by Donal Myrick
Max checked into the hotel using his fake identification. The fake IDs that Geraldo had made had Max and Peggy as Mr. and Mrs., which amused the entire crew because they all knew there was a lot more truth to that than not. The best part about the hotel room was that everyone was able to shower before going to dinner.
That evening while they were at dinner, Max received a phone call on his burner phone from Scott.
Scott said, “Don’t say where you are just in case this phone is compromised. I have a pretty good idea, anyway. I just received word from a source that informed me that they are aware of the fact that you are no longer on this trip with us, and that they are also aware that certain assets of interest do not appear to be where they should be. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
Max replied, “Good to hear from you, Scott. I hope you and the gang are enjoying your cruise. I hope you all have a great time in New Orleans. Where are you all now?”
“We are in Memphis at the moment. We will overnight here, and continue on tomorrow.”
Max replied with a cryptic message, “We have stopped for the night also. Our Journey is doing well and will continue towards the race tomorrow. All is well with us. Let us know if anything changes.”
“Of course, I will. Be very careful.” Scott replied and signed off.
Max said quietly, “As you just heard, the cat’s out of the bag, and they will be searching high and low for us. From now on, we must be on high alert and extremely vigilant.”
Jim said, “I really don’t know how we can be more vigilant than we have been.”
Geraldo pointed out, “That is probably the reason we have gotten this far without a problem. We need to get the truck and trailer back on the road as soon as possible and as far from here as possible. Jim, I think we need to go back to Alabama by way of Calgary, and somehow accidentally start leaving crumbs for our watchers to find.”
“I like that idea. It has been a long time since I was in that part of the country.”
Geraldo was thinking ahead and suggested, “I think that as soon as Journey is off-loaded that Jim and I need to hit the road instead of spending tomorrow night here. Also, once you two depart here, you will be out of touch until you activate Journey. Beyond here, cell phones will be useless. Furthermore, even after you activate Journey, you will be in receive mode only, so let’s work out a way where you can communicate where you are.”
Jim said, “Like we planned, we will be using ham radio to talk to you because of the distance involved. Listen for my call sign on either ten, twenty, or forty meters, whichever band is open. I have several friends lined up that I will be chatting with, and I will encode messages within our conversation for you. I’ll say something like, ‘I’ve got some friends that I would like to hear from’, and you can reply after a few minutes with mic key clicks, one through five to indicate where you are on the route. Also, whenever you hear me chatting, you can just give a couple of clicks, so I will know you are listening.”
That evening, they drew out a rough map of max’s planned route beginning at Grise Fiord and going all the way to Axel Heiberg intentionally omitting their final destination. The next afternoon, Max and Peggy moved into their quarters on the freighter, and Geraldo and Jim hit the road again. Early the next morning, the freighter was steaming out into the Labrador Sea and beginning the turn to the north on the thousand-mile run to Iqaluit. The thousand-mile run would take about two and a half to three days, depending on sea conditions.
CHAPTER 60
The First Leg of the Journey at Sea
During the days at sea, Max and Peggy spent a lot of time up on deck together watching small icebergs drift by, and hoping that none of the Russian subs that routinely patrolled this area had this particular freighter in their sights.
Time passed slowly at sea, and Max had time to think. Max said thoughtfully, “Do you have any idea how much everything that we have been doing costs? I know Scott has spent well over seven million dollars. Without Scott funding us, none of this would have happened or even been possible.”
Snuggling up to Max for a bit of warmth, Peggy replied, “Don’t forget that it was you that started it all. If it wasn’t for you, none of this would have happened either.”
“Actually, everybody in our group has made some incredible contributions, especially including you, without which we wouldn’t be here.”
“It was meant to be,” Peggy said with conviction. After a short pause, she continued, “You know those two guys with no names from the agency with no name that were with Mr. Jones and Mr. Smith?”
“Yes, what about them?”
“Do you think they have been watching us also, and are wondering where we have gone?”
“I suspect that the answer to that is yes.”
“Do you think we can trust them?”
“I think so. I believe that their agency funded Ted and Dr. Fred’s research projects, and they did give The Mueller Foundation a generous grant, but there is something not quite right. My spider senses have told me to be cautious. That is why I haven’t been totally candid with them. I think they know Sergei also. We know that Kuznetsov is our advisory, but I don’t think he is our only one. I have that nagging feeling that there is something else lurking out there.”
“I say trust your spider senses, they are usually right.”
“Funny thing, I don’t think Smith and Jones are real names either. I consider them allies, but with caution also. I have been more candid with Sergei than I have with them, and apparently, Sergei is still willing to look out for us to the extent that he can. I suspect that sooner or later, Sergei is going to want his favors returned with interest.”
“I will bet that you are right. Speaking of Sergei, I hate being out of contact and not knowing what is going on. They could be hot on our tail right now, and we wouldn’t know it.”
“I hate it too, and unfortunately, it is going to be at least a week if not more before we can even listen for news.”
Peggy said, “Look over there. Is that a periscope?”
Max’s heart skipped a beat, and he said, “Where? Where?”
