Ninth Cycle Antarctica: A Thriller (A Rossler Foundation Mystery Book 2)

by JC Ryan

  "My hero!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around him and planting a resounding kiss on his lips through his facemask. "I've always wanted to say that," she giggled.

  Robert, as delighted to see her up and apparently unharmed as she was to see him, lowered his facemask and said, "How out about another then, love?" When she complied, most of the expedition members clapped and cheered. No one noticed that Carmen was less than pleased, nor that one of the other men frowned.

  Since Cindy insisted she was fine, the group remained where they were for the rest of their planned mapping, a matter of a couple of days. They then made their way back to Amundsen-Scott base to rest before once again taking on fresh supplies and moving to the next section.

  Amundsen-Scott was a small base, certainly not equipped, as McMurdo was, for a large number of visiting scientists. Lieut. Cmdr. Anderson was not particularly pleased to have to host this group from time to time throughout the summer. However, he had received orders to give them all possible assistance, and the orders came from far above his pay grade. Consequently, he made every attempt to overlook the inconveniently exuberant behavior of some of the members of the expedition. When JR started a food fight in the cafeteria, he merely asked that they go outside and have a snowball fight instead, since snow was more plentiful than the imported foodstuffs for ammunition. Summers never knew how JR was going to react to something like that, so he was relieved when JR laughed, and left with good grace.

  It was unfortunate in a way that the next stormy weather cooped them up at the South Pole base, rather than overtaking them on the trail. On the trail, it would have been just one more inconvenience, and not unexpected. However, for it to happen on their short recreational break, disappointed everyone and made it difficult to keep their spirits up. They could only spend so many hours watching movies, reading or pursuing whatever other entertainments they could find. Sooner or later, behavior would start to deteriorate.

  That the fight started over Cindy's innocent hero worship of Robert was ironic. Robert had no romantic or sexual interest in Cindy, though he thought she was cute. From the beginning of the expedition, he'd had eyes only for Rebecca Mendenhall, though she was oblivious of his interest. However, the handsome Aussie was the object of extreme interest from Carmen, Angela and Cindy. To begin with, Angela and Cindy's interest was all in good fun, though Carmen's eyes smoldered whenever she thought she was unobserved in watching Robert. Now, however Cindy had taken to following Robert around like a rescued puppy, which he was beginning to find wearing.

  To make matters worse, Dan Littleton, the civil engineer, was a solitary and brooding type who kept to himself most of the time. So much so that, many times, the others simply forgot he was there. Without a word to Cindy or anyone else, Littleton had developed a possessive crush on Cindy that he had been able to conceal until her accident. Now, however he was faced with the unpleasant sight of Cindy hanging on Robert's arm, gushing about his strength and bravery, flirting shamelessly and generally making a fool of herself. Littleton hated it but could see no way to stop it, so he seethed unnoticed.

  Matters came to a head when Littleton overheard Cecil Stone remarking to Robert that Cindy's attentions must be annoying.

  "I didn't mind it at first" Robert was saying, "She’s a cute kid. But, it is getting on my last nerve. I wish she would find someone else to bother."

  It was so uncharacteristic of Littleton to step between the men and interrupt the conversation that at first neither knew what to make of it. They were all the more surprised when he suddenly took a swing at Robert, connecting only because of the unexpectedness of the move. Robert, normally a good-natured man, nevertheless took exception to being punched in the nose by someone he hadn't even been speaking to. His response was to throw a right cross that connected solidly with Littleton's jaw, turned him halfway around and sent him crashing into the wall.

  That might have been the end of it if Stone hadn't been a witness. But, because someone else had seen his humiliation, Littleton recovered his balance and charged at Robert, both arms flying in a move that resembled a playground fight between girls. Cartwright simply stepped out of the way, laughing. That, in turn infuriated Littleton even further, causing him to whirl in his tracks and charge again.

