There was a slight pause. “Good point,” the Captain said. “Well, then who the hell are they?”
“Think there’s some truth to this being an alien Nazi base?” a voice asked.
“Quiet on the bridge, let’s not jump to conclusions and break a leg here, people,” the Captain reminded them.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Schwabenland, Antarctica
“No wonder no one came back here.” Melissa said, her teeth chattering as the six snowmobiles cruised to a stop fifty feet inside the large cave. “My butt is frozen to the seat.”
Terry got up off of the snowmobile and gave Melissa a hand to help her off. “Need me to rub it to increase the blood flow?” he asked. She looked pointedly at the others and then rolled her eyes in exasperation.
Terry smiled and looked around. There were no marks in the pushed up snow. He clapped his hands, hoping to increase the blood circulation.
Robert and Samual came over. “We’re going to check out the cave system, be right back.”
Terry nodded. He didn’t command these guys, and he knew their prime objective was to protect them, so giving them an order against that directive was just stupid.
That’s when intelligent but brain dead accosted him. “Where are those two going?” Dr. Tooch demanded, pointing at Terry. “They could find something and blow this whole trip!”
Terry raised his arm and pushed Dr. Tooch’s hand away from him. “They’re checking the cave.”
“I can see that!” Dr. Tooch shrieked. “That’s what I’m worried about, they could mess up our first opportunity to speak to someone here.”
“Or,” Terry replied, speaking slowly so his annoyance didn’t color the conversation. “They could trip any traps and perhaps make sure none of us get hurt in the process.”
“Traps?” The good professor looked into the direction the two men had gone. “Why would there be any traps here?”
“Why would any humans be here?” Terry asked.
Dr. Tooch turned back to him. “Well, we have the notes that the base was built and we don’t have any confirmation the people ever came back.”
“So, do you think, considering the timeframe they came from, that maybe they wanted to make sure no one was coming here to kill them? You know, war and all?”
“Well,” Dr. Tooch looked down towards the darker back of the cave where the two men had disappeared. “I suppose we could wait a few minutes.”
In all, they waited thirty minutes for the two men to come back out of the darkness.
The team had moved an additional twenty-five yards into the cave. They set up a small camp behind a snowdrift. The drift helped block the remaining wind coming through the cave entrance.
Terry turned when the lookout called out. The people came together as the two men, in their light jackets, joined them. “We found fourteen traps and disabled them,” Richard told them.
“Then, we found the door that enters their base. We stopped there and came back,” Samual added. “We can’t promise all of the traps are cleared, but we think we found them all.” He shrugged. “Anyone good with first aid?”
Robert, Terry, and Craig all raised their hands “In the service, it’s kinda required.”
Richard nodded. “That is acceptable. We left the door that we found untouched.”
“No contact with people?” Dr. Tooch asked.
“No, not so far,” Samual answered.
—
Inside, beyond the door Richard and Samual had not opened was a small room with four black and white monitors and eight lights.
Seven of them were blinking red.
One was blinking green.
—
Five people followed Richard and Samual back through the cavern, which darkened as they went further in. Soon, the people turned on their hardhat lights, and the beams cut through the darkness. Twice, Richard called out for the team to tread carefully, and only to step where they could see the men’s footprints on the floor.
For a change, none of the scientists and professors asked any questions.
Soon, they came up to a copper door, still in miraculous shape. It had a green patina in a couple of places, most notably around the handle. The door was larger than normal. Four feet wide and approximately nine feet tall. Mr. Jameson and Dr. Tooch both took multiple pictures before Dr. Tooch argued he should be allowed the opportunity to knock and then open the door.
He knocked, but no one came to answer. In five minutes, he agreed he would work to pull the door open. He turned to smile for a picture when he realized everyone had taken the opportunity to step away from him. “Guess you think this could be booby-trapped too?” he asked.
“Absolutely not!” Richard called out from twenty feet away, hiding behind a large jut in the wall. “But I’ve been known to be wrong, so I’m following the herd mentality.”
Dr. Tooch snickered and shrugged his shoulders. “Well, I suppose if I die,” he turned around, “there are worse ways to go.”
Dr. Tooch pulled, and nothing happened. He yanked harder. “It seems stuck.”
“A likely story,” Mr. Jameson called out, laughter following his comment.
“Very funny,” Dr. Tooch snapped. “No, really.” He put one gloved hand against the wall next to the door and pulled harder. “I feel a slight give, but I can’t open it. Perhaps it’s frozen closed?” he asked to no one in particular.
Richard left his place by the wall, heading towards Dr. Tooch. “Tell Gabrielle I’m truly sorry about making this the decade of rash decisions,” he told Samual. “And well, about you know what, too.”
