‘And yet that’s what it looks like. I can only tell you what I can see.’
Luke ran a hand over his face. ‘Shit,’ he said loudly. ‘Shit. You’ve seriously got nothing?’
‘Dead silence. Not a peep.’
‘At all?’
‘At all.’
‘And the others?’
‘Working fine, as far as I can tell. All present and correct.’
‘So it’s not a signal fault.’
‘That’s what I’m saying. I don’t know what’s happened, but whatever it is, it’s only affected the Neptune platform.’
Luke sighed. ‘Well, so much for an easy Sunday. I’ll grab a toolbox and head over this afternoon, and we can go from there.’ He took a sip of his coffee, as though to punctuate his response, but Kenny wasn’t done.
‘There’s another problem,’ he said.
‘Of course there is. What is it?’
‘Remember the storm that was supposed to swing about twenty miles south of us?’
‘Oh, you’re kidding me, Kenny. Tell me you’re joking.’
‘Nope. It’s heading straight for where Neptune should be. All the other weather platforms confirm it – and it’s going to be a doozy, too. We’re talking windspeeds up to sixty, seventy miles an hour. Not the kind of weather you can be outside in. No how, no way.’
Luke paused, deep in thought for a moment. ‘Neptune is, what, an hour away on a skidoo?’ he asked.
‘An hour and a half.’
‘So forty-five minutes, the way I drive.’
‘Luke…’
‘No, hear me out. I can head out there, scout around, see what the damage is. Maybe even fix it, if possible. If not, we’ll still know for sure and we can go from there. I can have the whole thing sorted before the end of the day.’
Kenny shook his head. ‘No,’ he said. ‘Not a chance. You want to go out into a blizzard, in the arctic, in the middle of winter–’
‘I don’t want to do anything. I want to avoid that storm as far as possible, but someone is going to have to check the damn thing out – and who knows how long it’ll last? We were holed up inside for a week with the last one. You really want to leave Neptune in God-only-knows what condition for a full week?’
Kenny sighed. ‘I don’t,’ he said.
‘Then you don’t really have all that much choice, do you?’ Luke was already headed for the rack where the outdoor wear was kept; within no time at all, he was pulling high-visibility snow pants on over his slacks. ‘If I don’t get there, and quickly, who knows what could happen?’
‘Slow down a second,’ Kenny said. ‘I still need to sign off on it before I send someone out, and I’m not doing that until I know it’s safe. I’m still the base leader here, in case you forgot.’
‘I know that. But time’s a-wasting. The longer we leave it, the less time we’re going to have to fix things.’
‘We?’
Luke nodded. ‘It might be a two-person job. No way of knowing until I get out there. I’m going to need a hand, and I figured…’
‘That I’d be joining you?’
‘Well, who else?’
‘Think it through. What if something goes wrong? What if you get stuck out there?’
‘What if we do?’
‘Someone is going to have to take the other skidoo out to come and get you. I need to be right here in case something happens and the storm comes in early. Besides, someone needs to keep an eye on things at the base.’
‘Why not Deb, then?’ He turned to the older woman and smiled. ‘Me and you, out on the road? What do you say?’
She shook her head. ‘No can do, kiddo. I’ve been invalided out, remember?’ She raised her sprained wrist, still wrapped in its bandages.
‘I thought you said it was fine?’
‘Fine if I’m shuffling paperwork. Not fine if I’m helping to repair a generator. I could take you pound for pound any day of the week, Abs, but do you think I’m in any state to lift anything?’
A quiet sort of fog settled in between the four of them. One by one, the three sets of eyes drifted across the room to Amy. Somehow, she was the last person it seemed to dawn on. It was Deb who spoke first, breaking the silence. ‘Looks like it’s you, honey. Think you’re up to it?’
‘Me?’ Amy said, startled. ‘I can’t… I mean, I don’t know what use I’d be.’
‘Nothing too difficult, I’m sure,’ Kenny said. ‘Just cover Luke while he does his thing. Hold anything he asks you to hold. Make sure he calls back to base and lets me know what’s going on. If a bear comes up –’
‘A bear?’
‘Yes, a bear. If one comes up, fire a warning shot. If that doesn’t work… well, you’ve been trained in what to do, right?’
‘I…’ she began, but there wasn’t a lot else she could say. She had never so much as gone to a shooting range before she had made her way to Lane-McArthur, but it was part of the conditions of her acceptance on the base that she take a rudimentary course on rifle safety and use. It was, she had been assured time and again, just a failsafe – a last resort – but polar bears had been known to make an appearance near the base and it was better to be safe than sorry. Anyone who went offsite for any reason had to have a rifle with them at all times. She had never heard of anyone actually having to use it… but the thought that she might be the first brought a lump to her throat, no matter how dangerous she knew the animals to be.
Luke paused. ‘I’ll go on my own. It’ll be OK. I’m sure…’
‘No.’ Kenny’s voice was harder, firmer than Amy had ever heard it before. ‘You were right. If you get there and it’s a two-person job, you’re screwed otherwise. Amy, I need you to get ready.’
‘No,’ Luke said. ‘Absolutely not.’
‘You don’t get a say, I’m afraid. It’s the right call.’
Luke frowned. ‘Look, Kenny, I don’t think…’
‘At this point, I don’t care what you think. Amy, unless you have any objections – and frankly, even if you do – I need you dressed and ready to go in ten minutes. That’s the last I’m going to say on the subject.’ He turned to the door, his round face already red from the exertion of having to lead.
Nobody moved.
‘Well?’ he said. ‘What the hell are you all waiting for?’
Gently, Deb laid one hand on top of Amy’s, as if to calm the worry she knew she’d be feeling.
‘Time to suit up,’ she said. ‘Looks like you’re going on a field trip.’
Want more romance from the Marsh sisters?
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