Cat up as close as he could to the building that housed the generators. There was simply no reason to walk any further than necessary outside in the cold.
“I’m going to leave it running,” Barinov said. “That way we don’t have to worry about restarting it. I do not want to get stuck out here.”
They all hopped out and started grabbing tools and equipment. Yedemsky reached the door first. He pushed on it and it swung open easily.
“Hey! Some stupid ass didn’t shut the door tightly. It’s amazing this place didn’t drift full of snow.”
As they stepped in, Barinov threw the light switch. The room lit up and to their mutual relief, everything looked to be in order.
“What’s so hard about shutting a damn door?” Barinov growled. “These little mistakes always seem to bite us in the ass somehow. You’d think all these PhD’s would never do anything wrong.”
The generator that was still operating sounded fine. No unusual or disconcerting noises at all. That was a good start.
“Okay. Let’s see what’s wrong with this dead one. Start with the fuel line and pump.”
The smell of diesel fuel soon permeated the air.
“No problem with fuel,” Kravchuk said.
“Don’t pour it all over you,” Barinov growled. “It is flammable, remember.”
“Shit! Found the problem.”
The other two walked over to where Yedemsky was standing. By then, it was obvious to all of them. The wires from the starting motor and fuel pump will all just hanging there.
“Son of a bitch!” Barinov yelled in frustration.
Yedemsky leaned in close. “There are not too badly damaged. If this is all that is wrong, we can fix it quickly.”
Kravchuk was subdued. “But how did it happen? This is not wear and tear. Somebody vandalized this machine.”
“Well,” Barinov snarled, “there’s not too fucking many of us left to choose from. We’re down to ten, so it shouldn’t be hard to figure out. We can go through that when we get back to the barracks. The question I have is, why?”
They were all yelling to be heard over the sound of the second generator.
“At least they only damaged one of the two,” Yedemsky said. “It could have been worse.”
“You’re right there. If I would have done this, I could have shut both of them down for at least a week. Then where would we all be?” Barinov almost looked proud of his potential to wreak havoc.
“You’re forgetting Pechkin and Kuvayev,” Kravchuk said.
They all stopped cold at that thought.
“Say, we did bring a gun, right?” Yedemsky looked for the reaction on Barinov’s face. It wasn’t encouraging.
“Shit. I never once thought of it.”
Another awkward moment of silence.
“How about I go back and get it?” Kravchuk suggested. “It will only take a few minutes. You can get started on the repairs. We should have some protection, just in case. What do you think?”
Barinov frowned. “The hell with it. If these wires are the only problem, we’ll have this fixed before you could get back here anyway. Let’s just do it and get out of here.”
Kravchuk wasn’t thrilled. The vision of Konstantine’s destroyed body was still fresh in his mind. “Are you sure?”
Yedemsky already had his gloves off and was separating the individual wires.
“Yes, I’m sure.” Barinov was not a subtle negotiator. “If you’re worried about it, then either try to help or look for something we could use as a weapon. Just don’t stand there constantly whining.”
Yedemsky was actually smiling. “This is not too bad. I can fix it in five minutes. Go get me some connectors.”
Kravchuk was already moving. Anything to speed this process along was his top priority now. He knew exactly where the supplies they needed were kept. He reached the grey, metal shelving unit and opened one of the small drawers. The connectors were small, so he pulled his gloves off and stuffed them temporarily into his pockets.
He wasted no time in returning.
“Here. Are you ready for these yet?”
“Not yet. Hold on.” Yedemsky had removed the damaged connectors and was stripping the wires to accept the new ones.
“Careful.” Barinov recognized the effort to work quickly. “Don’t cut yourself. You don’t have to rush so much.”
“Okay. Give me a connector.”
Kravchuk was happy to comply. While Yedemsky attached it, he couldn’t help but look toward the doorway. The door was still shut tightly. Good.
The shed was rather dimly lit by six incandescent bulbs. They cast shadows around the room and left various little pockets where there was little direct light at all. It created a rather somber atmosphere.
“Okay. Another connector, please.”
It was still freezing, but at least there was some small amount of heat in the building. When designing it, the thought was that it wouldn’t be good for the generators to operate in the ambient outdoor temperatures. Extreme cold wasn’t just hard on living things. It could also cause a long list of mechanical problems.
“Another one, Kravchuk.”
Barinov had sauntered over to the big tanks that held the fuel for the generators. There was a clear tube that allowed for a quick check of the remaining levels. It had to last through the winter until more reserves could be brought in once summer arrived. The levels were fine.
“Okay, another.”
“How many more?”
“Umm, just three more.”
Barinov was back. He checked the oil level in the now idle motor.
“Okay, another please.” Yedemsky was really moving now.
From this distance, in the poor lighting, no one saw the door handle start to move.
“Fuel and oil levels are good. Let’s finish up and get out of here.”
“Won’t you have to reset the controls?” Yedemsky asked while he worked. “This one is still the primary generator. Change it to back-up and we’ll be good to go.”
“Right. I forgot.” Barinov headed for the controls.
The outside door opened just a sliver.
“Another connector, Kravchuk. Just one to go.”
The door swung wide open. It was still unnoticed.
The sound of a heavy switch being thrown echoed through the shed.
“Okay, everything is set. Finish that fucking thing and let’s go back in the heat.”
“Last connector, please.”
Kravchuk gave it over, and then started to put his gloves back on.
Kuvayev, or what now remained of him, moved slowly into the doorway.
“All right. That’s it. Just let me make this last connection. There!”
Yedemsky stood upright. “Let’s just fire it up as a test, and then we’re good to go.”
Kravchuk glanced toward the doorway. His blood immediately turned to ice.
“Oh God.”