“Dr. Tooch?” Samual said, and the man turned around. “You might want to come over here. If Richard goes up in flames or something, we don’t want his sacrifice to be in vain, right?”
“Oh!” Dr. Tooch patted Richard on the shoulder as he hurried past him. “Quite right.”
Richard come up to the door and started looking around it, all the corners and then studied the ground in front of it.
Robert got Terry’s attention and raised an eyebrow. Terry shrugged back.
Richard stood up. “Here goes nothing.” He put his gloved right hand against the frozen rock and with his left he grabbed the handle.
“Should we count down for you, Richard?” Samual asked.
“Bite me,” Richard said.
“No, I’m good, thank you for the offer, though,” he replied to his friend. “Do hurry up. I’m really poor at…”
Richard grunted, then shouted, and with a crack the door opened and Richard twisted to his left, out of the way, as the door slammed open against the other side of the wall.
Everyone’s breath was slowly released. Richard put an arm in the doorway and waved it, finally putting his head around the corner and said, “Seems clear. Ten-foot hallway and two doors.”
Samual broke from his position. “Well, tally-ho and all that. Let’s see what those Nazi fuckers were up to down here, shall we?”
—
“It’s green,” Terry said.
“Admirable choice of stating the obvious,” Richard remarked. “I want to know what the seven red lights mean.”
“Well,” Terry replied reaching forward.
“DON’T!” Richard and Samual both yelled, causing Terry, Robert, and Melissa to jerk back. The rest of the people were in the short hallway watching them.
“What the hell!” Terry shouted. “You aren’t going to have to save me, I’m going to die of fright here!”
“Well,” Richard said. “We were trying to save their lives,” he pointed to the hallway. “What if some of those buttons are ‘kill the goons in the hall’ switches?”
“Well, then only Craig is in trouble,” Terry replied. “Mr. Jameson and Dr. Tooch are not goons.”
“That’s pretty funny, asshole,” came from the hallway.
“Hey!” Robert objected.
“Oh, my apologies. That’s very funny asshole, sir!” Craig added.
�
��Yeah, yeah,” Terry replied. “However, Richard has a point.” He rubbed his hands together. “We can’t all get in here, so…”
“Everyone but Samual back outside the door,” Richard finished.
“What, me?” Samual exclaimed, surprised. “Who voted me?”
“Why I did, of course,” Richard patted him on the shoulder. “I took the first chance, it’s your turn to pull the trigger.”
“Can we get off the gun metaphor?” Melissa asked.
“Sorry, macabre humor helps,” Samual responded. “It’s been that way since 1710.”
“What?” Melissa asked, caught off-guard.
“What happened in 1710?” Terry asked, trying to remember about anything in 1710.
“Don’t let Samual stop us from moving outside,” Richard replied. “Let’s go. The answer is the Reverend Jonathan Swift.”
“Gulliver’s Travels?” Terry asked as he ushered Melissa out ahead of him.
“The very same,” Richard agreed and winked at Samual who rolled his eyes. Richard closed the door behind him and moved everyone back out into the cavern. “Jon had a pretty deadpan sense of humor.”
“Jon?” Melissa asked, trying to follow the conversation.
“Yes, loved a woman in Ireland. She said no so he left and went to England. Biting tongue, that man.” Richard answered absentmindedly.
Richard shoved the door closed, and Melissa whispered to Terry, “He talks like he knew Jonathan Swift personally!”
Terry nodded. For all he knew, Richard had.
—
Moments later, a loud SCREEECH occurred. Everyone in the cavern jumped, except for Richard who knocked a couple of times on the door after a moment, then nodded.
“What are you nodding at?” Melissa asked.
Richard turned and smiled. “Making sure Samual is still alive.”
“Could you hear…” A sharp BANG startled her, and she stopped talking.
A second later, Richard knocked twice. Waited and knocked twice again, then nodded.
A few moments later, the door started opening.
“I say, GOTT VERDAMMT that was loud!” Samual screamed, as he took his fingers and acted like he was trying to clear out his ears.
“What happened, drama queen?” Richard asked.
“Why no, I don’t want any cream right now. Funny time to be asking me that,” Samual replied.
“I didn’t say ‘did you want cream.’ I called you a drama queen… you know what? Never mind. What happened, you twit?” Richard asked.
Samual smiled and stopped playing with his ears. “Well, the first time we got some old metal stuff that came out of the floor. Tell you what, that would have opened everyone a new asshole, for sure. The second one was more a sound defense. Probably break everyone’s eardrums, and when you’re incapacitated, they come in and beat the shit out of you.”
“So, did you figure it out?” Richard asked.
