She nodded. “We’re safe now.”
“Thank God. Finally.”
On impulse, he pushed his face through the restrictions of her hood and kissed her on the forehead.
She was smiling now. “You know, Francis, you really are a sweet man. Now back off before I shoot you in the foot.”
Hamlin laughed. The release of stress allowed other thoughts to become prevalent.
“Who are you, really?”
She feigned surprise. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh, come on. I know in these surroundings I’m probably the dummy of the group, but it’s pretty obvious by now. You shoot like a professional, you analyze proficiently, you make quick decisions under duress, and you took control over the station within minutes of Sokolov leaving us. You’re absolutely fearless in the face of danger. And quite frankly, you make love like you’ve had professional training and I’m not even sure what that means.”
“Okay. You caught me. I’m a hooker-spy. Now, let’s re-secure that locker, drag this abomination outside to freeze solid, and go back to give everybody the good news.”
Hamlin almost said everybody that’s left but caught himself just in time. And he couldn’t help but notice how she had avoided giving him any kind of real answer to his question. He decided not to push it. Now they had some time to work with and maybe he would also have time to get his own answers. At any rate, never push the woman with the smoking rifle in her hands seemed like a safe motto. Reluctantly, he reached down to grab Kuvayev by the wrist for dragging purposes.
There was joy and relief at the barracks. The night turned into a semi-party. It wasn’t super wild and crazy—everyone was still subdued after the loss of so many crew members. But there were smiles and handshakes and lots of little conversations that no longer had to be grim by nature.
Lena brought out cigars from Sokolov’s room for any who wished to partake. They all did, even the ones who had never smoked before. It was like a rite of passage somehow and everyone wanted to be in on it. Many didn’t last long after the smokes were lit. Also, it was apparent most hadn’t been sleeping well and now wanted to get caught up, with the promise of fewer nightmares to encourage them.
The party, such as it was, started to break up early. Hamlin knew all too well why that was. He felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him. The doors were still locked and the windows reinforced, but there would be no posted guard tonight. The danger had passed and they were secure once again. And he wanted to sleep without dreams or reservations of any sort. He ground out his cigar somewhat prematurely, and then excused himself from what was left of the group. He had an appointment with a comfortable bed.
He slept right through. When he awoke and checked his clock, he was surprised that it was mid-morning. He felt great.
Francis wandered into the mess hall and almost everyone was already there. Breakfast seemed like a great idea. Bacon and eggs were already under way. Once again, the atmosphere seemed lighter. Expressions on people’s faces were pleasant. Most greeted him verbally or with a nod as he walked past. He meandered into the kitchen.
“Ah, Professor Hamlin. Make yourself a plate.” Even Doctor Grekov seemed to be back to her normal self. “There is plenty for everyone. I think maybe I made too much.”
“Well, let me see what I can do to help with that.” He picked up and plate and some silverware. “It smells great.”
“There is coffee too,” she said with a smile.
“Count me in. I’ll be right back to get some.”
“I will bring it out for you, yes?”
“You don’t have to do that. I’m not disabled.”
“No, but you might be soon if you don’t accept her hospitality.” Lena had snuck up behind Hamlin and poked him in the ribs. “Take it out for him, Zoya. He will love you for it.”
She smiled and maybe even blushed a little. “Nice choice of words. We will see.”
Francis shook his head as she walked away toward the coffee pot. “Wow, what a change in atmosphere from yesterday.”
Lena, careful to be sure nobody was able to see, grabbed Hamlin by the ass.
“Are you complaining, Dr. Hamlin?”
He was struggling not to drop his plate in surprise.
“Not at all. Let the orgy begin.”
“Fine,” she snickered. “You might want to keep your distance from Vitsin if that’s the direction we’re going. I think he kind of likes you.”
“Yikes. Thanks for the warning.”
“I’ll see you at the table.”
Hamlin found his spot and wasted no time in tucking into his steaming plateful. Lena showed up with a small bowl of oatmeal.
“That’s not going to get you through the day,” he said between bites.
“Francis, we are two hours from lunch. I think I’ll make it.”
“You have an answer for everything. That tends to take the fun out of giving you the gears.”
“You know, in retrospect, I could have shot you last night and claimed it was an accident.”
“Thanks for showing restraint. I really appreciate it.”
She laughed. “This is fun. I missed it, you know—the way you joke around so naturally. Maybe we can actually make it through the winter now.”
“I’m going to eat constantly. That’s my new focus. I want them to have to fly me out separately and individually because of my weight.”
“And then you can start a new career as a fashion model.” She blew on a spoonful of cereal.
“There, you see. You catch on very quickly. You could be as sardonic as the best of them. All it would take is for me to be your trainer. You could be a contender.”
“Sure I could. I contend with you every day.”
He stopped eating long enough to grab a swallow of coffee.
“On a serious note, what are we all going to do now? We’ve gone from fourteen to eight. The lake samples are no longer in play.”
Lena took another conservative mouthful.
“Hmm, I know. We really should re-evaluate everything; our priorities, our duties as researchers, our duties as crew members—everything.”
“Sounds right. I volunteer to be thong inspector.”
“Rumor has it that Vitsin wears one of those, you know.”
“I withdraw my application.”
“Well, you are the last dedicated biologist. So you might be the hardest one to place in a new position. The drilling crew is gone but doesn’t need to be replaced at this point. The climatologists can carry on with their work, no problem.
“Zoya and I are geologists. We have been analysing meteor samples found in this region. We have enough samples to keep us working for the next month or so. Maybe your new task could be to do recognisance, scouting for new samples. That might work. Then everyone is accounted for as far as research is concerned.”
“Very good.”
“Yes. Our only problem would be if things start breaking down. We have lost the engineers and tradesmen. Let’s hope the furnaces and generators keep running.”
“And we no longer have a medical doctor.”
She nodded sadly. “Yes. Kuvayev was an integral part of our crew. How sad that he was one of the ones we lost.”
She hadn’t shown any qualms when she had gunned him down the previous night, but Hamlin figured that was a different circumstance. He let the thought slide by unacknowledged.
“So, we’ll eat. We’ll clean up. Then we’ll meet. We will make our plan and we will move on. This is good.”
Hamlin finished his last bite.
“You’re right.”
The meeting was short and agreeable. Lena filled the role of leader easily and confidently. Jobs were confirmed and assigned as required. Not only was the crew quick to approve of Lena’s suggestions, they all were relieved and even enthusiastic to get back to a normal routine. Many of the stronger personalities were no longer with them, so fewer challenges and complaints surfaced. They transitioned easily back into a relatively normal routine.