Magnus, page 2
If he were stateside, even worse weather conditions and possibly tornados, would stop Magnus from going out and finding someone potentially hurt and in trouble. He’d worked search and rescue with his brother and his father for decades growing up in that coastal environment, but here in these circumstances? Even Magnus knew the human body had limits and what it could handle. Both for rescuers and the rescuees.
Still, that reality just pissed him off.
As he sat down, his temper got the best of him, and the cup landed a little too hard.
The guy sitting next to him looked over and went off on him. “Wow, you’re in a fine fettle, aren’t ya?”
Just enough of an accent to his voice made Magnus smile. “Yeah, you could say that. I wasn’t expecting the storm to last this long.”
Jesse, who Magnus thought had been around here for quite a while, laughed and nodded. “Yeah, when she settles in like this, you’re not going anywhere. Doesn’t matter whether it’s coming or going.” He chuckled. “Mother Nature rules up here. The sooner you accept it, the better.”
Magnus nodded; Jesse had no idea that accepting shit like that wasn’t part of Magnus’s mandate, but finding answers was. Frustrated he couldn’t do his job or move this forward in any way, he glared down at his cup. Sitting around, waiting, definitely was not his ball of wax.
When somebody else sat down beside him, he looked over, and there was Dr. Sydney Jenkins. Magnus had reported to her earlier, soon after arriving, as she needed some medical files on him. He smiled. “Hey, how’re you doing?”
Sydney smiled back. “I’m doing well. I don’t know how you handle being outside like that though. You were outside for hours and on day one. You sure you’re okay?”
He shrugged. “I would prefer to be outside a whole lot more than that storm out there will let me.”
“Right, but enough people have been lost here already.” She narrowed her gaze, adding, “Let’s make sure you aren’t added to the list.”
“Don’t plan on it.”
She had been here for three weeks now and was likely to be heading back fairly quickly, but Magnus wasn’t sure. She was the only doctor at the site. He didn’t know anything about her military background, though generally they came fully trained. However, in these circumstances, he wasn’t sure. She was also part of the English team, and multiple international teams were here, with members coming in and out on a regular basis.
Magnus couldn’t help but think that everybody else on those teams had better luck with the weather than him, what with planes still flying in and out and Arctic Cats moving across the tundra, while he was stuck doing next to nothing.
She smiled. “That look on your face is priceless.”
“Yeah, I get it. I’m broadcasting that I’m not happy.”
She just shook her head and patted his hand. “Tomorrow’s another day.”
“What kind of a day though?” he asked, looking at her. “Another storm day?” He dragged out the word storm, and it was enough to make her face light up just a bit.
She nodded seriously. “Yes, maybe another storm day. So, if you do go out, make sure you use the safety lines.”
His voice equally low, he grumbled, “Didn’t help the last guy, did it?”
She stiffened slightly and then relaxed. “No, it didn’t, and that’s why we want to ensure you are tied securely to the safety lines, so that you come back.”
He just nodded and didn’t say anything. Of course he planned on following safety protocols, and he had no intention of getting lost out there. In this situation, it was sure death to throw caution to the wind out there. However, at the same time, it was damn hard to sit here and to chomp at the bit while doing nothing.
She lowered her voice, careful not to lean in, but instead she looked around casually and whispered, “You might want to check inside.”
He deliberately stopped himself from showing any shock at her words. Impressed at the thought that she may have pegged him already, he lifted his cup casually and asked in an equally low voice, “What would I be looking for?”
“Missing medications.” With that, she stood and smacked him hard on the shoulder. “Maybe tomorrow you’ll get out.” She turned and walked off.
Behind her, Magnus could only stare, as she disappeared around the corner.
*
Sydney returned to her clinic and quickly shut the door. Once again, she went back over her medication cabinets, checking that all the locks were secure. The fact that they had been secure before was a little more damning in her mind because it meant that somebody had the ability to pick the lock, or get a key made, or use some higher-order skills, which she had no chance or ability to counteract at the moment. Considering the skill set of the people at this compound, that wasn’t a surprise. Thankfully everything was still here.
When the door opened a little later, Magnus walked in.
She gave him a veiled look.
“You want to explain that comment?” he asked quietly.
She shrugged and groaned. “Wish I could.”
She motioned at the opened door behind him. He quickly shut the door and locked it. While he turned, she pulled her bug detector from her pocket and did a quick search around.
She glanced at Magnus, but he kept an eye on her, standing here, measuring her as she did so. When she was finally done with checking all over her clinic, she nodded, turned, and looked at him in exasperation.
“Somebody has been stealing medications, very powerful drugs, out of the cabinet. They have somehow made a key, or they’ve been picking the locks, and I can’t seem to catch them. Not to mention that I also found a bug in my clinic,” she declared bitterly. “I had to contact somebody else who I thought could handle this quietly, and they managed to get me this.” She held up the detector in her hand.
He stared at it silently, still unsure of it all, then, as if parking all other thoughts, focused solely on her. “Who did you contact?”
She winced. “Mountain.”
