Polar Quest

by Alex Archer

  So that was it. He was going to kill her? For hacking his computer? Talk about a little baby, she thought. “That seems a bit extreme for a crime like this. I mean, what happens if someone steals your lunch around here?”

  Thomson didn’t rise to the bait. “The compromising of security is a very serious offense. People’s lives are at stake here, and hard decisions have to be made regarding the operational security of this establishment. If that means severe punishments for violators, I am granted that authority by virtue of my rank and position within the United States armed forces.”

  “I wouldn’t think the hacker would want anyone to get hurt, Thomson. That’s being a bit far-fetched,” Annja said.

  “I take my job very seriously. And the lives of my men depend on that fact. I want to bring them all home alive. That won’t be possible if we’ve got people who insist on sabotaging our efforts.”

  “Well, as I said before, you’ve got the wrong woman. I’m not guilty of hacking your system. I don’t care if you’ve got a partial print match or not—it wasn’t me.”

  The colonel smiled and then leaned forward again. The air was thick now. Annja coughed and tried to take a deep breath.

  “So that’s it, then?” the colonel said.

  “What?”

  “You’re going to insist that you’re innocent?”

  “Absolutely,” Annja said.

  Thomson sighed. “Very well. You leave me no choice.”

  Annja looked up. “No choice?”

  Thomson nodded at the soldiers. “Do it.”

  The doors behind her opened, blowing a fresh stream of frigid air into the shelter. Fortunately it cleared out some of the smoke. Annja heard footsteps behind her and looked up.

  Garin walked in.

  Thomson smiled. “Major Braden. You have something for me?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Annja saw the movement and then looked as Garin slid Annja’s laptop computer onto the colonel’s desk.

  Colonel Thomson looked at Annja. “This, I believe, is yours.”

  30

  For a few seconds, Annja said nothing. Her laptop sat on Thomson’s desk looking vulnerable. Thomson stared at Annja as if expecting she might break down and cry.

  She frowned. “That’s my personal property.”

  “You’re upset,” the colonel said. “As you should be. After all, one has certain expectations when it comes to private property—be it actual physical or more in the realm of, shall we say, intellectual property?”

  Annja wanted to kill Garin for betraying her like this. What was he playing at, handing her over on a plate to the colonel? He’d already stymied her earlier and now he’d sealed her fate by giving her laptop to Thomson.

  Thomson smiled. “Not going to say anything? Have I finally got you to the point where you realize how futile it is to keep insisting you had nothing to do with yesterday’s intrusion?”

  Annja glared at him. “You took my laptop. So what?”

  Thomson gestured to one of the armed guards. “Open it,” he ordered.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Annja said.

  “Why not?”

  Annja frowned. “In the short time you’ve known me, do I really strike you as being foolish enough to leave my laptop unprotected?”

  “What—you’ve got a password?”

  “Nothing so pedestrian as that,” Annja said with a smile. “I took some more, shall we say, extreme methods to ensure its protection.”

  Thomson steepled his fingers. “And I should believe you—why? I’m not sure you’ve told us anything even remotely truthful since you got here.”

  “You don’t have to believe me,” Annja said. “In fact, go ahead and open it. See if I care. All I ask is that you move me away from it when you do it. Would you mind if I sat over by the door?”

  Thomson glanced at Garin. “Major?”

  Garin cleared his throat. “It was sitting right out in the open. I have to admit it struck me as being a little odd it would simply be so exposed if she was really trying to hide something.”

  “What—you’ve never heard of hiding in plain sight? It’s an old trick.”

  “If you say so, sir,” Garin said. “But I think she might be capable of a little more than we’ve thought so far.”

  Thomson took a deep breath and put his pipe down. Then he leveled a finger at Annja. “You’re going to open that laptop.”

  “No. I’m not,” she stated flatly.

  “You are. If you don’t, then—”

  “Then what? You’ll shoot me? On what grounds? You’ve got to remember that anything you do here will have a lot of repercussions. Even if you killed me, there would always be someone around who is willing to talk. Unless, of course, you’re planning on killing everyone in the camp.”

  “Open the laptop, Annja,” the colonel said.

  Annja smiled. “We’re on first names now? That’s not fair. I don’t even know yours.”

  Thomson frowned and spoke to one of his soldiers. “Get me someone over from the demolitions team.” He stared at Annja. “We’ll see how complex it will be to disarm your laptop.”

  Annja smiled and sat waiting. She’d gained herself a little time, but it would be over soon enough if the demolition guy saw through the charade. How could she make it more convincing? Annja racked her brain for any stories she’d heard about laptops being converted to bombs.

  The door opened and a man walked in. “Sir?”

  “You’re Hawk, right?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Good. Sergeant Hawk, this woman has booby-trapped her laptop and is refusing to open it. I want it opened.”

  Hawk looked at the colonel. “I’m assuming, sir, that you want the laptop intact as much as possible?”

  He nodded. “We need access to her hard drive. There’s a file on there that we need to see.”

  Hawk bent over the laptop and then looked at Annja. “What’d you use?”

  Annja batted her eyes. “Now, if I’m not telling him anything, then what makes you think that I would be any more forthcoming with you?”

