ANTARCTIC FIRE: A Harry Crook Thriller - Conspiracy in the Antarctic

by Chris Geater

  Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

  “If it were not for the honour I will regain for my family name in delivering you to my masters your body would be under the ice even as we speak. However, I surrender my desire to personally dispatch your deceitful self in exchange for clearing my parents name and in some small way repay a debt for my brother.”

  He stood, erect and proud.

  “You know the game Wu-Dang, that’s how it's played. Your brother was a fool to let himself be deceived, he knew the risks.”

  “He was a fool, and he died for his foolishness. I have never made that mistake. You are a fool Harry Crook and you will die for your foolishness.”

  Now he was getting personal, I’d been called many things but not a fool, well not often anyway.

  Some days and a few taser bruises later the familiar door unlocking noise.

  I remained seated and stared at the floor, not as far to fall. Sure enough, the taser spat and there I was on the floor with handcuffs and ankle cuffs along with residual pain. They shuffled me along a corridor to an office where Wu-Dang sat with a contented look on his face, the cat and canary look. The four horsemen stood behind my chair as I faced the good Colonel across his drab green metal desk. He leant forward in a display of courage chin on hands. I lurched forward a few inches in a display of courage and he leapt back in surprise. The sharp painful blow to the kidneys was well worth the look on Wu-Dang’s face. If I could breathe I would have had a giggle.

  “Games Mr Crook will only bring about unnecessary pain.”

  He gave a sharp command to the men and two of them placed their hands on my shoulders, firmly. The door opened behind me and three more men of rank entered and sat in chairs each side of Wu-Dang. He kicked it off in Cantonese or Mandarin, I can never tell the difference. It appeared to be a formal proceeding which was confirmed after five minutes of joint input. Wu-Dang stood and indicating to my minders to stand me up.

  “Mr Crook, you have been found guilty of murder, espionage and assault causing harm. This tribunal has sentenced you to death for your crimes. You will remain here at Zhongshan until the icebreaker ‘Xue Long’ arrives next week where you will be transported to Mainland China and executed at the convenience of the party.”

  “Can I say something?” I asked.

  Wu-Dang smiled. “Of course Mr Crook, but please understand, your defence,” he nodded towards one of the uniformed men sitting with him, “has already been made. You have been found guilty and the proceeding is now complete.”

  “How can you hope to establish an effective military presence in this part of the world. It’s remote, inhospitable, and frankly unyielding. Wouldn't you be better off in the Middle East or Africa or somewhere?”

  “Ahh, you are curious, always the good spy Mr Crook. You have no idea about our intentions. Needless to say, our capabilities and courage are more than a match for anything this land has to offer. Our strength is your weakness. By the summer solstice our command of East Antarctica will be complete and you Mr Crook will be in an unmarked grave next to one of the Beijing communal garbage dumps, fitting, Yes?”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  You know that place where you’re half awake or half asleep and you have a little control over your dreams, a mixture of fantasy and reality, that's where I was. My upbringing in Glebe and the family house seemed too good to be true when compared to the current set of circumstances. The adventures us young boys got up to would make most parents hair curl, yet mine just let me go. Neither my Father nor Mother were particularly worried, felt that if they survived their childhood it was reasonable to expect that I would survive mine. My Father, a foreman on the waterfront was a staunch Labour party supporter and union delegate, my Mother much less so as a country girl. Not that it was an issue between them but I do remember one dinner conversation when I was in my mid-teens. Dad was going off about the Liberal Government’s attack on the unions around the country especially the Waterfront Workers Union. What bothered him most was that the Government and media didn't recognise the history of the union and the improvements for workers achieved over the years through much sacrifice. Mum made a comment about the difficult conditions under which the waterfront workers existed, their dim-sim allowance only covered two dim-sims, barely enough for hard workers to survive until their hour long lunch break. I think my sense of humour and sarcasm came from her.

