The Ties That Bind r5-4

by Cliff Ryder

  The ocean waves that were rolling in at that point took on a life of their own, rising up higher than a normal wave and crashing into the rocky edges.

  "When the tide is out, the mud is soft and supple and easy to dig in, but unlike other places, the tide doesn't come in gradually here. It comes in as a wall of water, and in front of it, the temperature is subzero. Just before the tide comes in, the mud turns as hard as cement."

  "You're joking," he said, amazed. "That fast?"

  "Not in the least and please don't test the theory. More than one person has died in that very cove because they did not get out quickly enough. Our tide charts here aren't just for boats, but for people, too. A lot of folks still get their clams down there. They have to know for sure when the tide is coming in so they don't get stuck out there. A rescue is…difficult at best." She handed him a small sheaf of papers. "Here are the tide charts, which I thought you might want."

  "Thanks," he said, taking the papers and slipping them inside his coat. "That's important information and I won't forget it. I'll be sure and include it in all of my data. I can actually set my watch with that kind of information."

  Jason took out his GPS tracker. More than just a location device, it had a high-focus laser pointer that could assign satellite-coordinated grid coordinates of anything he aimed it at. It was a lot like using a laser to paint a bomb target, but instead of an explosion, the information he was painting would feed into the handheld device and create a virtual map. From there, he could use it to send the information back up to the satellite and get the data to Room 59. They would use the coordinates to arrange for his supply drop.

  As he worked, Tina watched in silence, then said, "That's not like any other GPS system I've ever seen. How does it work?"

  He briefly explained some of the device's more basic functions, leaving out that he was actually communicating with anyone, but including that it worked in tandem with a mapping satellite.

  She whistled. "Very high-tech," she said.

  He nodded, watching the final coordinates upload, and decided to change the subject. "So with the navy and coast guard patrolling these waters, not to mention all the national and corporate interests in this part of the world, how is it that a low-tech group like the one that we encountered the first day can manage to run a smuggling operation without being found out?"

  "Easy," she said. "The people around here know the waters and the land. All of this may look small on a map, but it's a vast amount of space and there are limited resources — even for the military. Plus, there are a lot of things that go unnoticed when it comes to the villages. People just assume that we are a bunch of uneducated natives and leave us alone. But what they don't realize is that even if the heart of biological science isn't here, there isn't a single person in the world who's going to know more about the ocean or the creatures that live in it than the people right here in this village. And it's not because they are well read or have some mystic, native powers, but because the information has been passed down from generation to generation."

  Jason pulled his binoculars from his pack and peered through them, looking at the next cove over. The houses stopped before then, but a small road led down to the water's edge.

  "What's that over there?" he asked.

  "The next cove?"

  "Yes," he said.

  "The villagers call it Blue Whale Bay. The water over there is deep, but sometimes when the tide goes out, animals can get stuck. A long time ago, a baby blue whale was beached there. The mud helped keep it wet, and the villagers did the rest until there was enough water to get him back out to sea. The name stuck."

  "Not many people go there?" he asked.

  "It's not like this is a hopping tourist spot," she said.

  Jason finished inputting his notes into the handheld and marking everything he could until there wasn't enough light left to continue. "Guess that will have to do for a start," he said.

  She agreed and they walked back down the slope to his cabin. She stopped at the bottom of the steps.

  "What time do you want to start tomorrow?" she asked, a small smile playing over her lips. "I know you've got a schedule to keep."

  Ignoring the sarcasm, he said, "How does six sound?"

  "Early," she said, "but I'll be here." She waved then turned and moved off into the darkness. Clearly, she was going to try a different set of tactics to get the information she wanted.

  Jason watched her retreating form for a minute more and then went into his cabin and shut the door, locking it behind him. He pulled the handheld out of his pack and hooked it to the laptop he'd set up on the small kitchen table. Syncing the data he'd gathered, he quickly created a four-dimensional map of the area. Such maps weren't commonly used, but including the approximate time between each point on the map would make it easier for them to time the drop. He added the tidal-chart information Tina had given him.

  The far side of Blue Whale Bay would make for a good drop location. His mapping device showed several small caves in the area and he would be able to camouflage the rest of his supplies underwater. It was likely that Tina wouldn't even know about all the caves, since several were below the water's surface.

  Jason chose the exact drop location, accounting for the tide, and transmitted the signal to the offshore team and the satellite, so Denny would know what was going on. He would rendezvous with them a little after midnight to pick up his equipment. Finally, he typed a quick situation update for Denny, including the information about the smugglers, and sent it off via the Room 59 back door that was built into the mapping satellite. Then he closed the computer, locked it and placed his sensors around the cabin.

  He wanted to get a couple of hours of sleep before the real work began.

  7

  Jason looked at his watch one more time as he checked the gear he would take with him. He had to accomplish the drop without being seen or heard. Selecting clothing he'd picked out specifically for this mission, he chose to use the new extreme-cold underarmor that the Room 59 research team had just developed. It was a highly flexible material that would ward off more than just the cold. A set of black BDUs went over the top, and these, too, had been specially designed to reflect heat back to his body. If someone was using an infrared scanner, he would appear as nothing more than a temperature variant within normal range. He had a light jacket that was the same synthetic material as his underarmor, thicker but just as flexible, and capable of protecting him from edged weapons, as well as from small-caliber arms fire.

