Magnus, page 5
“However, I don’t think any of that necessarily pertains to what’s going on here,” Magnus stated, not happy with the conversation and where it went. “I requested copies of the files of all the accidents up until now. Do you have them for me?”
At that, Ted handed him a large folder. “This is for your eyes only,” he declared, his voice clear and crisp, as he glared at Magnus. “I don’t even think you should have it at all. We keep in touch with the related Russian, US, and German leaders as well. These reports are surface-level only, until we clear the individuals in question.”
“If I had it all digitally, it wouldn’t be an issue,” Magnus noted.
Ted seemed to think about it and then nodded. “In a way, that might not be a bad idea. If you want to, you can take photos or read through them and let me know when you have all that you need. Then we’ll dispose of them, so there aren’t any copies left. I don’t want anybody getting their hands on this report”—he pointed—“and then you can work digitally from there.”
“That’s a better idea,” Magnus approved. When he stood, they frowned at him. “Part of the problem with working in secret is I can’t be away too long. I have to get back, before my role becomes suspicious.”
“So where are you going now?”
“Part of my training up here is working with the dogs, so I’m heading out there to look after them.”
“Looking after them? How much looking after them is there?” Jerry laughed.
“You’d be surprised.” And, with that, he took his paper copies and walked to the door.
“What about the papers?” Ted asked. “I don’t want them leaving here.”
Magnus checked his watch. “I’ve got twenty minutes.”
“You better read fast then,” Jerry noted, with a hard laugh, “because those don’t go anywhere.”
Magnus nodded, sat down, and, completely blocking out the men, he went through each of the files. When he was done, he looked up. “Email me the digitals, and then you can dispose of these.”
He handed off the paper copies to Ted, then got up and walked to the door, turning to look back at the two of them. “I’ll check in later.” And, with that, he was gone, ignoring the look of shock on their faces.
If there’s one thing Magnus had learned, it was to assimilate information fast, sort through it, and extrapolate the important parts even faster, then carry on. He didn’t care if they believed him or not. He’d read what he needed to read, and what it really meant was that absolutely nothing was going on, and that just pissed him off. He’d barely made it out to the dogs when his phone buzzed, and the files landed in his inbox.
He grinned. So that little display of reading ability meant something. Although he wasn’t sure what it meant. These guys could be just playing him. He wasn’t even sure the files were complete, and that pissed him off too. He’d been brought on board, whether they liked it or not. And, while that was a good thing, he needed cooperation from everybody, not just some of them.
He also needed to make sure that Ted and Jerry fully understood that Magnus’s role was silent; otherwise everything would be in jeopardy.
He went inside the kennel area. He had work to do.
*
When they finally got around to leaving the scientists’ quarters, Mountain was surprised at the joy he felt when he saw the Arctic Cat outside. They’d been working on the generators for hours, and, although he would be fine to ski back, a ride would be much nicer in these cold temperatures. Up here the long winter season’s temps averaged -30ºF, with the short summer temps about 40°F.
He’d been out every damn day, blizzard or no blizzard, looking for signs of where his brother had ended up, working on a massive grid daily if at all possible. Seeing the Cat and knowing he would have a warm and easy trip back this time, … it was hard not to smile. “Did it come for us?” he asked quietly.
“It’s ours. We’re taking it back as part of our training.” Salmo shrugged. “They used it earlier this week for something,” he noted quietly.
Mountain nodded. As they got into the cab, and he started up the machine, he drove carefully, knowing that the snow and ice conditions were challenging. It was damn easy to get lost in the whiteout conditions, and the shades of white made it hard to see depressions on the surface. And, of course, crevasses could open up without warning.
As he drove, he asked Salmo, “Totally different camaraderie in there, isn’t it?”
“Sure,” he agreed quietly. “But that’s very typical, isn’t it? They don’t have an ax to grind. They’re all there to do research, and what is there? Six of them, eight maybe?”
