Arctic Series (Book 1): Arctic Cold

by Jason Keizer

  She gives him a tight grin and rolls her eyes a little. Sam looks at Inara and says, “Now, since we are done with the introductions, we can get down to business. I would like payment before I show you this. I'm not sure what is going on with the people in that tower of yours, but someone has been diddlying in that backdoor you allowed to be open, and I expect soon they will start wrecking it. You people need to get your shit straight.”

  Mercy gives him a little slap on the back of the head, “You think you could be a little bit respectable for once. How dare you talk like that in front of Dr. Stone?”

  Inara gives a small chuckle at Sam, “It’s ok. I’ve heard worse.”

  While rubbing the back of his head, Sam says, “I like this one Mercy. Not as stiff as some of the others.” He extends his hand out to Mercy and adds, “Now, can I get my payment?”

  Mercy slides the bag in her lap over to him. Before he opens it, Mercy says, “We are going to need a lot more from you before this is over. This should be payment enough for a few weeks at the very least.”

  Sam grabs the bag, and before opening it, says, “Well, let's just see what you have here before we get started.”

  He looks in the bag and sees a virtual computer headset that goes over the eyes and ears connected to a pair of gloves.

  His face lights up as he looks at Mercy and excitedly says, “Oh man, you always know where to get the best toys. Where the hell did you find one of these?” He looks back into the bag. “I can change its parameters and programming to connect it to almost anything.”

  He quickly closes the bag, takes a breath to calm his excitement. “I think I can stick around for a little bit longer if you need my services. But I will need a few minor computer parts from your communications department for this thing here to work. Well, that is if you want me to stay in your system without detection.”

  He digs through the bag a little bit more and very quietly says, “I can rule the whole goddamn world with this thing.”

  Inara nods her head as she says, “Anything you need I should be able to get. We just need you to stick around and keep an eye on things in the military department. But, that's for later. Right now I would like to know what you have for us so far.”

  Sam slides the bag in his lap. He opens his laptop and opens a video file. On the screen sits a couple of roads intersecting with a railroad track. “I was able to slow down the signal jamming. I am not able to pinpoint its source location yet, but give me some time and I can get it. I was going to stop the jam, but didn't want to raise any red flags just yet. They will just think that the connection is a bit slow which should buy us some needed time. Someone really does not want you people to see this at all.”

  Inara tilts her head a little, “What, a train track?”

  “This is the track just outside of the Hanford site you are all trying so hard to get at. Just give it a minute and you will see what happens.”

  A few seconds later a truck appears next to the tracks. It stops towards the top of the screen as a train stops behind it. The video zooms out a bit and shows that the train-car has about thirteen cars, not including the engine car. The video zooms back in on the engine car. Two men get out and walk around the front. They get into the truck and it drives off. For a few seconds, the train-car just sits there. Then the video cuts off to static.

  Inara asks, “What was that?” as Sam closes the computer.

  He puts it in the bag on his lap and says, “I'm not sure, but it can't be good. I couldn't get any more video except this so far. I expect this to be after that last team got there from what I can tell. Now, someone in your system has had to of seen this video.”

  Bob chimes in, “The video feed from around the time the last team would have gotten there was interrupted by interference. I don't know if it even can be recovered since nothing was sent to us.”

  Inara leans in on the table. “Sam, if I can get you access to our communications department, would things go faster?”

  Sam taps his finger on his chin a couple times, “Yeah, it would make things go much faster. Better than having to take a few days or weeks trying to get in undetected. After seeing this, I made myself a pass for me to get into those sections of the tower, cause your personal security is terrible. I’m sure it will allow me past any of the security with no problems. But there is no way I would be able to walk out with any sort of computer parts without setting off flags.”

  Mercy asks Inara, “Is there a way we can get him a real pass? One that isn’t a clone so there is no way it could fail?”

  Inara nods her head, “Yeah, that shouldn’t be an issue. Just get the paperwork done and we will sign off on it. He can be a new IT tech.”