“Yes, when I turned my head after the second button, I realized there was another switch that had been hidden by the door and went over and pushed it. The other door is open now.”
“Huh, five more red switches,” Terry said before Melissa slugged him. He put up his hands. “Just curious.”
The team followed Samual back into the base. Richard closed the door once everyone had passed him.
—
“Oh my God,” Melissa said into the quiet of the large room. There were over two hundred metal caskets connected to power in the room.
Richard and Samual had looked further into the base and were coming back. “It’s the mother lode back there.” Richard jerked a thumb behind them. “Lots of stuff to go through and not a soul to be found. Plus, there is some sort of a… I’d call it a séance room.”
Craig asked Richard to show him and the two of them left.
“Well, now what?” Terry asked the group.
Mr. Jameson turned to Terry. “Excuse me?”
“I said, ‘now what?’” He pointed at the caskets. “Looks like you have some people on ice,” he jerked a thumb behind him, “and the U.S. Navy behind us.” Terry shrugged. “Seems to me you need to make some quick decisions here, buddy.”
“Wait, why?” Mr. Jameson asked.
“Terry?” Robert called. “Stepping out for a moment,” Terry nodded his head, but not paying much attention to his friend as he tried to get the businessman to focus.
“Because, Mr. Jameson,” Terry explained. “If you don’t get some adequate political cover here, the U.S. Navy is going to sweep in, and I guarantee you they won’t be bothered by,” he pointed at the metal coffin looking devices, “anybody that’s in those things right there.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Inside Base, Antarctica
Terry was getting frustrated. “Mr. Jameson. I’m not here to fight the U.S. Navy and a bunch of Marines. One, that’s my country no matter how much I’m paid, and the second is are you nucking futs?” Terry almost screamed the last phrase. “Which part of U.S. MARINES didn’t you understand?”
“Terry!” Robert called out as he reentered the room.
“What?” Terry turned, exasperated.
“We got problems.”
“I know that!” Terry bitched. “Mr. Jameson needs to make a call and get the German government to call off the U.S. Navy, or we’re going to have visitors of the pissed off and carrying guns variety!”
“Bigger problems, Terry,” Robert said, even toned as he came up to the group.
“Oh shit,” Craig said from the doorway as he and Richard came back. “Did you say we have bigger problems?”
“Yeah,” Robert said.
“Itchy-bitchy ones?” Craig asked and saw Robert’s sharp nod of agreement.
Terry stared at his friend. “Oooh… shit.”
“Wait, what ‘oh shit?’” Melissa demanded. “We have your aces in the hole right there and there!” She practically screeched, pointing at Samual and Richard who looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.
“We can take out some Marines, but I’m not giving us good odds on more than fifty,” Samual said.
“We have the door, maybe we block the room and switch the other five red buttons?” Richard asked.
“No!” Terry turned around. “I don’t want to fight the U.S. Marines.”
“Good, cause bullets sting like a bitch,” Samual said.
Robert, Terry, and Craig turned to look at Samual, their mouths open and all shook their heads and got back to their own conversation.
“Okay, out with it Robert,” Terry said.
“The Navy is under attack,” Robert told him.
“What? Who?” Terry asked, confusion wrinkling his brow.
“Aliens, Nazis, UFOs, TQB?” Robert finished.
“It’s not Nazis, they’re all popsicles,” Craig said as he pointed to the metal boxes behind him.
“It’s not TQB,” Terry said.
“How do you know that?” Mr. Jameson asked.
“Let me get back with you on that one,” Terry said.
“That leaves aliens and UFOs,” Robert said.
“None of your people know about this?” Terry asked, and Robert shook his head. “Nothing anyone has shared with me.”
Terry followed up his question, “Are they shooting at the Navy?”
“Not yet, not that I know,” Robert answered.
“Dammit!” Terry turned around. “Well, shit. Mr. Jameson, new question here.”
“What now?” the man asked, trying to understand the new parameters.
“We have a foreign group, unknown whether it is domestic or alien, and I mean ‘alien alien’ not foreigners, harassing the Navy. They aren’t from here, because we have a bunch of Nazi popsicles at best. I didn’t want to believe it, but these are probably not true Nazis. These people are the Thule society, I’d guess. They were used by the Nazis, and I’d guess they struck a deal. They gave technology guidance to those in power in exchange for this base is my shot in the dark but at t
he moment a likely one. We have another group of flying saucers out there that are pushing away the Navy because THEY want what’s in here,” he finished pointing a finger down at the floor.
“Why are we concerned about the second group?” Mr. Jameson asked.
The Kurtherian Gambit Omnibus 05 - The Fans Version: My Ride is a Bitch - Don't Cross This Line - Never Submit Page 23