Thirst

by L. A. Larkin

  ‘The arrogant bastards assume no one’s going to stop them,’ Luke spat bitterly. Alrek looked toward the site warily. ‘They can’t hear us,’ Luke continued, recovering his composure. ‘The wind’s too loud.’

  ‘If they have a prisoner, then why no guard? I do not like this,’ Vitaly warned.

  ‘Too cold, perhaps,’ said Luke.

  ‘Now what?’ asked Alrek.

  Luke looked around. ‘Can you two put up the tent? I’m going to watch for signs of Maddie. We need to know where they’re keeping her. If we know, we might be able to sneak in under the cover of darkness.’

  His companions nodded. ‘The storm is settling in,’ said Alrek, his voice raised above the gale. ‘That means there will be no SAS. Nobody flies in a whiteout.’

  ‘We’re on our own, then,’ said Luke, watching the camp through his binoculars.

  A man, short but built like a bulldog, appeared from the first Weatherhaven, an assault rifle in his hand. He went into the second Weatherhaven. Another man appeared from that second tent and carried a tray of food into the first. He was unarmed. So that’s where the General is, thought Luke. Only the leader would have his food brought to him on a tray.

  Over the next hour, a lot of activity was focused on the second large tent, which Luke concluded must be the mess. Only one soldier exited the third Weatherhaven. His behaviour was odd. He paced outside the tent, then went inside, then paced outside again. Given the wind chill, it was madness for him to be outside. Eventually, the man battled through the winds to one of the canopies covering what appeared to be other snowmobiles and disappeared beneath it.

  It was almost dark and all the men wore white parkas, so it was difficult to differentiate between them, but Luke thought he counted eight men. He was growing concerned that he had seen no sign of Maddie. Perhaps her leg was very bad and she couldn’t walk? Or perhaps she wasn’t there? Luke let the binoculars drop and he rubbed his tired eyes.

  ‘Any sign of her?’ asked Alrek, kneeling down next to Luke.

  ‘No,’ he replied, brushing snowflakes from his face. He filled Alrek in on what he had seen.

  ‘Perhaps the tray of food was for Maddie, if she can’t walk.’

  ‘Possibly,’ Luke said. ‘I’m thinking that they’d hold a prisoner in one of those Weatherhavens. They could guard her better that way. If the middle one is the mess, it’s either the first or the last one.’

  ‘Seen General Zhao?’

  ‘No, but I’m guessing he’s in the first Weatherhaven.’ Luke had seen photos of the General before he left the Basov.

  With an exhaled ‘Hmph’, Vitaly sat on Luke’s other side. ‘I do not understand this “Weatherhaven”.’

  ‘The big, arched tents,’ Luke replied.

  Vitaly frowned. ‘If she is just hostage, she will be with a soldier. If this general is a bad man, she will be with him. I am sorry, Luke.’

  Luke knew what Vitaly was saying but it didn’t bear thinking about. ‘If we’re going to get in and get out without alerting anyone, we have to know where she’s being held,’ Luke said.

  ‘I’ll keep watch,’ said Alrek. ‘You get inside and eat. There’s nothing hot, though. We don’t want them seeing a glow from our stove.’

  ‘Call me if you see anything, won’t you?’

  ‘I will.’

  Luke kept his head down as he made his way to their tent. His feet were numb; he hadn’t realised how cold he had become. As he was about to enter, he noticed a solitary Emperor penguin a few metres away. It was standing upright, and at first Luke thought it was resting its beak on its chest. But on closer inspection, he saw that it was dead and its emaciated form had been freeze-dried. Luke felt a stab of sadness as he recognised the loneliness of its death. Emperor penguins survived the winter by huddling together. This one must have been left behind. The sight of it dampened his mood further. What if Maddie was dead or had been left to die somewhere on the mountains?

  ‘She is okay, my friend. Get inside and warm up,’ said Vitaly, shoving Luke towards the tent entrance.

  Once inside, they ate some protein bars in silence, then Vitaly pulled a small can of oil from his bag and used it to lubricate each pistol.

  ‘If you have to use that gun,’ Luke said, ‘stay clear of the containers in case they’re full of explosives and detonators.’

