“I’m fine,” she assured him, spitting out dust and wiping her face with her palms to get the worst of it off. Only to herself would she admit her heart still raced a hundred miles an hour. She stepped over to the side, on a rare clear patch of ground, so that Cameron would have the space he needed to climb out.
From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of two men hovering near the ambulance, talking with the people they had saved. Even from here it was obvious they were a Mægencræft and Dwolcræft. “Jack, who are they?”
“The partners that are in charge of night shift up here on the hill,” Jack responded as he leaned down to give Cameron a hand up. “They were on the other side when everything blew.”
That didn’t sound quite right to her. “Shouldn’t they have been here, if there was a test?”
“SOP requires them to do a check of the area and clear out power if necessary before a test,” Jack clarified patiently. “Once that’s done, they’re free to go patrol the rest of the area and do other duties. It’s not necessary for them to stay during the duration of the test.” Frowning, he glanced their direction. “Although I do wonder if it would have changed matters, if they had been here.”
Cameron wiped dust from his face with an equally dirty sleeve. “We know the cause, then?”
“Not as yet. Someone will have to analyze the damage here to give us an answer. Right now it could be anything from a minor earthquake, to sabotage, to a malfunction in the engine. Or…” he trailed off and gave the area an unreadable look, “this is a ley line that went abruptly unstable.”
Noriko had a hard time believing that a ley line with this many people near it could go unstable so quickly without anyone noticing. But she did take Jack’s meaning. The other ley line had gone abruptly bonkers as well with no warning. They couldn’t rule out the possibility of it happening here too. But that meant the cause was completely up in the air.
Their captain came to give them a once over, not just with eyes, but with hands as well. “Nothing broken? Sprained? Cut? That’s a miracle.”
Noriko shook her head. “Miracles have nothing to do with it. His reflexes are to thank.”
Banderas gave Cameron a questioning look, getting a shrug in affirmation. “Is that right. If the two of you are still up to work? Good, we’re shorthanded as it is. That must be some flu, to take out this many people from Main Base’s teams. Powers, Noriko, pair up with me and Charlie. We need to do the heavy lifting for the firemen, make sure that there’s no fuel lying about up here uncontained. If any of it sparks, it will make things much worse.”
That sounded like a potential nightmare to Noriko. “Yes, sir.”
“Lizzie, Lars, get back to cleaning up this area.”
“Right-o, Cap,” Lars acknowledged.
Clean-up was a nasty, nasty business. Noriko dug into it with grim determination, like everyone else around her. The firemen on scene were trained for this kind of situation, but even they seemed unnerved by the amount of damage done. She overheard several of them mutter comments to each other, usually along the lines of this being the worst they had ever seen.
Everything had to be documented before they moved it, and while they moved it. That was Noriko’s job as Cameron did the actual lifting. She had a camera in one hand, a dictation program up on her holoshades, trying to clearly document where everything was. She included the time, too, although she wasn’t sure if that was necessary or not. Her memory was hazy on that part of the procedure. Was it the date or the time?
A small man with thinning red hair and slightly pointed ears came over to them. He wasn’t dressed like any of the relief workers—in fact he was in a black parka and jeans, glasses hooked into the front of his jacket. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but he looked rather like a leprechaun. “Captain Javier Banderas?”
Their captain stopped abruptly and carefully set the pile he had been moving back down before offering the man a hand. “That’s me. You are?”
“Frank Goudie, Captain, pleasure. I’m from Industrial Forensics.”
Banderas gave him a more genuine smile. “I was wondering if they would dispatch an explosions analyst tonight or wait until tomorrow. Very glad to see you, Mr. Goudie.”
“I prefer to see things with my own eyes, fresh after it happens,” Goudie explained. “Gives me a better sense of what’s going on. Captain, as I understand it, your team was called in because the flu has laid low most of the teams on Main Base?”
“That’s correct.”
“They emailed me your team’s profile as I was driving in. You’ve got three Geology people—although I understand two are still in school—one structural engineering, one mechanical engineering, one physics major, and you yourself are retired military. Do I have all of that right?”
Banderas regarded him with some puzzlement, as if not sure where Goudie was going with all of this. “That’s right, why?”
“Captain, I’ll be frank, my company doesn’t have any GF teams that I can pull from. Usually, in case of a disaster like this, we borrow what experts we need from the teams on base, or within that company. But right now, that’s not possible. I’d prefer to keep your team on this task, if you don’t mind, as you know firsthand how things looked immediately after the explosion. You’ve also got a good smattering of experts on your team that might help me solve this riddle. Can I formally request you?”
Rocking back on his heels, Banderas thought about this for a full second before answering bluntly, “I’d prefer to work the problem. I want to know what happened here.”
Goudie looked relieved. “Then, Captain, I’ll put in that formal request immediately. One question: Did anyone think to take pictures before your people dug in?”
“My coordinator, Jack Torstein, was taking pictures, as well as my Mægencræftas. I’m not sure what the quality will be, as we were in poor lighting when we first arrived.”
“That’s understandable, I want to take a look anyway.”