  Now Robert was getting annoyed. He would either have to let the little shit hit him again to save face, or knock him out once and for all. Since he had no idea what he had done to invite the attack, his better judgment was overcome by indignation. The next time Littleton came at him he once again threw the right cross, followed closely by a left jab to the stomach. Littleton folded, looking as if he would stay down this time, but by now, the commotion had attracted the security guard nearby.

  Without giving them a chance to explain, all three men were hauled unceremoniously before Cmdr. Anderson. He in turn sent for Summers and LeClerc. When they arrived, Anderson, who had been hearing the two fighters bicker in low tones, was in no mood to compromise.

  "Who is in charge of this expedition officially?" He asked. When both Summers and LeClerc answered' I am', he lost his temper completely.

  "All right, I don't care who is in charge. Either of you or both of you need to get your people under control. I will not tolerate fisticuffs in my hallways." To Summers, he said, "I appreciate that you are here on an officially sanctioned expedition, and that you are not yet finished with it. But, one more incident, even one, and our doors will be closed to you permanently. Do you understand?"

  An abashed Summers replied meekly, "yes, sir."

  "Dismissed." barked Anderson.

  As they walked together away from Anderson's office, LeClerc entertained an unbecoming thought that at least it had been Summers that Anderson blamed, not himself. Even though he was miffed at Summers for attempting to undermine his role as leader of the expedition, he had no wish to be in Anderson's hostile sights.

  Summers wasted no time in calling the group together. In front of everyone, he allowed his temper to show.

  "Cartwright, Littleton what were you thinking? We are guests in this facility and I assume that as adults you understand that guests must behave properly. No further display of aggressive behavior among my team members will be tolerated. The next person who initiates an altercation will be sent home summarily. Have you got that?"

  Summers noticed that JR, his arm around Misty, was barely restraining his glee against one wall. Still smarting from his dressing down at the hands of Cmdr. Anderson, he now turned his wrath in JR's direction.

  "Just what do you find so funny, Rossler?"

  "Just that someone else's getting his ass chewed for a change," JR grinned.

  "Wipe that grin off your face, or you'll be next." Summers surly remark seemed to amuse JR even further, but he hastened to straighten his face.

  Summers dismissed the crew, still feeling in a foul temper. He would have liked to talk out his pique with a trusted colleague, but there was no one suitable. He and LeClerc had fallen out some time ago, Anderson had just embarrassed him, and everyone else was junior to him, and therefore inappropriate. He returned to his assigned bunk, hoping that the other occupant, a stranger to him, would not be there. In that, he finally caught a break.