“Maybe, although I understood one was ill and wasn’t present,” Mountain added, contemplating the numbers. “I think we only saw four.”
“Sure, we only saw four, but that doesn’t mean another half dozen or more are somewhere else,” he added, that tone of his still cryptic.
Mountain nodded. “Nice to see that level of camaraderie,” he repeated, not sure why he was belaboring the point, but it was something he wanted to see more of in life. And he wasn’t seeing it at the camp.
Salmo added, “I think people are happy to be friends and to back each other up, as long as everything’s going well, but once things aren’t going well? … That’s a whole different story.”
“Interesting,” Mountain murmured. “Always makes me wonder what brings people to training such as this.”
“What brought you here?” Salmo asked, looking at him with a smile.
“Orders,” he replied succinctly.
“Right,” Salmo muttered, and the smile fell off his face.
Mountain frowned, then asked, “That makes a difference, doesn’t it?”
“Makes all the difference because it’s really not a choice, and that sucks because, in these situations, you want to be here because it’s where you want to be. It’s pretty tough living in an isolated camp for any length of time.”
“That’s the thing though. It’s not supposed to be for any length of time,” Mountain corrected, looking at him. “It’s supposed to be a short-term thing, just twelve weeks.”
“Yeah, well,” Salmo muttered, “let me know, when you are through, how that worked out for you.”
Surprised, Mountain tried to get more out of Salmo, but he wasn’t talking. Finally, fully intending to pry, Mountain continued. “I gather you’re not here by choice.”
“No, I’m not, but that’s okay. While I’m here, I’ll make the best of it. When I go home, I’ll make the best of that too.”
It was hard to argue with that sentiment.
They came around the shed, slowly parking outside where the dogs were kept, and Salmo started to swear, pointing. “What the hell is going on here?”
They both got out of the vehicle and bolted toward all the people around the kitchen area of the camp, only to find everything under control. There had definitely been a fire. It was out, but the charred remains stood as a testament to something ugly having gone on in their absence.
As Mountain stared around at the scene, he heard somebody barking out orders behind him. Mountain turned to see the colonel ahead of him.
At that, the colonel barked at him, “Where the hell were you?”
“On a scheduled visit at the scientists’ center, fixing their generator,” he reported calmly. “We snowshoed over, then drove the Cat home.”
Mountain knew the colonel by reputation only, and, more often than not, his bark really was worse than his bite. At that, the colonel nodded. “Damn good thing, so at least you are out of this.”
“Out of what?” he asked. “What happened here?”
“Kitchen fire.” The colonel lowered his voice and still growled, like gravel being crushed. “Yeah, maybe you should find out whether this was arson or something else.”
Mountain stared at him. “Kitchen fires do happen,” he noted cautiously.
“Yep, they do. Maybe it was the same here,” the colonel conceded, “but an awful lot of things are going on that shouldn’t be happening at all.”
“I won’t argue with that. I have seen things that shouldn’t be happening.”
“Yeah, well, you’ll tell me about them later tonight,” he stated, as he turned. “After dinner I want a full report.” And, with that, he stalked off.
Mountain winced, then got about the business of asking questions, knowing that he would be pissing people off because he had to ask the same ones over and over again. By the time dinner rolled around, he had a report ready to take up to the brass. Mountain gathered his notes and headed to the colonel’s quarters, where he knocked on the door.
The colonel ordered him to come in. As soon as he turned and saw who entered, he dropped the papers that he had been reading and barked, “Well?”
Mountain nodded. “No signs of anything untoward with the fire,” he noted patiently. “No starter fluid or any accelerant was used, but, given that it was the kitchen, full of all kinds of fire hazards, it doesn’t really need a whole lot of help to start a fire. It just got out of control.”
He nodded. “What about Chef?” He used the nickname Mountain had heard everyone use. The man’s name was Elijah, but Chef had stuck.