He smiled. “Good choice.” Her shoulders sagged in relief. “Mountain’s one of the good guys.”
“I know that he’s here because his brother’s gone missing, so I figured he had to be on the right side, though I’m not even sure that we have sides here right now.” She crossed her arms over her chest, her fingers rat-a-tatting an impatient staccato on her arm. “I don’t know what’s going on right now.” She tried to minimize her exhaustion, but it was hard; she hadn’t slept well in days. Fear was her constant companion. “I feel very much as if I got dragged into this problem.”
He looked around. “Where’s the cabinet? Is this the only one?”
She walked over and showed him. She didn’t have as much here as she would like, but there was always the hope that this would only be for emergency circumstances, and anybody seriously ill would be airlifted out. Still, she had to stabilize any patient and needed a full contingency of equipment and medication.
Magnus studied the lock and frowned, and she nodded.
“It hasn’t been picked, as much as I can gather.”
“No, it hasn’t.” He turned to look at her. “Which is definitely a concern, but people here have some pretty impressive skills, so we can’t ignore that either.”
“They have a freaking scary set of skills,” she agreed. “It’s daunting to consider how much that intellectual pool out there”—she nodded toward the common area—“has among them. When you consider that, and factor in that maybe we have a big problem at this compound, a problem that no one is admitting to—”
“No maybe about it,” Magnus confirmed, his voice harsh. “We definitely have a problem.” She didn’t say anything, just nodded. He studied her for a long moment. “See? The thing is, you may have gone to Mountain, but I don’t know much about you.”
Her gaze widened at that, and she sucked in her breath, before letting it out very slowly. She hadn’t expected that, although she should have. She didn’t know why she hadn’t. It was normal for them to question her role in all this, if anything. She felt his gaze on her, as she sought to find a way to give him an answer.
“And I don’t hear an immediate answer.”
“Just trying to figure out what I’m allowed to tell you,” she said quietly.
He winced at that. “Isn’t that great? You’re tasked with a job, but you’re not allowed to tell anybody. At the same time, you’re in a position where people ask questions.”
She burst out laughing. “You’re not kidding.” She gave him a wave of her hand. “Yet it’s true.”
He nodded. Hearing the doorknob behind him, he turned and looked at the doc inquiringly.
She nodded. “That will be Joy, my nurse.”
With an eyebrow raised, he opened the door and let in the one nurse stationed here.
Joy walked in, eyed them both, and frowned. “Am I interrupting? Shall I come back later?”
Immediately Sydney shook her head. “No, not at all. It’s fine.”
Joy walked over, set two cups of coffee on the table, and turned to look at her boss. “I wasn’t sure whether you’d had enough caffeine already or not.”
“I’m pretty well swimming.” She laughed, as she looked over at Joy’s offerings. “Yet I’m always happy with more. I’ll take the cinnamon bun too.”
“Didn’t you just eat?” Joy asked, with a laugh.
“I did, but being up here in these temperatures makes my appetite second to none.”
“I guess that’s a normal thing, isn’t it? I’ve never been in these temperatures before.” Joy walked to the counter and grabbed a well-used blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Even though it’s warm in here, I’m always cold,” she admitted.
“When was the last time you were outside?” Magnus asked her.
She shook her head. “A couple days ago … at least. I like to visit the dogs.”
He nodded. “It’s a pretty big base,” he said thoughtfully, “and that’s the only reason you could handle it. I suppose, otherwise you would go stir-crazy in here.”
“I’m pretty well stir-crazy as it is,” Joy admitted. “However, every time I go to the door and look out, that’s enough to keep me inside.”
He laughed. “How long have you been here?”
“Three weeks now.” She flashed a smile at him. “What about you?” she asked curiously.
He shrugged. “Came in earlier with a group.”
“That’s why I saw so many new faces today.” Joy laughed. “I wondered whether I had slept through a complete change of staff or something.”
“Is there staff here?” Magnus asked. “It’s all a joint training mission, right?”
“What that really means is,” Sydney explained, “we have three times the bosses.” At that, he burst out laughing, as she grinned at him. “You know I’m right.”
“Yeah, you probably are.” He smiled. “Everybody had to come with their own hierarchy, didn’t they?”
Joy nodded. “It’d be nice to think that they could just come with a small team, and sometimes they do. However, with the level of problems that suddenly seem to be arising, … I’m not sure that’s what is happening now.”
“If serious problems are happening, you would think that they would just shut it all down.” Sydney looked over at Magnus.
He shrugged. “I’m not sure anybody believes it’s a problem per se, as much as potentially accidents and more or less stupidity of some who are too cocky for their own good.”
“Right,” Sydney said, with a dry tone. “You mean, like going outside in this blizzard? Glad you came in when you did.”
“I didn’t get everything done I wanted to,” he said quietly, “yet I stayed an hour past what I had planned.”
Joy turned and looked at him in shock. “Outside?” she squeaked.
He smiled and nodded. “Absolutely. Just because a storm hits doesn’t mean the world doesn’t still need us to turn the crank.”