  Sam joins in, “Sounds good to me. I’ll get everything to you tomorrow or the day after.” He pulls his computer back out and starts to type rapidly. “Bob, you think you can put this into any one of your servers up there in the comms center?”

  Bob, unsure of what he is asked, “What, the whole computer? That will be an issue for anyone to plug a computer into a server without the proper authorization.”

  Sam laughs as he digs into his pocket. He pulls out a small USB drive and attaches it to the computer. “No worries Bobby boy. Nothing that big,” he tosses it to Bob, “All you have to do is prom date this into a server.”

  Bob looks at Sam confused, “Prom date it?”

  Sam laughs, “Yeah, just stick it in for about five seconds. I don’t expect it to take much longer than that. Then just pull it out and walk away. And don’t worry, no one will even know you were in there.”

  Mercy brings her hand up and gives another light slap on the back of Sam’s head. Inara and Bob both put their hands up to their faces to try and hide their laughter.

  Sam adds, “Just make sure you destroy the thing when you are done.”

  Mercy grabs the USB drive. “I will take care of this. I’m pretty sure Bob’s job has nothing to do with the servers, and it would look suspicious if he just walked over to them. I can walk in and out of just about anywhere.” Lifting the thing up a bit, she asks, “So, what is this going to do?”

  “It will just give me a secure way into the system. Once that is done, I can work my way into other parts. Once I gain access to it, I will set up an encrypted and secured line for us to communicate. That way no one can hear our conversations. Should only take a couple hours. When it all gets set, I’ll send a text. So, until then, I think it best we keep all talks about this in person.”

  Inara motions over to the bartender four fingers with her left hand and yells over the sounds of the few people playing on arcades, “Whiskey.” She puts her hand down and turns back to the table.

  She continues, “So, it is settled then. We are all in this. No one else is to know about this. All of our daily activities will resume as normal as possible, and once we get more info, we will get together and move on with a plan.”

  She looks over to Mercy, “You just worry about getting that on the servers.” Mercy nods her head. Inara turns to Sam, “You are setting up secure communications and keep trying to find the mole.”

  Sam replies, “Yup.”

  Over to Bob, “Bob, just go back to work and keep an extra eye on anything or anyone suspicious on your floor. Also, keep an eye out for any unusual data streams and feeds. Anything out of the ordinary just write it and the time down and let Mercy or myself know.”

  Bob answers, “You betcha.”

  Inara adds, “I will try and get all the credentials for Sam and work on what we should do next.” Before anyone can say anything else, the bartender walks over with four shots and sets one in front of each person.

  As the bartender walks away, Inara raises her shot glass and says, “Thank you all for helping with this and for your discretion. Not another soul can know about this, cause if we get caught, we will probably be tried for treason. If we succeed, we will weed out our enemy and create a safer Serra for all. For Serra.”

  Everyone raises their sho
t glasses up and says, “For Serra.” They all take their shot and slam their glasses down on the table.

  Inara stands up and takes a step back and says, “Thank you, everyone, once again. But, I need to be going. I have to get to bed and prepare for what lies ahead. I hope you all have a good night and I will talk to you all tomorrow. Stay safe and goodnight.”

  Bob and Sam both say, “Goodnight.”

  Mercy stands up and says, “Goodnight sweetie. I think I should get going as well. Bright and early right?”

  Inara nods her head and says, “Yeah. Meet up around six. And bring your A-game.”

  Inara and Mercy walk to the bar and pay the bartender. As they walk out of the bar, they look behind them to see Bob and Sam talking and looking in the bag with the tech Mercy gave Sam.

  When Inara gets home, she gets a glass from a cabinet next to her fridge and fills it with water from the faucet. She drinks the whole glass and refills it. She walks into her bedroom, takes out her cell phone, and tosses it on her pillow.

  Before she lays on her bed, she undresses and grabs the blue hospital band from her dresser. She slides under the covers, grabs her phone, plugs the charger into it, and opens an app with a satellite image on it. As it loads, she stares at the blue wristband in her left hand.