  “My sparkling personality?” the sergeant said.

  Annja smirked. “Sorry.”

  He nodded. “Had to ask.” He turned to Thomson. “Has it been moved?”

  “I brought it in,” Garin said. “It seemed safe enough.”

  Hawk nodded and moved the laptop around. As he peered at it from a variety of angles, he kept talking to Thomson. “You should know, sir, that my specialty, as with all of my team, lies with planting demolitions. Not disarming them.”

  “Yes, but you and your men can disarm what charges you’ve set, isn’t that right?”

  “Sure, but that’s because we planted them. We know what we’re dealing with. But this is someone else’s work. And to be honest, it’s a real risk. If I guess wrong, the thing could blow.”

  “You’re telling me there’s a good chance she’s telling the truth?”

  “Would she lie?”

  Thomson sputtered. “Of course she would. She’s trying to protect herself and cover up the fact that she has one of my files on her laptop.”

  “Look, sir, if I try to do this, then it’s going to have to be on my terms, okay?” Hawk said.

  “What do you need?”

  “Everyone out, for starters. It’s too dangerous for people to stay here while I work. If I screw up, then there will be some badly injured folks here.”

  Thomson frowned. He waved the two armed guards out. “You’re dismissed.” He looked at Garin. “Major, you may leave also, if you wish.”

  Garin shook his head. “Actually, sir, I’d like to stay.”

  “Very well.” Thomson stared at Annja. “And you will stay, as well. We’ll see if there’s any truth to your claims. When the sergeant cracks your laptop, the game will be up.”

  “You might get injured in the blast,” Annja said. “I made sure to pack a big wallop.”

  Hawk looked at her. “I take
it you didn’t put it in the battery compartment?”

  Annja smiled. “Now, what good would that do? All you’d have to do is turn it upside down, pop the cover and take it out. Not much good in that, is there?”

  “Like I said before, I have to ask.”

  Hawk went back to looking at the laptop, specifically where the lid latched to the bottom assembly. After several minutes, he shook his head. “I can’t see anything there that would trigger a detonation.”

  “So that means it’s safe?” Thomson asked. “Good, go ahead and open it right now.”

  “I didn’t say that, sir.” Hawk stood up and stretched his back. “Fact is, she could have rigged any number of trip actions here and I wouldn’t know until they detonated. It’s way too risky.”

  “Sergeant, we’re running out of time,” Thomson said. “I need some results here and I need them now.”

  Hawk looked at him. “There’s no way I can guarantee this isn’t going to be messy when I pop the lid. There’s plenty of metal and plastic here to turn into some nasty shrapnel. Any of us could be maimed or worse by an explosion in this confined area.”

  “I think that is a risk we are going to have to take, Sergeant. You see, I don’t believe that she has wired this laptop to explode. I don’t believe it at all. I think it’s a last-ditch effort to keep us from discovering that she was behind yesterday’s hacker intrusion.”

  Annja said nothing. She simply sat there and let the smile on her face do all the work for her.

  “She knows she’s out of time and is playing this one last card in the hope we fall for it,” Thomson said.

  Hawk chewed his lip. “If you want me to pop the lid, sir, I’ll do it, but I really have to stress that I don’t agree with the decision.”

  “Your position is noted, Sergeant. However, I am hereby ordering you to proceed with opening the computer.”

  He nodded. “All right. But first things first.” He went back outside and returned with several flak jackets. He handed one to Thomson, one to Garin and one to Annja.

  “She doesn’t get one,” Thomson said.

  Hawk frowned. “I’m not going to watch a civilian die because she wasn’t given a flak jacket.”

  “She’s being held on the charge of espionage, Sergeant,” Thomson said angrily.

  “Excuse me, sir, but she hasn’t been tried yet, which makes her innocent until proved guilty.”

  “I thought your specialty was in demolitions, Sergeant?”

  “It is, sir.”

  “Then leave the legalities to me.”

  Hawk frowned. “Sir—”

  “Oh, very well, give her the jacket and be done with it already. We’re wasting time,” Thomson shouted.

  Hawk handed Annja the flak jacket and she strapped it on. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Hawk strapped his own on and then looked at Thomson. “Last time I’ll ask, sir. Are you sure you want to proceed?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Hawk nodded. “All right, then. Here we go.”

  Annja watched as he bent lower and reexamined the laptop from all angles. Then he eased back the lid release.

  The lid sprang up a millimeter and Annja heard everyone’s breath catch. She was surprised at how involved she was in the situation, even though she knew there were no explosives inside. The tension in the room was incredible.

  Hawk grinned. “So far so good.”

  He eased the lid up. Nothing happened.

  “There now, you see?” Thomson said. “I told you there was nothing inside that would explode. She’s been lying the entire time and now she has to finally accept—”

  “Sir?” Hawk looked at the colonel. “We’re not done here yet.”

  “We’re not?”

  “No, sir. I still have to power it up. If she knows what she’s doing, she could have rigged it to explode when the power is switched on.”

  “Can you gain access to the interior of the computer without switching it on?” Thomson asked.