Peggy laughed, “Ha, ha, made you look!”
Max slapped her on her backside and said, “Dang you! That was just plain mean. You are going to pay for that!”
Peggy, still laughing, said, “I’m so afraid.”
Max, still pouting, said, “When you least expect it!”
As they retired below to get some food and to warm up a bit, Peggy opined, “When I least expect it, huh. Well, that fits in with everything else. It seems like just about everything that has happened to us has been what or when we least expected.”
Late on the third day, they arrived at Iqaluit, and Max was hoping that the boat that Scott had contracted for the next leg of this trip would, in fact, be in Iqaluit. Max asked the freighter captain if he could use the ship's radio to call the other boat. Much to Max’s relief, the captain of the smaller boat answered right back and said that he was waiting to hear from Max. He indicated that he would be alongside early in the morning to take the containers on board. He said that he was concerned and wanted to get underway as soon as possible because the sea-lanes further north were closing fast. He indicated that they would head out as soon as Max’s containers were on board. Max asked how long it would take to get to Grise Fiord. The captain said that it was roughly thirteen hundred and fifty miles, and he had a couple of stops to make along the way. He estimated it would probably take about a week, and maybe as long as ten days. He also indicated that he wasn’t sure how much further beyond Grise Fiord they would be able to go because the Cardigan Straits were often closed this time of year. Max inquired about the areas beyond the Cardigan Straits. The captain indicated that if the straits were frozen over, the Norwegian Bay would also be. They simply wouldn’t know for sure until they got nearer.
CHAPTER 61
The Captain Warns About Polar Bears
Sure enough, e
arly the next morning, the hundred and fifty foot supply boat pulled alongside the freighter. Max’s two containers were offloaded onto the aft deck of the supply boat and secured next to numerous barrels of heating oil and other supplies destined for several small native villages along the way. Shortly thereafter, they were headed back out to sea, heading north towards Grise Fiord on the south end of Ellesmere Island.
Max had a lot to think about while cruising slowly northward. He considered breaking Journey out of her container early so that they could listen for messages from Jim, but he thought that if any satellites were watching, the sight of Journey on the deck of this boat would be a dead giveaway. Breaking Journey out was going to have to wait until the last minute. The accommodations on the supply boat turned out to be even more Spartan than on the freighter, so he and Peggy spent a lot of time out on the deck in spite of the frigid cold. His thinking was that they were going to have to endure conditions much worse than this, so they might as well get acclimated now. Also, Max was still smarting from the prank that Peggy pulled on him earlier, and he couldn’t get it out of his mind. As a consequence, he was constantly scanning the dark waters looking for that telltale ripple from some submarine’s periscope.
As the days grew shorter and the nights grew longer, they slowly made their way northward to Grise Fiord, making several short stops along the way. After off-loading the remainder of his cargo for the small native village, the captain consulted the latest imagery of the waterways to the west. He indicated that it looked like they were going to be lucky. The Cardigan Straits looked like they were still open, but just a little way further north, the Norwegian Bay was icing over and soon would be impassible. That would be the limit as to how far they could go. The captain wanted to know what Max wanted to do because he was very concerned about dropping Max and Peggy off way out in the middle of this arctic wilderness with winter fast approaching with just whatever was in those two containers. Max indicated that they would be alright if they could get to solid ice, then they could go the rest of the way in Journey. He could make his delivery of the air cushion vehicle to the research team from the Arctic Winter Research Institute, and that he and Peggy could fly back to civilization on the plane that would be delivering the research team to Axel Heiberg. That flimsy story seemed to satisfy the captain even though he continued to think that they were crazy and didn’t fully understand the harshness of the arctic.
The captain did mention one thing that got Max’s attention. The captain told Max that he needed to be aware of polar bears because they could be a problem. “Polar bears,” Max thought to himself. “We hadn’t thought about polar bears.”
As the supply boat began heading west towards the Cardigan Straits, Max and Peggy, with help from the boat’s crew, pulled Journey out of her container and began reattaching her pontoons, skirt, wings, and stabilizing props. Once she was fully reassembled, Max fired her up to check out all onboard systems. It was amazing, but everything checked out perfectly. Next came the task of lashing all the storage containers to her roof, making sure that those containers with critical items were readily accessible.
The crew was concerned that this small vehicle would need more fuel, and they didn’t see any among the supplies that they helped load. Max knew that they would probably be traveling about two hundred miles across the ice, so he told the crew that Journey had a three hundred mile range before needing to be refueled. They thought that was amazing, but they believed every word that Max uttered. If they knew that Journey had practically an unlimited range, they would have been really amazed.
Max cornered the captain and asked, “Captain, earlier you mentioned polar bears, and that we needed to be aware of them. Just how do you recommend that we deal with polar bears if we encounter them?”
The captain responded, “You shoot them.”
Max replied, “I guess that is a problem. We don’t have a gun. What is your next suggestion?”
The captain answered incredulously, “You don’t have a gun? Son, you never travel out here on the ice without a gun! That little boat thingy out there won’t protect you from a bear. They will rip that thing apart in an instant to get to you. Out there without a gun, you are just an easy meal for a big bear.”
