by JC Ryan
Charles weighed the real risk against his friendship with Daniel and any future projects he’d want to run through the Foundation. Defeated, he acquiesced. “I can only hope that you won’t live to regret this, Daniel. I have grave misgivings about JR’s ability to fit in with the team, and if he can’t, his life is at risk in Antarctica. Remember that.”
A shiver of premonition took Daniel, but he shook it off. He had plenty of confidence in JR’s ability to survive anything this world could throw at him. He’d done three deployments in a worse hell than Antarctica, by Daniel’s estimation. Charles was wrong, and JR needed this opportunity. But, just in case, he’d have a talk with JR when he picked him up from jail.
Chapter 9 – Bad Things Happen In Threes
The last few days before departure for the training ground of Chile were more hectic than Summers could believe possible. First, their explosives expert was involved in a crash in his car, resulting in a broken leg. A scramble for a replacement took two days, but fortunately a Russian had the necessary qualifications and was willing to drop everything and join the group in Chile. Dr. Mendenhall would perform the psychological and physical tests there, and they could only hope he’d pass.
After that, the second of the research assistants came down with a mysterious virus. Charles was ashamed of himself, but he wished it had been the Rivers girl. They’d already determined that no other employees of the Rossler Foundation who were willing to go were suitable, so a hasty call for volunteers among the previously-screened applicants went out. They were lucky to find a Chilean microbiologist who, though overqualified for the research assistant post, was willing and able to go anyway. She would meet them at the airport when they arrived in Chile. The one bonus was that their other Chilean biologist specialized in paleobiology, so the breadth of knowledge between them was expanded with her addition.
Bad things happen in threes, Charles reflected, so we should be good to go now.
Charles knew intellectually of the Orion Society, a near-mythological criminal organization whose interference had almost sabotaged the decoding of the Pyramid Code, the basis for the 10th Cycle Library that was driving most scientific research nowadays. However, it didn’t occur to him to think that they might be responsible for at least some of his bad luck. He and the team would be already in Chile before the police investigation of the explosive expert’s car revealed that the brake line had been cut. Nor would Daniel consider it necessary to tell him of it. The expeditionary team was already on high alert for danger. There was no need to spook them when nothing could be proven.
In fact, the order to place their own explosives expert on the team had been Auster’s idea. If it became necessary, the man would stage an accident that wiped out the expedition and left the OS as the only organization that knew any secret it uncovered. Septentrio, not to be outdone, arranged for the viral infection, not realizing that another of Auster’s operatives had already been successfully placed on the team.
After centuries of success, the Orion Society was unraveling, though most of the four didn’t realize it. Auster’s overweening ambition combined with Septentrio’s weaknesses had set up a dynamic that seemed destined to encourage a coup attempt. Auster’s belief that a discovery by the Rossler Foundation expedition would give her the final, perfect opportunity to topple Septentrio’s family from the leadership role in favor of herself was what led her to plan to sabotage it in secret. That fool Septentrio was too engrossed in his hedonistic lifestyle and boyish playmates to notice opportunity if it came and twisted his nose, she thought. If someone didn’t do something, their cartel would collapse. She couldn’t allow that to happen.
In a videoconference that Auster initiated without inviting Septentrio, she secured the passive agreement of Oriens and Occidens that if Septentrio’s plans went awry as had his father’s, they would support her bid for leadership of the group. Neither Oriens nor Occidens wished to go against the powerful family that had spawned Septentrio, but they would not oppose Auster.
Septentrio’s father had been ruthless, competent and intelligent. Only a series of unfortunate circumstances, none of which were his doing, had forced his retirement when he lost control of some of his operatives, with disastrous results. That retirement had thrust his debauched and some would say mentally ill son into the position. Only someone who was mentally ill would have entertained some of the depraved pastimes in which Septentrio indulged. The three other members of the group suspected that they knew only the tip of the iceberg, but that was bad enough to make them not wish to know more.