“Chef is fine. He left the kitchen for a few minutes to grab a shower because he’d been there since before breakfast, and he left the stove on for the others.”
“I’d guess that’s the last shower he’ll get while he’s here,” the colonel snapped, glaring at him. “Who was in the kitchen at the time?”
“His second in command was there, but seems they have a staffing problem. Anyway, a fight broke out in the common area, which drew all the attention, and, when they returned to the kitchen, the flames had taken off.”
“Nobody noticed it right away?”
“They did notice it fairly quickly, and that’s why the damage isn’t more severe,” Mountain confirmed, with a nod. “The kitchen will still function. Repairs are underway to get things fully back up and running again, but I hear they are serving a cold dinner tonight.”
The colonel sighed and nodded, with an unpleasant facial expression. “Do you ever think that sometimes missions should be shut down?”
“Sometimes, yes,” Mountain agreed. “I’m not sure that this has escalated to that stage yet though.”
“Yeah, the yet part is what I don’t like,” he barked at him. “Something is sick here. I don’t know what it is, but we need to find out. Yesterday.”
Day 3, Early Morning
When Sydney woke the next morning, she felt an uncanny sense of wrongness. She bolted up, quickly dressed, and raced to her clinic. Just as she got there, the door slammed open, and somebody barreled out at top speed. She yelled after him, as she chased him down the hallway, but he booked it outside, and she knew better than to go out there.
As she turned around, Magnus stared at her. He was bare-chested, just in his PJ bottoms, a bit of sleeplessness in his eyes. “What happened?”
“He came running out of my clinic,” she cried out in frustration.
Magnus took off and disappeared outside after the culprit, leaving her open-mouthed at his rash actions. Shrugging, she headed back to her clinic, hoping that Joy was there because Sydney had left everything wide open. Only she saw no sign of her nurse.
With that, Sydney decided she would no longer be sleeping in her close quarters but staying in the clinic, whether she had patients there or not. She quickly checked the time and noted it was just 7:00 a.m. Most of the others would be in the dining area, getting breakfast or at least coffee.
She checked up on the two male burn patients in her clinic. They were both sound asleep. Whoever had come in either didn’t know patients would be here or hadn’t had a chance to do anything.
Checking on the medicine cabinet, she confirmed it was still locked up. Feeling a whole lot better, she glanced around to ensure everything else was okay.
When Magnus strode in ten minutes later, carrying coffee for two, she immediately snatched one and cried out, “Thank God for that.” She looked up at him—the last she’d seen him, he was chasing her intruder half naked, only now he was fully dressed. She shook her head and chastised herself for being so out of it. “Any luck?”
He shook his head. “No, unfortunately,” he replied grumpily. “I’ve got two other men out looking. If your intruder doesn’t show up soon …” Magnus didn’t say anything to follow up.
She winced. “Sounds as if a storm is out there again too?”
“Yeah, it’s pretty much been bad weather since I arrived,” he noted quietly. “Not exactly conducive to escaping though.”
“Unless he knew of somewhere and had a plan.”
“The real question is, … how would he have gotten in?”
“We don’t lock up any of the external doors to the base,” she explained. “I mean, they’re secured for the wind, but we’re not trying to lock people in or out. This is not that type of facility, and, if people run into trouble, they need to know that they can come in here and take shelter.” She frowned. “So, in a way, it’s just an open public place.”
“Did you get a description of him?”
She shrugged. “I can give you what I remember, but it isn’t a whole lot.” She quickly went through what she recalled, realizing it sounded lame. “I’m sorry. That’s not much. It just seems stupid, but he was dressed all in black. He wore not full winter gear but outdoor gear, for sure. He was moving pretty fast for someone geared so heavily,” she added, thinking back. “But then everybody here is fit and in shape, so no handicap to point out.”
Magnus nodded in agreement. “Right, and everybody here is decent at subterfuge too,” he admitted quietly. She winced. “Did you do a check this morning?”