  The screen on her phone turns into a video that is time-stamped from a couple hours earlier. Two bridges can be seen in a grainy black and white. On one of them is a couple of cars, on the other, two trucks. Inara whispers to herself, “Well, at least this hasn’t gone down yet.”

  All of James’ team is sitting on the side of the south bridge. “Get back soon,” Inara says as she slowly closes her eyes and falls to sleep.

  FIFTEEN

  Henry sits in the gunner's chair of his truck as he pulls guard. Besides a couple of Arctics, the night has been pretty quiet. None of the claymores have blown up yet, a few rounds had to be fired. He spins around in the turret to watch the stars slowly fade from the sky as the glow from the sun breaks through the horizon.

  Henry kicks his right foot and hits Oliver in the shoulder. “Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey,” he says.

  Oliver opens his eyes and slowly sits up. He gives out a small yawn and looks up at Henry. “Don’t try to start my day out with disappointment. You know very well we don't have any real eggs or bacon.” He looks at his watch and adds, “But, I guess it is that time. I'll go get James up then.”

  He opens up his door and turns to put his legs out. He taps Henry on the leg and says, “Man, I had the best dream last night. You finally admitted that Die Hard was the better series. Then Bruce Willis came over and punched you in the face for even thinking it wasn't.”

  They both laugh a little bit as Oliver gets out of the truck. As Oliver stretches, Henry says to him, “Yeah, well, you might want to just keep on dreaming then. Cause ain't no one punching me in the face, and Lethal Weapon reigns supreme.”

  Oliver walks over to James' truck and knocks on the window. James, sleeping in the driver’s seat, opens his eyes wide and looks at Oliver. Without letting his eyes blink even once, he raises the back of his chair, so it is upright again. He slowly raises his right hand up towards the window and gives Oliver the finger. Still sticking his middle finger out, James turns his hand, pointing his finger down, and presses the button to roll down the window.

  “You rang?” James asks Oliver.

  Oliver looks at him for a second or two with a grin on his face. Then he smiles and says, “Time to get up and get dressed bozo. I'll heat some water for coffee.”

  Still staring at Oliver, James gives a smile back and as he rolls the window up, says, “Yeah, just give me a min or two to put some pants on.”

  Oliver goes back to his truck and turns it on. He pulls the latch to lift the hood and moves to the back of the cab. After grabbing three canteens and filling them up, Oliver goes and puts them on the running engine. He gently closes the hood, so it doesn’t latch, he says, “Water should be warm in a few minutes.”

  “Sounds good,” Henry pushes out with a yawn.

  James steps out of his truck, in his shirt and boxers, and walks over to the side of the bridge to use the bathroom. When done, he walks over back to his truck and puts on his pants and boots, before heading in between the two trucks.

  Oliver opens the hood again and pulls out the canteens. Meeting James, he sets them down and opens the lids. He pulls out three small packets of instant coffee from his pocket and pours them into each one. James grabs one, closes it, and gives it a good shake.

  “Hey Henry, coffee is done,” yells James. He grabs another canteen, closes it, and shakes it as well.

  Henry hops up from the gunner seat and walks over the compartments on the bed of his truck and drops the tailgate. He jumps down to the tailgate and sits on it with his legs dangling off the back.

  James tosses a canteen of coffee to him. Henry opens it up and asks, “So, what's the plan?”

  Oliver slowly jogs to the front truck and says, “Hold on, let me grab the map.

  Henry jumps down from the back of his truck and stands by the front of the other as Oliver makes his way back.

  Oliver lays the map down on the hood of the truck. James pulls out a pen from his pocket and draws a circle on the map where the site is.

  He says, “Ok, we should be able to rail through almost the whole way there.” He slides his finger down to an intersection. “About a mile or so away from the site there is a small road that crosses the tracks. It is called Hanford Road and Glade North Rd. We take that north for about half a mile.