  A few days later, the expedition was on its way to map the second section of the Transantarctic Mountains. Tempers had had a chance to cool, and even Summers and LeClerc were on speaking terms, if uneasy ones. The outbound trip was uneventful, as was the mapping operation. This time, no unfortunate incidents marred the team’s progress. It was now the height of summer, and they would have the opportunity to finish this section and one more before returning to base to spend Christmas there. It seemed their bad luck was at an end.

  ~~~

  However, the continent had one last blow to strike. On the return trip from the third mapping project, winds of unseasonal strength delayed them for a couple of days. When at last they died down, everyone was anxious to make the rest of the trek at all possible speed. They had altered their
return course to avoid having to skirt a large area of surface melting, and therefore were unaware that a worse hazard existed between the location where they stopped to wait out the wind and the base.

  Because they were out of the mountains, and on the relative flat of the plateau, Stone, driving the lead vehicle with JR, Misty, Antonio, Carmen and Roosky as passengers, was pushing his speed while talking over his shoulder to the others. It happened so quickly that none of them could say afterwards whether Stone had been paying attention to the route or not. Suddenly, a crevasse appeared in front of them, and Stone made a desperate attempt to turn the Sno-Cat as he simultaneously attempted to stop. The top-heavy vehicle sloughed and then toppled onto its side, throwing the passengers about and tipping the vehicle dangerously into the crevasse.

  The rest of the expedition was following at a more sedate speed. None of the passengers in the other vehicle driven by LeClerc, saw what had happened to the first. Their first inkling was seeing the treads, pointing crazily toward the sky rather than planted on firm ground. Rebecca let out a sharp cry, then clapped her hands to her mouth. As the others followed her gaze, exclamations of dismay were uttered. LeClerc brought his vehicle to a stop near the other, and expedition members tumbled out to run to the other vehicle and assess the damage.

  LeClerc called sharply to them, yelling, "Stay back!" Until he could see why the other Sno-Cat was canted at the angle it was, he wanted no one jostling it. He climbed out of his cab to join Summers, who cautiously approached the other Sno-Cat. What they saw made both men draw their breath in sharply. A crevasse wide enough to swallow the Sno-Cat opened under it. It was delicately balanced only because the Sno-Cat was taller than it was wide, causing the roof to catch against the opposite side of the crevasse, and preventing it from dropping into the crevasse upside down.

  Inside, JR had prevented the others from moving. From the windows he could see what looked like a bottomless chasm below them. He also suspected that the current position of the Sno-Cat could shift drastically if they weren't careful. Stone had hit his head and was just coming to when the others got to their position.

  "Wha…" He slurred as he attempted to extricate himself from beneath the steering wheel. Only JR's sharp exclamation stilled him. When he came to himself enough that he could understand where they were and the danger that was keeping them there, he spoke more calmly.

  "Bloody hell," he said, more softly than the expletive warranted. "How are we going to get out of this?"

  "The others have just arrived. Sit tight, and see if they can't pull us out. We shouldn't move until they at least have us secured with ropes. It is critical that no one move at all," JR explained.

  The necessity of sitting still made everyone in the stranded Sno-Cat twitchy. First one, then another would tentatively stretch out a limb before returning to their position, with a frown from JR as incentive. They occasionally caught a glimpse of one of the members of the expedition from the other Sno-Cat as they moved cautiously around the stranded one, but there had been no communication from outside to tell them how it was going.

  After what seemed like hours, a slight shift in their position made Misty gasp and Antonio utter a sharp “Mierda.” Carmen giggled nervously. Another unnerving shift, and then Robert's head appeared in the doorway.

  "Bob’s your uncle, we've got the bugger secured so she won't drop, we think."

  As the others shifted as if to rise, JR said sharply, "One at a time. Carmen, you go first." He endured an accusatory look from Misty, before explaining, "We'll go in order of size. Misty, you're next." Stone reflected with surprise that JR had taken charge so naturally, and even more surprise that everyone obeyed him without argument. When Carmen had cleared the doorway JR gave Misty the go signal, and then indicated that the slight Chilean would be next. With the first three offloaded safely, JR sent Stone next. Finally he gave Roosky the go-ahead. Roosky balked.

  "You said by size," he stated. "Roosky is biggest."

  "But, I'm the captain," JR smirked. "I go last."

  Unable to defeat this logic, Roosky lumbered to his feet, causing the vehicle to shift and both men to tense. When the movement stopped, Roosky crept with all the grace of a grizzly bear attempting to ballet to the doorway and disappeared. Now it was JR's turn. He rose as carefully as possible, not wishing to endure a repeat of the scary movement that Roosky's escape had engendered. As he reached the doorway the delicate balance of the roof on the side of the crevasse gave way, dropping the vehicle out from under him.

