Eternity Base

Chapter 31

With shaking fingers, Pak punched in the six-digit code, one number at a time. He cursed as his numbed fingertip slipped on the fifth digit and struck the wrong number on the numeric pad inside the access panel. The LED screen cleared, and Pak took a deep breath. Once more he began.

Riley was less than fifty yards away. He threw the M16 to his shoulder and stared down the iron sights. The head of the Korean wavered in them. Riley drew in a frigid breath and held it. The sights steadied and he pulled the trigger. The comforting recoil of the weapon was erased as the round impacted with the ice that had jammed into the barrel when Sammy used it to break her fall. Riley felt the pain in his hands as the breach exploded.

Riley realized his error in a heartbeat as the Korean lifted his head at the sound of the small explosion and stared at him, their eyes locking over the bomb.

Where had he come from? Pak wondered as he swung up his AK- 47, pressing the metal folding stock into his shoulder. His eye never left the other man’s as he lined up the front sight post with the rear and pulled the trigger.

The rounds roared across the fifty yards, slamming into the man and throwing him onto the ice. Pak let the weapon fall back on its sling and checked the piece of paper again. What number had he been on? His fatigued mind struggled to remember.

Riley’s breath came in deep, painful gasps. His right side was on fire, and he could feel the blood seeping into his layers of clothing. He knew he had to move. He put every ounce of energy into his legs. Nothing. Riley tried to scream, but a moan was all he managed. He focused his mind: he had to stop the Korean, or the Russian sub would be destroyed and he would die.

Pak tried to concentrate on the LED screen. Yes, he was up to the fourth number. He held his finger over the keys. He had no feeling in his hand anymore, so he guided it down by sight. When the dead finger rested on the proper number, he pushed.

The fifth now. Pak looked at the number on the code sheet. He matched it with the keyboard. His right hand would no longer hold steady. Pak took his left hand and placed it over his right forearm, steadying it. He pushed down and glanced up at the LED screen. The ENTER sign was still flashing on the top. Yes, the five were correct.

Pak checked the sixth number. He forced his finger over and down. He hesitated as he thought of his family, so far away in Korea. Pak sighed. With his finger an inch away from the keyboard, stars exploded on the right side of Pak’s head. He rolled away from the bomb onto the ice and looked up, trying to see his attacker.

A figure loomed above. Pak put his arms up to block the blow that swung down on him. He felt his left forearm shatter as steel hit bone. The pain brought his foggy mind into sharp focus. Pak was desperately reaching for his AK-47 on its sling when he stared into the greenest eyes he’d ever seen. A woman!

She swung the shovel again. He rolled away from the next blow but slid much farther than he’d intended, trying too late to slow his momentum.

Sammy collapsed to her knees, dropping the bloody entrenching tool as the Korean fell into the water hole. She started to stand when the man suddenly surged out of the water and grabbed her left forearm with his right hand.

The Korean pulled her down to the edge of the hole. He looked up at her, his dark eyes boring in. Sammy felt herself drawn in by them, bending over, her face lowering down to the water so close to being frozen.

The entrenching tool blurred by the side of her face and smashed into the Korean’s head. His grip loosened on her arm and he slipped beneath the surface. Sammy collapsed to the ice and Conner slid down beside her, dropping the e-tool and wrapping her sister in her arms.

For a long minute, they held onto each other. Then they stood. There was no sign of the Korean. The bomb sat alone on the ice near them. Sammy and Conner carefully walked over to it. The cover on the control panel was off.

“Oh, shit,” Sammy muttered. She turned away and looked back. “Dave!”