  “The land is pretty much barren so we should have a good sight on the target. It is a building with what looks like three silos sitting behind it. The building is pretty secluded from the others, so there should be no confusion there. We will check things out and make a plan for whatever the situation is from there.”

  Henry looks over the map and asks, “The transmission the other group sent said they were surrounded. How are we going to get through and secure an exit?”

  James shakes his head a little bit. “Not sure. We will each pack our rucks with as much firepower, ammo, and supplies as we can carry just in case we get stuck in there with them. Not much will get through those doors on the building, so our primary focus is just to make it in there for now.”

  Oliver looks back and forth at the other two men. “Well, I guess we should pack up before we head out then. That way if anything happens we are set to rush as soon as we get there.”

  James nods his head. “Sounds good. We will make a quick breakfast, pack our kits, and head out.”

  Oliver folds the map up and stuffs it in his cargo pocket as Henry grabs some rations from his truck. He pulls out three bags and three bottles of water. He tosses one ration over his shoulder towards James. “Heads up,” he says as it leaves his hand.

  James catches it and looks at the front. “You just had to give me the scrambled eggs huh? Cause that's what everyone wants for what could be their last meal. Dick,” he says with a tilted grin.

  When Oliver reaches the back of the truck, Henry hands him a ration. Oliver pays no attention to the contents as he walks over and sits to the left of the trucks, legs dangling from the side of the bridge. The other two decide to join him.

  When James sits down, he sighs, “No heating it up. We need to get going as soon as we can. And if anyone has extra hot sauce, I call dibs.”

  Oliver gives James a confused look, “Why? Doesn't look like anyone is out here but us. You worried about those people inside the site or is this about that dude in the top hat? You finally gonna tell us what that was about? Never really seen you freak out like that. And I have seen you deal with just about everything.”

  James opens his bag of food, “Just want to get there and get this shit show over with, and I’ll tell you about him when we get to safety in that building. Now eat up.”

  Oliver, sitting in between the other two, looks at James, “Man, I know we used to eat these meals all
the time back in the service, but I do miss real food from time to time.”

  Henry drops his eyebrows, “What you mean? You eat real food all the time back home in Serra. Besides, this shit is a lot better than some of those older MREs they gave us back in the day. It’s still an MRE, but they sure as hell made them better in the last year or two before the infection.”

  Oliver stirs his food up a little bit, “I mean, like the things we can't eat anymore. Like a banana. I would give just about anything to eat a banana. Or a pineapple, or even a kiwi.”

  James gives a small laugh, “I know what you mean. I would cut off a finger to have some damn coffee that isn't this nasty ass instant stuff.”

  Henry swallows a bit of food. “Yeah, I'm just glad that they got that soda plant back up and running in Chattanooga last month. People were going to die if I had to go any longer without a damn energy drink. I have a few in the truck if either of you wants one, by the way.”

  The other two men just give a small shake of their heads. James crumples up the bag his food was in and says, “Well, hopefully soon we will spread out to the coast. Then we can start up shipping lines with Europe again. Germany never went completely down. Plus, Spain and Britain still have some sort of system running. It's pretty bare bones at the moment, but communications and civilization can only get better as people gather and regain control. It would be stupid to think that other places aren't trying to get shit rolling as well.”

  Henry tosses his empty food bag off the bridge and says, “Yeah, well, I think before we worry about other places, we try to fix everything here. Skullniks are just gaining in numbers, and like you said, they can only be gaining power and control as well.”

  The three men get up from the bridge's ledge. “It's always nice to chat, but we have work to do. Let's get our bags packed and head out,” James says as he walks back over to his truck.

  Oliver looks over to Henry and says, “Well, you heard the man. Let's pack up.”

  They turn their backs to each other and head out to disarm the claymores. James opens up the back door of his truck and pulls out his half-empty rucksack. He walks to the back and starts to fill it up. He puts in explosives, a lot of ammo, some food, clothes, and the satellite phone, before walking to the cab and tossing in his hatchet and a few things lying around the back of the cab.