  My Father stopped eating and almost stopped breathing. Mum’s dig, humorous as it was bordered on blasphemy where he was concerned.

  “Daphne! Daphne!” he spluttered then paused for over a minute, fork laden with food in mid air the whole time then shook his head and smiled. “You know Daphne you're right, we should have gone for three.”

  The wholesome day-dream terminated as did the peace-induced state by the unmistakable sound of automatic gunfire. Chinese weapon practice seemed the most logical reason. Zhongshan is essentially a military base so why not military exercises? The next thought, much less pleasant, the boys are readying for a firing squad, Wu-Dang might not have been able to suppress his desire for revenge, a righteous family name now less important after giving it some thought, a change of heart to which some of my comments may have contributed.

  Suddenly the lights went out, my cell pitch black, not even a slither of light under the door. Literally having nothing to lose I reached for my refuse bucket in order to make a racket, contribute to the mood by banging it on the door. A mistake it would seem, the bucket was three inches deep with my own waste products much of which I managed to wear. The remaining awful smelling sludge ended up on the floor so I proceeded to use the steel handled receptacle as a gong anyway.

  Apparently very effective as within seconds the door opened and a bright light sitting atop a long narrow barrel and short fat suppressor poked itself into the room illuminating my good self and the sewerage running down my chest. The weapon owner called out in Russian to someone down the passageway and another bright LED light appeared next to the original followed by a Slavic expletive concerning the aroma.

  “Not necessary to make much noise Hurry, we find you with our noses, smell is very bad. We smell you from Progress, only here to give you bath then we return you to Wu-Dang and go back home.”

  “You got yourself lost Len? No Russians here. I'm just the scapegoat, the sacrifice thrown to the wolves, or Leopards, remember?”

  “You have sympathy left for other people or you use it all up on Hurry Crook? We are not out of bonfire yet my friend, these Mifen come out of works of wood, we need to move quickly.” He really needed to work on the language, Wu-Dang would never make these mistakes.

  The military was certainly established in the Antarctic if the increasing sound of the fire fight gave any indication, Snow Leopards and Alpha boys, could be a tight contest. The Russians had the initiative of surprise so we could be in luck. Two more Alpha lads waited at the exit and proceeded once we arrived. They leapt out the door onto a knee and opened fire while we used the cover to make it behind the next building. My bearings told me that we needed to turn right and make our way towards Progress, Len was of a different opinion, he turned left.

  “This way, Len, you’re going the wrong direction if you want to make it home.”

  “Please do not flatter yourself Hurry, you are excuse to have a look, a small recce as you say.”

  My sense of importance took another blow.

  “Why didn't you just carry out your ‘small recce’, leave me here? Don’t want to cause you any inconvenience.”

  “Don’t sulk Hurry, Uncle Len makes plans, plans that trust Hurry is a man. Always work before, you still man, yes?”

  We were joined by our cover fire lads who led the way towards the very building in which I was first taken prisoner only a few weeks ago, the one with some very interesting military hardware that resembled a type of hybrid polar tank.

  The fire fight receded as we entered the airlock of sorts and then the warm building. Darkness prevailed while we
sought some light switches which illuminated the very machines in question only in a far more advanced stage of assembly than my last visit. Given time to survey the surrounds the interior stretched some distance. Over twenty or so of the large pale behemoths sat silently waiting for their moment of greatness, tracks over a metre wide and in two, long triangular configurations for increased ground clearance, almost like a tracked Can-am only huge. A collapsible ‘A’-frame lay on top of each machine, possibly to mount a long crevasse radar. The canon barrel protruded obscenely with a large lump of the bore evacuator half way along indicating possible automatic unmanned turrets and a muzzle brake on the very end. Len and his offsider raced around taking photos while our two guardian angels kept an eye on the door and any other potential hazards.

