Caldera

by Larry LaVoie

  “Where are the others,” Jason demanded.

  The big man pointed his gun at Jason. “That is not of your concern.”

  “What’s going on, for God’s sake,” Jason said. “We’re all in danger here.”

  The big man yielded to the older man who put away his gun. “We need your cooperation. My name is Joseph Talant. No harm will come to you or the young woman if you cooperate.”

  “No. Not good enough. I need to know what’s going on. Where is General Montgomery? Where are the others in my team?”

  Talant nodded to the Russian and Jason did not have time to block the shot. He grabbed his side. A stinging sensation, things were going fuzzy. He fell to the ground.

  Chapter 27

  Jason opened his eyes. It was daylight. He didn’t know how long he’d been out. His head felt like it was about to burst and his side felt like someone had hit it with a sledge hammer. Vaguely he remembered being shot. He pulled at the restraints on his wrists. He was in the back seat with Carlene. In the front were the Russian and Talant still dressed like soldiers? He saw Mammoth Hot Springs Terrace out the side window. They were nearing park headquarters. He must have been out at least an hour. He moved his head to look at Carlene. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She was staring straight ahead.

  “Can you loosen these,” Jason whispered.

  Carlene gasped. “Thank God.” Her voice was loud enough to draw attention from the front.

  “We are coming to the North entrance. You would do well to remain silent,” Talant said. “Or my friend will have to put you out again.”

  The other man turned around and gave Jason a wide grin showing a row of evenly spaced teeth. He raised the gun. “You don’t strike me as a stupid man,” Jason Trask.

  “You know my name, what’s yours?” Jason asked.

  “I am your worst nightmare.” He shook the whole vehicle with his laugh.

  Talant reached over and lowered the pistol. “His name is Vladimir Mishenka. He means what he says.”

  “You’re kidnapping us,” Carlene said. “That’s illegal.”

  Vladimir laughed again. “Stupid woman. We are saving you.”

  Jason got Carlene’s attention and stared into her eyes. “We’re not in any condition to argue.”

  “Then you will cooperate,” Talant said.

  “We’ll cooperate,” Carlene said.

  Jason watched the deserted buildings on main street pass. A heard of elk grazed lazily on the grassy divider across from the post office. They have no idea, Jason thought. He straightened up in the back seat. It was only then he saw Carlene’s hands were secured also. “Have there been any more quakes?” he asked softly.

  “None that I felt,” she said. “Why are you going along with these ... these criminals?’

  “In case you haven’t noticed, they have guns.” He raised his banded hands.

  “Soldiers,” Carlene said spotting the blockade at the entrance.

  “Keep silent,” Talant said.

  Jason watched as they approached the guard station wondering if he could get a guard’s attention without being detected. He noticed Mishenka reach down and come up with an automatic rifle.

  A hundred yards from the guard shack Talant asked Mishenka, “What are you doing?”

  “They will not be a problem,” Mishenka said.

  “Don’t be stupid,” Talant said. “You think they’re going to make us stay in the park?”

  Mishenka lowered the weapon.

  “Let me handle this,” Talant said rolling down his window. Jason was surprised there were still a number of soldiers guarding the park. Didn’t they know they should clear out?

  Talant stopped the Humvee.

  A soldier with a cell phone leaned his head toward the open window. “You fellas aren’t supposed to be in the park. What company you with?”

  Talant was caught by surprise. “We were rescuing these civilians,” Talant said.

  The soldier leaned in. Vladimir leaned across Talant and jammed a pistol in the soldier’s mouth and pulled the trigger. Jason jerked back. Carlene screamed. In a flash Vladimir was out of the vehicle with the automatic rifle. Before any of the soldiers could respond they all fell under the impact of the rifle fire. Jason watched in horror. Vladimir climbed back in. “Do not say a word. I am through taking orders from you, Joseph Talant.”