These were not comforting words for Max to hear.
The captain continued, “Son, the only thing I can do is give you my rifle. And if you encounter a bear, don’t hesitate to use it. They won’t give you a second chance. When you get back home, send me eight hundred dollars, and we will call it even. Ok?”
Max agreed that was more than ok, and that he greatly appreciated the use of the rifle.
Later Max related to Peggy the conversation that he had with the captain.
“That was certainly thoughtful of the captain and generous also.” Peggy said, “But, I hope that we don’t ever have to shoot a polar bear. Isn’t there some sort of non-lethal deterrent we could use?”
“I guess we could rig up some sort of a cow prod. The RMD can put out enough juice to fry a whale, so discouraging a polar bear shouldn’t be that difficult. The problem will be how to just stun the bear without frying his brain. Touching a bare wire from the RMD would be like touching the third rail in the subway. I’ll figure something out once we get underway on our own.”
Twenty hours later, they were exiting the Cardigan Strait into the Norwegian Bay. The captain pointed out that solid pack ice was just fifteen miles ahead and said to Max, “I’m anxious to see that machine in action. It is hard to believe that it can travel as far as you said it can with that heavy of a load. I hope to hear from you when you get back. I want to know about your trip across the ice.”
“Captain, you will definitely hear from me, and I won’t forget your eight hundred bucks either.”
“And remember, watch out for polar bears.”
“We will, and hopefully, we can outrun them.”
Peggy was inside Journey, exercising the stabilizing props on the wings. The props almost had enough power to lift Journey off of the deck without aid from the air cushion fan. With the air cushion fan on full thrust, Journey could leap fifteen feet into the air and take over thirty seconds to sink back down.
The time came for them to leave the supply boat and continue their northern trek. They said their goodbyes to the captain and his crew and told him how much they had enjoyed traveling with them. With that done, Max closed the hatch, and Journey leapt over the side of the boat and headed towards the edge of the pack ice. The crew was amazed when she leapt over the side, and they cheered when she leapt up onto the ice pack. They were sorry to see them go and wished them a safe journey.
CHAPTER 62
Max and Peggy Are on Their Own
Max turned to Peggy and said, “Okay, Peggy, it’s just you and me now.”
Peggy replied, “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
They sped away over the thin new ice, and the going was easy. They figured that they had about two hundred and fifty miles to go, and if it didn’t get any harder than this, they would be there in less than twenty hours, not counting the time that they might use to rest.
Max drove, and Peggy listened for news from Jim. Peggy dialed up and down the forty-meter band listening for Jim’s call sign. Finally, she heard something, “This is W5JRZ calling CQ, hoping some of my buddies up north have their ears on. Repeat, this is W5JRZ calling CQ, come in CQ.”
Peggy clicked the mic once, then waited a minute and clicked four times to indicate where they were on their route.
Jim heard the mic clicks on top of his frequency and repeated his CQ call.
“W5JRZ this is your buddy W8MJZ; I hear you loud and clear. I haven’t heard you on the air for a day or two. I hope all is well with you.”
Jim said, “W8MJZ, all is well with me and mine, and I was hoping you were listening. I’m hoping you can deliver a message for me to two of my friends up that way who are going through some lonely times together. Tell them that someone powerful up above is looking
out for them. Let them know that know that down here we are thinking of them and that they should stay strong, stay together, and everything will be okay.”
“W5JRZ, I’ll be happy to deliver that message for you. I assume that they are coming my way. Is that correct?”
“That is correct.”
“I’ll keep my eyes open for them. I’ve got to run now, I’ve got chores to do. I’ll keep my ears open and chat with you later. This is W8MJZ signing off.”
Max said, “I take it that they are looking for us either with satellites or high flying planes or both. Hopefully, they don’t know exactly where to look.”
“From high altitude, do you think we will be easy to see?” Peggy asked.
“Visually, I think we will be very hard to spot, but I don’t know for sure about our heat signature. We may need to drape that thermal tarp over us as we travel.”
Max continued, “Since the sun went down, it has gotten really dark outside. I didn’t expect for it to be this dark, and unfortunately, we can’t use headlights. I was hoping we would be able to see better than this once we got onto the ice. But this dark is dark, and there is no contrast. I think we are going to have to stop pretty soon. It looks like our twenty-hour estimated travel time is going to be split up into several short daylight sessions. The GPS says that we have come about fifty-five miles from where we hopped off of the boat four hours ago. At this rate, we are only going to make eighty to ninety miles a day during the daylight. ”
“If we stop, what about polar bears?” Peggy asked.
“I’ve been thinking about that, and I can’t figure out a way to jury rig a cow prod. We don’t have the resources. If Sam were here, he might have been able to come up with something, but I think we will just have to rely on the captain’s rifle for protection.”
Peggy said, “Well, that sounds better anyway. I was worried about trusting our lives to something that might or might not work. I hope you are a good shot because I’m ready to stop and get some sleep. You take first watch.”