The opposing forces within the powerful organization were set to cause its collapse, but they were still in a position to wreak havoc.
Chapter 10 – Chile Here We Come
After all the other last-minute glitches, Summers didn't know why he was surprised that JR pulled one final and nearly unforgivable foul-up. On the morning they were to board a plane for the first leg of the trip to Chile, he was nowhere to be found, having been rescued from his jail cell the afternoon before. A frantic Daniel organized a search party that checked all his favorite haunts, including bars that were closed still so early in the morning. It was social media that saved the day.
The Rossler Foundation's Twitter account was pressed into service, asking if anyone had seen the prodigal JR in the past twenty-four hours. Following clues in the handful of answers, a surly JR was pulled from the bed of a University of Colorado coed, who was too wasted to notice. Daniel was furious.
"You little bastard," he said, failing to realize the insult to his own mother in his anger. "You knew I had posted bail. You knew the conditions. After all I've done for you, how could you pull this stunt? I’ve a good mind to take you back to jail."
"All you've done for me, huh? What you're doing for me now is forcing me to go to a godforsaken frozen wilderness. You just want to get rid of me." JR looked for all the world like a stubborn two-year-old, whose favorite word was no.
Daniel was at his wits end, and very near the end of his patience. He turned to his ashen-faced wife in a mute plea for her help.
"JR, honey, we don't want to get rid of you. We want you back. The JR we got back from the Marines isn't the real you. Please, please, don't make Daniel take you back to jail. We really feel that this will be good for you, or we wouldn't be sending you," Sarah pleaded.
JR had always had a soft spot for Sarah, since the first time his older brother had brought her, as his fiancée, to meet the family. At the time, he was an irrepressible undergraduate, star of his college basketball team, with NBA aspirations in spite of his knowledge that he was neither talented enough nor physically capable of a long NBA career. It was ironic that his hitch in the Marines had corrected the latter problem, but nothing would overcome the fact that there were only a few spots for rookies each year in the NBA and talent was all-important. Even now, though his PTSD had changed his personality for the worse, Sarah could usually get through to him.
JR was still angry, but Sarah's appeal silenced him. The whole group stood outside of the secure area, many wondering if they were going to make their flight as the first call for boarding came over the intercom. Summers went to speak to the airline representatives about delaying the flight, while the rest tried to sort out the issue. Surprisingly, it was Misty Rivers who tipped the balance. Daniel thought it was fortunate that she didn't know where JR had been found, or she might not have been so eager to step forward and persuade him to come along. When he took in her short skirt and low necked blouse, JR's eyes lit up and his sullenness disappeared. His charming smile spread across his face as he said, "Sure, baby."
Summers, who also had an opinion about her inappropriate attire, given that they were about to travel into a high Andes winter, was nevertheless grateful that it apparently enticed JR enough to end his objections.
"JR, I hope you have everything you need. If not, call us when you get to Chile, and we'll ship whatever is missing." Daniel said, hoping that his tone didn't set his bro
ther off again. He didn't want to threaten JR to get him on the plane, but if that's what it took, he would. Not only because it was a condition of his release, but because Daniel genuinely believed that the experience would go a long way toward restoring JR's confidence. He knew that the cocky attitude and acting out was a front for a deeply shaken young man who had seen too much tragedy in Afghanistan.
Most of the team had gone on through the security checkpoint at Daniel's urging. Only Summers, Rivers and Dr. Mendenhall remained to help persuade JR to get on the plane. Now, barely scooting through the sally port in response to last call, the last four boarded. A slight scuffle ensued when Rivers realized that the seat assignments paired Mendenhall and JR. Mendenhall, having no wish to be seated next to JR for any length of time, even for the short flight to Dallas, thought to offer to trade seats. However, before she could do so, the flight attendants made the announcement that everyone should remain seated and fasten their seatbelts for takeoff.