  Adjacent to the area where the tanks sat seemed to be another room, a half open roller door enticed my interest as I bent down and entered. This was something else entirely. Several large quad drones sat on benches, much larger than the average camera drone. Surveillance, anti-personnel device delivery, could even sit atop a tank and be used by the crew to recon the terrain in front, the Chinese meant business. I brought it to Lens attention and he took several photos.

  The second building contained the nasty looking quads with a .50 calibre machine gun mounted on the rear. Many more polar tanks sat not yet fully assembled but well on their way.

  “We see everything,” Len said with a smile on his face, one happy spy. “Contact the boys, we go now.”

  Under the cover of retreating fire pursued by an enthusiastic team of Snow Leopards we made our way along a circuitous route towards Progress using every bit of cover available. On the perimeter of the Russian station sat a line of troops behind various recently assembled and placed barriers that appeared to be made from sections of steel shipping containers. Wisely the Russians were prepared for an assault by the Chinese who would not take the incursion lying down. In this lawless frontier only the strongest and best armed would prevail.

  Len made his way to the central office section of the accommodation building where he immediately downloaded all the photos from his and the other Russians camera and sent them off to his superiors.

  “We might not be able to stop mifen but at least evidence is sent. My people are expecting this so maybe put an end to invasive force. Come, we help.”

  Returning outside and facing in the direction of Zhongshan were dozens of armed crew behind buildings and abandoned vehicles prepared to defend their Antarctic home from the vengeful neighbours. Someone thrust a Russian ASh into my hands, I’d better brace myself, these mini .50 cal machine guns packed a hell of a kick but sure did stop whatever you were shooting at, my kind of weapon.

  We ended up behind a small timber building already manned by Veodore and a young cook I recognised from my time here.

  “Harry, you have returned,” Veodore with a smile. “Vasily put great faith in you, not misplaced it looks like.”

  “Of course,” Len replied for me. “But now we pay.”

  I needed to ask Len about his motives, not sure what was going on? What did he mean when he said I was just an excuse to have a look? Would I have been left there if Len and his masters weren't all that curious? Either way though I was glad to be out of Wu-Dangs clutches.

  The Zhongshan crew, and there were a few of them, made their way towards us utilising the same cover we used to retreat. Andrey, Progress second-in-command was in fact ex-KGB and also ex-military and his defence strategy was well placed. Between the last cover for our antagonists and the manned temporary steel barriers on the Progress boundary lay flat exposed ground, the Chinese came under heavy fire causing many casualties on their side and very few on ours. They retreated to regroup or leave it for another day, and if I knew Wu-Dang, another day would almost certainly come. It may even entail their special polar tanks if they are operational or mounted .50 cal machine guns, could get tricky if those things turn up.

  Strong flood lights lit up Progress surrounds and thoroughly rugged up men equipped with stand-by infrared headsets kept a look out. Back in the warm cafeteria the wounded sat or lay around undergoing various stages of triage and treatment with the sickbay stretched beyond its capacity.

  Andrey, Veodore, Len and a couple of weathered Alpha members sat around a table discussing the possible future scenarios determined by the neighbours. I sat with them, silent and pondering, there was nothing I could add, they had it covered by the sound of it. At one stage of the conversation my name come up and became the centre of attention. Fortunately all present, myself included thought the risk of rescuing me and carrying out the recce worth the price.

  The conversation continued in Russian. Their superiors in Moscow identified the tanks as a modified version of the Chinese Type 15 light weight main battle tank, modern, powerful and very capable.

  “Moscow replied, the photos were revealing to say the least,” Len said. “Our masters feel you are a good investment Hurry, more than happy we retrieved our Australian comrade.”

  “Somehow Vasily I get the feeling this was a bit of a set up.”

  Len laughed, the others with knowing smiles.

  “In this case Hurry you are feeling correctly, sadly we conspired with your colleagues and used your predictable curious attitude to accomplish our ends, all too easy. In fairness to us, we merely hinted at some activity next door and you ran like the ferret you are.”