  Hawk shook his head. “If I had the proper tools to do so, yeah, but this is a complicated piece of machinery. If I go poking in there and happen to trip something, it’s as good as just switching it on.”

  “Switch it on, then.”

  “Sir?”

  “Do it, Sergeant. I’m tired of this.”

  Hawk took a breath and pressed the power button. Annja heard the computer click and then the opening melody as the operating system booted up. Again, it seemed as if everyone was holding their breath.

  But nothing happened.

  “There. Now it’s been powered up and still no explosion. Would you go so far as to deem this computer safe for me to poke around in, Sergeant?”

  Hawk shrugged. “I don’t know that I would, sir. But you seem determined to go rooting through there, so I don’t know that anything I say would make a difference.”

  “There are bigger things at stake here, Sergeant. You’re dismissed.”

  “Very good, sir.” Hawk started to leave and then turned back around. “If you can all return the flak jackets later on, I’d appreciate it.”

  Thomson waved him out. Only Annja and Garin remained with him in the office. Thomson leaned across the desk and grabbed the laptop. “Now, then, I believe this is when the bell starts tolling for you, Annja.”

  Annja sat perfectly still, trying to quell her hammering heart. “I guess we’ll see, Colonel.”

  She sensed that Garin had moved behind her. She frowned. “Get away from me.”

  Thomson started using the mouse to examine the hard drive. After a minute of searching, his face suddenly lit up. “Ah. Here it is.”

  “You found it?” Garin asked.

  Thomson nodded. “The date stamp matches perfectly. And the title of the file hasn’t even been changed.” He looked over the top of the computer at Annja. “Any last words?”

  “Boom?”

  Thomson chuckled. “Too late for that, my dear.” He double-clicked the mouse.

  The laptop exploded.

  31

  The blast blew Annja backward in her chair, tumbling over onto the floor as bits of plastic and metal sprayed the air. She felt a pair of hands grab her from behind and drag her out the door into the cold darkness.

  “What the hell—”

  “Shut up,” Garin said. “Don’t say anything and just do as I say. Is that going to be too much to ask?”

  Annja shook her head. “No.”

  “Good.” Garin looked around as soldiers came running. “There’s been an explosion! Check on the colonel!” he ordered.

  Hawk came running. “What the hell happened?”

  Garin shook his head. “I have no idea. The colonel clicked a file open and the damned thing blew itself up.”

  Hawk frowned. “That’s some pretty sophisticated work.” He glanced at Annja. “You don’t strike me as the type to do such things.”

  Annja smiled but said nothing.

  Garin pointed at the tent. “I don’t know the extent of the damage in there, but it looked pretty bad.”

  Hawk hurried away to help with the recovery efforts. Garin kept a firm hand on Annja’s shoulder. In her ear, she heard him whisper, “Just keep quiet and everything will work out fine. Trust me.”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “Not really. Right now, you look like a terrorist.”

  “Swell.”

  “Like I said, trust me and it will all work out fine. But you’ve got to play the part for a little while longer. Okay?”

  Annja nodded.

  A medical team came running out of one of the nearby shelters. They hurried into the colonel’s shelter, and Annja could hear a lot of noise coming from within. Garin called two soldiers over.

  “Watch her. Make sure she doesn’t escape.”

  Garin strode toward the shelter and ducked through the blown door. Annja craned her head, trying to see what was going on inside. She could hear people moving bits of furniture and Gar
in shouting commands at them. Annja shook her head. How much explosive had been in her laptop?

  And who had placed it there?

  She smirked. Well, she thought she knew the answer to that question. Obviously Garin knew something about it. And that probably meant that he had wired her system. Annja marveled at his ability to know how to do such a thing given that he wasn’t gone all that long while Thomson had interrogated her earlier.

  But, she thought, he has had a long time to learn how to build explosives and use them. Probably this was a simple task for him. And with the availability of explosives in the dig sites, it wouldn’t have been hard for him to fabricate something.

  The medical team emerged carrying Thomson on an improvised litter. One of them was holding an intravenous bag high above him as someone else was doing chest compressions.

  Hawk came out of the shelter and looked at Annja. “Jesus Christ, woman, how much explosive did you use in there? And why the hell weren’t you or Major Braden injured by the blast?”

  Annja said nothing, figuring that if she kept mum, it would simply make her look all the worse. And until she knew what Garin was up to, she had to do as he said and play it the best she could.

  Hawk walked away muttering something. A few seconds later, Garin emerged, pocketing something that Annja couldn’t see. He waved the two guards off.

  “I’ll take responsibility for her now.”

  The guards moved away and Garin took Annja by the arm and steered her back toward his shelter.

  “What the hell is going on here?”

  Garin squeezed harder. “Just wait until we get back where we can actually talk about this, all right?”

  “Fine.”

  The wind was kicking up snow as they walked, but Annja tried her best to ignore it. She’d left her jacket unzipped and the wind caught the flaps, slapping them back and forth.

  At his shelter, Garin held the door. “Inside.”

  She stepped in and found a place to sit down. Garin stepped in after her and nodded. “All right, let’s have all the cards on the table, shall we?”