From Dallas, the team would board a flight to Miami, deplane again, and finally board the flight for the final leg from Miami to Santiago, a trip that totaled nineteen hours. From there, ground transportation would take them to the ski resort where they would spend four weeks acclimatizing to the cold weather conditions, as well as practicing their cross-country skiing skills and snowshoeing technique. In addition, they would attend a two-day avalanche rescues skills class, and spend their evenings watching video of polar conditions to give them all a healthy respect for the continent whose dangers they would face.
The trip was long enough to try anyone’s patience, but many of the team spent the time discussing their thoughts on the adventure on which they were embarking, or in some cases getting to know each other through the usual small talk. JR and Rebecca spent much of the time in silence, either because JR was asleep, or because they simply had nothing to say to each other, though JR would have liked to flirt with her. He wasn’t unaware that he was a screw-up. A beautiful and brilliant doctor was beyond his reach, almost certainly. It was ironic that her thoughts were on how good-looking he was, and what a shame that he couldn’t seem to straighten out. Sarah had told her what a great guy the old JR was, the one who had gone to Afghanistan with such a promising career on hold. Rebecca would like to meet that JR.
~~~
Everyone on the team worked hard, even JR, once they got to Chile. Summers worried that the luxurious accommodations at the ski resort gave them little preparation for the much more primitive conditions that would prevail on the expedition. However, seeing his team began to expertly navigate by snowshoe or by skis in the backcountry, he felt that their preparation was as good as it could be. After a communal dinner each night, and the obligatory videos, Summers regularly dismissed his team at about eight o’clock each evening. He spent most evenings conversing with LeClerc, who turned out to be a pleasant conversationalist and a worthy chess opponent.
The fact that neither of the leaders of the expedition spent much time chaperoning the younger members meant that the hours between eight p.m. and about midnight were left for adventures that would perhaps not have been approved had they known. Most of the expedition members made their way to clubs where they danced and some drank until awareness of an early wake-up call drove them to their rooms for a few hours’ sleep.
JR and Misty had paired up again, despite someone spitefully telling her of JR's last minute fling. They were the two most guilty of alcohol abuse. JR frequently started his morning with a Bloody Mary to shake off the hangover from the night before. Only his superb conditioning and youth kept his excesses from the notice of Summers.
The other research assistant, Carmen, developed a crush on the handsome Aussie, Cartwright. However, he had his eye on the very attractive Dr. Mendenhall. As the weeks went by, little jealousies and even professional rivalries flourished without the notice of Summers or LeClerc. No one was willing to risk being removed from the expedition, so there was a conspiracy of silence that kept them unaware that the team was already in danger of not being as cohesive as it seemed.
Adding to the illusion, more often than not, they all managed to have a good time, even while experiencing rigorous training. Races on skis or snowshoes made the daily training treks more interesting. Even professional or romantic rivalries were set aside in the good-natured contests. Snowball fights, practical jokes and shopping kept the group relatively happy. One of the worries that LeClerc had expressed, that the women would develop cliques and possessiveness over the men they claimed as their own, didn’t appear to Summers to have developed.
After some jockeying for position, Angela Brown, the cartographer and Cyndi Self, the electronics engineer decided to join forces and became fast friends, prompting the others to start calling the pair Cyngela. The male members of the group were disappointed because neither girl would hook up with any of them, preferring the company of handsome Chilean ski instructors, at least for now. The female members of the group, except for the jealousy Carmen had for Dr. Mendenhall, were relatively content to remain polite to each other, even if some relationships were cooler than others.
The time passed quickly, and at last the time had arrived for the expedition to start in good earnest. Summers and his team posed for pictures on the tarmac in front of their chartered plane, with news media from across the globe on hand for the momentous occasion. None of them gave a thought to a future in which those pictures would reappear with the headline: “Expedition Members Missing and Feared Dead” within a few short months.
