by K. T. Tomb
“I see,” he said, understanding her theory a little better.
“What would be the point of that?” Savannah asked, finally speaking up.
“Based on what Travis and I found in the maps of the area, we think it’s possible the region on the north shore could be rich in some sort of mineral or gems.”
The others were astonished and murmured among themselves.
“Baikal is what you call a rift lake,” Travis explained further. “It was formed millions of years ago when there was a shift in tectonic plates and it must have been a major one, because I just found out that the bottom of this lake actually lies about three thousand nine hundred feet below sea level.”
Adam marveled at that fact for a minute then said, “If that’s true then it’s quite possible for there to be oil deposits here or natural gas. High pressure forming gem stones like diamonds and emeralds are also a huge possibility.”
“Mining wouldn’t be sanctioned so near the lake though,” Fiona pointed out. “To complicate matters more, Lake Baikal is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There’s no way anybody could start a mining operation here without an international world war breaking out.”
“The Russian government would not care about any of that, Fiona,” Thyri said matter-of-factly. “A mineral find of this potential magnitude could turn the economic landscape of the entire country around completely. If they could have more money than they could ever imagine; more than enough to line all their pockets and still make a difference in the Federation, they would close the country, ignore every outcry and dynamite this lake out of existence.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time lakes have disappeared in Russia,” Xenia told them. “Almost everyone of them situated around Moscow has been reclaimed and turned into farmland already.”
There was silence for a while as they all pondered what had been said.
“So could it be possible that they’re trying to distract people by artificially creating this phenomenon at one point on the lake to draw attention away from another area?” Adam asked.
“That’s exactly what I think,” Xenia replied. “In fact I suspect that excavations and testing may already be in progress. I haven’t been able to find any recent satellite imagery of the area at all to confirm it though.”
“That’s strange,” said Mark.
“It certainly is.”
They arrived at the north shore of the lake about fifteen minutes later. It had taken them a total of forty-five minutes to make the crossing. Xenia paid the skipper half of his fee and made arrangements for him to pick them back up the following morning.
While the men offloaded the camping gear, the four women started trekking inland up the sandy shore. They had to find a good camp site that was both out of sight and lakes don’t have tide. If they were indeed dealing with a cover up for illegal mining activities being out in the open wasn’t such a bright idea. They moved towards the tree line at the far end of the beach and the men followed soon after.
The green camouflage of their tents blended in perfectly with the verdant cover of the trees and they were all confident that they wouldn’t be easily detected if things took a turn for the worse. They had also carried only pre-packaged foods with them so that a camp fire would not be needed. Portable solar powered space heaters and old fashioned body heat would warm the tents during the night.
When they were all set up they spread out to survey the and eventually they all met up at the place where Fiona and Mark had spotted the dust devils the day before.
“There’s nothing here today,” Fiona said disappointedly.
“That’s nothing to worry about,” Travis said reassuringly. “It’s possible that the appearance of the tornadoes coincides with a particular time of day, even season. There’s a lot of natural elements that would have to come into play in the formation of so many, long sustaining whirlwinds.”
“So what do you suggest?” she asked.
Xenia answered her for him.
“We sit and we wait.”
***
Mikhail Ivanov couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He pressed his face closer to the periscope as if leaning any closer would somehow change what he was looking at.
“Who are they?” he asked the other men in the room. “What are they doing over here? I don’t see any of the usual bathing suits or picnic baskets; they’re just sitting under that tree looking at the plateau.”
“Don’t be so paranoid,” Boris said around a mouthful of his lunch. “I didn’t see any guns or metal detectors, in fact there’s no specialized equipment with them all. So what if they camp for a night, it’s probably one of those ‘Green Tourism’ excursions they’ve been trying so hard to promote recently for the yuppie American tourists.”
He pushed up the periscope and turned to face Boris for a moment. Then he suddenly laughed.
“You’re probably right,” he said as he sat at the table and picked up a fork. “But we’ll keep an eye on them just to be sure.”
“Certainly, Mikhail. We’ve been in this damn hole working on this assignment for too long to allow a few nosy tourists to expose us. There’s too much at stake.”
Mikhail put a forkful of the juicy steak in his mouth and chewed tentatively before answering his colleague.
“Yes, we need to keep a close eye on them, Boris. IF they get too close, you know what to do.”
“I wouldn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to the shore, Mikhail. I’m certain that they have arrangements for someone to pick them up at some point. What if they’re reported missing? The authorities will be combing the area.”
“We know how to stay hidden here from people who don’t know what to look for. I’m not concerned with local police. They actually believe that the invisible city is appearing to righteous, deserving tourists who visit the lake,” he laughed at the thought of what he just said. “It’s strangers like these that worry me. IF they don’t turn out to be tourists, then there’s a high possibility that they’ll turn out to be people who already know more than they should about what we’re doing here. If that’s the case, you and your men need to take care of them. After all, over enthusiastic tourists go missing all over the world, every day.”