  He pulled on the light pack and grabbed the small kit off the table, then slipped out into the night. He stayed to the shadows until he reached his ATV. Once there, he reached into the kit and removed two small attachments and screwed them into the mufflers of the vehicle. Using a sound-baffling technology unavailable anywhere else, they would render the vehicle virtually silent. He slipped on his sunglasses and switched them over to night-vision mode. With those tasks completed, Jason took off for the bay.

  The only sound the ATV made was crunching rocks beneath its tires. He maneuvered it slowly around the outskirts of the village, over the rise and back down to the shore of Blue Whale Bay. No one appeared to be following him. He climbed off the quad and pulled an ultraviolet beacon from his bag, placing it in the rocks. The signal that he sent earlier should have brought the offshore team close, but this would give them pinpoint accuracy.

  He sat back on the rocks and waited. It didn't take long before the light of a submersible was moving up the shoreline. It followed the path of his beacon light like a plane would follow lights on an airport runway. The submersible itself was a small vehicle, not much wider than the ATV he'd been driving. Behind it, it towed some of the equipment that he'd requested, including a portable sonar device, which he intended on using tonight for his first scan of the nearby waters.

  The submersible was a new design developed by the research division of Room 59 for underwater missions. They called it the Scorpion, and as it crawled out of
the water and came to a stop, Jason thought it had been aptly named. It had six retractable appendages: four "walking" legs and two mechanical arms with different attachments for the various jobs it might be called upon to perform. Its outer hull was depth resistant and utilized a sophisticated cloaking mechanism that actually bent light, making it seem almost invisible. It also had a special oxygen-exchange system that could allow him to stay submerged for up to two full days if necessary. The legs themselves could attach to rock, metal and almost any other surface.

  Jason shut off his UV beacons and pulled on the two pouches that the Scorpion had brought ashore. One was filled with the diving gear he would need, including a self-propulsion system that would allow him to travel safely through the Arctic waters at a very high rate of speed, while keeping him warm and emitting a signal that would look like a school of fish to any radar system. The other pouch contained the munitions equipment he'd asked for, knowing that it might be necessary to take out the sub completely.

  Jason hooked up the sonar to his handhold. He launched several sensors into the ocean that he would be able to track. They would monitor all unnatural movement in the nearby waters, based on a database of marine life in the area. If there was an Oscar-class sub anywhere around he was bound to find it eventually. He wasn't completely convinced that the sub would be here at all.

  "New survey equipment?" a voice behind him said.

  Jason spun and pulled his handgun in one smooth motion. Tina stood on the top ledge staring down at him, aware of the weapon in his hand, but either unaware of or ignoring the red laser dot that had appeared on the center of her chest. Only his hours of practice kept him from pulling the trigger.

  "Damn it to hell, Tina!" he snapped. "What are you doing out here?"

  "I think that should be my question, don't you?" she asked.

  Jason sighed and reholstered his pistol, and grabbed the gear that he needed to take back to the cabin with him. The submersible had been sent from offshore, but the command controls were now transferred to his handheld device. He typed a quick command and the Scorpion slipped backward into the water. It was remarkably quiet as it disappeared beneath the lapping waves.

  When it was safely gone, he turned and stalked up the bank to where she stood, then roughly grabbed her arm and pulled her over to his quad.

  "You can't grab me…"

  Jason clamped a hand over her mouth and she quieted instantly, her body going tense.

  "Listen to me," he whispered in her ear, his tone harsh. "I will try to explain some things to you, but your curiosity could have gotten you killed tonight. Now, you can either shut up and come with me back to the cabin and hear what I have to say or…" he took his hand away from her mouth "…I will have no choice but to consider you a direct threat to my mission and I will treat you accordingly. Do you understand me?"

  Tina nodded her head, wisely keeping silent. Jason moved to the quad and pulled her onto it behind him. If she made another move or tried to raise an alarm he would have no choice but to kill her.

  He drove back to the cabin and they got off the ATV. He grabbed his gear and nodded his head toward the door. Tina moved in front of him and opened the door, then stepped inside. He followed behind her, then set his gear down by the door, shutting it firmly and locking it behind him while she moved to stand in the small living room.

  "All right," he said. "Who the hell are you?"

  "What are you talking about?" Tina asked.

  Jason pulled out his Glock and walked toward her until she sat on the sofa. He sat down on the coffee table in front of her.

  "I have worked in this business a very long time and I am incredibly difficult to sneak up on. I don't have time for games and I'm not known for my tolerance. I'm going to ask you again, and you are going to tell me the truth. Who are you?"

  She started to try to slip off the couch. Jason stuck his boot up on the edge of the sofa, blocking her exit. "It's rude to leave in the middle of a conversation," he said. "It makes me cranky."