Chapter 11 – Antarctica Here We Come
The twelve-hour flight from Santiago to Christchurch, New Zealand would be only the first leg of the journey, since McMurdo station was on the opposite side of Antarctica from the nearest point in Chile to the continent. To the North Americans, north and south became relative terms when discussing directions, as maps failed to give them a good visual idea of the relative positions of Australia and New Zealand to Antarctica. Being told that McMurdo was about 2,400 miles south of Christchurch, but 850 miles north of the South Pole created a mental block similar to trying to figure out a Moebius strip; it just didn’t compute when viewed on a flat map of the Southern Hemisphere, which often showed all of Antarctica north of New Zealand and conversely, showed the South Pole north of McMurdo according to map-reading convention. Fortunately, the point would be of no consequence once they’d landed. Everywhere was north of the South Pole.
If they hadn’t been training and studying for several months, most would have also been astounded at the size of Antarctica. Though the width through the center of the continent was about the same as that of the US, the total area was nearly twice that of the fifty contiguous states. Antarctica was the coldest, windiest continent, and on average the highest. It was also the driest. The latter had been a surprise to some of the expedition members, who imagined it snowing constantly for six months of the year. In fact, much of the wind-driven snow featured in movies and videos of Antarctica was picked up from the ground and tossed in the strong winds, rather than falling from the sky. Another surprising fact was that it was the brightest continent, despite being in darkness for most of six months of the year. That was balanced by it being daylight for the other six months.
Each member of the expedition had high hopes for adventure, even JR if he’d only admitted it to himself, rather than resenting that it was forced on him. Most also relished the opportunity to take in Antarctica’s pristine and wild beauty in person. Each also had a secret fear, carefully hidden during the psychological tests for the most part. Most of those had to do with unremitting cold or being lost and alone in a vast white wilderness. Most of them knew that the fears were irrational as long as they followed procedure. As such, it was a healthy fear, the kind that kept them mentally alert for real danger, but didn’t cripple them.
The first leg of the flight was mostly over an endless stretch of impossibly blue ocean. Most of the group was happy that their few numbers in the large airliner afforded each of th
em a window seat, from which they spent many hours just staring at the expanse of water below them. JR was an exception. He’d had more than enough trans-oceanic flights between the US and Afghanistan. A superstitious horror of ditching far from land kept him in his seat and trying to both sleep and keep down the breakfast he’d foolishly eaten before flying. He knew better, but Misty’s argument that there would be no in-flight meal convinced him he’d better eat despite his anxiety.
Four hours into the flight, as the others broke out snacks and veritable picnics of food they’d brought aboard with them, JR groaned and retreated to the tail section to get as far away from the smell of food as possible. What he needed was packed carefully in his luggage; two fifths of single-malt scotch that he’d managed to smuggle aboard, knowing that it wouldn’t be nearly enough to last for five months.
Toward the front of the plane, a party atmosphere prevailed. All the months of training, the rigorous testing, and the work to prepare side experiments that they’d carry out as they explored for the ruins were over. In less than twenty-four hours they’d be at McMurdo, and shortly after that they’d be on their way to the adventure of a lifetime. Even the stoic and taciturn Russian explosives expert was infected with the hilarity.
Misty had become impatient with JR, who was a damper on her fun, and was flirting with the Englishman, Cecil Stone. JR observed from his position to the rear of the plane and resolved to punish her by withholding his attention, completely oblivious to the fact that it was lack of attention and fun that had caused her desertion in the first place. About halfway between JR and the party, Summers and LeClerc sat together going over everything once again.
Summers was happy that the team was getting some of their hijinks out of their systems before the serious business of the expedition began. He wouldn’t deprive them of whatever fun they could have on the trek, as long as they remained safe, but he’d insist that they keep their minds alert to danger, as it would surround them at every moment. Antarctica wasn’t to be taken lightly, and he felt responsible for every member of the group, especially since the majority were several years younger than he. Watching them now, he had the crazy thought that he was leading a bunch of nursery school kids into grave danger.