“As long as the heat’s still on, and we have supplies that can come and go, I’m okay to just stay inside, thanks. But the minute any of those issues come to my door”—Joy shook her head—“well, I’m on the next flight out.”
“Except you just completely ignored the fact that there won’t be a next flight out, not if they can’t land to get us supplies. If they can bring supplies in, they can get people out.” He looked around at the medical facility, surprised at how well equipped it was. “I see you’re prepared in any case.”
Sydney nodded. “There’s always the hope that I won’t have to”—she shrugged—“but better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.”
He smiled and then looked over at Joy. “I just stopped in to get some aspirin.”
Sydney walked to the cabinet, pulled out a small jar, opened it up, and gave him a little pill box with a couple inside. He smiled his thanks, then quickly turned and left.
As soon as he had gone, and the door had closed behind him, Joy turned to look at Sydney. “Hey, if you want me to, you know, take a walk because something’s between the two of you …”
“Nope, not at all.” Sydney laughed. “It’s all good.”
With that, Joy nodded and headed over to her desk and picked up a clipboard. “In that case, I’ll get back to adding in the inventory from this last shipment.” Then she headed to the medicine cabinets.
Behind her, Sydney watched Joy, all the while wondering if she could trust Magnus. Or had she opened Pandora’s box by talking as freely as she had? Could she trust Mountain? He’d seemed the best bet earlier, and she’d taken to Magnus immediately, but … nothing like realizing everything going on around you was a fabrication of somebody else’s manipulation.
She didn’t know what was going on, and she didn’t dare leave when everybody here was so vulnerable. She was the only doctor in the place, and it was her job to ensure everybody stayed safe, but how the hell was she supposed to do that when somebody was watching her, was stealing from her supplies?
Day 2, Morning
The next morning Sydney woke and quickly dressed, shivering at the overnight chill.
The heating cost had to be exorbitant, but it wasn’t her problem, and that was a good thing, since she had enough on her mind. Speaking of which, she walked to her clinic next door, unlocked the door, and stepped inside. She stopped at the entrance and stood still, looking to see, feel, or sense if anything was wrong and if things had been disturbed. All appeared well, and, with that, she pivoted, stepped back out, and locked up.
As she turned again, one of the guys, Larry, was standing there, a little too close.
He immediately stepped back. “Whoops.”
She gave a half smile, as she fell back slightly as well. “Did you need something?” she asked in a calm voice.
He shook his head. “No, I just saw you stepping out and thought I’d say hi.”
She nodded. “Hi.” She quickly hooked her keys onto her belt loop, then turned toward the kitchen. “I haven’t had coffee yet, and I never talk much before that, if I can help it.”
He snorted. “You and everybody else in this place.”
She nodded because coffee was an easy answer to avoid people and was glad to see Larry wave and walk away. Coffee was an out for any explanation, such as not being friendly or not even being as friendly as most people would expect in this situation. Sydney had lived in various bases and camps before and knew that it was easy to get into trouble very quickly, just by smiling at the wrong person.
Tempers got short after a while, and sex went into overdrive, no matter how much people tried to shut down either, and a single female in a group could cause all kinds of headaches. Definitely other women were here, and Sydney had already heard of one of them having an affair with one of the guys, then breaking up that relationship and was already into a second. Now it seemed as if guys were lining up already to be her third, which made things here very complicated. Sydney was doing her best to stay away from everybody, but, when the woman in question had come looking for condoms, Sydney had immediately handed them over, with a word of warning.
The other woman had just laughed under her watchful gaze. “Nothing else to do here.” And, with that single comment, she’d disappeared almost as quickly as she had appeared.
Not exactly Sydney’s style, but she understood, and she’d seen it time and time again. Sex, in the right circumstances, was a great outlet for all that pent-up energy. However, here, where only one, two, or maybe three people were sexually active, issues were bound to arise.
Right now, it wasn’t a problem, and she hoped it didn’t become one. Yet, with everything else going on, Sydney wouldn’t be at all surprised if it led to short tempers. Of course short tempers led to outbursts.
As she walked into the dining room area, she noted no noticeable change in the atmosphere. She had become accustomed to looking over her shoulder—something she found herself constantly worried about now, wondering who and what could have been important enough for someone to put a listening device in her clinic. And now wondering if they knew it had been found and disabled, and, if so, was somebody coming back to fix it?
She constantly kept her bug detector on her and checked the clinic every time she went in. It had become an obsession but a sensible one. Mountain had brought her the device, but he hadn’t returned since then, and that surprised her. Surely he would follow up at some point. Unless he was trying to keep it all on the sly and to not let anybody know that she’d gone to him—which, considering the number of accidents and missing people, was a good thing.
That medications were missing scared the crap out of her. Especially drugs powerful enough to knock out a horse. … That was a whole different story. Of course people would ask why she even had such things here, but they were really needed in case of problems, big problems, such as emergency surgeries or any other number of things that would require knocking out some of these big strong men. You didn’t just knock out a guy the size of Mountain with a regular dose; it would take a horse tranquilizer for him. She cared about every one of these people and wanted to ensure that they all got treated humanely.