  Joseph Talant was in the pilot’s seat, Vladimir Mishenka co-pilot in the single engine plane. Jason with his hands cuffed was in the window seat with Carlene next to him. Unless they wanted to risk a plane crash there wasn’t anything they could do but wait.

  The plane dipped sharply. “Keep your hands off the controls,” Talant said angrily.

  Mishenka responded by pushing on the wheel in front of him causing the plane to dip again. “You see Joseph Talant, you are not in control.”

  The drone of the engine made it difficult to make out what they were talking about but Jason could see that Talant was furious. From the air Jason could see the column of ash spewing from Pelican Cone. Other than the black column of smoke the sky had turned to a brilliant blue. Jason was amazed that the ash cloud wasn’t larger. “This could be a fizzler,” he said to Carlene.

  “You mean this is it?”

  “Jason shook his head. “Can’t be. There’s too much widespread activity. I think Pelican Cone is either a fluke or a precursor to the big one.”

  “Why do they want us?” Carlene asked.

  He leaned close to her ear. “Who knows? Keep a watch out for landmarks. Let’s see if we can figure where they’re taking us.”

  “I’ve been watching.”

  “What was the La Hardy rapids like?” Jason asked. “I was out like a light.”

  “I couldn’t see a thing. We had to navigate through some water, but I didn’t hear any explosions.”

  “You mean from the Lake?”

  “I was afraid we were going to be wiped out by a hydrothermal explosion.”

  “At least the park is evacuated.”

  Carlene’s voice cracked. “I wonder if Billy made it out.”

  “Of course he did. Your parents said he was headed home, right?”

  Carlene curled her lower lip and lifted her hands to wipe away a tear. “I hope Mama and Daddy made it to Oregon.”

  “They’ll be okay.” Jason stared out the window. “I think we’re headed south.”

  “Southwest,” Carlene said.

  “How do you know that?”

  “I learned to tell time by the sun before I was able to read a watch. Look at our shadow. Twelve-thirty right?”

  Jason checked his watch. “Twelve-thirty eight.”

  “From the position of the sun and our shadow we’re headed southwest.”

  “These guys know what they’re doing then,” Jason said. “That’s the least likely direction for fallout.”

  The plane shook violently and dropped causing Jason to tighten his stomach. Carlene gasped. Suddenly they were headed toward the rocky crags of the Grand Teton Mountains.

  “Look there,” Jason said.

  “What?”

  “I saw a huge column of steam rising from south of Pelican Cone. That may be the lake.”

  Jason twisted to get a better look, but the plane was at an angle away from the park. The plane rocked again and Talant struggled to keep the small plane in the air.

  “I don’t like this,” Carlene said.

  “Just the shock wave from a few explosions. Nothing to worry about.” Jason swallowed hard. He didn’t know if it was better to die in a volcanic eruption or a plane crash, either way it wasn’t to his liking. Carlene gripped his hand so hard it was hurting.

  “Jason.” It was Carlene’s voice.

  He opened his eyes. The steady drone of the engine told him they were still in the air. “I can’t believe I fell asleep.”

  “You’ve been out for an hour or so. We’re headed due south now.”

  “You’re sure?”

  She gave him a
look.

  “Just asking?” The pain in his side caused him to wince. He put his hand on his side and felt dry blood. He was glad to see the bleeding had stopped. The wound is superficial, he thought. He shouldn’t be such a baby. He looked out the window. The mountains and trees had turned to desert for as far as he could see.

  The plane throttled back and started to drop. Jason checked outside again looking for an airstrip. The nearest thing he saw to a landing site was a straight stretch of dirt road. No telephone lines. No houses, no sign of civilization. The plane started a steep descent headed for the road.

  “What’s going on,” Jason shouted.

  Vladimir turned around. “Time for lunch. You are hungry, no?”

  Jason had forgotten how long it had been since they had eaten. “But there’s nothing out here?”

  Vladimir grinned.