  Two seasons previously, Luke had used seismic spectroscopy to build up an image of the seabed beneath the Pine Island Glacier’s floating ice tongue. He’d set off a series of low-impact explosions and used a geophone to record the sound as it travelled up through the ice. He knew that high explosives – such as pentolite – and detonators had to be kept apart during transport and storage.

  ‘Don’t worry, my friend,’ Vitaly replied. ‘I am always careful with explosives.’ He looked down at the pistol in his hand. ‘We should not use guns, unless we must. Too much noise. I will use my knife and cut their throats.’

  Luke swallowed. He had never killed anyone, or even imagined he might have to. Deep in thought, Luke pulled some chocolate bars from his pack and handed one to his friend.

  ‘You speak to your boy?’ Vitaly asked.

  Luke’s face lit up with a smile. ‘I did, briefly, before I left the ship. It was so good to talk to him. He seems to be making friends easier these days. He was telling me about a party he went to and how much fun he had.’ Then his smile faded. ‘His mother was pretty pissed off that I hadn’t called before. She wants to talk custody arrangements.’

  Vitaly gave him a questioning frown. Luke clarified, ‘She’s getting married soon.’

  The Russian ignored that piece of news. ‘What did you say to your boy?’

  Luke stared hard at his friend, surprised by the question. ‘I told him about the station burning down and said that was why I hadn’t called or emailed. I told him how much I loved him.’

  ‘That is good. It is important you say this. Soon we may be dead, my friend.’

  It was typical of Vitaly to get straight to the point.

  ‘I also told Jase I was moving back to Melbourne so I could spend more time with him. I made a promise.’

  ‘You said that? Then you must live and be a man of your word.’

  ‘I’ll try,’ said Luke.

  T MINUS 10 HOURS, 50 MINUTES

  10 March, 1:10 am (UTC-07)

  D-Day, and Robert was wide awake. He’d had an epiphany. His father hadn’t tried to cut him out of the rare earths project because he thought him incapable. No.

  While Robert slept, his ego had reasserted itself. He now saw that the General regarded him as a real threat. He feared that his high-profile, media-savvy son might steal his glory. That was it! And clearly, given that Robert was in Antarctica, the old man feared he might lay claim to Marie Byrd Land before he could win the Party’s approval.

  But just as Robert had underestimated his father’s ruthless thirst for military power, the General had underestimated Robert’s need to win. Particularly against his father.

  ‘All my life you have belittled me,’ he said aloud. ‘No more.’

  With his sleeping bag wrapped around him, Robert sat in his chair, crossed his arms and considered his strategy. There was no room for emotion in this equation. What’s my desired outcome? he asked himself.

  He lit a cigarette. For the next thirty-five minutes he remained still, except for the occasional head shake as he dismissed an idea, and the movement of his hand to and from his mouth. Finally, he scrolled though a database on his laptop and found a phone number. He checked the time – it was 3:45 pm in Beijing – and used his satellite phone.

  ‘General Guo Quiliang. This is Robert Zhao Sheng. Before you put down the phone, I have a business proposition for you.’

  ‘I have nothing to say to you.’ The voice was staccato.

  ‘Wait! My father knows nothing of this call. I repeat, this is business. My proposal will not only make you an incredibly wealthy man but it will also ensure China’s military supremacy for man
y years to come. Will you hear me out?’

  A pause. He imagined the round face of his father’s deadliest rival, his fat lip curled in distrust. Guo was second-in-line for the role of chief of the general staff of the People’s Liberation Army, with only Robert’s father standing in his way. Their hatred for each other was well known, if only ever spoken of in hushed tones.

  ‘What is this? Has Zhao put you up to this?’

  ‘No, sir. I understand your suspicion, but if you will just listen to me, I will explain how my father is the loser in this, and you the winner.’

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘As I’m sure you are aware, General, China leads the world in the mining of rare-earth minerals and the production of military technology. The two go hand in hand. But this can only continue if we find new sources of rare earths. What if I were to tell you that I have found a wealth of bastnäsite, a source so huge that China will become the world’s undisputed dominant military power? The Americans and the Russians will quake in their boots.’

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘My investors and I are funding this top-secret project. I am onsite right now, and we are about to begin mining. My father is a backer and plans to take all the glory. His appointment as chief of the general staff is assured.’