“That’s true.”
***
“Have some lunch you two,” Savannah said, handing Fiona and Mark a plastic food container each, two cans of Coca Cola followed as well.
“Thanks, I was starving to death over here.”
“This looks good, Savannah,” Travis complimented. “What do we have here?”
“I had them packed for us at the villa this morning. Its poached salmon, with a puree of parsnip and radishes and an arugula and fennel salad.”
“Oh, fancy,” Adam said teasingly.
Savannah smiled and looked down, blushing a little. That made everyone who was looking at her burst out laughing; it was rare to see the professor that vulnerable.
“Well, at least that’s what the chef told me,” she quickly added, in her defense.
“It’s marvelous,” Thyri said. “And it’s superb how they packed them in those thermal bags for us. The food is still warm and the drinks are icy cold. Isn’t it wonderful?”
“It certainly is,” Travis said looking at her admiringly.
Adam turned to see the look on his friend’s face; somehow he felt that Travis wasn’t referring to the food.
They sat in silence and enjoyed the meal; taking in the breathtaking scenery. As they gathered their trash and placed it into a bag, Thyri stood up and shaded her eyes with her hands. She was looking towards the hills north of where they sat. The others soon followed her gaze and then Xenia gave a shout.
“It’s starting!,” she cried. “Quickly, get your dust masks and parkas on. I think we’re standing right in the middle of where it’s going to happen.”
As quickly as they could get their jacket on and the hoods pulled over their heads, the winds converged around them on the broad plateau.
He was waving his arms wildly at them, signaling for them to step back towards the tree line and away from the tornadoes’ staging area. The others turned and ran back to the safety of the trees. Each of them tightened the strings of their hoods and put on the large safety goggles and dust masks that Xenia had given them as they watched the converging storm in awe. Within minutes the plain was gusting violently with winds of at least forty miles an hour. It picked up sheet after sheet of dust that had lain settled and inert all around the plateau.
Soon the winds started to swirl the particles and the distinct shapes of several dust devils began to form. There were four at first but within ten minutes the group was standing witnessing a display of fifteen fully formed whirlwinds of solid white towering over them to heights of approximately twenty five feet. It was easy to see how a phenomenon like this, viewed in the right lighting might give an observer the impression that they were witnessing a supernatural occurrence.
The whirlwinds were sustained by the eerie windstorm for a full hour, never fading or faltering;in fact, a few more tornadoes were formed during that time. They watched in complete fascination, stopping only to take photographs and record video of what they were seeing.
When the wind subsided, Xenia looked at the sky.
“You see?” she said pointing to the horizon. “It seems to coincide with the setting of the sun. I’m interested to see if it happens again at sunrise.”
“Me too,” Savannah concurred.
“Having just witnessed that amazing display,” Travis said, “I think there’s real merit to your hoax theory, Xenia. That dust rose into the air so thick and so high that I doubt anyone would have difficulty projecting a very high resolution image on it from a very powerful digital projector.”
“Indeed,” she agreed.
“That would mean that such a projector would have to be set up fairly close by just of the shore right there,” Adam said, pointing to the water.
“And if that’s the case,” Mark added, “then we could be right in the middle of some serious criminal activity. I suggest we move our camp immediately.”
“Agreed,” Travis replied.
Chapter Five
“So at the time when you were researching on the banks of the lake with the others, did any of you know that Mickey Large was still hunting you down?” the reporter asked Travis.
“Actually, we were all quite confident that we had completely lost him. What idiots we were, we didn’t have a clue who we were dealing with. But you have to remember, at the time we were neck-deep in everything that was happening in Russia, Mickey Large was the last thing on our minds. It wasn’t until he showed up a week later that we realized the proverbial sewage had hit the fan.”
“Let’s back track a little then, because it seems I may have jumped the gun.”
“Just a little,” Travis said, offering her a friendly smile.
“What exactly happened after you discovered the tornado phenomenon?”
“Now that’s a very interesting part of my story.”
***
It was nine thirty at night and the sun was just setting over the lake. They had already seen what they had hoped to see. Xenia was still anticipating finding out if the storms also occurred at dawn but the boat wasn’t scheduled to pick them up down on the beach until around noon so they would have ample time to watch the seven o’clock sunrise and wait for the winds to come. They all agreed not to build a fire or even use any of the lanterns they had carried with them.
“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” Adam had quipped. Everyone had laughed good spiritedly at his remedial charm.
“In our reality, it’s better to be in the dark than dead,” Travis retorted.
No one laughed at that one. The unknown threats that could be waiting for them were all too real; they had no way of knowing who had set up the elaborate ruse illuminating the dust storms with the image of the lost city of Kitezh. Neither did they know the reasons why someone was going to all that trouble. Of course, they speculated that it was to distract from illegal mining excavations in the protected area but they had no proof. At that point Travis began to wonder if they should go any further with their investigations.