She stared at him, not understanding at first, then it clicked. She quickly put down her coffee. She got up and pulled the device from her top drawer and quickly checked her clinic. To her dismay, almost immediately it started buzzing. She swore, as she looked over at him. He got up and followed her around, as they pinpointed where the latest bug was. He quickly removed it from the light where it was affixed and quickly dismantled it. Neither of her patients woke up; then, their pain medication was intense.
He held it up, his face grim, as he looked at her. “What are the chances that this is what your intruder was doing this morning?”
She shook her head. “I’m not betting on that,” she muttered. “I just don’t understand what they think will happen here, when I don’t have anything to do with it.”
“To do with what?” he asked, looking at her quietly.
“With what’s going on, particularly after the colonel talked to me yesterday.” She gave a quick shrug. “That was beyond bizarre.”
“I won’t say it wasn’t a surprise,” he replied cautiously, “but the brass? … They’re people, just like the rest of us.”
“Sure they are,” she replied, with spirit. “Yet it seems somebody is trying to set me up, is thinking I’m involved, or is convinced that some top secret information is being talked about around here that they’re hoping to get from me, but I don’t know anything about that.” She raised her hands in disgust. “My superiors are expecting a full report today too. Do I tell them about this?” She waved her hand at the bug. “This will raise the roof, if they think their team is in any danger.”
He frowned. “No suggestion on that but your position is one of respect and has a little more expectation of privacy, so, if people talk to you and want that privacy, … they would do that here.”
“Maybe.” She stared at him. “However, it’s not as if anybody here will talk to me about crimes. I’m the doctor. I’m, … you know, fixing coughs and scrapes and burns now.”
“How badly were they hurt?” he asked, turning to look at the two men asleep on the two hospital beds.
She nodded grimly. “One’s got a good-size burn on his arm. He’s shipping out as soon as I can arrange it. So, right now, I’m just managing his and the second man’s pain. Not a whole lot of treatment that anybody can do for burns here. I’m definitely not equipped for it and trying could do far more harm than good.” She glanced back where the one patient was in a drugged stupor. “I’m hoping to get them both out today.”
“That would be good,” Magnus agreed, with a nod. “It would also mean that they could get supplies in.”
She nodded. “That also would be good.”
“Are you leaving with them?”
She turned and frowned at him. “It’s always an option I have, but no.” She shook her head. “I am the only doctor, so to leave would mean the people here would have no one. I’m not sure how quickly I could be replaced.”
“Yet there’s a nurse?” he confirmed questioningly.
“Sure, but she’s not a doctor. So, if some emergency operation or major issues popped up, … she’s not qualified for that.”
“What kind of emergency operation are you thinking?”
She looked at him, shrugged, and explained, “The last time I was in a similar situation, I had to do an emergency appendectomy.” He winced at that, and she nodded. “That’s the thing. You don’t know what will happen from one minute to the next. I can take X-Rays, splint broken bones, and quite a bit more,” she added, with spirit. “Plus, I signed on for the duration.”
“Which was what?”
“Twelve weeks, and then they would rotate me out with another doctor. If they can get one in.”
“And you’ve done how many weeks so far?”
“Two and a half. No, just over three, I guess.” Looking at the desk calendar, she nodded. “Almost three. You lose track of time in here.”
“So just under nine more to go.”
She nodded. “Nine more to go. Unless they shut down early. Or …” She stared up at the light. “If they feel they need to extend it. I just don’t have a clue why anything I’m doing is of interest to somebody else.”
“I don’t either, but you need to be extra careful.”
She nodded. “I don’t go anywhere but the dining room and my quarters from here, and, from now on, I’ll probably sleep here too.” He winced at that, and she shrugged. “I have patients in here, and somebody was in here without my permission today. Joy was supposed to be here from midnight to seven.” Sydney was starting to get angry, and that meant the shock was wearing off. “So, as far as I’m concerned, that’s a done deal.”