Turning to her, Banderas requested, “Noriko, can you take Mr. Goudie to Jack? Stay with them if they choose to start poking around and clear the area of power as needed.”
“Yes, Cap. Ah, if I do come across some sparks, where do you want me to put the power?”
“Harness it and pass it to the next Dwol you come to,” he instructed.
“Sure, Cap. What about Cameron?”
“Charlie can handle both of us, don’t you worry.”
She cast a glance at Cameron to make sure he was alright working with Charlotte, and he gave her a silent go ahead. Reassured, she turned to Goudie with a professional smile on her face. “I believe I saw Jack over there, Mr. Goudie.”
“I’ll follow you.”
She went off, keeping a weather eye on their surroundings as she did, as this area wasn’t clear yet. Jack wasn’t in her immediate line of sight, but there were so many things blocking her view, he could still be where she’d last seen him.
“I understand that this is your third week on the job?” Goudie asked her in a conversational tone.
“Yes, sir.”
“What a way to start, eh?” he gave a gentle chuckle. “If fate was kinder, you’d have an easier transition.”
“If fate was kinder, this wouldn’t have happened at all,” she pointed out.
“Can’t argue that. If memory serves, you’re majoring in Geology, right? You and your partner, Harmony.”
“Cameron,” she corrected, waiting for his reaction.
Confused, his steps faltered for a moment. “Is that how she prefers to be called?”
“Yes. He does.”
It took a second to click, then Goudie slapped a hand against his leg. “His mother named her son Harmony?”
“I understand pain medications and thirty-plus hours of labor had something to do with it.”
“That poor man. Cameron. I’ll remember that.”
“Or Cam, he’s fine with either,” she assured him. “You saw him standing next to Captain.”
“The tall blond?” She could see it click. “Of course, why didn’t I realize? Your partner would be standing next to you so the two of you could work. So that was Cameron Powers.”
It begged the question, “Don’t our files have pictures, sir?”
“They normally do. Several, in fact. But your files are so new that the pictures haven’t been matched up to the file yet. I understand there’s a bit of backlog.”
Oh. No wonder the captain hadn’t had a picture of Cameron at the beginning, then. “To answer your earlier question, yes, we’re both Geology majors.”
“I know you’re new to the field, but I want your opinion. Do you think this was caused by nature?”
Noriko hesitated strongly before answering. “We had no indications that something was wrong here, sir. I came over here with Jack and Cameron six days ago, touring the area, and we studied the ley lines closely. There wasn’t a buildup of power strong enough to cause even a minor quake. If it was an earthquake, then something has gone very wrong to overload this area so quickly.”
Goudie gave a long ‘ah’ sound of understanding. “That is very interesting information. Thank you, Noriko. That does give me a better idea of what the area was like before things blew.”
“Like I said, sir, my information is six days old.”
“But it’s also newer than my geological surveys. And I trust what you saw.”
That was a point; she was giving him an expert opinion that was fresher than any report he likely had on hand. “I should also tell you, sir, that we had a ley line flare up last week for no apparent reason.”
Goudie’s attention sharpened on her. “How much of a flare up?”
“It was bad, sir,” she admitted frankly. Just remembering it made her a little nauseous. “If we hadn’t found it in time, it would have set off quite the explosion. We still have no rhyme or reason for what caused it, either.”
Panning the area, she could see the wheels turn in his mind. “You think something like that happened here? The ley line abruptly flared up and caused this?”
“I don’t know, sir, I just thought you should be aware of it. It’s hard to imagine that a ley line could go out of control in a single day without either pairing up here on the hill noticing, but we didn’t think a ley line could go loopy in just five days either. And that’s what happened.”
“I do see what you mean. It’s very strange. I will keep that information in mind while trying to unravel the mystery.”
It might not have been her place to say anything, but Noriko, for one, wanted to make sure that this man had the information he needed to figure things out. If it was an unstable ley line that had caused this, they all needed to know, too. Looking up, she spotted Jack’s back just as he was rounding the end of a fire truck and called out, “JACK!”
Their coordinator doubled back and looked her direction. At her wave, he stepped carefully around the fire truck’s many lines and hoses and came toward them.
“Jack, this is Mr. Frank Goudie,” she introduced. “He’s an explosives analyst. Sir, this is Jack Torstein, our coordinator.”
“From Industrial Forensics?” Jack asked, already extending a hand.
Frank took it. “That’s right.”
“Very glad to see you, Mr. Goudie. I was informed you were arriving, but you made better time than I expected.”
“I live in Lancaster,” he explained. “I should tell you, I just spoke with Captain Banderas and he’s agreed to stay on this job. I want to make a formal request to keep this team.”
Jack wasn’t the type to ever look surprised, but Noriko had the feeling that this was unexpected. “You don’t have your own people to use, Mr. Goudie?”
“I usually borrow from Main Base in events like these. Our company isn’t large enough to warrant our own GF team, you see. You’ve got some good people on this team and as the first responders, you know what the area looked like. I want to keep you.”
“I have no problem with that. I’ll send in the request as well. Ah…” he paused and looked at Noriko.
“Captain asked that I stick with both of you so you can survey the area,” she informed him, hoping she was answering that silent question on his face. The man was incredibly difficult to read, even in good lighting, which this wasn’t.