If there were excavations or test mining going on at the lake, it was hardly possible that the government wasn’t involved and if they were, he wanted no further part of it. It’s always a dangerous game for an American to get involved with the governmental machineries in Russia and Travis intended to avoid any such situation completely. He did have an idea though.
“Mark,” he said, as they sat in the dark drinking some of the beer Savannah had packed for them. “Would it be possible for you to find out from your government contacts in Moscow if they know of any test mining being slated for area? I know it’s not likely they would make it public knowledge but is there a chance that since they rarely care about organizations like the UNESCO, that they might have something recorded about such plans?
“It’s possible,” Mark said. “And you’re quite right if the government thought that there were mineral deposits here to be mined, they would sanction it and apply for it to be actioned by the relevant ministries, without any care for the opinions of foreign bodies or other governments.”
“That’s what I thought. Could you make that call in the morning? We need to know if we’re sticking our nose in where it’s not wanted.”
“I sure will.”
“Thanks.”
It was hard falling asleep that night. Even though he was very tired, Travis was haunted by a myriad of sounds that came from every direction in the little woodland they had camped in. He dozed off and woke up several times during the night. As he had drifted off the last time, a few hours before dawn, he was sure he heard the sounds of voices carried on the wind through the woods. He was so tired, perhaps it was just the wind in the trees.
***
“All they did was watch the sandstorms, Mikhail. It seems that’s all they came to do,” Boris reported. “They camped near the edge of the plateau, not even building a fire for the night and this morning they watched the storms again, boarded the boat at noon and left. Environmental tourists I’d say.”
Mikhail scoffed. He was an eternal pessimist; strongly believing that if something seemed too good to be true, it probably was.
“We’ll see, but I’m going to need their names just to be sure. Send Ivan to the tourist center to get the information immediately; the boat skipper will have everything I need to know.”
“Straight away, Mikhail,” Boris replied.
“What’s the word from Vladivostok?”
“Nothing yet. The last I heard was that the Estonians were still analyzing the samples we sent. There’s gold, but not much.”
“That doesn’t mean we can’t find a good vein further down. The fact that they found some in such a shallow core sample is a good sign. When will they be finished with the other samples?”
“Tonight, they said. They’ll send us an email.”
“Good enough. Make sure Ivan finds out what I need him to.”
“Yes, Mikhail.”
***
“Villa Merkittävä?” asked the taxi driver, as he read the piece of paper Mickey handed to him.
“Kyllä!” Mickey shouted at him, nodding insistently.
His Finnish was restricted to about four words, one of which was yes, and his men John and Ken of course barely spoke English properly much less any foreign languages. He was trying his best to discourage the man from asking any more questions, because even though the taxi driver spoke enough English to converse, Mickey wasn’t interested in a city tour.
He knew the man was reluctant to take them to the villa because Villa Merkittävä was a private residence in an exclusive suburb of upscale Kotka and the three men in his taxi didn’t look at all like the sort of people who belonged there. He was suspicious, but Mickey’s technique of choice was a
lways intimidation and that’s exactly what he used.
When they arrived at the gate, he unceremoniously threw a five hundred euro note onto the front seat and told the driver to turn around and wait for them at the end of the lane. Mickey let him know that if he wasn’t there when they were ready to leave, the next time he looked down at his legs they’d be in casts. Then he and the two other men stepped out of the taxi. They waited until the car was out of sight then immediately started to look for a way to bypass the high gates and wall. John found a place in the wall where an oak tree grew over it and he jumped up, caught a branch and was soon over and into the yard. He opened the gate for them from the inside. Breaking into the house was a lot easier; a solid tap on the window next to the back door broke a large enough hole in the glass for Ken to stick his hand through and easily turn the lock on the door.
They didn’t know what they were looking for, all John and Ken knew was that they’d better find something fast. Mickey sat in the living room drinking a big glass of brandy he had poured from the liquor cabinet and watched the hustle around the room. Ken went upstairs but soon returned shrugging his shoulders.
“They didn’t leave a thing, Boss,” he said apologetically.
Mickey huffed and stood from his seat. Calmly he walked around the room looking at each and every surface carefully. John and Ken stopped what they were doing to watch him.
“If they didn’t leave any luggage be’ind, it means they ain’t coming back ‘ere,” he announced. “John, what does that mean?”
The big bald man stopped to think for a minute; he looked like he was in pain during the process.
Mickey got angry and threw the brandy glass at him. John moved out of the way just in time and it smashed against the fireplace scattering brandy and broken glass everywhere.
“Ken,” Mickey asked, “tell me what that means.”
“Um, I think it means we need to be looking in the trash.”