  The plane hit the ground hard and taxied in a cloud of dust for a few hundred feet. When the dust cleared Jason saw two men run toward them from a hole in the side of a cliff. Where did that come from, he wondered.

  The sky was clear and the desert air hot. He had been cooped up inside the cabin of the plane thinking it was hot, but when they stepped to the ground the early June air hit them like a blast furnace. Jason turned in a full circle looking for some route of escape, but in the middle of nowhere where do you go? They had looked for landmarks on the way and had seen none. Somehow the pilot had skirted around towns of more than a few thousand. If Carlene’s sense of direction was correct they were somewhere in Nevada.

  Carlene’s body hit Jason hard from behind. The stubby hand of Vladimir Mishenka was pushing her along. Ahead of them a hundred feet or so was a tunnel opening into the side of a rock wall. Jason glanced behind them and saw two men draping the plane in a desert-colored camouflage net. Two soldiers in outdated olive drab fatigues emerged from the tunnel and Jason realized just how large the opening was. Like the tunnels they were boring in Yellowstone, he thought. But why out here?

  A massive set of steel doors opened. They were painted the color of the rock and set back where they were undetectable except from close range.

  Inside Jason got the feeling he was inside a coliseum. Far above, huge mercury vapor fixtures hung casting the room in an off-white glow. The floor was smooth and the color of concrete. They were herded past a room loaded with electronic devices, computers, video displays and several people monitoring the equipment.

  The walls of the room were a glassy olivine green and like the tunnel they had entered curved in a perfect arc. They appeared to be identical to the tunnels that had been bored beneath Yellowstone.

  He felt the sharp end of a pistol in his back.

  “Stop rubbernecking, Dr. Trask. You have not reached your quarters yet.”

  “Jason glanced around for Carlene. In the brief seconds he was checking out the room she had vanished. The pistol dug deeper into the flesh of his back. He winced at the pain from the wound in his side. He didn’t want another reminder of how much the kidnappers were in control.

  “Move it.”

  He continued past several tunnel spurs passing dozens of workers scurrying about in uniform. They appeared military, black berets, olive fatigues, and brown boots. Definitely not ours, Jason thought. He had to find out what they were doing there. “Why don’t you just kill me now and get it over with,” Jason said.

  “In due time, Dr. Trask. If the plan calls for it we will all make our sacrifices.”

  “What plan?”

  “This is your room. Try to keep it tidy.” Vladimir laughed as he opened a solid wooden door revealing a dark area beyond. He could barely make out a bed. Vladimir shoved Jason hard in the back and quickly closed the door. Jason was alone in blackness.

  Carlene sat in the dark on the edge of the cot in her room. She had made her way around the room with her hands pressed firmly against the cold smooth walls. She had found a toilet, a sink and a cot with a wool blanket, nothing else. Now I know what it’s like to be blind, she thought. The soldiers, what were they about? She heard a noise at the door; then saw a slit of light as the door opened. A hand reached inside and set a tray on the floor. Before she could get to it, it was dark again. “At least they aren’t going to starve us to death,” she muttered.

  She cautiously felt her way to the door, bent down and picked up the tray. She heard angry voices outside. She held her breath and put her ear to the door.

  “You will do away with them as soon as Yellowstone erupts.” She heard it more as a command than a question from the voice of Vladimir Mishenka.

  “No, we need them. They can help us read the volcano.” She recognized the voice of Joseph Talant.

  “That is your job.”

  “I have been away from the instruments a long time. They’re familiar with the latest technology.”

  “You must eliminate them. Telska will insist.”

  “I’ll face that when it comes to it. In the meantime I need them. Don’t do anything stupid.”

  “Stupid? Bringing these people into our headquarters is what I, Vladimir Mishenka, call stupid. I am sure our leader will agree.” As she listened Carlene could almost see the evil open-toothed grin of Mishenka.