  The well vodka-lubed table had a good laugh at my expense. I must admit though, ferreting was my cup of tea.

  “Well and good my Russian friend but that doesn't explain why you handed me back to Wu-Dang? Surely rescuing the eminent scientists was excuse enough to knock on the neighbours door?”

  “Long and hard we weighed this, much discussion concerning your well being and the well being of our academic comrades. When our people discovered your past connection with Wu-Dang it was estimated that the chance of his executing you outright rather than returning you to China for his family name was less than fifty percent, acceptable odds don't you think?”

  “Backing an odds-on favourite at the local horse races, yes acceptable odds. My bloody life for the sake of a little recce? No, not acceptable odds! It still doesn't answer my question, why not just get your intel while you rescued your two men? Why risk my insignificant life again?”

  Andrey spoke up. “My idea Harry, and if I am to be honest with you, I had to argue with your people. They would not agree but, in the end when I pointed out that our comrades were only prisoners of Zhongshan because of your unauthorised activities and that a rescue attempt could cause the deaths of two innocent men, they relented. But only on the condition that we flew in more specialists to ‘increase the odds’ as your colleague Charles Murphy put it.”

  Bloody Smurf.

  I smiled with no humour at Len.

  “I get it now. Charles falsely lured me over here with the temptation of easy intel on your explosive Antarctic organisms. You laid the bait by revealing to me unusual and significant activity by your neighbours and then let me go. Nicely done.”

  My smile turned wicked. “Must have been a surprise me escaping and then Wu-Dang kidnapping your scientists?”

  “Spanner in works Hurry this is true, many more phone calls with all your people. But surprising? No, certainly unexpected but not surprising, not with your history. Charles and I would have been surprised if you hadn't caused some sort of grief and chaos.”

  “Just a bit of torture eh? Harry will be OK, no harm done, just drug him, hand him back and with any luck we’ll rescue him before Wu-Dang executes him. Oh, and have a little recce while we’re at it.”

  “You understand then, yes?” Andrey asked nodding his head. He was serious, they all looked serious.

  They had me, I came to Progress to steal Russian intellectual property, bad manners to say the least. Then with no authorisation, illegally trespassed into Zhongshan to steal intelligence, a civilian no-no. My worst crime, escaping and killing the guard, perfectly
acceptable in military circles but another civilian no-no.

  “Natalie aware of your manipulation?”

  “You say it like we did you an injustice Hurry, we merely hinted at certain things, you did the rest, you make it very easy.” He said shaking his head. “But yes, Natalie eventually knows all these things, she is a soldier through and through, had much faith in you. Knew you were the forgive and forget type, felt you would understand the benefits.”

  Bloody women, bloody Russians.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  The anticipated return of Wu-Dang and his men didn't eventuate, our general feeling was that Wu-Dang had a timetable to which he was bound and set by people further up the food chain, he just didn't have the time to squeeze in a bit of personal revenge. The diplomatic channels may have had some influence?

  Natalie attempted to contact me, I was unsure how to gauge our relationship, whatever it was. When approaching uncharted waters with women my tendency was to sail around or just ignore, I chose ignore. Little contact occurred between Davis and myself. From what I understood persona-non-grata applied to Harry Crook. Those of the academic world looked unfavourably on the military or intelligence world and only saw an uncontrolled right-wing extremist running around the virginal environment of their southern continent upsetting the altruistic Chinese who were only here to advance scientific gains for the global community. Boy will they be surprised when those tanks followed by a legion of Snow Leopards armed to the teeth turn up and change the rules, probably blame me for antagonising the peaceful neighbours.

  A group of us spent many hours going over the photos and the information I gleaned from my time at Zhongshan. Little doubt remained in our minds that the Republic of China were making a move on the Antarctic and stage one, Queen Elizabeth Land. We knew another Chinese ship was scheduled to arrive in a few days loaded to the gunwales with huge amounts of equipment and men, our situation was to become precarious.