“There is that, too.”
“Well, I’m not the boss. I’m not really sure who is. I guess if you’re foolish enough to gamble your well-being for a rock, then nobody here will try to stop you.”
That felt like a cop out to Hamlin.
“I’d like to have your blessings. It would make me feel better.”
“Then go, you stupid ass. Just don’t make us send out a search party. We’ve had enough trouble.”
“I shall be more than happy to comply,” he said. In truth, he couldn’t wait to get back out there.
She leaned in closer. “Be careful, Francis. If something happens to you, how am I going to get laid when the desire strikes?”
“Oh, I’m quite certain you could find a solution to that problem.”
She lowered her voice even more.
“If you say ‘Vitsin,’ I’m going to cut you off for the rest of the winter.”
He chuckled and it felt good.
“I’m not saying a word. Besides, I now have things to do. So if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be on my way.”
He stood up from the table and ferried his tray into the kitchen. The freedom of the great outdoors beckoned and he was ready to answer the call.
He marked two pieces on his morning foray. He had no idea if that was good or not, but it was something and he felt great. The weather was rather scary, but the Cat was engineered for this environment and it ran perfectly. The cab stayed fairly warm and that was more than enough with all the clothes he was wearing. He actually had to remove a few items as a remedy because he was slightly over-heating.
He now had fifteen minutes to return on schedule so as not to upset any of the other crew members. He was determined not to be late. The grid was easy to follow on the GPS and he was making good time. That was when a thought hit him so hard, he actually stopped the machine to absorb it.
“Shit.”
Nobody heard the mild oath. Hamlin needed it for a release.
“Wait a minute…”
He had been thinking about the weapons cache. A few simple facts had started to align in his subconscious and were on their way to forming a theory. It was a very disturbing theory, which he was nowhere near ready to accept. Hence the time for re-evaluation.
“Okay, let’s work this through.” Thinking out loud helped when trying to organize his thoughts.
“First of all, why are the weapons American? If I know that, the rest of the puzzle starts to fall into place on its own.”
He thought about it.
“Lots of heavy weapons in an area where there is no conceivable need for them. So the second question is—what is their purpose?”
A connection was made.
“American weapons must be for Americans. Surely the Russians make enough of their own that they could have stock piled them if they felt it was necessary. And obviously they didn’t. So, why did my countrymen think it necessary and which Americans are they for? There’s only me here now.”
He pondered some more. Obviously they weren’t initially meant to be discovered.
“Why did Sokolov know about them? He’s not American by any stretch. And why would he give me a hint to help me find them?”
The answer that he thought was there started to fade into the mist.
“Nobody else here knew about them, including Lena who is pretty darn sharp and doesn’t miss much. She seemed very surprised and perhaps I would say upset by the discovery. So that brings me back to my original point. They aren’t for the people here. So who are they for?”
More rumination.
“There’s an American base here in Antarctica somewhere. Did Sokolov say how far? I kind of think that it was quite a distance. Is it too far for anyone to travel if they really wanted to get here?”
There was no way to come up with an answer.
“Okay, let’s move forward using conjecture. At least that way, I can still make progress. Assuming they could reach us from the nearest American base, and assuming further that those weapons are for whoever makes the trip, then what does that tell me?”
Part of the answer seemed all too obvious.
“No one coming for a friendly visit needs machine guns and rocket launchers.”
So why would they pay them an unfriendly visit? And why wouldn’t they bring weapons with them?
“Because it’s too far. Maybe they would only have enough room for fuel and supplies to make the round trip. They would have to pick up the weapons here, and then…” He lowered his voice even though he was alone. “And then destroy the evidence.”
Evidence worth destroying would have been associated with doing something bad. Perhaps even very bad. But would his government actually sanction what he was starting to imagine?
“And why would Sokolov know about it, and do nothing to prevent it?”
Lena had said that the rumor was that Sokolov was going to retire after this work term was over. He was going to Cuba to his just rewards. Or was he?
“What if he got a better deal? What if my country was willing to up the ante enough to make him change his mind?”
If he liked working with plants, maybe they would give him his own tropical island.
But why? Why all that trouble, and expense, and risk…and violation of international law? The only thing they had here was…
“The virus.”
He was getting cold now and not from the heaters malfunctioning.
“Sokolov said we were interested in it too. I wonder how interested? Could it be enough to justify coming here and taking it from this station?”
This could be really bad, assuming he was right…and he still wasn’t ready to say he was. Perhaps he was completely off his rocker.
“Perhaps.”
But if he wasn’t…then…
“Holy fuck.”
What would happen to the remaining crew if an American Special Forces team swept down on them? More to the point, what would happen to him? Leaving witnesses to international espionage didn’t seem like a very good idea.
“Not a good idea, at all.”
Once again, his voice had dropped to a whisper. Was the crew expendable in all of this? Was he? Something else was forming in the fog of his mind.
“Why did Sokolov give me the combination and clue to where the locker was when he knew he was about to die?”
He had a thought. That’s all it was. Farfetched, no doubt there. But he was just brain storming which meant no thought was off limits. What if…
“It’s thin. Really thin.”
What if Sokolov changed the combination on the locker for leverage? The Special Forces team arrives and finds out that they can’t access the weapons because their code is bogus. Then what?
“They’re smart. They’re creative. So what would they do?”
If this scenario was true, then they would have already been briefed about the few weapons in the barracks. So, they couldn’t chance showing up at the door unarmed and try to take them all out with hand to hand combat. All it would take was for one old geezer to have a pistol in his hand and the Special Forces team gets gunned down. So…
“So they send one or two of them to the door. They knock and give some bullshit story about why they’re there. First chance that comes along, they get the combination from Sokolov and then they’re in business. But first he reaffirms his status as coming with them unharmed with the weapons as leverage.”
So in Sokolov’s absence…
“I’m it. It’s the only way I have a chance of getting out of this alive. That’s why he told me.”
Why? Faced with death, Sokolov wanted to somehow redeem himself? What about his countrymen? In the end, Hamlin decided he didn’t care. He did want to survive, though. And he felt the same about the rest of the crew. Most of them were like friends to him now. Could he live with himself after watching Lena and Zoya get gunned down?
“No. I can’t.”