Dead Ice

EIGHT

“All right, what have we got, Professor?” Maddock asked when the man returned to the shack.

Professor had plugged a headset into the radio they had brought with them, and was listening intently to what he was being told over the wire. He scribbled a series of numbers on the edge of the map he’d spread out on the table, the remnants left behind by the previous occupants still in place beneath it. He nodded a couple of times, despite the fact that no one on the other end could see him. When he had finished writing, he pulled off the headset and looked up.

“We’ve got a rough location. It’s pretty sketchy but they’re trying to pinpoint it by moving the ship to another location. As long as the transmission keeps getting repeated they’ll use it for triangulation. That should get us a little closer.”

“Show me.” Maddock instructed.

Professor worked with a quick efficiency. He marked their position on the map with a simple cross then added another for the approximate position of the ship. He checked the two rows of figures he’d penciled at the side of the map and drew in two lines, one from each of the two crosses until they intersected. “It’s not as accurate as it might be, because we are still fairly close to the ship. But it’s a ballpark. The captain’s going to move her around to the east end of the island and get us another reading. That should help us pinpoint the sub.”

“We don’t have the luxury of time, Professor,” Maddock said. “Pretty sure is going to have to be good enough. We just need to get moving in the right direction. If the ship can improve on the data all well and good, but we will at least be closer to the submarine by then. How far are we talking?”

“Twenty five klicks, but it’s not only a matter of how far.” Professor traced his finger along the line from their current position. “The signal is coming from the other side of the coastal plain and that means crossing the Tsentral’nye Mountain Range. That’s going to be a bear of a hike. And not just because it’s cold out there.”

“I think we all know just how cold it is out there.” Bones shuddered as he spoke. “I’ve dated church girls who weren’t this frigid.”

Professor scowled. “We’ve not come close to cold yet, Bones. We’re talking as low as minus twenty six up there.”

“Chilly,” Bones agreed. “Couldn’t we take the scenic route and go around the mountains then? Save us a few degrees of frostbite?”

“Man, that would, like, double the distance.” Willis scowled and shook his head. “It’s going to be tough enough to cover twenty five klicks in a single day as it is. Fifty? Ain’t no way. We might as well just let the Russkies have the egg.”

“Agreed. We can’t afford to waste that much time, not if we want to get this thing done.” Maddock said. “Every hour we lose increases the risk that they’ll beat us to the punch.”

“It’s already starting to get dark out there.” Bones turned back from the cabin’s grime-dark window. “You’re not seriously suggesting that we try and negotiate a freakin’ iced-up mountain range at night? The cold’s frozen your brain, chief.”

“Realistically, we’re going to be out there at night regardless, whether it’s actual night or not, and not by choice,” said Professor. “At this time of year this place only gets a few hours of daylight, max. By the time we reach the range, even if we set off at dawn, it’ll be getting dark, and then we’d be kicking back with no shelter, freezing our asses off for the fun of it. Think of it this way, rather dark than foggy.”

Maddock wasn’t so sure, but it wasn’t as if they had a whole heck of a lot of choice in the matter. The objective was clear — beat the Russians to Pandora’s Egg. This was what they did. This was why command paid them the very small bucks. He nodded to Professor. “Then we have to get as far as we can tonight, be ready for when the sun comes up to get across those peaks. We’ve got bivouacs, and everything we need for a couple of nights in the open.”

“Then we’d better get ready to ship out.”

Maddock gave Leopov the briefest of glances. This wasn’t the kind of adventure he wanted her tagging along on, if he was honest. He was thinking about her safety primarily. “It’s going to be rough out there, Lieutenant.”

“I’m coming with you,” she said, “Don’t even think about trying to talk me out of it. This isn’t the 1950’s. There’s no weaker sex here.”

“I guess she told you, Maddock.” Bones chuckled and gave Leopov an approving look.

Maddock nodded. There was no point in arguing. He only hoped they weren’t borrowing trouble in bringing Leopov along.

Time would tell.