  Jason was shuffled into the room filled with electronics. Carlene was already there standing in front of a flat panel monitor. He was relieved to see she was alive.

  “Cut their restraints,” Talant said.

  This must be the war room, Jason thought. There were a dozen people stationed at computer stations. Others with clipboards scurried from one station to another. Images from satellites were coming and going on the overhead screens.

  Vladimir Mishenka raised a stubby finger to Talant. “You are putting this operation in danger.”

  “Where are they going,” Talant said. “You think they will run away?” He laughed.

  Vladimir flipped open a six-inch blade from a scabbard on his belt. He roughly grabbed Carlene’s wrists and jerked her close to him. The knife went to her throat. Carlene swallowed hard. Jason went for Vladimir but stopped short. A drop of blood was running down Carlene’s neck.

  Mishenka grinned and pushed her away expertly slicing the restraint binding her wrists in the same motion. “You want your wrists slashed, Jason Trask?”

  “I think I’ll pass.”

  “Come now. You heard the good doctor.”

  Jason was confused. “Doctor?”

  “You and Dr. Joseph Talant have much in common. You both read mountains. Me, I am nobody, but you see, I am not without power.” Mishenka grinned and motioned Jason to him with the blade.

  “He won’t hurt you,” Talant said. “You are going to help us.”

  Jason held out his hands and closed his eyes as the cold steel of the blade slid along his wrists. In an instant his hands were free. He rubbed his hands together trying to get the circulation back into his purple fingers.

  Talant motioned to Jason. “Your station is over here.”

  Jason went to the computer.

  “Miss Carlson is next to you. You see we have thought of everything. Be seated, please.”

  “Whatever you’re planning it won’t work,” Jason said. “When Yellowstone blows it will wipe out everything. There won’t be anything left.”

  Talant spoke from behind him. Jason could feel his hands on the back of his chair.

  “We have been waiting a long time for this,” Talant said. “You will help us to determine the precise moment the mountain erupts.”

  “It looks to me like you have enough satellite coverage. Why don’t you aim one of those at the park and—”

  “Don’t underestimate me because I have been kind to you.” Talant’s voice was filled with venom. “The eruption of that piss ant of a hill has obscured our satellite image of Yellowstone. It is imperative that we know the precise moment the major eruption occurs for our plan to be launched. You can tell us how long we have?”

  “Oh my god!”

  Jason looked over at Carlene. Her han
d was over her mouth.

  “What is it, Carlene?”

  “We’re getting explosion after explosion. I think the hydrothermals under the lake are blowing one by one.” Carlene had the Yellowstone observatory on her computer. “Seismic readings are off the chart and continuous.”

  “It’s not the big one yet,” Jason said.

  “How do you know?” Carlene glanced at him.

  “That’s it,” Carlene said. “We just had a quake off the scale in the Norris Basin.”

  “Not yet,” Jason said.

  “But——”

  “Trust me on this. Are you still getting readings?”

  “Of course,” Carlene said. Then her screen turned to snow.

  “That’s it,” Jason said. “The blast will wipe out all communication.” He checked his watch. “How far are we from Yellowstone?” he asked Talant.

  “I’m not at liberty to tell you,” Talant replied.

  Chapter 28

  The sonic boom shook the ground and the entire room went dark for a second. The screens around the room flicked with patch-like images as they tried to reconnect with the satellites. The hanging screens were swaying even before they felt the ground tremble beneath them. Talant called to Mishenka who was already headed for the opening to the main corridor. “Inform Telska, it has started.”

  Jason stared at the blank screen in front of him. He had been off by two hours when he had told General Montgomery six hours to evacuate. From the distance they were away from the mountain he guessed the eruption had happened over an hour before. The shock wave was just now reaching them over six-hundred miles away. Now there was nothing to do but wait and see where the fallout would drift. A cheer rose from those around the room.

  “Fools,” Talant said. “They don’t know it is only starting.”