  Tina stopped trying to move away and faced him again. "Interrogation is more like it," she snapped. "I'm exactly who I've told you I was since the beginning."

  "What were you doing following me down to the water?" he asked.

  "You are arrogant, aren't you? I didn't follow you. There's a lookout point I go to on the bluff above the cove. I like to watch the whales as they come in and out of the bay. I saw someone moving down there and I realized it could only be you. No one else in the village is dumb enough to fool around down there at night."

  "Oh? Why's that?"

  "The rocks aren't stable. They can shift about with the tides. I was coming down to warn you when I saw your creature crawl up on the rocks."

  "You were whale watching in the middle of the night?" Jason asked.

  She looked a little sheepish and her cheeks filled with a blush. "I go out there when I need to think. I wasn't able to sleep. I've had a lot on my mind."

  Jason raised an eyebrow.

  "I just had to go and sort something out in my mind, okay?"

  He still remained silent, knowing that she would finish her confession, whatever it was. It was the silence game all over again.

  Finally, she waved her arms in exasperation. "Fine! Fine! I needed to go and think about, work out this…this attraction that I have for you! I can't explain it and it bothers me, all right?"

  Jason couldn't help himself. He started to chuckle.

  "Why are you laughing?" she demanded.

  "You've made it clear from the very beginning that you wanted nothing to do with me in that way, and you've done nothing since that would indicate otherwise," he said. "You've hardly been a portrait of warmth and desire."

  She stood up then. Jason didn't prevent her this time. He watched her every movement, every breath, trying to separate the truth from the lies. Was she working for the smugglers? Could he trust her?

  "So have you worked out your…attraction?" he asked.

  "Yeah," she said. "I realized that it was simple. The guy I was attracted to is a complete liar and a killer, so there is no attraction." She was shouting now. "There! Problem solved! Can I go now or do you still want to shoot me?"

  Jason ran his hands through his hair. How could one mission get so completely and utterly screwed up before it had even really begun? He watched her pace around the room. There was no hint that anything she'd said was a lie. No indrawn breath, no pause in her speech pattern, no pupil dilation, nothing.

  "Sit down, Tina," he said quietly.

  "If you're going to kill me you might as well do it while I'm standing," she said.

  "I'm not going to kill you. We're going to talk and then I'm going to try to figure out what to do."

  She sat on the edge of the sofa.

  "Okay," he said. "I can only tell you so much, but I'll try to give you enough so that maybe we can get through this, all right?"

  She nodded and he continued. "I work for the government. There have been reports of a submarine operating in the Bering Strait that has some special capabilities. I'm here to find out if it really exists."

  "Why not come in as an official? Why not just come in with navy boats and find it?" she asked.

  "If it were that simple, then I wouldn't be here," he said. "They don't send people like me for simple missions. Now, the fact of the matter is that I think that there are people using your village and maybe others as a cover and that those people intend great harm. Whether they are connected to this supposed submarine or not, I don't know yet. What I do know is that if you want to help your village, you'll keep silent and help me. The sooner I have the information I need, the sooner I can leave…and the sooner the people smuggling weapons into this part of the world can be stopped."

  She sat and pondered the information that he had given her for a minute. Then a small smile crossed her lips. This was followed by a full-on grin a moment later.

  "What are you smiling about?" he asked.

  "Are you telling me th
at I snuck up on a spy? An honest-to-God, professional spy?"

  "Damn it!" he yelled. "Tina, this is serious. I need to know if you are going to help or if I'm…going to have to do something I'd probably regret. I don't want to hurt you, but…" His tone turned deadly cold. "If you represent a threat to my mission, I will. So what's it going to be?"

  "You would have killed me before now if that's what you wanted to do," she said.

  "I already said I didn't want to, though that option is getting more appealing by the second," he gritted out.

  "Of course I'll help you," she said. "It beats dying by a long shot anyway." The grin lit up her face again. "But just admit it. I snuck up on a spy."

  "Fine," he sighed, waving a hand in surrender. "You snuck up on a spy."

  "Grandpa would be so pleased. He used to take me on hunts and taught me how to walk silently. He didn't hold out any hope for me for so long. He would be so proud."

  "Tina!" he growled.

  "I'm not going to say anything," she said. "Scout's honor."

  "Girls can't be Scouts," he said.

  "No, but I bet you did have some luck with those Brownies."

  He hadn't realized she'd heard his earlier remark and felt the tension in the room ease as they both burst out laughing.

  "Okay," she said. "So what do we do now?"

  "Now," he said, holstering his Glock, "we wait."

  * * *

  Jason awoke to the enormous blast of a foghorn. He pulled his handheld off the nightstand and accessed the data streaming from the sensors he'd had the Scorpion deploy. They'd detected a large ship, probably a cruise liner of some kind, which had just pulled into the village harbor.

  A message in response to the update he'd sent Denny the previous night was also waiting for him.

  Original mission priority unchanged. Secondary missions involving recent developments approved. Use of local assets conditionally approved. Standard cleanup measures will apply if risk assessment increases beyond tolerance levels.