Dead Ice

ELEVEN

Morning came before the dawn, a peculiarity that would take some getting used to.

The hours had passed but there was still no sign of the sun. They had to press on regardless, even if the closest they had to light was the silver moon.

“Time to take the lie of the land, scout around out there, see what we’re really up against,” Maddock said.

“You feeling up to it, dude? You don’t look too good.” Bones replied. “I could cover for you, you rest up?”

“Just try and stop me.” No matter what the big guy said, Maddock felt much better than he had any right to. Stiff, yes, his muscles tighter than they needed to be. His pigheadedness on the march might actually have done him some good. “Send a couple of the other guys to take a look over that peak there, we need an idea what’s on the other side,” he faced the mountains and waved an arm toward one of the shallower peaks. “We’ll get one shot at this, and eyes are better than maps. We’ll scout out this flank, between us we should get a decent eyes-on and find a line of least resistance through the range.”

“With luck,” Bones agreed.

“Better lucky than good,” Maddock said.

“I’m coming with you.” Leopov stumbled out of the tent. Barely awake, she was already fixing onto him like a second shadow.

“I don’t know how you figure that one out,” Maddock said. “We’ll be quicker if it’s just the two of us.”

“I’ve got my orders…”

“OK, let me rephrase it. I’m in charge of this mission, and no matter what you think, I’m issuing you a field order that supersedes anything you’ve been told previously. You won’t be able to keep up with us. That means you will jeopardize the effectiveness of the maneuver. That means it’s not happening. Understood?”

Leopov looked skeptical. “How long?”

“A couple of hours, three tops. By then we should be ready to move on.”

“Try not to miss me too much,” Bones said with a wry smile.

She nodded as if giving her approval despite the fact Maddock hadn’t asked for it, or needed it.

They struck out with little more than a mug of coffee in their bellies. Professor had started the primus stove and used melted snow to start a brew. Maddock had tasted better, but he’d drunk a lot worse. It provided a warm lining in his stomach, radiating heat through his body as they trudged along.

They walked in relative silence; this was about being vigilant, not just covering the distance.

Twenty minutes out of basecamp Bones stopped dead in his tracks.

“What the hell is that?” the big man asked, unslinging the rifle from his shoulder in readiness. Maddock followed his gaze. He saw the dark shape moving from the mountains. At first glance it looked like a bear moving toward them on its hind legs. They’d been warned about polar bears in the mission brief, but surely they were white rather than brown?

Bones already had an eye to the telescopic sight.

His finger poised over the trigger in case the object posed any kind of threat. The last thing they needed was a couple tons of polar bear charging at them.

“It’s a man!” Bones offered the rifle to Maddock so he could take a look through the scope himself.

He was right.

It was a man.

As he grew closer his hood blew back from his face, revealing wild unkempt hair and a jet black beard. His arms gesticulated wildly toward them, but Maddock couldn’t tell if it was a wave in welcome or warning, trying to drive them away. There were no obvious indications that the man was armed, but Maddock wasn’t taking any chances. He kept the weapon trained on the newcomer until he came within earshot.

The man was babbling in Russian. Neither Maddock nor Bones could understand what the man was saying.

“Ironic how the one person who could help us out right now is the one person you didn’t want out on the ice, eh chief?” Bones laugh held no mirth.

“I’d question your definition of irony.” Maddock grimaced.

“He looks nuts to me. You think he’s been out in this too long? This place is enough to drive anyone crazy if you’re left on your own.”

“I don’t know. Why would he even be alone? Why would anyone want to be on their own in a place like this?” Maddock couldn’t understand what this madman was doing out in the middle of this desolate island.

“Escaped from the gulag, maybe?”

“Possibly. In which case, he’ll have a patrol on his heels.” Maddock’s stomach sank at the thought.

“Tell them to bring it,” Bones said. “I’m ready to mess somebody up.”

The man fell to his knees just a couple of yards away from them, seemingly repeating the same few sounds over and over again. They lost definition until it became utterly impossible to separate them, and mumbled into incoherence. Maddock thought he picked up one word, but he couldn’t be sure. It didn’t sound quite right to his ears, but that could have been down to the language barrier. “Romanov?” He said it out loud, seemingly not really knowing who he was talking to, or if he was just muttering to himself. He certainly didn’t seem to be expecting a response.

“What about the Romanovs?” Bones asked.

“They were the last Russian royal family. He’s saying, ‘Romanov’s Bane is lost,’” a voice said behind him.

Maddock turned to find that Leopov had disobeyed his direct order and followed them after all. “I thought I’d told you to stay at the camp.”

“Good thing I didn’t listen to you then, isn’t it?” She grinned and winked as she moved past Maddock and Bones.

The man on his knees still babbled on, showing no sign of stopping. His words grew ever more urgent. A wild madness ran rampant in his eyes. Leopov crouched down and spoke to him softly. Whatever she said seemed to calm him.

“What did you say to him?” Maddock asked.

“I just told him that he was safe.”

“So what do we do with him?” Bones asked. “We can’t just leave him out here can we?”

That was exactly what they ought to do, Maddock knew, but Bones was right. If they left him out here the risk was that the Russian team would stumble upon him. There was no way of knowing what he’d tell them, but Maddock didn’t want the Spetsnaz boys knowing they had company out here on the ice if he could possibly help it. And if the Russians didn’t stumble on him, the chances were the old man would be dead before too long; surely it wasn’t possible to survive in a place like this alone without at least some form of support?

“We take him back,” Maddock said. “We need to keep him with us for now at least. We don’t need his death on our hands. He’s done nothing to us. Besides, he might prove useful if the lieutenant can get through to him.”

Bones leaned close to Maddock’s ear and spoke softly. “This Romanov thing is weird. There are all kinds of mysteries and legends surrounding them.”

“More of your unusual reading?” Maddock mumbled.

“I’m telling you, bro, something about this is all jacked-up.”

Leopov spoke to the man again, placing one mittened hand on his shoulder. He nodded vigorously in response.

“I said that we’d give him something to eat and drink.” Her level stare said she was committed to this course of action and would not be swayed.

Maddock had no choice but to trust her.