  ‘Does the Party know?’

  ‘Only a select few.’

  ‘Unsanctioned then.’

  ‘The deposits are not on Chinese territory. There will be political ramifications, but the prize is worth it.’

  ‘You must tell me where they are.’ A slight lilt in Guo’s voice revealed his excitement.

  ‘Antarctica.’

  Guo cleared his throat. ‘Interesting. A continent that belongs to everybody and to nobody.’

  ‘It’s run by a useless bunch of do-gooder scientists and a worthless treaty. Perhaps it is time for China to claim new Antarctic territory?’ Robert could imagine Guo’s head spinning with the possibilities. ‘Such glory! You would go down in history.’

  ‘Where in Antarctica?’

  Robert laughed. ‘Come, come, General. You can easily track my location. I don’t need to tell you. You will also be recording this phone call, just as I am.’

  Guo chortled. ‘Indeed. So, you would betray your father. Why?’

  Robert hesitated. ‘Why doesn’t matter. What matters is that I run the project. The Party must guarantee my personal safety and enter into an exclusive partnership with the Hood Group for all mining and commercial activities in Antarctic territory controlled by our country. In return, I will cut you in. You will get the credit and be the next chief of the general staff. And, best of all, you will vanquish my father.’

  ‘I cannot speak for the Party so cannot guarantee that.’

  ‘Then we have nothing more to discuss.’

  ‘Don’t try to bully me,’ Guo said sharply. ‘I can stop this project.’

  ‘It’s too late. By twelve hundred hours today – that’s in ten hours’ time – the whole world will know about it and General Zhao will have claimed the glory. You must decide now if you are a partner in this or not. Why don’t we say you’ll get a two per cent carried interest in Dragon Resources? At present, it’s a five-billion-dollar company but I have no doubt it will increase, let’s just say … significantly after we announce our bastnäsite discovery.’

  Robert gave the man some time to do the mental arithmetic.

  ‘I will talk to the Party now,’ he replied at last. ‘As much as I can give you my word, you have it.’

  ‘That promise is worthless. I need you to do something for me to prove your commitment—’

  Guo interrupted. ‘I will not—’

  Robert cut in. ‘I want my father to disappear. Tonight.’

  He felt a tingle of fear at the back of his throat, but as soon as he said it, his heart sang like a bird in his chest.

  The silence lasted for more than a minute. This time, Robert knew better than to interrupt. Killing General Zhao would give Guo huge satisfaction, but if the Party ever found out he would be tried for murder.

  Eventually, Guo spoke. ‘Consider him gone.’

  T MINUS 4 HOURS, 30 MINUTES

  10 March, 7:30 am (UTC-07)

  It was almost dawn when the ferocious blizzard that had raged all night died away. Luke had barely slept. It had little to do with Vitaly’s snoring, which was loud enough to register on the Richter scale, or the buffeting tent. It was because he had seen nothing to indicate that Maddie was alive, or even at the camp.

  He pulled up his hood and crawled from the tent. Wispy clouds flecked the dark sky. The low sun was shining within a circular halo. Above the horizon, equidistant to the sun, two blindingly bright lights shone at the outer edges of the halo’s arc. It was a parhelion, caused by ice crystals in the high cold air, but it looked as if God’s eye were peering at him through the last of the night sky. The sun looked like the pupil, and the cloud flecks like the iris, within a glowing outer rim.

  Luke was not a religious man but he knelt for a moment. His body cast a long shadow behind him as he listened to the wind murmur. Then he crawled to the large boulders that hid them and peered through the binoculars at the camp below. No lights. No sign of movement yet. He unzipped his coat and pulled out a water bottle, then drank deeply.

  Vitaly and Alrek joined him.

  ‘Beautiful,’ said Vitaly, nodding towards the spectacle.

  ‘Any movement yet?’ asked Alrek.

  ‘I can’t wait any longer,’ Luke said. ‘I’m going down there.’

  ‘I have a bad feeling about this,’ Alrek said. ‘We don’t know which tent she’s in. We can’t just open each one and hope we’ll stumble on her. We’ll be dead in seconds.’

  ‘Nyet,’ said Vitaly, ‘but I can make a soldier tell me where is Maddie.’