  JR thrust himself free with a desperate push of his feet, and grabbed the rope that had secured the Sno-Cat to stop himself tumbling after it. Summers and Cartwright lunged to catch him by the arms. As the precious vehicle dropped away, the stunned expedition members watched in disbelief. Rebecca was perhaps the most stunned. Once again, she had watched JR calmly take control of a dicey situation and the others obey him without question. What had happened to him in Afghanistan that had changed the man she just saw into an irresponsible brat? And what would it take to bring the man back, permanently?

  They were still two days from the base, and now had insufficient transportation for all of them. Furthermore, though by some miracle the lost Sno-Cat’s trailer sled had remained upright and LeClerc had taken the precaution of unhitching it before the rescue was attempted, they had no way to tow it. It would have to be left behind, until they reached base, unhitched the other, and returned for it.

  Summers and LeClerc quickly huddled to determine their options. The Sno-Cats could carry a driver and eight passengers. Even if they crowded another couple of people into the vehicles, there would be six left over. They had two snowmobiles, each capable of carrying two people in a pinch. That still left two. They could see only two alternatives, with a third perhaps too dangerous to consider. The first was to leave eight of the expedition members with the stranded sled and sufficient food to camp until the remaining Sno-Cat returned for them. The second was to attempt to get the entire team to base at once, by taking turns at riding in the Sno-Cat or skiing. The final alternative, they rejected. That was to offload the snowmobiles, crowd as many as they could into the Sno-Cat and onto the snowmobiles, and have two ride on the sled. However, at even a moderate speed, those two would be subjected to wind speed temperatures that would endanger their lives unnecessarily.

  After their huddle, Summers and LeClerc put the options to the others. Their recommendation was to leave eight members camped, and make all possible speed to base, then return for the others. However, it meant that eight people must volunteer. Stone was the first to step forward.

  "It's my fault we’re in this bloody mess, I'll stay." Summers merely nodded, though he knew that any of them could have made the same mistake. They were tired, eager to have a longer rest at base, and had been lulled by the relative ease of the expedition thus far.

  Summers felt that either he or LeClerc should stay, and looked at LeClerc questioningly. The other man looked away, leaving Summers to understand that he would have to make the sacrifice. To his surprise, after he announced that he would stay, JR also volunteered. Then Bart stepped forward.

  "If someone must stay behind, I must stay to cook for him."

  Robert, ever willing to be the hero, was next, followed of course quickly by Cindy. Carmen, unwilling to leave Cindy along with Robert, volunteered next. Antonio shrugged his shoulders and said, "If Carmen stays, I stay."

  "It's settled then," said Summers. "I suggest we move away from this crevasse and camp for the night, then in the morning we can divvy up the supplies and the rest of you be on your way."

  In the morning, they realized there would be a logistics problem. Once again, there was insufficient food, considering half their number would be on the ice for an extra four days. This time, however Summers and LeClerc carefully avoided an altercation and privately came to a solution. As much food as possible would be left with the eight on the ice, and the others, in return for being first out of the dilemma, would endure sh
ort rations for the next two days. It was as equitable a solution as the two leaders could think of, with the added consideration that the members who would be left on the ice would require more calories to survive the conditions, especially if the next four days brought high winds.

  To the relief of everyone, the plan went off without a hitch. Exactly four days after the first half of the expedition left the others, racing for Amundsen-Scott base, LeClerc arrived alone in the remaining Sno-Cat. He had brought enough food supplies for the trip back, which was quickly accomplished.

  Summers contacted Daniel by satellite phone, to report that they had lost a Sno-Cat but that everyone was safe. He praised JR's cool head in the crisis, as well as his willingness to be one of the expedition members to be left behind. It gave Daniel hope that the little brother he had admired so much for his good nature and athletic ability before his enlistment in the Marines was on his way back to his family whole and healed. He was less pleased to learn that morale seemed to be low. When he heard about the altercation between Littleton and Cartwright, now some weeks in the past, he asked Summers if some of the crew should be sent home, particularly since they no longer had sufficient transportation for everyone.

  "Let me take that under advisement, Daniel. I'm not sure if the mission can be accomplished without everyone available. Let me think about it."

  "Well, you have a week there at Amundsen Scott, try to have a plan ready after Christmas. We can always bring you all home and try again next year."

  The thought horrified Summers. The whole world knew of the expedition. If they came home early, who might slip in to make the discoveries first? It was the last thing he wanted. However, he didn't protest. He would hope to find a plan that would accomplish his objective and satisfy the Foundation at the same time.