“That will make things safer.” Jack gave her a slight nod. “Noriko, take a ten-minute break. Once we’re done, we’ll be doing a lot of walking around this area.”
“Yes, sir.” After working for several hours straight, she was ravenous. A glance at her phone showed that it was just after two in the morning. Had they really been working for nearly four hours? The time had seemed so much shorter than that.
“Noriko,” Jack looked down at her, “ready to go?”
“I am, sir.”
“Mr. Goudie, did anyone send you the blueprints for this place?” Jack asked.
“They did, yes, and I have them here. I believe where we’re standing is near the office building.”
“You are correct, sir. The test cell itself was closer to the edge of the hill, directly behind and to the left of us.”
Knowing where they were going, Noriko chose to walk ahead of the men, her eyes sharply on the lookout for any stray spark of power that might be nearby. She found several, which surprised her and didn’t at the same time. After all, this was a rather sizeable area for a dozen cræftas to try and clear out. Four hours were not enough time to manage it. Without a word to the men, she gathered up all of that power and carefully carted it with her. The Dwols were too far away in this moment to accept any power offering from her—she’d have to carry it with her for a little while until she could pass it on.
Something about her behavior cued Jack up and he asked, “Noriko, are there still remnants of power about?”
She paused in her tracks and gave him a nod. “There are. Please stay close to me.”
Goudie gave a nervous glance at the ground. “I would have thought this area already clear.”
“No sir,” she corrected, “we haven’t really touched this place yet. Our first priority was locating and rescuing any survivors.”
“Ah, of course, I should have realized. Then the test cell is virgin ground?”
“We did have Main Base’s people come over with the firemen and clear up any rocket propellant,” Jack informed him. “But other than that, we didn’t do much. Our first priority was clearing out an area so we could get more personnel in here.”
“I’m actually glad to hear it. This will give me a chance to analyze the area without having to rely on photos. No offense, Mr. Torstein.” Goudie gave him a thumbs up. “You take very nice pictures.”
Was that a glint of humor in Jack’s eye? “Thank you, Mr. Goudie.”
Rubbing his hands together, Goudie got a wolfish tilt to his mouth. “Well now, let’s begin.”
8th Merlin
Goudie picked his way toward the edge, which in turn set Noriko on edge, and she had to restrain herself from grabbing him by the elbow and jerking him back several times. He must have caught this movement, as he stopped and smiled at her. “You are a dear, Miss Arashi. Worried about me?”
“Sir, this area hasn’t been cleared,” she said in protest. And it wasn’t a shallow hole, either. The crater was large enough to put three vans in side by side and even from here it was clear the cliff edge section was crumbling if the wind blew on it. Nothing about this section was stable.
“The first basic step of any investigation is to go to the center of the blast, or what you think is the center, and then work your way out in a spiral pattern. From what I saw coming in, I believe the test cell is what blew, and everyone else thinks the same. I have to verify that.”
In other words, she wasn’t going to drag him free of this area. Noriko hadn’t survived as the eldest sister of six siblings without learning a few tricks. “Mr. Goudie. I am in fact very interested in how you investigate disasters like this. We only get a crash course in investigations in b
oot camp. If you don’t mind, will you explain to me what you’re doing and what you’re seeing as you go?”
“I think that’s a splendid idea. This might not be the last time you walk into a scene like this after all. Here, stay in step with me.”
Noriko truly was interested in what he was doing, but her aim had been for that offer, so that she could be in his personal space without seeming like a nag. She immediately took him up on it and joined him.
“Now, as I said, every scene like this must start at the epicenter, and then we work our way outwards. The effects of an explosion like this are created through several actions of rapidly occurring events. The most damaging is the initial blast wave, as it radiates out from the epicenter. It’s the highly compressed air that inflicts most of the primary damage to structures and people.” Goudie led them forward and pointed to an area several feet ahead. “You see that area, the one that’s relatively clear? That’s our epicenter.”
She did indeed see what he was talking about. It was almost perfectly round, the area blown completely clear of anything but rock, with scorch marks going in deep and dark in every direction. “Do they all look like this?”
“Hmm, no it depends. Sometimes they explode above the ground more than in it, so they don’t always leave gaping holes behind. But they always leave a trail of scorch marks flaring in all directions. That’s the nice part—they’re easy to identify, even for an amateur.” He cast her a wink. “Now, what actually causes the most damage after that is from the shock waves. They will catch onto anything loose, which includes the fragments of the building itself, and blow them out at high velocity. Very damaging stuff.”
Noriko panned the area with sad eyes. ‘Very damaging’ seemed like a gross understatement.
“The question I have,” Goudie continued as he knelt to examine the area more closely, “is what was the true cause? This might be very tricky to determine. If it was an act of sabotage, say, then any remnants of a bomb might be buried or completely incinerated because of the test cell blowing up. These big engines are potentially massive bombs anyway. Under the wrong circumstances, they’ll blow up without much help, so it wouldn’t take a very big bomb to make it go.”
Call to Quarters (A Gaeldorcraeft Forces Novel Book 1) Page 9