  ‘You speak Mandarin?’ Alrek asked.

  Vitaly pulled out the flick knife. ‘I do not need to speak.’

  ‘Let’s think this through,’ Alrek stammered. ‘The storm’s died away, so the SAS could get here by the early afternoon. I say we keep watch.’

  ‘No way,’ said Luke. ‘We have surprise on our side. And if a plane flies over and drops troops, all hell will break loose. Maddie won’t stand a chance.’ Alrek looked unconvinced but Vitaly nodded. Luke continued. ‘They won’t be expecting me to steal into their camp. They think I’m dead, anyway. But I understand if you don’t want to come with me.’ He paused. ‘Vitaly? Are you in?’

  ‘Of course,’ said the Russian.

  ‘Alrek?’

  He hesitated. ‘No, I’m sorry. It’s a death trap. I really think we should wait for the professionals.’

  ‘Why have you come, then?’ Vitaly asked in frustration.

  ‘To help, of course. But we haven’t seen any sign of Maddie. Why risk our lives when she could be dead? I don’t think you should do it.’

  Luke and Vitaly shook his hand and left. Luke carried the Baikal-442 and the ice axe. Vitaly had the Makarov and the flick knife. They stumbled a few times in the semi-darkness, but soon they were creeping around the back of the Weatherhavens, their two-way radios switched off to ensure absolute silence. The wind that whistled through the camp partially masked the creaking sound of their footsteps.

  Two soldiers were coming their way, both carrying QBZ-97s, just as Vitaly had described. They were speaking in hushed tones. Luke and Vitaly hid in the gap between two tents.As soon as they saw the soldiers, Luke hurled himself at the wide-set man, and Vitaly at the slimmer one.

  Luke clamped his gloved hand over his man’s mouth and managed to knock away his rifle. Luke was a big man, fit and strong, but the stocky soldier was a bundle of muscle and reacted instantly. He bent down and threw Luke over and onto his back. Luke’s axe flew across the ice.

  The soldier reached for his rifle. Just as he grabbed it, Luke kicked it out of his hand and threw his full weight – ninety-five kilograms – on top of his adversary. He pushed his face into the snow and the man struggled. Luke knew that
if he pushed hard for long enough, the soldier would suffocate. The man fought back, kicking and wriggling because his life depended on it. But could Luke kill?

  Luke glanced up to see that Vitaly had his flick knife at the slimmer soldier’s throat, his free hand over his mouth. ‘The woman – where is she?’ the Russian demanded, his voice low and threatening.

  The soldier tried to shake his head.

  ‘Where is the woman?’ Vitaly whispered menacingly.

  Luke watched in horror as the soldier pulled out a knife and was poised to plunge it into the side of Vitaly’s stomach.

  ‘Knife!’ he shouted, forgetting their need to stay quiet.

  The Russian caught the soldier’s wrist and yanked the man’s arm behind him, trying to force him to drop the knife. His frozen fingers lost their grip on the soldier’s wrist and the man lurched toward his rifle on the ice. Vitaly threw himself on top of the soldier, whose eyes bulged wide in pain. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water, and then ceased to move.

  Vitaly struggled to stand. Luke then saw that the flick knife was buried deep in the soldier’s chest, and his white parka was stained red around the blade. Vitaly had plunged it into the man’s heart with military precision.

  In shock, Luke almost released the soldier beneath him, who was growing weaker. Luke snatched the rifle from the ground and hit him on the back of the head with its butt then rolled him on his back. He was breathing but unconscious. Luke couldn’t bring himself to kill in cold blood.

  Suddenly, the whole camp was blindingly bright. It was as if someone had lit up a football field.

  ‘Run!’ said Luke. He didn’t see where Vitaly went but he knew he had to kill those lights. People were shouting some where in the camp. Luke picked up his ice axe and ran as fast as his crampons would allow him towards the generator. He heard gunfire but didn’t dare look around. More shouting, further away this time. Were they chasing Vitaly?

  Luke reached the generator and ripped off the fuel cap. He gouged some ice from the ground and shoved it into the diesel tank, hoping to block its fuel line. Sweat glued his balaclava to his head. More ice. He swung his axe again then stuffed the shattered ice into the tank.